Category: Serendipity

#1311 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

First day of official Nana/Nona Daycare with just the Nana half of the care team. After a summer of unofficial play dates and cousins from Hong Kong we are busy sorting out new stuff fir the care of one small person. A new car seat should have been the big excitement but the box it came in was way more exciting.

In fact the day was shared fun wise between a cardboard box at home and a shiny new wheelbarrow at the Tennis Club.

Meal times are enlivened by a new game, developed to encourage conversation skills.

Never mind the under sixes improving conversation and listening skills. I know quite a few adults who could use this game to perk up their great disability of being boring, holding court or being way too fond of the sound of their own voice and opinions.

Says the woman who writes a blog that, more or less, only expresses her own doings and ponderings.

#1310 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn autumn, Serendipity1 Comment
The Tidal Pool, Firestone Bay.

My walking and swimming destination of the day. A day when the summer,which ended just one day ago, has been declared the best on record.

In between my idyllic swim this morning and the afternoon dog walk. Rain fell briefly, in fat, heavy, blobs. Followed by fabulous sunshine. Meteorological Autumn has started in a frisky mood. My raincoat is officially out!

#1307 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

Interview someone — a friend, another blogger, your mother, the mailman — and write a post based on their responses.

Good Morning Basking Shark, of all the creatures I might have imagined eating breakfast with you were not on my list. As the second largest shark in the world I was completely unaware that my chosen breakfast spot, Trevone Bay was also yours. 

For me a bacon bap.

For you the attraction is Shrimp, Lavae, Zooplancton, Copepods and fish eggs.

For two hours we watched as you basked in the bay. We watched as families belly-boarded, oblivious to you just 100 yards from  their happy squeals.

Follow the boys head up to see the sharks dorsal fin.

What a privilege. The shark however was unavailable for comment. Not wishing to speak with his mouth full.

#1304 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Drawn to the Valley, Drawn To The Valley Artists, SerendipityLeave a comment

theoldmortuary took a trip to The Old Morgue yesterday to see the work of Drawn to the Valley artist Mary Toon as part of the Open Studios Event.  The Old Morgue is just off Plymouths famous Union Street, which gives visitors the chance to see Urban Street Art, something that flourishes  in this historic part of Plymouth.

Mary’s feltwork is always vivid and fascinating.

I bought one of her felted bead necklaces. I have no idea what was in her mind when she created this but for me it sums up the magic of the creativity that the Tamar Valley and the borderlands of Devon and Cornwall inspire. For me it is about the sheep of Dartmoor and the higher reaches of the valley and the pebbles beneath my feet on my local beach. Mary and I had a serendipitous meeting at Tranquilty Bay a few years ago. Mary along with other talented singers were performing Sea Songs on the beach. Calling to the Sea as the tide came in. The sounds drifted towards us as we did our evening dog walk. The whole experience was ‘other worldly’ as the sea wall hid them from view until the last minute. It was easy to imagine the Oceanids were, somewhat implausibly singing in Stonehouse. These woolly baubles will keep that lovely moment in mind.

©Mary Toon

Hard at times to imagine,  but bustling, urban and sea-facing Plymouth is a vital part of Drawn to the Valley. Home to a large concentration of members, who meet regularly and support and galvanise one another to be experimental and collaborative in their work and their group  exhibitions.

Mary has chosen a fascinating place to invite art lovers and visitors to. A brilliant choice of venue for Drawn to the Valley to show how diverse and fascinating members are.

#1301 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

What’s your favorite recipe?

Not exactly my favourite recipe but definitely the favourite of the week.

Our weekend newspaper has a pull out cooking segment. Most weeks we find something new to cook.

Koftas are a favourite meal and this recipe was so simple and pretty to make, it will definitely become a regular.

The most favourite of these weekend magazine dishes is a chicken and Chorizo dish which also features oranges. We have been making it for years. We no longer refer to the tatty scrap of torn out page that first inspired us. Who even knows if we are adhering to the actual recipe. Do we care?

Not a bit, it whatever form it takes, is a classic family meal.

That is my answer for today but as yet I have not read the recipes in this weeks  ‘Feast’. There could be a whole new favourite on the blog tomorrow.

#1300 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment
Bantham Boathouse

Bantham boathouse doesn’t really look like this but I wanted to create an image that depicted a really hot day and the hubbub or cacophony of sound that floated over the car parks as families spilled out of their cars for a day at the beach at the height of summer. The image is unreal in the way that it might be depicted in an animated film. All a bit too much going on. Bantham is a regular spot for us to visit out of season when the world is calm and the beaches are empty.

