Out of Service . . . .

A couple of days ago my laptop decided to go on the blink and it will no longer connect to the internet (I think it must be worn out like me!)  I'm not sure what the problem is.  I can see my service provider but the router no longer works.  I don't know if it can be fixed or how easy it will be to do that.  At the moment its just a step too far for me as I just don't have the reserves for the unexpected.  I'm borrowing my son's netbook but its only for 'emergencies' so no more blogging or other internet activities for me.

So its another unanticipated break.

My health will probably thank me.
But I will miss your company!!

Retro & Vintage Inspired Corner of my Home Linky

My Favourite Corner

Today I'm welcoming you into my home - its not the sort of post I would usually put together, but I decided it might be fun to join in a link-up (its my first!). This one is hosted by the lovely and ever stylish Kylie at Lucy Violet Vintage. 
Kylie hails from Perth in Western Australia and if you are not already a regular visitor of her blog please pop in an pay her a visit - you won't be disappointed.

Kylie is co-hosting the linky with Donna from Hung up on Retro. 
This is the first time I've had a chance to see Donna's blog and it was also a real treat. 

The idea of this link-up is to share some pics of our favourite vintage/retro inspired spaces in our homes.  At first I wasn't sure if I qualified - if my home is at all retro it is by accident rather than design.  Most of my possessions originally belonged to my mother or grandmother.  I surround myself with them because of the memories they hold and jumble up the good, bad and indifferent as their value to me has no correlation with any monetary worth.

The little tables (like the one with the vase of roses at the top) were made by my grandfather.  The tablecloth in the foreground of the photo above was embroidered many years ago by a relative - it has been lovingly and carefully patched over time - you can see the patches shining through in the sunlight.

I chose to photograph this vase as I knew Kylie would like it - and it was one of my mother's favourites.  I feel her presence with me whenever I walk past and look at it.  My father on the other hand hated it.  I can remember him saying that the colour always reminded him of the sign outside a police station.

I've included this second vase because I thought the colours and design fitted in quite well with the vintage / retro theme - although I think it is a bit older than the period we are celebrating here.  It comes from Gouda in Holland.

I've always loved this set - its quite a well known one called Gossamer by Royal Albert but my mom always called them her Harlequin cups.  They fascinated me when I was a child.  Today I'd never use them but keep them carefully put away in my china cabinet.

The last of my 'treasures' I thought I'd show you is this coffee set.  It was given to my grandmother as a present from my grandfather to celebrate my mother's birth in 1930.







This room is the original part of the house and started out as a forge 300 or so years ago.  (When it comes to retro and vintage I'm REALLY retro!)  I love it because it is full of character, solidly built and has this funny little staircase up the side that leads to what must have originally been a loft but is now a study.    

The only unusual thing about this room is that it is the first one I've inhabited that faces away from the hearth and fireplace.  (I couldn't take a pic of the hearth I liked - they were either too dark and blurry or the flash bounced off the mirror above it.)  Because we can't see the clock on the mantelpiece anymore we stuck the little cheap clock above the brass tray on the wall.

As all my blog friends already know we have only been in this house since March.  I'm still moving everything around to get the right balance.  The paintings in particular have all changed places since we first came here and I took the earlier pic of the room.

The pictures in the photo below are copies I painted many years ago of illustrations by two of my favourite artists.  The one on the left is taken from a Sleeping Beauty illustration by Maraja.  The painting on the right is based on one by Kay Nielsen although I changed it a bit by putting the girl next to the tree in the foreground.  The medieval looking picture in the second photo at the beginning of this post is a tapestry I made in 1980 from a small illustration in a Disney book of Sleeping Beauty.  When I went to buy the tapestry canvas and discovered how cheap blank canvas was at the time I got a bit carried away and bought a really BIG piece.      

Eagle eyed South Africans will have noticed the potjie pot (a three-legged cast iron pot).  Its used to make potjiekos - a type of stew cooked over an open fire.  There is an art to doing it well (my husband is the only expert in our house) and the results are delicious.

When we first moved into the house at the end of winter I posted some photos of the garden here (In the Realm of Faerie).  Now the garden is finally coming to life, the magnolia is in full bloom and the trees are soft and green.

In the earlier post I also included a pic of the river at the bottom of the garden.  Next to the river are the foundations of a long gone building and this big millstone.  My son calls it the Irish Round Table.

