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Monthly Archives: October 2025

A Poem, Weeding and Raspberries

A friend of our son’s. Deasy Bamford, shared a poem she wrote yesterday and she has given me permission to share it with you. It touched me deeply.

by Deasy Bamford

We have volunteered a few times at The Ladder in town, painting the inside, helping with the planting of the garden at the back and today the volunteer force were called in again. There has been scaffolding up for a long, long time as the roof has been being repaired and weeds have had a field day! A whole bunch of people turned up and tidied everything up. I did one small patch and here are the before and after photos.

Before

After

We picked the last raspberries from our allotment this afternoon.

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on October 11, 2025 in allotment, community, Cornwall, environment, garden, poetry, Postaday2025, Redruth, Uncategorized

Tags: The Ladder, volunteering

Flowers, Lampshades and Truro Cathedral

10 Oct

We’ve been in Truro today and the window boxes are still looking lovely.

Although it’s a bit early for these decorations, it made me smile to see all these bright orange pumpkin lampshades in a local restaurant.

This view of the Cathedral is what a small girl of about three years old saw and exclaimed excitedly, “Mummy, there’s a castle!” All three of these things made me smile this morning.

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on October 10, 2025 in Cornwall, environment, Postaday2025, Truro, Uncategorized

Reflection, Choir Baby and Low Tide

09 Oct

Penryn River

Watching Claire as she teaches the basses at the end of our session

Low tide at Gyllyngvase Beach

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on October 9, 2025 in environment, Gyllyngvase, nature, Penryn, Postaday2025

Dew Drops, Planting and A Good Read

08 Oct

Sparkly dew drops on the California Poppies leaves caught my eye this morning.

I planted up lots of winter salad leaves today, out of the mizzle and inside our new greenhouse!

I finished a very good read this afternoon, Hunger by S L Rosewarne. At its heart is a teenager with anorexia but that isn’t the half of it. It is a tale set in Cornwall and tells of teenage troubles and family tensions but above all it’s a tale of love in all its forms, I read the opening chapters online and had to order it straightaway. It’s one of those stories where you really care about the characters and their trials and triumphs and I loved it.

Membrillo, Salad Leaves and A Turnip

07 Oct

Instead of a cake for the volunteers today, I took some of the Membrillo I made on Sunday with some bits of cheese, for people to taste the produce from the quince that was available last week.

We have finished potting on all the winter salads so there were some baby plants left over, destined for the compost. I rescued some of them as we can grow them on in our new greenhouse.

Rocket

Purple Frills

Mizuma and Lollo Biondi

Somehow, some time ago we must have dropped a turnip seed in the corner of the propagation tunnel and now look at it! It made me think of the delightful children’s story The Great Big Enormous Turnip by Alexei Tolstoy and Helen Oxenbury, the copy of which I have just pulled from the children’s shelves. It needs a bit more growing time to reach those proportions!.

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on October 7, 2025 in books, Food, nature, Postaday2025, Uncategorized

Tags: Alexei Tolstoy, Helen Oxenbury, The Great Big Enormous Turnip

Old Books, Cuttings and A Film

06 Oct

I’ve been sorting through books we inherited from my parents, some real beauties there, many picked up at auctions in Truro many years ago. I was charmed to find some personal notes in the margins and cuttings from the Manchester Guardian of 1887.

Published 1870

Here’s the opening of one essay, The Guillemot, containing the wonderful word, ‘nidification’ which I take to mean the nesting habits of the birds.

Page 62

Rather gruesome cat’s head on his desk!

Just been to see the film, Downton Abbey, The Grand Finale , thoroughly feel good!

7 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on October 6, 2025 in antiques, birds, nature, Postaday2025, Uncategorized, Words

Tags: Charles Waterton, Natural History Essays, new words

Silver Sea, Jackdaw and Quince

05 Oct

I love it when the sun makes a silver horizon.

On our way home from the sea visit, we called at the garden centre to get some more tulip bulbs. Hanging in the middle of the displays was an open cage with a jackdaw sitting and preening itself. We watched it for quite some time and it kept its eye on us all the time. We asked in the shop about why it was there and learned that it was found in the Spring having fallen from its nest and with no parent anywhere showing any interest. The staff looked after it and expected it not to survive but here it is, their friendly Jack Dawson! It pops down the road to the local pub in the evenings and spends its days in the garden centre.

Last Tuesday at Roots there were quince on offer having been brought in by a volunteer form a crop laden tree. This afternoon I have made Quince Jelly, beautifully scented and what a glorious colour. I also reduced some of the jelly further to make a tray of Membrillo, lovely little cubes to eat with cheese.

Quince

Quince Jelly

Membrillo (with reflection of the kitchen light!)

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on October 5, 2025 in birds, Cornwall, environment, Food, nature, Postaday2025, Swanpool, Uncategorized

Yarn, More Yarn and Moussaka

04 Oct

One of my favourite shops in town has started to stock wool and I went in today to see the new shelves – lots of gorgeous colours!

I couldn’t resist buying some very pretty multi-coloured wool and am now thinking of what to make with it!

I like to bake a big dishful of whatever, have some for tea and freeze away several potions so that we have ‘ready meals’ always available for when we don’t feel like cooking. Tonight it was a big dish of Moussaka. .

8 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on October 4, 2025 in knitting, Postaday2025

Tags: the craft collective

Sunflower, Hallelujah and Trees

03 Oct

The Suitcase Singers, one of the choirs I sing with, have been loving learning this beautiful Peter Amidon arrangement of Hallelujah,. We can’t wait to learn the next verse! Do have a listen.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1754910295195936

After a lovely, animated breakfast out with friends, I took these photos on the way home. The trees are just beginning to turn.

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on October 3, 2025 in Cornwall, environment, friendship, music, nature, Postaday2025, singing, Suffragettes

Tags: 19th Amendment, National Gallery of Art, Peter Amidon, The Suitcase Singers, Womens Suffrage

Reflections, National Poetry Day and A Flower

02 Oct

Before going in to sing this morning, this beautiful sight greeted us.

It being National Poetry Day, I’ve just spent a happy half hour reading poems and finding one for you, Dear Reader, to mark the day. I’ve chosen this one from the book, Being Human edited by Neil Astley, a wonderful collection.. It seems to me to be just right for the time we are in right now.