Woollie Blankie

It's been a while since I posted anything creative. I just haven't done much.....the creative mojo has left the building......

My latest blankie made it's way safely across the Atlantic, even though it's journey took 4 weeks as a result of the ash cloud....and I think it's new recipient likes it.....

It went off to join the Three Little Pigs in Chicago....

Busy Week

I ended up harbouring an ash cloud refugee!!

My friend, Sabino, came to visit from Switzerland from the 14th to the 17th and ended up staying until the 20th. It was lovely to have him to visit and the extra few days were a bonus - I think he quite enjoyed being "stuck". Luckily he was able to work from home so at least that wasn't a problem - he was just working from my home instead!

We saw lots of friends and visited some of my favourite places - Pittenweem - for one.

Oh and we ate a lot of fish and chips! This being perfect, outdoors at The Wee Chippy in Anstruther...as mentioned in the Guardian article "The 50 best things to eat in the world and where to eat them" in September 2009 and we have to agree - it was pretty perfect fish and chips!

Luckily the extra few days that Sabino stayed he cooked at home so I got to have some of his ragu sauce and pasta and courgette and lemon risotto - yum - another good thing about an ash cloud refugee!

This weekend I was in Edinburgh to run the Scottish Half Marathon - 8am start on Sunday morning. Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far - 24 degrees - and it was forecast to be similar on Sunday, not the best for running so I was glad to start at 8am and be done by 10am - yes I ran the half marathon in 2 hours and 14 seconds - a pesky 15 seconds too slow - so I guess I am going to have to run another half marathon soon! I must admit I really enjoyed the race and that's something I never thought I would say about running!

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me, it was very much appreciated!! I've raised about £430 so far to provide people in Malawi and Zambia with access to artificial limbs!

500 Miles

This weekend I am running a half marathon in Edinburgh in aid of a charity called 500 Miles - so no I am not running 500 miles, but 13 seems pretty far!

500 Miles is a charity that was started by an inspirational Scottish woman, Olivia Giles, who was struck down my meningococcal septicaemia and had to have all her limbs amputated to prevent gangrene spreading. Now she runs her own charity which provides prosthetic limbs to people living in some of the poorest countries in the world, Malawi and Zambia. Here's an article in the Scotsman newspaper about her.

Less than 5% of the people who require prosthetics or orthotics in these countries actually receive them. This project hopes to change that.Training is provided to local workers who make and fit the limbs - giving people back their lives. Less than 5% of the people who require prosthetics or orthotics in these countries actually receive them. This project hopes to change that. £60 can provide someone with a prosthetic limb and a chance at a normal life.

Their projects include the 500 Miles Centre at Kamuzu, only the second prosthetic centre in Malawi, opened by the charity in 2009. The centre will be handed over to the Ministry of Health in Malawi somewhere between 2016 and 2019 and before then they have committed to training 5 new, Malawian prosthetists/orthotists.

This is not a large charity, it means that only a small percentage of the funds raised go to run the charity and a high percentage is spent on the people who need the help the most. It also trains local workers and will therefore leave a lasting legacy.

The charity is named after The Proclaimer's famous song lyrics "I would walk 500 miles" and I think it's a great name!

If you would like to sponsor me and support this inspirational charity I have set up a page on JustGiving.com - it is a secure site with all the money going directly to the charity.

Here is my page: Just Giving

I think running a half marathon for this charity that helps people who would love to run if they could is a great way of supporting the charity.

Spring has Sprung - A Small Break from Orkney

After the coldest and snowiest winter for many a year we have waited a long time for spring....everything was late in flowering, but the blossom and the daffodils have been spectacular over the last couple of weeks. I can't understand why we don't, like the Japanese, celebrate the coming for spring with the arrival of the cherry blossom (perhaps it's because it's still so damn cold!)

Cherry blossom near my home...

Orkney Day 3

We set off back in time again on day 3....back to 2700BC when Maeshowe was built. It is a prehistoric chambered cairn, the complexity and grandeur of which has led to the idea that Maeshowe was built to demonstrate the power of a "social elite" within the tribal system of the time. It's another site that forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Maeshowe looks like a large pimple on the landscape but once you enter inside the hill and make your way through the 3-ft high entrance tunnel you arrive inside a large chamber with 3 l-shaped smaller chambers. It's been estimated that it took 100000 man hours to complete the chamber. It does seem strange that even though it is a burial chamber no bones were found inside. A similar chamber on South Ronaldsay, the Tomb of the Eagles, contained the bones of at least 300 people.

After travelling back to the present day we headed off to the small town of Stromness for lunch. It is one of the main ports on the islands but also a well-preserved stone built town with a narrow, winding main street......and lots of nooks and crannies in which to find amazing photographic opportunities - it's just a pity the sky was so leaden and the light so flat.

