We’ve had a day out shopping in Exeter! Enjoy the gallery.
I noticed a commemorative plaque today that I haven’t seen before despite having used this short cut on many occasions.
Falmouth history
Captain Richard Upton, a former smuggler turned excise man who went on to become Mayor of Falmouth on two occasions, lived in the house at the top of Upton’s Slip which is in the picture below.
Upton’s Slip
There is a mural on the way out of one of the car parks which was renewed last year and looks brilliant.
Mural on the way out of the car park
The other wall
Please go to http://www.spectrumasd.org/epic-aims-church-street-mural/
to see both sides of the mural and to read about the project which celebrates Falmouth as a community and promotes awareness of autism in a positive way. You can read about each of the children involved. It is truly inspiring.
P.S. Added 7th April 2018.
In the comments below, you will see that I have been asked about the figurehead at the bottom of the slip. I found this short Youtube video about her, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc7cPW2LeuI
Some months ago, I had an accident with a glass of red, making our sitting room look as if a grisly event had taken place there. The insurance people were brilliant and we have a new carpet. Rather than the fitters taking away the whole ruined carpet, they cut out the long red section and left us with two large pieces of beautiful cream carpet to give away. Today we delivered the pieces to a Humanist friend and on her wall was the following little plaque which I liked very much.
Friends are crucial to our well being
In the bookshop in Truro, there is a new mural celebrating Manderley, the fictional estate of the character Maxim de Winter which plays a central part in Daphne du Maurier‘s 1938 novel, Rebecca,
Manderley
The little Tete a Tetes in our small wall garden are so lovely, especially against the cerulean sky.
Tete a Tete against a cold blue sky
Driving to Exeter we went through crazy rainstorms and wonderful rainbows.
Rainbows and sheep, taken from the moving car. I was not driving!
In the car park, there were some delightful murals by Andrew Alleway in 1991. They certainly brightened up a darkish space. and made me smile.
Part of the mural by Andrew Alleway
We love Exeter Cathedral. This is part of the North face with details of the gargoyles
Gargoyles
Exeter Cathedral
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One of my photos has been published today in The Guardian on their weather pages! I am over the moon! You can find the original here.
My photo in The Guardian!
Walking through Penryn today, I was drawn to a lovely red door with a wreath of autumn leaves.
Door in Penryn
One of my favourite shops has a new mural, a winter one replacing the sunny, summer one. I love seeing them. The artist is Elizabeth Perry.
Mural on Just Delights
A late decision to go shopping in Exeter proved to be a very good one. After a couple of hours, (and a new camera for me!) we met our eldest for lunch, a real treat as we haven’t seen her since the Golden Wedding events. Driving home, everyone in Cornwall recognises the Copse that says, “You are nearly home!” Do join me in the gallery to enjoy the beautiful things I spotted while on walkabout. Click on any photo for the caption and more detail.
I love this beautiful quilt for its turquoisey colours and beautiful stitchery and wanted to bring it home. Dear Reader, I resisted! It was in one of my favourite shops, Just Delights, in Penryn.
Beautiful quilt
The mural outside the shop is changed every season and today Winter had moved on and Summer has moved in with a touch of the Poldarks!
Mural by Elizabeth Perry
If you missed Winter, here it is and here is last Summer, always the happy dog and all painted by Elizabeth Perry, a local artist. Winter 2013 can be found here where the happy dog is now a fox. Aren’t they all delightful?
Fabrics galore in another of my favourite shops this afternoon where I went to buy more fabric for Baby Carriers. They have expanded their range and run quilting classes…….. I think I will be back.
Bolts of beautiful fabric
After an uplifting singing session which we all felt the need of after yesterday’s vote in our House of Commons, I went to one of my favourite shops, Just Delights, in Penryn. The mural on the wall is changed each season and here, of course, is Winter.
Every year I buy a new Angel for our Christmas tree and found this delightful little one in the shop.
After singing, we met my brother and his wife who are here from America and we had a lovely lunch and a good natter in the sunshine in Falmouth, overlooking the bay. The gardens at the Princess Pavilions were blooming lovely!
2 One of our lovely choir members, Jen, has knitted a tiny sweater for a baby in Tanzania. I have six now to send off to KniTZTanzania. Thank you so much, Jen.
Jen’s beautiful little sweater
3 One of my favourite shops for cards and presents and pretty things, Just Delights, now has its Summer mural on the wall. I showed you the Winter one here. I’m thinking it will be the same artist, Elizabeth Perry, but I cannot find the name.
Summer mural on Just Delights
Mural by Elizabeth Perry
2 Driving to Penryn this afternoon, I became stuck in a traffic queue. Serendipitously, we stopped beside another field full of Narcissi and I managed to get a photo. Never mind how many fields like this I see, each one makes me smile!
Field of Narcissi
3 It is a strange and rather lovely thing that Bloggers become friends across the oceans and through the ether. We learn about each other’s lives, loves, happinesses and sadnesses and we support each other through our blogs and our comments. One of my good blogger friends recently sent me this beautiful, moving and ultimately strengthening prose poem. There is a note from the writer at the end and a link to further explanation from her.
The InvitationOriah Mountain DreamerIt doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, ‘Yes.’It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
Message from Oriah Mountain Dreamer
While I am pleased that this piece, “The Invitation”, has spoken to many others and happy that it is being shared, I would ask that you honour the original by sharing it as it was written.
I am a teacher and writer living in Toronto with my two teenage sons. While my family history includes stories of Scottish, German and Native American descent I am a Canadian woman, and not an Indian elder as has sometimes been reported, being neither old enough nor wise enough to claim the status of elder for any people. I have had the privilege of studying with and learning from the wisdom of Native American elders who gave me the medicine name, Mountain Dreamer. My first book, “Confessions of a Spiritual Thrillseeker”, is currently out of print. I am now working on a book entitled “The Invitation”, expanding on the thoughts and teachings held within this smaller piece. “Dreams of Desire” is a small collection of poetry available only through Mountain Dreaming.
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Commentator Award
