August, Part I...

August began with the annual regatta - and, of course, the sun shone, the water sparkled, and the commentators got the giggles when anyone ended up 'in the drink'. Jolly good show, what?!

The garden did its usual delightful thing - looking particularly lovely as the sun was going down.

A day in Bury St Edmunds with Mr Drookit, and the Girl, wondering what the houses were like behind these doors.

I started training for a new job, which involved doing a bit of travelling - no hardship in summer, spending an hour on the top deck of the bus, looking out for miles and miles over fields of gold and green.

The garden was filled with goldfinches, and paintbrushes gathered dust for another summer.

A vintage fair in the local church hall drew a good crowd. Much lipstick was applied.

In the middle of August we had our annual Olympicnic - an institution now. We didn't bother trying to find a Commonwealth themed title, in honour of the games in Glasgow, but instead stuck to variations on the theme. Misanthropicnic, myopicnic, and so on. Don't mess with a winning formula, I'd say.

Games, grub, guitars, oh, okay, banjos... good times!

House and home...

After her mother died, a friend had the task of emptying her house of a lifetime's accumulation of bits and bobs, collections of linen and ceramics, clothes and ornaments. I went with her one day, as she wondered if I'd like any of her mother's art materials. Just as I'd hoped, the house was fascinating and crammed with unusual and interesting things.

A child's 'correction chair'...

A very sweet little painting by her mother.

Another lovely little painting, and a great wall colour.

The garden, with its ramshackle sheds and dilapidated greenhouse, clay pots piled high, and toppling statuary, was equally fascinating.

 

 

December already...

Time just seems to be flying past at the moment, and with the promise of 'stuff that must be done' looming (buying, tidying, making, etc) it feels as if the clocks are speeding up even more... Outside, the leaves are still looking gorgeous but the berries are starting to take over as the 'colour interest'.

Indoors, we still have pumpkins dotted around the house, waiting patiently for me to either get on and paint them or just put them out of their misery.

Off to St Peter's the other day for another vintage fair organised by Juniper Flowers, and then to my favourite shop in town, AG Lifestyle, which I'd happily move into.

AG Lifestyle is just across from Waitrose, and five minutes stroll to the train station, so it would make an ideal home... but for the lack of a bed, and pesky customers trying to buy everything when you're trying to have a quiet cup of tea and a custard cream.

I received this postcard from my sister-in-law and niece, from an exhibition of Frida Kahlo's work at the Musée d'Orsay. Beautiful painting - I like the stylisation of Kahlo's work very much and this painting demonstrates that particularly well. Inspiring. My lovely niece is coming to stay tomorrow, so I will make sure she tells me every detail of the exhibition!

 

Okay doke, off to start a veggie stew/soup/something or other, with all the lovely veg* bought at the farmers' market the other day, before Mr Drookit gets home from his bike ride.

 

*Romanesco cauliflower looked particularly lovely - not sure yet what to do with it, but I'm sure it will be interesting!

Vintage St Peter...

Juniper Flowers is a lovely little shop in Sudbury, selling flowers, vintage wares, and gorgeous retro frocks, and today they took over St Peter's in town for a 'Brief Vintage Encounter', filling the place with vintage stalls, a tea room and even retro makeovers. A couple of vintage cars parked outside set the scene and there was a definite happy buzz around Market Hill.

We were greeted at the door by the Juniper team and inside the sun was blazing through the stained glass - with some trad jazz playing, and even a bit of live singing, the atmosphere was really quite special.

I loved the cushions at 'My Betty Blue' (below) made from vintage fabrics, and salvaged kimonos. I'd planned on getting a scrap bag of vintage textile pieces, but left it too long - by the time I went back, the one I wanted had been sold! Ah well, instead I bought a cushion, made in 1930s fabrics - the pretty blue one propped up in front of Ms 'Blue' herself. Look out for them at Brick Lane in London!

I also bought a soft, well-worn, blue and white linen tea towel from Susan, the retro lady, who was dressed far more bravely than I would ever dare. What a sweetheart - Susan featured on telly, in Kirstie's Vintage Homes, so we had a celebrity in our midst!

There were quite a few women, both customers and vendors (and vintage shop mannequins!), in full makeup and 1940s hairstyles, or in 1950s full skirts, all looking utterly gorgeous. Sudbury has never seemed so glamorous!

The ladies from The Vintage Garden Tea Party Company, who provided the catering, transformed the kitchen with bunting, pretty teacups and saucers, and fabulous cakes. If we hadn't been out last night with friends for the most enormous curry we might have succumbed - although C did buy a few cakes to take home for later!

St Peter is a great venue for this sort of thing, and it clearly went down well with the locals. One of our neighbours told me that she was tickled pink to find some old dolly pegs amongst the treasures!

So, something for everyone - even if only a cup of tea, a bit of cake and some slightly rueful reminiscing about about all of the Pyrex, mid-century modern ceramics, and Victorian lace we've chucked out over the years...