impressions along the way

It's been a long time!

2010-05-20T14:53:00.000+01:00

Two people who've signed up to follow this blog have reminded me of its existence! I know it's been a long time since I posted here, mainly cos I've been posting everything over on my main blog, but also because I haven't had the time to go out and about taking photos like I'd like to. Here's a random collection of some I did manage to take over the last year or so.

From our trip to Westgate-on-Sea

2008-05-27T19:37:00.006+01:00

Visiting friends and taking in the fresh air (and visiting the Shell Grotto in Margate)

Kew Gardens

2008-04-15T18:21:00.003+01:00

These are from my visit to Kew Gardens with my friend Mad last week...the weather was glorious. We ate lunch in the sun, and spent the whole day there and saw pretty much the whole of Kew, including a woodpecker and a peacock strutting his stuff, but I only took these few pictures. Unfortunately we were a bit too early for the bluebell carpet. But, there were still a few Henry Moores that hadn't been removed yet.

It's been awhile...

2008-04-02T11:37:00.005+01:00

...since I updated this blog, I know. But I've been preoccupied. Here's the belly at 23 weeks.

Hope you are all enjoying British Summer Time!

From the gardens of La Quinta de las Cruces (Madeira)

2007-12-22T14:28:00.000Z

La Quinta de las Cruces was a grand old house near our hotel. We couldn't get in to see the house, but the gardens were open.

Madeira's parks and gardens are lush and tropical, even though the climate stays fairly temperate all year round, temperatures ranging from about 19C - 29C from winter to summer.

The day we visited this garden, it was overcast, but somehow that didn't matter. In fact, it made the air feel fresher and lighter.

The last 5 photos at the bottom of this post are of an amazing tree that was growing everywhere. The flowers resemble oversized courgette flowers and they have the most beautiful delicate scent.

Madeira (Monte Palace & Tropical Botanical Gardens)

2007-12-22T14:24:00.000Z

This garden is one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. It was a 10 minute cable car ride up the "monte" from Funchal town and set in a huge valley-like amount of land, it is filled with lush greenery from all over the world and a mixture of Japanese style gardens, orchid houses, carp ponds and lakes, and various classical style ponds and waterfalls and lawns complete with mosaic walls showing Madeira's history.

The photos I have taken don't really do it justice. It was a gorgeous, peaceful experience, the highlight of the trip for me.

Madeira (Funchal Town)

2007-12-22T14:18:00.001Z

Madeira is very hilly. Indeed, our hotel was up a mega steep hill. Considering that most of the tourist population is over 60, walking up these hills made me feel rather pathetic!

Funchal was very quiet over the weekend. The town seemed to shut down about 10:30pm, but they certainly didn't stint on the xmas lights. There was a huge array of lights on all the main streets, and even music piped onto some of the very main roads (Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole...my parents would have loved it).

The coast itself wasn't that pretty, the beaches in Funchal are very rocky, so people tend to hop on the ferry to the nearby island of Porto Santo for the idyllic white sandy beach experience, but it wasn't quite warm enough for us to do so.

All in all, it was a lovely, quiet, relaxing weekend and I really loved the tropical gardens, but it's probably the kind of holiday I'd recommend mainly to my parents or grandparents.

final edit

2007-11-20T23:05:00.000Z

Having spotted the last post about her, Lottie decides she is going to edit all of my cat content from now on.

Lottie tries to assert herself

2007-11-20T21:34:00.000Z

If I stay very still, they might not even notice I'm here. (She's not supposed to be in the bedroom you see.)

Rainbow

2007-11-20T18:26:00.000Z

Do you see it's faint double across the top? Now that was a sacred/mindful moment.

And here are some random things:

1) Lottie has taken to chewing my hair.

2) P's out tonight and I feel lonely.

3) I haven't seen my parents in nearly 3 years, and my brother for longer than that.

4) I started my morning writing sessions again today cos I missed it - the feel of my black ink pen across the page and the headspace I get from doing it which is very much like meditation.

5) I've been an avid, passionate reader since I was a child. But I've always found it hard to name a favourite writer, or a favourite book. But having recently discovered the quiet and beautiful genius of Alice Munro, I happily and heartily name her as my favourite writer. If you haven't read any of her stories yet, you MUST. Right now!!

the weather

2007-11-15T14:26:00.001Z

Today is the first day since coming down with the lurgy that I noticed what's going on outside. I haven't been outside for 5 days, and have been too out of it to even notice what kind of day it is. But today, I noticed. The sun was shining, the sky was a clear blue. So I put my winter coat on and ventured into the garden.

I was surprised to find that it was quite warm in the sunshine. It was quiet, there was practically no breeze, and I found a lone dandelion growing in the garden.

Jakey & Lottie soon joined me. Here's a little video I couldn't resist taking when Lottie started rolling around on her back in a very unladylike fashion.

As you can see, I have yet to master the art of video making. At the end, you can't see very well in the video what Jakey is staring at, but here is a closeup.

simple pleasures

2007-11-12T17:17:00.000Z

I've been in bed all day. About an hour ago, I dragged myself into the kitchen, shuffling about in my pajamas and flannel bathrobe, the cats watching me with little quizzical tilts of the head. I'm in the grip of a horrid flu. It's my second cold in a month, but this one is far worse than the first one. I hadn't had anything to eat all day except for a cup of miso soup, and I suddenly had a craving for toast and jam. I hardly ever eat jam. I remembered today that I only tend to crave it when I am sick.

Lately, I have been reading about the my sacred life project on a few blogs. The idea is to photograph something sacred each day for a month, whatever is sacred to you. The idea is to connect you with sacredness in every day life. I really liked this idea and wanted to do it. Then I began to think about what these things might be and what makes them sacred and I realised that the thing that makes something sacred is something that I cannot photograph. And that is a certain state of mind, a state of awareness, mindfulness.

I have been interested in zen buddhism for a long time, but have never had a regular meditation practise. Then I realised that what I thought meditation had to be (sitting still on a cushion and stilling the mind) is only one way of meditating. There is also walking meditation, there is yoga, you can meditate while lying down, washing the dishes, cooking dinner, having a shower. It all depends on your state of mind.

Recently, I came across some writings by Jon Kabat-Zinn who defines mindfulness as paying attention in a particular way; being awake, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgementally. The non-judgemental bit is the key thing for me.

Practising mindfulness therefore, is like switching on your ability to truly appreciate the every day moments of your life, the ability to enjoy the simple pleasures that might otherwise just be thought of as dull and boring habits. And so this is what I am going to write about, these mindful moments, these simple pleasures. Things like eating brown toast with strawberry jam and a bowl of peas with butter.

