It's Almost Christmas - Tuesday, 22nd December 2015 - with just a few lose ends to tie up....& New Year Update 22nd January 2016

So off we went to Deddington's December Farmers' Market meeting last Saturday which was great fun.  I sampled English wine from Chafor Wine Estate, delicious chocolate produced by The Chicken Shed, mouthwatering pastries from Paul of Cotswold Baking and super biscuits from Just Biscuits.

A bright morning became overcast and rather windy which failed to prevent eager shoppers from gathering in the heart of Deddington to make their regular purchases and extra buys for the Christmas festivities.

Chafor Wine Estate presented three different wines for sampling, a beautifully pink Rose and two splendid white wines.

Here are my photos of their stall.

The Market was lively and   engaging as usual and I bought delicious chocolate from The Chicken Shed.....

choosing their Glorious Chocolate with Mint and Camu Camu and their Vanilla chocolate for our Christmas at home treats.

I also chatted to the nice folk at Cotswold Catering and Just Biscuits.  The Craft Fair in Deddington Church was buzzing with Christmas shoppers too and I stopped by Vicki Hibberd's Silver Jewellery, at Mary Canny Glass Designer, Virginia's Fair Trade stall and to Sue Merry for her very pretty cushions and pin boards.  I absolutely adore having pin boards for all those little notices and cards you must keep in sight and Sue's boards are very desirable.

and beautiful terracotta pots made lovingly by A.R. Gill Pottery

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas which seemed to last for much longer than usual and we hope you did too.

And now in January 2016 and tomorrow Deddington will host their first Farmers' Market of the year and we're going to see who's there and hopefully do a little shopping.

Maybe we'll see you there too!

Happy weekending folks....

Daisy xxx

Weather-wise Up, folks - Thursday, 14th January 2016 - it's getting colder out there !!!

Today it's been colder in our part  of Oxfordshire after  a really warm  start to 2016.

I think it's been colder elsewhere in the UK and we've all had more rain with some Counties having a very great deal of rain, with flooding as well as really awful flooding which I have to say I simply cannot imagine how terrible that has been for you and yours and I sincerely hope all of you are well and well, coping, with the fall-out.

I've just looked at BBC Look North (Yorkshire) programme on my iPad and the folk there are still having a terrible time of things.  At the PM's Question Time today Mr, Cameron was sending his deep sympathies to the people in the areas concerned. I do hope Mr. Cameron and his Government  manage to do more than just send their sympathy to all areas affected by this year's terrible flooding.

BBC Midlands was warning of colder and icy weather conditions to come tonight and beyond to the weekend ahead, where its still wet after recent rainfall.

Of course, its winter time when we anticipate bad weather, expecting conditions to worsen after Christmas.  Well, for some of us so far, its been a warmer start to the beginning of the year.  Much warmer too in the lead up  to Christmas which didn't help traders with their pre-Christmas sales.

Last autumn I took part in a Face Book featured quiz by somebody asking you to discover the weather in the year in which you were born.  Well, I was born in 1946 which hosted the worst winter weather conditions of the century.  Apparently, it began snowing on 23rd January and continued snowing until the end of February.  Then of course, flooding from all that fallen snow and subsequent ice happened,  bringing further misery to everyone. According to the online report of that year, the terrible weather conditions impacted very badly on rail travel and with most people travelling to work and elsewhere by train, life must have been really dreadful for everyone.  I don't remember anything about the weather, of course, even though I was born early on in the year.  And friends have told me of very hot summer weather too that year so obviously 1947 was a very difficult year for our weather.

Hey ho!  Good wishes to everybody coping with dreadful weather this year.  Let's hope Spring springs early this year!

My  family in Australia have told of bad to peculiar weather there too.  Perhaps its really time for all of us to become more savy about climate control measures, hey ?

Daisy xxx

Joan Hammond Artist - Joan Hammond 1924 – 2006 Pastellist of International Renown - Tuesday 12th January 2016

Margaret Halstead shared her post.

