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Monthly Archives: May 2017

Last Night and Finale

What a night! One hundred and fifty people have given their all to make this production a roaring success! Everybody has loved it – the wonderful volunteers who have made the whole thing magical and have relished being involved and audiences who have loved the emotional journey they have been taken on while learning about their local history. Here are a few photos of the finale that involved every cast member. Thank you, all of you!

And what made today even more special? Our eldest daughter came to see it, this afternoon and was blown away by it all and told me, with a big hug, how proud she is of me! That was really something as I’m sure you will understand.

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 21, 2017 in Beauty, Celebration, community, Cornwall, Perthi Kov, Photography, postaday2017

Tags: St Euny Church, Until the Day Break

Until the Day Break in Performance

20 May

We went to one of the matinee performances this afternoon as audience and loved it! I was moved to tears by the beautiful performances more than once. To hear my research come to life in a character telling the story was quite overwhelming. The Cuban Nanny played by Misri Dey could not have been better imagined or played and my story of Mary Angove Gill was beautifully portrayed by Mandy Rolleston who brought Mary to life just as I had imagined. The whole performance was wonderful, truly a celebration of lives lived, and I give you here the whole event in pictures.Click on any photo for detail and the caption.

Misri as Maria, our Guide

Sophie Everett played by Gail

Singing Black and Gold

Mary Angove Gill leaving the audience

Children playing

The Swindells Sisters

Singing March of the Women

Dmitri Nabokov played by Terry Hedges with compassion. made me cry.

Singing Carn Brea Lullaby, words by Avril Nicholls and music composed by Claire Ingleheart

Arminel. played by the wonderful Becca Hulbert

Showing the photos

In reflective mood

Maria and Agnes Knights

Singing The May Carol

Singing The Lark

Granny Catherine and her Saffron buns

Misri, our Guide handing out the Saffron buns

Benny

Peter Renfree and his conscience

The Soldiers

Singing One and All

The Dust Girls’ blanket

The Dust girls

The Children

St Clement’s cake for tea in the Church

Heart Scones made by Ti for a cream tea

DSCN9585

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 20, 2017 in Beauty, Celebration, community, Cornwall, Happiness, History, Perthi Kov, Photography, postaday2017, Redruth, singing, theatre

Tags: Until the Day Break

St Ives and Tonight’s Show

19 May

To whet your appetite, one photo of St Ives. I am pretty tired after tonight’s show. I’ll add photos tomorrow.

St Ives lighthouse with Godrevy behind

Penryn, Preparations and First Night

18 May

Singing this morning with The Suitcases overlooking The Penryn River was, as always, beautiful.

First night went brilliantly. Here are some photos from the preparation but then it was all on, singing our songs four times as each group of visitors, 30 mins apart, went on this glorious story walk around St Euny Graveyard. Click on any photo for more detail.

Misri as Maria, our Guide

The Soldiers and pals

Warm up

Katie doing her daughter’s hair

Warm-up

Claire leading the warm-up

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 18, 2017 in Beauty, community, Cornwall, Happiness, Penryn, Perthi Kov, Photography, postaday2017, theatre

Tags: Until the Day Break

Thank You Card, Nelly Moser and White Flowers

17 May

A card with a beautiful message arrived this morning. It was from J who stayed here for a few days as next door was full of family here for Bill’s funeral. We made a lovely new friend.

Our Nelly Moser Clematis has more flowers this year than ever before.

We planted the very pretty white flowered Libertia Grandiflora on top of our hedge a few years ago and that too, is doing very well this year.

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 17, 2017 in Beauty, garden, nature, Photography, postaday2017

Tags: garden flowers, Ruthin, St Peter's Church Ruthin

Tulips, Sash and Preview Performance

16 May

We found some beautiful tulips on the table when we arrived in the kitchen this morning, left by our lovely daughter to wish me the best for this evening’s Preview performance. They are purple and white with green leaves – just perfect! Keen eyed readers may notice that I bought that beautiful Kingfisher tea-set that I was ogling in the antique shop!

In the performances of ‘Until the Day Break’ I am singing ‘March of the Women’ with nine others and it is just brilliant! I have a facsimile Suffragette sash given to me years ago by my Mum but don’t want to risk the silk in the rain so today I went to one of my favourite shops and bought ribbons and this afternoon, I stitched up a sash.

