I was wandering around my garden today trying to capture the flavour of a frosty winter morning. I took a photo of ice in one of Alex’ ceramic bowls that now functions as a bird bath. I was fascinated by the patterns in the ice – and the more I looked, the more patterns I found!
When you travel it is always exciting to visit the most famous, “must see” destinations that are the highlights of any tourist itinerary. Looking back though, I sometimes feel a very special affection for the places that were not at the top of the list; the ones that turned out to be much better than the guidebooks and reviews suggested. A day trip to the rural town of Tsuyama stands out as one of those special experiences.
Our day trip to the rural town of Tsuyama was meant to be a quiet break from several days of intense tourism. Take a slow trip on the little train from Okayama, wander around the town and the park with it’s castle ruins and then back again in time for our evening meal. Tsuyama is pretty much the middle of nowhere nowadays, right in the centre of western Honshu, yet back at the beginning of the 17th century it was a major crossroads. In 1603 a new Daimyo chose to construct his castle there.
Tsuyama was never rated among the grandest or most beautiful of castles but it did have a reputation as being perhaps the most heavily fortified ever built in Japan with over 70 towers and other defensive structures. Sadly, everything ended for Tsuyama castle when the formation of the Meji government led to the abolition of the clans. The castle was sold off by the ministry of finance in 1873 and all the buildings, including the great tower were demolished soon after. It was only when some of the surviving stonework began to collapse in 1890 that efforts began to conserve what remained.
The castle eventually became the property of the town council and was made into a public park. This involved the planting of some 5000 cherry trees. Today these cherry trees are Tsuyama’s main claim to fame, as it is now rated as one of the best cherry blossom sites in western Japan.
In 2005 a defensive tower known as the Bitchu Yagura was rebuilt as part of celebrations for the castle’s 400th anniversary. The Bitchu Yagura tower was originally part of the Daimyo’s palace buildings. This work has been beautifully done, though it does look disturbingly new when compared with it’s surroundings.
The space and scale of the this place cannot really be conveyed in photographs. Nor can you really appreciate how peaceful it was on the day we visited. The park did have a constant trickle of visitors but they were so spread out on this huge site that you could always find another area where you were completely alone. It was perhaps the ability to experience this vast and awe inspiring place with effectively no one else around you that made the experience so memorable. Yes this site lacks much that makes a place like the great castle of Himeji such an impressive window on Japanese history but then it also misses out on the seething crowds, the queueing and being herded round like cattle.
Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum is the largest museum in Canada and one of the largest in North America. It first opened in 1914 and for much of its life was under the control of the University of Toronto, before becoming a fully independent body in 1968. Today it is Canada’s largest institution for scientific field research and is particularly renowned for its world class fossil collection.
The museum buildings grew in stages with the original 1914 west wing being in a neo-Romanesque style and the 1933 east wing showing Art Nouveau influences including rather grand mosaic ceilings.
The museum undertook another major phase of renovation and expansion in the early 2000’s with The Crystal, an extension designed by Daniel Libeskind opening in 2007.
This extension seems to be loved and hated in equal measure. We found it an interesting bit of architecture but it is hard to deny that its primary purpose was to make a grand statement rather than provide a well planned space to display exhibits.
The museum has many galleries covering many aspects of science, history and culture but it is probably the dinosaur galleries that make the biggest impact. The layout is rather old fashioned, with many, often unrelated dinosaurs packed side by side. Here there is none of the blind stumbling through darkened rooms that is now fashionable in Europe and the impact of the exhibits is not diluted by vast walls of educational reading. It does have its modern quirks for the kids (get an instant photo of you being chased by a T-rex!) but the dinosaurs themselves are fabulous and really show off the fossil riches of Canada.
A notable feature of the dinosaur galleries is the number of creatures suspended from the ceilings. These include various Pterosaurs and prehistoric sea creatures.
The ROM has many other interesting displays covering various aspects of the natural world and world culture. There is a good exhibit on biodiversity and a fine collection of minerals and gemstones. The European history exhibits are fairly small but with many fine specimens including nice Cycladic and Etruscan pieces.
