Sarah Downton Beads and Jewellery

Wednesday afternoon

All is going well on the Double Helix (DH) glass front. I’ve kind of got to grips with Terranova 2 (TNT), the very colourful striking glass that starts off very dark brown, and here’s a pic to keep you amused….

yay it worked this time…..Rick asked his mate Peter (now one of the lead developers for WordPress) and then sorted the problem the other night. The top row is TNT encased in Laucha clear, not too bubbly, the bottom is encased with Vetrofond Crystal Clear, bubble city, and the centre row is TNT on a mix of clear and transparent amethyst glass. The top 2 rows sold at the Big Bead Show, but the bottom row is available, I may even pop them in my shop…..

Today I spent a happy few hours playing with Pysche, another DH glass, this one is a reduction glass which means that I can get shimmery oil slick effects from it if I wish. So I’ve been noodling around with it seeing how it responds to clear dots and stringers. My main aim with all this, as well as hating to let anything defeat me, is to produce a stunning focal or set of beads to enter into the Beads and Beyond magazine competition. I believe I’m getting there by steps,  but we’ll see what the kiln fairy leaves me later tonight, and if it’s a goodun, I definitely won’t be sharing just yet.

But for your delectation and pleasure now I’d like to present the beads I was going to post last week……drum roll please..well, I have to make a fuss because I don’t usually post photos…..

Monday morning

Well helloooooo there. I probably shouldn’t be so chirpy as I am missing my jewellery class yet again – the place to go for me to have a fun afternoon chatting with like minded jewellery making obsessed ladies. And especially today they are having our Christmas class jewellery sale. Yes I’m a bit sad about this, but maybe it’s a good thing as I am still just sooooo wacked out. We really must get our car situation sorted out….anyone got an estate car for sale? anyone? anyone?

I just popped out to my studio, and man, it’s chilly out there, only 5 deg. C this morning, but I’m off out to make some handmade glass beads in a mini mo for my regular weekly order. Then tomorrow and Thursday I’m teaching yet again, I seem to be doing about 2 days a week at the moment, which is so much fun and a bit tiring but hey ho, it’s worth it.

The big question on everyone’s mind today is…who on earth is voting for John Sergeant in Strictly Come Dancing? It sure ain’t me, but he really should go now, I know he’s fun to watch how badly he does everything, but it now seems so unfair that the really fabulous contestants are being booted off the show a week earlier than they should and missing their potential to learn new dances and improve more. I suppose maybe we should be asking ourselves if the BBC are cheating and keeping him in to give the show controversy and generally rigging the polls to suit what they feel the show should be like? Or does he have a huge cake baking, blue rinse, daytime TV watching, lady fan base? Who knows.

Friday lunchtime

Already! The good news is that I haven’t cut myself again since Monday, well, I managed to spike my fingertip with an upright stringer, but it didn’t leave a hole this time, yay. I’ve had a few near misses, but nothing like last week, I think I must be going back to my usual state of ‘No burns or cuts’. In the 6 years I’ve been doing this I only have 3 burn scars and have only cut myself about 10 times, 6 of those last week, so you see why I was getting all annoyed, lol.

I’m actually procrastinating at the moment, this is happening a lot at the moment mainly because I’m so tired, I guess I’m still getting over the whole op thing, and probably overdoing it when I do feel like working. I should be getting ready for a small jewellery sale on Monday, but I think I probably won’t be able to go because the brakes are going on our car, and we don’t have a spare car anymore….the headgasket on our other car blew again back in April the evening before my very early morning appointment with my hip surgeon, leading us to be relayed home at midnight, then drive back to arrive at the hotel around 2:30 am for a 7:30 appointment the next morning, yeech. So much for the relaxing sleep the night before. But I digress.

So I thought I should start putting some eye candy up on my blog, and conveniently Rick has done some photos of the stock I took to the Big Bead Show and tweaked some of them. So here they are! or not…there will be a blip while I sort this out.

