LiveWire3 back again! Today I went out with LiveWire2 and my mum again! This time we mooched around Truro and we bought some proper Cornish pasties and we went to a classic sweetshop, where we bought lots and lots of sweets. On the way we saw large, beautiful monument commemorating soldiers who died in World War I and II.
To the end of our journey, we went to Waterstones; we always go here at Truro. I bought some gorgeous books with amazing covers; they were in a special section called ‘beautiful covers’ which of course lured me in. I got two classics written by Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility [and] Emma.
We are sadly going home tomorrow then I am back to school again. Thanks to everyone for enjoying my posts and Granny’s posts!
As our local children start the new school year, our local knitter has produced another lovely post box topper in honour of Rick, our crossing man who sees children and adults alike safely over the road.
We loved how this piece of street furniture has been made special with the brass cut-out of Truro Cathedral on the sides.
There are still lots of Cosmos and Dahlias flowering at the allotment so we picked a bunch to enjoy at home.
We spent a very happy hour with the Mac technician in Truro who solved all the problems with our laptop and all with patience and good humour. So now, here is the sunset photo I wanted to show you yesterday. It’s a bit fuzzy, taken through the window, but you get the very dramatic fieriness.
Today the sky was blue and walking around Truro again after many months, was a joy. Here are the spires of the Cathedral.
There was a delightful window display in one of my favourite shops –
We set off to see the Tony Foster exhibition at Truro Museum and came across two more wonderful rooms. What a day! Firstly we came across a beautiful Kurt Jackson painting.
In the next room we came upon a Welly Dog, aka a Tinners’ Hound, made by David Kemp. Regular readers will know that we have our very own Welly Dog and we love him very much, all the more so as he was a gift from the lovely Bill Mitchell.
Then, a small room full of portraits where we came across a friend, an activist in the XR movement, a brave and beautiful person whom we admire so much. Antonia put me in touch with the photographer, Gavan Goulder, who has very kindly and generously given me permission to share it here along with his words which introduce the exhibition and the words of Antonia herself. Here is the link to his website where the words can be read more clearly and many more rebels and their stories can be found. I am so in awe of the bravery of these people who are fighting for our planet and the futures of our children and grandchildren. We help in the ways we can but I am not brave enough to risk arrest despite my Great Granny being a Suffragette who was force fed in Holloway in her battle to gain the vote for us all. In fact, despite the beauty still to come, this exhibition was the highlight of my day. Thank you to Gavan Goulder and to Antonia.
At last, we came to Tony Foster’s work. We heard him talk many years ago, in the Truro Museum, about his paintings done in the Grand Canyon and the Himalayas and there were some of those paintings here today but the special works for me this morning were the little paintings done during lockdowns, all done in Cornwall on his daily and limited walks. Here are his pieces from the second lockdown, each a painting done in the afternoon following his morning walk, whatever the weather based on the little sketches he made while out. Each sketch has a little commentary. Click on the photo and zoom in and you can, just, read the words. If you, dear Reader, are in Cornwall before Christmas, do go to the museum and revel in all the beauty to be found in there. The staff have done a wonderful job of curating all this loveliness.
Here you have a glimpse of Truro Cathedral from Cathedral Lane where the hanging baskets are glorious .
The hard working gardening team in Truro have filled the city with flowers in baskets, tubs and up lampposts, all beautifully tended and full of scented petunias. Here they are seen against the beautiful buildings on Lemon Street..
We had too many blueberries and they needed using up so I made some scrumptious Blueberry jam, just four little jars.
I had my waffle with maple syrup and blueberries this morning.
Our Sweet Peas are lovely and smell divine.
On the kitchen window sill
There’s a story behind this lovely painting of Truro Cathedral by F. Robson, possibly Featherstone Robson, 1880-1936.The lovely Mr S and I met in late October 1966 while at college in South Yorkshire. I had come from Truro and Mr S from Acton, London. Walking through Acton in early January 1967 after being in London for a few days to meet his parents as we had just decided to get married, we spotted this painting in a second hand shop and it seemed like a sign! It can’t have been expensive but I can’t remember how much. We bought it and it has had pride of place ever since.
That was the most uplifting and beautiful concert by the Truro Cathedral Choir featuring gems from all seven of the G7 nations and sung in six languages. I gave you the song, Gee 7, written by Sir Tim Rice a few days ago. Here is the link if you’d like to listen. It’s really lovely .
Truro Cathedral
Before the concert
After the concert, Sir Tim Rice chatting to participants
After breakfast with lovely friends we went shopping in Truro, a rare occurrence these days. We love the model of the Cathedral on the roundabout and would love to see it lit up at night. Please note, the hedgehogs have gone into hibernation.
We parked on the top layer of the car-park and caught another view of the Cathedral just before a heavy shower.
Lastly, against a beautiful blue winter sky, from the middle of the city, a sunlit and glowing Cathedral.