After I had my toast, I had a sudden and intense craving for peas. I watched them as they boiled in the pan. Did you ever notice how they start off at the bottom, and then, as the water heats up, each pea bobs to the surface in its own time. And then, when they are ready, they release a subtle smell of "green". Being ill does force you to slow down. All your movements feel pronounced, some senses are dulled but others are heightened.

I ate the peas with a dollop of sunflower butter and a dash of salt. A bowl of steaming peas never tasted so good.

5 good things

2007-11-11T14:18:00.000Z

Name 5 good things right here, right now:

1) Amina playing in the background peppered with scents and splashes from P's bath

2) the cup of tea P brought me before getting into his bath

3) P

4) Jakey & Lottie asleep in the room with me

5) Being here now

Spied on Kelly's blog.

Underground

2007-11-10T12:19:00.001Z

out my window

2007-11-10T11:57:00.001Z

This week I watched this tree across the street from us, change. I can't believe it shed its leaves so quickly!!

A day and night in London

2007-10-28T13:07:00.000Z

Walking in the woods

2007-10-28T12:53:00.001Z

Just a few pictures from our walks in the woods round Congleton where Paul grew up.

Biddulph Grange Gardens, Congleton

2007-10-28T12:48:00.000Z

These are from our trip up North to Congleton.

Jakey missed me...

2007-10-17T19:34:00.001+01:00

I've been walking in the woods...

2007-10-16T22:28:00.000+01:00

More photos coming soon...

London graffiti art

2007-10-16T22:12:00.000+01:00

I'm pretty sure the top one is one of Banksy's. These were found near Chalk Farm.

a recipe for comfort eating (for one deep breath)

2007-09-19T10:49:00.000+01:00

comfort eating

breathe in scent of steaming redskins
mash with butter, cream and salt
eat straight from the pot

(it works every time!)

a blissful day in whitstable with mad

2007-08-30T17:55:00.000+01:00

Claudia sneaks up on Jakey

2007-08-27T20:26:00.000+01:00

This is little Claudia, the kitten we are looking after for a friend, sneaking up on Jakey. She can't seem to decide whether she likes him or not, but she's stopped hissing at him now, so maybe they will actually play together before the week is out. Lottie unfortunately, is very unhappy about our little visitor and is staying well away.

daybreak

2007-08-22T16:06:00.000+01:00

mud white dawn
another summer day
replaced by glaswegian fall
I burrow back into sleep
dreams of warmth buried deep

compare and contrast for one deep breath

2007-07-31T20:50:00.000+01:00

metal beaked cranes
heads lifted to the sky
forgotten bird cries

some photos from my trip to manchester

2007-07-31T20:44:00.000+01:00

Manchester Craft Centre

Salford Quays

the art of sleeping

2007-07-31T18:56:00.000+01:00

bodies of water for one deep breath

2007-07-17T11:23:00.000+01:00

still surface

mirror for the sky

vast blue heart

(photo above taken at Snowdonia National Park, Wales)

struck by light

silent grandeur

on our shore

(photo above taken at a secret location)

coool cats

2007-07-15T23:06:00.000+01:00

feathered friends for one deep breath

2007-07-10T19:18:00.000+01:00

wet from the pond
swimmers huddle under towels
swans without feathers

~

even feathered friends
require maintenance
bags of squirming worms

~

yellow feathers strewn
tracing a course
playground for the cat

blue breasted dream
hummingbird in Notting Hill?
Impossible!

I endeavour to write haiku from my own experiences. So when I saw the topic this week I was a little worried. I tried to think of beautiful moments I'd had with birds, moments of profound and uplifiting connection with nature.

Unfortunately, I could only think of unpleasant ones - one legged pigeons, greedy raucous gulls, my cousin being pecked by a stork in a zoo, the Hitchcock film, my father's birds escaping and dead budgies. Even my supposed sighting of a hummingbird in London one hot summer about 10 years ago is tinged with sourness because nobody believed I saw it.

One person in particular that I told about my sighting was fervently adamant that I was mistaken. This person was in her 60s, always knew the names of everything and always carried a mini screwdriver set with her. All in all, she was a force to be reckoned with, and she was sort of my boss, so I was in no position to reckon. Also I couldn't think of any reason why she would be so vehement about it unless a) she was on the verge of dementia but this smacks of ageism so I couldn't really hold on to that one or, b) she was prone to unreasonable jealousy about unusual urban bird sightings that she wasn't party to.

Anyway, all the disbelief wore me down so I'm not even sure about what I saw anymore.

Perhaps I should spend more time in the countryside to build up my reckoning experience, at least when it comes to recognising birds.

So these are my offerings and why they came out the way they did, thanks for reading this far.

The drawing is an ink and watercolour collage. The fragment of cloth came from an old skirt.

The little feather came from the budgie that our old cat Caesar probably helped along to a premature end. Sorry little one.

For other haiku on feathered friends, go here.

one of my favourite haiku

2007-07-08T19:18:00.001+01:00

"The temple bell stops

but the sound keeps coming

out of the flowers"

- Basho

seven forgotten treasures

2007-07-08T18:47:00.000+01:00

Isn't it funny how you can remember having something, are certain you still have it, and go looking for it, in all the places you're sure it has to be, the place you used to keep it, but don't remember the moment you decided to throw it out or give it away? I was sure I had a bunch of felt pieces. I went looking for them in all my boxes of stuff this afternoon. I wanted to do something with the buttons I got in Italy, but...I couldn't find the felt anywhere. Either I've used it all up, or I gave it away. I got the felt many years ago you see, at least 6 or 7 (yes, I do hoarde!), to make bean bag donkeys.

So anyway, in my search for the felt, I found some things I'd forgotten about that made me go...oh! I'd forgotten all about you! Things I've had for a few years and which made me smile.

1) A pen holder, bought in Thailand, which is now on my desk.

2) A fairy / witch I made out of fimo and glitter

3) A roll of black and white film (50 ISO) which expired over 4 years ago. I'm going to dust off my manual camera and use it anyway and see what comes out.

4) Some very small hardbacked notebooks which have actually been filled ~ these came from a wonderful shop called Neal Street East which is no longer there...they had a basement full of colourful cheap nick nacks from around the world where I could easily lose myself for hours!

5) A box of words...I remember cutting these words up for a writing group exercise at least 3 years ago now!!

6) A felt covered blank book from Paperchase which I never used. I'm determined to find a use for it now.

7) Some silk cast offs from a haberdashery in St Ives...such a gorgeous colour. Must find a use for this too!

