Tag: historic houses

Venice, palazzos, pizzas and more

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Our recent trip to Venice was very interesting, and not just for all the usual reasons such as the stunning scenery and the delicious food. Yes, there was all that in abundance, however there was also a chance to think about the city in its modern context, not just as a fascinating historical city.

One of the things that I remember seeing in lockdown was photos of dolphins swimming in clear waters in the canals of Venice as the tourists were not there, and consequently there was not the constant traffic of vaporettos, water taxis, ferries and gondolas.

The Grand Canal is amazing, and I loved looking at all of palazzos as we passed and wondering about all the people who had built them and lived in them over the centuries.

Venice is one of the most visited cities in the world, with over 25 million individual visits in 2019 and the pandemic and the restarting of travel has prompted Venetians and others to try and think differently about the city.

There are around 250,000 residents in the greater Venice area and only 55,000 who live on the main island. The population is shrinking by around a thousand a year, partly because properties get sold for tourist purposes rather than being affordable for locals.

I was glad that we had already planned lots of the things that are recommended to make travel there more sustainable. We were staying for a week, when many visits to the city are for just a day, especially from people on cruises.

That makes the central areas, such as St Mark’s Square above, very crowded, and also does not benefit the whole of the city as much. One of the arguments for tourism is always the economic benefit that it brings so I was pleased that we had the chance to visit the more outlying parts of the lagoon in our time there.

I knew that Venice was in danger of degrading, but had not really considered what I as a visitor could do about it. However reading information left at the apartment, and later some websites and books about Venice, made me think about my trip in a different way. I travel not just to look at wonderful things, but also to learn about the places that I visit, and this holiday really made me think.

We also stayed on the outskirts of the main island, a decision made out of practicality for us, as I remember the difficulty of finding our hotel last time, but one which is recommended by those who are trying to save Venice from becoming overloaded.

We had the most gorgeous apartment, Apartment Ganeo, in an area called Sant Elena, situated in a beautiful and quiet wooded area, but still on the main No 1 vaporetto route.

That meant that we could use the local facilities there such as the little shops, and three excellent restaurants and bars minutes from our apartment, that served the most delicious pizzas. I can heartily recommend Vincent Bar for the food, hospitality and the view, as we also got to enjoy some amazing sunsets over the Grand Canal.

We also got a chance to see some of what real life was like for the residents of Venice. Being in a more normal part of Venice, where we were finding out about how the rubbish is collected, (door to door each morning and you sort your recyclables before collection), really makes you think about your individual impact as a tourist.

I came across this book in one of the museums and downloaded the Kindle version when I got back. Reading something like this makes you think far more about the impact of mass tourism, especially in such a small city. I love to travel, obviously, and live in an area of a country famous for mass tourism, so it is good for me to think about what I do, both here and when I go away, so that my travel can be as beneficial as possible for everyone.

I have also ordered Jan Morris’ book about the history of Venice to read, which will be waiting for me when I return to the UK.

One of the things that we did was buy a museum pass, and that meant that we visited museums that we not have otherwise, as there were eleven included. This meant we visited some of the smaller, and less well know ones, as well as the wonderful Doges’ Palace pictured below.

That gave us a really good sense of the history of Venice in many different aspects, as well as the chance to admire some truly splendid ceilings, such as these in the Correr Museum!

On the top floor of the modern art gallery in Ca’ Pesaro is the Museum of Oriental Art , there was an amazing collection of Asian weapons, art and lacquerware. It was fascinating to see this, especially having just visited Japan.

I will share some more of the museums in a future post as there were some really exciting textile finds, as well as wonderful medieval art and maps in the Correr Museum.

I appreciate that by visiting Venice I may be considered part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. However I was glad to know that my impact might have been more beneficial than other types of stay. It is good to be aware of these aspects and was something that I will definitely apply to my future travels.

