June

So writing this in Chester Cathedral where I am backstage waiting to go on for my next appearance as Weeping Woman in the Chester Mystery Plays.  This is my view:

Rehearsals for the play have taken up a lot of time this month even though I only speak four lines in total.  It’s been good fun - I’ve met lots of interesting people and I like feeling part of the community. We even made Granada News.  You can find me in Noah’s Ark in this clip. Or actually as a piece of Noah’s Ark to be precise.

Otherwise life has been proceeding in the usual routine of dog walks and gardening, though at times it has been too hot for either.  I really don’t cope well with heat and bright sunshine and now I appear to have developed hay fever. I have never really had this problem before -  it’s a total nuisance especially when I want to be out in the garden. I take the antihistamine tablets but even ‘non-drowsy’ ones turn me into a zombie. And my fair skin reacts badly to sunshine so I’ve spent a fortune on specialist factor 50 creams to prevent the red blotches which appear on my face if I’m not careful. I’m quite happy that rain and cooler temperatures have returned. 

This imprssive seeded itself in this spot

We’ve had several rooms in the house repainted this month. There have been decisions to be made about paint colours. I’m not that adventurous choosing generally muted neutrals.  We made one mistake in Kate’s room, or her old room since she doesn’t really live here anymore.  I wanted to replace her blue and silver decor and chose a paint named ‘ivory’. It turned out to be more yellow than cream. Oh dear. Decided we couldn’t live with it so it’s now ‘natural calico’.  Someone must be employed somewhere to invent names for paint colours I suppose. The decorating is all finished now - just some light fittings to be installed. 

I had to miss some play rehearsals earlier the month as I’ve been on a couple of trips.  The first was right at the beginning of June when I persuaded Kate to come with me to the Hay on Wye Literature festival. I’ve always wanted to go to the Hay festival, a kind of Glastonbury for book lovers.  We didn’t camp though, thankfully, as it was pretty chilly when we were there with a brisk breeze blowing through the marquee complex.  The main reason we went was because I wanted to see Margaret Atwood speak.  She didn’t disappoint. Now in her eighties and a tiny figure on the stage, she was as witty and entertaining as ever. She didn’t do the book signing business though. Not surprising as she’s have been exhausted - the queues for other writers were long enough.  To keep Kate happy, I also booked tickets to see the comedian Tom Allen who was there because he has a book out about dealing with his father’s death.  Was worried he’d do a serious talk about the book and Kate would be disappointed- in fact it was a standard stand up routine. Very funny. 

Paul and I also eventually went on our trip to Paris which was postponed from January. We travelled by Eurostar as he hates flying and all was going well until we got to France. Then  the train stopped for two hours in rural Picardy because of a problem in the Gare du Nord. We had to cancel the restaurant we’d booked and didn’t get to our apartment until after 10pm.  Things improved after that and we had an enjoyable weekend with lots of nice food and wine, a bit of sightseeing though we had to look for shade as it was hot.  We went to the Musee D’Orsay, a very impressive building which was a former railway station with huge clocks at either end.  Paul was not terribly happy in there as it was fairly crowded.so I left him behind in main hall an explored by myself. 

That’s it for now. Still in the cathedral ‘Backstage though it’s now a whole day later. And we still have 18 performances to go. 

I chose these flowers for the garden because they are named Dianthus ‘Doris’

My rambling rose has a few flowers this year.  

May Blossom

 I’ve probably said it before, suspect if I checked,  I say it every year: May is my favourite month.  And in the last few days May has been at its peak of perfection. The wet spring has left everything so lush and green.  I quite like this kind of weather - it reminds me of home in Ireland.  We got absolutely drenched twice this week while out with the dog but still have had some lovely walks between the showers.  The Countess of Chester Park behind the local hospital is our nearest dog walking spot. There the fields are a sea of cow parsley bordered by hawthorn bushes with blossom so thick it is weighing down the branches.  And the cow parsley is taller than me.