Monday afternoon

I don’t know what’s going on, but the last few days I’ve spent bead making I seem to have managed to cut my fingers twice a day, that’s 6 cuts on 3 days. Wot? I just don’t get it! And of course they’re the kind of light paper styli cuts that keep opening up slightly and stinging lots. Ouch. So what’s going on?

Well, I think I may be starting to panic a tad, oh yes, it’s that time of year again when offers of exhibitions and shows, all starting on the same date, all come slewing in at the last minute to tempt me to join in. Now if it was one event after the other it wouldn’t be too bad as I could make some new stock, display that, then while it’s out there make some more to top it up and so on. But of course it’s not, and here was I planning to start making up Christmas stock in September and October, but what happened? I had 3 bead fairs in 2 months, only 1 that I’d actually planned well in advance, and that kind of put things back. I’m also very pleased to be doing lots of bead making tuition and I can now reveal that I have a regular order now too. I wanted to do it for a while before mentioning it here, but it’s going well and giving me lots of practice although it does give me less time for my other activities.I think I may have to resort to making myself a timetable, or I should say do some project planning to make sure I get everything done. Oh well, I’d better get off and put some washing on and run the dishwasher…what an exciting life I lead!

Monday afternoon

Phew, I’m glad this weekend is over. It was a very busy show on Saturday at Sandown, a huge event with masses of stalls and hundreds of visitors. Thank you to everyone who came to see us and say hello, and of course to everyone who bought my beads. My tray of new beads was decimated by the end of the show, I hope you all enjoy using them. I was so busy all day that it was only when I popped over to Tufnells late afternoon to collect my glass supplies that I realised how wet it was outside, yuch. Fortunately we didn’t have too far to drive to get home so were tucking into a well deserved curry and a bottle of wine by about 8 o’clock that evening, and today I’m sat here with my feet up having a second day of rest to get over the last 2 months solid of work. I now have to plan how I’m going to fit in the next 2 months work and sort Christmas at the same time, rather than leave it all until the last week before the event.

I have 3 tuition dates remaining this year, all of them for 1 person to attend a 1 day Beginners Beadmaking Course. The dates available are

Friday 7th Nov (yes…this week!)

Wednesday 12th Nov (next week)

Thursday 27th Nov

Email me to secure your place on one of these courses, the last dates available before next February! We are planning to replace the studio in January next year so I will not recommence teaching until February.

Friday lunchtime

Eek, it’s the Big Bead Show tomorrow at Sandown Park, Esher. It looks like it will be a biggie if last years stories are anything to go by, well, let’s hope so anyway, as numbers attending each bead fair do seem to be dwindling as there are so many to go to now. Of course I’m not ready, I never am for these things, and it’s not through lack of organisation but because as an artist there’s always more beads that could be made, you know, the ones in my head that haven’t made it on to the mandrel yet. It just doesn’t seem to matter how many beads you’ve made you always feel you could have and should have done more. It’s a dreadful feeling, and rather silly of course, but there we go. I do actually have lots of new beads, and a few more waiting to be cleaned and made up into sets today. I also have 99% of my extra stall bits ready, all of my packing and display ready, I just have to finish cleaning a few beads, wire up some more sets and sort some more of my popular bargain beads for you avid bargain hunters. Don’t forget that the very best new bead sets always get snaffled up very early on in the fair, so if you have anything particular in mind, come and see us first. Of course that doesn’t mean anything left after the first hour is not excellant! I believe every focal and bead set is perfect for someone special, they just haven’t necessarily come to see them yet.

So, I will have my usual mix of bead sets and focals in yummy colours, dichroic sets, silver foil lined bling sets (I think they’re gorge), dichroic pick ‘n’ mix, pots of bargain experiments and orphan beads priced from £1 to £3 each, cute pandas, penguin, snowmen and fish. I also have my supply of good quality sterling silver snake chains, sterling silver cables and beadable sterling silver bangles. I will also have some gold colour gift pillow boxes, perfect for giving away with your Christmas creations.