My friends who were visiting me in Spain have now all left. I have had a brilliant ten days and despite dire forecasts the weather was fine most of the time. It is a really hot day today, so I am getting all of my washing dried and planning an afternoon sewing quilt blocks, possibly followed by another trip to the pool if the forecast rain does not appear this afternoon.

I hope that you have had a lovely week, and are enjoying sunny weather and the Bank Holiday if you are in the UK. Whatever you are doing enjoy it, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

A wander around Wolverley

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The planned visits to Trust properties didn’t happen due to some heavy rain so instead I have been taking advantage of the time to organise the van and have a walk around the village.

This is what I love about being able to travel with no time restrictions, I can spend my life being able to not worry about seeing everything at once, and just enjoy where I am. I will be back in this area in the summer so will add the properties to my list for then.

Wolverley is a very cute little English village, and had a couple of unusual features that make is special.

The first is a local legend concerning the Lord of the Manor, Sir John Attwood, who went off to fight in the early 1200s in the Middle East. He was injured and captured, but was then allegedly mysteriously returned home by a swan.

The legend is commemorated by a carving near the river and the knight’s effigy can be found in the local church.

The Manor House is now a nursing home, but there are many other beautiful old houses, showing this has always been a place of importance. This one below was built in 1876 and reminds me of Lacock Abbey, another Trust house.

There are also some very cute cottages in the middle of the village, some made even more special by the matching garlands on the doors!

I love the idea of spring or Easter wreaths as well as Christmas ones, these tulips are so pretty. It was lovely to see all the trees in blossom along the river.

The village is dominated by a beautiful church which sits high on the red rock outcrop, with a winding path up to it.

As with all old churches there were some gorgeous headstones.

There was also some beautiful embroidery done by the local Mothers’ Union and WI.

I have seen a similar Mary stitching in other churches so maybe it was a common thing for the Union to make.

In the church there was also this very unusual stitched map. There were cross stitched pictures done from photos of village locations with an embroidered map of the village, and information about the houses.

It was there I discovered that the village had some old Rock houses. Similar to the cave houses in Spain, these are a feature of this area.

There were two old ones in the centre of the village, clearly long abandoned but it looked like one had maybe been used for a Nativity or Santa’s Grotto.

I love little wanders like this, off the main tourist trail, it is so interesting what you find. I ended with a nice pint of cider watching a boat go through the lock, all in the name of canal history research you understand!

The van is now sorted properly, I needed to live in it again for a while to work out where things would be be stored and maximise my space.

I will be going back to my sister’s tomorrow and leaving Katy behind for a few months. I still have lots of adventures planned though so will be back here with more of those soon.

Hope you all have a good week, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

A little rest stop

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I am currently enjoying a longer than planned visit to my old home village of Marsden. I spent a week at my sister’s getting Katy sorted, and then had a wonderful drive to Ellen’s. It was brilliant to be back driving Katy after 5 months away. At Ellen’s I was able to volunteer at the food bank for a day.

They have so many new projects starting. They have recently set up a mobile supermarket for rural areas. They are also planting an allotment and orchard, and have plans for fixing donated white goods, such as washing machines and fridges, to donate to families in need. Although it is not good that they are still so needed, it is brilliant to see everything that they do.

I drove over to Kerry’s last weekend, and we went to Hardwick for a research visit. I have written most of one character timeline for my first novel, and am now starting on the other, which is set in the 1940s. I wanted to see what interpretation they have for Evelyn, the last owner of the house.

There were some really interesting display boards referring to the notebooks she kept when she started conserving the textiles. I am going to contact Chatsworth, where the archives are held, to see if I can visit in the summer to look at these.

One of my favourite displays was of Evelyn’s reproduction of one of Hardwick’s most famous pieces of embroidery. The original has ES in the centre, for Elizabeth Shrewsbury, Bess’s last married name. Evelyn’s had ED, for Evelyn Devonshire.

