Easter Bonnets- the joy of finding that perfect hat

David and I were spending a leisurely day exploring the market town of Devizes. He has a nose for the interesting, so I wasn't surprised when he beckoned and said: " Let's have a look down this little alleyway"
I followed him and gasped in delight! It was as if we had stepped back in time...

Hidden in amongst the more modern houses is St Johns Alley and this perfect Elizabethan building is home to this most amazing hat shop.
Inside is a treasure trove of colour and texture and hats, hats, hats!. I have never seen so many beautiful hats in one place.
The proprietor, Joan Pressley, told us that the shop was established in 1987 and from the number of elegant ladies we saw shopping there, it is still thriving.
 She very kindly let me look around and even allowed me a glimpse into the back room where all the hat trimming and altering was done.

 

The shop sells and hires designer hats for all occasions and also offers a bespoke trimming service where you can have your favourite hat remade to match your outfit for that special celebration.
The whole shop was a lit up with jewelled colours. there were traditional styles, elegant little creations and some which looked quite bonkers to me!

I'm so glad we found Joan Pressley's unique shop. Now I can wait and hope that I will have a chance to officiate as a Celebrant at an extremely fabulous wedding where it will be imperative that I have to treat myself to a beautiful hat to suit!

Here is the link to the shop. If you are ever in Devizes... be tempted!

http://www.devizeshats.co.uk/joanpressley/Home.html

Wishing everybody a

 

Happy Easter

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm celebrating : Easter Week, Spring Equinox...and the end of Winter!

In the South West of England Spring comes early. We may have cold days, rainy days and blustery days ahead but looking around me I can see that the unstoppable forward force of Spring is in motion.
The first butterflies and Ladybirds have ventured out and the birds are daily revving up towards their full-blown Spring morning chorus.

 

In the past country people would use Pussy Willows in place of palms on Palm Sunday, so I have decorated a wreath to go on my door. The full blown, fuzzy, pollen tufted blossoms are yet to arrive but it still looks pretty, with a mixture of different trees' catkins adding some extra colour.

Have a happy week everybody!

Creating Romantic Weddings- what a wonderful job I have !

As some of you will know, I have just started a career as an Independent Celebrant. I can now write and perform all sorts of ceremonies but today I'm thinking of spring and summer weddings. After all, it's the 1st of March and spring will soon be bursting upon us in all its glory.

I've just written a post in my celebrant website and thought I would share it with you. I have come up with a wonderful idea of how I can create spontaneous and wildly romantic wedding ceremonies for couples who want to break away from the expense and fuss of the 'wedding culture' that has taken over these ceremonies today. 
I'm always happy to travel, so if you are feeling romantically inspired, or know a couple that are... give me a call!

From: http://www.janearnold.co.uk/   


The is no doubt about it, Spring is on its way!
Does your romantic heart long for a wedding with just the two of you, having a picnic on a sunny day and celebrating your love simply and spontaneously?

It may seem an impossible dream...
There are so many obstacles in your way, not in the least the English weather.
But it can be done!
I mastermind the ultimate in spontaneous 'Pop Up' weddings.
Phone me or email me and I will tell you all about this wonderfully romantic option.

Jane Arnold   
Mobile  07706 617 838
Email  jane.arnold@uksoc.com

A life that is useful and beautiful

A family funeral in the Yorkshire Dales seemed a long journey at this time of year. Yet I felt I wanted to be there.
I coped with a long, dark drive one evening and was so glad to have overcome winter hibernation stagnation and ventured forth. Meeting up with distant family connections and seeing cousins from my childhood was moving and, despite the sadness of the event, cheering too.
The following day I headed towards Northumberland via a rather long detour through the Lake District.

I took a wonderful, single-track road which winds its way from Ambleside to Boot. It was quite an exciting drive, scarily steep, full of hair-pin bends and beautiful empty hillsides. It was a day of alternating sunshine and showers, so the light was wonderful, bringing out the colours of bracken andgrass. All the way, I kept getting tantalising glimpses of snowy peaks.

It was only when I reached the end of the pass that I checked the map and realised I'd been tempted way off my supposed route and would be hours late reaching my friends.

Luckily they both have a relaxed view of the world, they know me well and have sanguine temperaments. When I finally arrived, full of apologies, they smiled and said that they'd been hoping I'd found something interesting to explore upon my way.

I've known Martin since my first year at University and Madeleine for nearly as long. I consider then two of my dearest friends. I love their home, a fortified 15th century farmhouse, it fits them as a snail does its shell, it is filled with their personalities and interests. Even the wood burning stove feels part of the family!

As for their beloved Dorothy, a more noble dog I have yet to meet. She has stolen my heart.

There is also Holtby an enchanting quicksilver kitten, who was too fast and to full of life for me to capture the spirit of her in a photograph.
I love visiting them, their life is no fairy-tale but one grounded by hard work, commitment to their beliefs and the strength of their relationship. Even on cold, stormy days their home brings me comfort and peace.

 I have to be honest though and say that they are hardier than I am, so huge fires are lit for my comfort throughout my stay.
I enjoy catching up on their plans and projects. Madeleine is a Bee Keeper and is passionate about tending her bees in a natural way, often using skills learnt from the past. She made this skep, I love it and the bees are happier in an organic shape. Although the bees are sleeping we still went to greet them and tell them of my visit.