So there you go...what small treasures have you forgotten about? Tell me about them!

saturday afternoon haiku

2007-07-07T18:01:00.000+01:00

late wind stirs

the scent of frying spices

yellow ladybird drops

swift chasing gull

aeroplane coasting the blue

the cats roll over

soft treads on the grass

shine on her fur

my heart leaps

hanging on the line

two icecream sundaes appear

pattern becomes clear

on criticism

2007-07-06T19:06:00.001+01:00

This post is in response to a critique received from Gerald for my latest one deep breath haikus which are here. They are also repeated below, for ease of reading. There are no pictures in this post, and it's long, so you don't have to read it. But I feel rather passionately about it, so it would make me happy if you (meaning anyone who happens along, not anyone specifically) at least tried. And by all means, do tell me what you think, if you want to.

~

Writing as a haiku novice and an imperfect being, I have this to say about criticism: it isn’t an easy thing to take at the best of times, even if it is asked for, and in a sphere like the internet where the boundaries of the relationships between the people who interact and the situations in which they interact haven’t necessarily been established or clarified, it can be even trickier.

We don’t know who we’re encountering or much, if anything, about people or their intentions. We might not know what entitles someone to give critique, or to make what they have to say worth listening to. It could be they are a renowned poetry professor who’s had many volumes of work published, or an experienced teacher, or an avid insightful reader, or someone who is used to giving critique and is often asked for their opinion. But this might not be obvious and even if it is, it’s still receiving criticism from a stranger.

Personally, I started writing haiku from an instinctively exploratory and curious place, dipping my toes in the water. I wanted to enjoy the experience of writing without the aim of literary achievement. I’ve done other writing with that aim in mind and welcomed a change, free from the “editor” mindset. A friendly and welcoming forum like One Deep Breath (ODB) seemed like a breath of fresh air. So to someone like me, receiving a literary style critique, especially since it wasn’t asked for, could seem heavy-handed, unwelcome, patronising and perhaps even discouraging.

I also have difficulty with the idea of dismissing people who take criticism personally. This is because I’ve been witness to situations where criticism has been delivered in a manner that would be hard not to take personally. I’ve also made the mistake of giving unsolicited, well-intentioned criticism to someone I didn’t know on a poem that was deeply personal to them, at a time when they were particularly sensitive about the subject. It was a mistake because it hurt rather than helped them, regardless of my intention. So I don’t say this lightly. How one “should” respond and does respond depends on so many things. It depends on the writer’s intentions, it depends on the critic’s intentions, it depends on the context, the timing, and the way criticism is given. The ideal response, in my opinion, shouldn’t be entirely personal, but cannot entirely exclude it either – because people are, well, people.

Thus, I also don’t agree that there is no point offering an opinion to those who might take a critique personally. Rather that the way in which it is given be modified. And besides, if haiku is about feeling, then of course the criticism will feel personal on some level, no matter how it’s intended. Even the most experienced, widely published writers are nervous about how their work is received. Why should it be different for anyone else? I’m not saying critique is bad. But people are people. And context and timing matter.

As for me, what if I’m not ready for critique, or for critique at this level? What if I simply don’t want it? What if I’m writing on my relatively anonymous blog as opposed to going on a course or as part of a writing group or submitting for publication because I’m not interested in receiving critical analyses, because I don’t want the scrutiny that entails, because I’m tired of that whole mindset that can kill the joy of writing. Therefore, in the blogosphere especially, I think a more careful approach to commenting is required.

Having said that, Gerald’s comments made me think. And that’s fine, because I enjoy thinking. But I also had a personal reaction to his words. I’m human, and would rather have a personal response too, not just a purely logical one. There is a lot to be said for feelings and instinct. The challenge for me has been to get beyond my personal reaction, look at why I’ve reacted the way I have and listen to what he had to say, giving him the benefit of the doubt (because I don’t know him) that he had some entitlement to say it. And I did listen. It wasn’t easy, but I listened.

I didn’t agree with everything he said - I don’t think the purpose of receiving criticism is to agree, but rather to question and examine and then take what is useful but forget about what isn’t - but I’ve ultimately enjoyed the process and learned something from it, and have written down my responses to his critique below. The italicized words in red are his. Each of my haiku that he refers to is in blue.

~

“OK, I hope you'll take this critique in the spirit it is offered. You seem to feel the need to pack your poems out to fill the 5-7-5 syllable count - but haiku is about feeling not counting syllables.”

Yes, it’s true. I do try to stick to the 5-7-5 form. Yes haiku is about feeling, but, it can be said, so is other writing, so is prose, so are various forms of poetry, so is music or art. But haiku is not just about feeling it is also about composition. And what makes a haiku different from other forms of writing or composition, what makes it a haiku and not just a collection of words or phrases? For me personally, it is the form.

Having restrictions can make things positively challenging, make you think more deeply about the order of the words and their placement and how the slightest change can throw a new feeling, a new sound, a new meaning to the haiku. I don’t know much about haiku, but isn’t that what the purpose of form is? I didn’t even know until I discovered the ODB site that there are other forms, like tanga for example. The only form I’m familiar with is the one I remember from school, the 5-7-5. I’ve been putting “find out more about other haiku forms” on my to-do list for weeks now. I haven’t gotten round to it yet. Which is why I persist with the 5-7-5.

The form gives me a focus, a frame if you like, in which to contain the imagery and emotion and if I’m successful, the moment, I hope to convey. You don’t know me so you don’t know that I’m a bit of a stickler for things like this. I know that not everybody is, but I am, and I can only write from who I am and where I am at this moment.

As you’ve pointed out, I am a novice. I haven’t been writing haiku for long. Once I gain more experience and feel more at ease with the form, then I might feel more able to break it and experiment, and be freer. But for now, this is where I am, and I’m feeling my way along at my own slow pace.
~
Haiku 1:

morning bright evening light
earth’s speckled shadows falling
constant companion

“the first (haiku) packs far too much into the first line - is it morning or is it evening? or is morning just perhaps describing the evening brightness (my experience is the brightest suns are evening anyway)”

I thought this a rather presumptuous comment, and I had not intended to justify my writing in such detail when I decided to participate in ODB, because it does take some of the joy out of writing, and because everyone will have their own interpretation and spelling out mine might take away from that, but since you took the time to look at my work in detail, I will take the time to respond.

Bearing in mind the theme was shadow and light, the haiku is trying to be about that. The shadows cast by both morning and evening. The “point” of the haiku was to show that these shadows - cast by both morning and evening light, were the writer’s constant companions. I was following an image, a feeling – both of which are personal to me. But everyone will see something different, that’s what I like about the ODB forum. It was generous of you to share your experience of light with me, but I can only write from my own experience.