See you there!

P.S. My stand is Number 64, and it looks to be in the opposite corner from the main entrance and facing the back wall.

P.P.S.  I have Fruit Rocks from M&S in addition to my usual jelly beans!

Tues morning

Just a quick fly by to say hi (ooer that rhymes). I seem to be very busy, making beads for orders, teaching and getting ready for the Big Bead Show on the 1st Nov. Please note that this is a Saturday Bead Fair, not the usual Sunday affair. My personal targets for October seem to be slipping away without me achieving them, apart for one which was to try and master silver rich glass, which I’ve had a few hours at and have made wonderful progress, well, in one session at least.  I got all technical about it, went down to my studio armed with printed hints and tips and a tutorial, and a piece of paper to record my results and make notes on how I did it, where and what time it was put in the kiln….and guess what…no more poo on sticks! yay. Of course the second time I tried, but with a different technique and on ivory, all I got was tiny brown dots and very muted colours where I’d done a plunge dot. So now I need to work out how to get fabulous colours with encasing the stuff. Anyway, I must dash, I have a shed load of beads to make today, and they won’t make themselves you know…wags finger.

Wednesday teatime

Here we are again, a week later. Harrow was good, even though I was tired by the time I got there. I had been pushing it working everyday for the 2 weeks in the run up to the fair, and now I’m extremely pooped, but hey, I did it! Thank you to everyone who came to say hello and also those who bought my beads, especially to Elizabeth, my first customer of the day. So this week I’ve been trying to relax a bit which I’m finding difficult to do as there are so many jobs that I have at the moment, although that’s nothing new, there’s always something to do when you run your own business, and I thought October would be quiet. I have 2 days tuition this week and another hectic weekend ahead of me.

Wednesday teatime

As of last night I now have a table at the Harrow Bead fair this Sunday. Yipee. This has to be my favourite fair, not sure why really, but somehow it seems like ‘The’ bead fair of the year, maybe because it was one of the first. So I’m beavering away this week getting ready for it, well, not so much beavering, but working steadily and not too hard like last week, as we were both shattered after last weekend….partly because I worked soooo hard in the run up, then Rick continued with replacing the fence down the side of our house, then we had a party in the evening which we were both involved with helping, got to bed at 2:00am then up at 6:30 am for the Hatfield Bead Fair………oooooo no sleep. I’m teaching again this Saturday too. Phew I’m really going to need a rest next week.

My life seems to be pretty much back to normal now, it was officially 4 months on Saturday since I became a bionic hippy, and I can’t believe how good I feel, so much better already than the last 3 years, and I have the next 8 months to really get over the experiance. I haven’t used my stick at all for over a week, yay, and have been walking to the school unaided, which is all a bit wierd for me at the moment as I’ve been using a stick for the last 15 years. I have to really concentrate on how I walk, as bad habits formed in my endeavor to walk without pain, and I’m having physiotherapy to help me reach my foot again, it’s funny needing to have someone else tie up my shoelaces! and of course once lace ups are on they have to stay on all day. But hey, I feel good.

I have a couple of dates available for one person on each of the following beadmaking courses –

1 day beginners…………….Saturday 27th September

2 day beginners…………….Thurs 2nd to Fri 3rd October

Send me an email now to secure your place on one of these courses.

Other news…..I’m rushing around getting ready for the bead fair this Sunday at Hatfield House.  I sold so many beads at the Stourbridge bead Fair in August and haven’t had the time to make many more because of the school holidays, but I am busy making some of my new jewel toned silver foil lined beads and some more pandas. I also hope to make some new simple dichroic beads for you to use in your creations. I am sorting out some more of my bargain beads, these can be experiments and poor little orphans that can’t find a home in a set and will be taking along my selection of high quality chains and cables. Do come and say hello on Sunday.

