I discovered that Helen Ede was bedridden most of the time
she lived at Kettle’s Yard so this may explain why she didn’t really want to
come out of her room when visitors came to the house. She had cancer (I don’t
know of what) and a heart condition. Jim lived to a fantastic old age but Helen
died in Edinburgh just two years after they left Kettle’s Yard. Jim had a weak
stomach caused by imbibing nerve gas in the first world war. Vegetarian, they
ate very frugally, mostly pureed vegetables. I have heard that Helen was a
fantastic cook and another recollection is of a huge piece of beef being put
directly on the dining room table, presumably for guests.
I looked at Helen’s bedroom, Helen’s books, her view onto
the churchyard, which Jim maintained and the books in the library. The books
reflected Jim’s love of Alfred Wallis, with a large collection of titles such
as: English Popular Traditional Art, British Craftsmen, British Botanists,
British Handicrafts, reminding me of the beautiful book I have just taken out
of my local library The Unsophisticated Arts by Barbara Jones.
I really want to create something that brings nature into
Helen’s bedroom as that was one of her passions and something she couldn’t
indulge in as much as maybe she would have liked. The sound of sirens and the
sight of taxis and the flow of traffic is still perceptible in the otherwise
calm and tranquil Kettle’s Yard and more than one account suggests that Helen
would have preferred to have lived in the country.
Photograph in one of Jim's books
Selection of Jim's books
Some of the house plants that spill over shelves laden with pebbles, shells, glass baubles and rocks.
A page in one of Jim & Helen's books
Jim's bed
Helen's bed
A photo in one of Jim's books
Helen's bedside table
The library at Kettle's Yard
Page from one of Jim's books
Chair in Helen's bedroom
Page from one of Jim's books
View from Helen's window
Pages from Jim's books
Helen's bathroom
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