at the Bath and West...

I love an agricultural fair.... We managed to catch the rare breeds sheep, mountain and moorland pony class, whilst managing to play at the funfair, drink cider and watch the Morris Men (morris men are obligatory at such rural occasions) and see the mechanical bull charge at bales of hay. 

All in all a perfect day!

in my garden... May

Last year I got a bit despondent with gardening. It was so cold and wet, the only creatures that seemed happy were the evil slugs which munched everything.

This week we got our first Rocket Gardens delivery (we got it as a family Christmas present.) Part of me feels a bit guilty that we're not growing our own from seed but in reality I don't have the space to raise such a variety of plants. When the box arrived - plug plants carefully wrapped in straw - it was like Christmas all over again. The children and I have spent most of half term in the garden planting out, dreaming and sowing a few plants we didn't get (butternut squash and globe artichokes.) We're dreaming of a proper summer - hot sun, breakfast outside, wandering round the garden to pick crops for our meals. If I think positively it'll happen, right?

Tomorrow we're off to the 150th Bath and West Show - an extravaganza of all things agricultural and rural from the West Country. We all have our favourite areas - Jago can't wait to see more tractors, Jess wants to see the moorland and mountain ponies and lots of her friends, Mr Oak is holding out for the steam engines and I want to see the rare breed sheep... We're taking a picnic and a camera - be prepared to be bored to death by pictures of rural things next week...

Enjoy your weekend!

bank holidaying...

I love May for all those Bank Holidays (I'm not so fond of the fact that we have to wait until August to get another but hey, I'm greedy...)

This weekend I have...

• walked in the woods surrounded by sunshine and wild flowers.
• eaten outside as much as possible (who knows how long the sun lasts round here?)
• danced and hunted for goodies at the Pack Horse Fair.
• realised that a friend's birthday is very close so cast on quickly for a pair of mitts.
•  spent valuable time with fellow artists just making... (I'm part of a collective called Stitched - we're exhibiting together as part of SAW in the autumn)

sunshine and weekends

The novelty of sunshine is not taken for granted in these parts. When sunshine and weekends coincide we tend to quickly pack a picnic and get out there! This weekends jaunts included Lytes Cary in Somerset - another fabulous National Trust property - dating from the 1340s and having strong Tudor links (perfect for Jess's Tudor project) and Ham Hill - gorgeous ancient quarry visible from the A303. The National Trust are doing their best to encourage families now - when I was small it was staffed by ladies who hissed 'shhh!!!!' at us a lot.

So to discover a children's play trail was fabulous...

making happy

We are a house of poorly at the moment. Sad faced little people coughing, feeling miserable and wandering about, not feeling like doing much of anything. Can't go out because its still raining and lots of roads are impassable.

 So. Remembering that when I was a kid the best meals are the ones not at the table - picnics, eating on the stairs at family parties when the grown-ups grabbed all the chairs, sandwiches in tree houses - you know? (School packed lunches do not count, unless you're on a school trip.)  We made a den under the table with blanket walls and a oil cloth floor, cushions and lanterns. Funny how poorly little people have a bit more of an appetite when it's teamed with a little (non strenuous) adventure and a warm blanket.

Hopefully all the bugs are on the way out and the pale wan faces will be replaced by robust smiley ones soon.

Hope you are all well and dry wherever you are...

beginning with 'b'

We had a day beginning with 'b'. Jago often says that he needs something beginning with 'b' and ending with 'iscuit'. (Don't we all sometimes?)

Biscuits (well, cookies really)

Building 

Bubbles....

Happy Monday everyone....

favourite places...

 A long time ago I worked in Winchester - a beautiful city where I could quite happily live (there are not many cities on that list but Bath, Oslo and Vancouver are also contenders.)

 Whenever I get the chance to go back - which fortunately is often - I always try to go to the  cathedral.

 To marvel at the Sound II. The Crypt is flooded (no surprise at the moment) - it is overwhelming in its serenity.

 To say a silent hello to Jane - for all those novels that have made me smile.

To gaze at the modern sculptures that adorn the building.

