purple podded peas

London Part 3: Highgate on the hill

2009-12-08T14:36:00.023Z

Yes, if you picked answer 'c' to my little quiz, you guessed correctly - we did indeed go for a walk in a muddy and overgrown graveyard. But, not just any cemetery, we went to somewhere both Cliff and I had wanted to visit for many years . . . Highgate Cemetery. This is the pinacle of the Victorian art, architecture and sociology of death and mourning - if that sounds a bit morbid, think again . . .

At the beginning of the 19th century London's population more than doubled within 30 years, the infra-structure of the city couldn't cope - and that included the disposal of the dead. The existing graveyards became squalid, rat infested layers of corpses. As part of the major works needed to make London a more pleasant place to live, it needed new areas in which to bury people - the greatest and probably the most famous was the huge cemetery on the hill at Highgate in north London.

Death was part of the Victorian culture - stipulated durations of mourning for a spouse, child, parent; symbolism on memorials; mourning fashion and commemorative jewellery; printed cards and poems - all these added up to a lucrative business which must have employed many people, not only in London but in every town throughout the country.

The people who buried their loved ones in Highgate Cemetery where mainly the wealthy and notorious. Self-made men and women who were the celebrities of Victorian London, they wanted the most fashionable in style and they wanted to be remembered for perpetuity.

To see the West Cemetery you have to join a guided tour; our guide was charming and extremely knowledgeable, she led us up a flight of mossy stone steps into the dark ivy clad woods which now engulf the thousands of tombs . . .

Through the entrance to The Egyptian Avenue

a 'street' of family tombs.

To the great Cedar of Lebanon,

an ancient tree pre-dating the cemetery,
now standing high above the tombs in
the Circle of Lebanon.

Past tombs of husbands, sons, fathers and brothers;
mothers, daughters, sisters and this young bride
forever alone in her tomb below her fashionable
upholstered armchair.

A showman's lion snoozes
above his master . . .

A bare-knuckle fighter's loyal hound
lies at his master's feet as the seasons
turn year after year . . . forever.

And everywhere there are beautiful angels -

angels carrying garlands of flowers
as they walk through the shady woods . . .

and angels asleep on their
mossy stone pillows.

Victorian art and architecture at it's most sentimental, one of London's hidden treasures. And at the top of Swains Lane you'll find Highgate 'village', home of well-heeled 21st century Londoners, we had a nice lunch at The Gatehouse (one of the many good pubs) and looked in some of the smart little shops before setting off for home. There are so many corners of London I've yet to explore - I wonder where our next visit will take us?

London Part 2: Edwards & Todd

2009-12-07T14:07:00.019Z

Last week I mentioned that I had been packing up prints to deliver to a couple of galleries, one was the J M Gallery in Long Melford and the second? Well that's very exciting indeed . . .

Last month I recieved an email from the owner of a shop/gallery near the British Museum in London, they exhibit and sell the work of contemporary artists specialising in linocuts and they thought my work would fit in well with their plans for the gallery. After momentarily thinking that they didn't really mean me, I re-read the message, drank a large strong mug of tea and telephoned the writer of the message, Gary Edwards. He had spotted my work in Verandah in Norwich and yes, he was very keen to include my work alongside the beautiful work of Richard Bawden and Colin Moore

So that is why on Saturday, after breakfast in the hotel in Wembley, we headed into Central London - luckily Cliff knows the way without a sat-nav and he's also very confident about finding a parking place - except the space we expected to park in was surrounded by cones - arghh!!! Luckily, just around the corner we found another parking bay and a pay-and-display machine - phew! A brisk little walk later and we were skirting around the British Museum, into Great Russell Street and just before the main gates of the BM, we turned right into Museum Street - a little side-street lined with individual shops, cafés and galleries full of tempting treats.

Near the far end on the right we found Edwards and Todd - and because I entered the shop carrying a large flat parcel, Gary guessed immediately who I was :-)

Gary explained that he has plans to display the framed linocuts along one wall and reorganise the browsers of unframed prints - linocuts in the English artist/illustrator tradition seem to be increasingly popular at the moment. He also takes his stock to print fairs around London on Sundays when the shop is closed and was confident my work would sell. (I've just received an email to say that he's sold four already!)

So, it's Saturday just after midday in the centre of our capital city, the sun is shining and after a huge fix of life enhancing laughter the night before, we're feeling mellow - where did Cliff take me?

a) To a smart restaurant for lunch

b) To Regent's Street to spend lots of money

c) For a walk around a muddy, overgrown graveyard

I'll tell you in Part 3 ;-)

London Part 1: Hello Wembley!!!!

2009-12-06T10:45:00.006Z

On Friday afternoon Cliff escaped from work and I completed the last deadline of the week, before we packed our overnight bag and drove down the motorway to London. Eventually, after mile after mile of roads lined with traffic cones (will they all disappear in 2012 for the Olympics? and where will all the cones be stored?) we arrived at our destination . . .

