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.

September..ing

 

September is nearly over and I haven’t written a single blog post.  Here’s a quick round up in Christina’s ‘ing’ format. I have been….

Visiting the Lake District. Took the dog to Grasmere for a couple days. We walked around the lake and Alfie went for a paddle. He’s still not brave enough to swim. 

Exploring Dove Cottage where Wordsworth lived with his sister Dorothy.  I’m not a huge fan of Wordsworth’s poetry but I really enjoyed my visit.  Only a few people were allowed in the cottage at a time and the guide was available to answer questions without being intrusive. And I liked the garden which was designed to look as it might have done when Wordsworth lived there.  I was on my own while Paul and Alfie were back at the pub where we were staying having an afternoon nap. So I was able to take my time in the museum listening to recordings of the poems and looking at original manuscripts.

Eating Tuscan Fish Stew.  We had this on our holiday in a pub in Grasmere.  Then Paul cooked his own version when we got home. Both were delicious.

Enduring an unpleasant sickness virus which hit Paul shortly after our return from the Lake District. He’d blamed the mussels in the fish stew but I hadn’t eaten any of these and I was sick too. Horrible but didn’t last long.

Travelling to Northern Ireland with my youngest sister.  We stayed in Brooke Lodge guesthouse in Magherafelt which was really welcoming and comfortable.  Another visit to The Scullery in Ballyronan for lunch in what was our old ‘sitting room’ - another word I’ve never heard in England. 

Listening to the writer Donal Ryan talk about his latest book ‘The Queen of Dirt Island’ at The Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy.  I chose this weekend to visit NI so I could attend this event.  I finished the book while waiting at the airport that morning. Very good - made me cry at the end which was a bit embarrassing in the airport cafe. He read from the latest book and talked about his writing methods. I’d have liked to have heard more from him and less from the man interviewing him who told the audience at least five times that he was an academic.  Something Donal Ryan isn’t even though he teaches creative writing at the University of Limerick. He was very down to earth and approachable.  I bought my own copy of the book (I’d read a library copy) and had it signed. 

Contemplating buying one of these T-shirts at the airport on the way back. After all I was born in County Derry.  Not at £25 though.

Enjoying autumn walks around the park and the racecourse with these two. Note Paul’s hat! 

Teaching my adult classes. Now that the threat of Covid has retreated for now at least, I have larger groups this term.  The first couple of sessions have gone well.  I’m teaching a course I’ve called ‘When Literature meets Painting’ and we’re studying Margaret Atwood’s ‘Cat’s Eye’ as well as some ‘ekphrastic’ poems. . This is a new word to me too - it means a poetry which responds to a painting like this one.

Trying not to moan about being cold.  We have the heating on this evening but I note the room thermostat has been turned down to 19 degrees. Last year I’d have turned it back up to my preferred setting of 21 but not with the huge price hikes looming.  

August…ing

 August has been a quiet month for us. Here’s what we have been doing:

Looking after Alfie.  He has had ‘the op’ since his amorous moves on other dogs of either sex on walks were becoming embarrassing.  He felt a bit sorry for himself for a while but is now back to normal.  

Going to open garden events and buying plants.  I’m experimenting to see what grows in my garden which  is very dry in places, especially with the recent drought. This astrantia likes moist shade but seems happy enough in the spot I’ve chosen.

Combatting the drought by using washing up water to water my canna lily.  It doesn’t seem to object. I’ve been putting the  bath plug in and saving water when I shower too though carrying watering cans down the stairs is a bit much. 

Going to the Empire Theatre in Liverpool with Kate to see ‘Book of Mormon’.  It really is an impressive building - I love the ceiling.  I enjoyed the show - very entertaining and it was good to see one of my former students on stage. 

Visiting the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and going to this exhibition. I liked the self portrait by local artist Gary Sollars and the satirical portrayals of Trump and our ex-PM by the Singh Twins.

Pleased to see the bees in my garden but sad that there are so few butterflies - just the occasional white.  I snapped this tortoiseshell in a garden centre on Sunday. First one I’ve seen this year.  And no peacocks or red admirals at all.

Eating outside in the cool of the August evenings. Kate has been at home all of August.  She’s now moved out as she starts her teaching job later this week. She’s persuaded me to download a new app called Be Real as another way of keeping in touch. The idea is that instead of posting posed idealised images of your life, you share what you are really doing/ look like.  You get a notification and are supposed to take post your image within two minutes. So that’ll be me walking the dog or hanging out washing.