1 The gig at Carn Marth was beautiful! It was a lovely relaxed affair with the barbecue burning, children playing, scarecrows were being made for the competition and all while we were singing our hearts out, all 100 of us, all taught by Claire, and, after an horrendous forecast of torrential rain, the sun shone on us! Brilliant! I only have a picture of the three choirs enjoying our warm-up.
Inglehearts, Suitcases and Riversiders warming up prior to Carn Marth Gig
2 When I came home, I sat in the arbour at the back of the garden, knitting and listening to nothing but the murmuration of the bees and was reminded of this lovely piece by Tennyson, especially the last line.
“……………. and sweet is every sound,
Sweeter thy voice, but every sound is sweet;
Myriads of rivulets hurrying thro’ the lawn,
The moan of doves in immemorial elms,
And murmuring of innumerable bees.”
3 For supper tonight I made a delicious dish from the Hairy Bikers turned Dieters – Spanish Style Chicken Bake. I’ll post the recipe if anyone is interested. It was warm enough for us to eat outside tonight too. Lovely.
Spanish Style Chicken Bake a la Hairy Dieters with a couple of variations
P.S. For your information and delectation, ‘murmuration’ is the collective word for a flock of starlings as well as the sound of murmurings. Just thought you might like to know!
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Tags: Carn Marth, Claire Ingleheart, Hairy Bikers, Hairy Dieters, Inglehearts, Postaday, postaday2012, Riversiders, Suitcases
1 We went to the beautiful Potager Garden, Constantine, to meet a friend, to play and to have lunch. We wandered all over the place exploring, noting landmarks so that we could find our way back and hunting dragons. It’s a magical place for children (and their adults!)
Having adventures at Potager Garden
Jake in the meadow at Potager garden
Lunch was absolutely delicious, as always. Lots of the food is grown right there in the gardens. All the food is cooked freshly on the premises and is a treat for the eyes as well as for the taste buds!
Having lunch in the Potager Garden cafe
Fritatta and salad
Ploughman’s with Cornish Blue Cheese
Tabitha escaping from the cafe!
2 There were flowers in abundance and Jake spotted the bee on the cornflowers.
Cornflower with Bumble Bee
3 This evening I’ve been to sing with the Three Choirs on a Ferry. All three of Claire Ingleheart’s choirs, about 100 of us, sang first in the courtyard in Trelissick Gardens and then we all, including our audience of about 200, walked down the hill to the King Harry Ferry where the choirs went on board, the audience on the slip way and we sang for an hour and were much appreciated by the friendly crowd which included KJ and Lucy, which was really lovely for me. Just as we finished we were all delighted to hear the beautiful sound of a pair of owls hooting to each other.
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Tags: Claire Ingleheart, community, Cornflower, cornwall, flowers, food, grandbabies, grandchildren, home made food, homegrown food, hunting dragons, Inglehearts, Jake, King Harry Ferry, Potager Garden, Potager Garden Cafe, Suitcases, Three Choirs on a Ferry, Trelissick Gardens
1 On some of the paving slabs on our new patio are some remarkably beautiful fern-like patterns. I thought they were fossilised ferns but I’m told it’s oxides in the stone. Click to see the detail.
Oxides or fossils?
Fossilised fern?
2 It has been properly warm today with such a lovely Cornish blue sky.
Cornish blue sky
3 Singing tonight with Hilary and the Inglehearts was so lovely. We did ‘The Soldiers’ Farewell’ with its beautiful harmonies and cadences – so moving, it gave me the shivers.
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Tags: 'The Soldiers' Farewell', Cornish blue sky, ferns, fossils, harmonies, Inglehearts, inspiration, oxides, patio, paving slabs, singing
1. An absolute downpour today, all night, all day but – serendipity indeed – a friend asked us for something from the shed so Mr S went out and caught the mini-flood in our yard just before it came through the air brick into the house. Beautiful timing!
2. Yesterday when we moved the Clematis a few pieces had to be cut to remove it from the trellis but that wasn’t a disaster but an opportunity to have some beautiful flowers indoors.
Clematis indoors
3. Through pouring rain, along roads running with rivers, through patches of floods, we arrived at King Edward’s Mine in Troon for their Open Day. With Pip conducting, The Inglehearts sang, first accompanying the delightful children from Troon Primary School and then accompanied by the rain drumming on the corrugated roof . We had a lovely sing and all felt better for it!
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Tags: air brick, clematis, community, flood, Inglehearts, King Edward Mine, nature, plants, rain, Troon primary School
1 The cream of tomato soup that Mr S made for our lunch looked so perfectly orange and beautiful.
2 We went for our favourite local walk from Chapel Porth up to Wheal Coates coming back to the beach cafe for a delicious hot chocolate and some homemade ginger cake (made by Rosie)
3 Singing with the Inglehearts for the first time in two weeks was overlaid with sadness as one of our singers, the much loved Mo, died last week and we were practising “You are my Sunshine” to sing tomorrow at her funeral. That was hard but it did us all good to sing and to remember her with some stories. We sang ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ in her honour as it was another of her favourites.
