Beautiful paper poetry sculpture in the Lello bookshop.
I have never before seen a sculpture with glasses on!
The wash basin in the cafe where we stopped for lunch on the side of the Douro River.
Trees on the skyline seen from the boat trip.
A fabulous Dylanesque busker and a cat.we stayed so long listening , we lost the group but we found them again at the top of the hill. Ourfirstday has been fabulous full of information and fun. Our team leader is brilliant! 🙂
After a two hour flight we landed in the warmth of Portuguese sunshine, had a walk near our hotel to orient ourselves and went out for dinner, delicious especially the pudding!
1 We awoke to the most beautiful dawn sky, red and deep orange becoming violet, mauve and amber and eventually blue with pinky-peachy clouds. Sadly the old words were right and that beautiful red sky was indeed a warning for the rest of the day.
Dawn over our back garden
Dawn and our Headless Ghost
2 In the lovely Lemon Street Gallery in Truro was a fabulous sculpture looking not unlike a Grandfather clock but full of intrigue. I was encouraged to open the doors, ring the bells, swing the pendulum, discover the secrets behind the doors. If only I could afford to buy this most beautiful and imaginative piece by Baz Roscoe and Sans Robinson. Do read the information too – such thought and love have gone into this remarkable structure. I love it! Here you can see the artists talking about their piece.
In the Rain the Old Path Becomes a New Stream
Sculpture
‘In the Rain the Old Path Becomes a New Stream’ information
3 I came home to find some photos in my dropbox from my Dear Sister in Hawaii. I give you two of her photos and invite you to read her lyrical words that follow. Beautiful indeed.
Volcano erupting into the sea
Dawn with the lava and ocean
“I’ve been with the elemental nature of the Earth in such a dramatic, yet personal way. The hike out is intense. For one, it is dark and two you are hiking over lava (not the hot, red stuff!) for about three miles. Lava comes in all shapes and forms and you have to be VERY careful. The lava can be fragile, or it can be very solid – you don’t know and so each step is taken with great care and respect for the land. Often there are large cracks, but I have learned that if you keep moving forward and step over them, the land will support you on the other side. And then – after an hour and a half of preparation through this hike – it suddenly gets hot – blasts of heat rise up from the ground and as you look down – there are hot spots. Not flowing lava yet, but you know it is flowing under where you are walking – and don’t forget, some of the lava is fragile, so you take each step with even greater care and connectivity to the land.
And then! – I cannot express the awe of watching the elements in their raw expression of power and beauty. We spent about two hours out there, through the dark until after dawn, with the changing light and complete, awe-inspiring power. The lava would continually find new paths, blasting out of the cliff face, creating new fiery rivers and pools as it made its way towards the ocean where it was greeted by a force we are all familiar with. The ensuing connection between the two elements of fire and water produced huge billowing clouds of steam which rose up the cliff face – being pushed by the wind – sometimes into your face where it stung your eyes and filled your lungs with an unfamiliar breath. Leaning on a huge lava rock, I realized my back was getting warmer and warmer. My support, though firm lava, still had the warmth of the running lava inside it. The connection of fire and waves were creating new land, in the form of black sand – a beach was instantly being formed at the base of the cliff through the combination of forces. The elements fire, water, earth and air all in their most passionate expressions.
And then – the hike back – new land under foot. How beautiful this lava is – bejeweled with gold, silver, platinum and electric blue. In shapes and colors now visible in light of the new day. Shaped in ropes and strings and flows – you can see how it flowed, how it formed this land which I am so blessed to call home.”
1 Beautiful dewdrops on the tiny hairy buds of the courgettes. We’re hoping the sun will get them flowering soon. They were planted late after the gales destroyed the earlier planting.
2 Portreath this morning was beautiful – the water turquoise, the sun glorious and lots of colour in the pavement flowers. I have shown you the lion sculpture before but the mosaics were glinting so beautifully in the sun that I had to show you again!
Dew drops on courgette buds
Dew drops and a bee seeking nectar
A one person seat on the harbour in Portreath
Shadow self portrait from the harbour wall in Portreath
Poppies on the pavement in Portreath
Sue Hill and Pete Hill’s Mosaic lion in the primary school field
Shanticot, ready for the Grandchildren
3 We’ve just finished making up the beds for KJ and the Shanticot for the children and the spare room bed for P&V who will be staying here for their last weekend before going to London for two days and returning to Atlanta on Wednesday. It is truly beautiful to have so many people back in our house for the weekend.
We have had the most beautiful day today! First we had a walk along the Flat Lode Trail to find a tin mine for Jake and this afternoon we went off to The Lost Gardens of Heligan to find the Giant and the Mud Maid.
I’m going to tell it through photos – enjoy! Click on the first one and then click the arrows on the right to get the whole story.
In the carry-sack
Setting off on our walk
Uphill in knee deep grass
Looking at the view
Having a shoulder ride
Beautiful honeysuckle
St Uny Engine House
Horse knee-deep in buttercups
Jake’s turn in the carry-sack
Beautiful Heligan
Just look at the detail in this foxglove flower
Down the path to the glade
The putto in the pond
The Bee Boles
Information about the Bee Boles
Jake under the Gunnera
“I’m going up this path!”
Admiring the dove cote
Setting off to find the Giant
Beautiful wild flower patch
Contrast – old leaves and new growth
Jake has just whispered to the Giant, “We’ve found you! We are friendly faces!”
The very beautiful and serene Mud Maid
Children pyjamaed and ready for the five hour drive home
And now they’ve gone home and the house feels very quiet and empty!
Today has been on of those days when finding the beautiful has been harder than usual. I’ve been laid up with Yellow Fever vaccination reaction, feeling completely worn out and achey, as we were warned could well happen a week after the event. So…..
1 “The words! I collected them in all shapes and sizes and hung them like bangles in my mind.” Hortense Calisher. I, too, am an avid collector of words.
2 Another piece of bathroom art that I love. We brought this beautiful sculpture home from Swaziland.
Sculpture from Swaziland
3 I finished knitting Tabitha’s new shrug – now to sew it all up.
1 This morning I found a scrap of paper on which I had written: ‘ May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.’ I’ve just looked it up and find it is an old Irish blessing which seems rather serendipitous given that today is St Patrick’s Day! Happy Day to all of you out there with any Irish in your blood (like me!)
2 We’ve spent the day in Truro where I did much of my growing up. I love this hexagonal post box and Walsingham Place and even the concrete car park becomes attractive when Mr S calls ‘Psst’ from near the top!
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3 We have several sculptures in our garden. This one is ‘Copper Rook’, whom we call Muker as that is the name of the village in North Yorkshire where we bought him on our Wedding Anniversary in 2000. He was made by Michael Kusz and we love him! This one’s for you, David Heilman. Hope you like it.
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.
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3 We had fish’n’chips tonight from Mac’s in Redruth – fantastic and a rare treat that was much appreciated by all.
Pavement designs of city emblem.
Children on a school trip.
Colourful market produce in Mercado de Ribeiro.
After the funicular ride.
Making the best of a hole in the wall!
Fatima’s hands.
A fabulous shop full of things I could buy! All I bought was a scarf but that might change if we return tomorrow…..
I love the detail in the cloth of this young newspaper boy.
Pasteis de natal which we had at the end of the afternoon in a small cafe near our hotel.
