Category:

Simply..just as well....

3/10/2024

..I have a grasshopper brain as we had an incredibly varied programme! A brilliant talk by Amanda Herries about creating the exhibition Eye To Eye about Sir Henry Raeburn was followed by an interview with Gelong Thubten, a Buddhist monk whose Handbook For Hard Times I am listening to on Audible.

We went to a Jazz Afternoon Tea, and a talk on the history of the gut! Rumbles by Elsa Richardson. We caught the last day of the Raeburn exhibition in Kikedbright which was excellent - one of the best exhibitions have seen in a long time. Kirkudbright is another pretty town.

0 Comments

Simply..a pretty town....

2/10/2024

2 Comments

See more about the Book Festival here. It continues till 6th October.

Wigtown has interesting architecture, some lovely new shops and pretty gardens (a delightful garden behind ReadingLasses bookshop is worth a look) and there were still lots of flowers everywhere. We were lucky enough to have several sunny days.

2 Comments

Simply..the Wigtown Book Festival....

1/10/2024

4 Comments

..got off to a spectacular start with a great firework display. I took this rather odd photograph!

But later that night we stood under the starriest sky I think I have ever seen. The Milky Way seemed to take up most of the sky and was so thick with stars that it was hard to make out the constellations. Awestruck.

4 Comments

Simply..my favourite photograph,,,,

28/5/2024

6 Comments

Several people have said they look liike children's drawings of houses.

Here are a link which give a flavour of life on this thriving Hebridean island.

6 Comments

Simply..more....

28/5/2024

4 Comments

..about Tiree. This was the lovely house my friends and I stayed in, on the edge of a small tidal creek.

The walls are 5 feet thick in places.

The peaceful view from my bedroom window.

Larks, lapwings corncrakes and snipe were heard along with the constant piping of the oystercatchers and the bleating of the lambs. The occasional put put of a fishing boat..

4 Comments

Simply..a wee wee hoosie by the sea....

27/5/2024

8 Comments

I adored the houses on Tiree. It's a very windswept island with few trees, walls, hedges and gardens around the houses. Sheep have priority here and many of the houses are grazed right up to the walls, and I love the way they sit on the close-cropped land.

There are red toofs, blue roofs, green roofs and thatched roofs. I am told the pink house has to be kept pink because it is described thus on the Admiralty charts.

Do you have a favourite?

8 Comments

Simply..flew....

26/5/2024

2 Comments

..in a Twin Otter to the lovely island of Tiree.

Land of silver beaches and the cutest houses

More tomorrow..

2 Comments

Simply....

6/5/2024

8 Comments

..the farm's turn for the shinty team's laundry.

That's a lot of socks!

8 Comments

Simply..not sure....

29/4/2024

5 Comments

Is it vandalism? Graffiti? People's Art?

Or is it just a bit of innocent fun? And I wonder who was the first to think that putting their sticker (given with your ticket to the Art Gallery) on the bench was a good idea. Do you approve?

5 Comments

Simply..thriling....

28/4/2024

8 Comments

The SMK in Copenhagen is a wonderful place - the collection, the architecture, the cafe and the shop - loved the shop!
gallery
Everything spacious and airy and clean, and everything in Copenhagen seems to work. I find the city and the gallery very elegant and at the same time friendly.

The huge modern extension is gorgeous.

We especially wanted to see the collection of Hammershoi's work, which didn't disappoint. He paints two of my favourite things - silence and empty space. I can see why he is sometimes called the Vermeer of the north.

There is nothing like the thrill of standing in front of the original. What a brave painter Matisse was!
I came across the Matisse unexpectedly - I know this painting well from reproductions and did not know the original was here. How different from Hammershoi - extrovert and vibrant.

I love them both.

8 Comments

Simply..wonderful, wonderful....

26/4/2024

14 Comments

..Copenhagen!

Ballet shoes and bicybles

Brides! Thank you Grace for the great photograph.

Bouquets

Blossom everywhere

and beautifully wrapped bread

14 Comments

Simply heading off....

15/3/2024

10 Comments

on a Highland retreat.

Weather forecast awful. Full waterproofs packed and lots of layers.
Have a lovely week

10 Comments

Simply..a beautiful journey....

28/12/2023

11 Comments

Thank you so much for the good wishes and for the poems - that was lovely! I hope you all had a happy time at Christmas.

I spent time with family and although we have had some foul weather I had a beautiful journey home on the single bright and calm day in a week.

My friend drove us out of the city to the west past fine terraces of Victorian and Edwardian houses, the golden stone looking amazing in the low sunshine. Along the western shores of Loch Lomond detouring for a look at the pretty village of Luss. Through the Arrochar Alps and over the Rest and Be Thankful pass, on to Loch Fyne and Loch Eck, over the Larach to Loch Long and home for a leissurely lunch. My daughter had kindly put some heating on and it took no time to get a good blaze going in the stove and to light lots of candles.

So blessed.

I hope you are sheltered from the storms.

11 Comments

Simply..fascinating....

17/12/2023

4 Comments

Gullygate, Petergate, Goodramgate, Fossgate, Walngate, Micklegate and Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate - all these smaller streets have wonderful independent shops run by knowledgeable and enthusiastic creative people. Children's bokshops, delis like The Hairy Fig , Greek cafes, bakers, clothes shops, card shops - if I didn't have to carry things home on public transport I would probably have spent a lot more money!

