The clocks changed last night, and in my mind, that means we are in autumn properly now. There is a big storm coming our way, so as soon as the shops open I will be popping out to stock up on some essentials like milk and teabags, but also some cosy treats like a big bag of new tealight candles and apple juice to serve hot, steeped with Earl Gray teabags.
It feels like I have had a few storms lately - you will have noticed that I have not been posting nearly as much as I would like - Dad had another stroke about 4 weeks ago now, and has been in hospital ever since. It feels like my days are a long round of work and hospital visiting, which is leaving me tired right out. But, the good news is that Dad is not in any danger now, we are just waiting and hoping he will be able to talk properly again, and swallow properly again sometime soon.
Another change - I can't quite believe I have finally made the decision, but while I fully intend to carry on blogging, and to ease myself back into blogging more regularly (I have missed it so much, and so many ordinary days filled with wonderful little moments, like my satsuma peel falling into the shape of a tiny rose, or a candle-lit pancake breakfast have gone un-shared), I have decided that my time with blogger is at an end for now.
I have (I hope, successfully!) imported this blog to wordpress. I will be leaving Little Sips of Tea up here at blogger, but new posts will come from wordpress.
So, if you would like to come visiting, please say hello to me at littlesipsoftea.wordpress.com
And please, if you too are in the path of the storm (be it the winds and rain that are headed our way, or something more personal) then batten down your hatches in either a practical or comforting sense, and take care of yourself.
Love
Mimi
xxx
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Monday, 23 September 2013
Suddenly Summer, Suddenly Autumn
After the long winter we had this year, Summer seemed to arrive very suddenly - almost overnight. There was no gentle warming up to summer; it was as though she was determined to make up for her lateness with her brilliance. And just as suddenly, she has slipped away, like Cinderella as the clock struck midnight.
Suddenly, it is Autumn.
But what a strange autumn so far. I love autumn, it is the season I feel most at home with, and look forward to every year. Somehow we have missed the early morning misty starts to the day and the cool crisp air, and moved straight to the dull gloomy days, where it looks like it should be cold, but it is too humid still.
Perhaps I am being impatient. After all, the leaves haven't really started turning and falling yet. But I do hope that we still get autumn 'proper'.
On a cool grey Sunday, where it is suddenly autumn, there is really only one thing to make for lunch - soup. This is my staple autumn/winter comforting soup. I am sure I must have posted the recipe here before, but just in case, here it is again.
Throw a walnut of butter into a large saucepan and set to melt and gently bubble. Meanwhile, chop either 1 large or 2 small leeks, then throw into the butter, stir round, and let meld gently together.
While the leeks soften and become fragrant, peel and chop 2 parsnips, 2 carrots, and 1 large or 2 small potatoes. Throw them all into the pan with the leeks.
Add boiling water from the kettle to cover the veg, and stir in either a chicken or vegetable stock pot (those jelly-like alternatives to stock cubes).
Bubble away for 15-20 minutes, then shake in some peas or sweetcorn - or if you are feeling decadent, both!
After a minute or two of bubbling, carefully blend the soup. I do it quite roughly, so there is still some texture to it. You can add some milk at this point if you like, too.
This will make enough for 4, easily. It has a slightly sweet taste from the carrots and parsnips, and feels warm and comforting. If you want to make it more substantial, you can add in some pasta, or shredded cooked chicken, but more often than not, I love it just the way it is.
Suddenly, it is Autumn.
But what a strange autumn so far. I love autumn, it is the season I feel most at home with, and look forward to every year. Somehow we have missed the early morning misty starts to the day and the cool crisp air, and moved straight to the dull gloomy days, where it looks like it should be cold, but it is too humid still.
Perhaps I am being impatient. After all, the leaves haven't really started turning and falling yet. But I do hope that we still get autumn 'proper'.
On a cool grey Sunday, where it is suddenly autumn, there is really only one thing to make for lunch - soup. This is my staple autumn/winter comforting soup. I am sure I must have posted the recipe here before, but just in case, here it is again.
Throw a walnut of butter into a large saucepan and set to melt and gently bubble. Meanwhile, chop either 1 large or 2 small leeks, then throw into the butter, stir round, and let meld gently together.
While the leeks soften and become fragrant, peel and chop 2 parsnips, 2 carrots, and 1 large or 2 small potatoes. Throw them all into the pan with the leeks.
Add boiling water from the kettle to cover the veg, and stir in either a chicken or vegetable stock pot (those jelly-like alternatives to stock cubes).
Bubble away for 15-20 minutes, then shake in some peas or sweetcorn - or if you are feeling decadent, both!
After a minute or two of bubbling, carefully blend the soup. I do it quite roughly, so there is still some texture to it. You can add some milk at this point if you like, too.
This will make enough for 4, easily. It has a slightly sweet taste from the carrots and parsnips, and feels warm and comforting. If you want to make it more substantial, you can add in some pasta, or shredded cooked chicken, but more often than not, I love it just the way it is.
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Wednesday Surprises
I had one of those delightful impromptu lunches today, with my lovely husband. We suddenly realised that we were both free at the same time, and in close enough proximity to meet. We walked through the city hand in hand, chatting about our mornings, and running a mental list of Where To Eat.
I discounted several, and then Carl suggested Stewart's. Hmmm. Stewart's.... I hadn't been in for over a year after several bad experiences, so I was a bit hesitant. But..it was nearby, and is an independent teashop, and a pot of tea was just the very thing I wanted. So, we went. And oh, oh, oh, I am so glad I gave them a second chance! They changed hands about a year ago, and it is so much better, right from the moment you walk in. I didn't realise that it is Chelmsford's oldest tea room, although thinking about it, that does make sense, as the other three are much newer. It is tucked away down Tindal Street, all tall and narrow, but quite charming.
My sandwich came with a little ramekin of salad and some homemade coleslaw, and my ceylon orange pekoe was leaf tea rather than bags. A really refreshing lunchtime break, and I shall definitely be going back. I was intrigued to see that they are offering a scone workshop on Saturday - I wish I could go, but we already have an engagement. I must remember to keep my eye out for their future offerings.
If you fancy taking a pot of tea there sometime, here is their website http://www.stewartsdeliandtearoom.co.uk/index.html
My second surprise started off a little less welcome...when I left the office to go home, I realised that I didn't have my keys, and was locked out! And even worse, I had my dear friend Annastasia visiting before we went to burlesque class together. In previous days, I might have panicked and fretted, but instead I decided that the universe was telling us to have a picnic in my (communal) garden, so I picked up a few bits from Marks and Sparks, and we sat on the grass eating our picnic quite merrily until Carl came home and let us in!
So, two surprises for the first Wednesday in September...I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
I discounted several, and then Carl suggested Stewart's. Hmmm. Stewart's.... I hadn't been in for over a year after several bad experiences, so I was a bit hesitant. But..it was nearby, and is an independent teashop, and a pot of tea was just the very thing I wanted. So, we went. And oh, oh, oh, I am so glad I gave them a second chance! They changed hands about a year ago, and it is so much better, right from the moment you walk in. I didn't realise that it is Chelmsford's oldest tea room, although thinking about it, that does make sense, as the other three are much newer. It is tucked away down Tindal Street, all tall and narrow, but quite charming.
My sandwich came with a little ramekin of salad and some homemade coleslaw, and my ceylon orange pekoe was leaf tea rather than bags. A really refreshing lunchtime break, and I shall definitely be going back. I was intrigued to see that they are offering a scone workshop on Saturday - I wish I could go, but we already have an engagement. I must remember to keep my eye out for their future offerings.
If you fancy taking a pot of tea there sometime, here is their website http://www.stewartsdeliandtearoom.co.uk/index.html
My second surprise started off a little less welcome...when I left the office to go home, I realised that I didn't have my keys, and was locked out! And even worse, I had my dear friend Annastasia visiting before we went to burlesque class together. In previous days, I might have panicked and fretted, but instead I decided that the universe was telling us to have a picnic in my (communal) garden, so I picked up a few bits from Marks and Sparks, and we sat on the grass eating our picnic quite merrily until Carl came home and let us in!
So, two surprises for the first Wednesday in September...I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
A Little Sip of Something New
While I may be ready for seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness, blackberry picking and snuggly blankets, it seems that Mother Nature has other ideas. Not that I am complaining, really - after the long winter we had last year, some extra days of sunshine are welcome indeed.
However, the sunshine hasn't stopped me thinking ahead to warming drinks for when the temperature dips. I was in a little sandwich shop just across the road from work on Monday, when I spotted some tiny bottles, about the size of my index finger, with intriguing flavours labelled on them. Lemon and Ginger, Peach, Pear and Honey, Apple, Ginger and Spice, and Rhubarb, Apple and Cinnamon. I picked one up for a closer look, to discover they are little bottles of concentrate to make hot drinks with - each one makes 15 cups. So somewhere between a liquid herbal tea and a grown up Ribena!
At £3:00 each I decided that it was a very affordable treat, and took the Rhubarb, Apple and Cinnamon back to the office. although it was too warm, really, I couldn't resist trying a cup - and really enjoyed it. I like the idea of having a little line of these bottles on my desk, and it feels almost medicinal to prepare, as you pour out a teaspoon of liquid for each cup.
If you want to try them for yourselves, go to www.fruitbroo.com
However, the sunshine hasn't stopped me thinking ahead to warming drinks for when the temperature dips. I was in a little sandwich shop just across the road from work on Monday, when I spotted some tiny bottles, about the size of my index finger, with intriguing flavours labelled on them. Lemon and Ginger, Peach, Pear and Honey, Apple, Ginger and Spice, and Rhubarb, Apple and Cinnamon. I picked one up for a closer look, to discover they are little bottles of concentrate to make hot drinks with - each one makes 15 cups. So somewhere between a liquid herbal tea and a grown up Ribena!
At £3:00 each I decided that it was a very affordable treat, and took the Rhubarb, Apple and Cinnamon back to the office. although it was too warm, really, I couldn't resist trying a cup - and really enjoyed it. I like the idea of having a little line of these bottles on my desk, and it feels almost medicinal to prepare, as you pour out a teaspoon of liquid for each cup.
