Worcester was our next stop .

The river Severn , and where the cathederal

looks down upon ...

I had never seen so many swans !!

And a robin in the grounds ....

which seems to be an "in thing " as we

see one everywhere we go !!

Isn`t he a cute one Rhonda !! ?

The gigantic door ....

And myself waiting to go in ,

once i had eaten my crisps !! LOL !

I was starving , as we had an early breakfast ,

and it was 5pm when we finally got to eat something !!

One of the many stained glassed windows ...





Next onto Bath - where we just spent a few hours ......
Jane Austin lived there for a few years ,

and the artist Gainsborough .

The Abbey ....

The architecture of the ceiling
was magnificent .....




ornate wooden pews ....









We then visited The Roman Baths ....

One of partial mosaic flooring left ...





Looking down onto the main bath ....
It was originally covered , but with sunlight and open
exposure , algae has made the water green - it would
have been clear and warm ...





A small clip of the bath .

Apology`s for it being abit all over and not smooth !

I am just in the shot right at the beginning !

My other half had a bit of a dither going i think !!

And Bath Abbey can be seen , as it is situated

just across a small square ...

A scanned postcard of The circus - which is the

round housing , and The Crescent - top

left hand corner . Bath has many georgian houses

dating fron the late 18th century - these included .

The Royal Crescent is a notable residential road of 30 houses, laid out in a crescent, in the city of Bath. It was designed by the architect John Wood the Younge and built between 1767 and 1774 It is amongst the greatest examples of Georgian architectureto be found in the United Kingdom and is a grade I listed building

And one of our views ....

photo of the back ( Wikepedia )

It is not as grand as the front .

An end view of The Crescent

Another long post done !! .. But ...

I have 2 stone cirlces to come

One is Stone Henge !!

Visiting Witley Court ....

Witley Court was our first stop , on our way down

to Bath / Oxford region .

We try and visit places that interest us ,

and hopefully you too - photographic wise .

Here - i just chose a few , as we ended up

with over 350 photos of our few days away !

As it looked around 1860 ...

There is a small video clip , of the fountain ,

at the end of this post !!

A hundred years ago, Witley Court was one of England's great country houses, hosting many extravagant parties. Today it is a spectacular ruin, the result of a disastrous fire in 1937. Restoration work to the West Wing has made several new rooms accessible to the public.The vast and rambling remains of the palatial 19th-century mansion are surrounded by magnificent landscaped gardens - the 'Monster Work' of William Nesfield - which still contain huge stone fountains. The largest, representing Perseus and Andromeda, which has been restored, was described as making the 'noise of an express train' when fired.

Following the disastrous fire in 1937 the Witley Estate, including its gardens, fell into long decline. English Heritage has restored the south garden.

Attached to Witley Court is Great Witley Church, which has an amazing Italianate Baroque interior .




The side lake ...

Entrance ... a shame that the fence was in the way !!

Because of the fire , and selling off of items -

it is mostly in a ruin state now . However , they have photo

boards of what it did look like . It is such a shame that

it is not in a better state to see how it actually

looked , or at least one room . So you can fully appreciate

the beauty of the place , and got a " feel " for it .

i was looking at these , and trying hard to imagine

how beautiful it would have been here ...

If only you could go back in time to it . ....

The ball room - as it was ......

And how it is now .......

The conservatory - at the back .....

Long view - with the fountain just in view ....

Entrance hall .....






Stone gazebo ... set back and

placed either side of the fountain .....

Looking up inside with sunlight shining through it ....

The great Witley church ....



One of the stained glass windows ...

Kneeling angels font ......

Scanned postcard of inside ....

scanned postcard of the ceiling oil painting

called " The accension "

And here is a video clip of the fountain - which we
arrived in time when they turn it on at intervals
during the day !! Partically restored - with not all of the jets
working yet - but it was a sight to see and hear ,
and i cannot imagine how truly magnificent it was
back when it was working fully .

More to follow .....

I Need A Break From My Holiday !

After nearly 800 miles travelling , 3 loads of

washing done , we are home at last !

I need a few days to recover from all the

places we packed into sight seeing !

I will be back soon - but just as a taster -

here is a photo from the first place

we visited in Worcestershire - Witley Court ......

Mind Wide Open Reminder ...

Here is just a reminder -

I am still away on holiday , but if you have time to visit

Gails blog

I would love your vote on my above

piece i created !!

You have until 14th July !!

I will be back on saturday with photos

of my adventures ..

Thankyou to all !!

Going Away And Keeping My Mind Wide Open .....

My bags are packed , and i`m ready to go !

Well ... Almost !!

I will be away from 6th - 11th July .

We are heading " down south " as we say .

To Oxford , and Bath region , both of these have

wonderful architecture , museums , castles

and Blenheim Palace .

So i will be sure to take lots of photographs for you !!

It is just a few days away , but i am ready

for this . A change of scenery , recharge my

mind and body , and away from my computer !

Sometimes i feel tied to it !!

So a break is welcomed .

This is the banner of Gail Schmidt`s new

inspirational blog - Mind Wide Open -

The multi talented Gail has started a new inspiring blog .

Along with teaching how too`s for anyone needing help

and sometimes a much needed "push " to try

something new . And as the title suggests -

keep your mind wide open - to all

and any possibilties .

Every month , Gail is doing a creative challenge .

Where she chooses a subject / photo etc -

and asks for our interpretation of it .

