I Don't Like This Feeling

My dear readers you know me for the upbeat, pocketfull of joy gal that I am. But yes, even I can feel out of sorts and dare I say it a bit down in the dumps. As you know the Mr and I have been keen to move to Norfolk for some time. The universe has conspired against us. I'm feeling thwarted and I don't much care for it.

I'm reading a DH Lawrence compilation at the moment and this quote from The Captain's Doll struck a chord with me.

"The future! The future! The future is used up everyday. The future to me is like a big tangle of black thread. Every morning you begin to untangle one loose end-and that's your day. And every evening you break off and throw away what you've untangled and the heap is so much less: just one thread less, one day less. That's all the future matters to me".

Apologies for the glumness, it will pass.

On a happy note I'm pleased to welcome another follower who has kindly pressed the follow button. Welcome Celine.

Summer Solstice Celebrations

I hope you all had a fun Summer Solstice and celebrated in your own way. The Mr and I were invited to a party in an orchard, not just any old orchard but the one my dear friend who passed away in 2020 used to own. The orchard stands in front of the 17th century little cottage she used to live in. It was a special evening. I took some food along made from one of her recipes I have. It felt like she would have approved. There were lots of folk, children and dogs and everyone was very chatty and happy. A great evening. I made myself a floral headdress which was much admired. I did wonder if it might have been a bit over the top but no it was a success.

After such a joyful day yesterday I got myself in gear today to attend to some chores and something happened rarer than a strawberry moon..................... I cleaned the inside of all my windows, oh how they sparkle. It doesn't happen very often my dears.

My Homespun Life This Week

Last week was a bit of a whirlwind, my son and his girlfriend came to stay at the beginning of the week. Then the Mr and I went down to London to see a visiting cousin over from New Zealand, then on Friday an old chum came to stay for the weekend with her partner. I'll post about our London adventures in my next post. So this week I've tried to slow down a bit, catch up at home and focus on some quieter activities.

I decided to finally make use of the lavender I harvested towards the end of last Summer and made some lavender bags to keep the pesky moth at bay. I removed the buds for the little fabric sachets and put the very dry stems in our kindling basket, waste not want not, I think they will smell very sweet when burned. (Not any time soon though methinks). Blimey it's hot isn't it?

A few overripe bananas were begging to be made into a banana bread. I use a very simple recipe that I found on the back of the M&S banana bags.

The Mr can literally hoover this bread up, so although I make it with minimum sugar levels, I don't make it all the time as we are both mindful of our sugar intake. It is absolutely delicious with coffee or tea, very dangerous.

A very warm welcome to my latest follower Annabelle, thank you very much for pushing the follow button. The views on my blog are rising extremely well of late, I've already reached last month's total. Could I please encourage all you lovely folk who view and enjoy my blog content to follow me. It encourages me to post more. I know it's only a small blog but I enjoy posting and interacting with this special community.

Mary Webb My (Re) Discovery

Hello my blogging friends, apologies for the fuzzy image start to this post but I'm paying the price for not taking real time images when I should have. This post is about my wonderful discovery whilst staying at Leighton Lodge on the gilding course last month. On arrival I noticed a blue plaque on the wall commemorating the birthplace of Mary Webb. In my mind I thought I had never heard of her, but once in my room I discovered some books about her and I was reminded that I had read one of her amazing novels, Precious Bane. This review from The Virago Press: '

Prudence Sarn was born with a cleft palate, her ‘precious bane’, for which she is persecuted as a witch by her superstitious neighbours. Hiding from daily ridicule, she takes refuge in the wild Shropshire countryside, developing a profound love of nature. Furtively, Prue longs to be loved and harbours a hopeless passion for Kester Woodseaves, the weaver. Prue’s brother, Gideon, is engaged to her only friend, but in his ambition for wealth at any cost, he incurs the wrath of his would-be father-in-law whose act of vengeance results in Prue being accused of murder. Only Kester, who has perceived her true worth, can defend her from the wrath of her accusers. Winner of the 1926 Prix Femina Vie Heureuse Prize, Precious Bane is a novel that enchants with its beauty and its timeless truths'