If you want to try them for yourselves, go to www.fruitbroo.com
Sunday, 1 September 2013
The First Day of September
And suddenly, September is here. I was out late last night, visiting a friend, and came home as the clock was striking midnight, and August slipped away.
I love September. To me, it is the coming of autumn, that back-to-school feeling, the promise of leaves to come falling and whirling from the trees like confetti in the air. Cosy comfort food and hot chocolate, hot water bottles and pumpkins and conkers and acorns....and all things lovely.
For the first time in a long time, we woke up when our bodies were ready, rather than when the alarm went off. It was blissful. Over the first cup of tea for the day, Carl suggested a trip to Hylands park. It is a short drive away, and one of my favourite places to walk. As it was the first Sunday of the month, the Farmers Market was on which made it even nicer. I bought a book of parlour games from the second hand bookstall there, and then we took a gentle walk down to the lake, stopping to lay under a tree for a bit, and look up at the branches silhouetted against the sky. The first little hints of the coming autumn were there to be seen - scattered green acorns on the ground.
After our walk, we drove to the nearby farm shop to buy the first of the new season apples. We came home with bags of Katy and Festival, and the biggest Bramley I have ever seen. I love the farm shop. We used to go more regularly when we lived a little bit closer, but we have been starting to go a bit more often. This is the perfect time of year to start shopping there, as the apples start to appear, and the big bins are filled with corn-on-the-cob and pointed cabbages.
Then home, to a pot of tea and a blackcurrant flapjack. I used the vintage cup and saucer I brought back from Aldeburgh this year. The saucer is an elongated shape, so the cup sits on one side, with space for your biscuit on the other. We drank our tea while we watched 'The Moving Finger' which is a Miss Marple mystery - and we watched the older version, filmed in the 80s, rather than the newer one.
While I sipped tea and watched Miss Marple, I wound all of the wool in my stash into balls, which was very therapeutic, and all the balls are now sitting in a wicker basket, along with the two crochet blankets I am making. There is the ripple stitch sea-coloured blanket which I have not done any work on for some time, and then the giant granny square blanket in different shades of green which I have started more recently.
Tarragon pork for dinner, and then a bath with the new issue of The Simple Things magazine, lit by candles.
Now, sitting in the dimly-lit living room, with a pile of print-outs about September and autumn from Brocante Home, that I have collected over the years. Making plans for hazelnut being my signature autumn flavour this year, and looking forward to cosying up our home when I have finally finished the big declutter.
All that I have left to do now is the Narnia (our walk-in-wardrobe-closet), the storage boxes under our bed, and the bookshelves. I am still enjoying the process, but starting to be very, very ready to be finished. I am at that point where it feels like I have come so, so far, but still have a fair way to go. I think the flat will look done when the Narnia and under the bed are finished, but I am looking forward to a proper sort out of the bookshelves. I am going to leave it for last, as I am looking forward to our home looking finished.
A gentle start to a September, full of plans for new books to read, a special wedding, a trip to the Aldeburgh Food Festival, and starting to plan for Christmas.
I love September. To me, it is the coming of autumn, that back-to-school feeling, the promise of leaves to come falling and whirling from the trees like confetti in the air. Cosy comfort food and hot chocolate, hot water bottles and pumpkins and conkers and acorns....and all things lovely.
For the first time in a long time, we woke up when our bodies were ready, rather than when the alarm went off. It was blissful. Over the first cup of tea for the day, Carl suggested a trip to Hylands park. It is a short drive away, and one of my favourite places to walk. As it was the first Sunday of the month, the Farmers Market was on which made it even nicer. I bought a book of parlour games from the second hand bookstall there, and then we took a gentle walk down to the lake, stopping to lay under a tree for a bit, and look up at the branches silhouetted against the sky. The first little hints of the coming autumn were there to be seen - scattered green acorns on the ground.
After our walk, we drove to the nearby farm shop to buy the first of the new season apples. We came home with bags of Katy and Festival, and the biggest Bramley I have ever seen. I love the farm shop. We used to go more regularly when we lived a little bit closer, but we have been starting to go a bit more often. This is the perfect time of year to start shopping there, as the apples start to appear, and the big bins are filled with corn-on-the-cob and pointed cabbages.
Then home, to a pot of tea and a blackcurrant flapjack. I used the vintage cup and saucer I brought back from Aldeburgh this year. The saucer is an elongated shape, so the cup sits on one side, with space for your biscuit on the other. We drank our tea while we watched 'The Moving Finger' which is a Miss Marple mystery - and we watched the older version, filmed in the 80s, rather than the newer one.
While I sipped tea and watched Miss Marple, I wound all of the wool in my stash into balls, which was very therapeutic, and all the balls are now sitting in a wicker basket, along with the two crochet blankets I am making. There is the ripple stitch sea-coloured blanket which I have not done any work on for some time, and then the giant granny square blanket in different shades of green which I have started more recently.
Tarragon pork for dinner, and then a bath with the new issue of The Simple Things magazine, lit by candles.
Now, sitting in the dimly-lit living room, with a pile of print-outs about September and autumn from Brocante Home, that I have collected over the years. Making plans for hazelnut being my signature autumn flavour this year, and looking forward to cosying up our home when I have finally finished the big declutter.
All that I have left to do now is the Narnia (our walk-in-wardrobe-closet), the storage boxes under our bed, and the bookshelves. I am still enjoying the process, but starting to be very, very ready to be finished. I am at that point where it feels like I have come so, so far, but still have a fair way to go. I think the flat will look done when the Narnia and under the bed are finished, but I am looking forward to a proper sort out of the bookshelves. I am going to leave it for last, as I am looking forward to our home looking finished.
A gentle start to a September, full of plans for new books to read, a special wedding, a trip to the Aldeburgh Food Festival, and starting to plan for Christmas.
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Rainy Saturday
I feel like Alice-down-the-rabbit-hole this week....almost like I tripped over on Monday, did a forward-roll, and somehow ended up in Saturday! I have been working long hours and coming home tired, but wanting to continue with my decluttering. I haven't made as much progress as I would like this week, but I have recognised that it is better to do a little than burn myself out.
I have been falling into bed with The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (actually J.K. Rowling) and reading until my eyes are gritty and heavy. It is a curious book - I enjoyed it - and didn't guess who the killer was - but it took a long time to read. Perhaps it was because I was falling asleep sooner than I would have liked, and haven't had lunch hours to read in, but it did feel slightly slow-moving. I hope that she writes another though!
And so to today, Saturday, at last, Saturday. It almost felt like an autumn morning when I walked into town earlier. It was damp and almost raining, the sky all hazy and smudged and blurring into the moisture in the air. While I was in the bank, the rain drops which had started to fall tentatively, almost as though tapping you on the shoulder to catch your attention, suddenly came down in a torrent.
I took myself into town to change my library books, buy some toiletries, get my eyebrows tidied up, and have a bit of a wander. I returned The Cuckoo's Calling to the library and collected the first novel in the Phryne Fisher lady detective series. It is set in the 20's, and I have watched and enjoyed the tv series (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries).
I treated myself to a soy milk hot chocolate with hazelnut syrup and a giant bourbon from the Costa at the train station, which is close enough to home for the drink to still be hot when I got there.
Now I am settled down with a pot of tea (the hot chocolate is long gone, alas!) and the window open. The rain is falling so finely now you can hardly see it, but it's perfume is filling the air, and when the cars drive by, you can hear the rain on their tyres. I think there are few things more lovely than a rainy Saturday afternoon and nowhere to have to be, or to go.
I am watching Kirstie Allsopp's Home Style that I recorded the other evening. I have said it before, but I do love Kirstie. IT seems this series is basically things that have not made the final cut in her previous series, but I am still enjoying it. This one is about hosting gatherings - and definitely has an understated Christmas feel to it. Out of curiosity, I searched for 'Kirstie Christmas' on amazon - and she has a Christmas book out in September, hurrah!
Talking of Christmas - I am designing my cards at the moment, and starting to think about gifts. I want to make the majority of them again this year, so it makes sense to start early, so I can have the enjoyment of making them, rather than it being a rush. I brought home a magazine which has given me some ideas, but what was a bit frustrating was that a craft punch they have used, and has given me lots of ideas does not appear to be available to buy any more, oh dear!
I am babysitting my godchildren this evening, so will be taking my new library book with me, as well the crochet blanket I am working on. Bur first, I have a few more hours of Saturday afternoon pottering to enjoy.
Wherever you are, I hope you are having a scrumptious Saturday.
Love,
Mimi
xxx
I have been falling into bed with The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (actually J.K. Rowling) and reading until my eyes are gritty and heavy. It is a curious book - I enjoyed it - and didn't guess who the killer was - but it took a long time to read. Perhaps it was because I was falling asleep sooner than I would have liked, and haven't had lunch hours to read in, but it did feel slightly slow-moving. I hope that she writes another though!
And so to today, Saturday, at last, Saturday. It almost felt like an autumn morning when I walked into town earlier. It was damp and almost raining, the sky all hazy and smudged and blurring into the moisture in the air. While I was in the bank, the rain drops which had started to fall tentatively, almost as though tapping you on the shoulder to catch your attention, suddenly came down in a torrent.
I took myself into town to change my library books, buy some toiletries, get my eyebrows tidied up, and have a bit of a wander. I returned The Cuckoo's Calling to the library and collected the first novel in the Phryne Fisher lady detective series. It is set in the 20's, and I have watched and enjoyed the tv series (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries).
I treated myself to a soy milk hot chocolate with hazelnut syrup and a giant bourbon from the Costa at the train station, which is close enough to home for the drink to still be hot when I got there.
Now I am settled down with a pot of tea (the hot chocolate is long gone, alas!) and the window open. The rain is falling so finely now you can hardly see it, but it's perfume is filling the air, and when the cars drive by, you can hear the rain on their tyres. I think there are few things more lovely than a rainy Saturday afternoon and nowhere to have to be, or to go.
I am watching Kirstie Allsopp's Home Style that I recorded the other evening. I have said it before, but I do love Kirstie. IT seems this series is basically things that have not made the final cut in her previous series, but I am still enjoying it. This one is about hosting gatherings - and definitely has an understated Christmas feel to it. Out of curiosity, I searched for 'Kirstie Christmas' on amazon - and she has a Christmas book out in September, hurrah!
