On my two mile walk back from delivering our car to the garage early this morning, I was, as always, keeping a lookout for lovely things and I found them!
A couple of autumn coloured leaves against a cerulean sky
Heart shaped shadow
Carn Brea through skeleton trees and russet leaves
I noticed a very pretty stained glass window in our lovely town for the first time today.
Our Tulip border is looking gorgeous, just one rogue red one among the pale pink and white ones. The purple ones are only just starting to bloom and the blue Muscari are finishing off. I do love Spring flowers.
It has been a glorious day today and the first where we could sit out quite late with a glass of wine and watch the sun go down. It is beginning to feel like the beginning of Summer! Our friend, Shelagh, tell us it is snowing again in Vermont!
I was the Celebrant for the loveliest Humanist Wedding Ceremony today. I just love how personal and special these ceremonies are. With their permission, here are the beautiful and very happy Bride and her Husband.
My choirs, The Inglehearts and The Suitcases, sang for the Christmas lights switch on in Redruth this evening. The parade of all the local schools with their lanterns was delightful and the singing, of course, very well received! I love it when the audience also join in, especially with the much loved Cornish carols written by Thomas Merritt.
Waiting for my lift after the event, the following caught my eye.
It looked like eyes and golden hair. In fact, it is two faces of the town clock and the lit up underside of the viaduct.
A delicious breakfast this morning consisted of eggy bread with blueberries, toasted almonds and creme fraiche with maple syrup for the lovely Mr S and with ginger syrup for me.
We were in town this evening and photographed this street painting of Redruth in 1890 and took almost the same shot this evening. You can see the clock tower in both photos.
The lights were on in a house on our road this evening highlighting a stained glass window that I have not noticed before.
There are all sorts of installations around our town for a three day Arts festival with the title, The Future Project, and today we made a start on discovering what is on show.
Our first stop was the Indoor Garden installation by Sue Hill and the Live Wires, with us for a few days, had a brilliant time making tray gardens which are now in the front window of the erstwhile empty shop, much to their delight. They had so much fun in the workshop that all our time was used up. We will have to return tomorrow!
On the way home up the hill J noticed the dragon finial on a neighbours’ house and asked if he could take the photo himself.
I discovered a new shop in town today, The Craft Collective, where most things have been made in Cornwall but not all – there were some gorgeous African buttons made by Thalia-Mai Nero.
I have shown you our Welly Dogs before but I love them so much, here they are again! Made by David Kemp, they are really called the Tinners’ Hounds and were fashioned from miners’ boots and then cast.
Walking home I found ferns on a wall, and a lone lost bloom on the path.
This post from Nancy came in today and landed at the most appropriate time as I have spent the morning sorting some family papers, reading wonderful bits of family history and, at last, throwing out the condolences cards sent when my lovely Dad died in 2004. It was lovely to read the messages again and I have kept a couple for the family history archive. I will keep going….. Mum’s to do next. It is not a sad task but life affirming in a strange way. Theirs were good lives.
In amongst the papers was this photograph of my lovely Mum who spent her career in Camborne and Redruth, teaching deaf children. Many wrote to say how inspiring they found her.
Mrs Wiseman, my Mum, at Roskear School, Camborne
This photo was also in the drawer, of me and the other Mums who had our babies on Christmas Day 1975! Both photos were in the local papers.
I’m sure you can tell which one is me!
Our walk today was just along local streets once the rain had stopped. These planters caught my eye.
Welcoming doorstep
We’d like some advice please from blogging friends in the US, specifically those who know the East. We are planning a road trip next May from Atlanta to Washington DC, though the Blue Ridge Mountains, visiting the Shenandoah Valley, maybe going to Baltimore. Where should we not miss? We will be having a week in Atlanta with family and will then have two weeks. We would be very grateful for any thoughts.
1 The theme for our shop windows in Redruth this winter is Gingerbread houses and there is a lovely display made by Redruth School in the window of my opticians in Fore Street. I love the partly eaten gingerbread people!
Gingerbread houses
2 I discovered a shop in the market place today that sells beautiful natural yarn for spinning or felting.
Display in the new natural yarn shop
3 On the way up the hill the sun caught the patterns of the bark on a tree trunk.
Sunlit bark
The sun came out this afternoon so, to build my strength back up, we went for a short walk along to St Euny Church. There we discovered that the Redruth Team Ministry have been very busy and have put up some fascinating information boards about the history of the Church and the local area. Do click on the board in the gallery and read about trepanning by highly skilled local surgeons in the late 1700’s and the miners who walked home after such a traumatic experience!
The Primroses, Wild Garlic and the Bluebells were all in flower as were the Cherry tree and many Azaleas. It was a beautiful stroll and I feel the better for it. On the way up the lane, we spotted a delightful summer house through the hedge where a tree has been cut down since we were last there. Click on any photo for an enlargement.
Just published another poem in the Poetry section,’ Just The Intensive Care Baby Unit’
1 The hare in our garden looked suitably unimpressed with the frosty start to this morning.
Garden Sculpture
2 Enjoying a Birthday lunch with a good friend we noticed a horse-drawn wedding carriage draw up at the beach.
Horse-drawn Wedding carriage
3 People from all of Claire’s choirs turned up to sing at the Christmas Parade in Redruth tonight. We sang after the parade as the children queued to see Father Christmas, who, I was very pleased to see, was wearing a green outfit which was what he wore in Tudor and Victorian times before Clement Clarke Moore (1779 – 1863) wrote ‘Twas the night before Christmas!
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