~

Haiku 2:

shadows in my heart
moonshine on your fingertips
the thunder passes

“#2 is very good though but you could usefully lose the definite article on line 3”

Thank you, but I disagree about the definite article. It’s there because it refers to a specific mood in a specific moment and not just thunder or weather in general. To me, therefore, the definite article is necessary.

~

Haiku 3:

morning on my bed
evening on the lavender
seasons on my landscape

“#3 is problematical as a haiku - whilst a "moment" can indeed stretch a whole day, haiku are best when describing a specific moment, morning or evening, rarely both at the same time.”

I think I can see what you mean by this. Again I had an image in mind, of the movement of the light as day progresses. I did struggle with how to convey it. How, in the morning, the sun would cast shadows onto my bedspread but by evening, the shadows had moved to the lavender in my garden. I guess what I need to express better here is the movement of the light, though there is a part of me that likes this haiku the way it is, but for other reasons.

~

Haiku 4:

snow bright cold goodbye
sun bright scorched beginnings
seasons on my skin

“#4 - you should try to avoid repeating words twice in a single haiku - they lose rather than gain impact thereby”

I would usually agree with you on this, but not here, because my repetition was deliberate. The haiku describes two different kinds of brightness – snow and sun, and using the same word, to me, emphasises the difference. But that’s just my opinion.

~

Haiku 5:

just like butterflies
the light moves across the floor
watch pounce pounce her swift white paws

“#5 - similes are better implied rather than stated -- something like

butterfly-soft
light moves across the floor
swift white paws pounce”

I can see your point about similes, perhaps the same can be said for criticism. I don’t feel that the rewriting of my haiku has necessarily helped your point. Mainly because they are no longer my words or my haiku, it’s become yours.

I don’t like the line butterfly-soft because that’s not the image I saw and it wasn’t soft. I also wrote the last line specifically like that because to me it captures the exact image of my cat watching and then pounce pouncing on the light with her swift white paws. I like the way that sounds (so much so that I broke with the 5-7-5 form!). I also like the way it makes me feel when I read it back to myself. But your comment has highlighted for me that perhaps the butterfly is not the best image to use in this instance, or that I need to find a better way of using it.

~

Haiku 6:

red and July sun
draws a fire tattoo of light
across our bared hips

“#6 a great image. ”red and July" sounds a bit awkward but I can't think of a better way to express it so perhaps it works just fine - in fact I really warm to this last one.”

Thank you. This made me wonder what image the red conjured up for you. Is it the same as the image I had in mind? It’s unlikely, but that doesn’t matter. One of the exciting things about sharing writing and opinion is that everyone’s response varies and each response is personal to the reader. Hanulf put it beautifully in response to the comments on her haiku.

She wrote, “Always interesting to see what others get out of one's writing - everyone sees something different, has a different favorite - sometimes a reader senses the experience one had at the writing moment, sometimes readers add new meaning through their own unique interpretation - which adds more depth and texture. I love hearing this kind of feedback.”

I like hearing this kind of feedback too, because it feels appropriate for the context we find ourselves in, and because it is learning by encouragement and by connecting with others' personal responses, which is what is meaningful to me.

Also perhaps the awkwardness you detect here could be described as dissonance? Maybe that’s what it is, and maybe that’s how it was intended?

On a penultimate note, I was drawn to this part of the quote that is on the sidebar of the ODB site:

"The primary purpose of reading and writing haiku is sharing moments of our lives that have moved us, pieces of experience and perception that we offer or receive as gifts.”

- William Higginson

I don’t know about others, but this is the spirit in which I want to participate in one deep breath. Maybe you could bear this in mind when you next give someone a critique of their offerings. They might not just be words; they might have been deeply personal, they might have come from someone’s heart and life. Be open to the possibility that your comments may not always be received in the way you intended them, whatever that may be. That is the nature of words. We don’t always know how they will be taken. It is also the nature of people.

Finally, it occurred to me that the idea of being a novice or a beginner has often been denigrated. But, I don’t necessarily mind being a novice. As the venerable Shunryu Suzuki said,

“The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, ready to doubt, and open to all the possibilities…In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.”

(from “Zen Mind, Beginners Mind”)

In which case, I will strive always to be a beginner.

All the best.

shadows and light ~ haiku for one deep breath

2007-07-04T10:13:00.000+01:00

~

morning bright evening light
earth’s speckled shadows falling
constant companion

~

shadows in my heart
moonshine on your fingertips
the thunder passes

~

morning on my bed
evening on the lavender
seasons on my landscape

~

snow bright cold goodbye
sun bright scorched beginnings
seasons on my skin

~

just like butterflies
the light moves across the floor
watch pounce pounce her swift white paws

~

red and July sun
draws a fire tattoo of light
across our bared hips

~

driftwood

2007-07-01T11:21:00.000+01:00

I love finding natural treasures. I also like things that look like something else. These pieces of driftwood were found on the beach at Fiorenzuola di Focara.

Our trip to Italy

2007-06-30T16:55:00.000+01:00

We've just come back from a lovely week spent in Italy, staying with friends near Urbino. When Paul & I arrived on the Friday, we were already tired after having woken up at 6am to catch our flight, and just a little stunned by the intense 30 degree heat. By the time we went out for our Chinese meal in Urbino in the evening, following our stroll through Fermignano, eating sorbet and buying buttons, we were famished and slightly delirious...well, at least I was.

At some point, which I think was after the Chinese style potato gnocchi (which were flat and "like cat's tongue" according to Na), but before the Chinese fruit (which reminded me disturbingly of dyed testicles) I started laughing so hard I cried, tears and all. This always seems to happen when I go out to dinner with Na. Anyway, when we got back to the town where Na and Mr M live, there was live music going on near their house. Despite this and the heat, I slept deeply and soundly and was very happy to be there. Below are more photos and ramblings on our holiday.

Urbino, courgette cake and firejumping on midsummer's eve

2007-06-30T16:35:00.000+01:00

Visiting Na at this time of year inevitably means eating a lot of courgettes. So we were sitting around the kitchen table and Na suddenly wonders out loud whether it would be possible to make a cake out of courgettes. When I tell her I'd just been thinking the same thing, she decided she had to try it. Using her recipe for carrot cake, she went ahead and made a courgette cake. It was full of sultanas, sesame seeds, linseeds and muscovado sugar and it was absolutely delicious!! Not having much taste itself, courgettes are ideal "flavour carriers" as Mr M put it.

