November 2009

October was largely taken up with research work and preparation for giving my paper at the DHA (Dyes in History and Archaeology) Conference in Posnan, Poland. It was held at the Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants. They had set up a very interesting exhibition of natural dyes used in Poland, as well as some wonderful historical textiles.

Display of natural dyes at the Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants, Posnan including Safflower, Anatto, Knotgrass, Marigold, Coreopsis, Logwood and more

My paper was titled A Leeds Archive Rediscovered and the Orchil Trail to Ecuador and covered my first 18 months of research into the archive I have been studying.

I have never been to Eastern Europe before and visiting Posnan was my introduction to some extremely unappealing town planning of the communist era.

Maybe it's because I live in a rural area but I found it all deeply depressing, and the grey, misty autumn weather didn't help. I had deliberately stopped looking out of the windows until one morning the taxi took a backroad off the endless dreary carriageways and underpasses lined with identical slabs of apartments, petrol stations and concrete malls. We entered a little lane which felt immediately like the country; there were human-scale plots and allotments with laden fruit trees, rows of vegetables, eccentric sheds and summerhouses.

A later outing to Posnan old town was also more uplifting, as was our study trip to Rogalin and Goluchow: images opposite and below.

Posnan Market Square