Almost..

Hello folks.. sorry for the protracted absence and lack of news.. Hope to be out of hibernation soon..

Cotton, Cake & Cloth ...

Hello .. I have just climbed back on the wagon to tell you about the next Vintage & Handmade Textile & Fashion Fair which is on this Saturday.. yes.. that's Saturday the 4th of June. Go and get a pen and make a big cross on your calendar now before you forget. I speak as one who has to write everything down in triplicate these days.
The fair will cater for all of you who have a fabric fetish or fascination with vintage fashion, who like to collect cotton reels or twiddle with colourful twines and threads.. It will be heaven for all haberdashery addicts and is sure to satisfy those who love sewing.. Clothkits will be there.. I for one am a big fan and still own my very first Clothkits cat that my mother made for me back in the 1960's.. We have the company of Handmade Living a new exciting magazine which combines craft, cooking and home style etc.. There will be our regular lovelies such as Sal's Snippets with her vast collection of vintage feed sack fabrics.. Lizzie The Washerwoman with wonderful French brocante and vintage fashions.. Viv from Hen's Teeth with her gorgeous embroidered purses...Sarah Hardaker with some super fabrics of her own design. Beautiful antique fabrics from Phillipa Bowes, Donna Flower whose display of haberdashery items are simply a work of art. You will have to come along and see for yourself.. so the important thing to know is the fair starts at 10 a.m until 4.00 p.m and is held at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall. We look forward to welcoming you and hope a jolly time is had by all!
P.s If textiles and fashion is not your thing.. then maybe we can tempt you with some fine tea and cake in our tea room.

Out to Pasture ....

Please forgive my absence..
Cowboys & Custard has stepped off the wagon for a while.. Promise to return soon with all my news.

All Good Things ...

Sadly all good things come to an end.. and this seemingly endless month of Sunday's had to stop somewhere. The last few weeks of sun soaked days has put a song in my heart and helped me put the gloom of winter behind me.. and days of being re-acquainted with my garden has brought me many pleasures.
This last weekend was a festive one in many ways.. starting with the Royal Wedding which I enjoyed from start to finish.. so good to see people coming together to celebrate. We should value our heritage as it is something to be proud of. Better leave it at that before this turns into a rant about the cynical world we live in!
The festivities ran on into Saturday with a grand finale in Frome, where the good and great came together to put on a fine show of vintage wares which made my heart flutter and purse wince!
The Vintage Bazaar had come to town once more and Lizzie & Clare did a fabulous job of hosting a classy event which I was pleased to be part of. My usual fuzzy photos hardly did justice to the quality and diversity of the goods on sale. These were just a few of the stalls I managed to snap before taking up position behind my wall of teddies and friends. It was so lovely to see friends from the blogging world and beyond which is always the icing on the cake at these events.

Viv of Hen's Teeth.. fine fayre

Debbie's gorgeous gardenalia

Divine dresses.. oh to be slimmer

Niki's boudoir beauties..

Isabelle's pretty brocante

Gertie's sewing boxes

Donna's textile treasury

Cowboys & Custard nursery nostalgia

What a fitting end to an unforgettable holiday!

Congratulations!

Many congratulations to William & Kate, The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge.. on this very happy occasion.

Festive Frome..

Excitement has been bubbling away quietly all week.. bunting has been washed and ironed.. the Union Jack flag folded and packed.. now all I have to do is find a suitable tablecloth for the event. You may be mistaken for thinking that I am getting ready for the Royal nuptials tomorrow.. but I am thinking ahead to a very important day on Saturday.
Branston (he's the handsome chap in the middle) and the gang are heading off to Frome to attend the very fine Vintage Bazaar hosted by Lizzie and Clare. This will be our first and we are all very much looking forward to it.
Now.. should I wear a tiara.. what do you think?

Happy Easter

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter.. from The Custards and Brian the bunny xx

Head for the Hills ..

Trundling down the M4 at 6.30 a.m last Saturday, listening to Nik Kershaw belt out the words ...

"Wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes
Even if it was for just one day
And wouldn't it be good if we could wish ourselves away
Wouldn't it be good to be on your side
The grass is always greener over there
Wouldn't it be good if we could live without a care."

The words couldn't have been more apt.. as we were on our way to a place where the grass was most certainly greener, where the birds song louder and more colourful, where the air was pure.. and there was plenty of it!

Yes.. we were off to Devon.. Chagford to be precise..

Arriving at the ridiculously early hour of 8.30 a.m, we browsed the windows of the sleepy town.. and one in particular.. the window of the estate agent's to play out my favourite fantasy game of 'where shall we live ?'

It was good to leave the tarmac and sounds of urban life behind and swap it for verdant hills, moorland views and the sound of the cuckoo. Exchanging the nocturnal sounds of late night revellers weaving their way home past our house at 3.30 a.m for the sounds of the owls hooting and the fox shouting at the moon...


We have found the perfect bolt hole in this gorgeous part of the world .. gazing down from the hill above to our home for the weekend and the most genial hosts we could wish to meet.. with their rambling, welcoming home full of dogs, a cat, chickens, black sheep and a very rude .. though hilarious parrot..

Walks along the river Teign at Fingle Bridge.. a place that draws us back time after time for it's magnificent raw beauty...

Spring flowers abundant and showing off their new wardrobe of fresh petals..

A garden to wander around at our leisure with the prettiest vegetable plot I have ever seen ..

Just one of those fantasies.. this one with beautiful mullion windows..

To end a perfect day a perfect evening down at the village hall .. gyrating to a Rolling Stones tribute band.. with young and old alike having a good old knees up.

It was a real wrench to drag ourselves away after two days of rural therapy .. especially hard as the sun decided to come out on the morning of our departure...

Dear Chagford .. we will return again soon.. and maybe for good one day!

Our Fair Ladies..

Yesterday was the 7th Vintage & Handmade Fair... and do you know the best part of the whole day? It was meeting and greeting of our faithful clan of ladies who come from all corners of our fair land to put on a fabulous display for the visitors who flock from far and wide.
I had such a lovely day... and this time thanks to the vigilance and generosity of Viv my neighbour and my dear man .. I got a chance to walk around and talk to our fair ladies; which is a luxury I have not been afforded at most of our previous fairs. Thank you to all who came from such distances as Kent, Cornwall, London and Italy .. and possibly Timbuktu!
Something one of our friends said at the end of the day was.. how friendly and civilised the Vintage & Handmade Fairs are.. which does go far to restore one's faith in mankind when it can sometimes seem that the world we live in lacks generosity and goodwill.
Here is a small selection of my hurried snaps taken minutes before the doors opened to the vintage hungry folk waiting patiently outside...

Jane & The Happy Crow

There were many gorgeous vintage hounds on display that one could have been forgiven for thinking they were at an open day at Battersea Dogs Home.. I would gladly have given a home to all of them.. pennies permitting!

Spring fever was evident in the vibrant colour palette of the displays.. I particularly loved the fresh green and yellows of Stephen & Judy's colourful wares ....

All Things Vintage & Beautiful

Sal and Mr Snippets put on a dazzling display of gorgeous textiles and smiles.... though Mr S was being a little coy here..

Sal's Snippets

These cool cats had me greatly amused with Woo's witty and quirky characters..

The Devil Makes Work

Clare's fine Easter bonnets ...

Daisy Darling

Vintage notebooks in every subject from Sarah ..

Vintage Notebook

Colourful blooms from Necia's Plants ...


Finally .. some Easter bunnies and friends from Cowboys & Custard..

A day of smiles, sunshine, chat, cake, sales.. and lots of yawns at the end of it.. and happy memories all round. Thank you to everyone who takes part in these fairs .. Jayne and I couldn't do it without you!

Moveable Beasts..

Goodness me what is going on? No blog posts for weeks then four in a row.. much like buses really.
It has been a wonderful week so far and hopefully the best is yet to come with two days to go before our Spring Vintage & Handmade Fair..
Check list is at the ready.. now all I have to do is persuade my menagerie of bunnies, cats and assorted dogs to jump into a box to take to the fair..

Hope to see you there!!