We also spent the morning exploring Urbino, and the evening at a big country house that used to be a church where there was a party and bonfire for the feast of San Giovanni. We spent the last hour or so of daylight exploring a country lane near the house before going on to the party. At the party there was a lot of food, a lovely old couple that Na accidentally gave prune juice to after they'd asked for red wine, live music (Mr M's folk band played), folk dancing and fire jumping. I wasn't brave enough to try it, but Na, Mr M and Paul all had a go at jumping over the bonfire, and the kids were at it all night!! I also bought a worm hippopotamus (picture below) made by Sophia (aged 10?), we saw fireflies and went home with the smell of wood smoke in our clothes. What better way could you spend a midsummer's evening?

Bologna, Morandi and a most fantastic choral concert

2007-06-30T16:23:00.000+01:00

On Sunday, Paul and I caught the coach with Na, Mr M and the choir that Na sings with, to go to Bologna. We spent the afternoon in Bologna city before going out to Villa Smeralda on the outskirts of Bologna for the choral concert. While in Bologna, we also visited the Morandi museum. Above are just a few photos from the day.

The highlight of the day for me was listening to the choir Na sings with. I had this image of choirs singing churchy hymns and all traditional music. But Na's choir sang contemporary, interesting, unusual songs from all over the world including Sweden and Africa (the African song accompanied by Mr M on bongos), the whole experience gave me goosebumps. I loved every minute of it. Plus, she looked great in that dress, even if it did suffocate her in the heat. They all looked fantastic.

farmers for a morning (sort of)

2007-06-30T15:56:00.000+01:00

On Monday morning, we went to pick apricots for jam making and walnuts for liquer making. It was a hot sunny morning spent in the stunning countryside feeling connected with earth, nature and my own sweat.

I, with my citified ways, was completely ignorant of the fact that walnuts, before they turn brown with their hardened shell, are green and look like fruit. I guess perhaps they are fruit. To make liquer with, they need to be picked before they fall off the tree and turn brown. One of things that came out of spending a week in the Italian countryside was me wondering how things are grown. Like, for example, do you know how lentils grow? I didn't. They come from pods, like peas, but they are smaller and there aren't as many lentils in a pod as there are peas. There's so much I take for granted and am ignorant of, with shopping for my supermarket food. Like the concept of seasonal fruit and vegetables for example. Na and Mr M have an allotment and also know a bunch of organic farmers so they are practically self-sufficient and eat mainly locally grown, organic produce in season. It made buying bananas and potatoes feel very strange, things Paul and I do all the time in London! And that's not even getting into the whole question of how ethical the banana business is.

Plus the whole week we were there, we didn't watch any TV (Na and Mr M don't have a TV, nor a fridge) and hardly spent any time on the computer. Being there made me realise how much space city life occupies, space that was suddenly freed when we were not being bombarded by announcements, adverts and other noise and loudness. For a week, my head felt clear. And it's left me with a desire to find a way to rediscover and keep some of that clarity now that I'm back in London again.

Anyway, this is a photo of me and my friend mr apricot who was clearly delighted at being found. It was a happy moment for me too. I'm not even too sad to report that he's now part of a jar of homemade jam. It's how he would have wanted it to be.

We also stopped by a lovely church (pictures above) on the way home.

For some truly luscious photos and a bit more on jam and liquer making, go here.

Fiorenzuola, Gradara & Miro

2007-06-30T15:45:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday we drove to Fiorenzuola di Focara to go to the unspoilt beach there. We had fun trying to make our own sun shelter out of pieces of wood on the beach and a gorgeous Indian bedspread of Na's. Luckily it was a cloudy day because the wind kept blowing our shelter down. We swam a bit, drew a bit, collected bits of driftwood and snacked a bit. I also had fun playing with Paul's sticky uppy hair which had gotten that way because of the salt water!

Later we went to the nearby town of Gradara, which features in Dante's Divine Comedy. We lunched on potato gnocchi with olive sauce, artichokes and beans with oil. Then we went to see the Miro exhibition which was on in the town. It was a little disappointing, it was based around prints he did for books of poetry and felt like the pages were simply taken out of the books and framed. But some of the images were really beautiful.

In the evening when we went home, we had dinner in Na & Mr M's garden and Na made her aniseed seed biscuits. They are possibly the best biscuits I've ever tasted.

san leo

2007-06-30T15:35:00.000+01:00

On Wednesday, we went to San Leo, a lovely drive through the gorgeous countryside about an hour and a half away from Urbino. Apart from having three churches in such a small place, it also has a gallery and a museum of sacred art. These are just a few of the photos I took, which really didn't do the place justice.

In the evening when we got back to Na & Mr M's place, I borrowed Na's bicycle and Paul gave me a bike lesson. It's going to take more than a few lessons to get me riding I think, balance has never come naturally to me. But I did get a few interesting coloured bruises on my butt cheeks and knees (no one warned me about the intimacy I'd have to have with the saddle) and I did have fun trying. I also amused the townspeople, many of whom were children and old ladies cycling by breezily while quietly chuckling away at my plight.

the museum of natural colours & swimming in the river

2007-06-30T15:21:00.000+01:00

On our last day, we visited this small and lovely museum of natural colours (showing how colour pigments are made from plants) and then spent the afternoon swimming at a watering hole in a nearby river with na and her mr m. It's been years since I swam in a river, the water was cold but refreshing, and made my skin feel amazingly soft afterwards. Mr M found a frisbee in the trees so they had fun tossing that around and when it landed in the water, Mr M was sent into the water to fetch it. Then a long haired drummer came down and while swimming, lost his keys. Paul's goggles helped him find them!

After, we went to Isabella's agritourist run farm at Pieve del Colle for a gorgeous meal of barley salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh basil, courgette roasted with wild fennel, green lentils, green beans with mint, and some toasted home made bread with garlic and olive oil. We saw the sun set over the hills and the full moon on our way home.

Next year, we've been instructed to come earlier or later, to avoid the courgettes! But I don't mind courgettes that much. Plus, I love seeing those fields of blooming sunflowers.

On holiday in Italy...see you in a week or so!

2007-06-21T22:46:00.001+01:00

(wild)flowers for one deep breath

2007-06-19T17:43:00.000+01:00

I remember when
you said my name as if I
was a flower, a flame

you wear motherhood

with reluctance, a dress of

thick thorny flowers

under shifting skies

green seas get away from me

poppies wave goodbye

your face full of hope

your arms full of sunflowers

my answer silenced

last minute bouquet
keeping up the white charade
petals wilt to grey

I didn't mean for everything to come out sad! Oh well! For more flower inspired haiku, go here.

the meme of three

2007-06-16T20:32:00.000+01:00

I'm not sure how memes get started, but I guess someone has to start them, so here's one I made up as an extension / adaptation of an email a friend sent me that got me thinking...feel free to take it and make it your own!