The song was written by Ethel Smyth and was sung in Holloway by the imprisoned suffragettes, conducted by Emmeline Pankhurst through the bars of her prison cell using a toothbrush as her baton. I like to think that my Great Granny, Annie Wiseman, who was also imprisoned in Holloway for her part in the movement, was there at that moment and was singing March of the Women. I am singing it in the show with the passion that she must also have had and I can feel her pride.

The Preview performance went very well. Everybody loved it! The first night is on Thursday.

Some actors before the show

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 16, 2017 in Beauty, Celebration, community, Cornwall, Happiness, Perthi Kov, Photography, postaday2017, sewing, Suffragettes, theatre

Tags: Until the Day Break

Posters, Patterns and Bedtime

15 May

This afternoon we have put up the exhibition posters in the Church and put the Memory Boxes on the window sills where they look lovely.

LiveWire No 4 is here overnight en route to the Isles of Scilly. She knows where all the toys are kept, first played with the tessellation pieces and then made sure all the soft toys were ready in her bed for later.

Cloth Kitty, A Wild Thing and teddies

Making patterns, “By myself!”

Sunlight, Clematis and Characters in the Graveyard

14 May

I love how the sunlight is shining through the leaf.

The petals may have fallen but this Clematis is still very beautiful.

Today’s dress rehearsals were wonderful. Here are a few of the characters you will meet if you come to the show next week.

Sophie Everett

Mary Angove Gill

Granny Catherine

Benny

The Soldiers

Two Dust Girls

Two guides discussing their roles

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 14, 2017 in Beauty, community, Cornwall, environment, Happiness, nature, Photography, postaday2017

Tags: St Euny Churchyard, Until the Day Break

Until the Day Break – Tech Run

13 May

I am so proud! As I walked into St Euny Church today for the tech run of our show, ‘Until the Day Break’, I couldn’t quite believe the efforts everyone had gone to to source their own costumes and to become the ‘residents’. The Church was full of characters from the graveyard, from all eras and just looking the part. It quite took my breath away and I thank them all from the bottom of my heart! And – it rained all afternoon and still they sang and acted and guided and directed and brought the idea to life – what a crew! Thank you so very much, all of you. I am over-filled with happiness and gratitude. Please click on any photo to get a glimpse of how amazing our production is going to be and if you live locally, book your tickets for your story walk soon – we are selling out!

Lesley with Mandy who is playing Mary Angove Gill whose story I researched and wrote

Listening to our Dircetor

Still listening

Singing warm up

The Dust Girls

Marilyn with David

My dear friend Marilyn and me

Granny Catherine

Singing warm up

Hilary in role

Characters

Getting ready

Some of the child actors

Waiting to sing March of the Women

Walking through the graveyard

Becca is Arminel

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 13, 2017 in Beauty, community, Cornwall, friendship, Happiness, Perthi Kov, Photography, postaday2017

Blackbird in Blossom and Edward Lear

12 May

On our walk down the lane this evening a Blackbird tracked us at least halfway and sang and sang – it was beautiful. He sat in the top of a Cherry tree in blossom and serenaded us!

Edward Lear was born on this day in 1812. This poem, The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, has delighted me from being very young.

I

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea

   In a beautiful pea-green boat,

They took some honey, and plenty of money,

   Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

   And sang to a small guitar,

“O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,

    What a beautiful Pussy you are,

         You are,

         You are!

What a beautiful Pussy you are!”

II

Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl!

   How charmingly sweet you sing!

O let us be married! too long we have tarried:

   But what shall we do for a ring?”

They sailed away, for a year and a day,

   To the land where the Bong-Tree grows

And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood

   With a ring at the end of his nose,

             His nose,

             His nose,

   With a ring at the end of his nose.

III

“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling

   Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”

So they took it away, and were married next day

   By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

   Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,

   They danced by the light of the moon,

             The moon,

             The moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.

I have just read the newsletter from The Lost Gardens of Heligan where they honour our friend Bill Mitchell. It is a beautiful tribute that those of you who have followed my recent posts will appreciate. http://newsletter.nixondesign.com/t/ViewEmail/r/A62CCE05D52F8D3D2540EF23F30FEDED/EA434ED4709CEF26BA4AF9908B8D85ED