Tuesday night

Yoo hoo I’m back….well, I’m home but working in the Surrey Guild gallery in Millford this week. It’s been such a busy summer, with one event after another, like the Stourbridge bead fair one weekend, 3 days home to unpack then repack to go away again for a family wedding then a short holiday. It’s been all go but fun and exhausting, and I have had no hip pain in my new bionic hip, although some pain in my origianlly bad hip, rats. I’m hoping this will reduce as dependance on overusing it reduces. So what’s new? Not a lot really yet, as I am still unable to enjoy my torch because of the days out this week, although I’m hoping to get some torch time on Thursday as I’ve managed to swap one of my days. I’m getting reved up for the Bead Fair at Hatfield House on 21st September, less than 2 weeks (well, I should be but I’m unable to do anything for this yet) and I have also booked the Big Bead Show at Esher on 1st November (6 weeks away).

These bookings are all very well, but will they happen, will I be able to torch on Thursday or will we have been sucked into a black hole by then?  If you haven’t heard what’s happening tomorrow then look up Large hadron Collider. It amazes me how people are allowed to do this if it’s really so risky. Of course they say it’s not, then laugh manically, but who’s to know? I guess we’ll all know, or not by Thursday. lol.

Tuesday midday

Phew I’m wacked! Today is post International Festival of Glass and more importantly post Stourbridge bead fair which this year was an exhausting 3 day affair, but well worth every minute and great fun. Hi to all my friends, customers and forum mates who dropped by to say hello, you all made our weekend such a good one. We should really have rested every evening after the fair, but what’s the point of going all that way and not going out with your friends in the evening? I think the best meal (in terms of taste) was on our first evening when we visited Ruby Cantonese around the corner from the Ruskin Centre, with Di East, Paddy Bush and Ruzica Ruane and her son (sorry, I can’t remember your name). We also revisited a pub where you get 2 meals for 1 with Francesca Cerreta and Caroline McMillan (waves!) and then the penultimate evening visited the Crooked House pub with Julie Anne Denton, Di East and Vic and Ian Bamforth, 2 glass blowers from the Red House Cone. It’s so nice to be able to spend time with glassy friends and make new friends.

I think it’s fair to say a good time was had by all, including our daughter who we took with us for the first time, I think 4 days babysitting was a bit too much after all the time she spent away when I was in hospital! I will try and get some photos up later, it’s not like I don’t have many to choose from, Rick took over 400 this weekend…lol.

Wednesday afternoon

Wow I’ve been away from here a long time. So what’s been happening? Well it’s school holidays for a start, so life is upside down at the moment, but since we last spoke we’ve had Ardingly bead fair, a lovely day with lots of friendly faces coming to say hi and lots of bead shopping, yes me too! I couldn’t resist some amazing and simple boro beads from Purple Beech Designs, I bought some of the teardrops in various colours. Of course I had to rest for a few days after the exertion of preparing for this, then we went away to France for a week with Ricks family. There will be more about ‘The Great Downton Getaway’ in later posts. Now I’m trying to recover from the journey home and the last few days of our holiday which were very busy physically for me.

The good news is that I was 12 weeks post op yesterday, this being another milestone for me being allowed to do a few more things, but the last milestone is my 3 month date on 20th August, when I will be able to stop all my hip precautions and start to lead a completely normal life again (I hope). This is the date I’m really looking forward to. Also this week I have 2 days teaching, my first course until I resume working full time in September, obviously I can’t really teach many days in August due to my daughter being on holiday and family commitments on general.

My next event is the Stourbridge Bead Fair, formerly the GBUK Bead Fair. This is a 3 day bead fair at the Bonded Warehouse in Stourbridge running over the Bank Holiday weekend and is again part of the International festival of Glass (IFG), an amazing and exciting celebration of all things glassy. Actually I’m only going for the Gaffers’ Ale and another hand blown and cut 1 pint beer glass (hee hee) to add to the other 3 in the cupboard.