Three jobs I’ve had:
1. Office manager
2. Volunteer Counsellor for a drop-in centre in Birmingham
3. Extra in a Greek chocolate commercial

Three places I’ve lived:
1. Jerusalem, Israel
2. Damascus, Syria
3. Long Island, New York

Three places I’d like to visit which I’ve never been:
1. Bolivia
2. Iceland
3. China

Three most unforgettable places I’ve been on holiday:
1. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
2. Oaxaca, Mexico
3. The Khaokob Caves, Southern Thailand near Krabi (because the claustrophobic boat ride through the caves was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done)

Three things that bring me comfort:
1. A cat on my lap
2. A truly good book
3. A great big hug

Three of the most memorable books I read last year:
1. On The Black Hill - Bruce Chatwin
2. Maps for Lost Lovers - Nadeem Aslam
3. Under The Skin – Michel Faber

Three books that I started because I felt I ought to, but didn’t finish:
1. One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
2. Swann’s way – Proust
3. Sexus – Henry Miller

Three songs that give me goosebumps:
1. Coles Corner – Richard Hawley (that whole album does)
2. Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen (sung by Kathryn Williams)
3. It’s raining today – Scott Walker

Three loved films from my childhood:
1. The Jungle Book (the 1960’s version with all the singing)
2. Grease
3. ET

The last three films I saw are:
1. Tell No One (just out in the cinema yesterday)
2. The Marriage of Maria Braun (Fassbinder film, on DVD)
3. El Topo (Jodorowsky film, on DVD)

Three things I didn’t do as a child that I wish I had:
1. Learn to ride a bicycle
2. Learn to play the piano
3. Learn to play the guitar

Three things I’d like to do that I haven’t done yet:
1. Have a child, be a mother
2. Take said child or children (when it is/they are old enough) and its/their father and go on a proper road trip together one summer in a camper van, exploring a place we’ve never been before
3. Write a book I’m happy with

The three people I’m going to tag with this meme:

1. Shadowsandclouds
2. Changapeluda
3. Nina

Feel free to do it yourself if you wish. If you do, let me know, I’ll come over and read it.

Lottie and her hiding places

2007-06-16T17:59:00.000+01:00

This is our Lottie. She has a penchant for hiding. The first day she was with us, she spent the first few hours hiding behind our sofa. Now, every time she gets frightened, she hides there. She was there the whole week we had builders in painting the windows. And she was there this morning during the thunderstorm.

I don't much care for plain old rain, but I do love a thunderstorm. Lottie, however, does not. This is how I found her (behind the sofa). She let me stroke her head but she didn't come out till it was over.

Other times, she likes to explore dark spots for potential hidey holes. Here she is poking round my shelves...

And when she's happy, she likes to sit on top of my work table and look out the window. Here she is with my apples....

I've had cats for nearly three years now, and I can't imagine how I ever got by without them!

peace

2007-06-16T15:40:00.000+01:00

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." - Mother Teresa

old prayers (haiku for one deep breath)

2007-06-13T16:45:00.000+01:00

Once I asked to be
filled with Love. Didn’t count on
forgetting its name.

the blue backed magpie

crosses my path and flinches

into my pale dreams

opening up

2007-06-13T12:48:00.000+01:00

Ok, I admit it, I do read my horoscope every now and then. A lot of them are rubbish. But a few months ago, a friend forwarded me a link to horoscopes with a difference, written by a fella called Rob Breszny. Even if you don't take any notice of the advice given, the horoscopes themselves are so poetic and wacky, I just enjoy reading them. Last week's Leo horoscope was so beautiful I copied it and saved it.

"The geography of your heart is evolving. In places, coastlines are disappearing. Elsewhere, new islands have risen out of the sea. Boundaries are shifting, as some nations dissolve and others are born. Even the climate is changing, with warm winds blowing where once there was year-round chill, and monsoon-like conditions invading desert ecosystems. Roads that formerly led to the center of the action no longer do, and highways that used to be peripheral are now main routes. I suggest you take note of all this by redrawing your map, Leo. Get up to date with your heart's new landscapes."

This week's Aquarius horoscope (mine) is equally beautiful. So I'm sharing it.

"Are we being sentimentally unscientific when we refer to the heart as the seat of the soul? Or does that idea contain a truth that surpasses reductive rationalism? In *A Dictionary of Symbols,* J.E. Cirlot reports that in the Jewish tradition, meditation involves "speaking to one's heart." According to Christian tradition, the Kingdom of God resides in the heart. Hindus say the supreme god Brahma lives there, and in Islam, the heart is referred to as the throne of God. If you can get your modern prejudices out of the way, Aquarius, your next assignment is to have a sustained, intimate, heart-to-heart communion with your heart. Learn more about its secret thoughts. Converse with it as if it were the literal source of your emotional intelligence. Proceed on the hypothesis, as French philosopher Pascal did, that "great thoughts come from the heart."

So far I've limited myself to just posting drawings and some photos on my blogs. I've been wary of being too personal, mainly because of the thought of someone I vaguely but don't really know somehow stumbling upon them and reading them. Not the people who are my friends, but people I don't know well enough to normally share my thoughts with. But then again, maybe I'm being too presumptuous that my life would be that interesting to anyone. And if I don't want to reveal myself then why have a blog at all? And what am I afraid of? Being known? Being judged? If I'm going to be judged, I'm going to be judged anyway. And what does one person's judgement matter over another's, especially the imagined judgement from someone I don't even know? I guess I don't want to be misjudged. But I can't control what other people think of me. All I can do is be me, whatever that means. So there. This means I might be getting more personal. Or not. We'll see. It depends on my level of paranoia when I next sit down to blog.

accidental

2007-06-12T19:51:00.001+01:00

art on the london skyline

2007-06-09T16:33:00.000+01:00

There's an Antony Gormley exhibition going on at the Hayward Gallery in London until August. As part of the exhibition, a series of bronze sculptures of the artist's body have been placed on top of various buildings in London, (event horizon), mainly around the South Bank. Here's one I spied out my window at work.

crouch end shrubbery

2007-06-03T14:57:00.000+01:00

the joy of cats

2007-06-03T14:45:00.000+01:00

Lottie likes feet. Stand still for a second and she's there.
Lottie the foot hugger.

She also likes to nap on my lap when I'm trying to type.

Jakey, the sleep artist.

He likes cushions

Shameless puss.

soft focus kitties (shot through a blue sweet wrapping filter)

2007-05-29T16:28:00.000+01:00

Lottie doing her Marlene Dietrich...

Jakey, the morning after the bender..."Some days just disappear in a haze of whiskey and smoke man...now where's my breakfast?"

oooh! oooh! a blossom!

