We woke to 4″ of snow and that lovely quietness that descends when the snow falls. Enjoy some of the snowy patterns in our garden.
Our Ukrainian friends are coming back to Cornwall. We are so excited! I love the poster that shows the next tour – Falmouth and Redruth along with Leipzig and Berlin!
I’ve bought lots of lovely bunting to decorate one of the venues.
A dear friend has given me some ‘jewels’ for my glass work. It’s always an inspiration when new beads come in and I begin to plan how I might use them. Look out for them in future pieces.
Thank you N
We sang our first Christmas carols today at the Open Studios event at Krowji. It was brilliant – we and our audiences loved it. One of them videoed some of the Ukrainian carol, Carol of the Bells. Here is a link to see and hear the extract. https://www.facebook.com/reel/667726934976259.
Thanks to Sandra for the photo
In the breaks between sets, we can wander around the many studios and I was privileged to meet a sculptor , David Westby, whose work intrigued me – lots of cockerels, and some paintings. We got chatting and he explained the stories behind some of his work. When I asked if I could take a picture for mybeautfulthings blog, he picked up a hat and posed for me all the while telling me the story behind the hat and that it is dedicated to St Lucia,Saint of Light and Sight, hence the candles and spectacles on his hat. You can read more about her here.
David Westby
“THERE IS ALSO SWEETNESS IN THE NEW” (Remembering the Surrealist Society of Iran ). January 2022. Aluminium over wood construction, galvanised steel plinth. 1.75 meters high.
Read more about David Westby and his work here.
I picked a little posy of Rosemary, Petunia and Wallflowers to take next door to remember Bill-next-door’s birthday. He was such a lovely man, missed by so many. Read about him here
It’ll be Market Day tomorrow in Redruth so I’ve made my usual Coffee Cake for the cake stall. I sprayed the top with edible gold as it’s a Christmas market..
Our Advent candle glows in the dark.
Saw this today and thought you, Dear Readers, might like it too.
Walking into town this afternoon, my eye was caught by a pretty little feather on the path.
Redruth has been privileged to be hosting a remarkable exhibition by Ukrainian artist Evhen Bal ‘Artifacts of Zero’. These antiwar artworks are made of Russian shrapnel and spent munitions that Evhen collected near Severodonets, Mykolaiv and at the Kramatorsk Railway Station. ‘Zero’ refers to military slang – the forward position, closest to the enemy, of fighting units. 
The exhibition is not beautiful in any conventional sense but talking to the artist and learning more about the war, the people, the community spirit, the grabbing hold of life was such a powerful and moving experience. The following poster was up on the wall.
Slava Ukraine
Loved this rainbow umbrella caught in Fore Street, Redruth this morning.
I’ve made a traybake American Spiced Carrot Cake for Volunteer Sunday tomorrow and had too much grated carrot so I made Carrot Bhajis to go with the delicious sausages bought from the Grow Box in town this morning. 
Remembering my lovely, kind and wise Mum today on her birthday.
It’s National Poetry Day and the theme is the environment. However, given all the news around at the moment, I wanted to share this song of hope with you all.
A feather landed on my purple and white petunias that with their green leaves make the colours of the Suffragettes. The raindrops made it even more special.
Tonight we went to see the performance of Bunker Cabaret, written and performed by our young Ukrainian friends, Hooligan Art Community. It was wonderful, so very moving, a kaleidoscope of dance, drama and song that touched every member of the audience. What a brilliant team they are! If you live in Southhampton, they are coming your way next week; if in Edinburgh, in a couple of weeks. If you get the chance, do see them.
Thank you to Sue for the photo.
The poem above is for Mirra. I had chosen it before the show and then tonight realised the serendipity in that choice. For you, Mirra, with love.
I try to take photos of everything in flower at the start of the month and this I did a few days ago but we’ve been very busy with our lovely Ukrainian visitors. They have been rehearsing today so now I shall show you some of the 33 different plants in flower on October 1st.
A visit to Bill’s Attic was our trip with our visitors this morning, a visit to the most eclectic collection of artefacts and memorabilia that used to be in his attic next door but which is now curated in a local arts complex called Krowji. The sunlight through the coloured windows made a magical carpet from which to experience this ‘museum’ of curiosities. 
We showed our friends the allotments today and we were amazed to find a strawberry. It smelt delicious and tasted even better.
Tonight we had our first experience of Ukrainian hospitality with beautifully made Borscht and vodka, gherkins, garlic and lemons accompanied by singing and laughing – another wonderful evening with these lovely young people. They start rehearsals tomorrow for the show at the end of the week.
Our young guests have been working on their production, Bunker Cabaret, today and have given me permission to use their photo of our welcome dinner on Wednesday evening. The show will be in Redruth next week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Welcome dinner at ours
The red/pink dawn presaged the very wet and windy day “Red sky in the morning, mariner’s warning.” The lovely Mr Smith took this photo for me on his way to bring me a cup of tea.
I made Blueberry Pancakes for breakfast but realised when the first batch were in that I had forgotten the bicarbonate of soda as they were flat and heavy. The second batch were lovely after I added the bicarb and it interacted with the buttermilk to make the fluffiest pancakes ever. The Jackdaws were not bothered and had finished them off in no time!
Jackdaw with Blueberry Pancakes
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