What was even more exciting than seeing that piece, was seeing her sewing bag. It is often these little human touches that mean the most when looking at textiles, and that is really what the novel is about. I have always been interested in the people behind the textiles, whose stories are often lost.

The plan was then to do a short tour of friends in Yorkshire before heading off to Derbyshire camping, but snow has altered that somewhat.

My lovely friends had all offered me accommodation for my stays, but when I got to Marsden on Monday it was clear that the forecast was not good for the rest of the week.

Two days of snow later and we were digging the cars out of 14 inches of it. In the picture below you can just see Katy buried in the snow!

So I am still at my friend Jane’s house, where I am house sitting for the weekend, and looking after her lovely Frankie, who is not very impressed by the snow as it is so deep. We have been cuddling up on the sofa in fleecy blankets.

Jane managed to get away to see her family by train, but was delayed by 24 hours. The snow has caused a lot of problems here with road closures, as the village is surrounded by moorland.

This has meant though that I have had chance to catch up with everyone here, and go to the new knitting group, which is located at the new wool shop in the village.

Woolly Tap is a gorgeous place, and they have knitting and crochet groups three times a week. If you are in the area do call in, they have so many beautiful things, including accessories and very cute bags.

The wool shop is located in one of the old mill buildings, very near these original tenter posts in the photo above, which were used to stretch the cloth as it dried. This is the origin of the phrase ‘on tenterhooks ‘ as the woollen cloth was hooked between the posts.

I am currently working on a little dress to go with the rainbow dolls that I shared with you a while ago. This yarn is from a friend and is a lovely variegated denim colour. As I will now be here until next week I am hoping to get the last bits of the other set of reindeer knitted, just the feet to go.

I am still hoping to do one week of camping, further south, weather permitting. I will then be back a Ellen’s for a while so can post the last pictures from Paphos then.

It will not be long until I am back in Spain, where it is currently 24 degrees, rather than 1, but I have really enjoyed being back here for a bit.

I hope you have all had a good few weeks, and have coped with any strange weather. Have a good week ahead, and see you all soon. Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Nicosia, and textiles!

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I decided to make two trips to Nicosia as there were four museums I wished to visit, as well as have a wander round, and thought it would be too much to do in a day.

The public transport here in Cyprus is excellent, with very regular inter-city buses that are comfortable, clean and very cheap, and it is a great way to see the country. The bus to Nicosia takes about 75 minutes each way and only costs 7 euros for a return.

The first two museums were the ones that I was most excited about so I went to see those on the first visit. I use Google maps, both for planning and navigating when I am there and they were very easy to find. I had a good wander around the area as well exploring and it was interesting to see the extent to which restoration is taking place.

As I mentioned in my last post Nicosia is a divided capital, the border only having re-opened in 2008. For a really good overview of the history of this lovely island, as well as more information about visiting Nicosia, please see this very useful post by Helen on her Holidays, which I used to help plan my trip.

As the city was involved in so much conflict, and is still a military zone, I was expecting to see a lot of damage, and there was evidence of that. During the 1974 conflict 200,000 people were displaced from all over Cyprus. That is a lot of empty houses, and like Larnaca and Famagusta, many have been left empty since then. It was heartening to see that although there are lots of bits that still look like the picture below, there are many that are being restored.

I came across this very interesting street, near the first museum. One end of it was beautifully restored and the other, although the doors were still there and lights strung up, the buildings were just shells with no second floor apart from the external wall. I do hope that they will be able to complete this one day as they are such beautiful buildings.

The first museum was the Folk Art one. This is housed in the old Archbishop’s Palace, right next to the new palace.

The collection is not large but was beautifully displayed in all of the small rooms of the palace, and concentrated on the traditional crafts of woodwork, weaving, lace making, furniture making and embroidery. Although there were no pictures allowed I have found a very good explanation of Cypriot textile crafts on this site here.

