Blessings

 

I will be lighting a very special candle this evening, Fen Bride, made by the lovely Imogen Ashwin. You can find her musings at Braken & Wrack. Her posts are naturally magical.

Bright blessings to all of my wonderful blogging chums, I hope you all have a special All Hallows Eve.

A Little More From Marie A.

 A few more titbits from the V&A exhibition. Towards the end of the displays are some of the 'modern' interpretations of early French court fashions that have appeared in various films over the years. Some especially frothy and candy coloured from the 2007 Marie Antoinette film starring Kirsten Dunst, directed by Sofia Coppola.

This jewellery casket however is the real deal. A wedding gift to Marie Antoinette when she first arrived in France in 1770. This of course set a trend for small jewellery chests decorated with Sevres floral porcelain plaques, she was nothing if not a major trend setter. Jewels in the top compartment and a delicious drawer beneath that extends into a green velvet writing surface that can be used as a desk.

The exhibition closes 22nd March 2026.

Ooh La La Marie Antoinette at The V&A

 

The V&A 'Marie Antoinette Style' exhibition is literally mouth watering. I went along with my chum Vanessa and we walked around the sumptuous rooms grinning from ear to ear. It is such a confection and a delight in this time of weariness and worldly turmoil. 

I know she came to an awful sticky end and the exhibition doesn't shy away from that, but that fact doesn't determine the whole experience. 

This very clever picture above, which greets you as you enter the first room, was actually a moving image of her smiling and looking around, I did film it for you but my naughty computer will not load the film. Quite a lot of people entering the exhibition didn't even notice this clever portrait of her. I loved it.

But not as much as this chair.

I suspect most of my blogging chums know I have 'a thing' about the 18th century and the costumes from that era charm me and maybe even make me a bit giddy, how could they not?

The small fluffy white circles on this extraordinary dress panel are swan's down.

The delicate black ribboned collar was worn by Marie Antoinette as were the dazzling diamonds shown above. I have subsequently watched a short V&A film about these diamonds . They appear to be the catalyst for the downfall of Louis XV1 and Marie Antoinette.

I'll post another day with some more images from the exhibition, but I'll leave you now with a picture of a chair I spotted today in a local charity shop. Sadly already sold.

I'm Still Here

I have been absent of late in Blog World. My New(ish) PC had to go off to hospital for repair. It is back with me now and I have quite a few posts to get on with, which I hope you will enjoy. 

I'm also busily catching up with house and gardening duties, as I have been venturing forth and we have two house viewings next week, so needs must.

I'll get my blog head on in the next few days, but I will leave you with a picture of a most delightful teenager who I shared a bed with recently, ha ha. 

His name is Stanley, he is 18 years and I think he has the look of Leslie Phillips.

Ding dong.

Dame Patricia Routledge One of My Favourites Has Passed

 

I adore(d) Patricia Routledge, such a unique acting style and character. I've loved her in everything I've ever seen her in. She had reached a grand old age, 96, would that we all live as long with grace, vigour and enormous amounts of humour.

She once spoke of her future demise and said "I'd like to hear a champagne cork popping, an orchestra tuning up and the sound of my mother laughing".

She was I think at her funniest as 'Kitty' on the Victoria Wood show, back in the day. Her delivery of Victoria Wood's script still makes me laugh out loud whenever I watch it.

The London and UK theatres plan to dim the theatre lights for two minutes on October 7th at 7pm, as a mark of respect and love for her. Very fitting.

Making Money S-T-R-E-T-C-H

 Hello chums. The weather is on the turn or has it turned already? Anyhoo Samhain will be upon us before we know it.

With this colour palette in mind I 'purchased' some seasonal nail varnishes. I like having my nails done at the salon best, because they last for weeks and dry immediately after they are done,  but they are expensive and after a while make my nails very peculiar indeed.

This brand had a three for two offer so all three were valued at just under £8.00. I had around £8.00 worth of beauty points on my Boots the chemist loyalty card, so they cost me nowt!

I find that if I purchase my regular No7 lotions and potions on-line when there are amazing deals on, I always get one pot of cream free and they entice me with extra points, which equate to money back.

By looking on-line a bit before I actually run out, I can normally wait a bit for a really good offer.

Thrifty savings warm the cockles of my heart. For the rest of me the heating has to go on. Keep warm my friends.

Jane Austen & Enchanting Well Dressing

 

The Mr and I took ourselves off to a local village a few weeks ago to take a look at their well dressing offerings. Well dressings have a history deeply rooted in the tradition of honouring water sources and their natural world. Originally a pagan ritual and in my opinion it still is a pagan offering to the water gods. Large scale pictures entirely made of nature's bounty, what's not to like? 

I think the Jane Austen  well dressing is the best I have ever seen, absolutely wonderful in it's detail.