Wembley! In fact, a hotel right next door to Wembley Stadium (the football ground with the big arch over the top) and Wembley Arena (the enormous show venue illuminated with pink and yellow lights). The square outside was all a-twinkle with Christmas Trees and dancing fountains, which put us in an excited mood . . .

and because we'd come to see . . .

and even though our seats were almost at the back of the 12,000 seat hall we could easily see both small, real Eddie and ginormous virtual Eddie on a massive super-real screen . . .

We were taken on a roller coaster of Izzardness through world history - dinosaurs, stone-age hunters and gatherers, 'ancients' (Egyptians, Greeks, Romans), Moses, Noah, the Battle of Hastings - I'm still laughing at the Bayeux Tapestry stitchers being urged to keep up with the action on the battlefield.

We laughed at linguistic sumersaults in French and Latin, and my favourites - the jazz cockerell and the ska cat!

All great fun, fun, fun . . . and proves that laughter really is the best medicine - all the better when it's intelligent and clever and from the wonderful Mr Izzard!

After the show we were only five minutes walk away from our comfy bed!

The rain has stopped, so I'm off to skip around my garden in the sunshine with the under-gardeners and Spice Girls :-)
In part 2 I'll tell you about the gallery we went to in Saturday morning ;-)

Returning to the J M Gallery

2009-12-04T12:23:00.003Z

It has been a busy week! Priority has been the 'clash of the deadlines' - it always happens doesn't it!!! Added to that it was the week to publish the bumper Christmas and new Year issue of the Village Magazine and a couple of galleries wanted more of my prints. And I really really wanted to have my hair cut . . . that one nearly got crossed off the list . . . but wait! a card was put through the door the other day and yes, it's still here. I phoned the number and yesterday lunchtime a lovely freelance stylist popped in and in next to no time, in my kitchen, she got my barnet transformed into a choppy flicky little number! Saving me no end of time and pennies too :-)

Then I was off to Long Melford to the Jessica Muir Gallery to deliver a sheaf of unframed prints for their browser, all ready for Christmas customers.

Inside the gallery there are lots of lovely new things on display (including my framed prints) - some very gorgeous ceramics . . .

and lovely glass hanging decorations caught my eye . . .

The weather wasn't good for taking pictures of the pretty shops, but I did take a couple of photos of the main street, looking right and left outside the J M Gallery.

You can see why Long Melford got it's name - the extra wide main street snakes away as far as the eye can see in both directions.

Did I say 'a couple of galleries'? I did! I'll tell you all about the other one in a day or so.

Have a lovely weekend
Celia

mmmmmmm . . . Sprouts :-)

2009-12-01T17:32:00.012Z

Hands up those who like Brussels Sprouts . . . anyone?

Me! Me!

I said that twice because both Cliff and I like Sprouts a lot!

Charlotte of 'The Great Big Vegetable Challenge' blog and cookbook, has put out a rallying call to all Brussels Sprouts lovers out there, so I thought I'd join in.

I don't grow Brussels Sprouts in my vegetable garden - I prefer to grow a selection of varieties of Kale that I'm unlikely to see for sale, around here Sprouts can be obtained fresh from the Fenland fields, for sale at markets and roadside stalls. And if you buy a whole Stick of Sprouts they'll stay fresh for ages in a cool shed or larder. I bought this one on Sunday from my favourite farm gate stall (or summer-house!) at 100 Histon Road, Cottenham near Cambridge. It's the Daddy of Veg Stalls, at this time of year it's packed with all kinds of winter vegetables everything £1/bag except Sprouts which are £2.50 a stick, and soon there will be Mistletoe too ;-)

So, for those who find plain boiled Brussels Sprouts a bit scary, here are some ideas which might change your mind . . .

Steamed Sprouts with cooked Sweet Chestnuts and a knob of butter is the classic combination to accompany Christmas Dinner. Add some crispy bacon too and it's almost a meal in itself. Left over cooked sprouts and potatoes can be fried the next day as 'Bubble and Squeak' - served with HP Sauce of course!

Sprouts aren't just for Christmas - our favourite is to add them to a Vegetable Curry. No, don't laugh!!! This is serious . . . the idea came from Cliff's favourite Indian restaurant in North London (it does still exist, but sadly not a patch on it's its glory days in the early 1990s). Find a recipe for a Vegetable Korma made with coconut milk or creamed coconut and include Sprouts with the other vegetables - delicious!

My Dad always put malt vinegar and white sauce on Sprouts (but then again he put vinegar and white sauce on all veg!). My Mum remembers a school cookery lesson in which 'the girls' were taught to make a salad of raw shredded sprouts with Heinz Salad Cream dressing (it was during WWII and she opted to do geometry and algebra instead of cookery, shortly afterwards!) I admit that I didn't like Sprouts much when I was young - but I gave them a second chance, now I love them.

