Happy Mail - Not Yarn!

 I treated myself! 

I was introduced to Rituals via a You Tube channel about eight months ago. Before that I'd never heard of them, but it wasn't long afterwards that I saw they had opened a shop in the Stirling Shopping Centre, so I went in for a browse. I didn't buy anything then, but a while later when I needed some new shampoo I went  and had a look and bought a (very expensive!) bottle of the stuff.

Well I say very expensive but it's lasted ages and it's very kind to my hair so perhaps it's not in the grand scheme of things. As seems to be normal nowadays I was encouraged to sign up for their e-mails which I did and I generally give them a quick look when they come and then discard them. 

Last week though they had a special offer on a box of three full size shower gels, on-line only and I thought, Why Not? Obviously I did my usual thing of thinking um, and ah, and should I really do it,  for several days first, but I did eventually persuade myself that buying three bottles of shower gel on special offer didn't make me a selfish horrible person and I ordered them. They came today, so very quickly and in a nice box ( see above) 

And now they're out of the box, as below

If I remember I'll report back on which is my favourite in due course. 

Yorkshire Part 2 - The Conference

I don't think I have ever not enjoyed a Gaskell Society Conference and this one was well up to standard. For a long time it seemed to be the case that either you got great food, but the accommodation wasn't so brilliant, or vice versa but on the past few occasions both have been acceptable or better , and to be honest you're not there for the beds or the food but the friends and the papers. Although I'm aware that not everyone takes quite such a sanguine view. 

The hotel wasn't perfect, mainly due to being short staffed,  and I did end up having basically the same dinner two nights out of three, but that wouldn't have been the case if I ate fish so it's not fair to hold that against the catering. The sandwich lunches wouldn't have set the world alight but then when did a sandwich lunch ever do that? And it was certainly far too hot to add soup. 

The current chair of the society had taken it upon herself to try and up the academic content a bit, so there was actually a call for papers this year and we ended up with a very wide spread of subjects being talked about; some more interesting than others. but that's always the way. I particularly enjoyed a Ph D student from Edinburgh talking about dress in Gaskell's novels with particular reference to North and South and, my surprise of the weekend, was enjoying an analysis of Gaskell's novels which sought to prove whether or not she understood the industrial changes she was living through and whether she was more positive then negative in her attitude towards them in her writing. Oddly, to me,  this seemed to show that she was fairly neutral about it in all her books which I found very surprising since industrialists complained bitterly of her negative attitudes towards factories and factory owners in Mary Barton and she wrote North and South in part to even up the score. So an analysis which showed that she was equally positive about industrial change in both these books made me wonder if there was something wrong with the basic analytic method...but what do I know? It was an entertaining talk. 

There were outings. The first was to the Brotherton Library in Leeds. I spent a lot of time there as an undergraduate so there was nothing new for me in the actual building and they had a very dull exhibition on in the special collections gallery. They did however get out some of their Gaskell treasures and they were well worth looking at. We were all fascinated by a recent discovery - here's a photo 

Each piece of paper has a page number at the top, referring to a page in a biography of Gaskell and then an excerpt written out in blue. Underneath in red,  and occasionally very cross, writing are corrective comments, written it is believed by Gaskell's second daughter Meta. I think it's fair to say she had a lot to find fault with. 

The other outing was to Thornton near Bradford where many of the Bronte children were born, as their father was the curate there before he moved to Haworth. The birthplace has recently been restored and opened to the public by no less a personage than Kween Kamilla. We had a guided tour led by someone who had been involved in all the hard work of raising money, and getting the thing done so he had lots to tell us. They have made  a very good job of it. Of course they can't get hold of authentic Bronte artefacts, unlike the Parsonage at Haworth, but they have managed to furnish it with contemporary furniture. 

This is the writing desk in the parlour

Someone made a beautiful scale model of the house and it's on display in the scullery/kitchen

There are three bedrooms you can sleep over in (via Air BnB if you're interested!) They'd had a Chinese Bronte scholar staying and she had donated a copy of Jane Eyre in mandarin

After the birthplace which very sadly wasn't serving refreshments that afternoon, we went to the local church where there is a small Bronte exhibition. I was more interested in a couple of wall hangings they had 

 

this was one of them. It looks like a quilt but in fact it's a printed textile. It was lovely. Sadly the lady at the Church Information Point had no information on it.  

They also have a window designed by William Morris, 

not the best picture ever but it gives the general idea

After the Church, and despite the heat, we were dragged across the road to the ruins of the church where  Patrick Bronte had been the curate; the one we had visited was built much later. There's not much left of it , bar the cupola

which, thanks to the ivy, has an appropriate gothic aspect. 

I did miss that normal Gaskell Society staple; the cream tea which was sadly not in evidence this time around. But not the end of the world. As is usual I came home re-fired with enthusiasm for C19 writers and writing, and as a result I am currently working my way through Juliet Barker's The Brontes: A Life in Letters again. I am a trifle concerned that I am not as irritated with Charlotte and Emily as I normally am, but I tell myself that will be rectified once I tackle Barker's huge Biography once again. 

