Rosy and the Lily

Rosy held her ice-cream in one hand and reached out with the other to touch the wall. The stone her hand found was different from the others, smooth and white. Tiny grey cracks navigated across the surface. The stone curved away gently as she ran her fingers over it; it was somehow soft. It made her think of a person. A picture fused together in her mind: a young man with reddish hair and shining blue eyes. He stopped, out of breath and looked at her. 

William was panting. He could feel the evening shadows creeping up his back as he crossed the cobbled town square. He could sense in the tingling cold that the church bell was about to chime. A nervous feeling welled up in his somach, but he pushed it sown again. Even if he was late, she was worth it. He ran towards the shrinking blue sky.

Glancing up the hill, he could see, just rising through the treetops, the smoking chimneys of home. Mother and Father must be dressing for dinner, if he could sneak in through the servants' hall they might never know - Annie could be trusted to keep him right, she was her best friend. 

Even while he was running he found a moment to close his eyes and he thought of her face - his Lily-girl. He could feel so intensely the sway of her hair against his skin. The warmth that radiated from her whan she smiled and the peace of knowing that she was waiting for him, that she had promised to wait. If he hadn't been running, he would have leapt for joy. 

The river, as he came close to it, whispered in tones as low and soft as Lily's. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and watch the orange sparkle of the setting sun on the water. His hands pushed off from the warm stone walls as he took off again, smiling to himself. "What's the harm in telling them tonight," he thought "they'll come around. They'll have to."

His feet, in thin leather boots thumped painfully on the cobbles. A memory flashed through his mind. A cart and two horses, crashing, breaking, falling. Just as it formed into a thought, he felt his ankle give way beneath him. He stumbled on the uneven surface and grappled with the turbulent ground as he tumbled over and over and through the break in the wall where the horses had fallen to their deaths. He saw the shallow rapids rushing towards him.

A clear film of water flowed over William's face. There was barely any blood, just a single trickle dissipated into the brook. When the grocer found him he said that he looked as peaceful as an alabaster tomb. 

Rosy felt an icy trickle on her hand. She looked down. The ice-cream was melting away. She hurried it to her lips but before she could bring it close enough the pink scoop slid off the cone and landed with a splat. For a moment she watched as pink streams formed and meandered in the gullies between the cobbles. Then all of a sudden she began to wail. "Daddy! It fell!" Her eyes filled with tears.

She felt his strong arm around her. He lifted her up until she could see over the wall to the river below.

"Poor Rosy-girl. You have to eat it quickly, see?" He said holding up a half finished cone of mint-choc-chip . But the girl's attention was elsewhere. On the wall at the side of the bridge lay a perfect white bloom. A single lily.



A friend gave me a challenge to write a short story containing the following objects: a lily, a skull and an ice-cream cone. It was difficult to find a way to put all of those things together while keeping to my own style, but eventually, it sparked an idea which in the end I really loved. The process was lots of fun, and hopefully you've enjoyed the end result. I'd love to try another challenge, similar to this or different, let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions. If you liked this story, you might like my book - available on amazon kindle (you only need a browser or smartphone to read it) anyway the ad is on the right.

Travels with a Toddler: Knole Park

A young stag nibbles at a branch - with such elegance

A couple of weeks ago, along with a group of family members including three toddlers (!) Andy, Jem and I visited the National Trust Property at Knole Park in Sevenoakes. The house was originally an Archbishop's palace and is home to some stunning artefacts including some incredibly ornate textiles, an impressive collection of historical portraits, unique pieces of furniture, porcelain... I could go on - it's breathtaking. The house, though is dwarfed by its surroundings, a medieval deer park that stretches on for miles - or at least much further than we could ever have walked that day!

The grounds are really the star attraction, deer that are so tame that they pose for photographs, picturesque views that make you forget that you're right by the center of town. We loved exploring outside, I had a ball taking photographs of the deer - I'm not sure everyone was so pleased to wait around for me.

Going there with little children was not a problem so long as we were willing to make some small sacrifices. Inside the house we were asked to swap our baby carrier - we had a frame carrier (like a large backpack) for a soft carrier, they had plenty to lend out but if I had realised in advance I probably would have been more comfortable using my own. We chose a beautiful autumn day to make our visit, so the weather was not a consideration and there are some easy paths outside for buggies - naturally none of our little ones wanted to spend much time in the buggy. Jem would tell you that the paths were crawlable but slow going!

I hope you enjoy these few pictures. Let me know what you think - feel free to leave a comment.

This stately stag was caught napping, but
obliged me by surveying his kingdom

Posing for his close up

Chimneyscape

Probably my favourite image from the day, a young stag in the bracken.

Beginning to Weave...

I've found a new obsession! Weaving fascinates me, it's not only design and use of colour, there's a geometry and underlying - almost subconscious - mathematics to it that is causing an addiction. I am enjoying working different patterns and shapes to find out what I can create.

I found a great tutorial that was really helpful in going through the basic techniques (and essentially - the vocabulary) and asked my father-in-law to help me make a loom based on the instructions there (basically some nails in a board). His idea though, was to make a loom bigger and better than I could have asked for, so I now have this beautiful oak peg loom with copper pins, on which I have so far completed about three decorative pieces and have already started the next.

It was only after I had commissioned my loom and started my experimentation that my own Dad said "Oh you're interested in weaving, would you like a loom?" It turns out he has been holding onto the loom that my Gran used when she learnt to weave. It's bigger and more complex than my own, so I'll have to spend some time researching how to use it.

I'll be taking my first weaving class this week, I can't wait to find out more about this timeless craft.

Adventures in weaving - from prep through working on the loom to finished article

Blog Redesign

You might notice some changes to my blog - OK, it's quite obvious, I've changed the name, and the background etc. This is linked with a plan to change the content somewhat. Instead of having two blogs, one for craft and the other for writing, I'm merging them together hence the title: Words and Patterns. I plan to write a lot more besides - book reviews, lifestyle posts, updates on my little boy, photography etc. that wouldn't have fit in well before.

There are a lot of changes going on in my life at the moment. Along with Andrew and Jem I've moved out of St Andrews down to Kenilworth in Warwickshire to stay with family until Andrew finds a job. I am once again a stay-at-home Mum and feeling very lucky to be spending this precious time with my boy. Speaking of the boy, he just turned one, and had three first birthday parties to mark the occasion. I think he might be a little confused, but the main thing is that we all ate a lot of cake!

I've been trying out some new craft ideas, my facebook friends will have seen glimpses already, but I'm planning some posts soon to show what I've been up to. Eventually, I'm hoping to become a work-at-home Mum, and use some of the creative skills I've been developing to start a small business.

Keep on the look out for posts in the near future, I've a lot to tell you about!