Wren Boys

Today I decided to do some picture research on Wren Boys. You can see what I found above. They still seem to be most active in Ireland these days. Wren Boys and Mummers have been around for hundreds of years. There are many different theories and ideas. I am still looking into them and will get back to you on it. Wren Day is Dec 26th.
I should very much like to make some of the straw suits they wear! They look amazing!

Once upon a time 2

Solägget by Elsa Beskow. The wee girl finds an orange lying in the moss in the forest. She believes it to be the sun egg. She then goes around to all her forest friends to ask them what she should do about this discovery. In this image she is returning a birds egg which has fallen out of the nest.

John Bauer again, what an amazing sky!

The intricacy of JB was very fulfilling, and as a child you could look at his art work for hours on end.

Tuvstarr sitting all alone and looking into the deep tarn in the forest.

Selma Lagerlöf wrote Nils Holgersson and she was also the very first woman to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature. This story captured my imagination and many other children too and inspired us to see the world. Flying became a frequent dream topic for me and I still fly in my dreams. It feels fantastic.

Epiphany

Twelfth night.
Normally I would take down the Yule tide decorations today but considering the deep white snow all around us and the still early darkness I will keep them up for a while longer.
We got a package from China and inside was Pu-er tea! Very special tea cakes, see above. Ours is just like the one here.
I cannot wait to try it, but first I want to get hold of a few implements in Chinatown either here or in London just to make the experience of Chinese tea more serene and pleasant. The tea will taste even better too.
A tea pot made of red clay, small bowls, perhaps a tray too...and a tea caddy to keep the tea in after it has been opened.

Once upon a time

Kiki Smith

Elsa Beskow Solägget

John Bauer Tuvstarr

John Bauer Alvida

Elsa Beskow and John Bauer were very important storytellers and illustrators in my childhood.
Kiki Smith more so in my so called adulthood.
These images carry many day dreams in them.

Hair and paint

Meret Oppenheim Fur gloves with wooden fingernails







Mimi Parent



Mimi Parent Maetresse

These are some of the art works intriguing me right now. Mimi Parent is an especially interesting artist and at present I am researching her work and life to learn more.
Meret Oppenheim is of course much more known but this particular piece I just saw at Angels of Anarchy in Manchester which also showcases works by Mimi Parent. If you cannot go in person the catalogue is very conclusive and informative.
The other two works are by a young Swedish artist from Gothenburg.

Hogmanay celebrated on the hill

New Years Eve came in with a great snowfall then settled into a cold starry night with a big full moon, a blue moon, that is when there are two in a month or 13 in a year!
We drove on the white on white roads and there was no other traffic, no traces in the snow whatsoever. The valley folk are wise.
Arriving at Shield Law, the hill overlooking Bellingham, was quite the challenge. We did not want to crash into a stone walls or slip and slide off the road altogether. I was holding the tray with the cooked salmon filets and in the back was the potato dauphinois a la Suede and a bag of goodies slipping and sliding about.
The trip itself was such an exciting adventure! Thanks to the bright full moon light we could see for miles and that really helped. It was so beautiful
Hogmanay was spent in the company of Ben, Ruth and Fred plus their three cats Patricia, Hemlock and Bramble and Molly the black lab.
It was a relaxed cosy evening and I am particularly fond of that family. It was so kind of them to have us over.
Around midnight Ruth opened the window to let the old year out and the new year in. We toasted with some delicious port.
The food was not necessarily traditional but very festive. Bubblies, starters of tomatoes baked with chevre, salmon, apple pie and mince pies made by Ruth and were delectable. I think it is a marvellous idea to share the cooking, like a potluck! It worked out very well indeed.
Hogmanay comes but once a year. Last year we were at home in Sheep Cottage with friends from Germany having cheese fondue.
Next year?

Brother Blue

Brother Blue passed this year and I will miss him. He was an amazing man. During all the years I lived in Cambridge Mass he and his wife tirelessly shared of themselves and their vision. They both wore all blue and the butterfly was his symbolic animal.
A storyteller among many things, he performed in streets, prisons and schools.