Slow to get back to work!

Not really wasting time

I did read somewhere where it said that getting old is not all bad. For one thing, no one can tell you what time to get or go to bed anymore. Secondly, if you wanna stay up and work at your bench until the sun comes up you can. No more customers to stress about, no more bank managers to worry about, no more meetings……you know I am starting to cheer me self up!

You are not wasting time if you are doing something that will improve yourself or improve the lives of others. I have been improving myself by reading which I love. Not all in paper form, there is some good stuff to find to read on the net, hence this article below.

Alice Keppel’s necklace The garnet and seed pearl demi-parure features as lot 496. The necklace is designed as an oval and pear-shape garnet cluster with seed pearl accents, suspended from a snake-link chain. The set is complete with matching ear pendants in a fitted case; this lot is offered with an estimate of £2,500-3,000.

Alice Frederica Edmonstone was born on 29th April 1868, the daughter of Sir William, 4th Baronet Edmonstone and incidentally is Camilla Parker Bowles’ great grandmother. She married her high society husband George Keppel in June 1891 before meeting the Prince of Alice Keppel’s necklaceWales, “Bertie”, seven years later. According to the social mores of the day, it was acceptable for spouses in the upper echelons of society to have affairs; however modern historians such as Victoria Glendinning have slated her as having the “sexual morals of an alley cat”. Nevertheless, Alice and George Keppel remained in a happy marriage and both died within months of one another after 56 years together.

Twenty six years his junior, Alice came to be “a fantastic help to Edward VII, more help than his wife [Queen Alexandra] could have ever have been,” according to biographer Christopher Wilson. She became his close confidante, and one of the few people who could calm the King’s often frightening mood swings until his death in 1901.

The garnet and seed pearl demi-parure was almost certainly worn by the fascinating woman around the late 19th century London social scene, and possibly in the presence of King Edward VII.

This article is from the Antique and Collectors Magazine  and is copyrighted to them.

Thinking Back.

I well remember at the regular weekly Management meetings one of the subjects that came up was to discuss HRM issues. And we would go through the different area managers roles and the staff that reported to them, and one of the questions that someone would nearly always bring up, especially – but not necessarily – for a new appointment was, “Is he/she the right man for the job?”  This got me thinking about all the Psychometric  Tests, and the group activities in the classroom to find out who would be best at what within a specific team. These activities were more often than not ran by myself as Head of The Training Division.  One of the Training Analysis activities we ran, was to identify where you would fit into a particular group. Because we are not all the same doesn’t mean that we don’t have our place in a group. We don’t all have to be great achievers. There is a place for most people within the group. We need Ideas people, we need Doers, Finishers, Closers, Activists, Completer’s etc. I was always an ideas and ‘shoot from the hip’ person – not always a great leader but still an essential part of a team – I could always be relied upon to come up with an idea, but don’t ask me to implement it! Which (finally  😦 sorry) brings me to the point I wanted to make about a forthcoming Training course I will be embarking upon where one is tested on the quality of one’s work. And not just any work but specific ‘fine and intricate’ work. This requires the mind of an Engineer who is ambitious  to Design and with the creative heart of an Artiste, and not a shoot-from-the-hipster like me!

However, one thing I have learned since commencing my Jeweller Making & Silversmith learning is that you have to be a ‘Dot-the-I -and-cross-the-T’ type of person, and NOT a shoot-from-the-hip chappie! This is the one thing that I have realised that I need to change in ‘My Type’. I need to NOT be impatient but still be hungry. I’m pleased to say that with the help of some of the many new friends I have made recently they are making my learning experience very pleasant, and I can clearly see a path to follow, for my part let’s pray that it continues.

So a big thank you to Andrew Berry and a very clever American Jeweller Ginger Meek-Allen.

Peace & Love Guys x