Wearable Art in the Blackball Hilton

You just never know what you will find as you travel around.  Here I was, miles away from anywhere, in the famous “Formerly the Blackball Hilton Hotel”?  I’m not really one to frequent pubs, I hasten to add, but this wonderful old historic hotel was at the heart of the Blackball Mine Strike, and the Labour political party started here, quite possibly planned in the very bar we were sitting in.  Hanging in an adjacent room were several garments from a recent wearable art competition.  The garments seem to have been made from recycled materials.

Wearable Art – Blackball style

Pretty in pink

Made from a dress pattern

As I sipped my latte and Robin enjoyed his handle of beer, I looked around at all the memorabilia on the walls.  The Blackball Mine strike lasted for three long months, and was over the right to take a 30 minute lunch break, instead of just 15 minutes which the company insisted on. This brought about the start of Trade Unions, and the birth of the Labour political party, so history was made in this little mining town.   

But what’s this I see hanging on the wall?  It looks rather like a quilt to me.  Closer inspection showed that it was not a quilt as it did not contain any batting, but a very pretty coverlet made from strips of silk and satin.  Although the bar maid could tell me it was made by a local stitcher, she did not know how or why it was hanging in the bar.  Mmmm, a bit of a mystery, but a very pretty item indeed.

Hanging in the bar

(Formerly) The Blackball Hilton Hotel