Worcestershire Wanderings

Last week ushered in one of those days that changes everything; diagnostic tests for Mom, followed by the much feared phone call from the hospital.  Life has felt simultaneously unreal and incredibly challenging ever since.  However, living with uncertainty is part of life and we march on.

Accompanying Sharon the Celebrant, I visited a local glamping site on Friday, to check out its suitability for wild elopements/mini moons.  It just about ticked every box, offering peace and solitude...

...carefully considered luxury touches...

...an emphasis on R&R...

...rustic charm (don't be deceived by this description - the shower room, just next door to the communal kitchen, was as good as any luxury self catering cottage)...

...wonderful scenery, walks from the site...

....and friendly, devoted on-site owners, Deb and Ian (just a stone's throw away in their idyllic country cottage).

The heart of England has so much to offer.

As a means of distraction this week, I've also made one or two acquisitions - charity shopped, naturally.  There's a distinctly equine theme to my purchases.  First up, this maxi skirt from Boden.  The somewhat abstract print is actually galloping horses when you look closely.

I also couldn't leave behind this tapestry bag by Laurel Burch; its gold thread accented mythical horse pattern catching my eye.  

I later discovered that Laurel Burch is a Californian artist and has lead a fascinating life.  Here, in her own words, she describes her approach to art:  "As I grow, so grows my passion to dream, and as I dream, I paint.  Myths emerge, beings come to life, kindred spirits connect."  Her inspirations are horses, dogs, blossom, the ocean and cats.  What's not to like?!

The early seeds of Lauren's career were sewn as a young, single mother in 1960s San Francisco.  Born with Osteopetrosis, she married to Jazz musician Robert Burch when she was 19.  They later divorced.  

Lauren would create her own jewellery from objects collected from faraway places and strung together on beaten metal wire.  Her clothes were made from Mexican shawls and Indian bedspreads.  She raised her daughter on the income from selling earrings during this period, before one of her necklaces was admired in the street by the owners of a local Folk Art Gallery.  The Chair House, as it was known, became the first to sell Lauren's earrings.

By the late 1970s, Lauren had founded her company Tsuru Inc ("Crane" in Japanese) and was producing jewellery and greetings cards based on her original artworks.  She would go on to license her designs to a dozen companies around the world as her empire expanded. 

On Saturday, I took Mom to a local beauty spot on the heritage Severn Valley Railway,  Arley.  The Diesel pulled Red Rose Express was just arriving.

The Severn Valley Railway, like others, are showing their support for Ukraine.  As we stood on the platform on this still, sunny May day, a sudden gust of wind blew the flags into action.  An omen for the evening's Eurovision Song Contest it later transpired.

I hadn't spotted this vintage enamel sign before - Webbs Seeds Merchants from my home town.

Ignorant or innocent times...?

With a last glimpse of the station from the Ticket Office doorway, we headed off for a wander around the hamlet.

Even the gentry have to do laundry.  It was perfect drying weather yesterday on top of Arley Tower.

This property has always been my favourite.  Back in the day it was a public house known as The Valencia.  Now it's a private home and it should be mine! 

Deciding to take cover from the midday sun, we headed off to nearby Wolverley, a pretty Worcestershire village perched alongside the River Stour.  We headed for Gil's Tea Room following a recommendation, only to find that it was fully booked.  

Ever the accommodating host, Gil suggested we take a riverside bench seat next to the cafe and they would bring our order to us.

Try as I might, I have yet to achieve complete Instagram w**ker status given that I promptly forgot to photograph our food.  We were hungry!  It was hot!  You'll have to take my word for the fact that my hummus and falafel sandwich and salad and Mom's pear and stilton toasted sandwich were a) huge and b) delicious.  I also took away some salad inspiration; a simple idea, but toss in a few blueberries, pomegranate seeds and a chopped strawberry with your salad leaves and French dressing.  It works a treat.

The remainder of the day was devoted to reading in the sunshine and preparing for an evening BBQ.  I'll leave you with Lotte - whiskers illuminated by the dipping sun - apparently wrestling to dislodge something from between her teeth.  I wondered where that last piece of chicken went!

