Dennis Gould at the Wayzgoose at the Trinity Rooms

[ Update on Friday's Blip: Here is The Observer article by the journalist who visited Stroud on Friday ]

We’ve both had a rather slow and lazy start to the day, before Camilla popped round for coffee and cake around midday, althopugh Helena did prepare some granola and peanut flavoured biscuits! It was good to catch up as she has only recently returned from her two month trip to India, where Helena had joined her for a two and a half week holiday in January.

We’d planned to go on to the Wayzgoose at the Trinity Rooms, which is a regularly held traditional gathering of printers, where they discuss, show and sell their wares. We’ve been to several of these gatherings locally in former years, but this was the first at the Trinity Rooms, which is our very local church former church hall now being run as a community hub.

By the time we arrived there it was late lunchtime and we’d rather lost what little energy we had left after a busy week. Helena didn’t stay too long, preferring to walk home to have some lunch. I did circulate and chat to a few of the printers. One of them was Jenny O., who has a business she calls Little Gem Letter Press. After our chat I returned and took a couple of photos, which I’ll send to her. She now lives and works not far from Oxford and today was showing more of her own hand made print work rather than the commercial work she gets commissioned to do. I do find it interesting to share experiences, although my photographic printing is of a very basic kind compared to the delicate work being shown here. I am amazed at the skills and quality of the output they produce where the attention to design, the materials and tools must be meticulous. All power to the printers. I’ve added an ‘Extra’ image of Jenny with some of her print material, as well as a wider view of the hall itself.

But my blip of the day must be a portrait of Dennis Gould, who is an old friend of ours and whom I’ve blipped many times over the years. I caught him as he was packing up his table and was able to give him a hand doing so. Dennis is now 86 years old and is having problems with his sight. He has had to stop having a market stall in The Shambles outdoor market, where he has been a regular for many years, selling his letterpress work as well as his amazing collection of secondhand books, much of which was related to peace and poetry. He is a legend in these parts and I think amongst the printing fraternity, where his commitment to the Peace movement has been unwavering. He was also a notable poet and performer, often at the Glastonbury Festival poetry tent, as well as locally with two friends who performed together as the Riff Riff poets. Helena also performed at some of the same events as Dennis from soon after she first came to live in Stroud in the 1990s.

Some of my Blips of Dennis .....

The Apple spirit

Dennis Gould performing at his 84th birthday party

Dennis Gould at home