Talking of Christmas - I am designing my cards at the moment, and starting to think about gifts. I want to make the majority of them again this year, so it makes sense to start early, so I can have the enjoyment of making them, rather than it being a rush. I brought home a magazine which has given me some ideas, but what was a bit frustrating was that a craft punch they have used, and has given me lots of ideas does not appear to be available to buy any more, oh dear!
I am babysitting my godchildren this evening, so will be taking my new library book with me, as well the crochet blanket I am working on. Bur first, I have a few more hours of Saturday afternoon pottering to enjoy.
Wherever you are, I hope you are having a scrumptious Saturday.
Love,
Mimi
xxx
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
Once In A Blue Moon
Ps Don't forget to peek out of the window tonight - not only is it a full moon, it is a blue moon!
Brilliant Baking
Life is very busy at work at the moment, and I think it would be entirely fair to say challenging also. I was rushing between meetings this afternoon with more of a smile than usual - because I was looking forward to sitting down with a pot of tea and the new series of The Great British Bake Off this evening.
And here I am, and how blissful it is. I feel like I have earned my relaxation time, as I have tidied out a drawer, and washed up after dinner. Now I have the light on very low, and a candle burning. The Great British Bake Off is just starting, and my pot of Whittard's Afternoon Tea is really fragrant and delicious.
Peaceful, gentle evenings...blissful. The thing I love about the bake-off, apart from it's being about baking, is how encouraging Mary Berry is to the contestants. She nearly always finds something to complement them on, and offers constructive advice for how to do it better next time. There doesn't seem to be that ghastly build-up at the end to see who is going to go home, either.
Normally I would be sitting here clicking away with knitting needles or crochet hook - and while there are some things that I need to work on (Christmas gifts!) tonight I am content to just be...
I hope that the Bake Off will inspire me to do some baking of my own. Although most of my time not at work is being divided between decluttering and reorganizing and reading The Cuckoo's Calling, I rather think I would like to spend some time with my pinny on baking up a storm. I haven't made any of Sophie Dahl's pear and ginger muffins for a while, and I love those..they remind me of autumn. And although we are basking in the summer sun right now, I am already starting to feel excited for the first unfirlings of autumn. I am starting to get the stirrings of back-to-school and new notebooks and leaves and acorns...
And here I am, and how blissful it is. I feel like I have earned my relaxation time, as I have tidied out a drawer, and washed up after dinner. Now I have the light on very low, and a candle burning. The Great British Bake Off is just starting, and my pot of Whittard's Afternoon Tea is really fragrant and delicious.
Peaceful, gentle evenings...blissful. The thing I love about the bake-off, apart from it's being about baking, is how encouraging Mary Berry is to the contestants. She nearly always finds something to complement them on, and offers constructive advice for how to do it better next time. There doesn't seem to be that ghastly build-up at the end to see who is going to go home, either.
Normally I would be sitting here clicking away with knitting needles or crochet hook - and while there are some things that I need to work on (Christmas gifts!) tonight I am content to just be...
I hope that the Bake Off will inspire me to do some baking of my own. Although most of my time not at work is being divided between decluttering and reorganizing and reading The Cuckoo's Calling, I rather think I would like to spend some time with my pinny on baking up a storm. I haven't made any of Sophie Dahl's pear and ginger muffins for a while, and I love those..they remind me of autumn. And although we are basking in the summer sun right now, I am already starting to feel excited for the first unfirlings of autumn. I am starting to get the stirrings of back-to-school and new notebooks and leaves and acorns...
Sunday, 18 August 2013
More and Less
It came to me yesterday afternoon, while I was on my hands and knees, reorganizing the saucepan cupboard. When you have too much, you can't actually appreciate what you have. When you have just enough, somehow you appreciate it more. I know that I am very lucky to be in the position to experience 'just enough', let alone 'too much'. And I have to say, that although it is hard work, I am systematically working through our entire flat, and every one of our possessions, decluttering, downsizing and reorganizing what is left, it is so rewarding.
I started following the Brocante Home Trash It or Treasure It programme, but as it went on an hiatus, I didn't. For the first time, I was really bitten by the bug, and so I have continued. I still have a way to go, and because I have been focussing on drawers and cupboards a lot so far, to the untrained eye it might not look like lots has changed, to me, everything has changed, and I couldn't be happier.
When I was first dating Carl, he was a 'social smoker' and said he would give up. But he found it harder to do than say, and however much I wanted him to give up, he had to be ready, in himself. And so I think it is with this kind of editing and stripping back. I have wanted to do it in the past, and have started Trash It or Treasure It or Flylady only to fall by the wayside...but this time I am ready.
I think I am probably about half way there, but already my sense of peace is increasing so much. The local charity shop is getting bags and bags of donations, which makes me feel good. I realised, while sipping a cup of tea this morning, that there isn't a single thing I have got rid of that I regret. There are things that I have loved, but outgrown. Spares of things I haven't used. Things I have bought to 'make do' that never brought me joy. So I am setting them free to find new homes.
It feels so good to be doing this, and to be doing it because I really want to. I finished the kitchen yesterday, and just making a pot of tea this morning felt easier. It isn't just about the decluttering, although that is vital - it is about the reorganizing of what is left, and thinking about little things that will make life easier or better, or more comfortable. I have started a list of projects to look forward to, once I have finished:
Covering the kitchen table in oilcloth (inspired by tea at the Cragg Sisters) and paining the chairs
Designing my own book plates to go in my books
Replacing our chest of drawers in the bedroom with a second hand dressing table
Buying some of those removable hooks which stick onto the wall, to hang up some of our framed photographs
Making a pompom rug for the living room floor
I also found this blog post very inspirational -
http://thequiethomeblog.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/celebrating-the-ordinary-life/
Although I have a full time job, I do love the work I do in our home, and it was really interesting to read about someone else seeing it as a privilege too.
Right, time to roll up my sleeves and tackle another cupboard....
I started following the Brocante Home Trash It or Treasure It programme, but as it went on an hiatus, I didn't. For the first time, I was really bitten by the bug, and so I have continued. I still have a way to go, and because I have been focussing on drawers and cupboards a lot so far, to the untrained eye it might not look like lots has changed, to me, everything has changed, and I couldn't be happier.
When I was first dating Carl, he was a 'social smoker' and said he would give up. But he found it harder to do than say, and however much I wanted him to give up, he had to be ready, in himself. And so I think it is with this kind of editing and stripping back. I have wanted to do it in the past, and have started Trash It or Treasure It or Flylady only to fall by the wayside...but this time I am ready.
I think I am probably about half way there, but already my sense of peace is increasing so much. The local charity shop is getting bags and bags of donations, which makes me feel good. I realised, while sipping a cup of tea this morning, that there isn't a single thing I have got rid of that I regret. There are things that I have loved, but outgrown. Spares of things I haven't used. Things I have bought to 'make do' that never brought me joy. So I am setting them free to find new homes.
It feels so good to be doing this, and to be doing it because I really want to. I finished the kitchen yesterday, and just making a pot of tea this morning felt easier. It isn't just about the decluttering, although that is vital - it is about the reorganizing of what is left, and thinking about little things that will make life easier or better, or more comfortable. I have started a list of projects to look forward to, once I have finished:
Covering the kitchen table in oilcloth (inspired by tea at the Cragg Sisters) and paining the chairs
Designing my own book plates to go in my books
Replacing our chest of drawers in the bedroom with a second hand dressing table
Buying some of those removable hooks which stick onto the wall, to hang up some of our framed photographs
Making a pompom rug for the living room floor
I also found this blog post very inspirational -
http://thequiethomeblog.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/celebrating-the-ordinary-life/
Although I have a full time job, I do love the work I do in our home, and it was really interesting to read about someone else seeing it as a privilege too.
Right, time to roll up my sleeves and tackle another cupboard....
Postcard from Aldeburgh
Coming back from Aldeburgh is a slightly strange experience. It is only 1.5 hours away by car, but it feels almost like stepping from one life into another. So close, yet so far. A different way of life entirely. It struck me, on our last full day, as I wandered along the seafront to the baker to buy croissants, that this tiny coastal town has so many more amenities than the city in which I live. There is the aforementioned bakers, who do the most wonderful croissants, which sell out so quickly you are wise to order them the day before if you want to be certain of getting any. Lawson's is a delicatessen where I fell in love with a delicious 'happy carrot salad'. We bought home some bacon from Salter's, the butchers, as it is such good quality. There is such an array of hotels offering morning coffee or afternoon tea, just ready and waiting to welcome you in.
There are certain charms that Aldeburgh holds, that I would never expect home to be able to compete with. Our little city can't possibly also be the seaside, and there can only be one iconic shorline scallop sculpture. I wouldn't expect to walk down our city streets to be lined with delightfully named quaint little cottages.
But....although it isn't all about shopping, wouldn't you expect that in a city, we would have a proper butcher, a baker, a deli? I don't want to sound snobbish - we do after all have a Gregg's and there is a butcher in the market - and we boast two Marks and Spencers - but it isn't the same.
Apart from the beautiful, beautiful pebbley beach and crashing waves, I will miss the simple shopping pleasures for daily provisions. But I always find, that whatever I might find lacking when I return home to the city in which we live, the peace of Aldeburgh always comes back with me. And our own little home isn't lacking in pleasure or charm for me at all. As much as I enjoy our stay in the little blue cottage, there is something blissful about home.
And so I am sitting, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, slightly perturbed by the influx of teenagers in very short shorts and wellies (it is V weekend), but looking back and smiling on a week of adventures by the sea.
Spotting none other than Ben Wishaw in the queue in the fish and chip shop on our first night. Walking along the shore to the next village, Thorpeness. Rowing on the lake there in a little yellow boat. Climbing to the very top of Orford Castle, the wind whipping my hair about my head and my skirt about my legs. Afternoon tea at the Cragg Sisters, with chocolate cake too big and chocolatey to finish, even with a second pot of tea. Sitting on the beach, the pebbles warmed by the sun and the waves splashing at our feet. Walking on the pier at Southwold. A happy hour spent browsing in the independent book shop at Aldeburgh. And then another spent in the second hand bookshop, just further down the street.