Stupidly I left my proper camera at home. So I missed shots of Jago insisting on hugging every tree in the cathedral close - shame... but I will be back, for the Hat Fair

off grid weekend

These recent storms have led to erratic electricity supplies hence the erratic blogging. Another storm is on its way and fortunately none of our immediate rivers are on flood warning (though 37 others in the county are.)

 An enforced day in led to crafting... Well, Jago mastering scissors and sprinkling confetti every where. No electricity for the hoover so why stress?

  Say 'hello' to Jessie's castle complete with Queen, moat and sharks... Yes, we are channeling Blue Peter c. 1980.

 
There was a little bit of time for sewing...

 ... and plenty of time for muffins toasted on the fire with melty butter and marmite. I could get used to this off grid lark...

it's raining, it's pouring (again)

Oh yes! it's still raining (boring English person driveling on about the weather...) 

Today Jago and I went on a bear hunt, only today we were pirate dinosaurs (love those books) 

It's so wet out there that some of the fields are flooded. Our favourite walk was very squelchy underfoot which made for some splendidly noisy walking. Our favourite bridge for pooh sticks had become a weir and forced us to go home for hot chocolate and biscuits. Not that either of us were complaining.

Never found the bear though - maybe it's scared of pirate dinosaurs....?

Tyneham

Nice to see normal service has resumed weather-wise in dear old Blighty. Lets just say it's not as blissfully warm as it was. We layered up and headed out to the beach anyway. This time we explored Tyneham, a beautiful spot with a sad, sad story. In 1943 the village and surrounding farm land was handed over to the government for the war effort. All the villagers were evicted with promises that one day they would return. That never happened. Tyneham is a ghost village still used by the military and opened to the public on days that the firing range isn't used.

Most of the buildings are derelict now, only the school rooms and the Church are intact. It's a sad, sad place in such  beautiful and remote countryside.

About a mile away down a stony track is Worbarrow bay, a natural cove surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery the Jurassic Coast can offer and it is here we beach comb, play and paddle, and think about that rural community who lived and worked here for centuries, uprooted and never came home.

meeting Olympia

Jess hasn't found reading the easiest thing to master but she does love to write. 

I remember loving to type on my dad's typewriter when I was little - it made me feel important.  And though I'm not ready to let her use my dad's typewriter yet (which I inherited last year) I was over joyed to find this beauty all negelected in a charity shop. After a bit of love and some WD40 Olympia (for that is her name) was ready to go.

Already there is the sound of typewriter pounding coming from her room as she writes her latest masterpiece. I think they are going to be very happy together.

work & play

We have a rule about our weekends - one day of work around the house followed by one day of play... Otherwise we'd be out all the time and the house would be disgusting. As ever, when the forecast is good we headed to the beach armed with buckets, spades, hot chocolate, marshmallows and family. Bliss!

Jess and Jago made a sand village complete with driftwood and feather forests, seaweed streams, limpet shell houses and obligatory monster - see huge crab claw threatening driftwood bridge below for details.

Huge crab claw is now residing in the garden because I am a mean mama (and that is a direct quote) and didn't really want it in the house after the stinky dead periwinkle episode.
























Everyone is still full of tales of that day, from the oldest to the youngest.  Days like these make memories.

spring cleaning

I don't normally submit to the urge to spring clean but this year Jago is leading the way. This afternoon he decided it was time his scooter had a scrub, and his cars were put away tidily(!) I feel I should join in at some point... perhaps.... Maybe when I've stopped looking through this and drooling...

five go adventuring....

Blessed with the most beautiful spring weekend with bright warm sunshine we went adventuring. Every year we make a list of places we want to see near by and now Jago is getting more capable of a coastal walk we decided to find the fossil forest .

Half way down a steep cliff, over looking the Isle of Portland there is a eerie landscape of stoney tree stumps. We sat and just absorbed the atmosphere. We explored the huge fossils. We wondered about what the forest was like all those years ago. Jess loved her binoculars, watching the horizon for ships. Jago was determined to see a dinosaur (he sadly was disappointed. He thinks they were all asleep somewhere). I love where we live.