Wigton Windows

Back in 2009, St Mary's Church in Wigton received three new stained glass windows, donated by Melvyn Bragg. He was a choir boy in the church as a child and gave the windows in memory of his parents. He was very specific about the details that he wanted to include in the window's designs and these included scenes from town life including the famous horse auctions and the Market Cross.

He commissioned two local artists to design and make the windows: artist and designer Brian Campbell and stained-glass artist Alex Haynes.

Since the windows went in, I have been meaning to go and see them and today I finally got around to it. I read the Cumberland News story and saw the photos in Cumbria life, but photos don't do them justice - they really need to be seen, and they are stunning. The fairly plain exterior of the church does not give a hint to the gorgeous designs inside. The other windows are really worth a look too if you ever get the chance. Below are my quick snaps of the windows. Please click on an image to enlarge.

A Little Thrill

I visited the book yesterday. I knew that Bookends in Carlisle was stocking copies of Moon in Leo so I decided to take myself down there to have a look. I have to confess to having a little thrill at seeing my cover on the shelf of a book shop and not looking at all out of place.

Moon in Leo has now been published for a little over two months and sales are going well. It has also had a number of really rather excellent reviews. I read some of these out to Kathleen the last time I went to visit her and she was clearly delighted to hear that people were enjoying it.

I couldn't resist taking a quick snap of the book in situ, but I do think the woman behind the sales desk considered me a bit crackers!

Latest Bead Additions

I always feel a bit guilty after a bit of a splurge, but the guilt fades quite quickly. I have now nearly filled up my bracelet. It won't be too long before I can start creating different looks combining my different colours. I'm still trying to add a few more silver beads to my collection, but being a bit more expensive this is happening a little more slowly. Yesterday I added two more beads to the collection.

Left to right: Lilac Prism, Silver Endless

The Dangers of Twitter

No, it's not a tale of public embarrassment or offended followers, of hackers or meltdowns and flame wars. This is a simple a cautionary tale; Twitter is bad for your waistline! A few days ago @JustTeaching posted a link to a tempting recipe for carrot cake muffins. Well they sounded too good to miss, so today I gave them a go. They were incredibly easy to make and even easier to eat. I made them with spelt flour and three teaspoons of gluten free baking powder so that my mum (who is wheat intolerant) could try them too. Even with these amendments they were delicious. I would recommend making half the amount of icing suggested in the original recipe because it made a huge amount, and also using low fat cream cheese as it made no difference to the taste. Below is my tweaked recipe along with photo of the finished product. For those who need to know, it makes 12 muffins at 9 Weight Watchers ProPoints each.

Carrot cake muffins

Ingredients for the muffins (makes 12 @ 9 ProPoints each):

• 1 ½ cups grated carrot (about 2 mid - biggish carrots)

• ¼ cup oil

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup soft dark brown sugar

• 1 cup of self-raising flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Ingredients for the icing

• 200g icing sugar

• 100g low fat soft cream cheese

Method

1. Mix all ingredients together

2. Place in cup cake cases in muffin tin bake in oven at 160℃ for 30-35 minutes.

3. Allow to cool on wire rack

4.  Beat cream cheese, add icing sugar and mix until smooth and thick

5. Pipe or spread on top of muffins

Of Transformations...

It seems like a lifetime ago that my garden looked like this. It has been through dozens of transformations in the 10 years that I have lived in my flat. Below is a little photo-log of the early days, as well as the latest transformation in the shape of a vegetable patch. Please click on an image for a larger view.

 

Spring Beads

Left to right: Chicken, Pink Desert, Dichroic Ice, Fairy

I have been very good and stayed away from the Trollbeads for a while, but yesterday I couldn't resist. I decided to start adding some silver beads to my collection so that mixing colours is a bit easier, however the lure of the glass beads was too strong! Above are my new additions.

Spring is in the Air

Watering my pots today, I couldn't resist taking a few snaps of my pansies. The spray from the hose gave them all an irresistible dusting of jewels.

Latest Project Complete!

Yet again it has been rather a long time since my last post. This is, in part, due to a new project that has kept me busy. Last year, mum and dad took on the task of getting an old friend's book published; her fourth and last novel. After rejections from quite a few publishers and agents (on the basis of the book being a one off and too much of a financial risk), they decided to set up their own publishing firm and publish it themselves.

And that's where my role started. They asked me if I would design the book cover and I was more than happy to take the job on. It was quite a learning curve, learning to use InDesign, but one that I really enjoyed.

Signing off on the cover and uploading it to the printer was nerve-racking, but on the 14th February the first print run was completed. So that's it - the book is published and available directly from Trifolium Books UK or from Amazon (also Amazon.com), as well as a selection of independent Cumbrian bookshops.

I can now add 'cover designer' to my CV.

Farewell 2010

It was the year I made my biggest ever decision; decorated my living room; re-homed two new cats; became the cover designer for a new book; claimed twice (or was that three times?) on my car insurance; said 'hello' again to Towersey festival; reacquainted with some wonderful old friends; taught year 6 to sing in three part harmony and made my first trip to Padstow for Mayday. It's mostly been a good one. The year ahead has one main target, same as every year; this time I have no choice but to meet it.

Happy new year one and all. I hope it brings you health, wealth and most importantly, happiness. x

New beads for 2011

It's been quite a while since I bought myself any new Trollbeads and to be honest, it will be a while yet; my car brakes had to take priority. Still, I was very spoilt for Trollbeads over Christmas and my collection grew by four. That will keep me going for a while. I also came to the realisation that more silver beads is the key to easily customisable looks, so that is my next mission.

Left to right: Black Flower Mosaic, Issey, Black Silk, Cool Dusk

Mum's Radio Premier

I couldn't be more proud! We all sat around the computer this morning in Barking, listening to Radio Cumbria streaming live, for the world premier of Words Worth Hearing; mum's first broadcast radio play. I think it's terrific, but I accept I'm biased! So, included below is a recording (not the best quality - but I didn't want to wait for the CD they'll send later) and you can make your own decision.

 
Download now or listen on posterous

Words_Worth_Hearing.m4a (3765 KB)

Fireworks in Barking Park

I've lived in Barking for 10 years now and I'm embarrassed to say I have never been to the fireworks display, until tonight. And it has left me wondering why I've never gone before. It was a great night out. My three nephews loved it and I 'oohed' and 'aahed' with the best of them! Police presence was high which was both reassuring and worrying but I saw no incidents that needed them.  It was a very well run operation and the fireworks were awesome. And the boys verdict: Ted 60 out of 10, Marley 9½ out of 10 (so that he has room if he every goes to a better one, although this tops his list now) and Shay simply said 'I know, let's talk about our favourite bits...'