London Book Fair

On Wednesday I attended the London Book Fair at the Olympia in West Kensington. I met new friends at the fika for Nordic translators, attended a couple of the events, and spent most of the time browsing the exhibitor booths. One highlight was receiving a picture book in Swedish that I've wanted to read! 

London Book Fair 2024

Children's book publisher Nosy Crow

 

Walker Books booth (Candlewick in the US)

ARC from Kate DiCamillo!

Illustrator Awards

From the first floor

Literary Translation Centre

The British Library

Bodleian and Ashmolean

Bloomsbury

Greystone

Floris

Need to find this Beatles book!

Love this!

Classy Kensington

Also, it's hot cross bun season! I have tried two varieties so far—from the Two Magpies Bakery on Timber Hill in Norwich and from Bread Source. I was expecting the bun to be sweeter, but it's more like a plain dinner roll with fruit in it. They do love dried fruit here. There will be a longer post from me about tea soon—I promise! 

Tea with hot cross bun

Another instance of a hot cross bun

Cherry and magnolia are blooming at this time of year, snowdrops, daffodils, and violets, too. I heard from two ladies at church that the hedgehogs are active in their gardens. The regional word for hedgehog is 'hodmedod.' Norwich Cathedral's herb garden was open this afternoon, and I walked through on my way to the book group I'm part of during Lent. There are nettles out already as well. I plan to find a safe spot to pick them!

Norwich Cathedral's herb garden

Herb garden

Smultron!

Daffodils

Stinging nettle

Thanks for reading! 

Sheringham

I visited Sheringham on the coast of the North Sea on a cloudy Monday this week. The weather was a bit chilly, but I had a flask of tea to warm my hands—and at least it wasn't raining, nor had it just rained, so there were places that were dry enough to sit. I heard a couple of wrens singing nearby where I had lunch. Here are some photos I took of the beach and coastal path. There's also a high street in Sheringham with many shops (including thrift shops) and a charming library where I warmed up after my hike.

Beach huts

North Sea coast

Grey clouds over the beach

Waves

Stones

Cliffs

Cliffs

Gulls riding the wind

From the coastal path

Parachuters

'Beeston Bump'

Sheringham

Lunch spot

This is a recent sound escape episode from The Plodcast in which you can hear the sound of the North Sea and a seal colony at Horsey Gap, Norfolk, about 30 miles south of Sheringham: Norfolk Beach.

East Anglia Yarn Festival

 Today I walked through the stalls at the East Anglian Yarn Festival held at the Norfolk Showgrounds. I saw some amazing knitwear, felt some squishy yarn, looked about for Norfolk makers, and tested a very old knitting machine. I was very self-controlled, however, and did not purchase any yarn—partly because I have two projects in progress right now! I appreciated that, although it was held in such a large space, the noise level was actually not overwhelming. It was quieter than a church soup supper!

East Anglia Yarn Festival 

Norfolk Horn Yarns from Fibre Workshop

I want to visit Burnt Fen Alpacas!

Squish the yarn goodness from Caithness Yarns

The Auto Knitter machine

The Knitting Shed

The Fibre Fox

Pigment & Ply

Double pointed cosies from Pickle-Lily

Neat sweater!

What is a 'Fairy Cow'?

Eden Cottage Yarns

Patterns from hirismakes, read about her in The Knitter!

I have new knitting goals! Eventually I'd like to learn how to use a Norwegian knitting thimble (a yarn guide) and improve my colourwork. I've wanted to try one ever since reading about it. What makes me hesitate is that it only works with the continental knitting style, and that could be a big learning curve. Hopefully I can find a class or group to work that skill, though. Even seeing this array of products at the festival, I'm still most grateful for the local yarn shop in Norwich, Norfolk Yarn!

Beginning the Clara dress from Skandi Strick

Chunky cowl using woven stitch

Thank you for reading! On Monday I'll be visiting the coast at Sheringham. Look out for a post on that soon!