Anyone can join in this - to get your muse going -

Having a week to complete it , you email a scan or photo ,

of which Gail will do a post and show all the artists entered .

You have a chance to vote for your favourite

contribution , of which the " winner " , with the most

votes , wins a prize . Set by Gail herself - A

$20 to spend in her shop !

You can vote from july 8th .

I wanted to take part in the first challenge ,

before i go away , and mine is below ...

The digital picture Gail provided us with ,

and the word " Remembrance "

" Emily Rose "

An 8 " squared canvas - with vintage music and rose

paper background - bronze tulle material overlay .

Vintage lace , buttons , pearly pin .

With printed words done by myself ,

and i named her Emily Rose ...

This will be amoungst my new items

in my shop - once i get back ....

So ... I am asking any of my readers to

vote for my piece please - if you wish to do so !

Of course i will not be offended if you wish to vote

for another artist . It is the taking part in this that i

feel that i need . To grow and challenge myself ,

to see what i can do , and things that i didn`t imagine i could do .

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone -

I will catch up with you all soon !!

I will schedule a reminder on here

Thankyou !!

xxxxx

Adding To My Stash ....

Although i must admit that i do

get jealous of others finding "thrifty buys " .

The vintage millenery and trims etc .

I don`t seem to do so bad myself !

Here is just a small collection of my most
recent purchases ...

A vintage bamboo magazine holder -

i presume ..

Bought for the cute material it is made from ...

An old Avon glass cream jar - which

reminds me of the Wedgewood made blue ceramics.

And a Hornsea made pottery plaque of a wren -

still with an old label on the back .

2 ceramic cups - one Holly Hobbie -

and the other of Joan Walsh Angland !!

I know these are rare and hard to come by ,

so i was pleased to find this !

Pieces of costume jewellery ....

A carrier bag of crochet / trims ....

A Waldorf stationery box ....

It may look garish to some , but i do love

the flower design on it !

On opening it ..... It is a musical box too !!

Left hand side .. Unfortunately what was meant to

go around while it played has been lost - like

a ballerina .. But it still works !!!

2 vintage material sheets ....

I can feel another bag make coming on !

Especially in the geometric design !!

Love it !!

I do enjoy the thrill of the hunt to find

such items like these .....

Somethings , you can get for a song ,

while others require some thought before you buy .

While many toss away , and think nothing of it .

I love to give them a new home ......

See you on Saturday - for my last

post before i go away on holiday !!

As promised - here are my latest buys

from a craft millshop i visited last week .

I was so excited to find this ...

A torso - made of plastic and covered with paper !

This has so many possiblities of altering this

item - i cannot decide what to do with it !

My mind is doing overtime , and although

i have had it a week - i have not touched this yet !

It stands 2 foot tall , and the black parts , are

mesh wire - as it is really intended for floral

displays . But i HAD to buy at least one , and i

can see birds and flowers being attached to it

somewhere along the altering process !

maybe some of these velvet flocked flowers i got -

in 2 of each colour . I fell in love with

the colours of these large magnolia flowers .

Some paper embellishments - gerba flowers -

another favourite of mine . And an organza

champagne flower coursage pin . To see

how it was constructed , and possibly making

my own .

A couple of unusuallly shaped canvas boards ,

not seen by me , until now ...

I`m not so sure what will be created on these ,

but i like to have some in when my muse strikes !

And this glass pendant was attatched to a candle .

It looks like Murano glass . The candle smells

divine - but i wanted just the pendant !!

I`ve put it on a piece of rose suede thong ,

and made myself a necklace !!

I also purchased some natural raffia -

For my nest - of course !!

But thought a photograph of that

would be boring for you all ! ;o)

I also got a frame -which i cannot show yet !

It`s for the Fun friday challenge i take part in!

That will be shown at a later date !

I hope you all enjoyed peaking at my buys !

A Fun Tag ....

It`s the beginning of a new month -

July already ! Can you believe it really ! ?

We have not had much of a summer season here ,

which is disappointing to me , so far . The longest day

has been and gone , and times sat outside in

my garden have been limited , to say the least !

Let`s hope we have a better sunshine month ahead

of us all !

I have been tagged again , by my friend

Rhonda

It`s a fun tag for me .. so here goes ....

What was i doing 10 years ago ?

I was getting accustomed to living on my own ,

after my divorce , and didn`t feel " free" , until

months later it dawned on me that i was . Then i met a

new partner -who was 13 years younger than me !!

5 things on my to do list ...

Cleaning around the home - especially my craft room !

Ideas for new crafty items .

Plan a few meals in advance .

What i am taking on my holiday .

Write even more items to my never ending to do list !

The snacks i enjoy are ...

Cadbury`s dairy milk chocolate , Walkers cheese and

onion crisps , polo mints .

The things i would do i were a millionaire ..

Pay my families mortgages off , and give them

spending money too .

Visit all my blog friends - and take them on a no holds barred

shopping spree !

Find myself a big old house , with a separate workshop , to

host events and display artwork .

Open an animal sanctuary , and donate to my

worthy causes .

Places i have lived ...

In various houses , in towns inside

West Yorkshire - UK .

Thank you to Rhonda for tagging me !

This was fun to do , and did not take that

much thinking about !

I am starting to wind down my crafty makes ,

as i am away on holiday - from this next weekend .

However , i do have some finds and buys

to show before i am away from you all !