I also found some shops selling work in the city, although a lot of what was for sale was mass produced machine embroidery, rather than the traditional Lefkara work from that village.

The new Archbishop’s Palace was very beautiful, and had some fabulous doors. I also saw the official cars, proudly parked in a glass walled garage outside, one of which may be a Rolls Royce?

Next to the palace was another one of the stunning churches, this time with an amazing gold painted ceiling, and the most ornate chairs for the priest to sit on.

The chairs for the congregation are equally lovely, look at those beautiful carved eagles, they were on every single chair.

Although there is not much goldwork in some of the churches, unlike in Spain, there is always beautiful crochet on the tables used for icons or during the services.

The second museum was just behind the church, this is the House of Hatzigeorgakis Kornesios Ethnographic Museum. This is a house, built around a courtyard, which was the home of one of the city officials during the Ottoman Empire. It was built in 1793 and has been beautifully restored.

The first floor is furnished with a stunning painted reception room, amongst other treasures.

I loved the painted chest, clock, and the carved wood that was once throughout the house.

There was also a small costume and textile collection, so I got chance to photograph one of the costumes similar to those that had been in the folk art museum.

This really shows off all of the exceptional Cypriot needlework skills, from the metal embroidery on the velvet jacket, to the lace cuffs and embroidered skirt.

I then had a wander back to the city centre and a quick walk up the famous Ledra Street. As well as some more beautiful old buildings, this is where one of the border crossings are, and it is both interesting and quite bizarre.

I knew the crossing was there, but one minute you are walking past McDonalds and Starbucks and the next there is a little building with blue striped awnings that is a police checkpoint.

Just to the left is a bench with a mosaic Peace sign, which lots of people come to have their photo taken with.

It was a very sombre experience to see the checkpoint, after all that I have read about Cyprus and Nicosia, and is one part of the city I hope will not be around forever.

The city is also famous for still having its Venetian walls, they surround the city centre, and you can see the star points clearly on the map. Many of the spaces below the walls have been turned into parks as the walls themselves are enormous. I found this painting from Wikipedia of what they looked like originally. I love visiting the star forts that are found all over Europe so this was fascinating.

Of course there were also lots and lots of lovely doors, but since I am visiting the city again this week I shall save those treats until next time, as I may being adding to my collection! This is my last week in Larnaca, I am off to Paphos next for the final 10 days of my trip, where there will be even older things to marvel at.

Hope that you are all having a good week, whatever you are doing. Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Larnaca, many more doors for my book

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I have on many occasions contemplated trying to publish a book containing pictures of all the lovely doors that I have seen on my travels, and Larnaca has certainly added many beautiful ones to my collection.

This is a very different place to Aiya Napa, which was lovely but full of modern apartment blocks and hotels. This is the wonderful old Cyprus that I have been really looking forward to seeing. I have spent many a happy hour wandering up and down the streets exploring. I love all the little bars and workshops in the old buildings, like this copper workshop below.

It is a city of contrasts. The area that I am staying in is just outside the city, next to one of the main beach areas, in between that and the salt lakes. There are many hotels and very swish apartment blocks here, and lots more under construction with hoardings showing beautiful designer apartments, all with balconies with their own jacuzzies, and wonderful sea views.

Between this and the city is an older area, full of small houses, possibly those of the fisherman who worked out of the harbour. Some of the houses are in the process of being restored, many sadly are empty. It is very interesting to see the contrasts between the two areas so close to each other, and I wonder what will become of some of these empty houses.

The city itself has its seafront, with a lovely promenade full of palm trees and lots of restaurants, including all the usual big chains, but lots of independent ones as well.

I have been spending lots of time in the older streets behind there, around the old mosque next to the fort, and the church of St Lazurus with its beautiful colonnades and a stunning bell tower

The interior of the church was very different to the others I posted about last week as it had a lot of very rustic stonework inside rather than paintings. There was still a stunning altarpiece.

