English Tourism Week 2019

English tourism week starts on the 30th March till 7th April, why not find something to visit or take part in a “microgap”. A “microgap” is aimed at encouraging people to consider taking short breaks and enjoy enriching experiences, in the UK, without having to quit the day job, take a career break or go on a traditional gap year.

William Morris Gallery

Inky Cuttlefish Studio

Get creative with Inky Cuttlefish studio, we had an hours workshop to create our masterpiece inspired by William Morris. The workshop was led by Anna, she explained the history of relief printing and how it came about using the same method that William Morris developed.

We first created our design on foam paper with a pencil as shown above. Using something from nature, my design was based on a photograph I took the previous day of daffodils. The design is then cut out, just the main subject and then coloured ink are rolled onto it with another colour on the background detail. After they are painted this is then brought together and the design is then rolled onto paper.

The technique is called Relief printing, this then produces a 2 colour print. I did mine in green and pink which came out excellent, thanks very much to Anna for the workshop.

Find out more about the various workshops that Inky Cuttlefish run on their website.

Web: http://www.inkycuttlefish.com

Gods Own Junkyard

One of the places I wanted to visit for some time, they normally don’t allow photography so I had never bothered to visit. But this time photography from a DSLR camera was allowed. We were introduced to the company by Marcus Bracey who is the son of the late founder Chris Bracey. He developed the business making neon signs for films, shops and artists and became known as the Neon Man. You can hire many of the pieces displayed.

If you wander into the shop/cafe it is a psychedelic paradise with various film props, disco balls and lots of retro neon signs. Why not take a visit to one of Walthamstow hidden gems, it is an Instagram selfie paradise!! Lots more of the photographs I took are on my Flickr link shown below.

Web: http://godsownjunkyard.co.uk

Mother’s Ruin Gin Palace

Time to sit down and relax at this award-winning quirky cocktail bar in Walthamstow. You will find delicious fruit liqueurs and over 80 gins. These are lovingly handcrafted, we were shown the various methods of creating the gin and then tasted a few of them which are shown below. I especially like the Damson on Distress which was very sweet but lovely. They do many varieties including Bitter orange and rum and Old Tom Gin. Check out more information on their website and especially their blog which has lots of background information. They also have some non-alcoholic drinks, lots of fun was had drinking the tasters. I seem to like Gin a lot more now 🙂

Web: http://www.mothersruin.net

Thanks for reading my blog, leave any comments below or click through to the various links below to see more of my photographs.

Links