Cornwall in the Sunshine

I went back down to Cornwall for a couple of weeks in August to catch up with more friends down there.  And the weather was more user-friendly this time, with quite a few days of sunshine, even over the August Bank Holiday weekend (unheard of).  It was very busy in Cornwall, being the last week of the school summer holidays, but still a joy to be there.   Of course, being England, the beautiful days were interspersed with miserable misty, wet days.  The price that must be paid for all the greenery.

Dinner overlooking a sandy beach on Cornwall's north coast












It was a delight to see a Red Admiral butterfly.  I remember these from my childhood.

Cliff top walks in the sunshine

yet another quaint Cornish village

Carn Euny. The remains of round stone houses. This site has been inhabited since the iron age.

Also at Carn Euny.  This is part of the fogou.  An underground tunnel with a circular round room off the corridor.  It is not known what this was used for, but it is incredibly sturdy and well built.  Perhaps it was protection against invaders.  The whole settlement was built high on a hill, with views to the coast

Iridescent lichen in a nearby sacred well

The church where Sir John Betjeman is buried, overlooking
the sea

This is one of the four round houses in Veryan, a small Cornish village.  There are a pair of these round houses at each end of the village - one on either side of the road.  They have round rooms so there are no corners for the devil to hide in.

The Merry Maidens near Penzance. They were turned to stone, as punishment for dancing on the Sabbath.  It looks like they must have been circle dancing.

As I was going to St Ives (on the train), this was the view

In St Ives for a day out with old friends

Very steep narrow streets in St Ives

Dancing at Halsway Manor

 Halsway Manor (pronounced Hallsey) is in Somerset.  It is another wonderful old house, now run as a centre for Folk Music and associated arts and dance.  Hazel Young runs a dance holiday here every year. She did mostly traditional European dances, with a smattering of new choreographies.  I met up with about 6 people I had already danced with earlier this year, which was nice.  I never did master the other 30+ names of the dancers.

We danced outside once or twice.  But one couple were out dancing by the summer house the whole time!!!.

 

White night.  Hazel Young in the foreground.  Me peeping from behind the banister post.











The grand entrance hall, and a mosaic in the garden depicting all things 'folk'.  Each panel was made by a different group of children.

View through my bedroom window

Wings, Woldingham and The New Forest

At the end of July I spent 5 days in Chelmsford, Essex, dancing with Stefan and Bethan at their annual Wings event.  It was lovely to meet and dance with them.                                                    The venue was a private boarding school - hired out for events like this during the summer holidays.                                                                 I thought Pegasus in the grounds was very appropriate for us.                                                  Most circle dance centres in England are quite simple, but this was stunning - real sunflowers too, grown locally

Stefan and Bethan entertaining us

From Wings to Woldingham, in Surrey, dance holiday with Brenda Kelly.  Another grand private boarding school

Decorating the dance space with bunting and flowers

I was in charge of the centre for this weekend, so it was very simple.  Fortunately that was what Brenda wanted.     We did some wonderful dances - old and new.  There was also some singing, and plenty of laughter.

Demonstrating one of Brenda's new dances, with Brenda, and Bev (one of her regular dancers)

Onwards to the New Forest area.  I climbed to the top of the Priory Church tower in nearby Christchurch.  Well worth it for the views.

A beautiful evening stroll along the river in Christchurch                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

This beach hut could be yours for a mere GBP 272,500.  That's about $442,00 in AUD!!  And you can't even live in it full time.  It has a tiny kitchen, sofa and mezzanine sleeping platform.  It is in Dorset, at Hengistbury Head if any wants to rush over and invest.....

Heather flowering on the cliff tops, Dorset.

 .

Old and new side by side opposite the beach in Dorset.  It looked very odd.

Brockenhurst in the New Forest.  The ponies just wander through the village, and stop wherever they feel like it.

There are cattle grids across some side roads and across people's driveways, to keep the ponies out of the gardens.

T

 Walking with Barbara and Mike in the New Forest.
Once a year the ponies and other livestock are all rounded up and checked.  They all actually belong to people, but have the right to roam free and graze throughout the forest.  This keeps areas clear of brambles and dense undergrowth.  The pigs are let out to roam in the autumn to forage for acorns.

