There was glorious sunshine for The Ladder opening party in the garden we helped to create last Saturday. The old library is coming back to life and in the most imaginative and exciting way. Click on any photo for a larger view and the caption.
Beautifully restored windows with clouds
The cloud motif in the entrance hall
Leading to the map room
Leaving messages in little bottles to be planted with the Rowan tree.
My wish in a bottle
The band setting up on the stage with the newly planted garden behind
A view from one of the windows of Carn Brea, the castle and the monument.
This evening we have been to listen to Angeline Morrison who was playing in the amphitheatre at the Eco park – a beautiful voice and person in a beautiful setting.
We love the ruby acer leaves as they re-appear each Spring. The little tree was a present from our four for our Ruby wedding 16 years ago!
Our Choisya Ternata is wonderful both in how it looks and with its gorgeous honey scent that wafts around the garden.We went to this extraordinary show at The Hall for Cornwall on Wednesday evening and it was wonderful, utterly engrossing, full of energy and beautifully done. With a soundtrack of wonderful songs by Sting, the dancers move the story from joy to despair, and back to joy, through resilience and determination, made me cry several times and left the audience feeling exhilarated!
If it comes your way, do go to see it. Read about it on the link below and listen to Sting and the amazing choreographer, Kate Prince, talking about the show.
“Guest blogger here again!
It was our last day in Cornwall so we had to go to Truro. We went to Waterstones to mooch around and we got some delicious Cornish pasties. We also bought some new shirts for LiveWire2 which was very successful!
Later on I went to choir with Granny! I was so excited as I have been going since I was very young and whenever I get the chance to join in, I always take it! We sang a beautiful (and fun) Roma Gypsy song, Sao Roma arranged by Stephen Taberner, a song about May and one called Voice of Change about the Earth, about how we need to save it! I love the energy in the room and everyone is so enthusiastic and welcoming!
As we drove back home, there was so much rain! And it was really fun because there were loads of massive puddles that splashed so high and made such a loud noise. Every time we splashed through one, Granny and I both went ‘WOAH’!
I was very sad for it to be the end of our trip but I’m sure we’ll see each other again very soon! And I’m sure I’ll be coming back here again in the summer!”
Voice of Change follows, sung by The Suitcase Singers with the thanks to Jamie for the lyrics. Claire Ingleheart composed the music.This song is now sung all over the country at Climate protests.
Our Dear Friend, Ti, is 104 years old today and we visited to take her a card, a posy of Lily of the Valley from the garden and some Butterfly Buns in her choice of flavour, Victoria Sponge. We also took a recording made by the choir yesterday of ‘Voice of Change,’ a song written by our choir leader and sung by the choir on the beach for Ti’s 100th birthday. Listen to the words – they become more important as every day goes by.
Click here to see the post of the party on the beach. . Click on this link to see the BBC report on her beach birthday. Do check them out. She’s a wonderful climate activist and is an example to us all. .
Happy 104th birthday to Ti who reads my blog every day on her iPad. xxx
It was great fun shopping in town this morning as so many people were enjoying the lovely singing and piano playing outside our excellent Greengrocery/Butcher and Deli. We loved that ChloeMarie had cycled into town!
ChloeMarie Aston
The sign below was in the chiropractor’s window (hence the skeleton!) and rings a bell with me.
We walked in Trelissick Gardens this afternoon, enjoying the bird song, the Spring flowers and the excitement of children on their nature/egg hunts. The stone pattern is in one of the shelters.
Our wonderful audience raised £720 for our three charities. Here we are singing the wonderful last song, “We Shall Be Known” by Karisha Longaker of MaMuse.
On this International Women’s Day, I had a brief letter in The Guardian where every letter and opinion piece today had been written by a woman.
“Re messages on vehicles, here in Cornwall, you’ll see, “No pasties left in this van overnight” on bakery delivery vans. We value our proper Cornish pasties very highly.”
I took a little posy next door today, with rosemary to remember our lovely neighbour’s wedding anniversary.
I’ve been listening to Dreadnought South West on Phonic fm today as they take over the airwaves for International Women’s Day. Claire, our choir leader, was being interviewed and singing one of her songs about a Cornish woman, live in the studio with her daughter Ruby. Ten years ago, Claire wrote the music for a production of Oxygen written by Natalie McGrath of Dreadnought and on Monday The Ingleheart Singers recorded the song to be used in today’s programme. You can hear the song by clicking on the red link above.
Redruth was buzzing today, all in town for the St Piran’s day celebrations. I especially loved the stilt walkers.
Later, on my way to sing in the Market Hall, one of the stilt people called to me, “Hello, lovely lady! Would you like a daffodil?” Of course, I said that I’d love one but please would he hold it for a moment while I took his photo for my blog!
Singing Cornish songs in the Market Hall with The Ingleheart Singers, and with an enormous, enthusiastic audience, was an absolute delight. Thanks to Sue for the video. You can see I am holding my daffodil.
I loved today’s writing workshop and especially the activity that came in little eggs! Each egg contained the traditional words for starting a story from various countries around the world – ours being “Once upon a time…….” From that start we each wrote a story for 10 mins and I have never known time fly by quite so quickly. Mine was the Irish beginning. I shall ask our Ukrainian friends for the story beginning they use.
A List of Beginnings
Arabic: ‘There was, oh what there was (or there wasn’t) in the oldest of days and ages and
times…’
Armenian: ‘There was, there was not…’
‘Three apples fall from the sky/heaven. One for the writer, one for the storyteller, one for the
listener…’
Czech: ‘Beyond seven mountain ranges, beyond seven rivers…’
Esperanto: ‘In a time already long past, when it was still of use to cast a spell…’
Estonian: ‘Beyond seven lands and seas, there lived a…’
Filipino: ‘At the beginning of time’, or ‘At the first time…’
German: ‘Back in the days when it was still of help to wish for a thing…’
Gujarati: ‘This is an old story.’
Hungarian: ‘Once there was, where there wasn’t, there was a…’
Irish: ‘A long, long, long time ago it was (and there was a king in Galway)’
Japanese: ‘Long ago, long ago…’
Korean: ‘In the time when a tiger used to smoke…’
Koti (Mozambique): ‘Once upon a time, there was a truly great friendship…’
Lithuanian: ‘Beyond nine seas, beyond nine lagoons…’
Persian: ‘Someone was, someone wasn’t…’
Romanian: ‘There once was, (as never before), because if there wasn’t, it wouldn’t have been
told…’
Russian: ‘In some kingdom, in some land, there lived/there was…’
Slovak: ‘When the water was being strewn and the sand poured…’
Tanzania: ‘I remember something that our father told me, and that is this:’
Turkish: ‘There was/lived in an exotic land far, far away, a/an…’
Walking through town later, I came across two sign-writers, very carefully repainting our direction signs. They were happy for me to take their photo, found it a very funny request and I could hear them laughing all the way down the street!
Just back from a brilliant evening of remembering the amazing protest camp at Greenham Common, hearing from some women who were actually there and singing some of their songs. Here’s one. ‘Hey Sister, Don’t You Weep.’
