Itchycoo park

It's all too beautiful.

Even this ungainly Stag beetle which I saved from drowning.

The jewellery box

Many years ago I had some good pieces of jewellery,

white gold, 

sapphires,

 pearls,

rubies,

opals,

diamonds, 

garnets,

emeralds,

turquoises,

left to me by an aunt.

We were burgled and most of it was taken.

Three months later, they came back

and took the rest of it.

I was really too young to inherit such finery then,

and didn't insure it properly.

I'd like to say I don't miss any of it.

But the truth is,

there was one beautiful Victorian butterfly brooch,

which I have never quite forgotten.

The Box of Delights

at the Horniman museum.

This mosaic designed by Robert Anning Bell was completed in 210 days, 

mostly by young women.

Th Neo-classical design 'Humanity in the House of Circumstances', 

symbolises personal limitations and personal aspirations.

The figures represent Arts, Poetry, Music, Endurance, Humanity, Love, Hope, Charity, Wisdom, Meditation, and Resignation.

The totem pole was London's first Alaskan pole carved by Nathan Jackson,

 a Tlingit.

Despite a considerable programme of modernisation,

the curators have had the wisdom to preserve at its heart

some of the original galleries and displays,

including this overstuffed walrus

from Hudson Bay, Canada.

Some of the exhibits will offend present day sensibilities

but there is something irreplaceable

about that peppery, musty, memory triggering smell;

that gloomy lighting and ancient labelling.

The new galleries are beautiful,

but as I wandered around them, 

I was more unnerved by the confused murmurings of

ghostly voices from projected images on the glass displays,

than I ever was by the stuffed animals.

And to finish, a temporary display of Wycinanki, 

The Art of Polish paper cuts.

Bring me

Sunshine

Added brightness brought to you

by Omo

and

Morecambe and Wise.

Stormy weather

Rocky roads

Life is full of them.

An absolute hyper-abundance of lethal ingredients.

Dear, dear, Nigella.

Biscuit bashing - excellent therapy.

Almost not worth bothering with the tin.

Out of focus on account of the nearness of my face to the chocolate.

Good things in unexpected places

Watching, or better still being involved in, 

the regenerative powers of nature is the finest therapy for sickness,

 of body or mind. 

Sydenham Garden is an original and inspiring initiative.

Richard Mabey - Author of "Nature Cure".

Crafts and gardening at the Sydenham Garden.

Havelock Walk Open Day,

an artist's community in a cobbled mews behind an unprepossessing 

row of shops. 

Audience participation in 'Left Behind',

performed by the Bold and Saucy theatre company.

All the livelong day

It started at 5 a.m,

with this sunrise,

and a trip to drop our son off at his friend's house,

to catch a plane to Turkey for a sailing holiday.

On a whim I drove on to my usual park

and found the gates open and

the gardens deserted.

I startled a heron on the lake,

and none of the wildfowl were in visitor receiving mode.

Back in our garden by 7 a.m,

I witnessed for the first time

ladybirds hatching from their chrysalises.

This grasshopper somehow found its way into our bedroom

where it contrasted rather fetchingly with the headboard.

To celebrate  the new Sydenham Arts festival,

 we started with lunch at The Blue Mountain cafe,

followed by a ceramics exhibition,

(this was a pavement find)

took a brief domestic interlude,

further refreshment (it was very hot by now)

and then a concert at the Dietrich Bonhoeffer church

performed by ensemble diX.

Bach choral variations for soprano and four wind instruments

and German red gooseberry tart to follow - a perfect combination.

An impromptu ping pong tournament,

then supper at The Dolphin with Annabel 

the Visual Arts co-ordinator for the festival,

her partner Barry,

and young friends.

A balalaika troupe played,

and there was dancing as

brightly flaming red lanterns scudded across the night sky.

Hot in the garden

Crops

not quite a glut yet,

but certainly an ample sufficiency.

I do like

to be beside the seaside

visiting friends in Brighton

on the hottest day of the year.

The Graduate

Plane tree recovery

See bare-knuckled.

Have you ever?

I've seen versions of this on quite a few blogs. 

Really we need an Anglicised one.

I'd substitute stick insect for praying mantis, visited the Isle of Wight for Hawaii, walked to the top of The Monument in London for the Statue of Liberty, played croquet for hit a home run, toured the Lake District for the Everglades -  for starters.

What would you change? 

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland 

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sung a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo's David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie, no but I was once on TV

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class does fencing count?

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Guide Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House 

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Seen a stag beetle

These are rare and protected.

I think this is the female, males have huge antlers, hence the name.

Copy and paste then highlight anything you have done.

Dream coat

made from vintage saris and reversible.

Has had a mixed reception so far,

('You look like a rug, but it fits you very nicely')

What do you think?

I love it.

He's back

Line one of five.

Foxed

And this pair is the reason why our vegetables are looking a little less pristine

(see below)

and a little more sat, jumped and pounced on.

Dream vegetable garden

West Dean Walled Kitchen Garden

Pristine glasshouses.

Forests of parsley.

A whole greenhouse devoted to Basils.

Newts in the dipping pond.

Up and down the Downs

Come this way

and walk with us if you will,

up and down the Downs

through a coppiced wood,

past these sheep

under a big sky,

past tiny ancient churches,

under a black sky,

through a wheat field,

and a rape field,

for about ten miles.

It took five hours and several Mars Bars,

but was probably quicker than driving in one of these cars...

Little House in the Big Tree

We stayed deep in West Sussex,

in a room built

in the arms of a Sweet Chestnut tree,

with this view from the shower into the canopy.

Surrounded by jungle birds,

jungle plants,

and jungle cats, one Bengali and one Abbyssinian.