And of course I'm wondering where the next G S Conference will be; there were no hints to be had at this one! 

Well that was a fun day

 The OH returned from his trip to his island paradise (Orkney) on Monday, by which time I was totally frazzled after 3 days of total responsibility for a cat that, despite what they said at the shelter when we adopted him, does indeed love exploring away from  home and displays an uncanny ability to find spots to lie down where his tracker is shielded from anything that might pick up its signal. I hardly dared let him out of my sight so I was extremely glad when the Master of the House returned by mid-afternoon, after which I took myself off to bed and slept for about six hours. 

I had arranged to go to Edinburgh for lunch with friends on Tuesday and by Monday evening was regretting that I had ever contemplated such a thing, as I still felt totally wiped out and unwilling to engage with anyone beyond faintly requesting yet another cup of proper coffee, but on Tuesday morning I got up, pulled up my big girl pants, bought the ticket and got on the train.  

I'm so glad I did. I was early so I pottered around a couple of shops, had a coffee and a brief look around in the National Gallery and then made my way to Meze Meze on Rose Street  where my friend G had booked a table for lunch. We were joined by S, an academic at Edinburgh University who I know via Facebook and who I had long wanted to meet in person and R, a friend of G's who she was keen S and I should meet. 

The table was booked for one o'clock and we left at four which I think says a lot  about how much we were enjoying ourselves. Lots of academic discussion and lots of academic gossip(!) plus various discussions on travel, cats and coping with bereavement all played their part in our conversation. The company was wonderful and so was the food ( Meze meze is a Lebanese Restaurant and I can't wait to go back) 

Firsts ...

... and seconds . Uncharacteristically I did not order a creme brulee which I normally do if it's on the menu; two of the others did and I'm told they were very good, but I was happy with my alternative choice. 

The service was friendly and unpushy and altogether it was delightful place to eat. I'd told the OH that I would come straight home 'after lunch' and I suspect he was therefore expecting me somewhat earlier than 18.03! which was the time my return train pulled in to Alloa station. 

A Nice Thing to do on a Wednesday (reprise)

 So last year we went to a Strawberry tea fundraiser in the local village of Dollar (see  here if interested)  and this year, we did the exact same thing. I see that last year it was 'sunny' but this year it was what I described several times as 'too bloomin' hot'.

Anyway, Dollar, the strawberries and the flower arrangements were all as lovely as last year, although the scrumpled table cloth scraped my ever so slight OCD-ness - especially as, despite several tries, I could NOT get it to lie flat.  

Having learned from last year we had gone early which made finding a parking place slightly easier, and we also managed to snaffle a jar of marmalade before the stall was sold out. 

After we'd finished our scones we strolled down to the bookshop but managed to come out without buying any books. This was partly because, faced with a shop fill of books, most of the titles I'm interested in browsing and perhaps buying instantly fly out of my head and I think I may need to take to compiling lists and carrying them around with me. 

Yorkshire Part the First

 I was very lax about taking photographs during the first part of my visit - most unusual for me - but I kept thinking, there's s no point as no-one will be interested in photos of random people they will never meet. This does not excuse my laxness in other areas; no photo of my hotel, which was a beautiful C19 building, none of its grounds, or indeed of any of the interesting buildings in Ilkley itself. What can I say? I was obviously not thinking straight.  

So  a brief, picture-less account of my first few days. I arrived on Monday after a smooth train journey and a very hot and bothersome walk up the steep hill to my hotel. A recurring theme was established very early on, in that they were having problems with the key card machine and for my first three days mine only ever worked once after being activated, after which it had to be activated again. This was irritating, but not a huge problem as I tended to go out after breakfast, come back about 4 and not leave my room again until breakfast the next day. My room was lovely, with a great view out over the hills behind Ilkley, but extremely hot, not helped by the fact that the en-suite bathroom had a heated towel rail which would not turn off. However I made good use of the provided floor standing fan. 

There was  a positive whirl of catch up activity. Tuesday with my group of Dorothy Dunnett readers, Wednesday with a friend from the last job I had in Leeds over twenty years ago, Thursday was lunch with two colleagues from my Leeds M.A. days ( both looking remarkably well considering they are both at least 10 years older than me - a very heartening thought!) and on Friday a pleasant morning in the shady Leeds back garden of a friend from the Russian department where I did my undergraduate degree. 

Thursday night brought an unpleasant experience, which I confided to a few friends in a private fakebook group as follows (just to save me typing it all out again!

  I have just had a really scary experience. I'm staying in a hotel on my own which hasn't been a problem, but about 40 minutes ago the couple in the room next door started a really aggressive argument: shouts, tears, bad language, threats of violence etc. It calmed down after a while but then it started up again and I was really scared that they were actually going to start a physical fight. It took ages to raise anyone on Reception ( the place is very short staffed) but eventually I got through to someone and they came up. The shouting and screaming was still going on. Long story short they said everything was fine, closed the door, and presumably thinking he'd gone started up again. Possibly they then heard him talking to me as they both came out and the bloke announced they were leaving and they walked off in the direction of the stairs. I was really surprised when I saw them, they were quite young, late 20s? I'd thought they were middle aged! Anyway it seems they have gone, I certainly hope so, but I'm still shaking and shaken.

