The Cottage and Character - Part Three

Do you ever associate cottages with slums?

Have you ever lived in a slum?

Do you think slums have character?

Have you ever visited a slum merely out of curiosity?

Do you ever visit slums to make or raise money from images of poverty?

Do you ever think of character cottages as renovated former hovels?

Do you ever think of character in relation to cottage hospitals?

Have you been sitting in the sitting room here, reflecting on the cultural practices and other characteristics associated with cottages?

The Cottage and Character - Part Two

You may have discovered that a character cottage was once a tied cottage.  It is now more likely to be a holiday cottage or a retirement cottage.

A row of picturesque cottages may have, for centuries, been almshouses.

You may prefer to live in a model village rather than a company town, especially after the company has gone bankrupt and there is widespread unemployment there.

In the 19th centuries, mill towns were developed in Europe and North America.  The residents may or may not have been provided with attractive accommodation.  Most did not work in particularly attractive conditions though it may have been the only option, other than rural starvation.

How do you think about dwellings and other buildings in relation to scenic areas of the world?

What do you know about scenery and the scenic?

Have you often thought of character cottages and their flower-filled gardens as though they are theatrical scenery?

Have you ever booked a holiday cottage, after only looking at a few picturesque images of it, to find that the location is less pleasant than expected upon arrival?

Even a scenic route may be busy, especially on weekends and holidays.  Your idyllic surroundings are likely to be quite unpleasant when noisy, smelly traffic zooms past, not to mention the smell from a nearby pig farm.

The Cottage and Character - Part One

Do you usually associate cottages with quaintness and possibly with holidays?

You may think a character cottage is mainly associated with quaintness though many purported cottages are not particularly quaint at all. 

Have you usually considered a character cottage to be a place of rest and refuge as a weekend retreat or bolthole?

Have you ever considered a character cottage to be a cultural property?

You may associate character cottages with character environments and nearby nature reserves.

Your character is likely to be tested considerably over the next few months, here and elsewhere.

There is much to learn about the cottage and quaintness in relation to its character and your character.

The Cottage and the Mat of Purported Matter

Where do you place matter in relation to your imagination?

Do you ever use place mats or doormats or a mouse mat or a yoga mat or a sticky mat or a sleeping mat or a prayer mat or a tatami mat or a gymnastics mat or a Marston mat or vehicle mat or a baníg or 'ie tōga or sawali or cadjan mat or a passe-partout or any other type of mat?

Do you know much about algal mats and algal blooms?

Do you know many different meanings and purposes of the words mat, matt and matte in various languages?

Have you ever treated anyone as a doormat?

Have you ever used the word mat inappropriately in Russian?

Have you ever had matted hair or braided hair?

Are you aware of the history of matted hair, including in Poland?

Have you ever had dreadlocks?

Does the name Maat mean anything do you?

Does the name Egbere mean anything to you?

Have you ever had a mat of wealth, a flying carpet or a flight of fancy?

How do you prevent yourself from sweeping important matters under a carpet?

Do you usually associate the word "mat" with carpets and/or rugs?

Do you know much about oriental rugs and/or kilim rugs?

Does Matt 6:24 mean anything to you?

How do you usually think about mats in relation to mass, volume, cost and usefulness?

If you are a patron of the production of any sort of mat, why are you such a patron?