Tour de Safed

Helen has retreated to the desert with her friend Rena to continue her 6-week-long birthday celebration [it's to do with the Jewish leap year,she tells me.]Unloaded the last bisc in the current round,sorted the studio out in readiness for the film crew,who arrived precisely at 12 and were gone by 2,as promised,after a packed two hours throwing,loading,firing and unloading raku-style from a red-hot kiln.Everything went smoothly,although throwing on camera is slightly unnerving,even after all these years...After a brief recuperation,walked Jerry and Adi around our holy town-I worked in Adi's studio for a year or so after deciding to stay in Israel in 1977 and not continue my travels to Japan:Jerry,Adi's husband,is writing a piece on Safed for travel organisers.Our tour included Avraham Lowental,Yaacov Kasczemacher,David Eli's healthfood store,David Friedman,the candle factory,Kadosh cheese,the row of galleries opposite the General Exhibition,Ronni Yeshurun's zimmer and my studio.C'naan weavers were closed,as was HaMeiri [more cheese].Did we miss anyone?It makes an interesting hour's walk.Eliav is in Kiryat Shmona getting an i.d.card and driving-test forms.Gilad is back in the army Benjamin is in Santa Cruz,starting selling Dead Sea products in a mall.Helen-see above.The house is unusually quiet for an evening,and I'm off soon for this week's gripping instalment of Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer with Israel Smith,a shiur that we have kept going for over ten years.Had a long talk with Meir this morning about the forthcoming anagama firing.He has been unexpectedly rebuilding the roof of his kiln,and is still contemplating doing the same to the chimney,some 10m. tall.12 potters are taking part in the extravaganza-I hope they are looking forward to it as much as I am.The teapots [above,bisced]were the last pieces I made,at Meir's suggestion ("you only ever make vases for the anagama" he complained)-part mid-eastern tea/coffee pot,part taken from my new lever espresso machine,part hommage to Wally Keeler,part hommage to Meir Mohiban [and his kiln].