We are only supposed to post our link-ups on Saturday but because Kylie is in Australia and it will be Saturday there much earlier than here I've decided to publish mine tonight.  I think that matches the time requirement a little bit better.

Hope you enjoyed your short visit with me!

Bill Woggon - 1960's Family Values

I had two quite tough and tiring days to end the working week so didn't think I would be putting out a post this weekend and then two corresponding things happened to change my mind.  First my dear friend Barbara from the fabulous March House Books Blog gave me the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.  Thanks so much Barbara - if I can manage it I will put together the prerequisite acceptance post although I have to admit I am becoming more and more aware of my limitations!  Then yesterday I noticed that Terence (Agman) from Aviator had dedicated a post to my last offering of the Nadir Quinto Star Maidens. (I had a fabulous response to that post ans would  like to thank everyone for your wonderful comments.)  Terence's words: 'If you've ever wondered? where children go when they dream visit this post'  kind of blew me away - if I had to put into words what I was trying to achieve with these posts, describing them as 'the place where children go when they dream' would be the highest accolade I could aspire to.

This week I'm not featuring a fairytale or particularly colourful post, but for a while I've been wanting to do the second of three offerings on the Bill Woggon Story of the Ballet Coloring Book  (first posted in January). I know a few people besides myself have very fond memories of this book (I hope Georgia comes back to find me again - I'm sorry it has taken me longer than expected to include these extra pages.)  I would have been a contemporary of these two little girls at the time the book was published and as I was a big fan of ballet I identified with them entirely.

Today though what I want to post is not the ballet aspect of the book but the family at the core of the story.  Those of us from the era will recognise the lifestyle it contains immediately and like me, I'm sure, will find it equally delightful.

'Mommy' is the quintessential 1960's home-maker.  She is beautiful and feminine, always immaculately dressed (with high heels and jewellery) and perfectly coiffed.  Mommy prepares tasty meals for her family, the table is artfully set and her home filled with flowers.  In the next post I'm planning from this book you will see she is also able to whip up a sparkling array of ballet costumes for her two girls without breaking a sweat.
 
  

'Daddy' is clean cut and handsome.  He is the breadwinner of the family.  Every day Daddy disappears to that strange and mysterious world called 'the office'.  Daddy is the decision maker of the family and everything must be deferred to him (although to my eyes now he looks impossibly young!).

The womenfolk of the family are however not above some clever feminine manipulation to ensure that Daddy makes the correct decision.

The family is rounded off with Fiddle Diddle the dog.  When I bought the book I knew it was used and not in perfect condition but was so happy to have finally found a copy I have no complaints.  Some of the pictures are coloured in and a few pages are missing.  Amongst them are Fiddle Diddle's antics at the ballet class so unfortunately I will not be able to include any of those.

This last picture is the one that produced the biggest reaction from me.  When Daddy gets home he is brought his pipe and slippers to relax after a hard day at work.  Here he is happily smoking away indoors with a daughter on each knee.  As a child I would have found this completely normal and not given it a second thought!

The Story of the Ballet, illustrated by Bill Woggon. Costume design by Cassie Bill. Published by Saalfield 1963/64.










Recently I've been mentioning how much my new extended commute eats into my day, leaving me with little time to pack in everything else I have to try to do outside of working and travelling - and as a result I'm feeling quite tired.  It is a bit of a conundrum though because the commute itself is through beautiful scenery and I often think to myself that many people spend a lot of money to experience just once what I get to see it all its changing moods every day.

It takes about half an hour to get me to the station and on to the train and twenty minutes to walk to my office when I get to town but everything in-between is by train.  I suppose I could spend the time more constructively if I bought a tablet or more portable laptop or even a book to read.  But for the moment I am still enjoying the landscape as it glides past and to be honest I value the downtime.  I suffered a nearly fatal dose of encephalitis when I was a teenager leaving me prone to migraines and my eyes extremely light sensitive.  Working in IT and staring at a monitor all day was probably not the wisest career choice!  So this chance to sit and do nothing is often quite appreciated, especially in the mornings when the train is empty before we reach the commuter belt.  (Coming home I've had to work out a strategy of juggling two different types of trains to have the best option of getting a seat!)

As Shakespeare so eloquently said 'had we both world enough and time'!

Leaving Rathdrum station

I took a few photographs to show my husband and son some of the parts of the trip I enjoy the most and thought I would also share them with my blog friends.

We start off through fairy forests and lovely farmland.

