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Monthly Archives: September 2014

Peace Exhibition, VW Camper Van and Junk Yard

1 We went to Marazion today to a fascinating exhibition put on by the local Quaker group.

Poster

There was a very moving and informative display which told of the experiences of three local Quakers and their harrowing dilemmas with the peace testimony. Through poetry, photos, quotations and sculpture, attitudes to peace and war were examined and the role of the Conscientious Objector made clear. If you are one of my local readers, do go along. It’s on for four more days and is well worth your time.

In the Meeting House

Friends’ Ambulance Unit

Ghandi’s words

The White Feather campaign

Peace?

2 When there, walking along the front, we saw a VW Camper van all decked out for a wedding and the wedding party were on the beach.

Wedding van

3 On our way home, we called in at our favourite reclamation yard, Shiver Me Timbers, always full of quirky objects and today was no different. Click on any photo for an enlargement.

Crazy stuff!

Concave mirror

Painted door handle

Child heard asking, “Mummy, why do Mermaids have such long hair?” Reply,” Because there are no underwater hairdressers!”

On the way home we passed this beautiful Cornish Cottage.

Typical Cornish cottage

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 20, 2014 in Beauty, community, Cornwall, driftwood, environment, History, Peace, photography, Postaday 2014, sculpture

Tags: Bloggers 4 Peace, Bloggers for Peace, friends, Marazion, On the way, peace testimony, Quakers

Feather, Seed head and Red

19 Sep

1. Walking up from town, I noticed a pretty feather caught in the moss in the wall.

Feather

2. Some purple daisies on the way have lovely soft seed heads.

Purple daisy

Seed head

3. A neighbour’s fence is covered in Virginia Creeper which is turning colour with the season. There is an Autumny smell in the air today.

Splendid scarlet

We’re off to see Andy Fairweather Lowe in St Ives tonight – should be fun!

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 19, 2014 in Beauty, nature, photography, Postaday 2014

Tags: autumn colour

Kaffir Lilies, Humour and Dovecot (and The Recipe)

18 Sep

1 The Kaffir Lilies are in full bloom and quite lovely.

Kaffir Lilies

2 Our Choir baby E has a lovely sense of humour!

Choir-baby E

3 I have driven past an antique shop in Penryn week after week and longed for a beautiful old Dovecot which he puts outside every day. Today I noticed that the owner is having a half price sale as he is retiring and I just couldn’t drive past! Dear readers, I bought it!

Isn’t it beautiful?

I have posted the recipe for last night’s supper of Quick Mixed Fish Chowder. Do comment if you try it. I’d love to know if you like my version! Click on the red link.http://mybeautfulthings.com/recipes-savoury/quick-fish-chowder/

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 18, 2014 in antiques, Beauty, Choir-baby, Food, garden, Humour, nature, photography, Postaday 2014

Tags: Dovecot, Kaffir Lilies, Quick Mixed Fish Chowder

Butterfly, Fallen Fuchsia and Simple Chowder Supper

17 Sep

1 I followed this butterfly around the garden until it settled on the Kaffir Lily.

Small White Butterfly

2 The Fuchsia is smothered in flowers but today’s very strong wind is blowing them off.

Fuchsia

3 Tonight I made a very quick version of a Chowder, very loosely based on a Nigel Slater recipe, much more based on the ingredients I had to hand! Recipe to follow if anyone is interested. It only took about 20 minutes!

Mixed Fish Chowder

8 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 17, 2014 in Beauty, Food, nature, photography, Postaday 2014

Tags: Chowder, Kaffir lily, Nigel Slater

Day Out in Barcelona – Now with Photos

17 Sep

What a wonderful day we have had today! Into Barcelona on the train and down La Rambla with all the crowds and such a buzz! We went into another amazing market, Mercat de Sant Josep, where the displays of fruit were so beautiful, each fig wrapped in a leaf before being put on display, small bunches of cherries likewise and Star fruit and Papaya displayed cut in half and looking irresistible. Click on any photo for a larger picture.

Wrapped cherries

Wrapping the figs

Fabulous fruit

Nuts and dried fruit

Dragon fruit?

We discovered a Miro mosaic on the pavement, a dragon in the air and parrots in the palm trees in Placa Reial – magic. We had delicious tapas for lunch in the same square and then wandered the alleys of the old town coming across very talented buskers giving much pleasure to so many passersby.

Miro mosaic

Dragon

Lamps in the street

Drain cover with the professions of all those who visit the near-by Deli Rei

There are lots of green parrots in these trees but they can’t be seen only heard!

A stone postbox

Our next treat for the senses was Palau de la Musica Catalana, the only concert hall in Europe lit by natural light and completed in 1908. The stained glass dome of the sun surrounded by singers is breathtakingly beautiful, the mosaics fabulous and a worthy Catalan celebration of musicians of all types and from all over the world. We were treated to a short organ recital while we sat in the gallery surrounded by beauty. Look for the photos to be posted when we return home. WordPress for iPad won’t let me post pictures but now I’m home and can show you a bit of the beauty of Barcelona.

El Palau de la Musica Catalana, the video begins

Entrance to the concert room

The wonderful sunburst glass dome

The singers around the sun in the stained glass dome

The mosaic columns on the balcony

The organ

The concert hall

Little admirer

and two more shots of Barcelona.

Wet alley

Fountain at Placa Catalunya

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 17, 2014 in architecture, art, Barcelona, Beauty, glass, photography, Postaday 2014, theatre

Tags: Mercat de Sant Josep, Palau de la Musica

Dinosaur Delight, Happiness and Meeting

16 Sep

1 The Dinosaur cakes (see yesterday) arrived before the Grandkids went to school and the photos KJ sent show their complete delight! We posted the cakes in Redruth, Cornwall yesterday at 3.15pm and they arrived in London before 8.30 this morning and were completely undamaged with the icing still intact! Now that is brilliant service!