Paul has just returned from a weekend in Scotland completing the Etape Caledonia, a bike event in Pitlochry,  so Kate has been here keep me company and assisting with dog walking. On Saturday morning we went to Loggerheads Country Park, thirty minutes drive away in North Wales.  There is a riverside walk through ancient woodland with rare wildflowers.  Apparently the one below is Herb Paris.  Loads of wild garlic too. There’s also a very good cafe there which serves generous slices of homemade cakes.  We shared a piece of coffee and walnut.

My garden too is green and about to explode into bloom.  The peony has eight promising looking buds, the oriental poppy many more and there are lots of self seeded foxgloves around.  I’m feeling quite proud of my garden. All the hard work of the last few years is eventually starting to pay off as things I planted are now established.  My new veg plot is also going well - we’ve eaten home grown rocket, spinach and Little Gem lettuce this week.

Since my last post we’ve had a holiday in Ireland - a week at the end of April touring Galway and Mayo and then up North to catch up with family.  I meant to blog about it when we returned but never got round to it.  So this is a kind of double post.  We stayed two nights in the Twelve Hotel just outside Galway which claims to be Ireland’s most ‘dog friendly’ hotel.  It certainly was - Alfie was treated like a prince with a special doggy welcome pack.  They also let us leave him in the room so we could go to the restaurant where we had the ‘tasting menu’, seven tiny courses which were delicious.  We explored the nearby Barna Woods, the Silver Strand beach and Salthill but never did make it into the city itself, deterred by traffic, roadworks etc. 

Paul’s photo of the beach in Barna at dusk. 

G

Alfie enjoyed Dog Beach. Another of Paul’s shots. As you can see he has superior skills…

and a better phone.

We moved on following the Wild Atlantic Way and then stopped at Dog Beach with its pure white sand. Not easy to find since it’s a conservation zone and in a Gaeltacht, an Irish speaking area,  which means all the signs are exclusively in Irish. Then we drove through the spectacular Connemara countryside. We had a lunch stop in Clifden and then on to Westport where we spent another couple of nights in a distinctly less luxurious B&B. It did have a glorious view over the harbour and a pub opposite serving good seafood. I noticed that several of the people running the expensive clothes shops in Westport harbour were English.  According to my sister, the West Coast is the new Cornwall with lots of holiday homes.  I’m not sure I like that idea at all. We didn’t climb Croagh Patrick, admiring it from a distance, and instead drove around the rugged landscape of Achill Island. We also visited Westport House and learned a bit about Grace O’Malley, the Irish Pirate Queen.  Not much though as we didn’t bother with the guided tour.  Did buy a book about her in the friendly independent bookshop later. I think the owner was also English.

Westport Town. My photograph this time.

Westport House. The clouds look ominous but we stayed dry for most of the week.

After that we drove north via Lough Erne back to Ballyronan, staying in a holiday home and catching up with cousins.  Lunches at  The Scullery cafe in my childhood home. Still feels very strange. I was happy to see the photograph of my parents on display in there. Then a final night with my  sister in Dromore before catching the ferry back from Dublin to Holyhead.  Travelling by ferry is much more relaxing than flying and, if you include the two hour recommended check-in to negotiate security and the inevitable delays,  doesn’t take much longer either. Not cheap though especially when we had to fork out for an ‘animal health certificate’ thanks to Brexit.  No one asked to see it.

Just sharing one final photograph.  We are not huge fans of royalty in our house but did go to a local street party on coronation day. This was mainly because wanted to enter Alfie in the Royal Pets Parade. He won  the award for the dog with the ‘waggiest’ tail.

Spring Break

During the Easter school holidays Kate and I spent a few days in Florence.  I’ve never been and recently have read several novels set there (‘Still Life’ by Sarah Winman, ‘The Marriage Portrait’ by Maggie O’Farrell and a reread of ‘A Room with a View’).  I was looking forward to seeing all the places described in the books. Florence is a beautiful city and we had glorious sunny weather even though it was a bit chilly. Here we are on the Ponte Vecchio. 