2007-05-29T16:25:00.000+01:00

Fallen off heads continue to grow and blossom if placed in a bowl of water. There you go...there is hope!

flowers in a bowl

2007-05-27T15:14:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I bought some chrysanthemums and sweet williams. It was a miserable grey day and I needed cheering up. When I got them home and unwrapped them, I found that loads of the chrysanthemum flower heads had snapped off or were on the verge of snapping off the stems. At first I despaired that I'd end up with a bunch of headless stems for our vases, but then I gathered them all up and put them in a bowl of water. Sometimes heads falling off can be pretty after all.

some pictures from my work room, with cat

2007-05-16T12:15:00.000+01:00

abandoned church, Llandudno, North Wales

2007-05-05T21:38:00.000+01:00

The West Beach, Llandudno, North Wales

2007-05-04T18:09:00.000+01:00

Taking the steam train from Blaenau Ffestiniog

2007-05-04T17:57:00.000+01:00

Snowdonia National Park, Tan-y-Bwlch

2007-05-04T17:55:00.000+01:00

On The Great Orme, Llandudno

2007-05-04T17:51:00.000+01:00

Some lovely Welsh greenery

2007-05-04T17:48:00.000+01:00

Some images from Llandudno Pier

2007-05-04T17:45:00.000+01:00

Found

2007-04-12T22:11:00.000+01:00

More cat cuteness...or, sleeping is an art

2007-04-01T15:12:00.000+01:00

the cats went out today!

2007-03-28T17:21:00.000+01:00

It's hard work being a cat....sigh!

2007-03-16T18:36:00.000Z

Lotty and Jakey have arrived!

2007-03-11T14:37:00.000Z

Lotty and Jakey have finally joined our family. Their owner brought them round last night and they seem to be settling in well. They are extremely affectionate and love being stroked. Lotty is the black and white female who looks like Caesar. In fact, for those of you who met Caesar, you'd be forgiven for thinking these pictures are of him, but they aren't! Jakey is the ginger tom. Lotty likes hiding places and is a bit more shy, but will happily crawl right up to you for a good cuddle. Jakey is more independent and relaxed but is very much a lap cat too! He also likes to sit with his tongue out a bit, as you can see in the photo above. They are still a little stunned, as you'd imagine, but I think they're going to be happy with us.

climbing the walls

2007-03-07T16:59:00.000Z

Rain

2007-02-28T12:45:00.000Z

Flying over Mexico

2007-02-14T12:36:00.000Z

Here, and further down the page, you'll find some of the photos I took from our recent trip to Mexico. The photos in this post were taken at the prettiest airport I've ever seen, Huatulco airport, on the South Coast of Oaxaca State which looked more like a holiday resort than an airport with its high thatched roofs and bright white walls. The floaty clouds are from our flight from Huatulco back to Mexico City.

I didn't take any pictures of the beaches populated with dive-bombing pelicans we swam at and snorkelled in, but Paul did, have a look here. In the meantime, enjoy!

Images from Oaxaca City, Mexico

2007-02-14T12:17:00.000Z

From top to bottom:

The Institute of Graphic Arts courtyard;

The Institute of Graphic Arts (which has an excellent library on anything to do with drawing!!);

La Casa de La Tia hotel where we stayed (our room was upstairs, we had the nice balcony to lounge on), and last but not least, at the very bottom is a photo of the Flor de Loto vegetarian friendly restaurant where we spent a lot of time when we were in Oaxaca.

We also discovered a wonderful little restaurant just before we left Oaxaca called Tumateca (which I don't have a photo of). It's run by a couple of cool wonder chefs from Italy, Helena & Fabrizio. They moved to Mexico three years ago and ran a bakery in Oaxaca before they opened their restaurant. They made us the best meal we had in Mexico. Everything was freshly made by them as we waited. We ate like pigs. Helena also gave Paul a free shot of Mezcal (a brown tequila) out of her own personal stash and talked to us about the problems Oaxaca has been facing recently. If you ever visit Oaxaca, pop in and say hi and treat yourself to a wonderful meal. They're on Avenida Morelos.

Sorry about any weird formatting you might find, I've tried to fix it but blogger doesn't always cooperate, or perhaps it's my crap knowledge of HTML. Please do scroll down the page for lots more photos from Mexico.

Images from Oaxaca City, my favourite place in Mexico

2007-02-14T12:08:00.000Z

The Ghandi quote on the yellow building reads, "There is no way to peace, peace is the way." Very poignant in a city that has suffered recent violent repression by the government in response to peaceful protests against the outcome of the elections held last year.

Images from Tepoztlan, a small village outside Mexico City

2007-02-14T11:54:00.000Z

From top to bottom:

Shadows at the museum housing a collection of pre-hispanic art;

an old church (which when the locals walk past it, they turn to the open door, bow their heads and cross themselves before walking on);

a most wonderful restaurant called Botuan we found down a side-street run by super attentive and fantastic Spanish chefs (the meal featured here is Vietnamese Spring Rolls in a spicy tangy peanut sauce, not very Mexican, but it was vegan and exquisite);

the mountains in the background surrounding the town; the pyramid built on top of the mountains for the god Tepoztecatl.

Images from Tepoztlan, a small village outside of Mexico City

2007-02-14T11:44:00.000Z

From top to bottom:

Arched doorway of the entrance to the old convent, decorated with an elaborate seed mural;

Details from the seed mural;

Images from the old convent and church

From the Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Modern Art, Chapultepec, Mexico City

2007-02-14T11:32:00.000Z

From top to bottom:

The dove of peace by Armando Ortega Orozco;

The End or The Fallen Man by Armando Ortega Orozco;

La Familia by Black Kyle Frank;

For the last three images I don't have the names of the sculptor, sorry.

Woman with Raised Head, Seated Woman and not sure of title.

Visiting La Casa Azul, Frida's Blue House (or the Frida Kahlo Museum)

2007-02-14T11:16:00.000Z

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the house but if you've seen the film Frida, you'll feel like you've been there before. It has a special atmosphere.

We also visited the adjoining houses where Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera lived and worked, and saw numerous Diego Rivera murals. However, very few of Frida's paintings seem to be in galleries in Mexico. We went to loads of galleries and only saw one of her works, the painting The Two Fridas at the Museum of Modern Art in Chapultepec, Mexico City. I'm not sure where most of her paintings are, but we were lucky enough to catch the Tate Modern exhibition of her work last year and visiting Mexico and seeing Mexican culture and other Mexican artists' work helps to put it into context and see where she got her inspiration from.