A perfect new hat from The Hat Shop and a perfect pastry at Paradiso Dolce Salato.

4 Comments

Simply..Constantine the Great....

16/12/2023

5 Comments

..looked magnificent under the stars.

I could imagine that this is how every emperor would like to look.

5 Comments

Simply..a romantic city..

15/12/2023

4 Comments

..and my second home.

4 Comments

Simply..and beautiully....

4/10/2023

4 Comments

Things I love about this place - It is less than an hour from home. The way the lodges sit in the landscape (the fact that there are only a few). They are furnished with beautiful hand woven and printed textiles and pottery made by the artist owners.

The owls, bats, buzzards, oyster catchers, curlews, wrens, seals, and the otter and the friendly robin.

The hens, the hebridean sheep and the donkeys.

The little coves of crushed shells perfect for a wee picnic.

There is an integrity about this place that I find very attractive. Nothing is overdone or over commercialised. Things are done simply and done well.

Love it!

4 Comments

Simply..in love....

3/10/2023

8 Comments

..with Carryy Farm....

8 Comments

Simply..windy Wigtown....

28/9/2023

10 Comments

Listening to an interview with author Joanne Harris on Sunday we were wondering if the marquee would withstand the wind! A little distracting.

My favurite talk was with Denise Mina, author of Three Fires and many crme fiction titles. She is a good speaker, confident and funny and I may read this recent book about Savonarola. I liked the links she made with present day politics.

We sang with Julia Hollander who talked about her book Why We Sing.

The fireworks and drinks party were fun and very well attended. It is the 25th festival and has a very full 10 day programme. See here.

I can recommend the cakes in ReadingLasses a bookshop cum cafe with a cosy atmosphere.

I would have liked to photograph some of the charming buildings, but there were so many cars it was impossible to do them justice...

10 Comments

Simply..on my way....

27/9/2023

6 Comments

..to the Book Festivval, I had to run for the bus.

I was so breathless when I got on it I could barely ask for my destination. Telling my friend of my dismay that I was not as fit as I thought I was, she pointed out that -

1 I had a pack on my back
2 I was pulling a suitcase
3 it was uphill
4 I had been sitting
on the ferry for half an hour (no warm-up)
and 5 I did actually catch the bus!

I didn't feel so bad after that :-)

6 Comments

Simply..the jazz cruise....

11/7/2023

8 Comments

Trad Jazz as we sailed aroud the port area. Lots of people live on the water in Copenhagen - houseboats, converted warehouses and modern developments both sophisticated and simple, many with a boat tied up at the end of the garden. Thunder and lightning was forecast but the sun shone all evening. It was good fun.

More Trad Jazz in the city with a good humoured crowd in the rain. They sang Give Me Sunshine, then Singing In The Rain then there was one great loud clap of thunder.

If you know Copenhagen you will probably agree with me that it is superefficient and orgainised (everything seems to work!) but tempered with charm and humour. A really friendly place.

8 Comments

Simply..the Vikings....

10/7/2023

2 Comments

My imagination was gripped by the dramatic display in The National Museum of Denmark of the longeest longship of the Viking era yet found. There were links with hme - the Vikings are known to have sailed up Loch Long - and a beautiful little casket found in this one is thought to have been made in Scotland.

How exciting to have been the archaeologist who found it and the silver ingots, jewellery and coins!

There were lots of flowers to come home to.

2 Comments

Simply..fantastical!

9/7/2023

6 Comments

Our Saviour's Church in Christianshavn must surely have inspired Hans Christian Andersen to write fairy tales.

My own photograph is not as dramatic as the postcard anove, which I couldn't resist. I absolutely adore this spire.

6 Comments

Simply..the architecture....

8/7/2023

8 Comments

..in Copenhagen is so varied. Ultramodernn and dramatic developments on the water, hidden old courtyards off the main streets, old streets covered over become art galleries, the elegant restraint of Neo Classicism and buildings which look as though they have been embroidered! I could have spent a week just looking at the buildings and at how the Danes live..

8 Comments

Simply..cool....

7/7/2023

4 Comments

and very intense.

Our first concert was in Brorsons Kirke. Tord Gustavsen played solo, without pause, for one hour and twenty minutes. The man is a genius but we were seated on beautiful-to-look-at very hard chairs!

A review said

This is the chill-out as a state of grace and it can go as deep as you like. Sublime.

To me it felt like living inside an abstract painting.

4 Comments

<<Previous

Simply..just as well....

Simply..a pretty town....

Simply..the Wigtown Book Festival....

Simply..my favourite photograph,,,,

Simply..more....

Simply..a wee wee hoosie by the sea....

Simply..flew....

Simply....

Simply..not sure....

Simply..thriling....

Simply..wonderful, wonderful....

Simply heading off....

Simply..a beautiful journey....

Simply..fascinating....

Simply..Constantine the Great....

Simply..a romantic city..

Simply..and beautiully....

Simply..in love....

Simply..windy Wigtown....

Simply..on my way....

Simply..the jazz cruise....

Simply..the Vikings....

Simply..fantastical!

Simply..the architecture....

Simply..cool....

Categories

Author

Archives