Clouds in Falmouth harbour
Merry Hell, fabulous folk/rock band at The Poly tonight. What a night! Check out this post to hear one of their brilliant songs https://mybeautfulthings.com/2019/12/12/we-need-each-other-now/
I like this sign seen when I was sitting in a queue – sorry for the fuzziness
The first message to come through on my birthday (31/12/2025) was an invitation to Afternoon Tea at The Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth and this afternoon we went with our Dear and very generous friends to celebrate my birthday with a splendidly delicious afternoon tea and the most wonderful views. Enjoy the gallery and imagine our tastebud joy!
Thank you so much N&G – that was a wonderful afternoon with you two and what a truly lovely birthday present!
Bluebells on the way home
There are now 30 little creatures on the long fabric strands.
I’m being allowed to show you a little more of the project. The whole piece remains secret until the exhibition starting on March 31st. I wonder if you can work out what it is.
After sewing and my lovely Mr S working in the garden in sunshine, we decided to go out for lunch at the Falmouth Hotel and have a walk by the sea. It really does my soul good to see, smell and hear the sea. The blues were so beautiful today.
Out for lumch
Our next treat was a trip to Falmouth Art Gallery for a wonderful exhibition of automata which I’ll show you tomorrow.
Yesterday was so busy that two important things were missed!
After the delightful party for J, 90 years old, in the evening we went with friends to see a fabulous Christmas show called Christmas.Time. This is the third time we have seen the show and loved it every time. It’s the 18th year that the two very talented young men who are Near-ta Theatre have performed the show which has become a staple hereabouts. If you, Dear Reader, live nearby, there are shows still to be seen at The Poly, Falmouth. Here’s the link.You won’t regret it!
I have ordered a beautiful jigsaw puzzle from Ukraine for the family to do together when they are all here over New Year. I am here reprinting the whole message I received from the company yesterday. At the end you can hear The Ingleheart Singers with their first rehearsal this year of Carol of the Bells.
While our capacity to produce and to ship puzzles from Ukraine has been severely impacted by power outages caused by the constant shelling of Ukrainian power infrastructure by Russia (that’s why most of puzzles are shown as out of stock on our website), we still can continue telling about Ukrainian culture.
This week’s email is about Mykola Leontovych (13 Dec 1877 – 23 Jan 1921), the Ukrainian composer and author of the famous “Shchedryk” / “Carol of the Bells,” whose birthday we commemorate today.
Mykola Leontovych, the son of a priest, was also a conductor and teacher who specialized in a cappella choral music. He is best known for composing “Shchedryk,” which later became famous around the world as the Christmas classic “Carol of the Bells.” That happened thanks to enormous efforts of cultural figures and some politicians of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in the last months of its existence before the Soviet occupation of Ukraine in 1919. This treasure had all chances to be demolished and buried, as it happened with Boychukism and many other phenomena of Ukrainian culture, but in some miraculous way, it overcame all the obstacles along with the Ukrainian Republic Capella under the leadership of choral conductor Oleksandr Koshyts.
On January 23, 1921, while audiences in Paris were triumphantly applauding the newly discovered “Shchedryk,” its composer, Mykola Leontovych, was shot in his own home by a Chekist (a Soviet state security agent).
Important to note that Leontovych wrote “Schedryk” in the town of Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, which currently is one of the key battlefields in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
So, please keep the Ukrainian Warriors who are now defending Pokrovsk and all of Ukraine in your thoughts each time you hear “Carol of the Bells” this holiday season.
The sun shone this morning, the last morning of our mini holiday at The Falmouth Hotel .What a wonderful and welcome short break this has been.
We’d been home only an hour when my lovely Mr S spotted a fox in the back field. We watched it for some time, prowling around.
On the wall just outside the back door there was a Ladybird. I’ve never seen one with 19 spots before. I learned it’s also known as the Water ladybird with a marvellous name Anisosticta novemdecimpunctata!
A message from WordPress today says it’s 14 years since I started writing my blog. That’s a great number of beautiful things!
We visited Falmouth Art Gallery today where there were two exhibitions, one highlighting their collection and one called Out Of Paper showcasing so many paper creations.
I love the painting in the first exhibition by Unknown Artist of The Killigrew Monument which we had walked past earlier in the morning.
There were some beautiful cut paper sculptures. I love the fact that Secret Garden, when translated into French, ‘Jardin Secret’ refers to your inner soul.
The Paper Yarn piece really appealed to me and I added my words to be woven in next time the artist pops in. 
If you, Dear Reader, are local or maybe visiting Falmouth before the end of January, this is a lovely place to spend a couple of hours.
Just to add, I am remembering my lovely Mum today, on her birthday. As a little girl she was always delighted to think that everyone was celebrating her birthday with a firework display.
It’s been a rough weather day today with driving rain, fierce winds and wild, wild seas, and we serendipitously met friends at The Falmouth Hotel for a delicious lunch, watching the waves from inside the dining room.
The Falmouth Hotel
Beautiful stairwell
High tide at Castle Beach
Tiramisu with espresso ice-cream!
After singing in Penryn today, we went to Falmouth to see an exhibition of beautiful paintings by one of our choir members. We parked on Church Street carpark and so went up an alley called Upton Slip. There we met Ami, the large figurehead down Upton Slip, originally washed up from the wreckage of The Amazon ship not sure when but she has lived down the slip ever since.
Just on the beach there we noticed some large cubes and were fascinated to read what they are for.
Tonight we had fresh mackerel from the local fish shop. What beautiful markings on the skin, here marinading prior to a quick grilling.
Another delightful walk to Bream Cove this afternoon where the sound of the sea soothes all worries. I recorded it today in the hope that you, Dear Reader, might find solace too if that’s what you need.
The walk down the valley to the beach is full of wonderful exotic plants. One label caught my eye and then we spotted the leaf. You may be surprised that I had a tape measure to hand. I have carried this since my Mum died in 1994. It was hers and it is interesting how often it comes into use. 
Having dinner this evening, looking down that same valley, the lovely Mr S saw a baby fawn and when we put the photo on the laptop, realised its Mum was there too. The photo was taken through the window and on maximum zoom. They were only around for a few moments and added to the peaceful delight of today. 
Yesterday was John Donne’s birthday. I love this poem.
22/01/1572: Birthday of John Donne
A friend has a second-hand bookshop in Falmouth and today has this delightful sign in her window.
Today seems the right time to share this wonderful new word. I just love the smell of old books and the feeling of wistfulness that wraps one up in a second-hand bookshop like Bookmark, shown above, in Falmouth.
Commentator Award
