Snippets of life

Snippets of life

I still haven’t had a chance to put together a post of our Sussex holiday in September, I seem to be lagging in everything! Is this what people refer to as baby brain? I’d like to believe that I’ve held onto all my faculties which include clear thinking and not drooling when a nap suddenly knocks me off my feet- errrrrm well maybe I’m not actually fully in charge of what’s going on with my body! And maybe I do have baby brain as every second thought is of the baby- well it’s a bit difficult when you are writing

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Walking. Lots of walking.

Gosh I love the outdoors, and walking, lots of it to the point where my leg muscles feel like solid blocks. When I walk the dog, I fall into a rhythm as I follow the park’s overgrown track, brushing against blackberry bushes and treading carefully around mud pits that have been churned by horse hoofs and joggers. A breeze brushes through the narrow path, tickling the hairs on my neck. In the summer, I am shrouded by nature, thanking the tall trees for their thick foliage which hide me from the sun (when we’ve had it). Being pregnant in the heat

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Sussex; a year on

I was meant to write this post a month or so ago, but you know how life is; it swallows you and takes over once more, but here it is. A few pics from Sussex; where Mr C and I cycled for miles along the Cuckoo trail and through sweet welcoming towns between Hailsham and Pevensey Bay. We walked, talked, laughed, smiled, cooked and planned. It was our first year wedding anniversary (Sussex last yr) and we were just as thankful, maybe even more so as Mr C took me once more on my yearly homage to Virginia Woolf’s Monk’s house, this

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Did London kill Sheila Fell ?

One must embrace Woman’s Hour on Radio 4, sometimes it’s downright interestimg, sometimes….not so. But today, my ears perked up as soon as I heard the name Sheila Fell; a Cumberland artist who painted her home surroundings with a great passion. It was unfortunate, but it seems that when she eventually became known and moved to London, she missed her home. She turned to drink and died tragically. In the spirit of not being a fan of London at the moment I deduced that it was London that killed her! Well there, I’ve said it! Moving away from such dramatic

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Are you sure you can carry those books back?

“Lets go to this Charity shop,” Mr Cranmer beckoned, “Very well, I replied,” and followed him in. “I found something,” I hold up my book. “It’s big,” he looks at my book, he’s holding a small Agatha Christie “Don’t worry, I’ll carry it,” I ignore the fact that we have to cycle back, he’s already going to have to carry my bag of rocks and pebbles that I had brought back from the seaside at Eastbourne along with 2 pairs of my shoes and two mobiles made out of rock and sea shells. 10 bookshops or so later…… I have

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The Real Van Gogh; The Artist and His Letters- at the Royal Academy of Arts

For the entire summer, my sister and I harped on about how we had to see the Vincent Van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, and finally on Saturday, the second to last day of this fantastic exhibition, we managed to get our wits about us and joined the queue to see his work and letters. The rooms were packed with elbows and hot bustling bodies as we wedged our way into the gaps between people, we were thankful for being small. Grabbing my sister’s bag I held onto her as she dragged me more carelessly then I

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Lewes to Plumpton

    When the weather is beautiful and my mind needs clearing for the work in hand, there is nothing like taking one’s self to the countryside which is what Mr Cranmer and I did yesterday. We made our way to Lewes, Sussex to walk along the South Down’s way. We know the town quite well now as we’ve been a few times, it’s somewhere I like to go to feel closer to the steps of Virginia Woolf. The land, rolling hills and hidden tracks offer the mind to wonder beyond the body. As you push your legs, your body

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Cyprus- Part Two

Cyprus│ Freedom to LearnPart Two (published in “Avrupa” newspaper) From a young age, I recall my father telling my sister & I, all my friends and their parents and any other human that we made contact with, that all you had to do was kick your foot in the sand and you would unearth a piece of pottery. He was right. The island’s rich history awaits man on all levels, weather it is in glass case holding Ajax’s horse, or the Castle walls of Famagusta designed by Leonardo da Vinci where Othello’s tower can be found, wherever one looked, history

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Cyprus – PART ONE

Cyprus│ Land: ReturningPart One (published in ‘Avrupa’ newspaper) Love hath an island,And I would be there;Love hath an IslandAnd nurtureth thereFor men the Delights The beguilers of careCyprus, Love’s island;And I would be thereAt Paphos she dwelleth,And I would be there.At Paphos she dwelleth,And wealth cometh there.Afloat with the kissesThat Ocean doth bearFrom the hundred streams Like a shower unfurledOf the Rainless RiverBorn out of the world;There are the hil-sidesOn earth most fair,Pierian hill-sides,And melody there,The voice of the Nine,Is borne on the airOver the hill-sides,For Heaven is thereWith spirits divineAnd shining of fire;And there are the Graces,And there is

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Kew Gardens

Peter and I paid a visit to Kew Gardens a couple of weeks ago, and although the daffodils hadn’t opened yet, there was an abundance of beautiful Snow Drops. The greenhouses/conservatories were beautiful, hot and brimming with life, and the grounds a delight to walk across. I bought the pretty green plant pot from the gift shop and placed my orchid into it… I brought a little part of Kew home with me. The photo in the background is of my father in the 70’s I like to keep it in front of me while writing, I find it inspiring.

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