Great Malvern

On Saturday a friend and I visited Great Malvern. We decided not to go walking in the hills that day, but visited the town instead. The place to see in town is the Priory! It has medieval stained glass windows which are famous throughout the country, and a glass portrait of Prince Arthur (Henry VIII's older brother). We got a lovely tour from an enthusiastic member. You can read about the Priory's history here. There are also many book shops in Malvern, including a branch of Rossiter Books and several charming used book shops. 

Great Malvern Priory

East window

Fragments preserved from an older window

A view of the town

The hills are famous for granite

At Rose Bank Gardens, near St Anne's Well

Thanks for reading!

Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Ashdown Forest

Hello friends! Over the half-term holidays, I visited several places in Southern England. I started in Southampton, where I went to see Goblin Band in concert. Here's a link to their recent episode on Folk on Foot, and a link to a prerecorded music video on YouTube. I found out about The Knitting Reference Library, a knitting archive held by Southampton University (although I think my own collection of patterns rivals theirs). You can view the digital archive here. I then had a day trip to Winchester and Chawton to visit Winchester Cathedral and Jane Austen's house. I loved seeing her tiny writing table! I have been following the Jane Austen House podcast A Jane Austen Year. Next I travelled to Portsmouth and Southsea. My main reason for visiting was to see the special collection of translated children's literature at Portsmouth University, Outside In World. I spent a good rainy day at the library. Then I visited Forest Row near Ashdown Forest. I got to take a walk to Hartfield and through the part of Ashdown near A.A. Milne's cottage which the Hundred Acre Wood is based on!

Bargate, Southampton

Westgate, Southampton

Ferry coming into Southhampton

Goblin Band in concert

The Great Hall, Winchester

Westgate, Winchester

Castle Tunnels, Winchester

The Winchester Book Shop

Lunch at Forte in Winchester (Char chai tea)

Char Teas, Winchester

King Alfred Statue, Winchester

Winchester Cathedral

Interior, Winchester Cathedral

Jane Austen's Grave, Winchester Cathedral

Jane Austen's house in Chawton

Wallpaper, front room

Wallpaper, dining room

Austen's twelve-sided writing table

Chawton House

The park in Chawton

Jane Austen statue near St Nicholas's Church

Outside In World, University of Portsmouth

Eva Lindström's books in English

Southsea

Portsmouth Harbour

My cottage in Sussex

The Forest Way path, Forest Row

Pooh Corner, Hartfield

Cotchford Farm, A.A. Milne's Cottage (Brian Jones also lived here)

Poohsticks Bridge

Ashdown Forest (more oak than ash)

Memorial to A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepherd

Gill's Lap Clump

The Lone Pine and Heffalump Trap spot

The famous gorse

My housemate, very similar to Tattoo

I finished the two shawls I've been working on. All of my recent projects are up on my Padlet page.  Thanks for reading!

Things I've Been Up To Recently...

School started again in September, but I've had the weekends free for day trips. Of course, I had to see Paul McCartney's photo exhibition at the Gagosian gallery in London! You can see a good overview of the exhibition here. I also walked past John Lennon's flat in Montagu Square and explored Liberty's. Not long after, I took a trip to that neighbourhood of London again for a SELTA workshop and author event. In October, I visited a friend in Manchester and we saw some Pre-Raphaelite paintings at the Manchester Art Gallery. The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery has reopened a gallery of their enormous collection of Pre-Raphaelite art, too! And there's a new exhibit about the Anglo Saxon hoard discovered in Staffordshire in 2009. I've been to a few more parks around Birmingham including Woodgate Valley Country Park, Kingfisher Country Park, and Moseley Bog (again). I also got to see keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman in concert at Symphony Hall! Finally, a friend at the library told me about Astley Book Farm in Coventry and I had to plan a visit there. Yes, I have been getting some work done at Aston Manor Academy. Updates on that will be coming soon!

Paul McCartney's Rearview Mirror

John Lennon's Flat in London

Liberty London

Inside Liberty's

Teapot at Liberty's

Veranda Books, lots of translated literature!

The Swedish Embassy in London

The Lady of Shalott (Manchester)

The Light of the World (Manchester)

Autumn Leaves (Manchester)

Two Gentlemen of Verona (Birmingham)

Portrait of Iza Duffus Hardy (Birmingham)

Part of the Staffordshire Hoard (Birmingham)

Birmingham's motto is Forward, just like Wisconsin's!

At Woodgate Valley Country Park

Woodgate Valley Country Park

At Kingfisher Country Park

At Kingfisher Country Park

Kingfisher Country Park (pretty much poured the whole time)

Moseley Bog

At Moseley Bog

Mushrooms at Moseley Bog

Before the show: Rick Wakeman at Symphony Hall

Astley Book Farm, thousands of books!

It's not hoarding if it's books

Garden sunflower

Thanks for reading!