1. September 11th was a very special day for Catalunya, the tri-centenary of 1714, so the streets were full of people in red or yellow t- shirts as they prepared for the huge demonstration for independence in Barcelona.
2. We went by train to the small town of Llinars de Valles to watch the Castellers, the human towers, which were breathtaking and scary as tiny tots climbed the human tower to the very top and gave a wave. There will be photos, I promise!
3. Grandbaby N arrived here with her Mum after a very long series of planes and trains from Senegal and all is well.
15/9/2014
Here is a link to my You tube video of the human tower. Watching the tiny tots scramble to the top was a sweaty-hands experience and I love how they slither back down again. Just look at how they tuck their toes anywhere to get leverage and watch the faces of the little ones as they reach the bottom! The chap who goes to join the base at the last minute and walks towards the camera at the end is Tino whose English was brilliant as he explained the whole process to me. Each team took the centre stage in turn and made the tower and I loved how all the others came together to strengthen the base so that everybody was part of this human endeavour, all in it together. True community.
Click on any photo in the gallery for close ups.
I spoke French and the lovely lady I met spoke Catalonian and we got along really well
Me with the elders in their Catalonian costume
The plaque on the wall in the village square
Support cloth almost done
Winding the support cloths very tightly
The base, the pineapple, is ready and the first layer on
Starting her climb
Toes hooked into a belt to aid the climb
Final scramble
The last of the 8 levels
Tino who was so helpful explaining everything
The plan of who goes where
Climbing
The very quick wave at the top
Fortunately these were not needed
Using the kneeling man as a step up
“Dad, I did it!”
Note the collar in the mouth, just until the next layer are in place
Lined up to go up
Almost at the top
We came first
We came second
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Barcelona, Castellers, human towers, Llinars de Valles, National day of Catalunya
What a wonderful day we have had today! Into Barcelona on the train and down La Rambla with all the crowds and such a buzz! We went into another amazing market, Mercat de Sant Josep, where the displays of fruit were so beautiful, each fig wrapped in a leaf before being put on display, small bunches of cherries likewise and Star fruit and Papaya displayed cut in half and looking irrisistible.
We discovered a Miro mosaic on the pavement, a dragon in the air and parrots in the palm trees in Placa Reial – magic. We had delicious tapas for lunch in the same square and then wandered the alleys of the old town coming across very talented buskers giving much pleasure to so many passersby.
Our next treat for the senses was Palau de la Musica Catalana, the only concert hall in Europe lit by natural light and completed in 1908. The stained glass dome of the sun surrounded by singers is breathtakingly beautiful, the mosaics fabulous and a worthy Catalan celebration of musicians of all types and from all over the world. We were treated to a short organ recital while we sat in the gallery surrounded by beauty. Look for the photos to be posted when we return home. WordPress for iPad won’t let me post pictures!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Barcelona, Catalonia, Lluis Domenech i Montana, Oscar Tusquets
Lovely challenge this one. My favourite colours are greens and blues but, looking through my collections, I decided that shades of pink and purple would be interesting! I hope you enjoy this selection taken over the last year at home and away. Click on any one for an enlargement.
Beautiful saris in India
Pink flower with dewdrops
Dancing at a Senagalese wedding
At Chitwan, Nepal
Confetti in the street in Barcelona
Winter dawn
In the market, Kathmandu
Bougainvillia in Kathmandu
In the gardens at Khajahuro
Anemones
Grand-baby and Lavatera
Earrings
Rhododendron in Trelissick gardens February 2013
Fuschia in the back garden
00
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Barcelona, India, nepal, Senegalese wedding, Weekly Photo Challenge - colour
These are the photographs that I have had made into a calendar for my family who all live away from Cornwall – in Munich, Germany; in Atlanta, Georgia; in Volcano, Hawaii; in Warsaw, Poland; in Exeter, Devon; in North Finchley, London; in Barcelona, Spain; in Dakar, Senegal and in Chilla, Devon.
Please click on any photo to reach the enlargement and to read the full caption. I have used the rectangular gallery setting but it won’t put the photos in chronological so I’ve given you them not in a gallery as well. Which do you prefer?
January 2012 – Walsingham Place, Truro, a beautiful curved Georgian terrace in Truro.
February 2012 – Godrevy Lighthouse from Hayle Towans
March 2012 – Daffodils in Trelissick Gardens
April 2012 – thrift on the cliffs at Chapelporth on the North Coast
May 2012 – Bluebells down the lane on the way to the Duchy Nurseries to buy a tree.
June 2012 – St Michael’s Mount from Mount’s Bay. The best ice creams in the world can be found in the tea-shop here!
July 2012 – From St Mawes looking over the water to the St Anthony Lighthouse. The annual regatta was in full sail.
August 2012- Looking out to Restronguet Creek from the pontoon of The Pandora Inn.
September 2012 – Kynance Cove, a favourite place for the family for many years.
October – Coming back into Cornwall over the Brunel Bridge over the Tamar, after our holiday in India and Nepal
November 2012 – Looking towards St Ives from Hayle Towans
December 2012 Pill Creek , where we first lived when we moved to Cornwall from Birmingham when I was 6 years old. Is it any wonder I fell in love with the County?
.
February 2012 – Godrevy Lighthouse from Hayle Towans
March 2012 – Daffodils in Trelissick Gardens
April 2012 – thrift on the cliffs at Chapelporth on the North Coast
May 2012 – Bluebells down the lane on the way to the Duchy Nurseries to buy a tree.
July 2012 – From St Mawes looking over the water to the St Anthony Lighthouse. The annual regatta was in full sail.