A stream in the New Forest.  Very pretty woodland.  The soil must be good with manure from the ponies, cattle, pigs and donkeys and all the leaf mould from the deciduous trees.

Dancing with Barbara Driscoll's group in her garden, in the northern part of the New Forest.  We danced and had tea and scones afterwards, all as a fund-raiser for the bees.

Barbara's garden again.  Looking from the lawn, down through the arbor to another dance area, with decking and a standing stone in the centre.  Very shady under the oak tree.

From Scotland To The Dreaming Spires of Oxford

After York, I had a few days in SW Scotland, visiting my cousins who have lived up there for 30 years - and this was the first time I have visited them there!  Previous UK visits have had too many time restrictions to venture that far north.  I was so pleased to finally see their lovely corner of the world.  Even lovelier as the weather stayed fine for me.  They have 20 acres of land, including a small loch with views to the distant ranges.  Scotland is the last strong hold of the RED squirrels.  The grey squirrels that have taken over England are kept out, as they carry a disease that they are immune to, but kills the reds. Valerie and Derek had red squirrels, otters, pheasants and a variety of birds visiting their garden.  All very peaceful and far from the madding crowds.

Soon after Scotland I had my first experience of Oxford. Madding crowds galore there!!  But still an amazing place to visit.  Stunning architecture and stonework everywhere.

I stayed here at Magdalen College (pronounced Maudlin for some strange reason) in the very comfortable en-suite student accommodation. The college was previously frequented by CS Lewis and his friend JR Tolkien, as well as Oscar Wilde.  What tales these walls could tell.  The college grounds provided a tranquil sanctuary in heart of the city, with wonderful gardens and a deer park.

view of the deer park from my room

incredible stonework in the college chapel

unusual sepia-toned stained glass in the college chapel

The college dining room where they served breakfast

Deer in Magdalen College browsing just as high as they could reach on their tippy-toes

The cloisters that lead to the dining hall.  All very atmospheric.

This modest looking white building is the oldest concert hall in Europe - the Holywell Music Room.  Built in 1748.  Handel himself performed here.  Jo, our Rosalie circle dancing friend, has also performed here when she was with a local folk band.  I met up with Jo one afternoon, as she happened to be in Oxford at the same time as me She sends her love to all her Aussie friends.

The venue only holds about 200 people, so is beautifully intimate.  The seating is well-tiered so everyone gets a good view.  The seats leave a little to be desired in the comfort department.  Next time I will bring a cushion!  I came here twice.  One morning they had an hour long concert. A string quartet, made up of top professional players, performed Mozart String Quartet No.20.  They were then joined by a pianist who played Mozart Piano Concerto No.12.   It gave me some much needed time out, and was very relaxing. 

I came back that evening for another concert by a pianist called Jack Gibbons.  He now lives in New York, but returns to Oxford each summer for a series of concerts here.  This is a man who has performed at Carnegie Hall and other great concert halls, so it was a privilege to see him play in such a small auditorium.  This particular night he played Gershwin, and gave some insights into Gershwin's life. He has taught himself, from the composers early recordings, to play the music as Gershwin himself did, which is often very complicated.  Just amazing!  At times his hands were just a blur.  After more than two hours of performing (all without any sheet music)  he almost launched himself off the stool after his grand finale.  I was so energised after the concert I didn't get to sleep for hours.  And that is most unlike me!  I can't imagine how he would have come down after such a passionate performance.  And 2 days later he was going to be performing Chopin.

Another treat was to climb St Mary's Tower, up these stone stairs. It was well worth it for the breathtaking views from the top.  Oxford certainly lives up to its name as the city of dreaming spires.  I was also impressed with amount of parkland remaining in the city, and of course the rivers running through, although unfortunately much of the city is subject to flooding.

Oxford - Hertford bridge

More amazing stonework.  A good craftsman would never have been out of work around here when all this was being built.

   

Unfortunately no handsome young gent offered to punt me down the river. Hey ho.