In fact they came back later but stayed quiet; however I spent the rest of the night with a bedside light on and a chair firmly pushed against my locked door. The clearest case of 'coercive control' I've ever seen. Horrible. 

It was so good to see all these friends again; I am just about getting over the surprise that people actually want to spend time with me (lack of self esteem much?) but given that they give up their time and undertake quite lengthy journeys in some instances I suppose I can start to believe it. 

Friday afternoon saw the arrival of the coach with the majority of the Gaskell Society Conference attendees on it and I took care to register as soon as I could and prepared for the first talk. Report on the Conference to come. There will be photos. 

Yes, yes, yes and sorry

 

Did you not get back from your time away yesterday Anne? Have you not had an exciting week catching up with Yorkshire friends, then a weekend in an intellectually stimulating environment which you're dying to share with us? Should you not have done a blog post today? 

The answer to all those questions is yes, and I'm sorry that I haven't managed a proper blog post about at least some of it, but the fact is that an exciting week catching up with friends followed by a weekend in an intellectually stimulating environment, which was itself then followed by a stressful journey home ( thank you whichever railway company runs trains between Leeds and York) was all  very tiring and at the time I had planned to do a blog post today I had fallen asleep on the sofa. Soz. 

Normal service resuming at some stage and sooner rather than later I hope since I still have Wales to write up too. 

June Books

 Sadly no photo as I didn't think to take one of any of the physical books I read in June.

Only seven finished this month and only one of them wasn't crime, so I'll start with that. Unruly by David Mitchell , which  is described as a history of England's  Kings and Queens. I hadn't really taken on board the England bit, so I found myself surprised when it ended with Elizabeth I. I thought maybe he had got bored. Actually it doesn't end with Elizabeth I as the last section is a hymn of praise to Shakespeare, which seemed odd. Anyway as far as it went, I enjoyed it. Clear, instructive, no pretense of being impartial and often laugh out loud funny. The bad language got a bit tedious after a while, it's over used, but other than that a 5/5.

The Crime Fiction Book Group book was Unsolved by Heather Critchlow. This generally went down well although not with everyone and certainly not with me. If you don't like monetised podcasts, like I don't, (or the interminable BBC ones either) avoid this one, as that is how the protagonist makes his living. I will say that the bits of the book that were supposed to be from the podcast caught the tone of them really well, but given what I just said this was obviously not a recommendation for me. It's the first in a series and I can only hope that Critchlow got better at a) plotting b) characterisation and c) hiding her perpetrator. 

Then  there was Muse by Celina Grace. For some reason that escapes me, possibly they were cheap, I bought a lot of Celina Grace on Kindle a few years ago. She writes a series of police procedurals set in Devon. They're self published and rather better than that implies but I can sort of see why a publisher hasn't picked them up. Anyway I got an e-mail saying Muse was free so I downloaded it and read it and it was fine. I really can't put my finger on why I am so luke warm about these books as the plots are good, the police team is well drawn and the characters and crimes are credible - all the things I criticise in other books when these qualities are missing. But somehow they just miss the spot. 

Two J D Kirks - I must surely be running out of them by now; Where the Pieces Lie and A Death Most Monumental. It's the mixture as before and you either get Kirk and love him or you don't. ADMM had a great joke about The Only Way is Essex though, which I  loved even though I've never actually watched the program. 

It's Not What You Think by Clare Macintosh was disappointing. The 'big twist' at the end  was exactly what I thought it wold be from very early on. In fact so sure was I that I was right that I skipped most of the last third of the book which I found extremely slow, and listened to the last 20 minutes or so just to be sure. It's sad because I loved her trilogy of Welsh set police procedurals, but I suspect that this is just further proof that the domestic  psychological thriller is not for me. 

Last up was Karin Slaughter's We Are All Guilty Here, the first in a recent new series set in a small rural town in Georgia. I liked it so much I have reserved the follow up from the library. Other than that what can I say? relatable characters in a credible setting that Slaughter obviously knows inside out, and some other writers could take lessons from Slaughter in hiding the perpetrator in plain sight. Slight warning note; as  always with KS the details of the crime are grim; although she doesn't slaver over details as some others do, these aren't for the faint hearted. 

There's a reason I've got all the standard posts ( books, wool stats, stash enhancement) out of the way so early this month,  and it's because I'm about to go away again. I'm off to Yorkshire for a week; starting with a lot of old friend catch ups,  followed by The Gaskell Society Conference which this time around is in Ilkley. Happy me. I'm back on 13th after which I will have two trips to write up, and given how empty the calendar is looking after that I should have plenty of time to do it! 

Wool stats and Finished Projects for June

 Well the good news is that for the first time in several months I managed to finish more than one project this time June, although two of them were, inevitably socks. 