Then after Wicklow Town we hug the coast almost the whole way into town.

 

Bray Head

Bray Head (Between Bray and Greystones)

I was quite lucky to get the next photo as I don't usually have my camera with me and on this particular day a sailing ship just happened to be there as we went past.  They were moving and we we moving and I wasn't sure if we would get close enough before they disappeared around the corner (and we went into the tunnel) but I just managed to snap this shot.

Killiney Bay

Iarnród Éireann have recently introduced a new fleet of commuter trains that are very smart and it feels more like you are in a plane than a train.  There are glamorous sounding announcements first in Irish and then English throughout the journey.  The older trains are not as smart but they are possibly more comfortable and seem bigger.  

The 'station' at Kilcoole is quite unique - it is just a single platform on the beach!  (There is a car park but no station building.)

Sunrise at Kilcoole

The Star Maidens - Nadir Quinto

I was originally going to post another entry on the Bill Woggon colouring book I featured at the beginning of the year as I've always had three posts in mind for it.  But somehow I felt I needed something with a bit more colour in my life today - and this lovely story seemed just the ticket.  The illustrations are by Nadir Quinto - one of my favourite artists and someone who has featured in my blog on more that one occasion before. 

I love everything about these illustrations.  The richness of the colours, the subject matter, and the way just looking at them makes my spirit soar into the heavens where it can dance in that vast spangled expanse alongside these fairies and prancing winged horses.

Last week I was feeling very tired, demoralised and pretty glum in general.  I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who left a comment and to those of you I know visit regularly even if you don't always say anything.  I've mentioned before that blogging has surprised me by being such a two way street.  I always hoped my posts would bring enjoyment and delight to the lives of others in the same way that these illustrations have given such joy and pleasure to mine.  I never expected to find my own life enriched in return so much by the people I've met in the process.  I may not have managed to garner hundreds of followers but I've realised that each and every one of you is far more important to me than a thousand voiceless faces - so for that I'd like to thank you all for the wealth of friendship you've brought to my world.

This is another instance where I've had to split my scans into two images because I can only cope with A4 size and the original pages are much larger.  I've tried to do these so that both the illustrations and the text are included.  I may have cut a little bit off on the edges but I hope I've still managed to keep a workable balance.

This story originally appeared in 'Once Upon a Time' magazine. 

Issues 79 to 82

Published weekly between 15 August 1970 and 5 September 1970

To those of you whose blogs I normally visit - thanks again for being so understanding if I don't pop around as often as I used to.  I've found because of my new extended commute (coupled with a demanding work environment) I tend to run out of steam as the week progresses - each day gets progressively worse and by Thursday I'm capable of doing virtually nothing by the time I get home.  Its almost more than I can do to get up on Friday morning but at least then I have the knowledge that on Saturday I don't have to make a 5am start.  Its amazing how well the weekend manages to revive my energy and spirits - but then treadmill continues and its back to the same old routine on Monday again!

The Strawberry Fairy

Somehow since moving home I've lost all momentum when it comes to blogging.  I've moved twice before since starting this blog so the effort involved is not necessarily the cause, but something inside me seems to have changed.  Part of the reason for this is my extended work commute - now almost 5 hours each day during the week.  I've realised I've reached the point where I can either visit and support other people's blogs or post something on my own, but no longer do both with regularity.

The most rewarding and unexpected pleasure of blogging for me has been the interaction I've enjoyed with the wonderful people I've met through this blog since starting these posts.  For this reason alone I'm determined to try to continue. Even though we have never met in person I consider many of you really good friends and I would miss your comments and 'company' terribly.  If I'm brutally honest with myself I have to acknowledge that my blog is not as successful as most of those I visit but I'm going to plug on regardless.  I can't network as easily or socialise as much as I should - and I probably won't post as frequently as before, but I'll do my best!      

Because I'm slightly out of sorts myself I've decided to post a story this week that I've always found a bit unusual and slightly off-kilter.  The illustrations, however, have always appealed to me greatly - as a child I found them absolutely fascinating and as an adult they are still able to conjure up a sense of true magic.

The story centres around two children - a brother and sister called Jonathan and Joan.  The book sets the location quite specifically next to 'the banks to the St Laurence River, near to the town of Quebec in Canada'.  The narrative describes them as belonging to a poor peasant family but I've always found this a bit of an anomaly as the children in the illustrations appear pretty middle class to me and they live in a cosy looking thatched cottage straight out of a fairytale (there are some black and white drawings as well as the colour plates).