These particular dressings were in the village of Eyam, which is known nationally as a plague village. It is a well known story of the villagers cutting themselves off from contact with other folk during the worst of the bubonic plague, to halt the spread of the terrible disease. Very noble people. The village is considered almost as a 'museum' village with lots of interesting stories about the individuals who lived there at the time. It's no wonder they keep the well dressing tradition going.

Blessings On The Autumn Equinox

 

Wendy Andrews. Find her at paintingdreams.co.uk

Blessings to you all my lovely blogging chums. Tis the Autumn Equinox and I don't know about you but I'm still madly harvesting and drying all manner of plants and fruits. It has been an abundant time has it not? And oh my the log burner has been on. I love the log burner it most definitely stirs something in me.

Strangely though today I feel a bit discombobulated and I wonder if it is the Equinox effect? Tomorrow will bring the answer.

Bathing In The Past

 

1928-1930 Walter Hege

Look at this wonderful image, a close up of one of the Caryatids on the Acropolis from behind, as she gazes over Athens. 

I have been to Athens twice. The first time when I was a mere babe of 18 years. And oh my what a strange and wondrous place to my fresh eyes. The look of it, the 'strange' and enchanting language, the feel of the ancient history and it's intoxicating mystery. The people, the food, the culture, you can tell I could go on and on.

Seeing this image made me sad in a way, to think such times can never be captured again. At the time I went folk were able to walk across and sit on the Acropolis site, totally immersed, really feeling the sense of  place. I hear you saying, not such a good idea and I reluctantly agree. 

All around the base of the site were lots of small family run Tavernas selling really delicious home made Greek food. You could sit in the warmth of the evening looking up at the magnificent ruins which were lit up at night. Totally enchanting. Almost other worldly.

A few years later I went to a small Greek island, via Piraeus, it felt like a huge adventure into the unknown. I stayed in a makeshift hotel room, ate breakfast down by the water's edge cooked by one of the fisherman and lunched at the only Taverna on the length of the beach. I googled the self same beach and it is now covered every which way by large hotels. Brash and ugly.

I do know time has moved on. With all the millions of people in the world it is inevitable. BUT I just want to say I don't like it !

I find myself increasingly looking back to different times, different values and more unique and real experiences. Where making huge amounts of money was not always the MOST important thing. I suppose it's an age thing?

I think that's why I'm a teeny bit obsessed with The Beatles at the moment. Especially George Harrison, this dear reader you know. 

In a strange way I miss them. Well who they were back in the day at any rate.

 Yes they made huge amounts of money but mostly they lived their lives true to themselves. When images of George Harrison pop up on my feed, he is always modestly dressed, (especially when he was gardening). And he spoke his truth, regardless of what pressure he was under. 

I think I've started to ramble now, but you get the gist of what I'm saying. 

I'm bathing in the past not wallowing.

Sad Times

 Well good morning dearest hearts. It has been a difficult few months for the Mr and I. I don't want to go into too much detail but suffice it to say both of my lovely parent in-laws have passed away within four weeks of each other. As they would have wanted it, neither could have born to be without the other. 

I wondered whether it was appropriate to mention this on my little blog but in the end it is such a great thing I feel it needed to be said. It is a big event in our lives and surely the blog world should have some realism in it, after all not everything in our lives is joyous. Having said that we will of course be celebrating their long and happy lives, married for nearly 60years, in a now joint funeral.

We are on the cusp of Autumn now, already the leaves are golden and some are falling from our trees. I have been busy harvesting as much as I can. And  Morgana has been making the most of her catnip plant.

I have collected huge amounts of lavender all of which will be put to good use. Also a new season chamomile harvest for tisanes which for the first time I'm mixing with marigold petals. It makes for a nice soft gentle tea which has huge health benefits. Thankfully our Autumn fruiting raspberries are producing well, after last year when we barely had any fruit.

Looking after the garden and picking fruits and flowers in the sunshine has been so uplifting in the last few weeks.

Freegle & Freecycle What An Amazing Concept.

 Most of my lovely blogging chums know me for the thrifty gal I am. I would hazard a guess and say all of the folk who enjoy my blog do their best by the planet and the amazing animals we share it with. I try not to over consume and I do my utmost not to waste things. When I buy things I really try to look after them so they don't need replacing and money is not wasted. Just recently my little hand whisk finally gave up the ghost. I purchased it in August 1977 in Bognor. I replaced it with a 'new' one from a local charity shop for 50p.

The reason for this preamble is that I want to highlight local Freecycle and Freegle on line sites that enable people to give things away or to receive them in their local area.

I know some of you will be thinking, what's this a newsflash? But I've become increasingly aware not everyone has heard of these fabulous eco friendly money saving sites.

Free to join, easy to use and feature almost everything under the sun. The idea is to reduce waste  and stop good usable items from ending up in landfill. Used locally it also means that costs to collect items are kept to a minimum.

I firmly believe that if the whole world stopped manufacturing 'stuff' we wouldn't run out of most things for years.