The Pier Arts Centre was established in 1979 to house a collection of British art, gifted to the islands by the author Margaret Gardiner. It's buildings were originally the office and stores of the Hudson's Bay Company and have been sympathetically extended to create a complex of galleries which front onto the harbour. The permanent collection is housed upstairs and has a number of Barbara Hepworth paintings and sculptures along with other artists such as Alan Davie and Alfred Wallis. I loved the building, it's seats placed where the water meets the windows, the light perfectly highlighting the art......

Alongside the Pier Arts Centre, the town itself has numerous craft shops selling beautifully hand-crafted and knitted goods. Once again the inspiration of the island's landscape was evident.

Orkney - Day 2

On Monday morning we woke to rain in Orkney.....we weren't really surprised the weather forecast for the week was pretty bleak - wind, rain, cool........we were however hopeful that we may be lucky and that, as is often the case in Scotland, the weather forecast would change....

We spent Monday in Kirkwall, the main town in Orkney, first mentioned in history in 1046 and with a population of about 8500. The town's skyline is dominated by St Magnus' Cathedral, built in the Romanesque style over a period of 300 years from 1137. The cathedral is built of red and yellow sandstone quarried on the islands and is an impressive building, both inside and out. Stained glass windows, grave stones with skull and crossbones, red arches and large doors.

There are also some great shops in the town, craft playing a big part of island life as it does in many rural communities. With landscapes and history so intriguing and beguiling it is hard not to be inspired. Follow the Orkney Craft Trail to see some great examples of craft - jewellery, knitting, pottery, paintings.....from the likes of Sheila Fleet, Tait & Style, Hume Sweet Hume, the Hoxa Tapestry Gallery or David Holmes Ceramics. Usually you can visit the artists studios but if you haven't time then the shops in Kirkwall provide plenty of opportunities. Believe me I was enticed (but more of that later!)

There are also some great local food shops.....to buy Russells Orkney Cheese or Grimbster Cheese, Orkney oatcakes, Orkney preserves etc. Try Jolly's Fishmonger, Donaldson's Butcher, Shearer's Delicatessen and Hardware Store.

The harbour in Kirkwall was also interesting and colourful and we ate lunch in a small bar called Helgi's on the waterfront - good food in a nice environment.

Even if it was a dreich day, the sights and sounds of Kirkwall made it seem a whole lot brighter.

Woollie Week in Orkney - Part 1

Off the north coast of Scotland, the Orkney Islands sit at the junction of the North Sea and the North Atlantic and are, as a result a wild and wonderous place. For centuries they have been inhabited and man has left his mark on the landscape......

10 of us headed north on Saturday to catch a ferry from Gills Bay on the north coast for the one hour crossing across the Pentland Firth to St Margaret's Hope...3 car loads of friends (National Trust buddies) aged from 26 to 62, heading for a farmhouse called Craebeck on the Mainland.

Our first full day we headed back in time 5000 years, visiting Skara Brae.....

In 1850 a storm lashed the Orkney mainland which stripped the grass from a large sand dune called Skara Brae in the Bay of Skaill. In the morning the remains of ancient Neolithic dwellings were to be found. 5000 years old.......inhabited before the Egyptian pyramids were built and before Stonehenge was built.....the structures of the village are remarkably preserved. You can see their beds and storage areas and the hearths....it was amazing to walk back so far in history.

After lunch we continued to time travel......to visit the Ring of Brodgar. This stone circle forms another part of Orkney's Neolithic Heritage, celebrated in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney's UNESCO World Heritage site (along with Skara Brae, the Stones of Steness and Maes Howe). The circle is thought to have been erected between 2500 and 2000 BC and is thought to have consisted of 60 stones, although only 27 remain today. At 104 metres wide it is an imposing sight.

It was a great way to spend our first day, steeped in history, in this most magical of places.

Corner View - Gardens

I haven't taken part in Corner View for a while, but for me, gardens, this weeks theme is a great one. Volunteering with the National Trust for Scotland to undertake conservation work on properties across Scotland. Some are rugged outdoor areas but others are beautiful gardens....whilst my favourite part of National Trust work is the destruction, we do occasionally do something more constructive. You also get to visit some of the most beautifully kept large gardens....

But across Scotland there are also lots of beautiful small gardens, private gardens, that occasionally open as part of Scotland's Small Gardens scheme, where money is being raised for charity. I visited many in Ceres, Fife, with my parents last summer - a great source of inspiration.

The garden above is my favourite of course.....you can see my mum in her own small garden!

Go check out all the other gardens around the world at Corner View.....

Woollie Wanderings

I lost track of time and I went on holiday.....sorry for the lack of posts!

I have been looking forward to a week in Orkney with my friends from National Trust since last July when the idea was first mooted.....and it didn't disappoint. I have never been the Orkney Islands before. A group of islands that lies just off the north coast of Scotland and now I have been I am sure that I will return again to explore a little more. And to post a little more about them! There's much to tell, from it's Neolothic history to contemporary craft, from beaches to cliffs, from birds to seals......Until then, a few photos......