In reference to my previous post dated 23/12/12 - the latter portion was generously sponsored by  'Specsavers' - how well did you do?........................
I will retype - my skills around blogging are limited at the moment - soon they will be rattling off the press like a well oiled machine - nothing like a mixed metaphor.

In this age of nora virus, MRSA and Closteridium Difficile, why aren't all hospital wards, corridors, lavatories and theatres clad in these hygienic sterile plasters? I have seen wards full of patients ravaged by these bacteria.
We have known for centuries the benefits of lime but we have abandoned it in preference for the short term cheapness of gypsum plaster.

• Lime mortar is easy to remove from bricks and blocks allowing the reuse of the bricks.
• Lime is biodegradable.
• Lime is burnt at a lower temperature  making lime production not only more environmentally friendly but also more economic as well.
• Lime is recyclable
• Lime allows the building to "breathe". Water can escape by evaporation, unlike cement where the only way the water can escape is by being absorbed into the bricks and therefore, risking damp and erosion of the building substrate.
• Lime is soft and flexible. It allows the building to move without cracking and letting water in. It has been termed "self-healing" because of this ability.

Northern Europe, although we plundered the world, seems only to have celebrated the tradition of Scagliola. I'm assuming what held us back was a lack of marble ( home-grown). I'm guessing that in an environment where you have a abundance of marble - you can afford to be experimental and irreverent with it - slap the chaff in with a little plaster and see what happens - whereas we pursued the painted marble surface - I'm also assuming our weather had a bearing. Lime has a pernicious habit of misbehaving when the temperatures are extreme. 

If the Egyptians were using a version to polish the interior corridors of the pyramids, the Aztecs were using a variety to adorn their palaces and temples - as were the Southern Indian, the Mediterranean dynasties both European and North African - what was the missing element for Northern Europe which is not the case now.

Has wealth, freight, central heating, down lights and our obsession with interior design through mags and TV - meant that these sleek finishes are now viewed as desirable, practical and suitable in our once gloomy and damp interiors? And in a world where we need to start considering the environmental impact of our constructions - have not these noble ancient finishes stepped back into the 'limelight' at the most auspicious of times.

China, like Britain, has an abundance of limestone, they produce a dull grey lime based plaster that you cannot burnish, they have little marble deposit. Across a small stretch of water, Japan has a wealth of lime based plaster finishes that have been perfected over the last 1500yrs ( these are tried and tested materials) - and they have plenty of marble quarries. Eggshell, limestone and marble are all forms of calcium carbonate - what denotes the final result - is the degree of pressure and heat applied at the point of creation.

Which brings me around to the cycle of lime.....it has enabled Japan's craftsmen to create a plethora of styles - utso and shikkui being the most common. These plasters are fully recyclable and totally lacking any artificial additive.

They are made from slaked lime, seaweed extract for plasticity, jute fibre for strength and flexibility, marble flour for form and the plasterers ability to burnish surface and the most remarkable ingredient of all, diatomaceous earth. Due to Japan's unique geology - the deposits of diatomite are unique too. I will write more about all of these later. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy my future writings. M

ps we have a short film on you-tube  :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAo3cEFFY4g