For Son no 2, from stash 

and for me, the self striping yarn club for May. 

and then I finally finished my So Faded sweater 

the colour representation isn't the best on that picture. The pinks look rather more 'candy' pink than they are IRL.

So, how did I feel about finally making myself a garment after many years of being too scared to try? Upside, it fits so all the measuring and swatching and arithmetic was worth it.  There is a bit too much fullness under the arms and I wonder if I could have gone down a size at that point. I also had to fill in the neck because the neckline was too low and wide for me, but it was just a case of a few extra stocking stitch rounds and a few  finagled decreases at the front. It's a bit too clingy for my liking, but I've realised that what I don't like is not that it clings, but what it clings to! I'll certainly be wearing it, so that's good. I did not in fact need five skeins , which is good ( look I'm not humungous! smiley face) but bad (not so smiley face) in that I have an extra skein that I didn't need. however I can use it for something else, so we'll chalk that one up to experience. 

Numbers In 1390, out 621, net increase for month 769, net decrease for year now only 1539.Possibly I need to finish something heavy! 

Holiday Haul - the mainly yarn one!

 It is no excuse I know to say that I bought less yarn than most people who were on the Dyeing Retreat, but it is still true. 

Anyway let's start with the fruits of our own labours - this is the skein I died together with the mini bouquet; 10g of the colours dyed by everyone else which you get as part of the package.  I was very worried before my yarn went into the oven as it looked like  a dog's dinner, but as we kept saying to one another 'Trust the Process' and I was very pleased with what I ended up with. And everyone else was pleased with what they did too. 

This year for the first time they offered a Goody Bag which you could order beforehand. So I did, because I knew that if I didn't and then saw everyone's else's I would suffer 'non-buyers remorse'.

The bag contained a specially dyed skein of yarn, a mug and a set of stitch markers, all marked 'Woollay Retreat 2026'. In addition to that several people had made a little something for everyone else  attending; hence the bag charm, the lavender bag and the Knitters Essentials Kit of notebook, pen, little scissors  and pack of biscuits. 

And then there were the purchases. I bought two palette packs of the current Speckle and Fade yarn club; February and May

and three skeins of 4 ply to make myself  a short sleeved summer top, which will be lovely when it eventually gets knitted!! 

And naturally, I have booked to go again next year.

Holiday Haul - the Non Yarn One

And yes, there will be a yarn version coming and the numbers will be ugly, although the yarn itself is lovely  but meanwhile...

I don't think we generally buy a lot of stuff. The occasional jigsaw puzzle, or book, or cat related accessory but we're not out there every day spending money like it's going out of fashion. That said we do ease up a bit on holiday and buy things we probably wouldn't buy if we  weren't away from home. Here's last weeks

First up are some pin badges, the new fridge magnet substitute to remind us of where we've been

more details of the steam train trip and our visit to Conwy to come soon. 

And here's the miscellany

If you're reading this and you live in the UK you will need no explanation for the fan;  if you're outwith the UK, suffice it to say that last week was very very very hot. My brother in law bought me the fan in a lovely woodcraft shop in Beddgelert while I was desperately trying to work out the best way to cool down my face and hands in the nearest loo. It's very effective; no wonder they use them so widely in Spain. At the front there is a pair of ear-rings that I treated myself to at the MAWS Craft centre where Lay Family Yarn are based. I bought a pair last year, different ones of course, but I always had a little niggle that said I might have preferred the ones I bought this time around. Actually to be truthful I'd have preferred the style of the ones I bought this time around but in green, and in fact that was what I went looking for. However I had a brief  a chat with the owner of the business and apparently she's currently unable to source green pearls. So I bought the blue ones instead, which will probably be more useful given that I wear a lot more blue than green.

On our way from the cottage in Wales to the place we were staying for the retreat the OH suddenly said, 'Do you know, I think we're near that great cross stitch place we went to last year'. How he knew I had no idea since we'd been driving for miles past interminable green fields with green hedge edging which all looked the same , and neither of us remembered what it was called so he can't have looked it up in advance. (The Nimble Thimble if anyone needs to know the name of a fabulous cross stitch supplies shop with good prices on DMC threads and the best selection of american cross stitch charts you will see outside the US.) That partly explains the cross stitch kit; it's not actually cross stitch but a counted thread band sampler. I have two others in the same series, one is even finished, framed and hanging on a wall in the house ( wonders, never, cease etc) and as I felt a bit obliged to buy something this was a good choice. Or will be if my eyesight is spared long enough for me to get round to stitching it. 

Finally there's a basic weaving kit. This was bought in a wool shop in Conwy which had been recommended by a friend . I'd had a look at their website and thought well, I could treat myself  to some Lykke needles since they are stockists, and also get one of these little weaving kits and give it a try. Fortunately or otherwise, they did not have Lykke needles in the sizes and length I wanted so that saved me a bit. And despite the owners best efforts at 'if you buy one of those weaving kits you can have another at half price' I restricted myself to one. To be honest, it wasn't hard. 

Lest you be wondering where the OH was in this orgy of self indulgence he bought himself some boring track stuff for his railway and  a set of lovely little trucks for it too. 