The children enjoy playing in the forest behind their cottage, but one evening their father comes home from work and makes them promise not to go there any more as rumours have surfaced of wicked fairies living in the woods.  The children forget their promise, wander into the forest the next day and soon realise they are lost.  Suddenly a young girl appears before them, wearing a beautiful gown of green leaves and covered with strawberries.  I've always loved the illustration of this gown - as a child I thought clothing covered with foliage and fruit very special - but I can also remember thinking that this 'fairy' looked more like someone's neighbour from down the road.

The strawberry fairy (for that's what she turns out to be) offers to show the children the way out of the forest and they follow her trustingly.  But instead of doing this she takes them to her own home and locks them into a shed.  She feeds them bread and water and makes them work like slaves in a garden 'full of the most wonderful strawberries in the world'.

One evening while Joan is sitting crying bitterly a beautiful parrot flies through the window of the shed.  To her surprise the parrot (called Jacky) can talk and Joan tells him the whole story.  Jacky flies off and what Joan does not realise is that he is the secret messenger of the Queen of the Fairies.  His duty is to report back to the queen if he discovers any fairy doing something wicked or wrong and so he returns straight away to her castle to tell her everything he knows of the unkind deeds of the Strawberry Fairy.

I've also always liked this illustration of the fairy queen and her court.  These voluptuous and sultry looking ladies appear more like an exotic gathering of the United Nations than a host of fairies, but this illustration has real storybook appeal.

The Queen and her counsellors meet to decide how the Strawberry Fairy should be punished.
The Rose Fairy says they should take away all her roses.
The Bird Fairy thinks they should take away all her birds.
The Cake Fairy decides they should let her starve.
Then one of the middle-aged fairies suggests they change her into an old witch - taking away her youth and beauty is the worst punishment they could give her.  The other fairies agree and congratulate the middle aged fairy on thinking up such a good idea.    

The Queen taps her golden wand on the ground three times and the Strawberry Fairy is turned into an ugly old witch.
Jacky then flies off and frees the children to reunite them with their parents.
The Strawberry Fairy remains as an ugly old witch for 100 years.  She realises how unkind she has been and tries to become a good fairy.  When she is able to prove to the Fairy Queen that she has genuinely changed her ways the Queen forgives her and restores her youth and beauty.  Since then she has apparently always been helpful to children - especially those who lose their way in the woods.

The Strawberry Fairy by Aunt Lucille.
Illustrations by J.C. van Hunn (I could find no details on this artist)
Printed in the Netherlands by Mulder Books (no date given)



A couple of week's ago Barbara from March House Books included two posts in her blog about the Little Grey Rabbit series of books.  They brought back such a powerful memory of the Bunnykins bowl I ate my porridge out of when I was a child.  I still have my bowl (today it is locked away in my special china cabinet).  I can remember how I used to look for the bunnies every morning and move the porridge around to find my favourites.  My sister had the bunnies with the balloon seller, but I always thought my bowl of bunnies skating on a pond was much more special!

And to finish - I discovered some wild primroses in my new garden recently.  Some were a bit overgrown so at first I didn't notice them and it was such a lovely thrill to see them peeking through:

 And some pretty bright rhododendron:

In the Realm of Faerie

A Faerie Rade

This was the first adult book dedicated to fairies that I owned.  It was published in 1978 so I would have been 19 or 20 at the time it was given to me.  It is not a book of cute and cuddly images for children.  I will possibly put together another post of the fairies themselves another day.  I'll pick the most innocuous of them as I like to think my posts are for everyone and some of the creatures contained in the book are quite malevolent and disturbing.

Instead what I wanted to concentrate on in this post is the type of landscape the book presents and to include a few of images from the first section called 'The Realm of Faerie'.  Much of the book is presented in the style of an Edwardian naturalist's journal.  There are pencil sketches and watercolours - done the in the way a botanist would record the world of nature by jotting down observations on site.  This impression is emphasised by the addition of notes and comments (mainly handwritten) that accompany the pictures.

I love the style of these illustrations. The detailed perfection of the pencil drawings, the wash of colour and the wonderful characterisation.  The book is very informative as well, providing a background of fairy history and tradition across the whole of the British Isles with a fair amount of reference to the part of the world I live in (The Republic of Ireland - I'm not in the UK.)  I like the way some of the illustrations combine artistic techniques - like the illustration below where the fairy realm glimpsed through the secret door is in brilliant colour, but the 'real world' is merely sketched in pencil.
 