But best of all, just slipping into a different world for a bit. Having time to wander and ponder, and soak up the scenery. Smiling at the names of the cottages - my favourite was 'Half Past Six Cottage' - and all the efforts that have been put in to making them look beautiful. Window boxes of lavender, hanging baskets swinging in the breeze, a door knocker in the shape of a crab.
Suffice to say, we had a lovely time. I think in busy moments it will help to remember that all that is just 1.5 hours away.
There are certain charms that Aldeburgh holds, that I would never expect home to be able to compete with. Our little city can't possibly also be the seaside, and there can only be one iconic shorline scallop sculpture. I wouldn't expect to walk down our city streets to be lined with delightfully named quaint little cottages.
But....although it isn't all about shopping, wouldn't you expect that in a city, we would have a proper butcher, a baker, a deli? I don't want to sound snobbish - we do after all have a Gregg's and there is a butcher in the market - and we boast two Marks and Spencers - but it isn't the same.
Apart from the beautiful, beautiful pebbley beach and crashing waves, I will miss the simple shopping pleasures for daily provisions. But I always find, that whatever I might find lacking when I return home to the city in which we live, the peace of Aldeburgh always comes back with me. And our own little home isn't lacking in pleasure or charm for me at all. As much as I enjoy our stay in the little blue cottage, there is something blissful about home.
And so I am sitting, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, slightly perturbed by the influx of teenagers in very short shorts and wellies (it is V weekend), but looking back and smiling on a week of adventures by the sea.
Spotting none other than Ben Wishaw in the queue in the fish and chip shop on our first night. Walking along the shore to the next village, Thorpeness. Rowing on the lake there in a little yellow boat. Climbing to the very top of Orford Castle, the wind whipping my hair about my head and my skirt about my legs. Afternoon tea at the Cragg Sisters, with chocolate cake too big and chocolatey to finish, even with a second pot of tea. Sitting on the beach, the pebbles warmed by the sun and the waves splashing at our feet. Walking on the pier at Southwold. A happy hour spent browsing in the independent book shop at Aldeburgh. And then another spent in the second hand bookshop, just further down the street.
But best of all, just slipping into a different world for a bit. Having time to wander and ponder, and soak up the scenery. Smiling at the names of the cottages - my favourite was 'Half Past Six Cottage' - and all the efforts that have been put in to making them look beautiful. Window boxes of lavender, hanging baskets swinging in the breeze, a door knocker in the shape of a crab.
Suffice to say, we had a lovely time. I think in busy moments it will help to remember that all that is just 1.5 hours away.
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Off On My Holibobs!
I am blinking like a sleepy owl, and my eyes feel slightly gritty. Yes, it is twenty to one in the morning, I haven't packed a thing, and I am off on my hols tomorrow morning!
The good news is that it is just a little drive up the coast, so there will be time to pack tomorrow morning (although I wish I had had chance to do it tonight!).
I can't wait to get to Aldeburgh, to swim in the sea, feel the pebbles beneath my feet, and just let the peace and calm wash over me.
I wish I could send you a postcard, but alas, will not have internet access while I am there - so I will catch up with you when I come back. Let's share a pot of tea then....
Love
Mimi
xxx
The good news is that it is just a little drive up the coast, so there will be time to pack tomorrow morning (although I wish I had had chance to do it tonight!).
I can't wait to get to Aldeburgh, to swim in the sea, feel the pebbles beneath my feet, and just let the peace and calm wash over me.
I wish I could send you a postcard, but alas, will not have internet access while I am there - so I will catch up with you when I come back. Let's share a pot of tea then....
Love
Mimi
xxx
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Points of View
In some ways, since I changed jobs last, nothing has changed - and at the same time, everything has changed. Not only am I in the same building as I was when I was in the Cabinet Office, I am in the same room, only 2 floors above. What a difference those two floors make though! There is a meeting room next to the office, and when I look out of the window there, my view is a higgledy piggledy hotch potch of roof tops - and I love it.
It even looked beautiful today, with a veil of rain drawn over it. The part of the building that office is in is the old part of the building, the part built in the 1930s. One of the other offices I work in is in the new part of the building (my team is split over several offices) and it is all steel and glass. Normally I don't find the newer part of the building pleasing to look at, but in the glass lift up to the fourth floor, you get a great view of the city, all the way to the hill where my little-library-on-a-hill is planted.
The roof is also glass in that part of the building, and as I stepped out of the lift, I could see the big fat rain drops splattering heavily against the glass, and caught the merest hint of the scent of rain in the air. The village on the hill looked smudgy and blurred from all the rain.
Not a good day to be outside - but a beautiful day to be inside, and observing it from that point of view.
Now I am home again, and it is blissful to be here. I have continued my decluttering - this evening I did my bedside table. There is so, so much to do, and yet with every little area that I tick off, I feel so much better - almost lighter.
I have a charity shop bag that I am steadily filling, and recycle what is not good enough to go to the charity shop. I was meant to be at a boot sale with a dear friend at the weekend just gone, but a family matter kept me away. Part of me is thinking of continuing to add to my boot sale pile, but I made the happy discovery that you can trade in some books with amazon - so I need to see which of the books I have ready to go I can do that with. It looks really straight forward - you find the book on amazon, it offers you a trade in price, you type in the isbn number to confirm it is the same book, and then they give you a postage paid address label to print. You send off your book(s) and then they credit your account with an amazon gift card to the agreed amount. Lets hope it is a simple in practise as it is in theory!
It even looked beautiful today, with a veil of rain drawn over it. The part of the building that office is in is the old part of the building, the part built in the 1930s. One of the other offices I work in is in the new part of the building (my team is split over several offices) and it is all steel and glass. Normally I don't find the newer part of the building pleasing to look at, but in the glass lift up to the fourth floor, you get a great view of the city, all the way to the hill where my little-library-on-a-hill is planted.
The roof is also glass in that part of the building, and as I stepped out of the lift, I could see the big fat rain drops splattering heavily against the glass, and caught the merest hint of the scent of rain in the air. The village on the hill looked smudgy and blurred from all the rain.
Not a good day to be outside - but a beautiful day to be inside, and observing it from that point of view.
Now I am home again, and it is blissful to be here. I have continued my decluttering - this evening I did my bedside table. There is so, so much to do, and yet with every little area that I tick off, I feel so much better - almost lighter.
I have a charity shop bag that I am steadily filling, and recycle what is not good enough to go to the charity shop. I was meant to be at a boot sale with a dear friend at the weekend just gone, but a family matter kept me away. Part of me is thinking of continuing to add to my boot sale pile, but I made the happy discovery that you can trade in some books with amazon - so I need to see which of the books I have ready to go I can do that with. It looks really straight forward - you find the book on amazon, it offers you a trade in price, you type in the isbn number to confirm it is the same book, and then they give you a postage paid address label to print. You send off your book(s) and then they credit your account with an amazon gift card to the agreed amount. Lets hope it is a simple in practise as it is in theory!
Sunday, 28 July 2013
What Matters...
Pretty Nostalgic is one of my favourite magazines, and I love it so much that I can't read an issue in one sitting. It only comes out every other month, which I actually really love - I would so much rather read one really good issue less frequently, than have a poorer issue more often. The quality of the writing and articles is really good, and they catch my interest. Added to that the great design, the gorgeous heavy matte paper they print it on - and it really is a delight of a magazine.
Issue 8 was no exception - I still haven't got quite to the end of it, but am savouring it slowly, and have loved what I have read so far. They have started the 'Pretty Nostalgic Pledge' which reads 'Spend Wisely...Waste Less...Appreciate More' - wise words to live by, indeed.
But it was an article about Josephine Tey which has really given me much to think about this month. As soon as I saw her name, my interest was peaked, as I read a fictional murder mystery featuring Josephine Tey, who was a real-life mystery author. A moment later, I spotted that the article was by Nicola Upson, who wrote that very book - and so I refilled my teacup, and read on.
As interesting as it was to learn a bit more about her writing, and Josephine Tey, it was this passage which interested me:
"My partner, Mandy, had a friend called Irene who died recently, a few days short of her 100th birthday. Mandy and I would often visit her at her Plantagenet cottage where she'd lived since she got married in 1935. Irene was an amazing woman who told remarkable stories, and her home was full of everything that had mattered to her over those long years, so being with her was like walking straight into the world I write about..."
...her home was full of everything that had mattered to her... - that is what got me thinking. I have been thinking about decluttering recently, and have been starting to work through the Brocante Home Trash It or Treasure It programme - but I haven't really got very far so far. But that phrase, those words...if someone walked into my home now, would they see the things that mattered to me? I am lucky enough to have a lot of things that do matter to me, but equally, there are magazines that I have read, and wouldn't miss if I gave them away or recycled them. Gifts where the intention was more precious perhaps than the physical expression of it. Books that I have read, but is time to set free. If someone was to walk in and think that all of what they could see were the things that mattered most to me...well what would that say?
And so, inspired by that, and a dose of Little House on the Prairie (how I long to live in a log cabin sometimes!) I decided it was time to stop thinking, and just start. And whilst there would be a good argument for starting with the most cluttered area, instead, I decided to start with one of the more neglected areas - our airing cupboard. I have just come back from a trip to the charity shop where I have donated two sets of really good towels, a bedding set, several aprons, and a few other bits and bobs. The truth was, lucky though I was to have lots of really nice towels, I don't need four different sets. And somehow, by having less, it feels like having more. The airing cupboard is now a lot less full, and it is easy to see what we have got, and to get to it. Knowing that someone else is going to get use out of the things we have given away feels good, too. And the things that are left - well, it sounds silly to say 'the towels matter' - but they do. One set is a very good set which Mum bought for us when we moved in together. She works in a shop which sells them, and as she gets a staff discount, we were able to have something much nicer than we would otherwise have been able to afford. And there is something about feeling like you are getting a hug from your Mum when you use a towel that she gave you, and you remember using the same kind of towels at home.
Rather than hunting for wherever the clean tea-towels ended up, they are neatly stacked all together. I have put the duvet cover, sheet, and pillow case from our other bedding set into the remaining pillowcase, so it is all neatly kept together.
A curious thought, that less feels more abundant than more. But perhaps having more than you need, can actually be quite draining on the soul?