. Often compared to Emily Bronte and Thomas Hardy, Mary's writing is an intricate tapestry of words, featuring folklore, legends and local customs. Describing her deep relationship with all nature but Shropshire in particular. Nature was her life, her passion, it was part of her and she it. (She is quoted as saying how fortunate she was in being born and brought up in Shropshire's magical atmosphere). Sadly she didn't receive the acclaim she was due in her lifetime, and often struggled to make ends meet. Her health too was an ongoing issue for her as she developed Graves Disease, a thyroid disorder when she was in her early twenties. This condition worsened throughout her short life. It was Stanley Baldwin who championed her body of work posthumously, at a speech at The Royal Literary Fund Dinner April 1928, establishing her name and bringing her work the recognition and success it deserved.

I have just purchased a collection of her work through the online Oxfam site and very pleased I am too.

I implore you to seek her out she will not disappoint. I would also recommend the Gladys Mary Coles book on Mary Webb to wet your appetite and to give you an understanding of the woman behind the magic. "Let fall your golden showers, laburnum tree! Break the grey casket of your buds for me- Soon I shall go where never gold is seen, And who will be with you as I have been?

A Gilding Course & A Discovery

I have been on my travels again, this time to Shropshire to attend a Gilding Course. I have ambitions you see to 'gild up' my new home, once we actually sell our current property and get moving that is. The course was part of the many varied offerings at Leighton Lodge, under the auspices of father and daughter Roger and Katie. Together they run a much acclaimed school of decorative arts called Master The Art. (Unfortunately, dear reader you know my naughty blogging system won't allow me to create a link to them, grrrrr). My old friend George stepped in at the last minute to enjoy the course with me as my son couldn't make it as planned. This is me on the left of the picture, looking very professional in my 'artisan' dungarees, ha ha.

I have to admit that I didn't quite master the art of water guilding, but am very happy with my abilities to oil guild. Please note and admire my gilded walnut, yes they will be in abundance come Christmas.

This is an early photo of Roger in his Colefax and Fowler days looking every inch the debonair man about town. At 86 years he is still full of the joys of life, fuelled by copious amounts of nicotine and STRONG coffee. He was funny and very patient, a Master Guilder, and we couldn't have hoped for a more skilled and sweet teacher. George and I stayed in the flat at the top of Leighton Lodge and it was sooooo comfortable. Muddy the boisterous and vocal pooch kept us safe throughout.

This piece of thrifted furniture is first on my hit list for gilding and beautifying.

I best tell you all about my discovery in the next instalment for fear of you all falling asleep.

Beltane 3 Story Crow

This last litte titbit features a talented duo, Tamsin and Oliver, otherwise known as Story Crow, who delighted us all at the festival, with tales of witches and magical folk.

The little film I made at the time unfortunately won't load but this clip from Youtube features the same story they told to us. I hope you get the flavour.

Beltane Celebrations Part 2

Some views around the country hill top house where the Beltane celebrations took place. And a couple of pictures of just one of the organic tree root sculptures that were dotted around the grounds. All were different and represented different things. They all had crystals embedded in them, this one represented the Cauldron/Tree Of Life.

We had one excursion during my few days in Italy and that was to a local medieval church that had contained a secret Templar church. We took our divination pendulums in an effort to pinpoint any areas of the church that had significant energy surges. I didn't do very well only finding one area around this amazing altar to The Virgin Mary.

I do love old Italian churches and this one didn't let me down, it was very faded and oh so beautiful. The guide said that during the war years Hitler sent an emissary to try to find the secret Templar library and to discover the secret and sacred symbols used by the Knights to power up their energies and crusades. Mussolini also came for the same reasons. The locals though had already removed the powerful library to a safe place and also covered up the areas that displayed the magical symbols. The library is now held in the secret library at The Vatican and the covered symbols have never since been revealed.

And Now For Something Completely Different............

My crush on George Harrison or as I like to call him my Guru, continues. What a powerful performance for the Prince's Trust Rock Gala 1987. I'm in awe.

Incidentally when I arrived in Italy last Thursday I was collected at the airport by Nico a young student and his Grandfather Sergio. Sergio could speak no English but amongst other things he wanted to talk 'Beatles'with me, so Nico translated. Sergio's introduction to rock and roll and the Beatles came when some friends in England sent some early records over to his very rural part of Italy. At the time it felt revolutionary and he still seemed to be feeling the excitement. Me too. Hello Judith my latest follower, a very warm welcome to my blog, many thanks for joining us here.

