Weekend!

Well, I did say you never know what will happen at the weekend!  On Saturday night, after a bit of deliberating  Will I? won’t I?  I ended up at a party for friend Paddy’s 50th birthday!  I have never been much of a party-goer and find it more difficult now than ever when you find yourself the only single and everyone else is with a husband or partner!  Still, I wanted to at least turn up to wish Paddy happy birthday.  The party had been going on for a few days – sort of – and was in full swing again when I arrived.  Paddy was quite delighted with the digi-scrapbooking layout I had done as a present.  The photo is of his wife, Samantha, at one of their previous parties, when Sam was persuaded to “give us a tune” on the double bass!  Her face, as she played along to the record Paddy had put on, gave me the title for the layout!  I got it printed off yesterday afternoon, to take with me.

Although I knew a few of Paddy and Sam’s friends, and was introduced to several of his relations, after a time spent chatting and dancing with them, I soon found myself on my own and eventually decided just to slip away and come home.  The kitchen was full of guests, the back door, which everyone uses, was through the kitchen, so I made my escape by the front door – luckily the front porch wasn’t in use as a guinea pig hutch, as it had been one time I was there.

So, today, I read in the local paper, there was a Woodland Festival taking place in the Peebles Community Centre, as well as a local foods event at the theatre!    I decided to go and take a look at each – and would you believe I left my camera at home!  Me, who always has her camera with her!   The food thing was all about local produce – venison, wild boar burgers, salmon, chilli jam – more a relish really - apple juice, clootie dumplings, ice cream, cakes, biscuits……. with a few tasty treats to indulge in!  I did like the clootie dumpling – a fruit dumpling boiled in a cloth  It’s quite a common thing in Scotland, but fewer people are actually making them themselves!  This company has filled a niche!  I keep saying ~I must make one some day, but maybe I’ll go for the easy option too, and order one from Clooties.

Then I paid a visit to the Woodland Festival – an exhibition of all things wooden!   I had to go home for my camera at this stage!    There were rocking horses,  (left)

 

 

 

turned bowls and candlesticks (right).

little boxes with cute little drawers in,

things made from driftwood,

pretty stunning mirror frames  in a Maori/Celtic design mix,

bird callers – making convincing blackbird, robin, and owl calls among them – the idea being that you get the birds calling back to you in response to the sound you make!   I was very taken with the beautiful carved jewellery:

earrings,

pendants,

bangles,  brooches, 

kilt pins,

combs even, but because of the fiddly work they are very expensive.  Here are a few of the designs, and if you click here you can see more of his work .

These wooden carvings appealed too!  Woodland spirits, carved on the old staves of whisky barrels – no wonder they call them spirits – and this owl - he’s larger than life-size.    Again click on the link here to see more from the Wee Toon Carver of Campbelltown!       

Anyway, that wasn’t the end of it.  There was also a puppet show for the kids – about the dangers to wildlife in the stuff we humans throw away.  I think they did a series of different stories during the day.  In this one the squirrel got plastic rings for holding cans in four, round its neck and it was choking!  The pine martin tried to bite it off but couldn’t.  It was ok in the end!  The  squirrel’s human friend cut it off! Then the badger had swallowed a plastic bag!  Human friend to the rescue again, before getting the children watching to suggest what they should do with their rubbish – i.e. not throw it away in the countryside or on the ground, but take it to a bin or even take it home and put it in a bin!

There was yet more going on outside on the Green!  A chainsaw carver made a beautiful owl and some meercats – they are so popular these days -

 

 

 

 

 

there was a yurt, and some garden huts and chicken houses being displayed, and the Forrestry Commission turned the clock  back with their display - with a couple of foresters planing bark off coppiced wood to make small implements and rustic fences,

 

 

and turning spindles on a makeshift lathe.  There was also a  fiddler, by the wood fire, playing tunes while the other guys got on with the work.

It was a very interesting afternoon.  Just shows you that something  unexpected can turn up any time!

 

Talk again soon.