I am also very pleased to be taking part in ‘The Tempest’ glass bead exhibition on the theme of Shakesperes’ play. This exhibition of handmade glass beads and small sculptures is in the Coffee shop at the Ruskin Glass Centre, details are on my events page together with details of the bead fair. There is a fab website to accompany the exhibition, follow this link for a sneaky peak at my bead (which looks even better in the flesh)! I may also have a couple of my prototype beads for sale in the coffee shop, if I decide to sell them there, if not then they’ll be available on my stall at the beadfair.

Tuesday morning

9 weeks today, and what can I say, things have been going extremely well, and I’m feeling more like I’m getting back to where I was before the op in terms of my range of movement (well, it’s better actually), apart from getting incredibly tired very easily. I had a few busy days last week and at the weekend and today it’s all caught up with me, I’m so tired, which is a real nuisance as I was planning to make beads today and tomorrow before the school holidays start on Thursday and for the bead fair at Ardingly this Sunday.

Instead I will be trawling through my many bead boxes putting sets together from my oversize stash to bring you as yet unseen beads, some which I made with the purpose of using in my jewellery designs but haven’t and also more of my older beads that I never put into sets. I’m also sorting out some more bargain beads for my bargain pots and reducing some focals and bead sets. I suppose you could say I’m having a summer clearance but it’s not really that fancy or grand. I’m determined that I’ll be ready in good time the day before and I’m doing my best to get megga organised, famous last words. It’s always those little bits that take the time, they’re unseen but make a difference to presentation.

So what else will be new? My daughter told me to make my favourite animal, so I’ve designed a panda bead and have made a few for Sunday, also I will have a few more fish beads in new designs, maybe more if I have enough energy to make some tomorrow, but I’m not going to moan about it.

Monday morning

A new day, a new week and I decided to have a little bit of a tidy up (don’t get too excited, I did say little). I’ve come across my old Filofax with a very interesting calorie counter insert that I used many moons ago and on the back pages are a list of all sorts of exercise and how many calories they burn a minute. Hmm, this could be worth a look, a quick scan down the page reveals…archery, 3 cals, hmm, not really very keen on that, what about athletics? During training count 7 cals, not bad, badminton, now here’s one I like, it says ‘with average effort you would run about a lot’, 5 cals. Basketball, did that once and ended up in casualty with 2  sprained fingers, don’t think I’ll be trying that again in a hurry, ‘Lots of very fast running, jumping and stretching….7 cals’. What’s this below? Beadmaking!????? no it can’t be! beadmaking, on a list from 1987, oh, oh, how exciting, what does it say? quick! Real bends and stretches ….huh? with sheets and blankets ….what? ooh look, it’s bedmaking. humph. Oh and it’s 3 cals by the way. I guess the nearest thing would be knitting, which uses 2 per minute, no matter how fast you ‘click’ those needles.

I don’t like housework, but I always thought its redeeming feature was that it used up calories, unfortunately the numbers used really don’t seem to corulate with the amount of energy and boredom expended alas. Try this, ‘cooking, does not involve much strenuous effort & consists mostly of arm movement…….2 cals’  well it does when you are not very able bodied and every step around the kitchen is a huge effort. Cleaning cupboards and drawers together with dusting, ironing, polishing small things, washing up, veg preparation, hoovering without moving furniture gets a low 2 cals, and you may just burn 3 per minute if you mop the floor, clean windows, decorate the house, polish furniture vigourously, scrub floors (with a will – does this mean I need to make one or find someone called Will?), hoovering when you move the furniture, washing clothes by hand (like that’s going to happen) and shopping with a light load (5kg or under). I think with this low level of housework calorie expenditure I may just make sure I sit around relaxing for twice as long as I do already as I can burn 1 cal per minute watching telly or surfing the net. I know what I’m doing today. Tee hee.

