Waltzing Along

 The title of this blog is a track by Indie band James, one of our all time favourite bands.  We went to see them last week with our friend Ade and his son, Billy.  They've been going for a whopping 40 years now, but their clean living frontman, Tim Booth (who, incidentally, also attended a boarding school just over the border from us in Shrewsbury) is still in fine voice.

It was a double celebration so beers were consumed.  

Ade was marking a landmark birthday...and as for Gareth and I, a little over 22 years ago, we got married at a local country house where we partied until dawn.  The owner was extremely accommodating, if a little eccentric and pretty much let us have free run of the place.  One of my abiding memories of that day was our impromptu midnight "Library Disco."  The band we had booked to play outside earlier in the evening, had long since departed.  We had planned for this eventuality by bringing along our CD player, knowing that no one would be ready to call it a night until the wee small hours.  In this photo, we're all singing along to James's "Sit Down."

We've seen James a number of times over the years and they always deliver.  

Still on a high from this, we were excited to get the best seats for Glastonbury (shimmying between our living room and garden sofas).  

Whilst I still hold out hope of visiting Glastonbury Festival some day, this year we were grateful to be a few strides away from the refrigerator and the shade of the garden.  I'm not moaning....I'm not...but the heat has been intense and we seem to have evaded the predicted thunder storms.   

We saw Billy No Mates, Foo Fighters, Manic Street Preachers, The Pretenders (amazing), Arctic Monkeys, Guns n Roses, a sprinkling of Young Fathers, Sparks, Kelis, Texas, Sparks, Queens of the Stone Age and Rick Astley (covering a number of Smiths songs).  For me though, the standout performance was Cat Stevens (fine voice, fine human being).  

I saw Sunday's headliner, Elton John when I was 18 and recall feeling quite bored, but decided to watch his headline slot on Sunday anyway.  Sadly, this time my experience was no different.  I like a few of his songs and he's undisputedly talented, but for some reason, I once again found myself drifting.  He just doesn't do it for me.  However, I'm obviously in the minority, judging by the humungous audience.

In between watching Glasto coverage, we squeezed in our annual Mini & VW Meet just down the road.

Headlight selfie!

Sunday's weather was scorching hot and many people took shelter in the shade of our trade stand.  Friends joined us, bringing along their cool cars, company and ensuring that the music played on.

The few photos I took on Sunday need little explanation apart from the winner of "Best VW T4" which was conceived and created by its Welsh owner, Jon Power.  The attention to detail was phenomenal and the entire build took him six months.  I loved the copper bar with its soft close fuel can drawers and of course, the occupier, Evie.

Back at home, garden wildlife is everywhere to see.

Fledgling Blackbird

Speckled Wood Butterfly

Nosey Wood Pigeon

Green Bottle Fly

But this has to be the most spectacular mini beast I've ever seen.  I say "mini beast" but with a wing span of around 10 cm, this Hawk Moth spotted resting on our water butt on Friday night, looked as if it could take on the world.  Surely, this is a "festival ready" insect if ever there was one!  

This week will be all about preparing for our long awaited mini break.  For those of you who know me well, will know that I would rather put needles in my eyes than fly.  However, life is short, this place looks pretty special and there's really only one way to reach our chosen destination.  We're also hoping to catch up with the Glasto Queen at the airport before we leave.

So where are we going?  Ending on a song, here's a clue.

INXS - Never Tear Us Apart (Official Music Video) - YouTube

See you soon!

She's a Rainbow

I'll start this post with the meteorological phenomenon that is a rainbow, shot both from the door step and through the rain-soaked loft window.  It's no longer news to say that the weather is capable of extremes.  However, I've been finding it difficult to sleep lately with my energy levels dipping by mid afternoon, often only revived by a second cup of coffee and a cheeky bit of dark chocolate (90% cocoa 'cos I'm that hard!)  

So, in order not to challenge my sleep deprived brain, I'm going to record my memories of the week in conjunction with the colours of the rainbow, as per the old Peggy Lee song: Sing a Rainbow.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOmDYt2a9Gw

Sing along if it helps.

"Red and Yellow..."

Here's a mini photographed at last weekend's British Mini Club's annual Mini & VW Bus Meet which takes place in our home town....

Beautifully fragrant roses, captured outside Hagley Church on a Sunday stroll...

"...and Pink..."

I made a special trip to capture a local poppy field...a week too late.  Not to be defeated, I decided to photograph them in their faded grandeur, the red draining from drooping petals, leaving a lifeless pink in its wake.

That's more like it!  More roses from Hagley Church.

A flattering shade of pink can also be found in the form of my make-up staple, Dr.PAWPAW's multi-purpose balm in a delicate peach/pink shade.  

Vegan, cruelty-free and 100% natural, it's always in my bag.  I use it (extremely sparingly) on my cheeks, directly in line with the pupils of my eyes on the apples of my cheeks, gently blending in circles outwards towards the tops of my ears.  It creates a wonderful glow for people who don't like the feel of make up.  I also use it as a lip balm.  

Oh and the original clear balm also makes an excellent moisturiser.  I use it on my hands, elbows and to tame frizzy hairs.

"...and Green."

I mentioned recently, that I was looking for an unstructured blazer.  Admittedly, this is a nod to current trends, but in my defence, I only adopt the ones I like!  I am also quite taken with the vibrant pea green colour that is everywhere at the moment (brace yourselves).  I was therefore very happy to come face to face with exactly what I had been searching for in a charity shop this week.  The jacket was part of a suit but I persuaded the Manager to sell me just the jacket and I've teamed it with the only new purchase I have made this year - a pair of Zara patch pocket denim shorts.

More greenery in the form of National Trust managed property and green space, Dudmaston, where we headed to celebrate our wedding anniversary this week with a shandy and a scone in the apple orchard, just before the rain started.

The geese were on the lookout for something...the lady of the lake?

We had a little look inside at the property's art collection, but the heat inside was pretty intense, so I purchased some vibrant postcards featuring the artwork of Wolverhampton born sculptor, artist and art collector, Anthony Twentyman (1906-1988), who, incidentally, was a friend of the previous owner and was commissioned to create sculptures for the Dudmaston Estate(more info here:-  

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dudmaston/features/anthony-twentyman-where-art-meets-nature-)

... and soon headed back outside, where we picked some lime tree flowers to make a calming tea (aside from producing an exquisite fragrance, they produce a deliciously delicate tea).  

I also managed to snap one of three resident cats we counted, hunting in an area of wild flowers and taking us neatly into "Orange..."

"...and Purple..."

Dudmaston, shot through lavender.

 "...and Blue."

After that rainy interlude, the sunshine and blue skies returned!

I rounded off the week with a visit to my friend Jenny's driveway plant sale.  Here's a glimpse of her lovely rainbow coloured flower border. I left with an Agapanthus and a couple of foxgloves for our woodland garden.

Gareth has had a chesty cough and streaming cold and so I left him on Saturday night to dose himself up while I disappeared for a while to celebrate my friend Jackie's recent nuptials.  

The remainder of the weekend has been spent in the comfort of our front row sofa seats at a number of Glastonbury performances. The view from Kingswinford was pretty awesome!  Jack White was delightfully eccentric and loud.  Is musical Tourette's a thing?  I think he might have it. Sadly he didn't sing one of my favourites from his tenure with The Raconteurs, so I'll leave it here and dedicate it to my husband of 21 years, my Broken Boy Soldier.  

The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldier (Official Music Video) - YouTube