Oops, I dropped a clanger!

 Yes we're back and I'll be chronicling our adventures (and shopping - mainly mine but not quite all) over the course of the next few days. But first I must own up to a mistake in my post about the  May books which was pointed out to me by an eagle eyed reader ( thanks, real and not sarcastic, C!)

As she pointed out I had put a photo of Curtain Up at the top of the post and then referred to the book as Ballet Shoes. Sorry for any  confusion my wool gathering may have caused; it was definitely Curtain Up that I read in May. Not nearly as good as I remember Ballet Shoes to have been tbh.

Anyway I'm madly catching up with post-holiday chores this morning so that I can watch Wimbledon guilt free this afternoon, but just wanted to set the record straight before starting on more interesting posts over the next few days. 

(Sort of ) Happy Mail

 

This arrived today. It's the self striping sock club yarn for June and it's very nice. A bit on the bright side for me, but we all know I have close relatives who love  a bright sock. 

Its arrival was timely, as we are off tomorrow for ten days and as it is here  I will be able to take it away with me and work on it while I'm gone. 

We are going to North Wales for a week, which will be lovely if the weather is good and slightly problematic if it isn't; after that I am repeating the Lay Family Yarn weekend dyeing retreat that I did last year. Still very undecided about the  inspiration image for colours but I'm sure I'll make my mind up before I get there. Possibly. 

June has been a lousy ( or good depending on your point of view) month for stash enhancement already and the retreat will only make things worse ( or better, again depending on POV) as I will come away with a 100g skein that I dye myself plus a bunch of 10g minis; numbers dependent on how many participants there are as we each get a mini of everyone else's effort, plus of course  whatever I let myself be beguiled into buying from their shop. Ah well.

Onhte bright side I'll be taking several straightforward projects away with me to knit on at the retreat as we don't spend two full days slaving over hot dye pans so the hope is to get a few grams worked up while I sit and chat. And there will still be one or two June days left when we get back to use up a bit more. 

Hey, it is what it is. Obviously no blog posts while I'm away but there should be lots to blog about when I get back. Readers concerned about The Cat Cosimo will be pleased to hear that Son No 2 is taking up residence to look after him and keep him company while we are away.

A bientot! 

May Books

 

Not quite sure how I only managed eight books in May, but there it is. I would say My List Cannot Lie, except that it can if I forget to record things, but that said, it doesn't apply here, I just didn't read very much. 

I was going to say, let's get the dross out of the way first but a lot of what I read in May wasn't all that good. I did drag myself through the final two Norfolk books by J M Dalglish that I had on my Audible bundle. As before, competent plots, no characterisation and flat writing. For completion's sake, the titles were Hear No Evil and The Dead Call. I retain very little memory of either. To be fair that could be down to my age. Equally it could just be boredom with the books.

Surprisingly they were not the worst books I read this month as the U3A crime fiction book was When the Needle Drops by Colin McIntyre. This was universally reviled by the group with no-one having a good word to say about it, and several members giving up part way through. Mr McIntyre is apparently descended from the great Gaelic poet, Duncan ban McIntyre so the vague rumbling noise I heard all the while I was reading was doubtless Duncan ban turning in his grave. Normally when I don't like a book I am meticulous about saying 'don't necessarily believe me, if you think you might like it, give it a go and make up your own mind' but in this instance I'm going to come right out and say reading or trying to read this would be a waste of your precious time. 

It wouldn't be  a reading month if I didn't have some J D Kirk on the list, in this instance I read two; In Service of Death and A Snowball's Chance in Hell. To complete the crime roster there was Caro Ramsay's The Red Red Snow, which was a great listen, full of characters you wanted to either cheer or slap and an excellent plot twist that tied up two seemingly unconnected murders. Caro Ramsay is appearing at Bloody Scotland this year so that's one talk I'll be booking for. 

I picked up a book at the library called A Party in San Niccolo, purely because it was set in Florence and not realising it was a thriller type thing. It was very readable , lots of detail about life in Florence - the bits where real people live rather than the touristy places; lots of credible characters, some sympathetic and some not. If I have a criticism, and obviously I do, it was too long. A bit of judicious editing wouldn't have gone amiss. I did love one tiny detail; the heroine, who is staying with a friend in Florence recovering from a 'minor nervous breakdown' talking on the phone to her husband who has been left in charge of their three children while she is away. 'Everything is fine' he assures her, 'I get  the children to school on time every morning , I do their packed lunches, the only thing is, there'll be quite  a lot of washing for you to do when you get back as I don't have the time to figure out how the washing machine works'. Bless! I was rooting for her to stay in Florence with a rather nice man she met there. Spoiler - she didn't.  

And finally as an antidote to all things criminal there was Noel Streatfield's Ballet Shoes. This was just a tad too 'children's book' sadly; I loved Streatfield's books when I was young but reading this as an adult doesn't have quite the same magic. Also I saw too late that it had been 'edited' which presumably explained the rather abrupt ending and some of the more surprising 'swerves' in the narrative. 