Super nutritious and seasonal, hurrah for Sprouts!

Ahem! could I have some attention please!!!!

2009-11-27T08:49:00.003Z

Ahem!! Meee-ooooo!!

I know what, I'll get into the in-tray - that might make her stop looking at the computer screen and ask me what I want . . .

No? She's drawing pictures of switches and plugs - booooooring!

Time for plan B – shred the top sheet of paper!

Hee-hee!!!! That made her look!

"It's half past five! Isn't it time you served my supper?"

Pudding memories

2009-11-25T16:52:00.006Z

This is my Dad's Auntie Vera, in my memory she was notable for being skilled at crochet lace, taking fuchsia cuttings and making Christmas Puddings.

One year I decided I wanted to make a Christmas Pudding, so I asked my Dad if he could obtain 'the recipe' from Auntie Vera, and shortly afterwards I received this . . .

This is actually a photocopy (the original is somewhere safe), and as you can see it's seen a few baking sessions! The first time I followed the recipe, I started weighing out the ingredients and soon realised that this would make more than one pudding – many more!!! So I now make a third of the quantity and it makes one big pudding and a smaller one.

The puddings are cooking as I type this . . . they will be ready when 'The Archers' begins on Radio 4.

On Christmas Day, before breakfast, I'll put the bigger one in the slow cooker and leave it to cook until the end of Christmas Dinner. How do you serve yours? This has become a compromise, I now make a sweet white sauce flavoured with rum. In my family, the pudding would be served with ordinary custard plus a glug of brandy straight from the bottle which was passed around the table :-) Never, ever Brandy Butter – nasty posh stuff!

So, while the Christmas Puddings boil and become rich and moist and wonderful, here are some lovely colourful photos taken this morning in our greenhouse . . .

and garden . . .

For some reason I keep humming that tune that was played for the 'Vision On' gallery . . .

Dum de dum... dum dee dummm
Dum de dum dum... dee dee deeeee

Dum de dum dee dumdee dumdee dumdee . . .

You'll find it on YouTube if you care to look - I'm sorry but I can't do the links for you (the studio computer is saving it's strength to draw science diagrams!) And no, I'm not related to Tony Hart, but he was my hero when I was 7!

. . . and after the Bazaar

2009-11-22T15:12:00.013Z

On Friday I stepped out of my usual routine and drove down to Saffron Walden to rendez-vous with Carole at The Riverslade Gallery in Saffron Walden - I was to 'shadow' her for a day to learn how to look after the gallery for when it's my turn to be on duty. There was a lot to learn! We had an enjoyable day, after a quiet morning (I had time to learn about the till!) we had some enthusiastic customers in the afternoon and some good sales - so it was a successful day. With the gallery all packed up and left spick and span, I trudged through the dark lanes to my car and drove home trying hard to remember everything!

So then it was Saturday and the Christmas Bazaar - I'd iced the carrot cakes I'd made earlier in the week, on Friday evening, so once they were packed in cellophane bags I sped up to the village hall to deliver the cakes for the cake stall and teas and to bag a pitch my stall. Then it was back down the hill to home to pack all my stuff in the car, get it into the hall and my stall set up.

The time flew past and with everything set out the first customers were arriving through the door!

The hall ebbed and flowed with people, a first wave looked at all the stalls and considered without buying, there was a lull as most people tucked into the delicious cakes before a flurry of spending. All in all a pretty good day, even without record breaking sales. And it was fun to have two lovely neighbouring stallholders . . .

To one side was one of my neighbours from the village, Christina Friel with her stylish selection of new and vintage costume jewellery and accessories. Christina has a expert eye for what's in fashion, you can find her stall on Cambridge Market every Sunday.

And on the other side, the lovely Mrs P, aka Silverpebble with her array of shiny silver and bead jewellery. She was even beavering away behind her stall with her pliers and silver wire, creating a gorgeous oriental style pendant!

So, that was lots of fun and great to catch up with the gossip too! With all packed away, cars loaded up, we said goodbye and headed off into the dark blustery night. I'd just got everything in from the car to my studio when Cliff pointed to a note on the calendar "Church Flowers" - oops! I'd clean forgotten! That's the trouble with living in a small village, you get put on rotas! So on with the boots and mac, and torch and secateurs in hand I walked to the church, lucky I know where the light switches are! And lucky too that there had recently been a wedding and all that was needed was a bit of pruning and tweaking. Can I sit down now please?

