Glittering Prizes........

Well, it was quite simple really. The brief from my youngest sister was clear. Annual Flower Show coming up, enter as many categories as you can manage and this year, make sure you get the kids to make something that they can enter into the 'Junior Section'. Ok, says I, I'm on it. So we got our collective heads together (this, by the way, is a mere 72 hours before the actual event was to take place so talk about cutting it fine!) and decided to enter the 'Miniature Garden' category and the 'Floral Arrangement in a Cup and Saucer'.   So, we started with a recycled fruit box which Nana painted blue and lined with a freezer bag then tipped some compost into the box and our idea began to take shape......          

 

....and we worked our way through the afternoon, gathering sticks and stones and pebbles, shells and sea urchins and little plastic people, paper parasols and finally some cuttings from various plants and set them on a bed of (builder's!)sand and Hey Presto, we had a 'Beach Garden' all ready to show off at the Flower Show.

 

 Then there was just the floral arrangement to take care of so I quickly ran around the Boss's garden gathering some pretty flowers and brought them home for the children to arrange for themselves in their chosen cups and saucers. So when everything was ready, we set off for the venue, the night before the actual show to register our entries and to place our exhibits in their respective positions, whereupon we trotted off home rather excitedly to have one more sleep before the Big Day. It was a bit like waiting on Christmas Day coming around. The excitement and anticipation was quite real, I can vouch for that.

So then, comes the day and we all piled into the car once more to hotfoot it to town see whether the Show Judges had been kind to us this year. Unfortunately, the 3yr.old's charming little effort didn't get placed but then, she has plenty of time to catch up when subsequent Flower Show's roll around. 

Then on to the mid-Junior Section and surprise, surprise, there was the loveliest rosette placed right in front of our 8yr. old's cup and saucer arrangement and what a hoot of surprise it caused her to emit. Excited, much!

 Well, as if that wasn't enough excitement to be going on with, she'd only gone and got herself an extra-special award in the shape of a beautiful silver trophy for her arrangement. My, oh my, there was a great deal of whooping and high-five-ing going on, I can tell you. You'd think we'd won the lottery!

Then we moved over to the miniature garden section and wouldn't you know it, there was another shiny rosette sitting waiting for us in front of the Beach Garden. Well, by this point, we were almost sticking to the ceiling (well, some of us at least!). How Happy we all were.

 Oh, and just as an aside, I won a 'first' for my crocheted baby cardi, a 'third' for my crocheted adult cardi/jacket and a 'second' for my Fair Isle hat. My youngest sister did pretty well too with all her baking and jam entries, winning a silver salver for the best-in-show for her Ginger Cake!

These aren't mine but I just loved them. They're little needle-felted fairies in glass jars and they were really well made.

Then on the way home, after enjoying a delicious celebratory pizza at our local Italian restaurant,we stopped for an ice-cream and sat by the shore to watch the gorgeous sunset.The perfect end to a perfect day.

Thanks for stopping by. I really do appreciate it.

Until next time.

xoxoxoxoxo

Far From The Madding Crowd......

It's the 70th Anniversary of the Edinburgh International Festival and they've come in their droves, from all corners of the globe, to see the sights and sounds of the Big City. Personally, I don't think you could cram anymore people in within its perimeters. I've never seen it so busy as it was yesterday when I took myself there on my annual cultural outing. It was really, really busy and I couldn't be bothered battling the crowds so headed to the 'New Town' district which is a short walk

 

  from Princes Street and popped into the Scottish National Portrait Gallery for a bit of decorum....

..an Eduardo Paolozzi bronze bust of John Smith who was a prominent politician in Scotland (before the present lot of crazies took up residence at Holyrood!). He was a great statesman and there's no-one who comes close in the present administration. I like his 'geeky' glasses too!....then upstairs to the galleries, the first one of which houses many beautiful paintings of Scotland through the ages. ....Some famous Scottish names you  might recognise

...I particularly liked these plaques which denoted the wives of past Kings of Scotland. Nice of them to get a mention, I thought.

....then into the library, which is quite small but which houses many,many antiquarian books and the marble busts you can see are of famous Scots, one of whom I mistook for J.K. Rowling - can you see the resemblance? It is in fact a lady of much high-standing in Scotland. Her full title is Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws Q.C. - what a great handle!

This lady looked very kind. I forget her name.

Time is alwaysmarching, isn't it?

I looked for my family name in here but alas, they must have forgotten to include it before it went off to Pall Mall for publishing!  I shall complain.

I thought these were an interesting addition to the library cases. You've probably heard of them. They're the infamous body-snatchers/grave robbers (all in the name of science, apparently!), Burke and Hare. They don't look very jolly characters.

and in this case, some very famous faces. The top right-hand is Benjamin Franklin (for my American pals). Don't worry, they're not death masks or anything (though Burke and Hare's were!), just casts which were taken when the faces were still alive!

I have no idea who this chap is but I thought he looked very Byron-esque and equally handsome. I shall research him and get back to you.

Then back downstairs into the main foyer, where a large marble statue of Scotland's Bard, Robert Burns, is in prominence.

and by way of a complete contrast, this exhibit at his feet which - you'll never believe it - is in fact a piece of contemporary art which was recently installed as part of the Festival. It's called 'Blackened Burns'. I actually thought it was a whole statue which someone had accidentally knocked over!

Then a gentle stroll along these lovely streets filled with lovely houses and pretty window boxes.

....and next stop, one of my favourite wool/yarn shops and always worth a visit when in Edinburgh (I was very reserved and didn't buy anything. I could start my own wool shop with my current stash!). Then it was time for a much-needed pitstop.

and on to my next venue which was a lovely little art gallery, where a friend was holding an exhibition of his recent work.

I liked his cushion. It goes really well on that chair.

and these fisherwomen were beautifully made and in pretty colours.

Many,many moons ago and in a galaxy far,far away, I worked in one of these offices. I can't believe I'm the same person. Well, same but different.

Then it was time to head uptown amongst the melee and mayhem to catch my train home ......ghost tour anyone?....until next time

xoxoxoxo