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Category Archives: books

A Posy, A Poem and A Painting

What a special visit with our lovely 104 year old friend. This is the garden posy we took for her today.

We had been directed to a very special booklet, of poems written by T’s father, J A Nickinson, in 1944. Each poem is a delightful evocation of the time and tells a story that touches one’s heart. I have permission to share this poem, ‘Thompson’, and, later, the beautiful water colour that accompanies it. This narrative poem, for a cat lover, is a particular treat, full of the observations that any cat person will recognise.

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on July 30, 2023 in books, flowers, garden, nature, photography, poetry, Postaday 2023, Uncategorized

Tags: J A Nickinson

Salad, Poster and A Post Box Topper

08 Jul

I’m loving being able to make new salady dishes with food we have grown. This recipe was from BBC Good Food and is cucumber and fennel in a sour cream and vinegar sauce. It was delicious! Our evening meal of a locally made pie also had homegrown potato salad and homegrown leaves. Pud is another meringue filled with creme fraiche and homegrown tayberries and black currants from the garden.

I love that, despite everything going on, Ukrainians in Kyiv are having a book festival. Brilliant poster.

A lovely friend has sent me a photo of a delightful postbox topper near her in Truro.

Killifreth, Library and A Flag

28 Jun

We took a different route to Truro today and on the horizon was Killifreth, the most elegant of engine house chimneys.

This is the library, The Passmore Edwards Free Library, where I spent many happy hours as a child and where my Dad had to ask that I have access to the ‘grown-up’ library as I had read my way through everything in the junior section! I started with the wonderful Scarlet Pimpernel stories.

Solidarity to Ukraine in the face of more terror last night – Slava Ukraini.

Potting and Reading

26 May

I spent the morning potting up the begonias we bought on Wednesday and the afternoon in the shade, reading. I bought ‘Once Upon a Raven’s Nest’ by Catrina Davies after hearing the writer talk at the Redruth Book Feast a few weeks ago and today settled down to read it. I was advised by the bookseller from The Edge of the World Bookshop at the event, that when I started it, I wouldn’t be able to stop and he was right. I agree totally with George Monbiot about this remarkable story.

H, if you didn’t buy it, you can borrow it as soon as Mr S has finished it. 🙂

1 Comment

Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 26, 2023 in books, environment, nature, Postaday 2023, Uncategorized

Tags: Catrina Davies, George Monbiot, Ravens Nest, Redruth Book Feast, The Edge of the World Bookshop

Redruth Book Feast, Sunset and Blossom

23 Apr

The Book Feast continued this morning, Shakespeare’s birthday and the anniversary of his death, completing the best of booky weekends, listening to authors, talking about our reading with friends old and new and enjoying wonderful food at the dinner last night where Terry Waite was the after dinner speaker. The programme is in yesterday’s post. I love the design of the logo and need to find out the designer.

From the front windows this evening, there was the view of a lovely sunset with the warm glow touching the back garden too, lighting up the wood on the arch, the Amelanchier blossom and the ring of primroses below.

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 23, 2023 in art, books, community, Cornwall, environment, garden, nature, photography, Postaday 2023, Redruth

Greenfinch, Pie and A Good Read

06 Apr

An occasional and very welcome visitor, a Greenfinch, turned up today at the bird feeders along with one of the many Goldfinches.

Photo taken from indoors on a long zoom so that it wasn’t frightened away

I made an Aubergine, Halloumi and Tomato Pie for tonight – recipe from the BBC Good Food website, – and it was scrumptious!

I’m almost at the end of a very good read, The Lip by Charlie Carroll. This very moving story is set on the North Coast of Cornwall and is absolutely engrossing. It’s about childhood and isolation, love and memory and has been unputdownable.

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 6, 2023 in books, environment, Food, garden, nature, photography, Postaday 2023

Tags: The Lip by Charlie Carroll

A Beautiful Book

03 Apr

This lovely page is taken from a beautiful book that I was given a couple of years ago. It’s good to dip into now and again.

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 3, 2023 in art, books, Kindness, painting, Postaday 2023

Tags: Charlie Mackesy, The Boy the Mole the Fox and the Horse

Posy, Poetry and Produce

29 Mar

We visited our dear friend T today and took a spring posy from the garden, narcissi and a hyacinth, all of which are highly scented and much appreciated.

Sharing poems is one of the joys of our visit and today was the turn of T S Elliot’s cats. Later the following quotation came my way and seemed just perfect for the day.

Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T S Elliot, bought in 1965

“I’ll tell you a secret: we don’t read and write poetry because it’s pretty. We read and write poetry because we belong to the human race; and the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, Law, Commerce, Engineering… they are noble and necessary races to dignify human life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love are things that keep us alive” – Dead Poets Society (1989)

Last week I told you about making a veg bag for Community Roots. As a thank you they have given us a bag of this week’s vegetables – what a beautiful bagful!

and more….. potatoes, mushrooms, salad leaves and onions!

6 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on March 29, 2023 in art, books, community, friendship, garden, photography, Postaday 2023, Uncategorized

Tags: Dead Poet's Society, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, T S Elliot

A Day of Learning

28 Mar

After the last session of my writing course – which was both challenging and enjoyably satisfying – I went to meet a friend for lunch (an excellent red pepper soup.)
After a long catch-up, we strolled over to Kresen Kernow (Cornwall Centre, home to the world’s largest collection of documents, books, maps and photographs related to Cornwall’s history) where there is an exhibition about Cornish women. It was absolutely fascinating. My favourite story was of Mary Kelynack whom you can read about in this work by Michael Tangye, a local historian, In brief, she walked form Newlyn to London to visit The Great Exhibition, yes, she walked! And she was 76!

Thank you C for the photo

Just watched a very moving programme Channel 4 Bear Grylls meets Volodymyr Zelensky. If you get the chance, do watch it.

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on March 28, 2023 in art, community, Cornwall, friendship, picture story books, Redruth, Uncategorized

Tags: Kresen Kernow

Stories, Strong Women and Love

12 Mar

I’ve been ‘watching’ the rugby over this gloomy weekend and at the same time, I have read almost all of a fascinating new book, “Cornwall Herstory” a collection of stories of Cornish women in history, edited by Lesley Trotter, a friend from choir. It is utterly compelling and I am loving it.