Autumn's Swan Song

Well, we've had another odd week (is there any other kind these days?)  It started well enough, with the arrival of a parcel from Vix containing "Slammerkin"- a recommended read, accompanied by a postcard featuring one of my favourite photos by Steve McCurry.

On the same day, Gareth discovered that the pond level had dropped dramatically.  He decided to monitor the situation for a couple of days, but upon further investigation, it was clear all was not well.  

Meanwhile, I was having my own problems, as my editing software was at best, exceptionally slow and at worst, unresponsive.  I was forced to seek help via an online chat.  When this failed to fully resolve matters, I agreed to allow the technical assistant to share my screen.  I still find this concept quite bizarre.  The issue was identified within the hour, but somehow, 3 hours later, Sandar, my virtual companion, was still in my screen, randomly asking me questions about the format I shoot in and my storage system, his cursor hovering over certain experimental photos of mine which perhaps would have benefitted from an explanation....(what's with the ear?)...

...and occasionally issuing me with instructions.  

I confess I reached a point where I thought that we would be trapped together in a virtual world forevermore.   He was oblivious when I did break off to make some tea and seemed happy beavering away in cyberspace.  But eventually my technical trauma came to an end.  But before I could fully relax, Gareth decided to tap on the patio doors and, under torch light (it was now dark), showed me a rather large toad, which seemed to  be resting contentedly on his hand.  On closer inspection, there was something very wrong about the toad's prone position and milky gaze.  Plus it wasn't just large, it was bloated and the stuff of nightmares.  No surprise that I needed an Advocaat to calm my nerves (well, it's nearly Christmas).  

The pond, it transpired, had been punctured by an unknown party.  The chief suspects are:-

1.  Next door's dog.  

Evidence:  Our neighbours had recently been working on their fencing and there was a stray tennis ball next to the pond.

2.  Heron.  

Evidence:  None needed.  Mr H is always in the suspect line up in these circumstances.

3.  Moles. 

Evidence:  We have periodically been plagued by moles.  We always elect to ignore them and they usually move on, but there are currently three mole hills triangulating one corner of the pond.  Could it be the result of over zealous digging?

The frogs and remaining toads were temporarily relocated while Gareth put down a new pond liner and re-filled the pond.  The plants and pondlife are now back in position.  Luckily we're not particularly overlooked in our garden.  If we were, I'm not sure what the neighbours would have made of a man, seemingly covered in mud, standing in and swearing at a hole in the ground at 1 am.

In other news, I was finally able to watch The Colour Room, a film directed by Claire McCarthy, whose credits include the mesmerising TV adaptation of The Luminaries.  

The Colour Room, starring Phoebe Dynevor, Matthew Goode and David Morrissey, charts the meteoric rise of ceramicist Clarice Cliff from factory floor girl to owner/artist.  

I was fortunate enough to do a stint as a filming assistant on this earlier in the year when the Black Country Living Museum was used as a location.  The film didn't disappoint.  

If anyone has any spare Bizarre range items lying around (now commanding prices upwards of £200 on Ebay), I'd be more than happy to take them off your hands.

The vibrant colours beloved by Cliff are evident all around us right now.  I'm estimating that we have perhaps one more week of falling leaves and Autumn colours before winter's shades of grey colour palette takes over.

The oak tree leaves - always the last to fall - are rapidly turning now.  They won't be long.

The ferns and bracken are enjoying a final flourish.

The trees golden tips are scorched orange and red now and the slightest whisper of wind will take them.

Seed heads are adopting their final poses.

But there are still pops of colour evident in the yellow lit gorse bushes.

All aboard the Autumn Express!  Here's a timely shot of a yellow diesel engine on the Severn Valley Railway passing through the autumn landscape captured on our walk yesterday.

This distant shot of a sailing yacht on Trimpley Reservoir taken through the trees from a nearby hillside was barely edited - just look at the colours in that landscape!

The journey home made for some challenging photography conditions.  These photos taken with my Nikon from the passenger seat of a moving car through a dirty windscreen, are my attempts to capture the fiery glow from last night's sunset, lighting up the trees.

This year's colour display has been late to arrive and all too fleeting, but so inspiring.