This morning we woke early, Cliff was leading a walk of 15 miles and I loyally said I would join the group for the morning (9 miles). I could hear wind and rain outside :-(

But by the time I'd eaten my porridge the sky was cloudless and blue! Fingers crossed the forecast squally rain would be in the afternoon (when I'd be back home in the warm!). We strode out along the Devil's Dyke, squinting into the low winter sun and trying to avoid slipping on the treacherous wet exposed chalk. All was going splendidly! We saw a herd of over twenty Fallow Deer, including a couple of pure white ones - what a treat! But the sunshine didn't last - at around midday the heavens opened and the wind lashed us with gale force gusts soaking us in next to no time! I was a tiny bit relieved that I had opted out of walking in the afternoon and my car was at the lunch point for me to hop in and drive home! But it was a very good walk - if it had been dry I would have carried on to complete the full distance ;-)

There was something I had to do before getting out of my wet clothes and boots - tidy up the hen-house and collect the eggs . . . Oh!! that's not a hen . . .

Hope that you too had a good weekend! I'll be back soon, but I've one or two deadlines to meet this week, so no blogging until they are done.

Celia
x

It's bizarre! It's bazaar!

2009-11-19T09:20:00.004Z

It's been over a week since I last posted on here . . . this is going to be a quick update about what's happening in and around my studio . . .

The weather can be described a bizarre - between the storms and gale force winds, the sun shines and it's unseasonably warm. Around and about the colours in the landscape are sparking off lots of ideas for new prints.

But I have other things to do - at the top of the list is The Christmas Bazaar (details on my main website www.celiahart.co.uk - apologies for not putting the clickable links in my post, but my studio computer and blogger seem to be having a lovers' tiff!). I'm surrounded by baskets of stuff . . .

and lots of Winter Thrushes . . .

I know there will be lots of gorgeous things for sale - and the lovely blogger Silverpebble will be there too, with her very very special silver, beady treasures. The tea and cakes are guaranteed to be scrummy - treat yourself!

I've been freelance for over 18 years now (crikey!!!! that's a long time!) and I still can't get used to the ups and downs of the work-flow . . . when there is a lull I know I have to get on the phone or send out self-promotion leaflets, this won't take all day and I should fill the day with creative projects of my own - but my mind goes blank; as soon as I break-through the 'artist's block' the email pings into life and an artbrief arrives - urgent, urgent, urgent - but I've got other things scheduled in and prints half printed - I need to grow extra arms to cope with all the stuff and my studio looks like the autumn gale has blown through it!

Meanwhile, while my attention is elsewhere, the under-gardeners have been busying themselves with UGPs*. Cheekily they have decided to work right outside my studio's office window . . .

. . . yes, I can see you girls!

* unauthorised gardening projects

Look what's in Country Living!

2009-11-10T17:50:00.006Z

Do you read Country Living? I have to admit that I haven't bought a copy for over a year, but a few weeks ago I received an exciting email from Vanessa of Verandah in Norwich and I've been eagerly waiting for the December issue to be published. Yesterday one of my neighbours called in with her copy which had arrived by post - hurrah!

Because in the Emporium on page 18 is . . . one of my linocuts "The Hazel Arch" . . . there it is in the top right corner!

The caption says . . .

Ooops! they've relocated me to Norfolk, a near miss - Suffolk's not far away and Verandah is in Norwich which is in Norfolk, so I'll forgive them.

And here's the Hazel arch in real life, the leaves have yet to fall, and Nutmeg who posed for the original design is recreating the image - it's every Spice Girl's dream to appear in a glossy magazine ;-)

Winter thrushes in the Yew tree

2009-11-09T16:20:00.013Z

Just outside my studio window is a vast ancient Yew tree - it's husband guards the entrance to our courtyard.

The male tree spreads its sturdy arms wide, he fills the air with his pale yellow dusty pollen in spring, then scatters the ground with spent rusty catkins. In autumn Tawny Owls converse from his high branches and in spring Cole Tits swing from his finger tips.

By contrast the female Yew stretches to the sky from an ancient coppiced stump. Bow-makers fall in love with her strong slender limbs. In autumn her branches are bejewelled with hundreds of thousands of soft red fruits and as the evenings get chilly and the first frosts still the leaves, she awaits the arrival of the winter thrushes.

I wait for them too, exciting the view from my window . . .

Song Thrushes use the topmost branches to perch and sing their exquisite repeated phrases; Mistle Thrushes raucously land on the swaying boughs and fill the air with their rattle-cry. From Scandinavia, Redwings arrive in the night and feast on the berries after their long journey south - and Fieldfares too with slate grey heads and rusty backs chattering and calling in the cold air.

The birds will arrive any day now - but today the Yew's lower branches are decorated with my festive Winter Thrushes . . .

They started life as quick sketches in my sketchbook . . .

and soon became carved lino blocks . . .

printed onto some lovely leafy paper, I soon had a flock of thrushes flying across the studio . . .

Some of the Winter Thrushes will soon be flying over to my Etsy shop - just as soon as the camera gets recharged ;-)

And here's the plot . . .

2009-11-05T16:51:00.003Z

A couple of years back I illustrated a series of GCSE History students' books for Folens Publishers; one was about Crime and Punishment, my brief - to draw all the grimy scenes of wicked deeds and gruesome retribution in a historically correct but "light-hearted" fashion. I kid you not! sometimes being an illustrator gets quite bizarre.