I am trying to get away from a diet of unrelieved crime, but it's proving a struggle! 

Falkland

 I'm still catching up with a few of our recent outings on here and one of them was a trip to Falkland. We'd been to Falkland Palace years ago on a very dreich day but even so we'd enjoyed it and have frequently said, we should go back to Falkland one day. And lo! on 26th May the one  day finally dawned.

I didn't remember a great deal about our previous visit, except for the weather and the fact that we had had lunch in a very nice cafe which was on the first floor of an old building. I didn't expect the cafe still to be there tbh but it was! and we even had lunch there again. And it was every bit as good as last time, as far as I can remember. It's  called The Hayloft should you find yourself in Falkland and in need of a light lunch or coffee and cake. 

The weather on this occasion was much much nicer than when we were there before; I would go so far as to say it was hot. I wore a hat and sunglasses. Because of this, rather than staying in the palace, which we did previously to keep out of the rain, this time we stayed outside in the grounds. They're beautiful, and very photogenic. Difficult to decide which photos to put up here really. The problem with the mantra 'to get a good photo, you have to take lots of photos' is that sometimes what you end up with is lots of good ones. Here are a few  

General view of ruined portion of the palace ( look! landscape format!)

Orchard ...

...and apple blossom 

'The Willow Queen', representing Mary Queen of Scots

Gate, reflecting Falkland's origins as a hunting lodge for the monarch

church tower from the orchard

palace tower from the garden

It was another lovely day - if a bit hot. I shouldn't  have moaned about it being hot because it feels like it's been cold ever since. 

Possibly not for the purists....

 

So we went up to Edinburgh today to see the BIG Live ballet production, Dracula. I had not previously heard of BIGLive which seems a relatively young company which started in Australia and is currently touring to various places in Asia and Europe with their version of Dracula ( they also have productions of The Nutcracker, and The Great Gatsby.) Their mission is to open up ballet to audiences who might have previously felt excluded; presumably they are doing this by developing more relevant repertoire rather than  by keeping ticket prices low, because we paid a lot of money for our tickets for this. I mean, not out of the way prices per se, but ballet and opera are not cheap things to attend. (I'm not moaning, nobody makes us go, we choose to do it).

I am not convinced that the financial model of BIG Live is sustainable in the long term as it seems to rely on ticket sales and sponsorship from large companies; the current tour is supported by United Airlines. They cut costs by not having a live orchestra but recording their music which must help, ( one of the reasons that I say this is not one for the purists) but the former accountant in me is thinking 'this will not last'. I hope it does though, because they're young and innovative and full of energy and new ideas, and the performance was - well, I can't say it was a joy, given the subject matter, but it was very enjoyable . 

The story isn't Dracula as it was written by Bram Stoker, nor how it has been adapted over a myriad of films but there'e enough of the original Stoker storyline there. And there's Dracula, and Johnathan Harker and Minna, and ghosts/previous victims and irate villagers brandishing torches. So, you know, recognisable. 

And now I'm going to nit-pick because that's the atmosphere in which I was raised and it's incredibly difficult to slough off so bear with me. In this ballet, Johnathan is bitten by the vampire and takes refuge in a nearby forest to the Transylvanian castle that Dracula calls home. I do not think there is any need, simply because he has run away, for him to lose his shoes and socks. He is not, so far as we know, running away to a forest through a bog. He also has a shirt that is ripped to pieces but I'm giving that a bye , because brambles, low hanging branches etc. After the forest, the program tells us that Johnathan  takes Mina's body back to the English village where we first saw the happy couple; so quite a way from Transylvania then. Far enough, you would have thought to buy a new pair of shoes and a shirt . But no, he is still shoeless, sockless and wearing a shirt in tatters. Once he has worked the villagers up into a frenzy, the program further tells us that they go to attack the castle. In Transylvania. They take their torches with them although to be fait they are not lit before they set out from whatever part of England they live in,  on their long journey to Eastern Europe.  Upon their arrival at the castle in Transylvania I was distressed to note that Mr Harker had still not seen fit to get himself properly shod. It must have been a shockingly painful round trip without anything on his feet. Not to mention cold, what with the tattered shirt and all.

But that is nitpicking (although I do think two minutes thought would have meant they could change the story in the program to make it all more credible. ) Why not have Harker rouse the local village to rise up against Dracula,  rather than say he went all the way back to England - where it also says he presents Mina's body to the villagers during a celebration - not a man who can read a room then, this Johnathan Harker?

But all that aside, I loved the music, I loved the dancing, the costumes were fantastic,  I would go and see it again in a couple of years and I would definitely go and see their Nutcracker were it to land in Scotland. If you enjoy dance this one is 100% recommended by me. 

 

A Very Nice Day

 I went to Edinburgh today to see the BIBA exhibition at  Dovecote Tapestry Studio. I'd had an option on this earlier with two friends but we'd gone to see the Edwardian Elegance Exhibition at the King's Gallery instead ( I really should get around to blogging about that sometime too, before I forget I even went) as to be honest I'm a bit young to appreciate BIBA. But another friend suggested it might be fun to go and see it so we did. 

