After lunch today I scanned the next five of Charles Keeping’s idiosyncratic illustrations to Charles Dickens’s ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’, displaying the artist’s liquid line in expressive portraiture. ‘Martin and his friend followed them to the door below’ ‘On his livid face was one word – Death’ ‘Whole troops of married ladies came flocking round the steps’Continue reading “It Did Not Stay For Its Close-up”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Ecological Contributions
Mum was on very good form when we visited her at Woodpeckers at midday. Her thoughts and stories flowed and her hearing and sight were not too bad. We could forgive her for repeating some tales. Her one and only flight to Jersey with Jacqueline some years ago was a new one. From Brockenhurst weContinue reading “Ecological Contributions”
Blackthorn Time
We woke this morning to frost on the kitchen extension roof and ice on the water features. The day continued cold and overcast with a top temperature of 7C. The quotation from Christina Rossetti’s ‘Spring’ given by Libre Paley in https://librepaley.com/2021/04/06/alive-in-everything/ sent me to reread the work in my copy of her poems illustrated byContinue reading “Blackthorn Time”
Woodland Denizens
The weather temperature has plummeted. Early this morning Jackie photographed ice on the new water features. Beginning mid-morning I wasted four hours and my frayed nerve ends wrestling with an on line banking problem arising from a regular heating fuel supplier who had changed their bank details, and a system which could not adequately copeContinue reading “Woodland Denizens”
Anyone For Croquet?
A drowsy morning was necessary for me after yesterday’s exertions, although the Head Gardener did plant a number of seeds in the greenhouse. This afternoon – cold with sunny intervals – we took a drive into the forest. A game of croquet was in progress on the green at Nomansland. The players were unfazed byContinue reading “Anyone For Croquet?”
The Hunt Is On
Before the family arrived, Jackie planted eggs, and I swept the paths. Soon after Danni, Andy, and Ella arrived this morning we were joined by Elizabeth. As an indication of how long it has been since they were last able to visit, our niece and nephew-in-law brought their Christmas present to us – a stainedContinue reading “The Hunt Is On”
Preparing For The Hunt
Ella is bringing her family for a garden visit tomorrow, Easter Sunday. An Easter egg hunt will, of course, be in order. We prepared the clues for this today. Jackie determined the nine different locations and photographed them. I printed each one, in which a prominent feature will bear the trophy. They will be numberedContinue reading “Preparing For The Hunt”
Eternal Spring
After lunch I progressed enough with ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’ to feature another handful of Charles Keeping’s splendid illustrations to Charles Dickens’s novel. In ‘The sky was black and cloudy, and it rained hard’, Dickens has used the weather as a symbol of the mood he wishes to create. The artist has reflected this in the verticalContinue reading “Eternal Spring”
The Garden As April Begins
On a warm day with sunny intervals it was time to record the garden as it comes alive. The Brick Path and the Back Drive borders each hold some of the plants I am about to show, like the euphorbia fronting one of the dead stumps on the Back Drive. We have many tulips inContinue reading “The Garden As April Begins”
Golfers On Course
After shopping at Ferndene Farm Shop this warm, overcast, afternoon we returned home via Burley Golf Course which, for a change, now that Covid restrictions have been relaxed, was occupied by more golfers than ponies, although the equine maintenance crew continued shaving the sward and spreading their hazardous heaps. The golfers, apparently oblivious of theContinue reading “Golfers On Course”