I was very good and only had a little look around the icon shop, I didn’t buy anything though I could have spent a fortune in there.

I visited the fort on Thursday, situated looking over the bay, next to the mosque, and almost on the beach.

It was fascinating to see the Turkish tombstones that they have on display.

This is an island of so many cultures, the fort was built by the Franks, restored by the Turks during the Ottaman Empire and then later used as a jail and police station by the British. The mosque next to the fort was joined to the the neighbouring buildings of a later date by these buttresses.

The more I read about Cypriot history the more I find out about how many different people have come here over the years to settle, to conquer, to trade. It really is an amazingly diverse history, and obviously not without an impact on those who have lived here.

Then there are the many, many beautiful doors. Some are shiny and pristine, from the beautifully restored houses. Others are sad and chipped, sometimes you can glimpse the empty abandoned rooms behind them, some only front an empty shell of a building with no roof. However each must have its own story to tell, a part to play in the very complex story of all the people that have been here.

Most have, very helpfully, the date of construction on them, and many seem to be from the 1910s to 1920s. It makes me wonder what this place was like then, before the fight for independence from the British, before the division of the island into two parts.

I have visited Nicosia this week as well, the world’s only divided capital city, and am planning to go back again next week. In the next post I will show you some of the beautiful things there. There may well be doors involved, but also I visited some brilliant museums and finally got to see some Cypriot textiles!

Until next time, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Following your dreams

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I have been very lucky in my new life so far. I have been able to pass my driving test and buy my longed for camper van, travel and spend lots of time crafting, meeting so many lovely people on the way. There is another aspect to my life that I am also really loving, and that is my new role as a writer.

I have always enjoyed writing, along with reading which I loved from a very early age, and like many people I started writing novels when I was younger. However, I didn’t really have the time to devote to it before, but it has now become a big part of my life here now.

I am about half way through my first novel, at this rate the first one will take me about 3 years but there is no rush, I am very much enjoying the process as well as what I am producing. You may not be surprised to know that it is based around historical textiles, and the women associated with them. In fact I have the outline for 5 novels, all based on pieces of textiles that I have have either owned or seen in museums. As you know I am always interested in the provenance of anything I find, who made it, how did it end up here?

My first novel is based around Hardwick Hall, and the needlework of Bess of Hardwick so has involved lots of really interesting research. I have previously read a lot about Bess, but have been doing a lot more reading, of other people’s dissertations and academic papers, which has meant I have put my previous academic skills to good use.

I have also been doing a few courses to help me along the way. Last year, and earlier this year I did some on creative writing. Firstly they were with an organisation called Future Learn, who offer free courses on a large variety of subjects. The Start Writing Fiction and the How to Read a Novel were really helpful for thinking about how to structure the work and about character development.

Earlier this year I took two Creative Writing courses with the Workers’ Educational Association, the WEA. I worked for them about 30 years ago, when I was teaching in the Adult and Community sector and loved the role so it was nice to come full circle and be a student with them. They are a wonderful organisation, as the name suggest they have a long history of community education and offer affordable courses on a variety of topics. I have actually just finished another short course with them on The History of Canals, that is some research for a future book.

I have also done a little field trip to help me with the setting of the novel. One of the really useful things about doing the courses is they prompt you think about how your characters are going to come across and so I have had to build a story of their lives. I thought that the easiest way to do that was to actually visit the place that I have chosen for them to live, which is a little village not too far from Hardwick Hall, called Shireoaks.

It is somewhere I always pass on the train to and from my daughter’s house and it looked like a nice place to live, with a canal as well! There is a beautiful church there, built by the Duke of Newcastle who built the chapel at Clumber that my daughter looked after in her last job for the National Trust.

On my last trip in England I visited and was able to talk to some of the local residents and see the street that I have chosen for my character to live in. They were very helpful, telling me about other sources for my research and I was delighted to find that an old photo showing the street as it was when first built.