Saturday evening

The last day of Open Houses and studios is tomorrow, Sunday. Several venues will be open during the afternoon so do have a trek around and see some individual pieces of art. Today I woke up feeling so chirpy that I decided last minute to pack up my studio and take it down to Ediths to demonstrate making handmade glass beads. I was in the same place as last year, in a cosy little outbuilding facing out to the garden, although it was rather chilly in the shade there today. This was only my second attempt at making beads since my surgery, and I started getting back into the groove after a dodgy start last Thursday. It’s so good to be getting back to normality, and even though I had a rainbow of colours available to use today I decided to concentrate on making black and white beads with clear, to make a necklace for my mums birthday. It’s amazing how many different styles you can come up with even with such a limited palette, oh I had great fun, and even Rick joined in with a bumpy black and white creation just before we packed up.

Talking about new things, my recovery has progressed enough to allow me to drive again, amazing how fast all this is, so on Tuesday (seven weeks after) I attempted to get in the driving seat and had an enjoyable little tootle around the block, yay! This is really good news for me as it now means I have some independence and can actually leave the house on short errands or just to treat myself to a coffee in town, because I can. I can also start walking up and down a few of the stairs at home normally (instead of one step at a time with the same foot leading each step). I tend to walk around the house without a stick now, much better for carrying trays and mugs of tea, and even managed to wash my own hair this week. Now I’m guessing that for most of this you’ll be thinking ‘So what?’ but for a 45 year old it’s really annoying having to depend on someone else to do all this, and every new achievement is another step back to normality and independence. I’m hoping to conquer the shower this week, as up until now I’ve needed help to get in and out of the bath.

I hope that this little log of my progress will encourage anyone who’se reading and needing some sort of replacement, to feel encouraged by my experience and take the plunge to get help.

Monday lunchtime (but posted Tuesday teatime, we had techie problems!)

Thank goodness that’s all over, all the preparation for Open Houses is done, and the first weekend has passed. I managed to get my displays done, somewhat later than I would have liked, and when asked by my friend why I was so unprepared I wasn’t sure, but then it hit me, oh yes, my hip replacement was scheduled very unexpectedly with short notice and messed my planned schedule for the year, I had set aside May and June for preparation but of course my priorities changed. Still, I managed it with half an hour to go, lol and even managed to make some new pieces, different variations on my current range.

Now that’s done I’ve masses of other jobs to do, but today I’m taking it easy. I got up at 11 this morning, lovely, having been lounging around drinking tea and reading a book by Alan Bennett, not my usual read but entertaining. All the effort last week has caught-up with me and I plan to continue having a leisurely day, as I’m supposed to anyway still being on stick leave and all. It’s been fun watching a bit of daytime TV, yes I know, very naff, but I’m really getting into House at the moment. Up to recently we couldn’t get Five but now they’re cranking up the signal we’ve had more viewing choice. This brings me to walking sticks and disabilities in dramas.

What is it about stick users on TV? why do they always get it wrong? Lots of people who meet me think my left leg is the problem because that’s the side I use my stick. Unfortunately many people who buy themselves a stick don’t use them in the best way, as they haven’t been shown and then they copy what they’ve seen on TV. Even Rick thought I was doing it wrong, tchhh. However I almost always see people using sticks in the wrong hand on telly dramas and in films, very amusing especially when Doctors do it in Hospital dramas! I’m guessing that if a stick was used properly it would have less of a dramatic impact, and I’m also thinking that Hugh Laurie aches like mad after filming! Serves him right. Ha.

