A Jumbling we will go.....

I am not sure there is such a word as jumbling but it sounds just like the kind of thing that will be happening at  The Vintage & Handmade Jumble Sale at Rangeworthy Village Hall this coming Saturday .. The hall will be awash with oodles of lovely vintage wares and when the rummaging has got too much for everyone.. the wonderful W.I ladies will be administering tea and cake to revive the eager shoppers.

So.. if you want to dodge the rain and find an alternative to another soggy Saturday afternoon indoors.. come on down to Rangeworthy village hall from 10.30 a.m until 2.00 p.m to hunt for that vintage bargain item you have always wanted! Admission is free ... so even more pennies to spend on some jumble!

Butter on paws...

There is a belief that if one butters the paws of a cat when moving it to a new home, that it will not stray from it’s new abode as it is so busy licking the butter from it’s paws. Well, I managed to forget this little tip and it was some days after we were ensconced in our new home that Mr Pickles found himself daubed in best Anchor Butter.. much to his delight and bemusement as he had already tasted his new environs by escaping on day two of our move and legging it down the lane despite my calls and bribes with a box of cat munchies.

I am glad to say he returned and has not ventured further than the wall at the top of the garden to flirt outrageously with the pretty kitty next door.

So… we finally moved home.. despite the months of fearing it would never happen, we arrived at our new/old home on 22^nd June. The day was predictably stressful and made more so by a timely phone call from our solicitor to say that the monies for transfer could not go ahead due to Nat West bank having a monumental cock up in their system. As the last item had just been loaded onto the delivery van we were pretty determined to go ahead with the move… come what may and were lucky enough to have had the luxury of an empty house to move into with the blessings of the vendors. So, it was that we arrived at our pretty house and set up home as squatters for the weekend until Nat West managed to rectify the problem on the Monday morning. 

Waking up to this on our first day in the cottage we pinched ourselves believing that we were on holiday and it was all a rather surreal dream....

Three weeks into our new home and we feel not a crumb of regret or backward glance to our time in Bath. We miss our old friends and neighbours though they are only 10 minutes down the road we have also gained some lovely new friends and neighbours here as was testament  by the mass of cards and bottles of welcome wine that were given to us on our arrival. 

  

We have swapped the nocturnal sounds of sirens and nighttime revellers for the din of a screeching owl and the morning racket of Sparrows and church bells. A good trade off I think!

The terrace which is a wonderful sun trap.. or would be if the sun shone!

The toy collection is feeling very much at home already..

So here is a glimpse of  some of our Hobbit house.. as we have named it. It was built in the early 1700's and we feel we are very fortunate indeed to be it’s custodians for the next chapter in it’s life!

Heaven in the rain

Every summer I eagerly look forward to the NGS National Gardens Scheme little yellow book of local gardens to visit in the balmy (!!!) summer months. Yesterday we took time out from the bubble wrap and cardboard boxes to visit one of these fine floral havens and donned our wellies and Souwesters to visit Hazelbury Manor in Wiltshire.

 Despite the weather's attempt to thwart any enjoyment outside.. we had a wonderful time wandering around the heavenly gardens of this beautiful historical home.

At every little twist and turn there were beautiful borders brimming with my cottage garden favourites, vibrant red Poppies, frothy green Alchemilla Mollis, dainty Aqualegias, dusky Lavender, perfumed Old English Roses, pompom Alliums crammed into every border to delight the eye.

Despite the more refined planting .. I was totally dazzled by this gorgeous display of the humble Foxglove.. hundreds of pastel spires filled with buzzing bees, intoxicated on their rich pollen.




 The rain added a new dimension and also brought out the jewel like colours of each plant against the grey sky.

Sadly this fabulous garden with it's stunning Laburnum archway topiary, rooms of roses and lily pond is only open once a year but as we are soon to be neighbours, I am hoping I can vault over one of the stone walls and pay a few clandestine visits to this special corner of Wiltshire!

The Original Vintage & Handmade Spring Fair

 

With little more than a week to go before the next Vintage & Handmade Spring Fair my boxes of vintage toys are being given a Spring clean and teddies and bunnies alike are being spruced up for their big day.

 Dust off your shopping baskets and come and join the happy throng on Saturday 26th May at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall.

There will be the usual tempting collection of stalls to please all purses at this next fair including our regular and very popular stalwarts such as Niki  from Nostalgia at the Stonehouse, Lizzie from The Washerwoman, Donna from Donna Flower, Elaine from Kitsch and Curious, Viv from Hens Teeth, Jo from Hesta Nesta,  Maud from Beyond France, Sal from Sal's Snippets,  Jane from Fanny Adams  and many more!

'Billy's Buns'  tea room will be providing delicious refreshments throughout the day to offer some much needed sustenance as shopping can be very tiring and thirsty work. The doors will open at 10.00 a.m sharp and close at 4.00 p.m. Mr Custard will be meeting and greeting on the door, entry being £1 for adults and children free. We look forward to seeing you there.

Joyful and Triumphant... with blisters.