I especially enjoy paintings done with a wash of watercolour producing a delicate misty effect.  My spirit has always thrilled to images like these and ever since I first saw them as a child and young adult I dreamt of escaping to this magical, mystical world.

Why have I chosen to put together this post now?  Well - my new surroundings made me think of this book again and the fairy realms portrayed within it.  For the past few weeks I have been grieving for the mountains I lost my heart to, but I have also been conscious that I now reside in a landscape just as magical in its own way.  What makes it all the more remarkable is that when I first read this book I lived a long way away, in another hemisphere, at the other end of the word.  I longed to experience these landscapes but had no expectation I would ever see them, let alone live in surroundings like this.  My little family has been in Ireland for 12 years now and I still find it incredible that I reside in countryside that produced the inspiration for so many stories and images like these.

The stream at the bottom of the garden

It is a bit dull and gloomy at the moment.  Winter will not release its grip and the garden still needs to spring to life and colour.  The tree in front of the patio in the picture below is a magnolia.  I can't wait for it to burst into colour - I know the flowers don't last all that long but are a beautiful sight when they are in bloom.

I'm surrounded by fairy forests in this pretty little vale.  The trees behind us make me think of the Sulamith Wulfing prints I posted last year, another long time favourite of mine.

Some more photos of the garden.  I love all the trees and of course the bird life is fabulous and there are even pheasants down here in the valley just as there were in the mountains.

In this misty landscape its easy to imagine castles like this one rising up in the distance.  Sometimes if I scrunch my eyes up (and I am going slowly blind anyway!) I can almost imagine I am able to see one.
  

This is another lovely illustration from the book of the Lady of the Lake.  According to the notes accompanying this illustration the surface of the lake was an illusion created by magic to disguise her palace.

The Lady of the Lake

King Arthur in his court at Gwyn-ap-Nudd.  This double page illustration is backed by a thorn tree.  Glastonbury Tor and its association with Avalon has an interesting connection with thorn trees.  The Holy Tree said to have grown from the staff of Joseph of Aramathea at Glastonbury was a thorn.  Thorn trees are sacred to the realm of faerie - thorn trees on a hillside are always a strong indication that fairies live there.
  

These pages on the Tuatha de Danann in Ireland also reminded me that their homes in the hollow hills are called 'raths'.  My new commute by train (into Dublin where I work) now starts at Rathdrum.  In Irish it is called Ráth Droma (the Rath part is pronounced phonetically like 'Raah') and means 'Ringfort of the Ridge'.  The scenery I get to enjoy every day is spectacular and it is still a new enough experience that I look forward to savouring it as I travel to and from work. 

   

All illustrations taken from:

Faeries
Described and illustrated by Brian Froud and Alan Lee
Edited and designed by David Larkin
Copyright 1978 by Rufus Publication Inc, printed by Pan Books (London and Sydney)


I can't put together a post this weekend without another update on the swans in St Stephen's Green.  All indications are that there are going to be babies again this year!!

Last week I saw the two adult swans swimming around the base of the island in the lake looking very cosy.  I thought that might mean they were getting ready to nest and I was correct!  This week the female has started sitting on her eggs.

The nest is in the one place that people can't get to in the park.  They really are very clever birds.  It is sheltered by a weeping willow tree and so she sits there like an enchanted princess in a story.

I had to zoom in to get these photos so they are not brilliant but you can see how lovely she looks tucked away there.

Only two of the last brood are left in the park now.  I believe they head off by themselves to find a territory of their own.  I don't know if that is true or if the park officials give them a helping hand - but I do know that the park is not big enough to support more than two adult birds and one brood so it is part of the natural scheme of things that last years offspring have to go.

My new commute means that I can't go to the park in the early morning, only at lunchtime.  The last morning I was there one if the swans dropped this feather for me.  I keep it next to my bed - its a special reminder of the peaceful time I used to spend with them!  

I found an especially informative and interesting site about swans hosted by The Swan Sanctuary in the UK.  This page is of FAQ.  In my case I wanted to know how long the eggs took to hatch - besides finding the answer to this I discovered a wealth of other facts that are absolutely fascinating.


No chicks or bunnies on my blog for Easter - but the promise of some baby cygnets in a month or so!