Wednesday morning

I have a zillion and one things to do today, OK not really, but I do have lots to do and I shouldn’t really be here talking to you but I am so there. Yesterday was my 6 week from hip hop day, and it was a good one. No more blood thinning jabs in my belly and I got rid of my sexy white compression pop socks just in time for the hotest day so far this year and spent the day sporting a cool pair of shorts. I even managed to get a steaming hot mug of tea down the steps into our garden so I could sit and slurp on my favourite bench. I also haven’t had any painkillers since Sunday night, how cool is that? I have to admit having a moment at 12 noon yesterday, as that was when they woke me up in recovery and I felt so chilled. This whole experience so far has been completely different from my last surgery, where I was still on crutches and using a wheelchair after 6 months, but here we are, 6 weeks on and I practice walking in the house without sticks when I feel up to it, although I do still need my crutches. Chalk and cheese.

Half way through my recommended recovery period and I think it’s going really well, now all I have to do is pluck up the courage to try making beads again. My brain has been and is still so ditzy and slow that I haven’t dared approach the flame for fear of doing something stupid and burning myself, also my mobility and flexibility constraints have made me wary of trying to sit for any length of time in my studio or reaching to get things and forgetting my hip precautions. Add to this my tiredness after short times of activity and you don’t really have the best of situations. So I’ve decided to leave well alone until I feel I can enjoy making glass beads in safety.

I do have lots to do to get ready for Open Houses this weekend. I’m setting up my first display at the 2×4 Studios in Horsham today and have several jobs that I must do for that, including fitting out my flat display cabinets, deciding exactly what I want in them and how I’m going to arrange and display them. I also have to get all the ‘stuff’ together to make my sales, for example packaging, a sign to explain what I do, a mirror etc…..phew. See you later.

Monday tea time

Open Houses as part of the Artists and Makers Festival in West Sussex starts this weekend and continues the following weekend. I am exhibiting in 2 places, my first and main venue is at Edith Barton’s house in Plummers Plain, where I will have my tall cabinet of designer glass bead jewellery. Edith has once again opened her summerhouse in her huge garden to display her work together with mine and 2 other local artists, Thea Taylor who will have sculpture on display indoors and outside, and Katherine Haynes who makes bags and lampshades from bubble wrap.  We are discussing having demonstrations like we did last year, and I may be taking my equipment to make handmade glass beads again, this will depend on how energetic I’m feeling by then. Come and see our artworks, enjoy some refreshment while you watch a demonstration and have a leisurely stroll around the garden whilst admiring the sculptures.

My second venue is in the 2×4 Artists community room in the Drill Hall in Horsham town centre. I will have a smaller range of jewellery for sale, but in different colours from the other venue, so don’t forget to check out both places. The room will of course be displaying many pieces by my fellow artists in the group, including paintings, mixed media, textiles, sculpture and printmaking. Studio artists will also be opening their doors as always.

More information is on my events page and by clicking on the links to the festival website where a pdf of the festival guide can be downloaded, and a festival map can be viewed. Unfortunately this map doesn’t so far appear to have our Horsham locations marked on it, oh well!

Friday tea time

Wednesday we had our own Springwatch here as I sat gazing out of the window, with several different birds swooping around and being really bold as they bobbed around just outside where I was sitting. We have had a resident pair of robins for a long time living in the holly tree overhanging the corner of the garden, and a pair of Collared Doves that squeak every time they fly by, but on Wednesday we also saw 3 Coal Tits, 1 Great Tit, and a thrush or two. I’ve also recently seen a type of Finch or Blue Tit, I’m not sure which because I didn’t have anything to hand for reference. We also seem to have 3 ducks that keep appearing in our road, and a few months ago had a peacock parading around the road too. Of course this isn’t as posh as where Rick used to live with his parents, in their house which backed onto a large mansion which had a huge garden with 2 Peacocks and a Peahen. They looked wonderful as they would often hop over the fence into Ricks garden but in reality were a complete and utter pest as they used to eat all the plants and poo everywhere………and remember we’re talking BIG birds here, with BIG appetites and BIG…..well, you get the idea.

Of course the ducks found the only pond available! a small puddle by the edge of the road.