Great British Pottery Thrown Down

[quizzywig]

Mr Q and I reckon the judges have already decided on who is going to win the title. They seem very taken with everything Matthew (with the strange hair) does. His chandelier was the least imaginative of all last night but they couldn't praise him enough!

[lady-janine]

he s the most meticulous of them in the way he works and the results he wants and we are not there to see the results.

in the end I have the feeling that jim will win as far as they are concerned. He is, apart from his lining (quite difficult to do) rather slapdash in his approach. he also won the throw down yesterday for his sphere but I could see it was not as even up the sides and across the top as matthew's. that was glossed over very quickly and we did not get to examine it fully enough.

I thought sally-jo would win the chandelier competition.

[murraymints]

where is this on and when ?

[DTCwordfan]

last night on the Beeb. I agree that it seems loaded. Unfair about Matthew's hair as that judge has a bit of a bizarre cut - too close to a kiln one day is what it looks like.

[murraymints]

must see if Scotland screens this one...

[lady-janine]

it's not just the hair of the judge that is bizarre. kate looked very tired but has been working hard for her 'open studios' this coming weekend. expect she is exhausted.

[DTCwordfan]

it should be on the Beeb i-player...... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search?q=The+Great+Pottery+Throw+Down

[Baldric]

It's Throw not ThrowN, and it's even more mind-numbingly boring the
Bake Off

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-04-21/what-wed-like-to-see-from-new-bbc2-show-the-great-british-pottery-throw-down

[silliemillie]

Apart from his hair I find it bizarre that he wears a suit, waistcoat and tie for such a messy task.

[Togo]

I am from S.O.T. and remember as a child watching the miners return home from work black with coal dust, and the potters return covered in white slip and chalk dust. Both my grandmothers, my mother and aunts all worked in the pottery factories and all gained a degree of financial independence that was not easily attained during those times. Some of the work was very heavy indeed, some very hazardous to health (flint grinding being one),but some of the work was highly skilled. My paternal grandmother did decorative work by freehand and even used gold in the process. Jim for me comes closest to the concept of what a potter used to be, in that he is both practical and a no nonsense type, whilst being confident without having too much self regard.

[ethandron]

I love the programme. I find it interesting how they all use their imaginations to produce such varying items.
I liked Matthews chandelier the most, the way he'd kind of quilted it, very clever.

[Canary42]

I like the show (contestants and results) but the judges are oh so pretentious.

[New Judge]

I thought I'd seen it all when "Strictly Come Dancing" hit the screens (not that I've ever watched a complete episode - only caught glimpses of it as I turned on for something else). Amateur dancers making fools of themselves with the professionals swallowing their pride for the £££s on offer. All on prime time TV.

Then, just when I thought it could not get any worse along comes "Bake-Off" (pro-celebrity cake baking).

But a pot making competition? PER--LEASE :-)

[Cloverjo]

I agree, New Judge. There was a weaving competition on not too long go, as well. What will they think of next?

[andy-hughes]

Togo - //I am from S.O.T. and remember as a child watching the miners return home from work black with coal dust, and the potters return covered in white slip and chalk dust. Both my grandmothers, my mother and aunts all worked in the pottery factories and all gained a degree of financial independence that was not easily attained during those times. Some of the work was very heavy indeed, some very hazardous to health (flint grinding being one),but some of the work was highly skilled. My paternal grandmother did decorative work by freehand and even used gold in the process. //

I am also from Stoke, and remember that paintresses were highly skilled and sought after, and did indeed earn a decent wage uknown for women outside the industry.

But quite why anyone would think this is an idea for a show, I have no idea.

The death knell is having Sara Cox to present it - what does she know about pottery? They should have brought Anthea Turner in - Potteries born and bred.

Second series? I doubt it!!

Pottery Throw Away more like!!!

[Cloverjo]

Following on from what andy-hughes said, why does Frank Skinner present the landscape painting programme?

[Togo]

Just a thought regarding the china slip ware that was produced last night. The clay that was used in the making of bone china in S.O.T. was mainly transported up from dt's county Cornwall, as was some of the flint which was ground to powder and added to the mix. The huge lay pits can still be seen all over Cornwall and one of the most amazing attractions in Cornwall sits in one of them. The Eden Project. Stoke itself sits on vast deposits of red clay, coal, and ironstone , with lead and salt available from nearby. All of which determined the dominant industries that led to the development of the Potteries, as the area became known, from the early 17th century. An early visitor to the Burslem area complained that the damned potters dug up the roads overnight to make cooking pots and made it a nightmare for his horses and wagons.

[Togo]

//But quite why anyone would think this is an idea for a show, I have no idea. //

a.h. I know what you mean. When it first came I was disparaging about it and did not watch. 'She who must be obeyed' does not watch any of baking, cooking, dancing, painting, gardening or sewing programmes of a similar format, but loves this one. I like to watch it for the glimpses of the 'old' Stoke that it invokes.

[Togo]

Nick Hancock should have been presenting.

[Canary42]

You missed out Splash newjudge ;-)

[Togo]

Aw come on New Judge. We all need a pot to pass in.