Here are three of the scenes from a crime relevant to this evening, as England skips with glee as the fireworks light up the sky and we re-enact burning a 17th century terrorist.

Here are some disgruntled gents hatching a plot over a pint . . .

and here are the plotters . . .

and here's the guy (sorry!) who drew the short straw . . .

"Hold it right there matey! you're nicked!"

Enjoy your sparkly whizzy bangy evening!

Celia
x

Remembering and celebrating

2009-11-04T09:31:00.006Z

This morning Cliff and I remembered Charlie. Charlie the cat lived with Cliff (and later, also with me) for over sixteen years, in five different houses and after a very happy life he passed away four years ago today.

As you can see, Charlie had bags of personality . . .

He was an out-doorsy, boysy, rough and tumble sort of cat, but in his retirement he sometimes spent a few hours with me in my studio sitting on my drawing board in the sunshine and that's when I painted his portrait - a Renaissance cat sitting next to his favourite plant - catmint.

Charlie could never really be described as a 'studio assistant', I think he saw himself as senior management! But my studio was so quiet and empty without Charlie checking up on me and we knew that there were cats and kittens out there needing new homes so in May the following year we adopted 'the ginger one' and his 'tabby sister' - the studio assistants.

As regualr readers of PPPs know, the studio assistants spend all day sleeping in baskets next to my desk, but when the light fades they stretch their furry catsuits and make it known that it's time for tea :-)

I know that many of you, like me, have a studio assistant or two (or many!) – mainly cats, (many ginger), some dogs. Today, in memory of Charlie, lets celebrate our studio assistants for their support, companionship and inspiration.

Autumn glory

2009-10-31T18:29:00.009Z

We have explored miles and miles of local footpaths, it's amazing that we're still discovering new routes. This afternoon, in mild - almost muggy- weather, we set off following the map to explore paths new to us . . .

We found ourselves in this beautiful wood - moments before I took this photo a herd of fallow deer ran through the woods from right to left right in front of us.

And after the woods there was this panoramic view - Suffolk doesn't get much higher than this (120m). It's so difficult to capture the subtlety of fading light and distant fields (click on the picture to enlarge it) there's so much in that strip of landscape between ploughed earth and sky.

The hedgerows are full of autumn fruits . . .

The unlikely combination of the vivid pink casings and the orange seeds of the Spindle bush - a spangly explosion of colour!

Plump clusters of inky blue sloes tucked among the leaves turning buttery yellow on the Blackthorn bushes.

And blood-red haws on the prickly tangle of the Hawthorn - a feast waiting for the arrival of the winter thrushes from the far north. My mind is stuffed full of images to keep me happy through dark evenings and cold nights which will arrive very soon.

One year on . . .

2009-10-28T14:40:00.022Z

I'm twixt projects this week ('twixt' the local estate agents love that word . . . "situated twixt Newmarket and Haverhill" it always makes us smile.) More time to do some extended lunch time gardening and enjoy being outdoors.

We're having amazing mild weather at the moment, so I decided to check what I was posting about a year ago and see what the weather was like in late October 2008 (frosty actually). But :-O ooops! I had completely forgotten! Exactly a year ago last Monday the Spice Girls moved in to live in our garden and started work as trainee under-gardeners.

I think that's what Ginger has been trying to tell me every time I go to the out-house to get my gardening gear.

OK Ginge' what would you and the girls like as an anniversary treat?

"To do whatever we want in the vegetable garden, please!"

There was certainly no hesitation when I opened the green door in the garden wall . . . LOL!

And they soon found lots to do . . .

I suppose I ought to give the Spice Girls a one year appraisal, have they been working hard?

Nutmeg is fast and nimble, she can even steal a crust of bread from head girl Ruby, this is admirable given that she is bottom of the pecking order! She also lays the most beautiful pale turquoise blue eggs. However she tends to go broody quite frequently and when she does her behaviour disrupts the whole flock - so much that they stop laying in the nest boxes and hide their eggs under the hedge to avoid a confrontation. Nutmeg needs to address this issue before next summer.

Saffron is a quiet and unassuming hen, but her character has developed over the months and she has an independent streak - laying her pale teal-blue eggs in 'the other nestbox' and standing up for herself against bullying from Phoebe. She has been broody and stubbornly refuses to leave the nest but her behaviour is tollerated by the other hens. She has also been through the moult and is now laying again. Safffon is still quite nervous, although recently she has been learning from Ginger to be more sociable, this is something she can build on in the future.

And last, but in no way least, Ginger - an extremely confident and quick witted hen, a born leader (but with Ruby still very much in charge her chances of promotion are slim). Ginger hasn't been broody or been through a major moult, she consistently lays large sage green eggs of very high quality. She enjoys learning new skills and has great potential beyond her current job as an under-gardener.

