The Chelsea Chop

I did a bit of brutal chopping down today.  I had had a pretty frustrating day -   at VERY short notice we heard that there was to be a meeting of officers, councillors, interested parties (us) and the architect to discuss a controversial planning application on the plot next door to us.  We drove, oh, I don't know 15 or 20 miles to Cambourne only to find that the meeting was cancelled!!  Not happy, especially as I had cancelled all the embroiderers coming to my house for a class this afternoon.   Anyway we went to Morrisons and did some useful shopping and as it was nearly two o'clock decided to have lunch there.  I was really hungry and ordered fish and chips which I hardly EVER eat.  It was horrible.  So I came home and went into the garden and got rid of my angst with  some severe pruning.   A Chelsea chop, in fact.  This hanging basket from Scotsdales

was a present from my neighbour BEFORE CHRISTMAS.  All through the winter the little pansies have smiled up at me and even recovered from sitting under 7" of snow.   But now they have to go. 

I have watered the basket well and added some growmore and we shall just see what happens! Will they come again?  They have been replaced with vibrant pinks and reds, luscious.   The clematis are fabulous at the moment, in fact the garden looks terrific

This is 'Campbell College' (George's old school rose) - isn't it beautiful?

And I make no excuses for showing my honeysuckle tree again - only this year the thatched roof has been done and we have the delightful griffon on the roof.   What would I do without my garden to calm me down and soothe my troubled brow! 
 George is at a Rotary meeting so I am going to have a mashed banana, strawberries and Greek yoghurt and then perhaps a chocolate or three.

We need rain !

Desperately.    It has not rained in our village since the beginning of April, all our five water butts are dry and I despair of getting the seeds to grow - watering with the hose just isn't the same.  Today it has been cold and we had a little dampness this morning, but it didn't develop into proper rain.

Last week I went up to town to see the Cult of Beauty exhibition at the V & A - what a feast.    I was somewhat disconcerted to get on to the underground train at Finsbury Park and immediately be offered a seat (which, of course, I graciously accepted).  I hadn't realised I looked so old!  And that was in the morning when I was still fresh as a daisy.    I met the lovely Sandra and we caught up with all the news over coffee before going into the exhibition.  I do enjoy doing this with Sandra because, like me, she reads and examines everything - we really get our money's worth.  I think the V & A  is fantastic, I wish it was closer.  

 On Friday Stephen Cleobury gave a concert in our church with the Cavendish String Quartet and Paul Marion, a very distinguished double bass player.  Both Stephen and Paul live in Melbourn and Stephen practices on our organ so they all most generously gave their services  and we made a nice lot of money for the Supporters of All Saints.  George managed to organise it all despite his three fractured ribs - a legacy from THE wedding party -

Actually, I know it is old hat now because it is all of two weeks ago, but isn't this a great photograph ;

I took it with my camera from the television - not bad, huh?

On Sunday we were at the Sawston Fun Run organised by George's Rotary Club - George's job is to  get behind the microphone so he was still able to do that with his arm in a sling.  I helped with the registration - we've been doing it for years now and with well over a thousand participants it is a busy day but good fun and a terrific atmosphere and we will have made a great deal of money for local charities.  DD2 was there as one of the Sponsors promoting her Jazzercise classes -  just saw her briefly and noticed that she had managed to get some burly young cadets to help her put her gazebo up!  It was SO cold that when we got home about 4 o'clock that  we lit the fire.

Well, I'm off to bed now - I have just started The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal.  I've a Book Group meeting tomorrow when we shall be discussing Case Histories by Kate Atkinson which I thoroughly enjoyed.  And then on Wednesday I shall be stewarding our MESCH exhibition at The Tavern Gallery in Meldreth.  Anyone coming to see us ?

Back again

It is so long since I did a blog that I am almost shy about coming back!   But I have been really busy and life has somehow taken over.  Our  second MESCH exhibition has opened at The Tavern in Meldreth

 I did three pictures with a Flamenco theme.

They are all made from silk and stitched with the machine.  The hands were, of course, the trickiest bits to do - I quite neatly sidestepped the problem of faces !

Here is the cockerel which I started last year and seemed to get stuck on.  However, I managed to get it  finished it for the Tavern and there are some other pieces as well, including an Indian woodgatherer.  Liz Evans is showing some of her lovely work inspired by wrought iron, Margaret Star has gloriously colourful hangings and pictures in dyed cotton, meticulously stitched whilst Marian Murphy has produced 'Mind Maps' mixing colours in the unique way she has.  Vanda Campbell has a restrained minimalist body of work based on the recent exhibition at The Foundling Hospital entitled 'Care Labels'

The Gallery is close by the railway Station at Meldreth and is open from 10 until 4  every day except Mondays and Tuesdays and the MESCH  exhibition is on until 22nd May.  We are now thinking towards the next exhibition in June at Royston Museum!

We had a trip to Holland, not this time staying with Toine & Inki as we had friends with us, so we stayed in a hotel in Valkenburg.  We had glorious weather and a great time - lots of lovely meals and rather too much genever. We stopped off in Bruges on the way back to Calais - it was heaving with Japanese tourists who pushed in front of us, snapped away with their cameras and moved on.  It is such a beautiful little town but I think I prefer to remember it the last time we were there, on a cold and snowy day when it was deserted  Then Easter came with lots of church flowers to do, and the family, followed by the private view at the Tavern - it was just one thing after another.

We watched, spellbound, THE wedding and in the evening had a party for about 40 people.  Thank goodness it was a lovely evening and we were able to spill out into the garden.  There was a cheminiere burning on the terrace and late in the evening George went off to get more wood.  He loaded up a plastic recycling box from the woodpile round the back of the garage and then as he was walking back he tripped and fell, cutting his head and cracking three ribs. Well, we didn't know about the ribs until the middle of the night when he couldn't breathe and we had to send for an ambulance.  It seemed to me an over-dramatic way of getting out of all the clearing  and washing up the next day!   He is wearing a sling, has dramatic bruises and is still in a lot of pain, having to sleep sitting upright in a chair.  I have to put his socks on !!!

So guess who is doing all the gardening and dragging the bins down the drive and going over to the shop first thing in the morning for the newspaper - yes, moi.