45 mins · 

I love this work xxx

Margaret Halstead

49 mins · Banbury · 

Pineapple by Joan Hammond - Artist http://joan-hammond.co.uk/

"

Joan Hammond 1924 – 2006
Pastellist of International Renown

Joan Hammond had been an artist since her childhood when she was encouraged by her elder brother, journalist and author Walter Robson. Her works are in private and public collections the world over. Her lifelong dedication to the production of work of outstanding merit and noted for her exceptional ability to capture the charm of childhood in a free and lively style.
She won a scholarship to the Hornsey School of Art, London, and took specialist courses at Brighton, and Canterbury Art Collages in the late 1930’s. Considered as a portrait painter of some note, she received commissions worldwide. She taught art and ran a successful gallery prior to settling in Wales, UK.
Exhibited in numerous galleries and stately homes, had work accepted by the Royal Institute and other prestigious venues throughout the UK.
Her home, at the foot of mountains of the Brecon Beacons National Park was within a landscape which inspired much of her later work. Watercolour, oil and acrylic paints alike, using techniques from light washes to heavy impasto, to fine brushwork or the palette knife all with equal freedom."

I thought all my friends would like to have a link to Joan Hammonds work and details xxx

Home

JOAN-HAMMOND.CO.UK

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Just follow the link to see more of this artist's work xxx

Hi there and Happy New Year to all my readers.   I thought you might like to see the artwork of Joan Hammond whose picture of poppies is shown above.  I simply love this work which somehow I've not connected to before.

Daisy xxx

ps When I've been totally work orientated....then interrupted by holidays I find it difficult to get going again ......do you know what I mean?  It's just one of those things hey!!!

New Year get Up and Go - Forward - Wednesday 6th January 2015 - A new Mini-blog for 2016

A new breakfast pot for a new year and I'm breakfasting on oats, water and frozen mixed berries!

My fave breakfast - homemade muesli with blueberries.  I found English blueberries in Tesco stores last summer which was fine. No long-haul flight cost, no air miles and eating locally grown, well food locally-grown somewhere in England.

That's great I thought.  But then, come the winter months, thoughts turn to other costs - you guessed it - Christmas - so I figured a bit of economising would be good right now.  So buy frozen berries was the best thought I came up with back then.  Off to find berries nicely frozen in small containers and it wasn't so very easy to find but, I persevered, coming home with blueberries, mixed berries and raspberries.

The blueberries went first.  l found they were not like the fresh ones, of course, and the flavour was altered.  Leaving berries to thaw then adding them to muesli and milk or oats and milk was not a good way forward.

Next experiment, put together equal amounts of porridge oats, water plus handful of frozen berries and leave to marinate, infuse,even hang about until the next breakfast hour, then add the tiniest half-spoonful of soft brown sugar and, hey presto, you have some worthy breakfast to get you going on another busy day of writing, blogging and step-counting while you walk the dog!

And here it is, all ready to go in a cute little Kilner jar from the china cupboard...

Success for my first mini-blog of 2016 - my way forward for busy days.  I so often want and need to write but time runs away with me.

So here's to a brilliant new year work regime for me and my reader!

Daisy xxx

Merry Christmas One and All - Christmas Day - 25th December 2015

Merry Christmas decorations for 2015

Dear Friends everywhere,

We all celebrate the  Christmas festive season in our own way and that is how it should be, so may I wish everyone a wonderful day today, however you are spending this time.

Last night with family I attended a candle lit  Christmas Service in a tiny village in Oxfordshire. The congregation filled the church to bursting point with families and friends all, and it was truly delightful to be there with our family.

The Service was the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols whose existence came into being at the end of WWI and its format has scarcely changed since then, apart from locally chosen hymns and carols, and has been heard in many places worldwide

Later on I went to the Midnight Service at my own Church in Adderbury which begins at 11.30 pm.  I actually got there at 10.45pm so had plenty of minutes to think about Christmas.

One of my  thoughts was on the fact  that we had a full moon shining down on all of us this year, the first such Christmas for  38 years, since December 1977.  The next such time for a future Christmas will be December 2034, 19 years hence from now.  Will I still be around to enjoy the spectacle, one wonders, so I did enjoy my moonlit walk to church last night, and back home too after the Service
The night was filled with a brilliant light and it was truly a glorious sight to see.

Merry Christmas everyone...

Daisy xxx

It's Almost Christmas - Sunday, 20th December 2015 - and just a few lose ends to tie up...

