Home again tonight. Here are a charming sculpture, the take off and a sign to the village in Cornwall, Polyphant, the name of which made us laugh as children. I must take the turning some day and see what the village is really like.
Sculpture at Terminal 4
Leaving Barcelona
Nearly home
1 Oh, it was so good to be singing in harmony again! I have so missed singing while away on holiday. Singing along to Steve Earle is fun but not a patch on a Suitcases session with Claire Ingleheart!
2 L has arrived for a couple of days visit with GrandBaby B who has crawled for the first time this afternoon! She went 10 ft altogether going for a ball of crumpled paper a foot or so out of reach.
3 All three of our Grandchildren have been weaned using baby-led weaning and tonight Grand-baby B, 6 and 1/2 months old, has eaten poached chicken, carrots, celery and potatoes and thoroughly enjoyed her meal, all picked up by her, no spooning here!
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!
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.
1 After singing with Sophie and the Suitcases this morning, I took the Sally-boots that I made this week to a friend for her new baby boy, Declan.
Sally-boots for Declan
2 I have been reminded this afternoon by of a quotation that pleases me. Thank you, Usha Pisharody
Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”
~Julius Henry “Groucho” Marx.
3 It’s been a long time since my last piano lesson but I have practised a lot since we came home from Senegal and today my lovely teacher said, with the first half of one piece, that I would have been given top marks if that had been the exam! Now I have to make the rest of the piece as good!
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!
1 Despite a disastrous start to the day with two burst tyres, singing with the Suitcases and then a lovely lunch with understanding friends helped to recover the day.
2 Seeing Choir-baby Elowyn in her Sally-boots was a great pleasure, especially as they matched her Babygro.
Sally-boots
3 My piano lesson went really well. I’m told I’m just about ready to take my Grade 1 should I want to!
1 Another fabulous session with The Suitcases and Claire Ingleheart. Today both Choir-babies and our toddler were there. It really is very special to sing, “Keep you in Peace’ with a baby in your arms gazing up at you! Thanks to Larissa for sharing Tristan. If you’d like to read the words of this beautiful song, they are below.
2 I bought the Seville Oranges for this year’s marmalade marathon. Mr S loves his marmalade and I like to make enough for him and to give away to friends. (I prefer Ginger Marmalade!)
Seville Oranges
3 It was our monthly reading group meeting at our local library this afternoon. We had very interesting discussions about the two books we’ve read since November -‘Purple Hibiscus’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche (Brilliant but not an easy read, set in Nigeria) and ‘Brixton Beach’ by Roma Tearne, a beautifully written and powerful story, set in Sri Lanka and London. Both, we all agreed, certainly worth reading.
Chorus:
Warm be the sun that shines upon you
Soft be the winds as they breathe on you
Smooth be the roads that rise before you
Keep you in peace ‘til we meet again.
Verse:
May you have stars in the night to guide you
May you have ever a friend beside you
Keep you in peace ‘til we meet again.
Chorus
Verse:
May you not lack for good bread to feed you
May you not lack for good hope to speed you
And, for your singing a heart to heed you
Keep you in peace till we meet again.
Chorus
1 It was so good to get back to singing again and even Claire asking us to dance did not dim my enjoyment! I knew I’d been missing the singing and my singing friends but hadn’t realised quite how much!
2 I saw my hip man this afternoon and he thinks I can put off the replacements indefinitely but says I can ask to see him whenever I want to, if I’m in pain again, and he’ll see me quickly and look after me. It was Joe the osteopath who fixed my hips last June – magic!
3 We Skyped briefly with Daniel and Ami and began to discuss wedding arrangements but we’ve lost the signal from Senegal. The photo is of our beautiful soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Ami.
1 Lovely evening at Trelissick with Inglehearts, Suitcases and Riversiders, singing near the fire and with mulled wine in our hands! Check out the Water Tower! Isn’t that delightful?!
2 When I went downstairs to make a cup of tea this morning, I could hear the lovely gurgling sounds of Tabitha amusing herself in her cot while she waited for the rest of us to wake up. Now, that was special.
3 Heard that Jo, our splendid and talented carpenter had her baby last night, a girl, and all is well. I’ve made a cardigan but will have to get going on the matching boots asap. That’s our 2nd choir baby!
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