Hedges and walls....and naughty chairs...

On our short break to Shropshire a few weeks ago we stopped off en route to visit a National Trust property  near Welshpool called Powis Castle  

This medieval castle situated on a hill with spectacular views of the beautiful Welsh countryside, has a steep, terraced garden bounded by a most unusual hedge.

A huge, knobbly, carbuncle winding its way down the hill...

Knitted together over the years....

    And clipped to perfection.

 In complete contrast, a day trip to the Scottish Borders a few weeks ago yielded another interesting boundary..... this time at the romantically named Sweetheart Abbey in Dumfries and Galloway.

A red sandstone Abbey surrounded by the remains of a granite boulder wall precinct...

Huge boulders knitted together with smaller stones.

Both hedges and walls perfectly executed by their creators hundreds of years apart.

All very lovely I'm sure you will agree.


However, my own encounter with a "wall" last Friday was not so lovely.

Not an attractive, historical wall..... but a modern concrete breeze block wall in a Leisure Centre.

That damaged the back of my head....and boy....did I see stars, as well as donating a pint of blood to the surrounding floor.

 A lengthy visit to casualty (via an ambulance for a bit of drama) resulted in a most fetching hat...

Which is now off and I can at last wash my yucky hair.

The culprit of this head trauma?

A chair....

A very naughty chair!

Julie x

P.S. .....I am now officially banned from standing on chairs by Mr C S.

The Summer Fair at Hexham...

The Summer Fair at Hexham returns for the 4th year, this weekend 18th and 19th August 2012 at Wentworth Leisure Centre, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 3PD

Open 10am to 4pm daily....Admission FREE..... Ample car parking in Wentworth car park and good rail and bus connections to the town.

Donations to the Great North Air Ambulance  for the wonderful service they provide in the North of England would be most gratefully received at the entrance to the Fair.

The lovely Sarah Peel from Cool Crafting will be hosting craft workshops on Sunday 19th August only.

Sarah,
***From Sarah

 Join us with our version of haberdashery heaven at Rival Arts Summer Fair at Hexham. We will have a wide selection of ribbons, trimmings, buttons, fabrics, crafting kits and handmade goodness.

In addition to this we will be offering FREE workshops for children with as timetable as follows

12.00 - 12.30 Bejewelled Lanterns

 1.30 - 2.00 - Felt Flower Brooches

2.30 - 3.30 - Little Owl

 Please note - this event is also running on Saturday, 18th August but we will only be attending for the Sunday 19th August.***

So children, why not come along on Sunday.... be creative and see what you can make....she's great!

Julie x

PS The Cloth Shed will be there too with new goodies and a big pine dresser if I can get it packed...x

Shopping GB style....

A few days away to re-charge The Cloth Shed batteries took us to Ludlow in Shropshire and of course some shopping along the way...

The butchers twine in red and blue ( which I have been after for a long while for my labels ) came from an interesting little shop tucked in a side street just off the marketplace called Black Bough.

Refreshing to find them still open at 5pm and not in a hurry to throw us out....thank you chaps!

Unlike some, where half an hour before closing they are removing things off the pavements and clearing up for the day.
In times of "recession" and in a tourist area too, it does seem shortsighted to possibly lose a sale.

A small, vintage flag from 55 Mill Street to make into a cushion....a little different to the usual union flag and I will back it in old, off-white linen.

The Cotswolds of course were also on the travel list to purchase some more chalk paint from Station Mill Antiques just outside Chipping Norton.

Lots of projects planned for these tins.

A tasty lunch in their cafe.... then onto Cirencester to the lovely Corn Hall building with its interesting selection of shops and a Craft market, where once again at closing time, ( must stop doing this...) a quick purchase from Melanie Thornton's beautiful stall Lark

 I can't begin tell you how lovely this shea butter body lotion is, no nasty parabens and it smells so gorgeous too...her silver jewellery was also very tempting.

Emma Bridgewater Factory Shop in Stoke on Trent for some mug replenishment and a free oven glove
( August promotion ) on the way home... and a visit to a National Trust property we have never been to before.

Attingham Park in Shropshire with a kitchen to die for...

As keen National Trust members it was the first time we had actually taken up the offer of a guided tour and so pleased we did.

A wonderful lady in costume took us through the history of the family and the house with great style and humour...as a trained singer we heard the acoustic properties of the domed, glass roof gallery and as an actress her delivery and recollection of dates, ages and names would put a younger person to shame!

Heather Game...as she said.."game for anything"...what a star!
The Trust should be extremely pleased to have you.

As a final treat for the way home I bought some sweet peas from the plant area...£2 worth of gorgeousness.

Can't you just smell them?

Julie x

PS Many thanks for your lovely comments and to Jane the Book Lady for nominating me for an award...too kind xx

Old books....

There is something special about old leather bound books.....the smell, the gorgeous, dark conker colour of the leather.... with a patina that can only be created from years of holding, opening and reading.

The raggy end papers....

And the wonderful print type set....with those great 'f's instead of s's so typical of the 18th century.

Bought yesterday at the very busy Hexham Fair in Northumberland from an exhibitor who has a great eye for the unusual and decorative....and one of my favourite haunts first thing in the morning.


So, last night, instead of slumping in front of the TV watching repeats of Grand Designs et al...... I sat and read The Romance of the Highlands.

Not exactly "romantic" ....

In fact it was more of a battle drama with mortal wounding, slaying, cruelty, tyranny and oppression raging between the Scottish clans.
Lots of drawing and wielding of swords...so typically male.

But to me, the most fascinating bits in the book ( which were originally library books from a Scottish border town ) were the sepia ink comments from an incensed reader...

He just couldn't bring himself to write the full word poor man!

Julie x

Rain....

With all this rain...some days of biblical quantities....the garden has gone into serious overdrive.

Impossible at times to get out and cut the grass,

The ferns are in heaven,

And so are those pesky slugs and snails, laying waste to my poor hostas.

Plants spilling over from the borders,

The fig with the biggest ever leaves in all its 6 years,

And an imminent, bumper flowering of the agapanthus.

At least with all this rain I don't have to drag the hosepipe out and fill the watering cans every few days,

But...why does it have to be so torrential?

I still managed to paint this dresser however....dodging the showers...

Rain can't stop play at The Cloth Shed .......x

Bye for now,
Julie x

French moment....

Ooh la la...I think I am having a bit of a French moment with my buying.

This very long length of material which I thought initially was a French flag.... (as it lay bundled up in the bottom of an old pine blanket chest)......until I unwound it.... and it just kept coming.

It is actually twice the length of the washing line so I think I am going to get a few cushions out of this old fabric.

Continuing the red white and blue theme....

Two tall bookcases....the top coat red, the next layer pale blue and under that, white.

A lot of sanding later ( as the shelves had been well and truly painted in )

Et voila....on its way to a good old Farrow and Ball toning down.

Three coats of paint later,

Slightly distressed, and polished with a "dirty" polish....

And all ready for my books.

Including this wonderful 1910 business directory of Paris.

Linen covered and extremely heavy with printed adverts on the end paper....

Inside, fascinating adverts for agricultural machinery,

Heating appliances....

And when you get fed up with each other....

You can make an appointment.

Finally, in keeping with my French theme and most importantly....a 15 bottle crate from Monsieur Bourdial for storing my vin and Perrier...

Merci Monsieur!


A Bientôt....

Julie x