Saturday 26 March 2011

Nostalgic Mix 2 ...bouncers, rawlplugs and ...Tonkas! ;-)



There's nothing like a box of vintage rawlplugs to get you going!!

Or, failing that, when a stall holder offers to show you

his vintage Tonka toy, you know you really have hit the jackpot!


;-)





'Guys' Stuff' certainly drew the crowds today at

Nostalgic Mix 2

Brilliant, beautifully presented and it has to be said...

'Best in show'!! LOL

A big 'well done' to Mr This 'n That !! Gold star!



I love it when the 'other halves' can play their part!

Mr Snippets was usefully employed as a ' bouncer' on the door,

before the fair began...and a fine job he made of that too !!

The 'TQ9 ers' must be shuddering in their shoes!!





So drum roll, please, for all things vintage... bloke style!




But...

The prettiest stall for me was...Ellie's...she is so talented!



Bustle and Sew

http://bustleandsew.blogspot.com/






It was a fabulous day and once again, a certain lady

came up trumps, with her superb organisation.

I don't know how she keeps so calm and cool!




On a day when March became the new July...and the sun streamed

through the windows at the Totnes Civic Hall,

'Nostalgic Mix' basked in the Devon sunshine and ended the day

with quite a tan!






A big 'well done' to everyone who turned up to make this day one to remember :-

Amanda, Barbara and Hesta, who were such lovely company

each side of us ;

all of the other stall holders who produced such stunning displays;

shoppers who came from far and wide ;

the people at most fabulous vintage style tea shop,

' MORE TEA VICAR'

who kept our throats nice and moist and also served the most wonderful

array of delicious edibles;

my very own Mr Snippets, who does all my fetching and carrying!

But most of all, a massive thanks to Lesley.

Without her, none of this would have happened.

Thanks for a fabulous day!

Phew...

I'm now off to dream about rawlplugs... and Tonka toys!!

;-) x


Thursday 24 March 2011

Almost time for the fair! ;-)


Well here we go...

We're almost under starters orders...the starter being Lesley...

the orders being from her too... and way hay...

NM2 is nearly here!

For all those lovers of vintage, handmade, crafty and ..uh oh...

this year's new category ...blokey stuff!! ;-)

Bright and early this morning, my kitchen was turned into

a 'practice area' for Nostalgic Mix 2!




So...


See you there...and remember...

It's not far by train!! ;-)



I'll be back on Monday with photos from the fair

and I'll also be announcing the winner of my last giveaway!

Have fun... and if you are in Totnes on Saturday...do come and say hello!

;-)

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Wages; Whipple; What Weather! And a Wee Wonderful!!;-)



Want a job with high wages?
Well don't we all?!!

Want a book called 'High Wages' ?
Now that's a little easier!

If you want a good book to read then you can't go wrong with one of

Dorothy Whipple's fine reads!

And that's what I have been doing!

'High Wages' by Dorothy Whipple

''As she stood on the cobbles of the empty market place, a beam of light suddenly struck from the right, to her very feet. She looked up and saw, that an obscuring eiderdown, hanging in Chadwicks shop window, had been pushed aside......then stepping carefully around the tea cosies and peaked napkins....''

'Wanted, a young lady to assist in the shop. Apply within.'




And about the author...here's a snippet for you:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/forgotten-authors-no-31-dorothy-whipple-1666062.html




Talking of 'Whipple delights' makes me think of ice cream!

And ice cream really was the order of the day at the weekend!

At least in sunny Devon it was!

Here are a few snaps of the lovely Princess Gardens in Torquay.

I believe that these gardens are the subject of much controversy

at the moment because the Mayor of Torquay wants to 'alter' them!!

'Leave them alone' , is what I say!! ;-)











And finally, yesterday, I whizzed to another sunny place, Exmouth, to catch up with...




Meggy...now 5 weeks old!

Have a lovely day, everyone!

;-)

Sunday 20 March 2011

Chess !


I think, if I hadn't been a teacher, I would love to have studied performing arts!

When I'm in the house alone, I love to sing!

When I was little, I loved ballet.

Desperate to dance, I was, instead, forced to have piano lessons!

I was quite musical so did enjoy those lessons really...

but, had it been my choice... ;-)

However, I was allowed a pair of red ballet shoes

and an LP record...Swan Lake on one side

and The Nutcracker, on the other.

I can well remember the little 'performances' that

my sister and myself would give my mum.

And I can well recall spending many, happy

visits to the very theatre, where I sat yesterday, watching :

'Chess'



This is a story about passion.

Oh, well okay, it's a story about other things too...

like loyalty, deceit... and relationships.

But it's mainly about passion.

That is, passion for another human being... and passion for a game.

The game of Chess.



It's a new production which is touring the country at the moment

and luckily for me it came to Torquay, this week!


With lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA, the story involves a romantic triangle between two top chess players, one an American, the other a Russian.They are taking part in a world chess championship.

The woman who manages one of the players, falls in love with the other. Having defected to the west, he just happens to have a wife and children,whom he has left behind in Russia.

The story is set in the context of a Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, both countries wanting to win international chess tournaments for propaganda purposes.

I wasn't disappointed. In fact, it was a superb musical. I found the quality of the singing exceptional and indeed the whole show was put together in a very unique and effective way.

The cast were outstanding. The leading roles excelled.



Yesterday, I was able to sit and enjoy this because someone, somewhere,

taught these people how to read and play music; how to sing;

how to dance the right steps; how to act;

how to perform and entertain.

The art of performing does not just happen!!

Therefore, I have very strong feelings about the teaching

of drama and music in our schools and it grieves me to read that many schools

could be making their drama and music teachers redundant!

There's far too much of this squeezing the creativity out of our children;

it's not good enough...is it?!!


The performing arts plays a vital role in our children's education,

in inspiring and helping them to gain the confidence needed to

reach their full potential in their lives.


I hope that there will always be such fine shows as this and I hope that

our children will always be encouraged to be creative and imaginative

because even the great Albert Einstein once said:

'Logic will get you from A to B.

Imagination will take you everywhere'

And that is certainly true...

Torquay and Bangkok, in the same afternoon, can't be bad,can it?

;-)

(Photos courtesy of
http://www.chess-the-musical.co.uk/ )