I know some people don't like the idea of using preloved/second hand items, but really don't you know Buckingham Palace is full of antiques and valuables that have been handed down for generations. And don't we all eat off pre used plates and use cutlery that has been used over and over again? even were we to dine at  The Ritz.

I've recently asked for a bain marie and old wooden candlesticks as I have some home steading projects in mind. 

Over the years I have donated huge amounts of items, from a massive Laura Ashley Knole sofa to a box of nail varnishes. Recently I even gave away some rather unattractive small succulent plants. A very nice man who was a member of a succulent society took them for new members of the society. Win Win.

These on line sites are such a valuable resource. If you haven't used these sites before, rather than just 'throwing' things away do try them and see if anyone can make use of things you no longer need. Let's spread the love. 

Tove & Her Moomins

 

Tove Jansson With Her Creations

August 9th was Moomin day, and this year marks the 20th anniversary of the celebration, which unsurprisingly started in Japan.

I love everything about the Moomins and the wonderful Tove Jansson. She was such a free spirit and so talented, what a delightful imagination she had.

May I extend a very warm welcome to my latest follower Jules. Thank you very much for pressing the Follow Button.

Another World

 I happened upon this little black and white film made by the enfant terrible Ken Russell in the 1960s. It is strangely compelling and reminds me of all the unusual characters that abounded in London. Post war folk striving to be something else to lift their lives from the hum drum. 

If you have time grab a cuppa and prepare to be enchanted.

"The past is a foreign country they do things differently there". L.P. Hartley, The Go-Between.

Corruption !!

 Hello lovely blogging chums. I'm back. Apparently my last post was corrupt, who knew? Well a very nice gentleman in the blogger community did and hurrah he told me how to fix it. I felt that was very kind of him.

Lots has happened since we last 'spoke' some of it not so good but I don't want to post about that just now, possibly later. I think some cheery things are in order instead don't you?

I have finished my rustic fair isle tank top, rustic because it is not perfect, but spot on for country pursuits, a homespun hand made look, rather than galmorous.

This is the blocking process to straighten out any lumps, bumps and curly bits, it works very well. I have knitted the back in the main, navy but with a coral top. The plain knitting has made the back slightly bigger but it was expected and I think I have got away with it. I will post a pic when I wear it and you can decide for yourselves. I have already started on my next much smaller project. A 'lace' patterned knitted scarf, it's to be a gift for a friend. Each row is different and complicated so I really do have to concentrate, it's not terribly wide so I'm enjoying it.

I went to a little local Antiques fair last weekend and despite my best thrifty intentions I made three essential purchases, all adorable I think you will agree.

Monseiur Pompadour

Child's Antique Nightdress

Burmese Laughing Buddha Circa 1870

I also came across a wondrous Pashley three wheeler, I feel it will be a wondrous form of daily transport to the local shops etc once we move. This one was refurbed and was very economical.

You can get large baskets in trailer form to attach to the back. So useful. If only I could get Morgana to travel with me. 

Problems At T'Mill

Hello lovely blogging chums. Apologies for the lack of posts, I'm having lots of problems with Blogger. I hope normal service will resume soon. Otherwise I may have to shut the blog down and try and create something new?

Lavender Wands & Lusciousness

The harvesting has been continuing at a nice gentle pace. Yesterday I cut some fresh lavender stems from my top terrace, they are longer and more slender than the other lavender stems I'm air drying. I used the fresh stems to make some lavender wands. The stems have to be dry and freshly cut so they are malleable and can be bent into the required shape to create the little cage that surrounds the buds. It's the first time I've made them. I used 17 stems per wand and I used up 4 metres of fine ribbon for three wands. It took about an hour to make all three. I'm super pleased with them and will make some more in the next few days. They were a bit fiddly but easy to make.

This lush roasted nectarine salad with home made pesto is a first for me too. I saw it being prepared on Nicolas Fairford's YouTube channel, he's a real sweetie and loves everything "elegant & cool" and has created a high end lifestyle for himself. Here is his recipe if you would like to make it yourself.

Ingredients:

2 x peaches or nectarines, bunch fresh basil, 2 scant handfuls pistachio nuts, 30gms parmesan cheese, fresh rocket, burrata or mozzarella, lemon juice, large garlic clove, olive oil, salt & pepper.

Preparation:

Wash nectarines, slice into 6 to 8 pieces, place in roasting tin skin side down, with some olive oil, roast for approx 15 mins at 180c. Make Pesto 3 tbsps olive oil, 2 pinches of salt, half a bunch of fresh basil, juice of half a lemon, 2 scant handfuls pistachio nuts, 30gms of parmesan, large garlic clove and splash of water to create the right consistency. Blitz all the pesto ingredients together in a small blender, until it resembles a creamy yoghurt.

Plate Up

Fresh rocket, warm nectarines, Burrata, basil leaves, few pistachios, lots of lovely dressing and S&P.

My next 'first' will be lavender biscuits, I'll let you know how that turns out