Gloucestershire Spring

  

It's been mostly rainy here today and those warm Spring days of last week passed rather too quickly.  Perhaps as well we didn't get too used to short sleeves and sandals?

   

Whilst shopping this morning I couldn't resist some "summer" fruit though.  Those luscious scarlet berries tempted me over to take a closer look.

Surprise!  Never seen these before but they found their way home with me and we'll try them tomorrow with some creme fraiche.  They are beautifully scented, true to their name - a confusing combination!

The wild strawberries in our garden have some way to go, but were looking lovely in between the showers this afternoon.

This evening's concert in the garden from Gill Thomas on Vimeo.

Remembering those lovely sunny days of last week, when this photo was taken from our garden, I went outside to listen to a small concert taking place in our drive just now (9.15pm) and though I was shivering, I simply had to stay and hear this tiny bird sing his heart out.  No idea what it was, for it was nearly dark and his shape was a mere silhouette but as he flew off I was surprised by his size - tiny.  Of course, there's the inevitable aeroplane too, but I think I know who wins!

Unexpected delight

Friday morning in Gloucester didn't promise much more than an enjoyable chat with a friend and colleague over a coffee as we sorted out some training we're working on and caught up with one or two other work-related issues.  It was one of those fine Spring mornings, not exactly warm but fresh and light and there was a definite scent of blossom on the air as I found myself arriving early with ten minutes to spare.  As I often do, I dropped into to cathedral where a couple of familiar faces were there working on the flowers - a chat was the first unexpected bonus of the day.  The morning sunshine lit one of the tombs and I pulled out my camera for my photo of the day -  it's Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror and Matilda.   There are interesting stories about dear Robert Short-Stockings and I can't be the first (or last) person to find the pose of his effigy a little curious! (see my update on this at the foot of this blog post)

Having finished my meeting, I walked back to the car park in pretty good spirits, doing a double-take as I passed the steps down to the entrance to St Nicholas Church in Westgate Street

Well, have you ever seen a papier-mache Gloucester Old Spot on castors before?

I needed to take a closer look inside, of course, and in doing so I found that for years, I've been walking past a treasure and have never really noticed.  I took up the steward's suggestion to take advantage of a short guide to the church, cleverly put together for people like me with no more than ten or so minutes to spare.

What a fun way to spend a few minutes - I found all of the "Big Seven" (or should that have been the Pig Seven?)

The change from Norman to Gothic shape of the arches in the main aisle.

The "leaning tower" and quite remarkable geometry of the west end of the church

 

Poor Alice Walton's eternal wrinkles (or perhaps they are laughter lines? - no, probably not)

The "squints"

The coat of arms above the entrance

an amazing  two-headed door knocker

and the lantern tower, outside.  To think I've never stepped inside this church before or paid it any special attention whatsoever.

I really should take the time to be a tourist in my own area more often!

One last unexpected delight.  Whilst dropping into Tesco the other morning, I spotted a surprisingly good wine in their "3 for a tenner" deal and put half a dozen bottles in my trolley.  Thinking back on the deal, I wished I'd bought more, for this was (almost) too good a deal to be true.  But I returned to (a different) Tesco this morning in the hope that others hadn't spotted the deal and beat me to it.  Fortunately, they hadn't and another twelve bottles are now in our "cellar"

Don't think I could argue with that calculation, do you?

Update on Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 9:56PM by Gill Thomas

I was chatting to friends about the tomb of Robert Curthose today and discovered that it's customary for the effigy on the tomb of a Crusader to be portrayed with legs crossed.  Googling that fact to add a link to this follow-on to my original entry, I found this .  Isn't the internet a wonderful resource?

A long day

Never unknown to seize an opportunity to add a little bit of extra anxiety and stress to our far-from-dull lives, Mark and I headed out yesterday afternoon to a local restaurant where a couple of cooks were in the kitchen.

As we arrived, we spotted they were there already.  So was the film crew from BBC2 and seven fellow stooges tasters.

We'd been told to arrive at 3.30pm, but we were likely to be there several hours and were advised to come prepared with newspapers, puzzles and so on.  We were well looked after with  plenty of tea and the afternoon passed quite quickly.  It seemed, though, that things were running a little behind schedule in the kitchen.

Finally, around 6.30pm we were called to the table, given brief instructions and it was time to perform!

The dish was described to us and countless ingredients listed.  My mind went into overdrive as I tried hard to remember them all - the jelly, the sauce, the dressing, the seasonings...never mind the name of the previously-unheard-of fish we were about to sample.

We tucked in, finding it surprisingly easy to identify the component parts and form an immediate opinion.  Yum!