We are home now.. rather red faced from so many hours in the dazzling sun on Dartmoor.. but with a great sense of pride and achievement.

Our boy done good and he and his team limped back to the finish line at 2.55 p.m yesterday, having walked 40 miles on their first day, camping close to their 8th Tor on Saturday night.

 To see them come over the brow of the hill on the last leg of their journey was incredibly exciting and  moving and yes.. we did shed a tear or two. It was impossible not to.

 The crowd that had gathered throughout the morning on Sunday were so supportive and stayed to clap every team that made it back to the finish line.

The Kingswood 55 miles team receiving their gold medals.. Well done boys.

 I wouldn't have missed this for the world. Well done to all of the teams that took part.. you are an inspiration!

Thank you all for your lovely comments of support for my boy's Ten Tors challenge.

Ten Tors 2012

If today was not an endless highway,
If tonight was not a crooked trail,
If tomorrow wasn't such a long time,
Then Ten Tors  would mean nothing to me at all.

At 7.00 a.m this morning, approximately 2,400 teenagers set off across Dartmoor in teams of 6, to walk 35, 45 and 55 miles over the next 32 hours for the Ten Tors Challenge. My son is one of them!  After months of training in all weathers, the gods of Devon are smiling down on the participants today as the skies have changed from every shade of grey, to skies of blue, for this weekend's epic challenge. Tomorrow I will be waiting at the finish line for my boy and his team to stagger home and collect their well earned medals. I will be clutching a hankie and trying very hard not to cry with pride and embarrass my boy, who will have walked an incredible 55 miles over some very challenging terrain, up to ten tors and camped out in the wilds to achieve his goal.

Something to make you smile...

I just had to share this with you if you haven't already seen it.. It brightened up a very dull and wet day and made me smile... lots!

It's been a while ...

Box frame by Jane Winton

It certainly has been a while since I approached my blog without some apprehension as my ability to string words together these days is a bit of a challenge. Where I once prided myself on my multi-tasking abilities, for example ironing a pile of shirts, whilst cooking up a two course supper and talking to the cat about the state of the economy, I now find the simplest tasks, focus all of my concentration and take ten times longer. Why is that I wonder? Is it the fact that as I grow older, greyer of hair (thank you Clairol for your subterfuge) and longer in the tooth, that the grey matter inside my head doesn't function as well; or is it that life is getting more frenetic ..  read that as frantic?  I do admit that the last 10 months have been mostly absorbed with our attempts to move house and all that it entails. As anyone, who has been through this 'Top ten most stressful life event' will know that it does require nerves of steel, super human reserves of patience and a jolly good hoover. Our house has been preened and dusted, tweaked and adjusted to try and please the slow stream of anonymous visitors through our door since last June when we innocently put our house on the market thinking that we would be packing our tea chests a few weeks later. Wrong!!! The housing market and process of buying and selling has fallen into black hole since we last sold and bought and using the usual cliches.. it has been as painful as pulling teeth and as frustrating as pushing jelly up a hill.  BUT...  on March 13th we had, not one.. but two, offers on our house... totally out of the blue.
Rather like a pregnancy, I have been reluctant and most superstitious in announcing this news as until the ink has dried on the contracts... anything could happen. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting a little brighter by the day and we hope.. pray.. that we are able to start packing boxes with gusto.. in the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted!

Other news..

Last month I had the pleasure of a day trip to London to visit the Selvedge Fair and say hello to a few familiar faces and good friends. This small jewel of a fair was packed with an abundance of original works from far flung and not so far flung places..
I was smitten with the work of Claire Fletcher from Made in Hastings and her adorable paintings and illustrative works and had to give this little bunny a home..

He asked me to take him home with me.. honestly!

I also had the pleasure of finally meeting lovely Emma from Silver Pebble who had a fabulous display of her dainty silver jewellery pieces..

sorry Emma .. borrowed this image from your blog!

There were was a wealth of talent packed into the hall from  designer/makers showcasing their work including these lovely cards ..

and needle felted birds..

The icing on the cake for me was to visit my friend Viv with her delicious display of embroidered bunnies, brooches, bags and more..

After feasting my eyes and setting my heart a flutter at the fair we then hot footed it into the heart of the metropolis and pounded the pavements, doing rather a lot of window licking on the way and finally ending up at Liberty & Co. where I was keen to see Cowboys & Custard cards in situ and have a snapshot for the scrap book... 

 

Now I shall attempt to publish this post which in itself will probably take a while as Blogger has helpfully changed all the settings, format, widgets etc etc in my absence.

Signing off but hopefully for not too long!

Easter Greetings

I would like to wish all my blog readers and visitors a

Very Happy Easter

Hopefully I will return with a basket full of news for you soon..

Jumble Fever

Just a quick reminder that The Vintage & Handmade Jumble Sale is on THIS Saturday.. March 24th at Rangeworthy Village Hall. 10 .30 a.m. - 2.00 p.m Free Admission and scrumptious cakes by the lovely W.I ladies!

Be there.. or be very disappointed that you didn't come and join in the scrum for some of the South West's finest vintage bargains!!