Some images from Mexico City

2007-02-14T11:06:00.000Z

From top to bottom:

Sunday afternoon in the Zocalo (people of all ages and backgrounds watch or take part in a peaceful protest against the government's violent repression of demonstrations in Oaxaca);

A woman walks her pet duck down the street; one of many colourful juice bars;

licuados (smoothies made with water and fresh fruit juice) of guanabana and fresa (guanabana and strawberry respectively), and by the way, in Mexico, potatoes are called Papas (rather than patatas) so that's chips that's on sale there, not Dads, it was a little perplexing at first, I can tell you;

a pointsettia tree (they grow everywhere in Mexico!);

a poinsettia bloom and maroon truck on a Coyoacan suburb street corner; skeletons on sale outside the Frida Kahlo museum (not real ones I should add), and I've never seen so many old-style VW Beetles in any other country as I did in Mexico, there are even cute green ones that are Taxis in Mexico City;

a street in the suburb of San Angel.

Caesar, grief and life

2007-01-12T20:58:00.000Z

A week ago today, we lost our Caesar to kidney failure. It's been an emotional week, and continues to be emotional. Grief does strange and unexpected things to you.

Yesterday, Ellen left a comment on my other blog, sending her sympathy. She also said that Caesar was "probably lining up another kitty to send your way!"

A few hours later, I received an email via a friend of a friend of a friend who has two cats that need rehoming. A black and white female and a ginger tom. When I opened the photo of the black and white female (Lotty), I felt as if I'd been shocked with a cotton ball of lightning, it felt soft yet hard at the same time and I felt it in my entire body. Just take a look at the photos below. The top one is Caesar, the bottom one is Lotty. It felt like something momentous was happening, and the whole day I went around with a huge lump in my chest. When I talked to Paul though, he gently told me that he thought it would be too soon to take on two new cats, especially one that looked so much like Caesar. And he's probably right. But we're going to leave it to fate. If they still haven't found homes after we come back from our holiday in February, then we might just be meant to be in each other's lives after all.

Happy New Year

2007-01-02T16:35:00.000Z

A day in Southend with Vicky

2006-12-29T17:47:00.000Z

our xmas lights

2006-12-29T17:45:00.000Z

art in the landscape (St Ives, Cornwall)

2006-12-15T21:42:00.000Z

Blue, not blue (from our trip to St Ives)

2006-12-15T21:40:00.000Z

Harbour lines, St Ives

2006-12-15T21:36:00.000Z

Tall trees round Alexandra Palace

2006-11-19T18:33:00.000Z

Golden leaves, golden light (more from Ally Pally)

2006-11-19T18:30:00.000Z

More again from Alexandra Palace

2006-11-19T18:28:00.000Z

The empty deer enclosure

There's nothing like an avenue of trees

A walk in Epping Forest

2006-11-12T12:35:00.000Z

perspective

2006-10-30T18:13:00.000Z

the flower head and the pattern
Originally uploaded by tammy too.

The pattern within the sunflower head.
So this was the warm sunny day last week where I finally harvested the sunflower seeds from our giant sunflowers. I had some fun too!

Unfortunately, Blogger failed to upload these pictures every single time I tried over the last week, so I had to blog them separately via flickr.

If you want to see what else I did with my sunflower patterns, go here and here.

seed face close up

2006-10-30T18:12:00.000Z

seed face close up
Originally uploaded by tammy too.

I just love the patterns on the seed face.

Picking the sunflower seeds

2006-10-30T18:10:00.000Z

Caesar helps me pick the sunflower seeds
Originally uploaded by tammy too.

Caesar helps me pick sunflower seeds.

autumn walk on hampstead heath

2006-10-06T16:34:00.000+01:00

night sky

2006-09-23T20:03:00.000+01:00

starface

2006-09-03T18:46:00.000+01:00

Have you ever looked at a sunflower up close? Don't you think that it looks like it's full of tiny little stars? This is one of the sunflowers from our garden, each one is at a different stage. This one looks like it's about to open up and launch some magic.

a day in richmond

2006-08-27T12:31:00.000+01:00

Festival notes

2006-08-14T19:56:00.000+01:00

Richard Hawley on the first night. Foul-mouthed, irreverent and yet, charming. Great music too.

Below, Kissmet, Bhangra fused lively pop. Got us all dancing on Saturday afternoon.

Below, Nouvelle Vague on Saturay evening. Mad, entertaining, wonderful.

And below them, Psapp, cat loving London band, the last act Paul & I saw on Saturday night.

Below, the indoor stage packed out waiting for the Buzzcocks. Who were very very loud.

Paul (above), and I (below), waiting for the Guillemots to come on, Sunday evening.

And below that, Nan & I crash out on the sofas inside De Montfort Hall, after having seen Isobel Campbell.

It was also a child friendly festival.

And Leicester's pretty too!

So, just got back from 3 days and 3 nights camping in Leicester for the Summer Sundae festival. We ate well, we stayed warm and dry even though it rained all through Saturday night and most of Sunday, and we saw a lot of great bands. What more could anyone ask for?

My favourites were: Richard Hawley, Seth Lakeman (what a fiddler!), Psapp (funky weird music and woollen cats being tossed into the audience) on Friday night.

Kissmet (got us hopping), the Howling Bells (gave me goosebumps), the Brakes ("snippy punk" as Paul called it), Nouvelle Vague (who were moved outdoors to replace Martha Wainwright who'd cancelled), Calexico on Saturday. We wanted to see Joan as Policewoman but couldn't get in. Also, we didn't catch Gomez because that's when the deluge started and we didn't have our rain gear with us. We also saw Isobel Campbell, but she was without Mark Lanegan, making most of the songs from the Ballad of the Broken Seas sound incomplete. Also, she seemed a bit reluctant to face the audience, almost like she wasn't sure she wanted to be there. We didn't see M. Craft, but heard that they were good.

And on Sunday, the best acts were: Sophie Solomon (frenzied, intense folk poet violinist), Mike West & Truckstop Honeymoon (fantastic banter, catchy country songs with brilliant lyrics, had us all clapping and laughing, their song Johnny & June had me tearing up) and Belle and Sebastian. Jose Gonzalez was a bit disappointing. Pretty songs, but nothing special live.

Food: there are an amazing number of veggie restaurants in the centre of Leicester, surprising for such a small place. Unfortunately a lot of them were closed when we were looking to eat (mainly late morning). But we were only a few minutes walk away from the town, so eating was no problem. Highlights were breakfasts at The Barley Mow pub and fantastic chips from The Sea Cow stall at the festival.

Most of the photos I took of the bands didn't come out that well, but all in all, it was a great festival. Nice and small, low key and laid back, but incredibly well organised with a good, varied line up. Camping and facilites were great, comfortable enough to not feel at all like I was roughing it. And really, we weren't. Despite the rain! Will be going again next year...any one wanna come along?