Of course it was very, very busy.  After I retired from teaching, I hoped to avoid travelling in school holidays.  I didn’t reckon on my most willing travelling companion becoming a teacher. I tried to avoid queues by booking in advance for some things but still there was a lot of standing around and dodging groups on guided tours. 

Kate is not especially keen on spending too much time in art galleries. So we didn’t linger too long in the Uffizi. The Birth of Venus was surrounded by hordes of people taking photos.  I was more interested in the portraits.  I liked the one of the surly looking teenager. And both of us responded strongly to one showing a man being beheaded by two very determined looking women.  It was ‘Judith slaying Holofernes’, by Artemisia Gentileschi.  The notes told us that he was a rapist and the artist was female. Not too many works by women in the gallery.  I read afterwards that this is likely to be a self portrait and that the artist had been assaulted as a young woman.

Reminds me of a rather reluctant student I used to teach

Kate not terribly impressed by Botticelli

She did, however, enjoy her bruschetta

To be honest, I’d rather be outside than in an art gallery.  The wisteria was out in Italy and the scent of this huge specimen was delicious. The one I planted last year is making slow progress up the pergola and has a few promising looking flower buds. 

On our second day in Florence, Kate and I visited the Pitti Palace.  Eleanor of Toledo, wife of Cosimo 1, di  Medici featured as a character in ‘The Marriage Portrait’ and I wanted to see the royal apartments and also an exhibition about her.  It seems she was quite a strong woman who had helped design the palace and gardens though she died before it was completed. The display included portraits of her, her husband and her many children by the artist Bronzino.  There was a one of a toddler of about 18 months holding a goldfinch, apparently a Christian symbol for this baby was destined to be a Cardinal at the age of 17. I couldn’t help wondering if the child posed for the picture with the goldfinch and what he would do with the poor creature if it were still alive. After the exhibition we explored the Boboli Gardens behind the palace.  Very impressive in a formal way, all clipped hedges and fountains - rather like Versailles, but sadly lacking in flowers. 

Another day we decided to get away from the crowds, travel to Fiesole like Lucy Honeychurch in ‘A Room with a View’ and find fields of violets.  The film was apparently shot in the gardens of Fattoria di Maiano so we booked tickets.  We never did get there, getting into a muddle with buses and then ending up, thanks to a dodgy online map, at the back wall of the huge estate - at least half an hour’s walk from the entrance. We gave up, travelled back on the bus and consoled ourselves with an ice cream. We did, however, climb up to Piazza Michelangelo at sunset one evening and enjoyed the view over the city.  Some grumpiness on that trip too as I dithered crossing the busy road and nearly got run over.  Italians seem to have a rather lax attitude to road safety. 

Back home now and pleased that spring has arrived in my own garden.  The first photo as taken on 10th March.  The others just over a month later. 

February….ing

Failed to write anything about January which was best forgotten.  Getting in a February post before the month ends.  Thanks to Christina for the idea.

In February I have been:

Rehearsing for the Chester Mystery Plays.  I play the First Senator in the Nativity scene (I have four lines!) and am also part of the Big Boat in the Noah’s Ark scene. There are also quite a few crowd scenes with ‘movement’ and music so I have more to do than I expected.  It’s fun, though quite time consuming.  

Teaching a new literature course which I’ve called ‘Humour and the English’.  I’m really enjoying this one and the students seem to like it too. We read and discussed Beryl Bainbridge’s ‘The Bottle Factory Outing’.  I knew very little about Beryl Bainbridge and have enjoyed reading her biography and watching interviews with her. She certainly was an interesting character. We have also read ‘Excellent Women’ by Barbara Pym which I loved. This week we are discussing another of my favourites, Zadie Smith’s ‘White Teeth’.

Sitting in front of the fire far too much. We have been lighting the log burner to avoid turning the heating on during the day.  Instead of pottering around the chilly house doing household tasks, I have been staying in the cosy lounge reading. 

