Gardening Sunday

Quiet today - just working on my garden. Here's a quick picture - more to come as my garden grows!

PS - don't miss last Sunday's post - Scottish Sunday, which I only managed to post today!

Scottish Sunday

Change of scene last weekend - off to Scotland (in spite of volcanic ash, and after 4 trains, umpteen seat changes etc etc) for my dad's birthday.

The weather was, well, mixed! Some snow still loitering on the hills to the north of Crieff, and we had some more later in the week.

We climbed over the hills towards Loch Tay, the weather shifting all the time. A few minutes later there was bright sunshine!

There's a sort of deep quiet in the hills which is really beautiful - especially in the flight free world. On Loch Tay we aimed for the reconstructed crannog - an ancient dwelling from c. 500BC. The experimental archaeologists built this one, they even found a boat in the silt below which was 3,500 years old. Anyway, it was pretty drafty in there, so I reckon they had much better insulation in those days! It is big inside, probably 12 m across. You could fit animals in as well as the family. There was a central fireplace set on clay so you didn't burn your own house down. We doned blankets so we could feel like prehistoric people, and the guide explained how those people would have lived.

Archaeologists have found the remains of 14 other sites on this loch alone. Here's the link, if you want to know more: The Scottish Crannog Centre. Travelling home (again by train) it became greener the further south we went. The east coast line is really beautiful and runs along the coast for long stretches, and passes both Durham Cathedral and the York Minster, and of course, Anthony Gormley's huge sculpture The Angel of the North - you can't tell it's 20m high from the train though.

Ok that's it for now. Will post today's soon!

Perfect Day

Lovely Sundays - aren't they great! This weekend the perfect afternoon - a visit to Charleston Farmhouse followed by the best crystal shop in the south east!

Handpainted walls and pottery lampshades

Well Charleston was once home to the Bloomsbury set - ie Virginia Woolf's artist sister, her husband, her lover, her various friends ... some of whom became movers & shakers of their time.

Anyway - they painted everything - I mean everything! The furniture, the lamps, the walls, the side of the bath! It's so fantastic you can't help but go home and start painting your own house!

You can't take photos in the house except by appointment (I might have to try that one day!) so these are some postcards I bought in the shop.

The old place is tucked under the South Downs - chalky uplands that run along the south coast of England.

The road to Charleston.

It's really beautiful countryside - although it was a bit breezy on Sunday. Next stop - Litlington:

Litlington Crystal Store, Sussex

This tiny shop has some of the best crystals, all carefully selected. It makes you feel better just to be in there the vibes are so strong. There's always a range of interesting folk searching the shelves - and the crystals they need just sing out to them.

Amethyst Cluster