I have a long way to go, I know. I want this to be a very thorough process, and that will take time. I want to do it all at once, but I don't have the luxury of the time all in one block to do it. So I am going to try and satisfy myself with doing bit by bit, drawer by drawer, shelf by shelf, but doing it really well. Setting things free to find new homes. Making space in my life to appreciate what we have, and hopefully to make space in our lives for new adventures.
So, looking around, is what you see what matters to you? Or like me, are those things being drowned out slightly by other things, things it is time to set free?
Issue 8 was no exception - I still haven't got quite to the end of it, but am savouring it slowly, and have loved what I have read so far. They have started the 'Pretty Nostalgic Pledge' which reads 'Spend Wisely...Waste Less...Appreciate More' - wise words to live by, indeed.
But it was an article about Josephine Tey which has really given me much to think about this month. As soon as I saw her name, my interest was peaked, as I read a fictional murder mystery featuring Josephine Tey, who was a real-life mystery author. A moment later, I spotted that the article was by Nicola Upson, who wrote that very book - and so I refilled my teacup, and read on.
As interesting as it was to learn a bit more about her writing, and Josephine Tey, it was this passage which interested me:
"My partner, Mandy, had a friend called Irene who died recently, a few days short of her 100th birthday. Mandy and I would often visit her at her Plantagenet cottage where she'd lived since she got married in 1935. Irene was an amazing woman who told remarkable stories, and her home was full of everything that had mattered to her over those long years, so being with her was like walking straight into the world I write about..."
...her home was full of everything that had mattered to her... - that is what got me thinking. I have been thinking about decluttering recently, and have been starting to work through the Brocante Home Trash It or Treasure It programme - but I haven't really got very far so far. But that phrase, those words...if someone walked into my home now, would they see the things that mattered to me? I am lucky enough to have a lot of things that do matter to me, but equally, there are magazines that I have read, and wouldn't miss if I gave them away or recycled them. Gifts where the intention was more precious perhaps than the physical expression of it. Books that I have read, but is time to set free. If someone was to walk in and think that all of what they could see were the things that mattered most to me...well what would that say?
And so, inspired by that, and a dose of Little House on the Prairie (how I long to live in a log cabin sometimes!) I decided it was time to stop thinking, and just start. And whilst there would be a good argument for starting with the most cluttered area, instead, I decided to start with one of the more neglected areas - our airing cupboard. I have just come back from a trip to the charity shop where I have donated two sets of really good towels, a bedding set, several aprons, and a few other bits and bobs. The truth was, lucky though I was to have lots of really nice towels, I don't need four different sets. And somehow, by having less, it feels like having more. The airing cupboard is now a lot less full, and it is easy to see what we have got, and to get to it. Knowing that someone else is going to get use out of the things we have given away feels good, too. And the things that are left - well, it sounds silly to say 'the towels matter' - but they do. One set is a very good set which Mum bought for us when we moved in together. She works in a shop which sells them, and as she gets a staff discount, we were able to have something much nicer than we would otherwise have been able to afford. And there is something about feeling like you are getting a hug from your Mum when you use a towel that she gave you, and you remember using the same kind of towels at home.
Rather than hunting for wherever the clean tea-towels ended up, they are neatly stacked all together. I have put the duvet cover, sheet, and pillow case from our other bedding set into the remaining pillowcase, so it is all neatly kept together.
A curious thought, that less feels more abundant than more. But perhaps having more than you need, can actually be quite draining on the soul?
I have a long way to go, I know. I want this to be a very thorough process, and that will take time. I want to do it all at once, but I don't have the luxury of the time all in one block to do it. So I am going to try and satisfy myself with doing bit by bit, drawer by drawer, shelf by shelf, but doing it really well. Setting things free to find new homes. Making space in my life to appreciate what we have, and hopefully to make space in our lives for new adventures.
So, looking around, is what you see what matters to you? Or like me, are those things being drowned out slightly by other things, things it is time to set free?
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Where Were You When You Heard The News?
In my little corner of England, summer has swept in and is dazzling us with plenty of sunshine. Monday was hot and still, one of the hottest days that I can remember. I was working from home during the day, and sat with my feet in a bucket of cold water, just to keep cool enough to concentrate on my work.
In heat like this, it is hard even to sleep. The nights seem slightly restless, and even when you do finally doze off, there is a part of you that seems to stay awake, murmuring gently and slightly plaintively that it is so, so hot. When it is time to get up, our radio switches on to the Today programme on Radio 4, and it seems that rather than wake up straight away, I slowly become conscious of listening to the news, and then realising I must be awake.
So it was Monday morning. And one of the first things I heard, was the news that there had been so much speculation about - that the Duchess of Cambridge had gone to hospital to have her baby. During the day, from time to time, I checked the news, but nothing. And then, in the early evening, we left to visit a friend, where we had the most magical evening, and delicious dinner imaginable.
We sat in her courtyard garden at the back of her lovely little cottage, surrounded by sweet peas and blooming plants. Her husband-to-be lit tiny tealights which glimmered away as the gloaming slipped quietly into the twilight, and then they cooked us dinner. They made paella, in a paella pan, on a little camp stove, right in the middle of the table. It was such a relaxed and delightful way to have dinner cooked - we all took it in turns to stir from time to time, and it was just heavenly and relaxing.
We normally see each other quite often, but as we get nearer and nearer to their wedding, understandably they have more demands on their time - and so we chatted and chatted and chatted, until a fat drop of rain splashed down, and heralded more to come. So we hurried and scurried and swept everything inside, and then sat down with a cup of tea. All of a sudden, we remembered that we hadn't checked the news for ages - and so Carl did - and we heard that Prince George Alexander Louis had been born late in the afternoon.
I remember being at secondary school, when apartheid ended with the election of Nelson Mandela as president - and one of my teachers saying 'you will always remember where you were when you heard this news'. This is the first time an heir to the throne has been born while I have been old enough to be aware of it (there are a few months difference in age between me and Prince William) which feels quite momentous - and as if that perfect, magical evening spent with friends wasn't enough, I will always remember it for the extra reason, that it is where I was when I heard that the new baby Prince had been born.
In heat like this, it is hard even to sleep. The nights seem slightly restless, and even when you do finally doze off, there is a part of you that seems to stay awake, murmuring gently and slightly plaintively that it is so, so hot. When it is time to get up, our radio switches on to the Today programme on Radio 4, and it seems that rather than wake up straight away, I slowly become conscious of listening to the news, and then realising I must be awake.
So it was Monday morning. And one of the first things I heard, was the news that there had been so much speculation about - that the Duchess of Cambridge had gone to hospital to have her baby. During the day, from time to time, I checked the news, but nothing. And then, in the early evening, we left to visit a friend, where we had the most magical evening, and delicious dinner imaginable.
We sat in her courtyard garden at the back of her lovely little cottage, surrounded by sweet peas and blooming plants. Her husband-to-be lit tiny tealights which glimmered away as the gloaming slipped quietly into the twilight, and then they cooked us dinner. They made paella, in a paella pan, on a little camp stove, right in the middle of the table. It was such a relaxed and delightful way to have dinner cooked - we all took it in turns to stir from time to time, and it was just heavenly and relaxing.
We normally see each other quite often, but as we get nearer and nearer to their wedding, understandably they have more demands on their time - and so we chatted and chatted and chatted, until a fat drop of rain splashed down, and heralded more to come. So we hurried and scurried and swept everything inside, and then sat down with a cup of tea. All of a sudden, we remembered that we hadn't checked the news for ages - and so Carl did - and we heard that Prince George Alexander Louis had been born late in the afternoon.
I remember being at secondary school, when apartheid ended with the election of Nelson Mandela as president - and one of my teachers saying 'you will always remember where you were when you heard this news'. This is the first time an heir to the throne has been born while I have been old enough to be aware of it (there are a few months difference in age between me and Prince William) which feels quite momentous - and as if that perfect, magical evening spent with friends wasn't enough, I will always remember it for the extra reason, that it is where I was when I heard that the new baby Prince had been born.
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Howard's End Is On The Landing
While I am on my sabbatical from libraries, I find that I have to put a little more effort into finding things to read. When you are surrounded by books all day long, especially books that are constantly being borrowed, returned, packed up to be sent off to another branch, or unpacked, or displayed, it is so, so, easy to always have a list as long as your arm that you want to read.
I have my Persephone Project to work on (I have just re-ordered the very first title in the series to read - I started it last time, and it was reserved by another reader, so I had to return it) but I like to have at least one book on the go, and another lined up. I can of course still visit the library, and I often do, but in all the years I worked in libraries, I have rarely browsed as a reader normally would, and I am not very good at it.
Part of the problem is that it is hard to browse in a library you have worked in. You are slightly too familiar with the stock, and never lose the urge to tidy up a display, or reshelve something that is in the wrong place. So on Saturday, we took a little drive to the newly opened library in Springfield. It does feel good to work for an authority that is opening libraries, rather than shutting them, and this one is being run with the assitance of volunteers. It isn't a large library, but has the feeling of space and airiness in it which is lovely. And most heavenly of all, all the books are new. I have often thought that libraries are like the most wonderful bookshops where you don't have to pay, but never has this felt more real than browsing in that library (it is Springfield Library, should you like to visit it yourself). Being smaller, I wasn't quite as overwhlemed with the choice available as I sometimes am at larger branches. I came away with several craft books, a novel or two, and the feeling of utter luxury and abundnace.
Part of my desire to visit the library came from having driven past it the night before, on my way to book club. I had seen the architects plans when it was in the earliest stages of planning, and I was delighted by how much the library looked like the plans. Book club was at the home of the lovely Agnes, and when she pressed into my hands a brand new Kirstie Allsopp craft book that she had got from Springfield Library only that day, I was resolved that I needed to visit!
I wish I could take you to Agnes' home. It is a real reflection of her, and you leave feeling...better. Such is the same as spending time with Agnes. Always, you feel better. Her home is simple but lovely, filled with her paintings, and the conservatory opens into a garden filled with lush blooms. I am sure a lot of work goes into it, but she makes everything seem effortless. We drank tea from Denby teacups, and ate homemade fruit cake, and discussed Howard's End Is On The Landing by Susan Hill. Have you read it? If you haven't, rush out to your library, and borrow it now. I am willing to wager that you will love it enough to want to buy it.