These outhouses still exist, though the communal yards have been fenced off to make gardens.

I have also just finished another course with Future Learn about Mary Queen of Scots, as the embroidered piece I have chosen is one done while Bess was with Mary when she was under the guardianship of Bess’s husband. My current course with them is called Learning from the Past. It is a fascinating exploration of how to use historical sources for your research, so very, very useful for me.

I do so love studying, I always did really enjoy that part of my job and spent many years doing courses alongside my teaching and it is so amazing to have the time to do all this now. There are so many brilliant resources out there for free as well, I have only scratched the surface of all that there is available. I am very, very lucky to be able to do everything I have ever wanted to do, I am still pinching myself that this is my life!

It is getting a little cooler here, down the about 15 degrees during the day now, so it is nice to have more indoor things to do as well. It still seems strange to see sunny skies instead of autumn colours but it is lovely. I have cycled a total of 140 km in the last month so am very pleased with that and the cooler weather makes cycling really pleasant. As well as that there are weekly walks on the beach with brilliant views of the mountains.

I hope that you have all had a good week and are enjoying your weekend. Mum and I are off on a trip on Monday to the town of Caravaca for a medieval market. I visited in May for the wine horses fiesta but am very much looking forward to going back and seeing the castle and the cathedral so expect some bling in the next post! Until that have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Thinking about heritage

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If you are a regular reader you will know how much I love visiting museums, especially where there are textiles involved. My recent trip to Lancashire included a visit to a museum owned by the local council, Towneley Hall, and it was very interesting not just for its collections but also its history.

Burnley has a long textile heritage, much of Lancashire was involved in the wool and cotton trades and there are many mill buildings still to be seen.

This building was a rather grand house however, owned by the same family for many centuries. It had a fascinating mix of architecture, from Tudor long galleries and panelled rooms to a Regency style suite which is now used for weddings and events.

The family who owned the house decided it was too big for them and sold it to the local council in 1901, who decided to turn it into a museum. However they had nothing to put in it so they started taking donations from a number of varied sources.

This has led to a very eclectic collection, some with links to Burnley life and others random. They were no doubt very interesting to the local population when the museum was first opened, who probably marvelled at the mummy case and contents found by an Egyptologist who was a friend of the last owner.

It raises many questions about what are the purposes of museums and what functions they have. There are many debates in heritage circles about what is in our museums, and where it came from, indeed should some things be returned to their original countries?

There were a small selection of textiles from Kashmir which were very beautiful.

How things are interpreted is also interesting, this was very much a ‘things in glass cases’ type of museum, which reflects its heritage. I have been lucky enough to visit many museums of all different types and having a daughter who worked in the heritage industry find all of these questions very interesting.

There were quite a few local exhibits as well including embroidered postcards and banners from the World Wars.

It was a very nice visit and the staff were very knowledgeable and friendly, not only about the collection but also about the history of the hall so well worth a visit if you are in the area.

After Lancashire I met up with my oldest friend, Sue, celebrating 40 years since we first met at Polytechnic. We had a brilliant time catching up, we haven’t really changed a bit!

I have had a quick trip back to Ellen’s to do some car sorting. I got Katy stuck on a gate a few weeks ago but am pleased to say that my car bodywork skills are good enough that I was able to mend the damage, and some more flower stickers covered up the slight difference in paint! Also met up with a few of the medieval group for a day’s event at Nottingham.

I am now at my final campsite of this summer, back in the Peak District for my last week in Katy. I have finally got the cushion inners and have bought a new privacy curtain for when I am sitting in the back reading. I am also trying out Jacky’s awning tent to see how it works compared to my little tent.

I have been having some great walks with stunning views, the drive here was wonderful and I am surrounded by lovely hills again.

I have more museum visits to share with you so the next post will be that or Peak District views. Until next time, have fun, take care stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Lakeland Heritage

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The Lake District is an amazing place and although now it is probably best known for tourism, which was popularised by poets, writers and artists such as Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter, it has its roots in farming.

