Pottery
Fascinating series on Radio 4 this week. Whatever Happened To The Teapots by Roger Law, of Spitting Image. Apparently he went first to Stoke-on-Trent (the birthplace of the English ceramic industry) in the 80s to have a Thatcher tea pot produced by Moorland Pottery — still a thriving small potbank. (Moorland features in my project Made in England.) In the series Law goes back to the city to interview key figures in the ceramic industry – modellers and makers, as well as factory owners. I recognised many familiar voices and friends. The story he tells is more measured and nuanced than the usual doom and gloom. His optimistic reading seems to be that skill, creativity and talent is the way out of the problems. There is still plenty of that in Stoke.