Well done Spices! We've enjoyed the past year, hope you enjoyed your anniversary treat :-)

Fractured colours

2009-10-26T17:20:00.011Z

There has been a slight delay in the next brief for digital illustration work arriving, so today I had the perfect opportunity to finish the prints I started over a week ago . . . remember the stripes?

Well, here they are in the backgound of Version II of the night hares prints.

Silhouetted trees on an ancient hill fort . . .

and glowing sunset colours behind dancing hares . . .

I just completed printing them and got them all pegged up to dry, as the light faded away and it wasn't yet five o'clock.

There was just enough light to photograph them using the 'night' setting on the camera. As I was looking at the pictures a memory sidled into my mind - pictures I was fascinated by a long time ago . . . and there they were in a book on the shelf, a 'First Primer' with my Mum's name written neatly in the front. It's very old fashioned even for 1933 when this copy was printed, it was first printed in 1900 and the children in it are dressed in neat starched pinafores, knikerbockers and sailor collars. But it was the printing, with fractured not quite registered colours and the inky black lines printed over the top that used to fascinate me. Ideas seem to slow cook with me, sometimes for years and then pop into my mind as if from nowhere.

Not quite the end of the working day - after printing there's always the cleaning up and it's the bit I like the least. It helps that I work on my own - I hated those printmaking sessions at art college when the inked glass slabs had become a disgusting melange of every ink on the shelf. At least cleaning is now made slightly less toxic by using vegetable cooking oil, I use this vintage oil can (rescued from my Dad's workshop) to dispense squirts of sunflower oil onto the block and the glass ink-mixing slab. Ooops, just look at those messy fingers - I'll never get work as a hand model!

An invitation to pop along to Long Melford

2009-10-24T18:59:00.009+01:00

This morning I went to one of my favourite villages, just a flying visit between buying meat at my new favourite butcher's shop and the big Saturday shop at the local supermarket. I would normally want to linger for longer.

To walk up the hill to one of the most spectacular churches in East Anglia; or have a delicious lunch at The Black Lion; or to browse around the many antique emporia; or wander along the very long main street and pop into all the lovely little shops . . .

. . . and galleries . . .

like this one, which I did go into this morning to deliver my framed prints. Jean and Jessica who run The Jessica Muir Gallery, spotted my prints in Verandah in Norwich and when they realised that I lived in Suffolk (not far from Long Melford) they invited me to exhibit in their gallery.

My prints will be on show alongside a wonderful range of art and crafts – I spotted some beautiful pictures, jewellery, ceramics and very special Christmas decorations. So if you live within reach of Long Melford I can recommend a visit as the festive season approaches; after you've got the Christmas presents and special foodie treats sorted you can warm your toes by a real fire in (my fave) The Black Lion or one of the many other traditional hostelries and have a seasonal tipple.

Cheers!

Core activities

2009-10-23T19:12:00.015+01:00

We are lucky to have a Bramley apple tree in our garden, it is low and spreading and very productive. This year the crop is exceptional; Cliff has picked and stored lots for later in the winter but the tree is still laden with beautiful apples. The ones that fall off will attract a visiting Muntjac for a midnight feast.

The autumn sunshine has given the Bramleys rosy cheeks this year. They make perfect baked apples, with their tummies stuffed with sultanas, brown sugar and a knob of butter - can there be a more perfect autumn treat!

The leafy greens and herbs I sowed in early September have been a huge success. Last night I picked greens to accompany salmon steaks. Mizuna, Pak Choy and some gorgeous Dill. I think fresh Dill is one of my favourite flavours, this year the late sowing has produced lots of blue green feathery leaves. I don't think it will survive the frosts so I'll have to eat lots or maybe put a cloche over it for protection.

In the studio I've been printing stripes. I had a sudden idea and just had to try it out. The plan was to complete the prints on Monday, then the phone rang - a design studio I've been doing some work for - a major crisis - all hands on deck - please - please . . . oh, OK then. That's what it's like when you're freelance . . . the stripes will have to wait. I'll show you the finished prints one day.

The weather has been splendid and my cold is much better (not 100% but getting there) so I couldn't resist getting stuck in to a new gardening project. I got an idea when Cliff and I were dismantling the fences that were around what is now our Wild Wood; we had gained lots of wire netting. My enforced rest last winter and the enthusiasm the under-gardeners have for UGPs* has resulted in the garden borders being out of my control. I need to put my foot down and the wire netting was just what I needed to make boundaries to separate plant from hen.

During my lunch-time garden workout today I completed the first border boundary fence - Sylvie inspected it. I know the under-gardeners are quite capable of hopping over the top, but my cunning plan is that this will stop them from a favourite UGP, merging the border with the lawn.

Meanwhile back in the studio my two assitants have been hard at work all week - they never get flustered even when there's a deadline crisis and the editor changes her mind at the last minute. What would I do without them?