One of the National Trust properties that we didn’t visit last time we came is Townend, a farmhouse dating from the 1600s. The property is near Waterhead, at the top of Lake Windermere.

The Browne family who owned it didn’t change it, and didn’t throw anything away. The house stayed in the family until the early 1900s so you have an incredible collection of Lakeland heritage, including maps from when the area was known as Westmoreland.

One of the most remarkable is the collection of books, over 1,500 on all topics. It is particularly significant as these were collected by an ordinary family over many centuries, rather than being a stately home or museum collection. Thus there are many books on farm practices and cheap short story publications from the 1800s. Few pictures available as they need storing away from light but a great little display about the collection.

There was a wide variety of textile heritage though, most relating to the household furnishings and the obligatory samplers produced by young girls as part of their sewing skill development. There was also a fascinating little weaving loom, possibly belonging to a child?

The house is set in a wildflower garden in the stunning Troutbeck valley so is well worth a visit for its location alone, up more narrow winding roads!

I also visited St Martin’s Church in Windermere, which also dates from the 1600s and which has been restored to show the wall paintings that were covered up after Henry 8th broke away from the Catholic Church.

There was a very interesting curtain which was made of stencilled fabric. The information also referred to this as being taught to WW1 veterans as part of their rehabilitation and furnishings were made using this technique to provide employment for them.

It was a really unusual piece of textile heritage, for its history as well as its design.

I have some more textile heritage visits planned in a couple of weeks when I return to Derbyshire.

I hope that you have enjoyed this little glimpse of Lakeland life. It is such a gorgeous area and well worth visiting. Until next time have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Another island at the edge

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Anglesey, where I spent last week, is also an island at the edge of the UK. We have visited the most northerly town and village in Wales, and been staying very near to one of the ferry ports over to Ireland. That is a trip I wish to make one day very soon.

We have had a wonderful week staying near Holyhead in a gorgeous barn conversion. It is huge, 5 double bedrooms large kitchen and cosy sofas in the sizeable lounge. It has been so different to my previous 8 weeks of campervans and very luxurious.

I am here with 3 of my old colleagues from the University, there should have been 5 of us but sadly a broken ankle stopped play for my lovely friend Nicola so she had to stay at home.

It has been a very restful week and we have done lots of catching up, sightseeing, eating gorgeous food and relaxing in the hot tub. Apart from the first day when we had a little rain the weather has been glorious. We had a visit to South Stack Lighthouse where there were dramatic views.

It is a hard life and made even better by the fact that 2 of us are retired now and never have to return to work and the other two are retiring soon. We have tried our best to be beacons of good practice in terms of the joys of retirement and I think we have managed that 😉

We have driven the length and breadth of the islands visiting lighthouses, beaches and cute villages.

We also had two heritage days out to Plas Newydd, a National Trust house that I have visited twice before, and Beaumaris to see the castle.

The gardens at Plas Newydd were beautiful, that is what you appreciate more as you get older I think, a lovely garden display.

I also got to see what is probably my favourite painting in the world, the Rex Whistler mural there. Just stunning.

Beaumaris Castle looked a lot better than last time I visited in the rain about 24 years ago. The views across the bay to mainland Wales are also stunning.

On my return to Yorkshire I picked up Katy and had a brilliant drive through the Yorkshire Dales to the Lake District. I am very happily back in my favourite reading corner watching rabbits play on the grass and looking at the wonderful fells.

I am have visited Windermere and Ullswater this week and done lots of reading and some finishing of the Christmas ornaments. Hope you all have a great weekend ahead see you all again soon. Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

For the love of God

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Our final coach trip recently was to the little town of Gandia, further north again so through the same wonderful mountains as the trip to Javea, and a little inland.