I really enjoyed it. We both remembered bits about it; mostly when someone mentions BIBA  to me I think of feather boas and eyeshadow palettes and my friend had had a BIBA diary. We neither of us knew how far the branding had been spread - BIBA baked beans and Birds Nest soup anyone? (not in the same tin thankfully!) Some of the clothes were fabulous and some of them were gimmicky and as a notice in the exhibition pointed out they were really only suitable for women with flat chests and no hips, but I did like the line of a lot of them and if I could wear them I would. Equally some of them I wouldn't. I could however imaging Diana Rigg in almost all of them. 

Because I'm a bit of a pedant I couldn't resist taking a photograph of this which  is a quotation from one of the BIBA catalogues

Here's one of the dresses I liked

And here's a photograph of several BIBA outfits in landscape format! 

As well as the exhibition we had a good time catching up with one another's news as well as partaking of various refreshments throughout the day, and I got home about 6 o' clock, tired but with the sense of an enjoyable day behind me. 

Topped off by spotting this new visitor on our bird feeder! Not a good photo as I knew if I stood up he would take wing, so leaning forward on a low sofa and through a window,  this is the best  I could do. Exciting though. We're hoping  he'll come back. 

Sorry, I'm having  a lot of trouble uploading photographs today; not sure what the problem is, but after many abortive attempts to do this last one I'm juts going to leave it for another day.  

Wrapping Up Rome

 although as this is all about a trip out to Tivoli it's not strictly Rome at all. 

Did I say we'd had a choice of Hadrian's Villa (what's left)  or the Villa d'Este? We opted for the Villa d'Este, partly because of the name, as I have a vague interest in the d'Este family and still harbour  hopes of a return to Ferrara one day with the OH in tow. Also because it has beautiful gardens. The few people who opted for Hadrian's Villa said it was fantastic, but then so were the gardens so I don't think we lost by our choice. 

As always in a lovely garden I go mad with the phone camera and I'll let the pictures largely speak for themselves. I have to say it was a very hot day and we spent some of the afternoon happily sitting on a terrace with a coffee, and enjoying what we could see of the gardens from there. They also go a long way down the hill, which would have been fine as a walk but the prospect of then having to walk back up put us off. That said we were still enticed rather further downwards than we had planned.  

Upper Courtyard

Tulips in a tub. I feel someone should make this into a cross stitch chart

Arch and wisteria ( there was lots of wisteria, flowering like a weed )

Lower courtyard

the OH improving the view. (That's the sort of comment he puts on photos of me that he uploads to Facebook) 

There are lots and lots of waterfalls, cascades, fountains and water dribbling down slopes all around the garden which is lovely; it cools the air and makes a gentle background noise, so obviously I had to put in at least one photo of a cascade

And here's a fountain with the hills in the background. The OH is always grumbling at me for doing so many photographs in portrait rather than landscape format, and checking back through this post he possibly has a point. That said,  when I look at things I tend to see strong vertical lines, so when I compose a photograph they look better in portrait view. I suppose I could start training my eye this summer  to see horizontal lines and see where that takes me. 

Giving Moral Support, or

grasping opportunities for stash enhancement? You Be The Judge, as the weekly Guardian column about domestic disputes has it.

Last Friday we went to Aberfeldy to visit Karelia House, somewhere I'm sure I must have posted about on here before. We've only been a couple of times, but it's well worth it; possibly more for sewers than knitters, but don't get me wrong it's a great place for knitters too. They were hosting what they call a Garden Fayre, which basically meant some gazebos in the grounds for craft people of all sorts to fill with their goods and sell them.  It's an annual event and I suspect that on a nice day the place is heaving. Last Friday however was not a nice day and there were  not a lot of people there when we arrived.

We had not gone on the off chance of finding something that we liked, although in passing I note it was a nice long run over varying sorts of road for the new car. No, we had gone because one of the gazebos was being used by Claire of Cookston Crafts and I have been wanting to buy some yarn from  her to knit a particular sweater  for a long time, but it wasn't until I seemed to be being successful with my So Faded sweater that I thought I was justified in spending the money because I had more confidence in my ability to end up with a garment  that fitted. The sweater concerned is the Lace and Fade Boxy which, in a slightly less voluminous form than pictured there, I thought would slip on nicely over a shirt when you need something with a bit of warmth but not too much weight to it. Also I have seen Claire's sample knit numerous times and it is gorgeous. 

We had a nice chat with Claire and it took me a while to decide on the yarn but I ended up with this

I'm hoping it will turn out well.  After buying that, we popped into the shop proper and had a good wander around; we would have had lunch but you'd had to pre-book a table and although there were a lot of empty tables we didn't want to risk the embarrassment of sitting down and then being told to 'clear orf' because we had no booking. Although I'm sure they would have been a lot more polite than that. I did make one small purchase in the shop; a new set of dpns in the size I use for socks. I'm currently using a mishmash of two sets, a metal one and a wood one; some of the wooden ones got lost along the way and a couple of the metal ones got bent, probably by me sitting on them. So I picked up a set in Lykke Driftwood which will also be prone to snapping if I sit on them so I hope very much I can avoid doing so! They're beautiful. If I were thirty years younger I might embark on a project to replace all my needles with Driftwood ones, but I'm not, so I won't. 

