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Monthly Archives: November 2012

Autumn Tidy, Blue Sky and Truro, City of Lights

1   A truly beautiful and warm Autumn day today and we spent most of it in the garden doing a general tidy up.

2   The bluest sky all day…

A Cornish blue sky

3   Tonight it was the annual City Of Lights parade in Truro. Every school, college and many businesses make paper lanterns from the simple ones that the children make to the most elaborate and enormous effigies. The theme was royalty and there were crowns and kings and queens galore. It is a delightful affair. and thousands turn out to watch the parade which also has bands, drummers and dancers.

Greetings from Truro

Lanterns from Bosvigo School, the primary school I went to as a child

Crown lanterns

One of the biggest lanterns

 

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The Tregellas Tapestries, Colour and A Good Friend

1   The Cornish Studies Library in Redruth houses the The Tregellas Tapestries which show the story of Cornwall from prehistory to modern day, in many beautiful tapestries. These are just two of them. There are 56 more of them and I love going to see them as we did this morning. I wish I could have been part of the project!

Tregellas tapestry

Another of the tapestries

“Known as Redruth’s hidden treasure, the Tregellas Tapestries are a collection of panels of artwork depicting the story of Cornwall in a unique modern tapestry. The word tapestry perhaps doesn’t quite convey how extensive the piece of art is: in short it is a breathtaking work of embroidery, created with appliqué, collage, paint, wool, silks, metal, cork and wood under the direction of Cornish Bard Rita Tregellas Pope, and two designers Joanne Tucker and Anne Corey. The tapestry was created to advance knowledge of Cornwall’s cultural heritage and showcase Cornish history, pre-history, legends industries and activities. The work took three years to complete and has been on display since 2001.”

2   There is still colour in the garden, lots of Kashmir Lilies and just a few nasturtiums and a couple of dahlias.

Kashmir Lilies

Nasturtium

Dahlia

3   A very good friend dropped in this afternoon and we spent a happy hour catching up on each other’s news – lovely!

 

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Water Droplets, Wet Leaves and Singing

1   Walking back from town this afternoon, this wet grass caught my eye. I love how the droplets just cling on to the ends of the grass and catch the light.

Water droplets on grass

2   The fallen leaves were glossy with the earlier rain and glowed in the evening sunlight.

Golden leaves

3   Singing with Claire and The Inglehearts tonight was brilliant!  We are rehearsing our Christmas repertoire for Christmas gigs and for our first CD which we are recording soon.  There are some very beautiful arrangements where we sound like peals of bells.

 

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Present of a Rainbow, Graffiti Grannys, Poem for Remembrance Day and Windy Walk

1   A beautiful thing when I opened up the computer this morning – a rainbow for me from a good friend. Thank you, John.

Rainbow from John R

2   A message from another friend, Shelagh, in Vermont alerted me to a brilliant piece of work by The Graffiti Grannys – a Union Jack decorated with knitted and crocheted poppies put up on a fence outside the Parish Church in Camborne, 10 minutes away from us. We set off to find it but at 12.15 it had already been taken down even though the Remembrance Day parade was only just finishing. These photos then, sadly, are not mine. Thank you to the photographer.

Graffiti Grannys’ flag

3   This is a very beautiful poem from WW1 which I hope you will like too. It’s by Margaret Postgate Cole, a pacifist, a feminist, an atheist and a socialist (so a fair amount in common with me then! I wish I also had her facility with words.)

The Falling Leaves

Today, as I rode by,
I saw the brown leaves dropping from their tree
In a still afternoon,
When no wind whirled them whistling to the sky,
But thickly, silently,
They fell, like snowflakes wiping out the noon;
And wandered slowly thence
For thinking of a gallant multitude
Which now all withering lay,
Slain by no wind of age or pestilence,
But in their beauty strewed
Like snowflakes falling on the Flemish clay.

Sea, sky and sunshine on St Ives across the bay

4    After our walk in Camborne we went down to Hayle where the sea and sky together were very beautiful and all our cobwebs were blown away!
 