We went to see the Ducal Palace, which dates from the mid 1300s and is very closely linked with the Jesuit order of monks and with one of its most famous Dukes, Francis de Borja, in the mid 1500s. Francis wanted to become a monk but had instead to take up his family inheritance. After the death of his wife he joined the church.

The palace is spectacular and has some amazing tiles. Much of the artwork relates to the story of Francis Borja and his family. The family were related to the infamous Borgias, and the notorious Rodrigo Borgia who was a pope in the 1400s. There were some great inspirations for crafting patterns in the tiles and woodwork as well, that window shutter has a fantastic quilt block design on it!

There was also a little bit of textile interest from the 1500s, the family crest and a priest’s robe.

The ceramics were of many different styles and this painted panel had some wonderful detail, I assume the striped flowers are tulips which I know were very popular from the 18th century.

My favourite room was the wonderful Neo-Gothic chapel, the artwork in there was just stunning. It reminded me of the decoration of Cardiff Castle and Castle Coch, which is decorated in a very similar style. The ceiling was amazing, I do love a starry ceiling!

This was one of my favourite paintings, I do love representations of nuns and she looks so peaceful.

The altar was beautiful as well, the painting around the cross was so delicate.

Such a beautiful place, I could have stayed there for hours looking at all the detail.

The later part of the tour covered the later baroque style rooms, wonderful ornate wood and plaster work and some very impressive ceilings. The guide explained that they were actually painted canvases rather than some Sistine Chapel style mammoth ceiling artwork.

This picture was so sweet and I love the ornate frame. Something like this would be great for blackwork!

The palace went into decline as the family in Spain died out and in the late 1800s it was bought by the Jesuits and restored. It has been a national monument since 1964 and is well worth a visit.

We had time to have a very nice lunch in the old town and admire the cathedral and the town hall.

We also made a quick visit to the museum, which was based in the old nunnery and hospital. There were some beautiful pieces of medieval art there as well that had been collected by the order.

I am very tempted to try and link this order, which unfortunately I forgot to record the name of, with life in medieval England as I would love to add a flower head dress to my nun’s outfit.

Although I love the paintings themselves, it is the detail in the backgrounds that is the most interesting part for me, such gorgeous architecture and landscapes.

There were also some musical angels, I really love these depictions and have only seen them here in Spain.

These were a group of interesting and very unusual reliquary heads, there were about 10 in total.

I am very much enjoying being able to explore much more of Spain, this is such a fascinating country and I am planning to read much more of its history over the coming months. I have read quite a lot about the civil war period, but less about the 1400 – 1600s so will be concentrating on that next. The history is very interesting in comparison to that of the UK, in terms of the many separate kingdoms that existed. The relationship between Spain and its empire is also something that I would like to read more about.

It is lovely to go out and practise my Spanish as well. I am still studying every day and when we go on trips get lots of opportunity to use it. One of the things that I am finding is that I can now understand a lot more. I listen to what people are saying around me and it is starting to slowly make sense which is brilliant and makes me feel as if I am making real progress.

It has been unseasonably hot here, 33 degrees earlier this week, which is more like July weather, so I have been to the pool three times this week. Between 5 and 7 they have half price rates and it is virtually empty so I have the whole pool to myself to swim. So far this week I have done 150 lengths which I am very pleased with. I have been able to take my bike out as well and have been doing some more off road exploring.

I have also been busy with my writing, I am half way through a new writing course with the WEA which is centred on Place and Identity. I am finding the exercises that we do really helpful in stimulating different aspects of the novel writing. I start another creative writing course with them in a couple of weeks, with the same tutor I had in January.

I am so, so happy that I spend my time at the computer doing fun things now, in previous years May and June was all about marking thousands of words of dissertations and essays. I still can’t believe I never have to do that ever again 🙂

I hope you are enjoying life wherever you are, I will be back soon to share some more crafting with you, I have been doing a little bit in between all the adventuring 😉 In the meantime, have fun, take care , stay safe and thanks for visiting.