We didn't starve, despite not having booked a lunch table at Karelia House  as we knew there was a very nice place to eat called The Watermill in Aberfeldy, which has the advantage of being attached to a book shop. They had no inside tables, a common occurrence there, so we sat outside and crossed our fingers it wouldn't rain. It didn't. 

My sandwich was mild cheddar with apple chutney and poached pear plus a side salad and of course the ever present Elderflower and the OH treated himself to a vegetable curry with flatbread which he tells me was delicious. As was my sandwich. We had a quick browse around the bookshop, a brief foray into the normally excellent second hand bookshop that is just a short stroll away, but which this time threw up nothing I felt compelled to buy, and then came home. 

On Saturday we went up to a place called County Fabrics; where again a friend, coincidentally another Clare, was having a pop-up shop. There were a few others, including a coffee stall raising funds for CHAS  so we had a cup of coffee and a piece of very delicious millionaire's shortbread there. County Fabrics itself was having a sale and so I was interested to see what William Morris Fabrics they had as I am thinking of a bit of a Morris decoration in our bedroom when we get around to it. (Not imminent) In the event they didn't have the one I would want, and which I know you can get from John Lewis already made into curtains so we didn't succumb there but we did buy a couple of tings from Clare's pop up.

I'd decided before we went to get the fox kit because I thought it would be fun knit and not too expensive. We then saw the pattern for the Orkney Hat. Regular readers may well have seen my previous Clare Hats; Stirling and Glasgow skylines and the Forth Bridges. I have lost the latter, I can't remember whether I've posted that sad news on the blog before. I really ought to knit it again because it was lovely to knit,  and my favourite , but not yet....meanwhile I knew Clare had been working on an Orkney hat pattern and I knew the OH would want one, so this seemed a good opportunity to buy the pattern and for him the choose the colours that he wanted, Obviously there was a bit of a green theme going on over the two days. 

So you be the judge; altruistic support for yarn-y friends, or just an excuse to buy more wool? 

Bloody Scotland Launch Event

 

This took place last Thursday and I don't know that I would normally have bothered to go, except that this year the speaker was J D Kirk, so that was a bit of a no-brainer. 

The OH was off to Glasgow to see the new Star Wars with Son No 2 so we parked the car in town and I caught the bus to Stirling (it would have been the train but as we were walking past the bus station the Stirling bus was in, and although my Senior Railcard gets me cheap rail travel, my age gets me free travel on the bus. Also it was still five minutes walk to the rail station and it was chucking it down with rain, so the decision to get on the bus was also a no-brainer. (Coming back something similar happened, I had to walk through the bus station to get to the train station in Stirling and the bus for Alloa was in and due to leave in five minutes as opposed to twenty five for the train, so again, not  a hard decision. Hooray for buses1) 

I spent several happy hours mooching about Stirling visiting the sort of shop where I like to browse and the OH stands stock still and gives off. why are you looking at that? vibes. He says this is unconscious and I daresay it is, but it doesn't make for comfortable browsing, so it was nice to be able to go into whatever shops I fancied and spend as long as I wanted in there without feeling guilty. Despite this I didn't make it into my all time favourite shop in the city which is Made in Stirling and is a delightful place, but I just didn't have the time. This was partly because it took an unconscionable amount of time trying to find somewhere with a spare table where I could have lunch. Stirling sees its fair share of tourists and so it isn't shore of cafes/restaurants/pubs but even by 11.45 they were mostly rammed. To be fair I can't speak to the pubs because I'm of a generation which brought girls up not to go in pubs on their own so I don't. 

I was fortunate enough to find someone from he U3A Crime Fiction reading group also at the event, and with a spare seat beside him so we had a good chat before proceedings began. Once it started JD was very good value; rather more so than his interviewer Nicola Meighen, previously encountered at the Rebus event at last year's Bloody Scotland, and who has an irritating habit of interjecting when her subject is in full flow, usually to try and show off how clever/thoughtful/well read she is. To be clear, I'm not saying she isn't all of those things and more; what I am saying is that if your interviewee is holding the audience all on his/her own you don't need to chirp up every few minutes for the sake of it. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed the event. 

We were given a physical copy of the brochure for this years festival which was great because previously, as in  before we moved, I struggled to make sense of the on-line one. So that was a good thing. All the more disappointing then that I struggled to find anything very much to get excited about. I marked up eight possibles, and reduced those down because of timing issues to three and I'll sort out some tickets at a later date. I have a couple of friends who might be keen to go to some of the other events and I'll happily tag along; I suppose part of thre fun of these events iss getting introduced to authors you don't already know and who might be great to listen to in person and whose books might become firm favourites. 

More to come on this, but probably not until September, which is festival time.