For me it has been a dreadful week concerning my work and responsibilities.I rent my home here in Normanton and do expect my landlord to be a responsible person in maintaining its fabric.

Hmm not so a small damp patch reported last year and being told ‘do not worry’ it is a guttering problem now sorted ,one tends to believe in the word.

Imagine my horror a few weeks ago to return here after being in Teesdale to discover all my desk covered in water, paperwork, my design books,sketch books, silks, threads all soaked,some things dry some do not.

So last week planning to be away and seeing no more water being assured it must be ‘a fluke’ I moved my precious thingsUNDERNEATH my desk,for additional safety,a new pile of silks on the desk ready to be steamed and go into felted items and the next design ideas.

I return home to find my desk swimming in water all notebooks at the back soaked all ruined .I start to clear up and so thankfull I moved a lot of stuff,I see water dripping from my ceiling,I contact my landlord the builder comes he cannot see what is wrong and shakes his head—insisting that this is important he sends for the roofer.

Whilst clearing my desk and the getting all my books out of this room I decide to move the desk away from the drip and the window –good move thought I .Imagine my horror when after moving the desk I discover everything under it soaked and I mean dripping wet and a soaked carpet etc a box of silks and threads not only wet but mouldy and a disintegrating cardboard box slow realisation that this is not a new problem but must have been happening awhile but how can the floor be so wet,I move the curtains now I can get to them to see a nice cracked wall behind and water running down straight under my desk.

The work continues as I discover more ruined things ,my beloved sock machine which I restored starting to rust on the metal parts –more work.Paper patterns just un-restorable,ever tried separating tissue when wet–impossible  dry it- it sticks together.

To cut along story short the roofers find the problem of a huge hole in the felting and tell my landlord the whole roof really needs doing it is all very bad.Well did he do it all ,No just patch it he said .

I have all my rooms under that roof and now feel threatened by nature because when it rains water can get in my home.

We record our design  ideas and our work and when it is ruined we feel a part of us has been stolen.I cannot replace these things I can carry on working and produce better work but I feel sad and disillusioned  with my landlord .I have nurtured this piece of land and made beautiful gardens around this cottage  and now I have to go earlier than I planned,because he does not take his responsibilities seriously.

So how can we value our ruined work –it is hard enough pricing good work so how do you start to value so much lost.

How do you price that you have had your faith in human nature chipped away .

Should we smile and move on and decide once again ”lesson learnt’

I cannot wait to go all the time to my beloved restored chapel which we have restored so carefully and with respect ‘done a proper job’

We need rain so badly in Britain but I hope it hold off until I move all my things.

What price ART.