Madeleine also has a pantry... I have to admit I'm envious, I've always longed for somewhere to keep stores and supplies. For them however, it is a necessity, as they may be cut off by bad weather for days.

Martin has learnt the skill of making dry stone walls and is continuously re-building and repairing. It's immensely hard physical work but also needs a sensitivity to shape and pattern.

He is also in charge of the fuel supply. Isn't this wood pile a thing of beauty?

They are both great walkers but kindly allow me to go on more gentle potters with them. I love the winter landscape's beauty. Form and colour stand out in simplicity.

 

 

This visit we walked to the nearby willows and collected withies for garden projects.  Madeleine is planning to make hurdles and supports for the garden and I picked some slimmer branches to make a wreath base. The day was still and calm, the only sounds coming from our work and the slight rustle of branches and grass. I could have stepped back in time a hundred years.

 

 

 I feel sad saying farewell to my good friends. We live too far apart to visit often. Yet I always leave them feeling refreshed and re-inspired to leap back into my life with renewed enthusiasm and optimism. Thank you both.

Dark days and good advice for low spirits

If you have suffered from ' lowness of spirits',  life can seem like a dark tunnel with any light ahead an unimaginable distance away.
I have had my battles with the 'black dog' in the past but am generally feeling content and happy at present.  Today however, the late January weather has dampened even my relentless optimism and cheerfulness.
I have recently re-discovered these wonderful words with their sound advice and I am sharing them if you too are finding yourself down-hearted and gloomy due to  endlessly pouring rain, wild winds and dark days.

 
In 1820, English writer Sydney Smith wrote a letter to an unhappy friend, Lady Morpeth, in which he offered her tips for cheering up. His suggestions are as sound now as they were almost 200 years ago.

“1st. Live as well as you dare.
2nd. Go into the shower-bath with a small quantity of water at a temperature low enough to give you a slight sensation of cold, 75 or 80 degrees.
3rd. Amusing books.
4th. Short views of human life—not further than dinner or tea.
5th. Be as busy as you can.
6th. See as much as you can of those friends who respect and like you.
7th. And of those acquaintances who amuse you.
8th. Make no secret of low spirits to you friends, but talk of them freely—they are always worse for dignified concealment.
9th. Attend to the effects tea and coffee produce upon you.
10th. Compare your lot with that of other people.
11th. Don’t expect too much from human life—a sorry business at the best.
12th. Avoid poetry, dramatic representations (except comedy), music, serious novels, melancholy, sentimental people, and everything likely to excite feeling or emotion, not ending in active benevolence.
13th. Do good, and endeavour to please everybody of every degree.
14th Be as much as you can in the open air without fatigue.
15th. Make the room where you commonly sit gay and pleasant.
16th. Struggle by little and little against idleness.
17th. Don’t be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice.
18th. Keep good blazing fires.
19th. Be firm and constant in the exercise of rational religion.
20th. Believe me, dear Lady Georgiana.”

I love the writings of Sydney Smith and read the above piece at my Father's funeral, as I felt it was just the sort of advice he would be giving us all in our sadness.

(With thanks to my son Sam Arnold: I snaffled his beautiful photograph of Venice)

Winter Retreat

'Retreat from the world'.
After the bustle and hassles of Christmas, that is all I wanted to do. I do look forward to this wonderful time of celebration- I try to keep it magical and I love being with my family-but find I'm much more able to keep my temper during any silly squabbles or culinary disasters if I have an oasis of calm to look forward to.

I've always loved Devon and my feelings of relaxation and happiness increased as we travelled down the typical winding lanes.

David and I stayed for a week in a little cottage called The Count House in the Tamar Valley. It was a perfect retreat, decorated to my taste and with a log burner that made all the difference to our winter holiday.

It has been such a mild winter up until now, that in Devon the fields were a beautiful emerald green. All remaining colours left in the landscape, bracken, apples left on bare branches and of course this beautiful grass glowed against the grey skies. My favourite moments came on changeable days, when the clouds were high and scudding along and sunshine and rain were all jumbled up together. One moment everything is lit up in bright clear light, you catch a hint of a rainbow and then a torrent of rain swoops down and soaks everything. There is a particular quality to the light on these fast changing days and I felt as if I was glimpsing tiny masterpieces: a Nicholas Hilliard landscape, gone in the blink of an eye.

I have to admit though... the weather was awful! Some days we stayed inside, no, I must be truthful, we actually stayed in bed it was so rainy and blowy.

But on other days I discovered the Pannier Market in Tavistock. I spent hours happily pottering and even returned to David with a few treasures.

We spent one of the most peaceful and happy New Year evenings. The skies had cleared, so just before midnight we bundled up in coats and scarves and, clutching a bottle of fizz, ventured out into the garden, where we watched the stars and finally the distant fire-works bring in the New Year.
The first of January roared in with gales and rain. Not deterred, I drove to the coast and like the eccentric Englishwoman I am, greeted the start of the year with a paddle. I had planned to have a quick dip...but it was not inviting!

It was a good start to the year!