Muriel

Had intended today to blip something from the Groobarb Field Kitchen , where myself and MrsB were starting our weekend early today, with a set menu early lunch and pre-meal talk on the joys of sourdough breadmaking.

But there were too many diners and limited photo opportunity inside as we arrived. In the end, I got distracted, as it was a great afternoons introduction to more holistic localism of field-to-plate organics and food production.

But by coincidence earlier, I had spotted this relief artwork this morning after running MrsB to get her occassional physio MOT. Called ‘The Poynton Mural’, it was created in 2010 as a so-called planning gain of public art for the town’s new Waitrose store. Created by artist Philippa Threlfall, it uses unglazed brickwork carved in bas-relief to celebrate old local farming traditions with links to organic fruit and vegetables - all in the face of our more gritty northern industrial culture.

And talking of northern industrial culture, todays title is in deliberate homage to the frequently quoted malapropism of Coronation Street’s Hilda Ogden - in referring to the large picture on her dining room wall as her beloved "Muriel".