August 2012- Looking out to Restronguet Creek from the pontoon of The Pandora Inn.
June 2012 – St Michael’s Mount from Mount’s Bay. The best ice creams in the worls can be found in the tea-shop here!
September 2012 – Kynance Cove, a favourite place for the family for many years.
December 2012 Pill Creek , where we first lived when we moved to Cornwall from Birmingham when I was just six years old. Is it any wonder I fell in love with the County?
October – Coming back into Cornwall over the Brunel Bridge over the Tamar, after our holiday in India and Nepal
January 2012 – Walsingham Place, Truro, a beautiful curved Georgian terrace in Truro.
November 2012 – Looking towards St Ives from Hayle Towans
00
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: A Year In Cornwall, Atlanta, Barcelona, Chilla, Dakar, Devon, DPchallenge, Exeter, Georgia, Germany, Hawaii, London, Munich, My 2012 in Pictures, north finchley, Poland, Postaday, postaday2012, Senegal, Spain, Volcano, Warsaw, weekly photo challenge
1 As we drove up to Bristol to get the plane to Barcelona we followed a van which had the following message on it, written in the dust on the back, “Drink up your cider, Sally!” That amused us!
2 The sunset from the plane was beautiful.
3 Meeting Daniel and Ami in balmy Barcelona, hugs and grins all round!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Barcelona, Postaday, postaday2012, travel, vacation
1 I walked past this house sign in Penryn and was glad of my schooldays’ Latin! Hic Bibitur – Here they drink! The owner came by as I was taking the photo and asked if I knew what it meant, saying it was a most appropriate name as the house is rented out to students!
I love this!
2 I was in my favourite shop this afternoon, buying buttons for the little hoodies that I’ve nearly finished knitting (they are taking forever!) and took photos of these beautiful fabrics.
Christmas fabrics
Beautiful fabrics for children
3 Daniel and Ami called from Barcelona and we Skyped for ages. They are so blissfully happy!
And I am delighted to tell you that my Guest Post for Choc Chip Uru has been posted today. Please check it out here http://gobakeyourself.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/guest-post-3-chocolate-amaretti-torte/
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Barcelona, beautiful fabrics, christmas fabrics, guest posting, Hic Bibitur, Postaday, postaday2012, Skype
1 I can’t tell you how much I love singing! At Suitcases this morning we sang through our gig list for the event on Sunday when all three of Claire’s choirs, about a hundred of us, will sing together in the amphitheatre at Carn Marth.
Kurt Vonnegut – Sing in the shower!
2 Before the rain started this afternoon, I managed to get this beautiful picture of a Daisy against the Crocosmia.
Daisy with Crocosmia
3 Daniel and Ami Skyped together from Barcelona! For those of you who haven’t followed their story, Daniel, our son, and Ami were married in Senegal in April, see Daniel and Ami’s Wedding and they are only now, more than four months later, able to live together as it has taken this long time to get Ami’s Visa.
It was so beautiful to see them together, smiling so much, laughing and delighting in the fact that they had just gone supermarket shopping together for a meal together in their own place! The very word ‘together’ is beautiful!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Barcelona, choirs, Claire Ingleheart, crocosmia, Daniel and Ami's wedding, kurt vonnegut, Postaday, postaday2012, Senegal, Skype, Suitcase Singers
1 Today’s piano lesson was hard but by the end my confidence was back and I know what to do for next week. My teacher is a star!
2 Just look at this beautiful Muscari Grandifolium flowering today in the wall.
Muscari Grandifolium
3 We love Skype! Tonight we Skyped with KJ and the children. Jake was telling us about ‘Flat Stanley’, a story our children loved too and Tabitha said her first word, “Hiya!”, while waving at us. Later, we Skyped with Daniel in Barcelona and Ami in Dakar, Senegal, speaking both French and Wolof and talking about the wedding which is only two weeks away. Fabulous evening!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Ami, Barcelona, confidence, Dakar, Daniel, fabulous evening, first word, flat stanley, French, Jake, KJ, Muscari Grandifolium, piano lesson, Senegal, Skype, Tabitha., wedding, Wolof
1 Each Saturday I read, “What You Like” where Guardian Weekend readers share their finds of the week and came upon this treasure: http://manonabeach.com/ Do have a look – it’s all about Cornish beaches and why people love them.
2 On our walk today, rather dull and cold, I found this beautiful bark covered with lichen and moss and found sun-rays streaming through the clouds.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
3 Skyped with Ami in Senegal and Daniel in Barcelona on a conference call! My French is improving as vocabulary comes back (and I had my Collins Roberts to hand) and Ami’s English is coming on really well so we do manage to communicate.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Ami, Barcelona, Collins Roberts, cornish beaches, Daniel, guardian weekend, manonabeach, Senegal, Skype, sun rays, The Guardian, vocabulary
1 My lovely sister, Deborah, in Hawaii sent me this delightful photo of a Tibetan child laughing,designed to make anyone smile.
Laughing Tibetan child
2 Lucy walked for 6 hours today as part of her training for her trek in Nepal. We drove down to Porthtowan and walked a short way with her.
3 We Skyped with Ami, Daniel’s fiance, in Senegal this afternoon. Her English is getting better, I’m doing better with my French and Daniel, online from Barcelona, taught us a bit of Wolof! Since we haven’t met Ami yet, Skype is brilliant for helping us all get to know each other before we really meet in April. We are so looking forward to it and Ami is going to help Lucy and me buy appropriate outfits for the celebrations!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Ami, Barcelona, Daniel, Deborah, French, Hawaii, Lucy, nepal, Senegal, trek in nepal, Wolof
