Chelsea Flower Show

Well I've sown the seeds that I got. Not convinced the auriculas don't need freezing to break dormancy, but I've given it a go. Who knows it may be next Spring before they come up.

The house is a complete shambles, books from the dining room bookcase are stacked everywhere. It will be tomorrow before I can start sorting the place out. I had hoped to paint the room before putting everything back, but the body it not willing. I walked a lot in London, and my foot problem, caused by chemo damaging nerve endings has flared again. I've been awake the last two night with really bad pain in my right foot and golf ball like swelling on on it. So I'll come back to it later in the year. Getting better at accepting my limitations, just keep chipping away at things and you get there eventually.

These are two Chelsea pictures, one is of the fantastic Kirstenboch stand from RSA.
They were trying to show how fire plays a unique part in helping germination of these amazing plants. The other is of the Cancer Research Garden, by far the best garden IMHO, Dan Pearson in the Observer also like it. The circles represent the links and switchbacks that occur in researching the disease.

Her indoors

stuck indoors with the workmen listening to these. I have to go round the outside of the house to get to the kitchen,as the diningroom floor is being sanded.

Mind the Gap

Hello all! Sorry for the gap in postings, but I've been away. I was in London all last week. I had a lovely time. We visited an old university friend of my husband's who we haven't seen for years. He and his wife live just outside of London in the leafy suburbs. Although he commutes to the north of England 4 days out of 7. A much faster and more affluent lifestyle than ours, but I don't I would swap.

Then we went into London proper, and we had a great hotel right beside the Embankment, near the National Theatre and Tate Modern. We went to see an exhibition on Duchamp, Man Ray and Picabia . It was full of humour and an amazing range of exhibits, they were all using every piece of technology that was available at the time, to create their works, including virtually inventing ready-made art.

We also went up in the London Eye, which was brave of me as I'm not keen on sheer drops, but it felt so solid and yet bubble-like that I really enjoyed it, and I had fun with the camera.

Then it was on to Chelsea Flower Show. We went early and saw most things before it got too crowded and zoo-like. I'm still editing the shots that I took, but I really didn't try too hard, as a tripod was out of the question and there was little or no room to compose a shot, so I decided just to enjoy looking with only my eyes for a change. The big tent is fantastic and the small specialist growers are great to talk to. I came home with seeds for show primula auriculas and a NZ Libertia - which will take up to 4 years to germinate and flower - so there's optimism for you.

I now have workmen in the house until Thursday and everything is in uproar, so I'll look in when I can.

The photo is of one of the merchandise stalls, which was full of chinoiserie.

Blog pals

Last night I went along to The Great Grog Poetry Night and had the great pleasure of meeting Barbara Smith. She is just as I expected, a warm and intelligent woman. She was first up and she read extremely well, which is a tribute to her courage for travelling to a new city and reading to a completely new audience. Her poems really come alive when she reads them, especially the ones about her family - the characters walk right off the page.

The other three readers were also very enjoyable, especially Alan Gillis, whose rhythms and amazing word choices rocked the joint with laughter and wonder.
And Claire Askew's work featured some really unusual themes, and Sally Evans read from her series poem The Bees, which is beautiful and features an elephant. I bought a copy for myself, but feel I must share it with my young nephew who is mad about elephants - to the extent that he fashions them from the red wax on Baby Bellings!

Well done Rob MacKenzie, it was my first time at Grog, shore leave is not easy to get around here, but I loved the relaxed atmosphere of the event. And he has some stellar future line-ups too.

I've have so much going on here it is just crazy. Arrangements for Heart Notes launches are going well, although I really struggle to do this kind of thing - it seems to feed every insecurity I have.

Also took great pleasure from noting some happy events with other bloggers, A Wanderer in Paris is expecting a baby and Absolute Vanilla has got married. Both lovely reminders that life is all about change!

Now back the chaos that is my life right now!

Catching the rays

It's too good to be indoors, and it won't last. So I'll catch up with everyone in a few days.

Meanwhile a few photos, two of a line of beech that were intended as hedge. but never cut, and a wee posie of blue flowers from my garden.

Later dudes!

Sunday Mix

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Joan Baez and Angus and Julia Stone

Randy Pausch's final lecture

I heard about this one the radio. It is a wonderful performance full of wisdom, wit and guts.


"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want" A quote from his childhood football coach.

Heart Notes

I went over to Dunbar last night to an event that Colin And Jo Gibson were putting on for the Dunbar part of Tyne and Esk writers. They took over a local cafe for the evening and it was a nice environment for novice readers to try out their wings.

I picked up some copies of Heart Notes and it looks really good. The cover has printed really well, so my colour management software is really doing the business.
And the paper and text layout looks clean and crisp.

Colin and I are meeting tomorrow to think about a launch. I've got a few ideas already. The charity I help in Edinburgh has offered their meeting space for free if I want to do a reading there. It is very central so I may take them up on the offer.