Spring Flowers

Spring has definitely sprung and the house is full of flowers...

Beautiful double daffs in old French preserve jars...

new white tulips on the window sill..

more pinky/red and yellow tulips at the front door...

 

and finally a cute little teacup jammed with daisy, roses and foliage..

made by a lovely lady at a vintage market.

For more Flowers in the House...visit Jane at Small but Charming.

Well...Wells

On the way back from Wales last weekend....yes I'm jet setting again...well sort of....we finally had time to visit the city of Wells in Somerset. I've been dying to visit the smallest city in England since I saw a photo of these wonderful little houses....

This is the Vicars Close...the oldest residential street in Europe.

These gorgeous houses were in fact built to house the Vicars Choral.....priests whose duty it was to chant divine service eight times per day. They were built in 1363 with the chimneys being 'raised and crowned' in 1470.

The chimneys are the stand out feature of the buildings...

Each chimney has two heraldic shields, one of which represents the Bishop.

Another very unusual feature of this little neighbourhood is that the Close actually tapers by around 10 feet, thus creating the illusion of being longer than it is...

The Chapel and Library at the end of the close.

The entrances to the little houses vary with low archways and gates or doors...

However, the one common theme is a dark blue front door on these Grade I listed buildings..

Once I dragged myself away from this delightful street, we walked around the corner to visit the Wells Cathedral.

The West Front (c. 1230) contains one of the largest galleries of medieval sculptures in the world. It is an illustration in stone of the Christian faith, starting in the lower niches with biblical scenes, it rises through Kings, Bishops and orders of angels to the twelve apostles with Christ over all.

However, we were on borrowed time as the sky was looking very threatening...

We scampered inside and we weren't disappointed...

The stunning vaulted ceiling, with it's scissor arches towered overhead...

with beautiful painted detail..

and the altar was impressive, framed by the arches...

more so without the flash...

Beautiful stained glass windows...

and a rather large organ which was being played...accompanied by the choir...which made for a very atmospheric tour.

And yes...the sky opened up and we were caught in the rain and hail! As a result we didn't visit the Bishop's Palace...leaving us with a good excuse to visit Wells again.

Back Home

Hello there...yes I'm back in England, feeling like I've landed on another planet....

It's always this way when I leave Australia and the family, cat, house...

I walked in the door after my long flight to discover a surprise parcel waiting for me, sent by a lovely lady...

Linda from 'Flowers on my Table' kindly knitted me these lovely kitchen cloths...and also enclosed her clever paper hearts and two gift cards...

 Visit Linda here and see her post on Little Houses...

Thank you Linda, your generosity really cheered me up!


With the last few days being so dull and damp, I took off for a drive, finding myself at one of my favourite haunts...and managed to find a few new bits...

A marmalade jar...perhaps the first of a new collection...

little mini glass cloches...

and lastly this natty little tray, which I'm using for my collection of religious medals.

Some lovely red tulips and a new arrangement on the window sill has got me 'going' again....perhaps a visit to a big collectibles fair this weekend might complete my rehab!!

The Queenslander

Well, I'm back from 'not so sunny' QLD...yes the weather was cr*p...huge winds, grey seas and rain...at least it was warm and humid though...so I did get a dip in the pool and of course I had a great time, staying with my friends.

I even caught a fish...my friend here is holding it up...

Obviously, I didn't catch this huge barramundi....I simply bailed this guy up and snapped a shot...however, it was caught just off the beach in front of my friends' house...

So, what do a couple of girls do when its not beach weather.....shop of course...so off we went to 'Rockvegas' (better know as Rockhampton), for a bit of shopping and lunch....

On the way, we detoured to an area of Rocky, re known for it's beautiful Queenslanders....

Known for their gables and wide verandahs, they are perfect for the hot Queensland climate...

As well as providing shade and helping to keep the interior cool, these wide verandahs provide a terrific amount of living space, which can be utilized year round in this climate.

The elevation promotes cool air underneath and keeps the furniture dry if there is flooding...

Some are very ornate with grand entrances and gates..

this one has a Victorian influence with the decorative wrought iron lacework...

fretwork, both inside and out is common...

whilst some are quite simple, but still very cute...

Having lived up on the Capricorn Coast for three years and loving the climate and lifestyle, I've considered myself a 'Queenslander' at heart....and would love to live in one of these beauties...one day...are you listening Paul....