Ho, ho, ho!  It’s almost Christmas, as you may know, and everyone's rushing madly about looking for that particular item to buy for that very special family member, friend or neighbour.  Time is running out for sending cards and parcels via our brilliant postal services and the clock's ticking loudly.  Saturday was the final day for second class post and Monday saw the last day for first-class items for pre-Christmas delivery.

We went to Deddington Farmers’ Market for their Christmas Market and into the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul for their excellent Craft Fair which, happily, presents on the same day!

My first visit was to the stall of Sue Jeffries for her fascinating collection of gift items, jewellery, china and leather goods.  My choice pick of the day was a pretty blue-stone ring which I came back for later on – a “me-to-me” pressie!

Everyone who should be here was here, the kitchen doing a roaring trade and people happily milling about the stalls viewing and buying, enjoying the atmosphere and greeting friends.  All stalls were beautifully dressed in their Christmas finery making it a joyous activity to wander about the Fair.

My top favourite stall visits were to Sue Jeffries for her lovely choice of gift and antique items, to Sue Merry’s Seamstress stall for her beautifully displayed fabric covered notice boards and cushions; to Vicky Hibberd’s Silversmith stall for her charming silver necklace and ear-ring set; to Mary Canny’s Glassware stall for her brilliant glass design, to the Fairtrade stall hosted by Virginia Yip which won first prize for best dressed stall; to the pottery stall of A.R. Gill for his good-looking flower pots and to Jonquil Sabin’s Q @ Temple Mill stall  for her “Character Wooden Boards and other useful Ligneous Items for the Kitchen and Home”.

Here's a photo or two...

my "Christmas Stocking" ring present from me-to-me

Ring from Sue Jeffries via  farmhen@googlemail.com

Vicky Hibberd Silversmith @ vahibberd@gmail.com

Mary Canny Glass Artist/Designer via www.marycanny.co.uk

Terracotta Flower Pots by A.R.Gill Pottery via www.argillpottery.com

Sue Merry Seamstress Crafts and Soft Furnishings etc. via fritwellian@googlemail.com

Jonquil Sabin for Q @ Temple Mill for "Character Wooden Boards" may be contacted via jonquilsabin@hotmail.co.uk

Here's a few more photos to please...

The Church was lively with excited shoppers and school children visiting Father Christmas' Grotto and the kitchen was extremely busy serving piping hot drinks and a tasty selection of nibbles, cakes and biscuits.

We'd not been to Deddington's Craft Fair since late summer when I bought a beautiful Merrythought teddy bear for my youngest grandson for his christening present from Sue's smashing antique and gift stall - it was good to be at Deddington again.

Toodle loo and Merry Christmas...

Daisy xxx

Adderbury Christmas Tree Festival - Weekend 4th - 6th December 2015 - Adderbury, Oxfofordshire

We've had a wonderful weekend of beautifully decorated and dressed Christmas trees at Adderbury's second annual Festival to raise funds for our church of St Mary's of Adderbury and Katharine House Hospice and Sponsored by Banbury Litho,   David Wilson Homes, Gracewell Healthcare, Strutt and Parker,  Bloor Homes and The Rosconn Group, also Kevin Behan and Midcounties Co-operatives sponsoring the delicious mince pies.

Live music, welcome refreshment served by willing helpers and a Victorian Carol Service completed a wonderful three-day Festival for beautifully decorated Christmas trees for all visitors to our church of St Mary's Adderbury to view, delight in and vote for a favourite tree.  Our Vicar, the Rev. Stephen Fletcher, resplendent in frock coat and boots, for the glorious finale of the Victorian Carol Service and announcement of the Four Favourite Tree winning Awards.

The Children and the Young People Favourite Tree award went to the Adderbury Day Nursery for their very pretty tree .....

First Voted Favourite Tree Winner award to - Adderbury & District WI for their Resolutions Christmas Tree dressed in WI colours of green, violet and white for Give Votes for Women ...

Second Voted Favourite tree Winner award to Adderbury Pumphouse Garage for their jolly clever use of  emblem decorated paper chains ...

The third Voted Favourite tree Winner award went to The Heritage Fruit Tree Company for their ingenious use of fresh and dried fruit as decoration for their most attractive tree.....

I just love tree dressing activities for Christmas and, of cousrse, a fresh, just out of the ground tree with roots is simply the best tree of all....well that's my opinion.

What do you think, hey ???

Daisy xxx