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Tag Archives: David Wiseman

Kitten, Cookies and Dusk

We went to visit Dear friends today to catch up after many weeks and to meet their new kitten. We both fell in love with him!

Playing, very hard to get a photo

Maybe that’s enough

Feeling a bit sleepy

Nodding off

Out for the count

Isn’t he gorgeous?

Our lovely friend had been baking and sent us home with some of her delicious cookies.

Chocolate and ginger cookies

Later we visited the beach as the rain had stopped and is due again tomorrow so we seized the moment.

Porthtowan at dusk

Remembering my lovely Dad today on his birthday. Here is our bookshelf of his books.

 

 

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A Wedding, A Dedication and A Celebration

On this day in 1939, my Mum and Dad were married.They were to have honeymooned in Paris but given that WWII broke out on September 3rd they had a weekend in Blackpool instead before my Dad went off to the army for five years.

My Mum at her wedding in 1939

My Mum at her wedding in 1939

My Dad retired early to write and dedicated his first novel to my Mum ( using a nom de plume as advised by the publishers as it was thought that women read more historical romantic fiction and that they like to read books written by women!) The novel is set in Cornwall in the late 1800’s and its background is the tin mining industry that was so important to the Cornish.

Dad's first novel, published in the US and the UK by Weidenfeld and Nicholson, in paperback by Sphere

Dad’s first novel, published in the US and the UK by Weidenfeld and Nicholson, in paperback by Sphere

The dedication

The dedication

Their Golden wedding in 1989 was a great big family reunion in Cornwall as by then my older brother and his wife and two children were living in Munich, Germany, my younger brother and his wife were in Atlanta, Georgia and my sister and her growing family were in Phoenix, Arizona and I was in Yorkshire with my family. The advance for Ellen Bray paid for everyone to come to the two week long party!

 

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Today, Begonias and Mini Pavlova

Early walk, bit of windy gardening, a friend popped round with some scrummy looking strawberries from her garden and another friend told me about a website called Fantastic Fiction where she had found info about Dad’s books. I didn’t know about it so it was fun to see all his books there. I also looked up Jane Julian, the pseudonym he used for his adult historical fiction.

Thanks, H, these were truly scrumptious!

 
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Posted by on June 22, 2020 in garden, Photography

 

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Earrings, Story Reading and My Dear Dad

My lovely friend left me three single earrings on the doorstep in this lovely packaging They are gorgeous and I’m hoping will become inspiration for new glass pieces.

I bought a new story book for us to read over Skype to our twin Grandbaby LiveWires. These are such delightful sessions! I was particularly pleased to find this one with mixed race children.

It’s Father’s Day in the UK and I love this this photo of my lovely Dad, used on the cover of his first novel, “Jeremy Visick”, which also shows his favourite cat, Shoshone.

 

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A Bench, A Bouquet and Peace

For years we have wondered about having somewhere to commemorate my Mum and Dad and have thought that a bench near Gwennap Church where Dad found his inspiration for his best seller, “Jeremy Visick” would be just perfect. The stream that runs by is mentioned in the story too and the place really is special to all the family. Today, with the blessing of the Vicar, we met the Church warden to discuss how this can happen and where to site the bench – just to the right of the one that is there already.  So delighted that this project is finally going to happen. I’ll keep you informed as things progress.

A friend sent a message today to say that in her clearing out she has found some single earrings and can I use them in my glass projects? Yes, I can! I’ve left a little bunch of sweet peas on the doorstep in exchange.

The following words seem right in these strange and discombobulating times. I have posted them before, some four years ago.

Peace

 

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Magpies, Soup and A Gift

I watched a pair of Magpies from the bedroom window this morning. They were working together to break up some thin prunings, obviously collecting for a nest. They were both working really hard!

Magpies collecting nesting material

I left the squash to roast while we were out and so the delicious soup was very quick to make for lunch. If you’d like the recipe, you can find it here.

Thai Spiced Squash soup

A small packet arrived today –  the gift of a DVD of the play ‘Jeremy Visick’, derived from my Dad’s book,  that I saw at the beginning of the month and wrote about here. The writer and producer also sent me the script to enjoy at leisure. What a very kind and much appreciated gesture.

A very special DVD

 
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Posted by on March 15, 2019 in Food, nature, Photography, Postaday 2019

 

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Thank you Letter, Glass and My Dad

Our kids invariably complained when asked to write Thank you letters but I know they meant something special to my Mum and Dad as I discovered a box full of them when we sorted Dad’s things many years ago.  I know even more now how special they were as on Saturday we received a beautiful Thank you letter from one of our LiveWires. It will go into my ‘things to keep’ box.

On the back it says, “Thank you Granny and Grandgrand xx

For Christmas I received all the equipment I need to make pretty glass things without going to more classes. I have just finished my first piece done at home. It will look better hanging with the light through it but I have yet to source the rings for that purpose.

New glass piece with upcycled earrings

On this day in 1916 my Dad was born. He died in December 2004. It doesn’t matter how long ago you lost someone, there are moments when their loss feels like yesterday. We are so lucky to have all his books on our shelves so he is always with us.

Pueblo story-teller and novels by David Wiseman

 

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Hat Pin, Thimbles and Missing Loved Ones

Sorting yet another drawer today, I found this beautiful hat pin.

Silver and feathers

There has been correspondence in The Guardian recently about The Peterloo Massacre and the fact that this topic is so little known about and is rarely taught in schools. (Is that so, G?) I was reminded of one of my Father, David Wiseman’s,  novels and set to this afternoon to re-read it. It’s brilliant! It was published here in the UK, in America and in Denmark and here are the various covers.

Reading it, I could hear my Daddy’s voice, see the cottage they once lived in, recognise characteristics of both my Mum and Dad in two of the characters, walk along the Coombe with the main character down to the sea and see again my Mum’s beautiful collection of thimbles. Quite an afternoon.

Missing someone

 
 

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Sketch, Cookie Cutters and A Leaf

We have had a sketch book of my Dad’s for many years and I thought I had taken out and given away the various sketches. I brought it down today so that the LiveWires can use the paper for their delightful drawings and discovered another of dad’s drawings, of Wheal Busy. My Dad was an author of children’s books and adult historical romances – a man of many talents.

Wheal Busy dated 4/vii/80

I sent for some new biscuit cutters so will have fun with the LiveWires making Autumn biscuits.

Biscuit cutters

A lovely Autumn leaf found on my walk today.

Red leaf

 

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Peace, A New Book and More Embroidery

Yesterday we collected flat pebbles at Portreath and today LiveWire T wrote kind and loving  words on them.

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This morning the family went to visit The Poldark Mine and found it fascinating. I couldn’t go as I had to go to my Pilates class which helps me stay mobile!  LiveWire J was full of information that he had learned and was very struck by the fact that boys his age had to go down the mine to work!  We feel that the time is ripe for him to be given my Dad’s, his Great Grandfather’s novel, Jeremy Visick to read. He has promised to look after it and to tell me how he gets on with it.

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LiveWire T has continued to work on her free embroidery and is taking great care with each stitch. This is our last day with them so we will need to finish it off early tomorrow morning before they leave at 9.30.

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