Visiting Dublin on a half term trip with Kate. Although I have driven through Dublin many times, I haven’t actually visited the city since my early twenties, quite some time ago.  It has changed a lot - felt very European actually.   Full of students in the area we stayed close to St Stephen’s Green.  Grafton Street has all the usual upmarket shops you get in city centres.  And so many bookshops: Eason’s a name you don’t get in England, and lots of independents too. Away from the city centre there seems to be a lot of building going on and flashy office blocks for big companies. We did see another side of the city on the day we walked through a residential area to the Guinness Storehouse. Here the multi-storey flats with net-curtained windows and neglected looking playgrounds reminded me of parts of Liverpool. 

I encouraged Kate to explore Dublin’s literary heritage. Looks more like Hugh Grant than Oscar Wilde. 

We went on the tour of the Guinness Storehouse…

And learned about how it is good for you! 

We heard the story of the Jeannie Johnson, a replica of one of the famine ships. 

We had coffee in Bewley’s and admired the stained-glass windows

Feeling happy that the days are getting longer and the garden is coming to life.  I need to get out there and do some tidying this week. 

Planning holidays with Paul. We’ve had to postpone a trip to Paris on Eurostar I’d booked in January -  it was his Christmas present.  The week before we were due to go, Calum, Kate’s boyfriend, had emergency surgery to remove a burst appendix and was in hospital recovering for a week.  They had been lined up to look after the dog and also I did not want to go away until he was well again - it was all very traumatic.  So we’re now going to Paris in June and have another trip to Ireland and one to Scotland in the calendar. 

Christmas 2022

 

I started this post on Christmas Eve but somehow got distracted and now it's New Year's Eve.  I'm reaching the point where I've had enough of chocolate, mince pies and falling Christmas tree needles.  But not yet.  There's still tonight which we are celebrating with Paul's old friend from university and his partner, a tradition which we started way back in the 1990s and have continued most years since. 

I enjoyed the weeks running up to Christmas.  As Kate's boyfriend was away (in Qatar for World Cup) for the last week of the school term, I stayed with her to keep her company and also to attend her second graduation ceremony of the year.  This one was held in the very grand Whitworth Hall at Manchester University on one of the coldest evenings of the year -  Kate was absolutely freezing in the photo above.  And it was a challenge getting there as it was a train strike day.  But worth it: she has made some good friends on the course, several of them from Northern Ireland.  I enjoyed chatting with their parents who'd come over for the ceremony.  According to Kate my accent immediately becomes more Irish.

I also volunteered to help in Kate's school during the week I stayed there.  Watching her teach her class of 7/8 year olds was a strange experience for me.  It doesn't seem that long since I was teaching her in a class of 15/16 year olds.  I was so impressed by her confidence and skill at managing the children and, in particular, her Maths teaching.  She revised the rules of column subtraction with the class, a good job as I wasn't familiar with the method.  I helped out as best I could but was more comfortable during the English lesson on speech punctuation.  I also attended the school's Christmas production, walking with the class through icy streets to a local church.  Feeling nostalgic again as it seems no time since I was watching her in this Christmas show.

Christmas Day itself was good this year after last year's disaster, something I didn't ever report in the blog.  This time we kept Alfie far away from any chicken legs not wanting to repeat the stress and arguments caused when he devoured one whole last year while still a puppy.  Kate and her boyfriend Calum were with us for Christmas Day and Boxing Day before going on holiday with his family.  It was a lovely day.  Since Kate is now earning she was able to buy more presents and so the present opening lasted all day.  She knows what I like so I got, among other things, a new cosy dressing gown to replace the one I've been wearing for about 15 years, a fluffy hot water bottle, some rhubarb and ginger jam and some cherry liqueur chocolates. And I had a very swish new purse and handbag from Paul.  In return I bought him a rather smelly selection of cheese - he's hard to buy for. He cooked the traditional Christmas dinner and then we lazed around in front of the fire opening more presents.  Having walked Alfie in the rain in the morning, we didn't venture out again.  Just a board game - Articulate = and rubbishy television - Strictly and Call the Midwife.  

