Sunderland is the home of the British National Glass Center. Although the Romans did not make any glass here the British certainly made glass here beginning in the early 1600's. At one point in 1860 there were 1000 glassmakers working in 20 different companies with a full 1/3 of all plate glass coming out of one shop alone. The facility reminded us of the Corning NY Glass Center. Both places highlighted the local commercial production of glass and both facilities have onsite glass blowing. We went through the exhibits learning about Sunderland's unique combination of good sand, easy access to coal and an established shipping port. These three items made Sunderland a glass producing powerhouse once the use of wood for glass making was outlawed in the 1600's. On our walk to the National Glass Center we passed a sculpture named "Watching and Waiting". It was dedicated to all the cartographers out there that crisscrossed the world making maps. Then we saw an enigmatic art installation called the "Red House." Imagine the first floor of a house filled with ordinary objects, a big overstuffed chair, a cabinet with stacked dishes, an overcoat and a stack of books. Now imagine that all of these things are carved out of red sandstone and that the house is subsequently destroyed. What remains is broken and dispersed. Then it was off to the Glass Center, where we had a nibble while waiting for the 3:00 glass blowing demo. After the center we walked to a barber shop where I got a great "on trend" haircut for only 7 pounds. Leslie walked to get some essentials from Poundland while I waited for my turn. We met back at the place.
The waves have been very large the last two days. The wave breaks on the jetty and the water spills over the wall
Some waves hit with such a force that the splash is almost as tall as the lighthouse
A fancy stepping dog
Building all the stages and platforms for the media to use while covering the World Triathlon this weekend
Dog in the house barking at us
Another big slash
"Watching and Waiting"
The bag and overcoat are made of stone
Bronze for the map and the telescope
A bronze journal
Explorers out exploring
The chimney was a half mile from the main Red House
It looked to be just a jumble from afar
But closer we recognized many items
Not what you would call a page-turner
Dishes and cabinet
A fine stone overcoat
This letter reads "Dear Peter, The house is so empty without you. Only the fish are glad. Now that you are gone, nothing is right, nothing works. And you, how must this be for you? This bad for me, it must be worse for you so far away. I go down to the water every day just to touch it. to hope that you are touching it too, that we can touch each other through the sea." What a tender thought
We have arrived
Etched into glass!
A cool pod of a room in the distance
Looking out from the top floor
Glass that looks liked popped balloons
Crucifix
Detail of art glass piece
When living in a glass house...
Tiny glass angels surrounding a broken and repaired tile
Surviving Sunderland made bottles
Very detailed cut glass
The glassworkers were allowed to play around while on break. They made what was called Friggers. Glass walking sticks, rolling pins, boots, birds and flowers were created. The rolling pins above were friggers
More friggers
Looks like a bong
Getting hungry
Every UKL Pyrex product was made in Sunderland
Two fish!
and a dish
The old works were eventually demolished
Hot molten glass inside. This oven takes a week to heat up and even at that temperature the glass blocks still take two days to melt
The next oven is for the working pieces
Red hot!
All done!
Drop one of these into your drink to identify it as yours
Purchased!
The front door of the Galss Center
Stuck into the walkway is the Glass Center Logo
A fine garden as we walked over to the barber shop
No end to the old churches
More lovely floral displays
It has been 1 year and 49 days since we began our Migration