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Tags: "You are my Sunshine", 'Wayfaring Stranger', Chapel Porth, choir, cream of tomato soup, flowers, funeral, homemade ginger cake, hot chocolate, Inglehearts, Mr S, plants, snail shell, Wheal Coates
1 Wislawa Szymborska, Polish poet and Nobel prizewinner, died on 1st February 2012 and The Guardian printed this poem of hers which I find very beautiful.
A miracle (what else can you call it):
the sun rose today at three fourteen
a.m.
and will set tonight at one past eight
A miracle that’s lost on us:
the hand actually has fewer than six
fingers
but still it’s got more than four.
A miracle, just take a look around:
the inescapable earth.
An extra miracle, extra and ordinary:
the unthinkable
can be thought.
(translated into English by Stanisław Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh)
Wislawa Szymborska in 2010. Photograph: Jacek Turczyk/EPA
2 Had another enquiry about a wedding, this one a recommendation from a couple whose wedding I did a couple of years ago which is very pleasing.
3 Singing with the Inglehearts. Tonight we rehearsed ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ by the Beatles in an arrangement by Claire and it felt good!
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Tags: choir, Claire Ingleheart, Humanist Wedding, Inglehearts, miracle, Nobel prizewinner, Polish poet, singing, The Guardian, Wislawa Szymborska
1 Singing with the Three Choirs in Truro Cathedral was such a lovely experience! The acoustics were amazing and the audience really responsive.
We sang in Truro Cathedral
2 Visiting my friend in hospital was good because she was feeling so much better and expects to be allowed home on Monday. (Update -S did go home only to be re-admitted that night and has been in for 6 weeks)
3 Skype with the GrandBabies was lovely as always though Jake was far too busy to stop and talk to us! It’s just fun to be able to see him playing in the background while we talk to KJ. Tabitha clapped with delight when she realised we were there on the screen!
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Tags: acoustics, Claire Ingleheart, grandbabies, Inglehearts, KJ, Skype, Suitcases, Tabitha., Truro, Truro Cathedral
1 Last night Daniel gave us our first few phrases of Wolof to learn and we’ve been practising. I particularly like the greeting, ‘Yangui si jam?’ (Are you at peace?) and the reply, ‘Waw, mangui si jam.” (Yes, I am peaceful.) We will need some Wolof as well as French for our trip to Senegal in April.
2 Veronika, our Czech painter (of ColourGirlz) has been here today painting the woodwork in our hall. She is a meticulous worker and is so appreciative of my home baking. I had made her some of my Mum’s Mocha Crispies.
Mum's Mocha Crispies Recipe
3 Singing with Claire and the Inglehearts has as usual lifted my spirits even when I didn’t realise they had any lifting to do! We sang a beautiful new piece composed by Claire which was moving enough in its initial learning and will be amazing when we have learned it all. I am so happy that we moved where we did so that our lovely neighbours could introduce me to Claire!
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Tags: baking, choir, Claire Ingleheart, czech painter, Daniel, home baking, Inglehearts, Mum, neighbours, Wolof
1 Having been away for 5 days I’ve been missing my piano practice. Today I did an hour, getting to grips with my three First Grade pieces and really feeling good about it.
2 I heard Bizet’s Toreador’s Song from Carmen on the radio and it brought my lovely Dad straight into the kitchen. Dad was always whistling or singing and this was one he really enjoyed – and so did I.
3 I’ve been singing tonight with the Inglehearts. We went back to an old favourite tonight, La Serena, a beautiful haunting song with only two harmonies but spine chilling nevertheless, which we are going to sing in Truro Cathedral in our concert in February.
Evening sunshine on Truro rooftops
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Tags: Bizet, Carmen, Dad, Inglehearts, La Serena, piano, piano practice, rooftops, Toreador's Song, Truro Cathedral
1 We’ve booked our flights to Senegal for Daniel and Ami’s wedding!
2 Fabulous singing with the Inglehearts tonight and a super offer from the husband of a choir member. His firm have offered to sponsor the sending to Mapoch of all the balls I’ve collected from friends. I’ve been collecting balls from deodorant roll-ons and plastic rolls from printers since Mr S and I did our volunteering in 2007 (building a classroom) and sending them all out to the Gogos (Grannies) who bead them into the most beautiful decorations.
Beadwork by the Gogos of Mapoch, S.A.
This year no new volunteers were able to take them out for me as people have done in the past and they were going to cost about £90 to post! Consequently I only sent a few and the lovely people who’ve been collecting were very disappointed. Thanks to P, it seems as if all the rest might be able to be sent – brilliant!
3 I’ve been booked for a Baby Naming Ceremony in July! Delighted! They are such lovely individual ceremonies to do.
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Tags: Ami, Baby Naming Ceremony, beadwork, Daniel, Inglehearts, Mapoch, Senegal, South Africa, volunteering, wedding