The Tabby One

The Ginger One

* UGPs = Unauthorised Gardening Project

A festival of light

2009-10-15T14:00:00.009+01:00

What's the weather like where you are? Here it's very bright and very very still . . . and quiet - or is it my ears? I'm trying to kick off this pig of a cold and rather glum that I don't feel up to a few hours gardening. Oooooo no, my ears are working - here come the Apache helicopters doing a low level swoop over the village (they always whizz over this way when it's nice and sunny!).

I don't feel like getting out the fork and wheelbarrow, but I did stroll over to the greenhouse to pick a chilli to pep up the leftover pasta bake for my lunch. Are chilis good for colds? It feels like they should be. My hearing may be a bit rubbish but my eyes were assaulted by colour and light; how apt on the eve of Diwali, the Festival of Light.

On the old metal watering can a beautiful red dragonfly was soaking up the rays, he looks so exotic - another dragonfly species to add to our garden visitors list. I've checked on the excellent and very useful Field Studies Council 'Guide to Dragonflies and Damselflies of Britain' and it seems he's a Common Darter, Sympetrum striolatum. I think he deserves a more poetic name, don't you?

The hens are taking full advantage of the sun and are basking. They descend into their basking poses like hovercrafts slowly deflating - it always makes me smile. Our head girl and boss 'senior under-gardener', Ruby is moulting; as is little Nutmeg and although they are usually at opposite ends of 'the pecking order' they are now being sisterly and stand together, preening (it won't last). It must be very uncomfortable and undignified when ones feathers get pushed out by the stubby quills of new plumage. Don't worry, they'll be the belles of the ball when their new feathers have grown.

Warm reds

2009-10-13T11:44:00.004+01:00

Do you remember I started making little crochet squares while in the 'sommerhus' in Denmark? Well, they're all finished and joined together - just in time, the evenings are getting chilly (and so is my studio first thing in the morning).

I'm thrilled - the colours are friendly with my cosy Gudrun Sjoden dress and my favourite tomato soup coloured cardi :-)

Oh . . . and it's an excuse to wear the beautiful silver fish Cliff bought for me in Scotland the week after we got engaged.

Weekend garden tasks

2009-10-11T12:37:00.018+01:00

Some garden chores are planned, some take you by surprise . . .

Walking through the vegetable garden a few days ago, my eye was caught by a beautiful lilac flower - a saffron crocus! Of course it's time to watch for crocus blooms and harvest the delicate golden stamens. Checking through past postings I realised that sure enough this exact same week last year I posted about saffron.

Here is this year's harvest of precious fragant stamens. I'll have to find a recipe to make full use of our home grown gold - any suggestions?

Another 'must do' job was to pick the squash and put them somewhere dry to cure so they would store for another couple of months. After all the hard graft digging out the Three Sisters bed and tending the plants, just five squash from four plants is disappointing - but you can't win them all and the sweetcorn has been wonderful. The five squash are a good size and each will easily make four meals for two - can't complain about that.

The lovely blue-green smooth skinned ones are a Spanish variety, Dulce de Horno - the flesh should be very sweet, I'll have to try some dessert recipes. The onion shaped green knobbly squash are Chicago Warted Hubbard, grown from seed from the Heritage Seed Library. I was attracted by the photo in the HSL catalogue - a gorgeous pale copper coloured squash. Mmmmm? mine are green, will they go copper coloured as they cure in the sun, I wonder?

Here's another job that had been waiting to be done - planting the garlic and over-wintering shallots and onions. The soil has been so dry for weeks, I've waited for rain and at last we've had some, enough to make the soil moist and just right for planting.

Another thing on the list, 'make sloe gin' - I'd bought the gin (Tescos value gin - do you think it's good enough?) and decided to hold on as long as possible to pick the sloes from our blackthorn bush on the bank of the brook that runs along the side on the vegetable garden. Some sloes had started to wrinkle and the nights have started to get chilly - it surely must be time to pick the sloes.

I picked all I could reach, washed them and pricked them with a bamboo cocktail stick and stuffed them in a clean olve oil bottle with a nice rubber seal stopper. I added some sugar and then poured in 70 cl of gin - hey! how about that - it exactly filled the bottle! That gave me such pleasure!

Here are our lovely home-grown sloes bobbing about in the sugary gin . . .

Before I go I'll tell you about this afternoon -we went for a walk, about eight miles zig-zagging along the Suffolk/ Cambridgeshire border along the edges of woods, over fields, alongside rivers and paddocks. We stopped briefly to watch a herd of Fallow does - spotted backed and stripy tailed, some 'melanistic' does - dusky and dark. Here are a couple of photos I took along the way -

green pastures and blocky woods on the skyline . . .

and at the end, the most perfect glimpe of Ely cathedral on the rising ground far far away across the fens - colours and textures as sublime as a painting by Gainsborough.

