They did it for Seve!

One of the greatest days in the world of golf
(and with Woods conceding a 4 foot putt at the end, that includes the sportsmanship and dignity shown by the USA team).

Morning Glory Harp Designs

A customer liked this design but with butterflies instead of faries. They are also unsure about colours etc. so I painted the two samples above. Which do you prefer - the Adonis Blue butterfly version with chromium oxide green leaves, or the Peacock butterfly painted in metalic colours?

Our Church Weekend at Ashburnham

It was a great pleasure for us to spend time with our fabulous church family on a weekend break
at Ashburnham Place in East Sussex.

The grounds are amazing; full of nostalgic signs of the past.
I loved this doorway to an old service area for the walled garden.

Looking back the other way through the same doorway.

We enjoyed spending time with old friends or getting to know others in our congregation that we knew less well. We attended excellent meetings and meal times together and also quiet times, with relaxing strolls around the extensive grounds.

This impressive glasshouse is being restored - a delightful plae to simply sit and relax.

There were many echoes of past activity. The kitchen garden would have required a large workforce in its hayday.

But many things have now fallen into a rather beautiful decay.

These Dahlias looked so 'at home' here and added to the lovely air of nostalgia.



"Dad, you should see the pumpkin over here; it's this big!"

A string of enormous onions hanging in a shed accompanied by some old cart wheels plus a few late Swallows nests.

Couldn't resist a watercolour doodle.
The weather was heavy and damp but with a warm light that added to the wistful atmosphere.

 

But the best thing was being able to share our faith with so many warm friends in such a supeb setting.



No prizes for guessing that the grounds were designed by the genius that was - Lancelot 'Capability' Brown.

Scottish Holiday Snaps

We stayed in an adapted log-cabin at Benderloch, by Loch Linnhe.
We loved relaxing on this balcony overlooking a wonderful view...

The view from 'our' balcony.

I notched up a few 'new' moth species including this Chevron.

The weather was rather varied but produced this spectacular rainbow. I also like the cloud formations coming off the top of the Pap of Glencoe in the distance.

We were very amused to see the name of this Chinese restaurant
especially as the football team we support is Crystal Palace!!

Thomas looks very pleased to have found the local distillery!

We took a ferry over to the spectacular Isle of Mull. The scenery is some of the most rugged and beautiful anywhere in the UK. Along this huge glen we saw a Golden Eagle but  our main mission was to try to find the UK's largest bird of prey, a  White-tailed Sea Eagle. The information centre on Mull had given us directions where to go and we were thrilled to be able to see one resting on its nest before flapping its huge wings as it seemed to fly off in slow-motion. We'll never forget it.



On the ferry back to the mainland we saw lots more interesting wildlife, including Porpoises, Manx Shearwaters and Guillemots.

Just one minute's walk from the log-cabin was this lovely bay on the shore of Loch Linnhe.

Anna enjoyed sitting on the beach and painting the beautiful loch.

Oban at dusk.

It would have been illegal to photograph the Sea Eagle on its nest so here is a sketch instead. It is the world's 4th largest Eagle with a wing-span of around 8 foot 6 inches (over 2.5 meters)!