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Clouds, Chimney-Sweep and Clock Tower

1    There was sun and rain this morning and I hoped for a rainbow. No luck but this beautiful dramatic sky instead.

Dramatic sky

2   Looking in the yellow pages for a chimney sweep, I found this delightful advert with the chimney sweep offering to attend weddings. Tradition has it that 200 years ago, a Chimney Sweep saved the life of King George II by stopping his runaway horse and carriage. The King issued a Royal Decree that Chimney Sweeps are bringers of luck and should be treated with the greatest of respect. So started the tradition and because sweeps are lucky, couples sometimes arrange to meet the sweep at their Wedding!

Chimney-sweep advert

3   I love the colours on our town clock face.  You might like this bit of history about our lovely clock:  “Clock Tower Situated midway along Fore Street is the Town Clock which has stood on or very near this site for a long time, certainly since the 1700’s. In 1828 the former wood built tower was demolished and replaced by a stone tower. In 1841 the open arches at ground level were closed in for use as Police cells. With the increasing height of the surrounding commercial properties the Clock Tower was extended in 1904 so that the miners living at the top of the town could see the time, and also chimes were added.”

Redruth Clock Tower

The date is 10.11.12 That just pleases me!

 

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More From Our Holiday in India – Agra Fort

Agra Fort was thronging with people enjoying a day out on a Festival day. You can click on any photo for a bigger version to see the beautiful detail.

 

 

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Piano Lesson, Knitting and A Little Treasure

1   I hadn’t had a piano lesson for over six weeks for one reason or another and have been very bad about practising! My teacher, always encouraging, was so lovely and praised me for what I had remembered and pushed me on again.

2   I’ve finished knitting a cardigan for our 4th Grandchild due next April. If it turns out to be a boy, I shall have to find someone else to give this one to! The one I’ve now started is more neutral!

Latest knitting

Cardigan detail

3   While looking through my boxes for a piece of fabric this afternoon, I came across this little present that I made for my Mum more than fifty years ago! She treasured it all those years and now it’s mine again.

Little treasure

 

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Choir Babies, Woman in Wellies and Iridescent Pots

1   Singing this morning was wonderful  – some carols for our Christmas repertoire and a hauntingly beautiful Leonard Cohen piece called ‘Dance Me to the End of Love’ and all the while our beautiful Choir Babies to amuse us!

Choir Baby E

All three beautiful Choir-babies

2   I watched a woman in wellies throwing something for her dog to fetch in the Penryn river. I loved the wake left by the dog and the reflections in the river.

Woman in wellies with her dog

Across the Penryn River

3   I met the lovely Mr S in Truro  for lunch and to start looking at new curtains to replace the water damaged ones. We met in The Lemon Street Gallery and found these very beautiful pots by Chris Hawkins on display.

Beautiful pots by Chris Hawkins

 

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Iris, Cinquain Challenge and A Vegetarian Supper

1  Outside the Co-op were bunches of flowers with this beautiful Iris among them.

Iris among the Co-op flowers

2  It’s such fun to have a post ‘liked’ by someone and to discover another gem! Lilli, whom you will find  here, reminded me of the poet Adelaide Crapsey and showed me her beautiful poem, November Night. This reminded me of some of the English lessons I used to teach about the Haiku and other syllable counted poems. Adelaide Crapsey invented the Cinquain, a five line poem which she felt suited the rhythms of English/American better than the Japanese forms.

The Cinquain follows the pattern of 2,4,6,8,2 syllables in its 5 lines and I decided to try one right now as I watch Mr S mow the lawn for what is probably the last time this year.

Looking Out of my Open Window

Green grass,

Last mow this year.

Smelling fresh and Spring-like

Although being Winter-readied.

Smart lawn.

Fancy trying your hand at one? Let’s see how many we can get in and I’ll make a special post for them!

Beautifully mown lawn

3   A delicious vegetarian dish created by The Hairy Bikers:

Peppers with Mushrooms and Halloumi

 

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Planting Broad Beans, Baking for Pudsey and Romanesque

1   Following the advice in Sunday’s paper, Mr S has today sown Broad beans to over-winter in the hope of an early crop. I love broad beans; one of my favourite vegetables.

2   Meanwhile I baked thirty-six delicious Spiced Toffee Apple Buns for selling on Thursday morning at choir in aid of Children in Need.  I’ll put the recipe up on my Recipe pages soon.

Spiced Toffee Apple buns for Pudsey

3   We had a delicious Chicken and Mixed Vegetable stir fry for supper tonight. This Romanesque is just remarkable and beautiful in a rather strange way and it worked well in the stir fry.

Romanesque

 

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