2 This little homily about happiness came my way and I like it.

Happiness

3 It was good to see so many at tonight’s meeting about the possible closure of St Michael’s Hospital in Hayle which will be my preferred place of treatment if I do have to have a hip replacement in the next few months. Our Labour Parliamentary candidate, Michael Foster, had called the meeting and together we came up with lots of ideas for how to make our very strong feelings known to the people who will make the decision early next year.

7 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 16, 2014 in Grandchildren, Happiness, photography, Postaday 2014

Tags: campaigning, dinosaur cakes, Labour Parliamentary candidate, Michael Foster, St Michael's Hospital, St Michael's Hospital Hayle

Canovelles Sunday Market in Pictures

16 Sep

We spent the morning at the best market I have ever seen, in Canovelles – fabulous range of goods, huge numbers of shoppers and delightful smells from all sort of stalls all squeezed into the streets between the buildings and going on for street after street. Click on any photo for an enlargement.

Huge red peppers

Lovely fabric spreads

Aubergines and peppers

More walnuts than I have ever seen before!

Doughnut peaches, very sweet and delicious

The market is a meet-and-chat place too

It was quite a squash!

Flower seller

From clothes to sunglasses

Scarves and the CND logo

Potted plants

Fancy candles

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 16, 2014 in Barcelona, Beauty, community, environment, photography, Postaday 2014, travel

Tags: Canovelles, Catalonia, Sunday market

Autumn Colour, Dinosaur Cakes and Singing

15 Sep

1 The Tibuchina Urvilleana has buds already though a couple of the leaves have a very Autumnal hue.

Autumnal colour

2 The Grandbabies in London have had a sad day as has their Mum as the beautiful old cat that KJ has had since a tiny kitten has died. I made Dinosaur cakes, decorated them and boxed them up and posted them for next day delivery in the hope that the children will be a little cheered by them. I was so keen to get them sent off that I forgot to photograph them in all their decorated glory!

3D Dinosaur cakes

3 After the longest break for the summer it was Singing again tonight and it was just brilliant. Claire has found some more pieces with brilliant harmonies and they are already sounding beautiful – Plovo Barko, a Croatian folk song and Hard Times Come Again No More from 1854.

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 15, 2014 in baking, Beauty, Grandchildren, photography, Postaday 2014, singing

Tags: Claire Ingleheart, Croatian folk song, dinosaur cakes

La Diada Nacional de Catalunya, Castellers and Arrival – Now With Video and Photos

15 Sep

1. September 11th was a very special day for Catalunya, the tri-centenary of 1714, so the streets were full of people in red or yellow t- shirts as they prepared for the huge demonstration for independence in Barcelona.

2. We went by train to the small town of Llinars de Valles to watch the Castellers, the human towers, which were breathtaking and scary as tiny tots climbed the human tower to the very top and gave a wave. There will be photos, I promise!

3. Grandbaby N arrived here with her Mum after a very long series of planes and trains from Senegal and all is well.

15/9/2014
Here is a link to my You tube video of the human tower. Watching the tiny tots scramble to the top was a sweaty-hands experience and I love how they slither back down again. Just look at how they tuck their toes anywhere to get leverage and watch the faces of the little ones as they reach the bottom! The chap who goes to join the base at the last minute and walks towards the camera at the end is Tino whose English was brilliant as he explained the whole process to me. Each team took the centre stage in turn and made the tower and I loved how all the others came together to strengthen the base so that everybody was part of this human endeavour, all in it together. True community.
Click on any photo in the gallery for close ups.

I spoke French and the lovely lady I met spoke Catalonian and we got along really well

Me with the elders in their Catalonian costume

The plaque on the wall in the village square

Support cloth almost done

Winding the support cloths very tightly

The base, the pineapple, is ready and the first layer on

Starting her climb

Toes hooked into a belt to aid the climb

Final scramble

The last of the 8 levels

Tino who was so helpful explaining everything

The plan of who goes where

Climbing

The very quick wave at the top

Fortunately these were not needed

Using the kneeling man as a step up

“Dad, I did it!”

Note the collar in the mouth, just until the next layer are in place

Lined up to go up

Almost at the top

We came first

We came second

1 Comment

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 15, 2014 in Barcelona, Beauty, Celebration, community, Happiness, photography, Postaday 2014, travel

Tags: Barcelona, Castellers, human towers, Llinars de Valles, National day of Catalunya

Present, Souvenirs and Beach Walk

14 Sep

1 I now have a Guen ak korr, a Senegalese pestle and mortar and it is very beautiful indeed. I admired the enormous one in A’s home in Pikine when we went to Senegal for D&A’s wedding (click here for wedding photos) and the one in D&A’s kitchen and N, A’s lovely Mum, has very kindly sent me one which A brought back from Senegal to Spain and which we now have at home. It will have pride of place in our kitchen and will be well used.

Guen ak korr and my other pestle and mortar

2 My souvenirs from our holiday in Catalonia sum me up quite well – an apron with a treble clef from Palau de la Musica (singing, piano and baking), cookie stamps that say Homemade, Eat Me and Made with Love (baking and love of friends), a glass measure (cooking), two notebooks with the pleasing continental squared paper which we cannot get in the UK (writing, making lists, creating with words), tiny cup-cake cases (more baking!) and elephant paper clips (I love stationery and elephants. From being very young and right through my teaching career, I loved the start of the new school year which meant I could get lots of lovely, new stationery) – sum total – happiness!

My souvenirs

3 We have been missing the sea so we had a windy walk on the beach at Porthtowan where the tide was completely out and the holiday crowds had all gone. Footprints always catch my eye and I love the stone that looked like a foot. Click on any photo for detail.