What’s in a Name?

A while ago I came upon a new blog, County Living, with the appealing idea that there would be a draw from the first twenty people signing up as followers.  Well the blog looked as if it had potential, the prize was a pretty little Beswick preserve pot and I’m always game for a little flutter, despite my lack of luck with these things. 

A few days later I went back to the blog to see whether the draw had taken place, and yes, it had, and the lucky winner was Penelope.  Oh, gosh I thought, another Penny, you don’t see that many about, that’s nice.  I tried to look at the list of names of the people who had signed up to follow, but as luck would have it the link wasn’t working that evening.  Two days later I happened to be passing, the link was working and I checked through the list to find this Penelope and to see if she had a blog.  She has, it’s Planet Penny, the only Penelope on the list was me, as listed through Google.   I am so rarely Penelope that I didn’t recognise myself!

Oh dear… I realise that with this post and my last I am fast giving the impression I am completely batty.  I do sometimes feel I leave a trail of brain cells behind me wherever I go but I’m blaming the weather and feeling as if I’m going stir crazy for this latest lapse.  Roll on the Spring!

Anyway, Maria at Country Living kindly sent me the pot and it’s charming, and looks very pretty with my little plate.  Do go and have a look at Maria’s blog, she has some pretty things to sell.

I’m off to do some Brain Training!

A Spot of Nostalgia

Firstly, when did you last see a flying saucer?  Well it’s been a while for me too, so when I spotted them in Holt on Sunday I just had to get us one each.  Why were they so lovely?  I can still remember nagging for them in the the little shop next door when we lived in Somerset. We moved away when I was four! Now they are just damp paper which puts your teeth on edge with a slightly explosive finish.  Still, tastes change.  If they didn’t, I wouldn’t enjoy a nice glass of chilled white wine and a dish of olives the way I do now I’m a grown-up.

The real nostalgia came with a trip to the Little Vintage Lover Fair on Sunday.  I found out about it from one of my favourite blogs, Kitschen Pink. ( This just goes to prove that the hours I spend on the laptop reading about other people’s lives are not entirely wasted) 

It was a lovely way to spend a sunny sunday morning in August.  A drive into the heart of the Norfolk countryside to the beautiful little village of Heydon, where the village hall was a early 20th century army hut, a perfect meeting place for a crowd of vintage lovers!

There were stalls both inside  and outside the hall –  thank goodness for a sunny day!

It was here I met not only Kitschen Pink, but also Mrs Bobobun and Faded Splendour and saw all sorts of lovely things I would have bought if only I could throw out another wing on my little house!  (Visit these blogs for lots more photos of all the tempting bits and pieces.)

Meeting them adds a whole new dimention to blog surfing! 

And I did buy this, it’s very small, but perfectly formed …!

It’s that ‘Thursday Thing’…

Why is it so easy to convince yourself that if there is something you really want to do then it’s far too much of an indulgence, that you  ought to do the vacuuming first.  And then the ironing, and the dusting, DUSTING? and cleaning the fridge…  I think it’s a woman thing. Thats why it became very important to reclaim one day a week to feed the inner artist.  To get out of the house and do something, see something, meet new people, to get fresh eyes and stir up a bit of creativity. 

This week’s Thursday expedition was to Blickling Hall, a wonderful Jacobean house in Norfolk owned by the National Trust.  The artistic input was going to be a textile exhibition but actually it rather paled into insignificance alongside memories of the St Lawrence Textile Centre.    However, there was a fantastic photo opportunity, the house itself, and we promised ourselves another visit to explore its interior.

 

  Lunch – Parsnip soup and far too hungry to think about a photo I’m afraid. Then a trip to the second hand book shop across the stable yard filled with beautiful plants begging to be bought and taken home to the garden. 

Back to the front of the house.  I love the way the tiny panes of glass are all set in a slightly different direction and fragment the reflections.

There could be a patchwork quilt in there I think.  Then, there was a door knocker…

I love the rust and the silvery wood…and then the lichen…

…and the ironwork.  I love…

…that soft pewter grey against the terracotta tones of the old worn brick. 

Headed for home via Aylsham where we discovered the Lisa Dawson Soft Furnishing Studio.  Full of gorgeous fabrics and trimmings and then we found out, joy of joys, she is about to expand into the premises next door and will soon have EVEN MORE gorgeous fabrics and trimmings!  Final treat was the antique shop a few doors away from Lisa.

Where I found a whole box of blue and white china which I didn’t take home..

…and a really pretty cup which I did.

I was really pleased that it matched my Jasper Conran Wedgwood plate so well, as well as having a surprisingly colourful interior!