We watched as each of us was quizzed in turn about the dish, camera close up and microphone there looming above us.  How would we manage this challenge?  Surprisingly easily I think, for the production manager was relaxed, had plenty of practice working with amateurs and his prompts provoked sincere and genuinely felt reactions.  Being amongst friends meant that anxiety about bra straps, lipstick on teeth and bursting shirt buttons in the tummy area could be avoided too.  The nine of us relaxed into the task in hand and I think we all put on a fantastic performance.

 We returned to our comfy chairs and settled in for a bit longer  Snacks were brought and the hours passed.

The normally immaculate restaurant took on a slightly more casual air as tea was replaced with wine and the conversation became more animated.  Another 45 minutes we were told.

Eventually, we were called back to the table for the second dish.

Same procedure - taste, comment, film

and because we were taking this all very seriously we made our notes and took the challenge of selecting the winner very carefully indeed.

Time for the grand finale and the last shoot of the day.

The most impressive bit?  At getting on for 11pm, after a long day in the kitchen and all the stress of filming, the smiles and giggles were abundant.  Having ridden those bikes at least 30miles to get to this location and facing another 50 or so to get to the next immediately after this shoot , ready for an 8am start in the morning, both of these gentlemen managed to sign books, to chat, have photographs taken and be in amazingly good humour.  I had felt a little curious about the potential contrast between the on-screen persona and the real life characters and can happily say that what you see is what you get.  Two ever so slightly crazy, warm and enthusiastic people who clearly love what they are doing.  No prima donna behaviour in the slightest, no evidence of pressure or stress; we got the impression that they'd have stayed to chat as long as we wanted to.  In fact, we were more than ready for home and left them there chatting and snapping photos and signing books.

We had enjoyed a fascinating day and I have half a sock and two signed cookbooks to show for it. We turned into bed about midnight thinking of them riding motorbikes through the Gloucestershire countryside to the next county.  As we woke this morning we looked at the clock and thought about them starting all over again some fifty miles from here. 

I couldn't do it, could you?

Stunning read

I want to thank the author of the blog which sent me in search of this amazing book.  It took me a while to track her down - I felt sure I'd seen the book reviewed here and was a bit flummoxed when I couldn't find it.  Fortunately, I could remember asking for it in Cheltenham on a particular day - the 19th February - so did a trawl of likely blogs around that date and BINGO!  Thank you Badger!

(Go on, you're impressed at my detective skills, aren't you?  I was!)

Anyway, it wasn't an easy book to find.  Cheltenham Waterstones told me that it wasn't available to them, it was available only via Amazon uk Marketplace and at the time I wasn't that bothered. 

I should have been.

I found it, quite by chance, in the NK department store in Stockholm and remembered it because of its beautiful cover.  As one of the Amazon reviewers comments, the beauty of the cover is only surpassed by the contents - it was a remarkably satisfying read and one which left me feeling the richer for having read it.  Yes, nothing much happens, there's a cast of only two principal characters and the overwhelming feeling is one of quiet stillness.  But there is a true beginning, which gripped me from the first page, a real middle where the story develops and the characters are fleshed out and best of all, a satisfying conclusion.  In contrast to the book chosen by my bookgroup this month which irritated me on almost every page, Astrid and Veronika will be one of those books I will remember and cherish for quite some time.  More about the book on the author's page here.

Oh, and quite incidentally, my copy is a US Penguin edition, bound in a way which allows single handed reading and an intact spine simply due to the quality of the paper used.  For this reason, I really enjoy reading US paperbacks - wish UK produced books behaved like this.

(Does anyone know what I mean by this?)

Not late, just rather early

For next Easter, that is.

In the same way as I always feel the right time to make Christmas cards is in January, I made an Easter basket today.  I've been reading blogs here and there and with a bit of time this afternoon and a pile of Moda Charm squares bought last summer in Las Cruces, I followed the link to Pink Penguin's Tutorial. An hour or so later, I have a little something ready for next year!  Great instructions, clear photos and a sweet finish.

In the basket are some cute shell buttons I found in our local John Lewis and bought on the "they'll come in useful one day" principle.

Over the weekend, I've been sorting through some of the things brought from my parents house and came across this apron, made by me in my first year at grammar school.  I wonder what possessed the teacher to direct us to cut the centre panel on the bias, making those seams so challenging? 

 Incidentally, the two seams joining the centre panel to the plain sides are run and fell, all neatly finished (as a result of pinning, tacking and all of that parlarver) Without doubt, this was the last time I sewed such a seam!

I am very impressed by my eleven year old self's control of the sewing machine, however, even if I wasn't brave enough to fiddle with the tension.