Beltane Celebrations Part 1

You won't often see pictures of yours truly on social media, but this is me in a very happy place, on the Henge where our Beltane celebrations took place. Just behind me you can probably make out the huge beautifully adorned Maypole. I was in Italy for three days of celebrations and shared the experiences with the most amazing and interesting folk. They came from Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, UK and Ireland and of course many local people came along to take part. The gathering was authentically inclusive, very spiritual and yes, transformative. No filming or photos were taken around the ceremonies. But I did take some pics of the old house we stayed in which was very comfortable but spooky and for some reason there were one or two spirits that weren't happy at us being there and made themselves very present in my room on the last night. But I told them to leave and they did. Amongst my pics are a couple of portraits of previous inhabitants, so maybe it was them, after all I'm not family eh? There is some light reflection on their photos but I hope you can still see them clearly.

I'll leave you with a pic of the Maypole after our dancing had woven the ribbons around the pole. I think there were about 40 people of all ages holding the ribbon ends and dancing around the pole. I'll post a little more about my trip soon.

And oh my days, yet another new follower. I can't tell you how much it pleases me to connect with you all. A very warm welcome and thanks to Bridget who has pressed the follow button.

Beltane Celebrations

Well my lovely chums Summer must be upon us, as I have waxed my legs (with bargain wax strips from Poundland, 99% natural ingredients and cost of £1.12 to do both legs). I have also given myself a pedicure and tinted my eyebrows and eyelashes. Actually the Mr very kindly does my eyelashes for me, he's super nice like that. If I had visited a salon for these treatments I'm guessing I would have paid around £100. So I'm feeling very pleased with myself. Who said smug?

The reason for all of this body maintenance is of course the change in weather in Blighty but also because tomorrow I'm away to Italy for a very exciting event.

It has been organised by a wonderful woman I met last year at a retreat. Each day has planned events, workshops and all sorts of exciting activities. I'm hoping meeting all these very special folk will be spiritually transformative, there is always room for personal growth, no? There is a Floral Beltane ceremony on Saturday and I'm feeling very honoured to be selected as the second flower girl in the procession. We will be making floral headdresses on the day before. I'm hoping I might be able to dry my headdress and bring it home as a keepsake. I'll do my best to capture some images for a blog post when I return. In other news I have managed to get my head around the vintage Fair Isle pattern and I'm enjoying the process. I'm toying with the idea of knitting the back in plain navy, which would then mean I could make another one to gift or sell.

I'm super pleased to extend another warm welcome for another new follower, welcome Vivian, many thanks for pressing the follow button.

Happy Birthday Jane

(Image by Trina Dalziel for Simple Things magazine). When I first stumbled upon Jane Austen I was at secondary school and her second novel Pride & Prejudice was part of my English Literature O level syllabus. Thinking back I don't believe I had any concept of how such a book or any book, could reveal and share with me the social history of another time. I did enjoy it in a superficial way, but now of course it is a sheer delight to read. I was extremely lucky to go to a school that introduced me to the arts in all of it's forms. I saw a young Vanessa Redgrave performing Shakespeare at a small modern theatre in London, I went to see an Opera at The Royal Opera house, and as our school was close to Hurlingham tennis club, I also saw Billy Jean King amongst other world class tennis players. The school was also quite close to the Kings Road and Fulham Road with it's wonderful shops, galleries and green spaces. I was a very lucky girl indeed. But I digress......back to Miss Austen. The BBC recent drama starring Keeley Hawes was a fascinating semi-fictional account of Jane's relationship with her sister Cassandra. If you are an Austen fan I urge you to watch it, I found it quite remarkable and tremendously entertaining.

During this year which is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, there are to be many many events, probably world wide. I have a yen to visit her last home , Chawton in Hampshire. It is now a museum and how fascinating it looks. Jane wrote, revised and published all of her six novels whilst living there.

But perhaps it may be a little busy to explore this year? I would like to extend another very warm welcome to a new follower who has kindly pressed the follow button, Peggy Poole.