The 2022 second visit to the S of F was as if to an kiln. That's how it felt, heatwise, for the last three weeks at least – so I take as my inspiration for this revue the Wall of Pots featured at Poterie-de-Crestet, an emporium that has supplied us with crockery, pots and pitchers, both functional and decorative.
BBC Radio 4 regulars may recall a comedy series entitled Fags, Bags and Mags that ran some years back (it reappears from time to time as a repeat). The series centred on a suburban open-all-hours corner shop owned by a bloke called Ramesh. He and his business partner prided themselves on stocking the widest range of chocolate bars, crisps and snacks and proudly constructed their shopping feature Wall of Crisps (this should be pronounced with a strong Indian accent, replicating Ramesh's verbal references to the shop's principle feature). The expression has subsequently entered our family tradition (you know the sort of stuff families get into, language wise) and which we may vary and apply to almost any arrangement/display of products on a wall that we encounter – the one that sticks is Crestet's Wall of Pots. Riveting stuff. That is what we call the Crestet place now: Wall of Pots. Here is a picture of said wall:
Even in this year's extreme heat, we found ourselves going in there in our never -ending quest for black domestic crockery. In vain, as usual (we are after something in particular, I won't detain you with what that was) but they do have a lot of other ceramics you know. What is pictured above is very much the no-go area. Some concrete in there aussi. Not nice. Nevertheless, once again we came away with another irrelevant but splendid unglazed addition to our very own Wall of Pots, another irrigation pot (you bury them in the ground or in your planter leaving the top accessible, fill it with water, which then gradually seeps through the porous terracotta to keep the soil and your plants' roots nice and moist over periods of time – you replenish the water as and when, obvs). We bought the item purely for its aesthetic appearance – and something to hold the terrace door open, if truth be known.
We haven't bought anything off the Crestet Wall of Pots mind, not our taste at all. But the stocks of other stuff in front of said wall-and-no-go area always commands our attention to see what's new. You can buy anything that is made of clay and been through a kiln at Crestet. From complete outdoor kitchen sets through to bad taste frogs, rabbits, buddhas and kitsch windmills; most of it (hem-hem) rather vulgar, but quite a lot that we do like, the utilitarian stuff in particular with its own natural aesthetic. A lot of it is Spanish in origin Mme Melling informs me. Rustic fare.
Fact: if Poterie-de-Crestet was down the road in Devon we'd have bought loads of the terracota sort of stuff for the garden by now. Some humdingers here: some are even frost proof! But we would want the big stuff: couldn't carry such items all the way back to Blightey. And no doubt we'd get charged import duty anyway (Brexit dividend). Sod it.
Apologies for boring you about bloody pots FGS…… but this is my post and I'll do what I like. The new pot is the one on the right here, the one with a lid but sans handles. The pitcher dates back to our first days at 1rueFB. Got three of those. Or is it four? The five pots below date from when we fondly thought we could sustain lots of plants on our terrace… lavender, rosemary, that sort of stuff… fools that we were. A couple of the lavenders saved from desiccation now thrive at Bullsmead Towers, as if you had the slightest interest in such information. See snap below…
