Stained Glass

I am always drawn to grand examples of stained glass. I often wander into churches when we are away in the hope that I might discover something wonderful to provoke a reaction from me. Visiting the magnificent St George's Hall in Liverpool did not disappoint. The place as a whole is outstanding, steeped in grandeur and history. In the grand hall there are two examples of stained glass that are equally bold and colourful. At the south end we have St George slaying the dragon whilst at the north, we see Neptune and Triton accompanied by a pair of liver birds (cormorants).

Liverpool proved to be somewhat of a surprise to me. It was my first visit and I didn't really have any pre-conceived ideas of what to expect. Suffice to say I enjoyed exploring the city so much that I have already talked of a return visit.

1965

This old photo has to be one of my favourites. I am front row, 5th from the right and I am clutching my newly acquired gift which I'm sure was a pen and pencil set. I do remember the party and I remember being called to the grotto to meet the old man in the red suit. My sister and father are also in the picture which was taken in the old sessions house. Oh and most importantly, I was wearing my special pink party dress. In those days you had just one posh dress for any parties or events that you may be invited to and you cherished that one posh outfit. Oh how life was simple then

Exquisite Writing Desk

First of all, I apologise for the quality of this photograph. It was taken on my phone as I'd left my camera back at the hotel on this day. I'm such a moose sometimes. Anyway, there is a story behind this which I'll  now disclose. A year ago we visited this antiques warehouse up north and came across this beautiful piece of furniture. We have often thought of it and talked of it and when we had another trip north in September we decided to return to the warehouse to see if the desk was still there. It took a while but eventually we spotted it. 

It is Circa 1870, a two piece satinwood desk of wonderful exhibition quality. The detail is exquisite with some of the finest marquetry we had ever seen depicting mythical birds, musical instruments, flowers and so much more. Even the satinwood tapering legs are inlaid with floral detail and are united by a crossover stretcher complete with scallop shell inlay. On our second visit we noticed that the price appeared to be £6000 less than a year ago, if our memories serve us correctly. I can almost hear you thinking 'well in that case what on earth was the price showing on the label now?'. Drum roll required here .... £22,000. Yup, you read correctly. 

The Deep

My sister and husband took our parents to The Deep in Hull today. They told them straight 'misbehave and you'll be in the shark tank'. Gulp. Suffice to say they were ever so good and enjoyed the excursion very much. They had lunch there too and apparently it was lovely. My sister sent this photo that she had taken of an anemone, or anenome as I have always pronounced it. It's a bit of a tongue twister and I suspect most people probably struggle with it. I think the colours are very complimentary and the whole effect is extremely pretty. The Deep

Italian Garden in Ireland

I had to include this beautiful photo from my collection. I can't take credit for it though. It was taken by my friend Kath and if I had to guess, using all my powers of deduction, I would say it was taken on or about the 3rd May 2011  !  But take your time to study it. The composition, the colours and of course the subject, are all so very uplifting to the soul. Well, it does it for me anyway. It's the Italian Garden, Garnish, Glengarriff in Ireland. I believe this to be the Cork area. But that's enough rambling from me. I'm going to sit and gaze into the scene for a little while now .....

Mr Ugly Man

I can almost here you exclaiming - 'what on earth is THAT ?' So I will explain. Mr Uglyman is a personal treasure to me. He is totally unique and the only one in the whole world. He was made many years ago by my sweet little niece (as she was then). She ain't so little now .... all grown up and 25. But I wouldn't part with Mr Uglyman for all the tea in China. Large sums of cash yes, but tea no. Only joking. But I'm sure that many of us still have these rare treasures that we hold dear, and often, even though they lay forgotten at the back of a drawer, we could never cast them aside completely. One look and memories of days gone by linger pleasantly in the mind.