I think it is fair to say at the start, that as much as I love Susan Hill, and as much as I love this book, if she wasn't Susan Hill, I could imagine this being a blog project rather than a book. But I am so glad that it is a book! Whilst looking for her copy of Howard's End, Susan Hill realised that she has many books that she either hand't read at all, or wanted to re-read, and so resolved to spend a year 'reading from home' - that is, only reading what she already owned.
If this book were only about that, it would be lovely in itself, but it is more than that. She muses on the fonts that are used in books, how we arrange and organize our books, why we don't read some books, ponders on poetry, talks about travelogues, discusses diaries...she evokes the atmosphere of the London Library so well that I am determined to buy myself a subscription just as soon as I can afford one, and relates all manner of meetings with writers such as T.S. Eliot and Edith Sitwell.
I know it is said you should never judge a book by its cover (although publishers know that we do, and spend a great deal of money on this!) but the cover of this book appealed to me enoromously - it shows the spines of some old bound books, close up - one with the title of the book itself, and the author's name, and the other with the subtitle. It reminded me of a notebook that my Mum bought for me several years ago, when I got the job at my little library on the hill. It is a hardcover notebook, only a bit smaller than Howard's End Is On The Landing, and the cover is the spines of old books, lined up on a bookshelf. I had resisted writing in it until now, because I knew that it was meant for something special, and that I needed to wait and find out what that was. Well, this is it. I using it as I read Howards End Is On The Landing to make notes of the books and authors that she recommends that I want to read for myself. And when I read my next book, I will do the same. I so often come across a lovely phrase that I want to pin down on the page to savour, or a word to look up, or else any number of other things to look up. A piece of music or poetry mentioned, or a map of just where a particular place is, or so many other things. From now on, they will all go down in here....a kind of reading journal, but more.
When I read the following passage, it resounded deeply in me. It is that feeling of reading someone elses words, and seeing how eloquently they have captured something that you yourself feel, but either didn't know it until that moment, or could never have dreamed of articulating so well:
“Books help to form us. If you cut me open, you will find volume after volume, page after page, the contents of every one I have ever read, somehow transmuted and transformed into me. Alice in Wonderland. the Magic Faraway Tree. The Hound of the Baskervilles. The Book of Job. Bleak House. Wuthering Heights. The Complete Poems of W H Auden. The Tale of Mr Tod. Howard''s End. What a strange person I must be. But if the books I have read have helped to form me, then probably nobody else who ever lived has read exactly the same books, all the same books and only the same books as me. So just as my genes and the soul within me make me uniquely me, so I am the unique sum of the books I have read. I am my literary DNA.”
As well as giving me plenty of ideas for what to read next, it has made me realise that my own bookshelves need some attention. It has been in the back of my mind for some time now to design my own book plate, and take off all the books, one by one, decide if they still need to live with me, or be set free to find a new home. To rearrange them, and hopefully discover some treasures I had forgotten I have...to find old friends, and fall in love with my books once more.
This is a comforting, cosy read. It feels almost like having free reign to rummage through someone's bookshelves to get to know them better. I now have the first in her detective series on order from the library, and a list of other books to order. This is definitley the kind of book to settle down with, notepad and pen next to you, and a full pot of tea to hand, and with an air of happy expectation, open the cover, and begin. How could you resist a book which starts:
The journey began one early autumn afternoon, in the old farmhouse where i live, surrounded by the genly rising hills and graceful trees, the ploughed and planted fields, the hedgerows and flower borders and orchards and old stone walls, the deer and birds and hedgehogs and rabbits, the foxes and badgers and moths and bees of Gloucestershire. I climbed two flights of elm-wood staris to the top landing in search of a book, and found myself embarked on a year of travelling through the books of a lifetime....
I have my Persephone Project to work on (I have just re-ordered the very first title in the series to read - I started it last time, and it was reserved by another reader, so I had to return it) but I like to have at least one book on the go, and another lined up. I can of course still visit the library, and I often do, but in all the years I worked in libraries, I have rarely browsed as a reader normally would, and I am not very good at it.
Part of the problem is that it is hard to browse in a library you have worked in. You are slightly too familiar with the stock, and never lose the urge to tidy up a display, or reshelve something that is in the wrong place. So on Saturday, we took a little drive to the newly opened library in Springfield. It does feel good to work for an authority that is opening libraries, rather than shutting them, and this one is being run with the assitance of volunteers. It isn't a large library, but has the feeling of space and airiness in it which is lovely. And most heavenly of all, all the books are new. I have often thought that libraries are like the most wonderful bookshops where you don't have to pay, but never has this felt more real than browsing in that library (it is Springfield Library, should you like to visit it yourself). Being smaller, I wasn't quite as overwhlemed with the choice available as I sometimes am at larger branches. I came away with several craft books, a novel or two, and the feeling of utter luxury and abundnace.
Part of my desire to visit the library came from having driven past it the night before, on my way to book club. I had seen the architects plans when it was in the earliest stages of planning, and I was delighted by how much the library looked like the plans. Book club was at the home of the lovely Agnes, and when she pressed into my hands a brand new Kirstie Allsopp craft book that she had got from Springfield Library only that day, I was resolved that I needed to visit!
I wish I could take you to Agnes' home. It is a real reflection of her, and you leave feeling...better. Such is the same as spending time with Agnes. Always, you feel better. Her home is simple but lovely, filled with her paintings, and the conservatory opens into a garden filled with lush blooms. I am sure a lot of work goes into it, but she makes everything seem effortless. We drank tea from Denby teacups, and ate homemade fruit cake, and discussed Howard's End Is On The Landing by Susan Hill. Have you read it? If you haven't, rush out to your library, and borrow it now. I am willing to wager that you will love it enough to want to buy it.
I think it is fair to say at the start, that as much as I love Susan Hill, and as much as I love this book, if she wasn't Susan Hill, I could imagine this being a blog project rather than a book. But I am so glad that it is a book! Whilst looking for her copy of Howard's End, Susan Hill realised that she has many books that she either hand't read at all, or wanted to re-read, and so resolved to spend a year 'reading from home' - that is, only reading what she already owned.
If this book were only about that, it would be lovely in itself, but it is more than that. She muses on the fonts that are used in books, how we arrange and organize our books, why we don't read some books, ponders on poetry, talks about travelogues, discusses diaries...she evokes the atmosphere of the London Library so well that I am determined to buy myself a subscription just as soon as I can afford one, and relates all manner of meetings with writers such as T.S. Eliot and Edith Sitwell.
I know it is said you should never judge a book by its cover (although publishers know that we do, and spend a great deal of money on this!) but the cover of this book appealed to me enoromously - it shows the spines of some old bound books, close up - one with the title of the book itself, and the author's name, and the other with the subtitle. It reminded me of a notebook that my Mum bought for me several years ago, when I got the job at my little library on the hill. It is a hardcover notebook, only a bit smaller than Howard's End Is On The Landing, and the cover is the spines of old books, lined up on a bookshelf. I had resisted writing in it until now, because I knew that it was meant for something special, and that I needed to wait and find out what that was. Well, this is it. I using it as I read Howards End Is On The Landing to make notes of the books and authors that she recommends that I want to read for myself. And when I read my next book, I will do the same. I so often come across a lovely phrase that I want to pin down on the page to savour, or a word to look up, or else any number of other things to look up. A piece of music or poetry mentioned, or a map of just where a particular place is, or so many other things. From now on, they will all go down in here....a kind of reading journal, but more.
When I read the following passage, it resounded deeply in me. It is that feeling of reading someone elses words, and seeing how eloquently they have captured something that you yourself feel, but either didn't know it until that moment, or could never have dreamed of articulating so well:
“Books help to form us. If you cut me open, you will find volume after volume, page after page, the contents of every one I have ever read, somehow transmuted and transformed into me. Alice in Wonderland. the Magic Faraway Tree. The Hound of the Baskervilles. The Book of Job. Bleak House. Wuthering Heights. The Complete Poems of W H Auden. The Tale of Mr Tod. Howard''s End. What a strange person I must be. But if the books I have read have helped to form me, then probably nobody else who ever lived has read exactly the same books, all the same books and only the same books as me. So just as my genes and the soul within me make me uniquely me, so I am the unique sum of the books I have read. I am my literary DNA.”
As well as giving me plenty of ideas for what to read next, it has made me realise that my own bookshelves need some attention. It has been in the back of my mind for some time now to design my own book plate, and take off all the books, one by one, decide if they still need to live with me, or be set free to find a new home. To rearrange them, and hopefully discover some treasures I had forgotten I have...to find old friends, and fall in love with my books once more.
This is a comforting, cosy read. It feels almost like having free reign to rummage through someone's bookshelves to get to know them better. I now have the first in her detective series on order from the library, and a list of other books to order. This is definitley the kind of book to settle down with, notepad and pen next to you, and a full pot of tea to hand, and with an air of happy expectation, open the cover, and begin. How could you resist a book which starts:
The journey began one early autumn afternoon, in the old farmhouse where i live, surrounded by the genly rising hills and graceful trees, the ploughed and planted fields, the hedgerows and flower borders and orchards and old stone walls, the deer and birds and hedgehogs and rabbits, the foxes and badgers and moths and bees of Gloucestershire. I climbed two flights of elm-wood staris to the top landing in search of a book, and found myself embarked on a year of travelling through the books of a lifetime....
Monday, 22 July 2013
Summer Days
At last, at last, summer is here. And not only the sunshine, but the feeling of summer. I have been so busy with work, and several side projects that when I looked at my calendar at the weekend, I had to blink in surprise. I knew it was July...I knew it was mid July...but suddenly it seems it is late July! And only two weeks until my summer holiday!
I can hardly wait - we are going back to Aldeburgh, to stay with our friends in a darling little cottage not a five minute wander from the sea. There is something magical and tranquil and restful about Aldeburgh, getting there is like a long drink of cool water on a hot summer day, or a long slow sigh, followed by a deep breath of fresh air. I wonder what it says about me though, that my first thought, on realising how soon our holiday will be here, wasn't to plan what to pack, but what to read, and make!
I am working on a simple crochet granny square blanket in the moment, in lovely shades of moss green. Rather than being made up of lots of little granny squares, the whole blanket is, in effect, one giant granny square. Although having said that, a bit of me would rather like to take my ripple stitch blanket to work on, which is inspired by the seaside, although this time, the pleasures of Lyme Regis.
