A fennel plant has sown itself and the fuzzy growth point is lovely.
We were stuck in traffic long enough for me to be amused by the weed growing out of the top and to have time to take the photo.
The evening sun coming into the sitting room creates perfect shadows of my trainee Fairy.
I first fell in love with Samantha Bryan’s Fairies in the early 2000s when I saw an exhibition in the Craft Centre and Design Gallery in Leeds. The invention, the humour, the whole premise and the beautiful construction entranced me and I bought my first Fairy. Who knew that fairies don’t simply fly but have to learn? That they wear L plates to warn others of their inexperience? That they need various intricate contraptions to help them learn to fly? That they do stretching exercises before setting off on their roller boots, or with a lifting device, under an air balloon or with a propellor? That they need special protective equipment? My quirky collection of ‘Brains Fairy Aiding Inventions’ shows all these and more.
My first Fairy
Fairy doing an exercise designed to strengthen leg muscles in preparation for impact during landing
Fairy doing an exercise designed to strengthen leg muscles in preparation for impact during landing
Waiting for repaired wings and looking a bit sad 2004
Air balloon assistance
Beautiful detail
I love her pleased expression
Brain’s revolutionary V.T.O.L. Apparatus (assists fairies in vertical take-off and landing) 2003
Improved pedal powered fairy vehicle
All the Fairies have labels typed on an old typewriter adding to the quaintness of the whole.
When I retired from teaching in 2006, I was also mentoring student teachers and commissioned Samantha to make me a Fairy piece showing a Fairy being encouraged in her efforts to become fully fledged and ready to go out on her own. Samantha sent me four beautiful designs that she had sketched and this is the one I chose.
Mentor with fairy in training 2006
It’s time I added to my collection!
I fitted the repaired wings to two of my Fairies today and am delighted with how they now look and that now they will be able to fly, albeit that they are learners!
We are delighted with the serendipitous odd pops of colour in our garden. Both the Poppy and the Crocosmia are self-sown.
In the last few days, members of The Inglehearts’ Singers have recorded themselves at home singing new words to Trelawny, the Cornish anthem, words designed to encourage people in Camborne to wear their masks and to help each other in these uncertain Covid times.
ttps://www.facebook.com/CamborneTown/videos/280043376609260
Some time ago I mentioned that a couple of my beautiful Fairy collection, made by Samantha Bryan, had poorly wings. See here for that post. I wrote to Samantha to explain the problem and she wrote back telling me how to remove the wings and to send them to her for repair. This I did, with the beautiful feathers given to me by my dear friend, Nicky. The repaired wings arrived in the post today along with two tiny bits of leather in case any further repair is need. Just look! Aren’t they beautiful? I shall show you when I have attached the wings in a day or two.
Feather wings from Samantha Bryan
Our eggs arrived today, one with a feather attached – seems just serendipitous for the day!
I love my new camera and the macro facility. I have missed it so much! Here, some Rose petals and an Alium.
One of our very dear friends came by today now that we are allowed to meet outside. We spent a very happy couple of hours in the garden. N brought with her some wonderful gifts and a pile of beautiful story books for us to borrow to read over Skype to our three year old LiveWire twins in Barcelona.
There were freshly laid eggs, two of which which we will have for breakfast and freshly dug new potatoes which we have enjoyed this evening.
N also brought me some delicate feathers for a very special purpose. I have a wonderful collection of Samantha Bryan’s fairies (Did you know all fairies have to learn to fly?) and a couple of them have disintegrating wings! They were made of skeleton leaves which are not as long lasting as feathers which many of my fairies have. We are going to try to replace the leaves with feathers – after getting advice from the maker herself.
That was a very precious few hours as we haven’t seen each other for almost three months and at the beginning of that time, N suffered with C19 and we were so very worried. It was just wonderful to see her properly again not just on a screen even if we couldn’t hug.
1 Samantha Bryan, sculptor and imagineer, has put out a call to reunite all her beautiful fairies, if only virtually. She has asked any owners to photograph them and send in the photos. Here is one of mine that I love with her little birthday candle to light her way when she’s out in the dark.
Pedal Powered Fairy by Samantha Bryan
Label on my fairy
2 Today I have made the Chocolate Amaretti Torte for the reunion and for my guest posting with Go Bake Yoursel I can’t turn out the one I made today until the party so here’s one I made earlier for my father-in-law’s 90th birthday party. It is so smooth and rich and scrumptious!
Here’s one I made earlier!
3 Knowing how I love to knit, and to knit wacky things as well as beautiful things, my lovely next-door-neighbour gave me this book today. Thank you! Watch this space!
Yarn Bombing!
The Orb I designed and knitted for the Wildworks Kensington Palace Exhibition
Jake with The Orb at Kensington Palace
For those of my readers who like my recipes, I have today put KJ’s fabulous Lime and Ginger Cheesecake up on the Recipe pages. Do comment there if you try it. I’d love to know how you get on with it!
1 Sorting out the room for our Grandchildren to sleep in when they arrive late tonight for two weeks, I saw another fairy Sculpture and remembered that I had promised to show you another of my treasures made by the very talented artist Samantha Bryan. The other one can be seen at http://mybeautfulthings.com/2012/03/09/fur-elise-fairies-and-fishnchips/
Air balloon Fairy
Brain’s Airborne Support System
2 We had a very heavy shower onto hot ground this afternoon and, for the first time this Summer, I smelt petrichor! Wikipedia defines it as ‘the scent of rain on dry earth’. My lovely Sister-in-law in Atlanta, Georgia and I discovered the word at the same time so the smell always reminds me of her.
Number 3 was going to be a gorgeous and very big spider that I found in the garden and took a beautifully hairy photo of but just now this delightful email came in from my Brother-in-law in Warsaw, Poland:
“The photo below is about two cranes who met in an injured animals’ clinic in the south of Poland. The female had a broken wing, the male some serious food poisoning. During the course of several months’ treatment they paired up together. The male gradually recovered his strength, but the female’s condition was irreversible, so she didn’t regain the ability to fly. In view of this, the male refrained from cruising off to warmer climes in the winter and remained in Poland; he also decided to start building his partner a nest, on the ground. Which, of course, is pretty unheard-of for cranes…”
Two Cranes
Isn’t that just a beautiful story?
1 I’ve practised on the piano so hard today – Fur Elise is beginning to sound right!
2 I’ve been collecting Fairies made by the talented Samantha Bryan for many years. This one, I commissioned for my retiring from teaching after many very enjoyable years. Fairies don’t instinctively know how to fly,you know. They need to learn and to be taught! I’ll show you more of my Fairy collection in the weeks to come.
3 We had fish’n’chips tonight from Mac’s in Redruth – fantastic and a rare treat that was much appreciated by all.
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