But this summer  we have defied our own rules and visited really iconic and beautiful places nearby in peak tourist season. When people have travelled thousands of miles to visit us it would be churlish of us not to go to the most beautiful but busy places. The same scenario last year, just slightly off peak season taught us a thing or two about not being so precious about places being crowded.

So once the last of our summer guests left we packed up the van and took off to Bantham . There is something magical about large numbers of people all being set to have a good time in the same place. The simple pleasure of a bucket and spade day on a beach in sunshine is timeless.

Our plan was a BYOB* and coast path walking trip. Audio or photos would have suggested some sort of coastal carnage. As people, looking like ants from a distance, criss-crossed the ancient sand dunes in a quest for a few square feet of space with a  nearly high tide taking most of the beach.

Absolutely not the calm and empty space we are used to but beautiful in a different way. Alive with the energy of humans having fun.

An alternative reality.

#1279 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.

1. Certainty is, in many ways a good thing.

2. Certainty slightly frightens me as a certainty.

3.I am a lover of serendipity and certainty is the enemy of serendipity.

4. I know that certainty is desirable, in many respects, for a   dull,smooth, uninteresting and predictable life. We all need a bit of this.

5. Certainty is also the enemy of creativity for me.

6.Certainty is the opposite of happenstance. I love happenstance.

7. How dissappointing is a certainty that fails to thrive?

8 Remember how joyful it is to clutch success from certain failure.

9.Adaptable is a great resource when certainty fails.

10. Death is the only true certainty and that is to be avoided for as long as possible.

Minds are like parachutes, they work better when open. A Certainty.

#1277 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment
Pondering

If you could host a dinner and anyone you invite was sure to come, who would you invite?

We have been hosting meals for the last 19 days, everyone always  attended. Two different groups of  relatives. 7 in each group. It would have been lovely if we had a home big enough to host them all at once and that their schedules permitted that. 5 of the 14 live locally the other 9 travelled from London, Hong Kong and Canada.

I realise this prompt wants me to  mix an erudite or entertaining group of famous people. But really how awkward and uncomfortable might that be. Far better to go for people I actually know and whose qualities I value. I have chosen my family in this first instance but equally I could throw 14 friends together around a dinner table and be confident of a good time. In either case their names would mean nothing in this  context and that is exactly what would make the experience enjoyable.

Pondering a Prompt.

#1271 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment
Fantasy rock pool bathing.

Today was a day when the stars aligned. Dog grooming appointment and high tide .No need for fantasy swimming, the real thing at Wembury was glorious. Then basking in the sunlight, all while the dogs were being primped just a mile in-land.

The real thing was very glorious but a few hours later as the tide dropped a massive field of seaweed revealed itself. I considered if crossing it  was a sensible idea and decided that on balance it was. As it turned out balance was the problem and I soon slipped on the rocks made slippy by layers of seaweed. Like a wallowing hippo I splashed around in the shallow  water. Neither getting deeper or getting out was an easy option.

Out was the sensible thing as other swimmers made the same perilous journey with similarly awkward results.

My bathing costume had become a bag of writhing slippery seaweed. Our beach day was over. The outdoor shower was too feeble to move the loathsome stuff to any great extent. My journey home was deeply uncomfortable. Maybe fantasy rock pool swims are a good idea

#1269 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment
Coastal Grandma Style.

Coastal Grandma style has been a bit of a summer thing for the last few years. Regardless of ‘style’ I am, at many levels a Coastal Grandma even at my least stylish.

I live by the the sea.

My two children have made me a coastal grandma, although I am called Nana. I have three granddaughters who visit me by the sea.

Sometimes I wear beige/pale/cream clothes. But not always. Today coastal nana is wearing a denim blue t-shirt dress and a pair of heavy-duty green crocs with bright blue straps. While she does the post-visit laundry.

What is the ‘thing’. Certainly hard work in the home and in the workplace. Being there always for the significant people in my life and to an extent many others with whom I have shared a space or a moment. The ‘ thing’ is also about recognising and enjoying all the lovely moments of a life and surviving and then thriving with resilience all the bad stuff that has ever been done or said to me, or about me to others. It is about using criticism and harsh words as rocket fuel to jet me to my Coastal Space. The gorgeous thing about being a Coastal, or indeed Coasting Grandma is not about location , for me that is serendipitous. It is about a state of mind where the wonder of a two-year-old can mingle with a lifetime of experiences both good and bad and everyone gets something magical from the interaction.

Even doing the laundry had its magical moments today. One bed contained a Schleiche Lion wearing table glitter as a crown and a Schleiche Deer wearing a Sylvanian waistcoat. The other bed was scattered with lavender heads. Enough to have charmed a visiting Queen of England to stay a month in our spare room.

Coasting Grandma is probably a more appropriate title. Useful in so many varied locations.