Now showing at The Riverslade Gallery

2009-10-07T14:13:00.011+01:00

I'd better tell you why I've been busy framing prints . . .

A selection of my prints and cards are now for sale at The Riverslade Gallery in Saffron Walden. The gallery is run by members of SWAT (Saffron Walden Arts Trust) all the art and craft for sale is made by local artists and makers. After being 'approved' by the committee I was given the thumbs up to deliver some framed and unframed prints and some cards to the gallery. I've just returned to my studio after delivering my work to Tony, who was looking after the gallery today, it's lovely to be part of such a talented group of local artists and a great excuse to go to Saffron Walden more often - I love the market and Sceptred Isle (the lovely deli) and there's a brilliant Oxfam bookshop (bought three novels today).

If you're in the area, you'll find The Riverslade Gallery in Hill Street, just at the end of the little lane leading to Waitrose - you'll see the sign on the railing . . .

when the gallery is open you'll see a board at the end of the lane - don't be shy, pop in and have a browse . . .

you'll find lots of beautiful things and it's a great place for Christmas present buying - I'm going to drop hints about the gorgeous jewellery ;-)

Framed!

2009-10-06T12:49:00.003+01:00

Taking some framed prints to a gallery tomorrow . . . nearly ready

Moonlight

2009-10-05T08:50:00.004+01:00

On my way to the kitchen last night, my eye was caught by the silvery light outside. I ran for my camera and although I knew I wouldn't be able to capture the scene perfectly, this one came close . . .

Birmingham and the kings of bling

2009-10-04T18:28:00.021+01:00

If I wrote a 'Things to do before I'm 50' list, I not sure that 'Go to Birmingham' would have been on it, but when I said that for my birthday treat I'd like to do just that I realised (and I'm ashamed to admit this) I'd never been there before.

Walking around the historic Jewellery Quarter you get the message in big bold type - this is the UK capital of bling . . . we're talking serious sparkle here and not just for the girls, there's lots of serious heavy duty bling for sale.

But, as we assured the man outside the diamond shop, we weren't in Birmingham to buy rocks; we were here to join this queue . . .

. . . to get a glimpe of some very special boys' bling . . . warriors' bling over 1200 years old . . . in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Cliff and I had stood in a few queues over the years: the Vatican (very wet); the Alhambra (very hot); the Reichstag (very very cold). This queue was very English - polite, reserved, well informed by a lovely lady with a megaphone who told us where the toilets were and how much longer we would have to queue. Just across the square was a convenient branch of Greggs, so we could get a cup of tea and a mince pie (yes, that's right, October 3rd my first mince pie of the season!). And just when we were getting a little bit bored, along came some Morris Men to entertain us . . .

. . . just look at the swanky gear these boys are wearing!!!

After nearly two hours it was our turn to look at The Staffordshire Hoard - well, not all of it, about sixty of the 1500 fragments unearthed from a Midlands field a few weeks ago. If you can't get to Birmingham next week and can't wait three or more years, there's a very good web site dedicated to the archaeological find of the century.

Here's a sneeky look at just one of the stunning gold and garnet pieces (I've borrowed it from the official web site). This is part of the hilt of a dagger, it's about the size of a matchbox and is decorated with the most beautiful inlay work made of shaped and polished blood red garnets set in gold with engraved gold foil under the gems so they sparkle more - even with the mud from the field still sticking it.

So, who left a pile of gold lying around in a field? Perhaps we'll never know . . . or just maybe . . .

He fell beneath his shield,
in the same gem-crusted, kingly gear
he had worn when he crossed the frothing wave-vat.
So the dead king fell . . .

They took his breast mail, and also his neck-torque,
and punier warriors plundered the slain
when the carnage ended.

The captain saw treasure in abundance
but carried no spoils from those quarters
except for the head and the inlaid sword-hilt
embossed with jewels . . .

now that they were left
masters of the blood-soaked battleground.
One warrior stripped the other,
looted Ongentheow's iron mail coat,
his hard sword-hilt, his helmet too,
and carried the graith to King Hygelac;
he accepted the prize, promised fairly
that reward would come, and kept his word.

These are quotes from Beowulf, the dramatic epic Anglo-Saxon poem in this recent translation by Seamus Heaney. Once a poem for the serious study of the roots of the English language, it's dramatic descriptions of brave warriors, battles and the burial of a heroic chief were considered a Saxon poet's fantasy on myths of olden times. Then the finds at Sutton Hoo showed us that the burial described in the poem was was no imaginary scene - it was reality in seventh century Suffolk. Now, perhaps, the warriors who stride through the stanzas of Beowulf wearing 'gem-crusted' gear were like the ones who fell on the battlefields of seventh century Staffordshire and had their riches stripped from their bodies - perhaps to present to a King in return for great rewards . . . but the plundered gold and blood red gems were left buried in a field . . . for over a twelve hundred years . . . until this summer.