No trip to Aldeburgh is complete without a visit to the bookshop, but I shall take a book with me at least - and I have ordered one of the Jane Austen mysteries by Stephanie Barron - Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron. I can't wait for it to arrive!
As far as what to pack clothes-wise, then it will be lots of summer dresses and swimming costumes, so I can go swimming in the sea in the morning as often as possible. I shall take my big pink hat with me too - last year, when I walked along the coast to the next village wearing it, I was recognised in the post office the next day!
I suddenly feel refreshed, too. As much as it is lovely to have summer, September will soon be here, with it's newly-sharpened-pencil scent and days full of promise of new starts and learning. I have started a notebook, jotting down books I want to read, to make my own reading list. It is so long since I came home from school with one of those! I have started to think about the things I would like to learn, and how I want to learn them. Such a lovely, promising time of year. Adventures to be had in the sun, memories to be made to last us through the cooler days....
I can hardly wait - we are going back to Aldeburgh, to stay with our friends in a darling little cottage not a five minute wander from the sea. There is something magical and tranquil and restful about Aldeburgh, getting there is like a long drink of cool water on a hot summer day, or a long slow sigh, followed by a deep breath of fresh air. I wonder what it says about me though, that my first thought, on realising how soon our holiday will be here, wasn't to plan what to pack, but what to read, and make!
I am working on a simple crochet granny square blanket in the moment, in lovely shades of moss green. Rather than being made up of lots of little granny squares, the whole blanket is, in effect, one giant granny square. Although having said that, a bit of me would rather like to take my ripple stitch blanket to work on, which is inspired by the seaside, although this time, the pleasures of Lyme Regis.
No trip to Aldeburgh is complete without a visit to the bookshop, but I shall take a book with me at least - and I have ordered one of the Jane Austen mysteries by Stephanie Barron - Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron. I can't wait for it to arrive!
As far as what to pack clothes-wise, then it will be lots of summer dresses and swimming costumes, so I can go swimming in the sea in the morning as often as possible. I shall take my big pink hat with me too - last year, when I walked along the coast to the next village wearing it, I was recognised in the post office the next day!
I suddenly feel refreshed, too. As much as it is lovely to have summer, September will soon be here, with it's newly-sharpened-pencil scent and days full of promise of new starts and learning. I have started a notebook, jotting down books I want to read, to make my own reading list. It is so long since I came home from school with one of those! I have started to think about the things I would like to learn, and how I want to learn them. Such a lovely, promising time of year. Adventures to be had in the sun, memories to be made to last us through the cooler days....
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Happy Little Discoveries for a Tuesday
Today has been a day of happy little discoveries. Firstly, I came across a single copy of the new issue of Pretty Nostalgic Magazine which I snapped up with glee. I love Pretty Nostalgic. I love everything from the matte paper which has a lovely scent (yes, I am sad enough that I sniff magazines as well as old books!) and a beautiful slightly muted colour palette, to the fact that they have kept their integrity by releasing it bi-monthly rather than monthly. I would much rather read a really good magazine less often, than read a padded, diluted magazine more frequently.
So, new magazine in bag, I decided to take myself into Marks and Spencer for a pot of tea. Sometimes on my lunch hour, I just like to take myself away from work, and decompress. A pot of tea in Marks and Spencer's cafe is actually a surprisingly nice way to do it. Although it is always bubbling with noise and people, it tends to be a happy noise. Your pot of tea comes with a tiny biscuit on the side, and the milk comes in a tiny china jug. I love to sip and read a book or magazine, or just people watch. Today I was struck by how many of the customers were ladies. There were older ladies who had clearly been friends for years, sitting and lunching and chatting. There were young Mums bouncing babies on their knees, and everyone just seemed happy.
It was on my way to the cafe that I made a particularly nice discovery though - our Marks has a new mini beauty hall. I can't put my finger on why, but something about it reminded me of a French Department Store. Perhaps it is that I have just finished reading 'Miracle on Regent Street' which is set in an old-fashioned department store, and also several books by Jamie Cat Callan, which are about capturing that French Woman magic for yourself. Perhaps it was just that there were several French brands on the shelves. Whatever it was, I was soon entranced by the shelves of products on display.
The perfumerie intrigued me with the elegant bottles. I spritzed on some violet scent from the most beautiful atomiser bottle - and although I love violets, it was rather too many pennies for my purse today. And in any case, my eye was then drawn to the botanical designs on the perfume bottles by Fragonard - in particular Vetiver, which I may treat myself to next pay day. It smells almost masculine to me, and reminds me of cedar and bergamot and musk, but also quite feminine at the same time.
The hair care products include some of the Philip Kingsley range. I have always wanted to try his legendary hair elasticizer, but I remember when I was going to order a sample from his website, the postage and packing was almost as much as the product. So not only did I not have to pay p&p, I discovered a trial sized set of elasticizer, shampoo and conditioner for only 50p more than the elasticizer on its own!
There were some shelves of makeup - I didn't recognise the brands, so want to do a little research before I think too much about them, but they looked nice. Several of the skincare lines were French, and again, I want to do a bit of research before trying any of them out.
The whole area seems really well chosen and curated - the kind of products that you don't see just anywhere a good range of prices, and somehow they have created an aura of prestige without making it intimidating.
My plan for this evening is to do the washing up, settle down with a pot of Ceylon tea, and read Pretty Nostalgic magazine while watching the sun slowly fade into the gloaming of evening. Wherever you are, I hope your evening is blissful too.
Love Mimi xxx
So, new magazine in bag, I decided to take myself into Marks and Spencer for a pot of tea. Sometimes on my lunch hour, I just like to take myself away from work, and decompress. A pot of tea in Marks and Spencer's cafe is actually a surprisingly nice way to do it. Although it is always bubbling with noise and people, it tends to be a happy noise. Your pot of tea comes with a tiny biscuit on the side, and the milk comes in a tiny china jug. I love to sip and read a book or magazine, or just people watch. Today I was struck by how many of the customers were ladies. There were older ladies who had clearly been friends for years, sitting and lunching and chatting. There were young Mums bouncing babies on their knees, and everyone just seemed happy.
It was on my way to the cafe that I made a particularly nice discovery though - our Marks has a new mini beauty hall. I can't put my finger on why, but something about it reminded me of a French Department Store. Perhaps it is that I have just finished reading 'Miracle on Regent Street' which is set in an old-fashioned department store, and also several books by Jamie Cat Callan, which are about capturing that French Woman magic for yourself. Perhaps it was just that there were several French brands on the shelves. Whatever it was, I was soon entranced by the shelves of products on display.
The perfumerie intrigued me with the elegant bottles. I spritzed on some violet scent from the most beautiful atomiser bottle - and although I love violets, it was rather too many pennies for my purse today. And in any case, my eye was then drawn to the botanical designs on the perfume bottles by Fragonard - in particular Vetiver, which I may treat myself to next pay day. It smells almost masculine to me, and reminds me of cedar and bergamot and musk, but also quite feminine at the same time.
The hair care products include some of the Philip Kingsley range. I have always wanted to try his legendary hair elasticizer, but I remember when I was going to order a sample from his website, the postage and packing was almost as much as the product. So not only did I not have to pay p&p, I discovered a trial sized set of elasticizer, shampoo and conditioner for only 50p more than the elasticizer on its own!
There were some shelves of makeup - I didn't recognise the brands, so want to do a little research before I think too much about them, but they looked nice. Several of the skincare lines were French, and again, I want to do a bit of research before trying any of them out.
The whole area seems really well chosen and curated - the kind of products that you don't see just anywhere a good range of prices, and somehow they have created an aura of prestige without making it intimidating.
My plan for this evening is to do the washing up, settle down with a pot of Ceylon tea, and read Pretty Nostalgic magazine while watching the sun slowly fade into the gloaming of evening. Wherever you are, I hope your evening is blissful too.
Love Mimi xxx
Monday, 10 June 2013
Newspaper Clippings
My love of magazines is well documented on this blog, I think. I also love to read newspapers, and to tear out articles to pass on to friends or family. I was at a family funeral last week, and the final reading was a poem that Aunty Enid had torn out of a newspaper and saved - they found it in a tin with some other bits and bobs. I like to think that when I am gone, one of my cuttings or tearings will flutter out of a book and be saved to be read at the funeral.
I cancelled my subscription to Mollie Makes magazine today. It isn't that I don't like the magazine anymore- although I do think it has lost its way from when it began - but I just can't rely on it to arrive. Once again, for perhaps the fourth or fifth time, I have spotted it in the shops and it just hasn't arrived at home. I love the early issues, but sadly I have found them less and less inspiring.
I was thinking about cancelling my only other subscription, to Homemaker, but the new issue of that did arrive and it was just charming, so I shall keep that up a while longer.
There are few other magazines that I buy regularly now. There have been a whole host of new craft magazines in the past few months, all in the vein of Making. I dabble and try one from time to time. I don't buy the Chap nearly so often now that they seem to have less room for the Chapette, and I went off Vintage Life some time ago as the content shrank and shrank.
It has been a while since I felt a real frisson as I discovered a new magazine. Marie Claire Idees still does it for me, but is so very hard to get hold of - perhaps that is why? Although I think that nothing will ever beat a proper print magazine, there are some truly fantastic online magazines available. My heart skipped a beat when I discovered Hey Doll magazine today http://glossi.com/vavoomvintage/4197-issue-one-february and best of all, there are 5 issues to read - and even more incredibly, they are free!
Mum recently gave me several bags of magazines from where she was having a clear out, and we talked about how much we both love a good magazine. She said that it was her Aunty Mollie who gave her the taste for them, when she was a teenager. It is the same Aunty Mollie who used to let me play with a tea set and use sugar-strands for the 'tea', so as well as being responsible for our love of magazines, I think she sewed the seeds for my love of tea, too! Amongst the magazines that Mum gave me was a bag of torn-out articles and recipes and craft ideas from women's magazines from the last 40 years or so. Some made me smile slightly sadly - there were several about feeding your family cheaply, from when I know now she must have been up against it - and some made me smile happily to see old favourites in print. Intriguingly, I found a recipe for 'Naomi Bars' (my given name) that I mean to make one day soon. I have never heard of them before!