Alfie enjoyed opening his presents. 

That's it for now.  Need to get on with my New Year's Eve dessert preparation. 

Happy New year to all! 

November

Alfie has had enough of the football too.

As I write this there is yet another football match on TV.  I am very bored with the World Cup already. I suppose it is forcing me to write a blogpost though.

November has been a kind of literary month for me. I’ve read a lot, wrote a bit and attended several author events.  I went to see Patrick Gale talking about his books and in particular his latest, ‘Mother’s Boy’ which is loosely based on the life of the poet Charles Causley.  I’ve been studying his book’Notes on an Exhibition’ with one of the adult classes I teach so it was good to have an opportunity to ask him questions about it. He was a very entertaining speaker and seemed happy to speak to us about his writing.

I also went to see Maggie O’Farrell talking about her latest novel ‘The Marriage Portrait’ which is based on Browning’s version of the suspicious death of Lucrezia di Medici a year into her marriage with Alphonso, Duke of Ferrara. I’m halfway through reading the book and enjoying it a lot. I queued up to get my copy of the book signed and told her about my own attempts at writing. Her advice was simple - keep going.  So I will.

Otherwise a dull month of damp dog walks and routine chores.  I’m pleased December begins tomorrow. This weekend I’m going to be seeing two of my sisters and one of them is about to travel to NZ to see another sister.  I have already done quite a lot of my Christmas shopping so I can deliver presents myself instead of relying on the post.  I do wish I was going to New Zealand too - the idea of leaving winter behind is very tempting.

 Chester is looking very festive - the Christmas market is open.  I didn’t buy any presents there - lots of candles, fancy hand creams, weird alcohol etc.  But I did buy one of the paper stars in the picture below. We also have a brand new permanent Chester Market which seems mostly to consist of food outlets and coffee shops. There’s a huge bar running along the back wall of the hall and lots of seating.  Some of the shops from the old market have moved there; others either couldn’t afford the rent or weren’t considered suitable.  So no fancy dress shop, no greengrocer shouting out his deals, no stall offering cut price ‘fancy cheese’ deals. Instead there’s a florist which is selling a huge flowering Christmas cactus for £150; a shop selling wacky frames for glasses; an upmarket patisserie etc.   It all looks lovely but I feel it’s aimed at tourists rather than anyone wanting to do proper shopping.  I was hoping for something more like a French market with the focus on good quality fresh produce. I’m hoping it will improve as more of the stalls open.  But then many of the shops in the main shopping centre and on Chester’s famous Rows have closed down.  This development was planned years ago before internet shopping destroyed the high street. I do hope it succeeds but have my doubts.  

 

October…ing

 Just squeezing in a monthly update.  This is what I’ve been doing:

Enjoying the late flush of flowers and berries in the garden. It looks better now than in the summer. 

Auditioning for a small part in the Chester Mystery play which is produced in the city every five years.  Anyone in the community can volunteer to be involved and you are guaranteed a part.  It’s happening next June in the cathedral.

Getting my flu and Covid vaccinations.   Had the Covid one today. I’m hoping I don’t feel as rotten as Paul did last week after his. 

Reading ‘Still Life’ by Sarah Winman.  Kind of Eastenders meets Miss Garnet’s Angel though mainly set in Florence rather than Venice..  .  More on reading soon.  Best thing about the book - the descriptions of Florence.  And then…

Booking a city break in Florence with Kate in the springtime.  Have never been. 

Celebrating Kate’s birthday. Luckily it was half term and she was back here for a few days.  I booked us a spa afternoon at a local hotel.  And made a Black Forest Gateau for a birthday cake.

Signing up to an intermittent fasting study.  It’s not too tough. You simply have to eat all your food in a ten hour window. It’s supposed to give your digestive system a proper rest and improve sleep, mood etc. We’ll see.

Resolving to avoid all social media and pointless internet browsing until I have written a daily target of 500 words of my ‘novel’.  Progress has been very slow this month.  

That’s it for now. Planning a book post soon.