There really are very few things nicer than settling down with a pot of tea and a new magazine. I would love one day to bring an idea I have had simmering in my mind to life. I have an idea for a newsletter-magazine-thing called The Teapot Times...it would be one sheet of A3 paper, and origamied up into a little square, and tied with ribbon to a teabag. I can see the logo in my mind - a teapot pouring out a stream of flowers, buttons, pins, spools of thread, etc. One day, I will have to bring it to life. But for now, the kettle is calling.
Love Mimi xxx
I cancelled my subscription to Mollie Makes magazine today. It isn't that I don't like the magazine anymore- although I do think it has lost its way from when it began - but I just can't rely on it to arrive. Once again, for perhaps the fourth or fifth time, I have spotted it in the shops and it just hasn't arrived at home. I love the early issues, but sadly I have found them less and less inspiring.
I was thinking about cancelling my only other subscription, to Homemaker, but the new issue of that did arrive and it was just charming, so I shall keep that up a while longer.
There are few other magazines that I buy regularly now. There have been a whole host of new craft magazines in the past few months, all in the vein of Making. I dabble and try one from time to time. I don't buy the Chap nearly so often now that they seem to have less room for the Chapette, and I went off Vintage Life some time ago as the content shrank and shrank.
It has been a while since I felt a real frisson as I discovered a new magazine. Marie Claire Idees still does it for me, but is so very hard to get hold of - perhaps that is why? Although I think that nothing will ever beat a proper print magazine, there are some truly fantastic online magazines available. My heart skipped a beat when I discovered Hey Doll magazine today http://glossi.com/vavoomvintage/4197-issue-one-february and best of all, there are 5 issues to read - and even more incredibly, they are free!
Mum recently gave me several bags of magazines from where she was having a clear out, and we talked about how much we both love a good magazine. She said that it was her Aunty Mollie who gave her the taste for them, when she was a teenager. It is the same Aunty Mollie who used to let me play with a tea set and use sugar-strands for the 'tea', so as well as being responsible for our love of magazines, I think she sewed the seeds for my love of tea, too! Amongst the magazines that Mum gave me was a bag of torn-out articles and recipes and craft ideas from women's magazines from the last 40 years or so. Some made me smile slightly sadly - there were several about feeding your family cheaply, from when I know now she must have been up against it - and some made me smile happily to see old favourites in print. Intriguingly, I found a recipe for 'Naomi Bars' (my given name) that I mean to make one day soon. I have never heard of them before!
There really are very few things nicer than settling down with a pot of tea and a new magazine. I would love one day to bring an idea I have had simmering in my mind to life. I have an idea for a newsletter-magazine-thing called The Teapot Times...it would be one sheet of A3 paper, and origamied up into a little square, and tied with ribbon to a teabag. I can see the logo in my mind - a teapot pouring out a stream of flowers, buttons, pins, spools of thread, etc. One day, I will have to bring it to life. But for now, the kettle is calling.
Love Mimi xxx
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Lifesaving Tea
Making and drinking tea can mean so many different things in so many situations. I have celebrated happy moments with a pot of tea, commiserated with friends over a pot of tea, shared secrets, celebrated engagements, and restored frazzled spirits, all with tea. When welcoming visitors into my home, my hands reach to fill the kettle and arrange the cups and saucers almost by themselves. In the face of bad news, I have almost sleepwalked to the kettle. Sometimes tea is the only way to celebrate, sometimes the ritual of it feels like the only thing anchoring you to the ground.
Having walked all the way to the end of the longest pier in the world at Southend-on-Sea on Saturday morning, we discovered a little shop selling things to raise money for the wonderful work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. It is hard to believe that such vital work relies on charity. So you can imagine I was more than happy to do my bit and contribute - particularly as they were selling boxes of Lifeboat Tea, with a proportion of the profits going to the charity.
We brewed our first pot yesterday, and it was really delicious - rich, strong and fragrant. The only problem is that when we want more, it is a long way to the end of the pier! 1.3 miles, in fact. We walked down, and it was just the perfect weather for it. Warm and sunny enough for it to be pleasant, but without having to worry about burning, and enough breeze to make it really comfortable. As we walked along, we passed several rows of benches, facing out to sea. I couldn't help but think it would be lovely to spend an entire day on the pier, watching the waves, and knitting. Then I got to imagining Miss Marple on her holidays, sitting and knitting and watching, and wondering if she would prevent a murder by observing those around her, and using a few well chosen words. I think there was a Poirot where he was on holiday and warned someone about a murder - and it turned out he was warning the would-be murderer not to do it, although you don't realise that at the time. Come to think of it, I wonder what would have happened if Miss Marple had been sitting and knitting on the pier, and Hercule Poirot wandered past, on his own holidays.
Perhaps I have Poirot and Marple in mind because of the other souvenir I bought from the shop at the end of the pier - a copy of The Floating Admiral which was first published in the thirties, and was written by a group of crime club authors - including Agatha Christie. Each one wrote a chapter, and then passed it onto the next - a kind of game of literary consequences.
Although a lot of the seafront at Southend is filled with arcade amusements and the like, and there is a whole mini theme-park right next to the pier, the pier itself is refreshingly unspoilt. Even when you get to the end, there is a place to buy an ice-cream, a place for lunches, and the RNLI shop, but nothing gaudy. There is a train line that runs along the pier, so that you can ride the train either there-and-back or just one way as you prefer. We were happy to catch the train back, and actually got more of an impression of the length of the pier from the steady constant slow speed of the train, rather than our somewhat irregular perambulations!
All that fresh sea air made me sleepy that evening, and I slept really well. Oh I do like to be beside the sea-side...
Having walked all the way to the end of the longest pier in the world at Southend-on-Sea on Saturday morning, we discovered a little shop selling things to raise money for the wonderful work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. It is hard to believe that such vital work relies on charity. So you can imagine I was more than happy to do my bit and contribute - particularly as they were selling boxes of Lifeboat Tea, with a proportion of the profits going to the charity.
We brewed our first pot yesterday, and it was really delicious - rich, strong and fragrant. The only problem is that when we want more, it is a long way to the end of the pier! 1.3 miles, in fact. We walked down, and it was just the perfect weather for it. Warm and sunny enough for it to be pleasant, but without having to worry about burning, and enough breeze to make it really comfortable. As we walked along, we passed several rows of benches, facing out to sea. I couldn't help but think it would be lovely to spend an entire day on the pier, watching the waves, and knitting. Then I got to imagining Miss Marple on her holidays, sitting and knitting and watching, and wondering if she would prevent a murder by observing those around her, and using a few well chosen words. I think there was a Poirot where he was on holiday and warned someone about a murder - and it turned out he was warning the would-be murderer not to do it, although you don't realise that at the time. Come to think of it, I wonder what would have happened if Miss Marple had been sitting and knitting on the pier, and Hercule Poirot wandered past, on his own holidays.
Perhaps I have Poirot and Marple in mind because of the other souvenir I bought from the shop at the end of the pier - a copy of The Floating Admiral which was first published in the thirties, and was written by a group of crime club authors - including Agatha Christie. Each one wrote a chapter, and then passed it onto the next - a kind of game of literary consequences.
Although a lot of the seafront at Southend is filled with arcade amusements and the like, and there is a whole mini theme-park right next to the pier, the pier itself is refreshingly unspoilt. Even when you get to the end, there is a place to buy an ice-cream, a place for lunches, and the RNLI shop, but nothing gaudy. There is a train line that runs along the pier, so that you can ride the train either there-and-back or just one way as you prefer. We were happy to catch the train back, and actually got more of an impression of the length of the pier from the steady constant slow speed of the train, rather than our somewhat irregular perambulations!
All that fresh sea air made me sleepy that evening, and I slept really well. Oh I do like to be beside the sea-side...
Monday, 27 May 2013
Lilly Scented Evening
Friday was a bitter-sweet day for me - it was my last day in the Cabinet Office, in a job I have loved, with colleagues who have become friends. I intend to be working there again at some point in the future, but it is sad leaving, for now. I had been at my desk about an hour when my phone rang, and one of our receptionists said they had a delivery for me. I went down to see what it was, and for the first time in my entire life, I had been sent flowers to work.
It was a beautiful hand tied bouquet, from the florists at the train station- the same florists that I walk through the train station on my way to and from work just to smell their flowers! It has pink gerbera daisies, stargazer lillies, irises, and a beautiful pink rose along with some foliage. They have slowly opened over the weekend, and our home is filled with their heavenly scent. They were from the Councillor who I have been working for.
Then Nicole, who I have been working with for a few weeks bought me a lovely bottle of wine, which was really kind. Just as I was about to take the flowers home on my lunch break, my manager arrived at my desk accompanied by the rest of the office - with a lovely card, and some gifts. They had bought me a tea pot and two matching cups, along with a selection box of different kinds of teas, and then some hot chocolate and mini marshmallows too. I was so overwhelmed and touched, and am going to take my teapot to my new office and think of them every time I drink from it.
Just before I left, the lady who is taking over my councillor gave me a bottle of champagne - I have been so, so touched by the kindness of my friends.
And so tomorrow a new adventure begins - I wonder what it will hold!
It was a beautiful hand tied bouquet, from the florists at the train station- the same florists that I walk through the train station on my way to and from work just to smell their flowers! It has pink gerbera daisies, stargazer lillies, irises, and a beautiful pink rose along with some foliage. They have slowly opened over the weekend, and our home is filled with their heavenly scent. They were from the Councillor who I have been working for.
Then Nicole, who I have been working with for a few weeks bought me a lovely bottle of wine, which was really kind. Just as I was about to take the flowers home on my lunch break, my manager arrived at my desk accompanied by the rest of the office - with a lovely card, and some gifts. They had bought me a tea pot and two matching cups, along with a selection box of different kinds of teas, and then some hot chocolate and mini marshmallows too. I was so overwhelmed and touched, and am going to take my teapot to my new office and think of them every time I drink from it.
Just before I left, the lady who is taking over my councillor gave me a bottle of champagne - I have been so, so touched by the kindness of my friends.
And so tomorrow a new adventure begins - I wonder what it will hold!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)