The museum has large galleries dedicated to Canadian First Peoples but other world cultures are mainly represented by quite limited displays. The exception being Chinese displays, which have a large and prominent set of galleries with many fine artefacts, particularly the early ceramics. Sadly, many of the Chinese displays are in cases with glass all round and this combined with harsh lighting from a multitude of sources can make viewing difficult and photography near impossible.
If you have enjoyed this bit of virtual lockdown travel, we plan to go somewhere else very soon. Maybe to Japan next!
Take good care of yourselves – Wai-Yuk and Alex
As we approach the end of a very strange year, Alex and I have been talking a lot about both the things we have achieved (lots of work on the garden and house) and all the things we have missed out on in this time of lock-downs, shielding and distancing. For instance, we have realised that for the first time in many decades we will have gone a whole year without setting foot in a gallery or a museum, which has always been one of our great loves. Nor have we visited any gardens or seen any beautiful landscapes beyond what can be seen close to our home.
One thing we have recently begun to work on has been trying to put our ridiculously large collection of digital photographs into some sort of order. This turns out to be a very slow process because you soon get caught up in looking at the pictures and reliving the memories rather than doing the filing!
We have done a lot of travelling over the last decade or so and looking back through our photos have now decided to post a series of photos of places we enjoyed visiting but which did not make it into earlier posts.
Our first virtual travel experience will be a journey to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
Hello everyone! It’s been a long while since I last posted but I’m planning on blogging a bit more regularly, as I’ve accumulated a lot of things to share and I think we could all do with some colour now the flowers are starting to pass.
We spent most of lockdown in the garden, and we’ve been rewarded with some lovely flowers and lots of vegetables. Alex has had a vision for our garden for years but we have always had other things that needed our attention. Not this year!
We now have a lovely pond filled with goldfish and the occasional frog, along with a granite bench made from a huge stone that used to lean against the back of our house. The next project is a summerhouse to give us somewhere to sit when it’s raining (which is quite often, given we’re in Cornwall!).
With the demands of the garden beginning to die down, I’m looking forward to returning to my studio and starting on some new projects. It will be a welcome change to get back to jewellery after making so many face masks!
I hope you and your family are keeping well and safe, and hope you enjoy this snippet of life in Cornwall.
England’s South-West Coast Path is one of the world’s great walking routes, stretching from Somerset in the North, around the tip of Cornwall to the Jurassic Coast of Dorset.. We are lucky to have some 300 miles of that route here within Cornwall.
Recently, Alex and I took advantage of the glorious weather to take a walk along part of the Cornwall Coastal Path that was new to us. The stretch of the Path between Tintagel and Trebarwith Strand is typical of North Cornwall with it’s rugged rocky cliffs. That ruggedness is made even more dramatic here due to the scars of old slate quarrying. This is such a feature that the area is known as the “Slate Coast”. In fact, the coast path here is largely created from the old paths that the quarry-men used to access the mining sites.
We started our walk just to the west of Tintagel. Looking back to the east we could see the island part of Tintagel Castle, while a little further on we passed the fabulously situated Tintagel Youth Hostel.
If you live in Cornwall you are used to seeing seas in shades of dark brooding greys. With summers we are having now however, there are more and more days when you can see the waters in clear, almost mediterranean blues and greens.
As Trebarwith Strand comes into view along the walk, one can see the huge scars that historical slate mining has left in the cliffs.
A feature of the quarry sites are the great rock pillars left undisturbed where the miners hit unsuitable rock. These now tower over the old quarry beds.
All the waste rock from the quarries has led to many variations of dry stone walling.
Hello everyone, it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted but I’m looking forward to blogging more frequently from now on.
Since I last posted, I’ve been enjoying retirement – lots more time for creativity, gardening, friends and family!
My daughter, Isla, has been dealing with a difficult health condition and has started her own blog where she talks about her experiences and posts her own artwork, you can find her at Medically Unexplained.
I spent a week staying with my son a few weeks back, and visited Hillier Gardens in Hampshire. The seasonal planting displays are stunning and I’m feeling very inspired by all the colours and patterns.
Today has been wet and miserable in this bit of the world but last week we had some days of brilliant sunshine. Last Wednesday I had a really good day working on my textile jewellery. I finished a new necklace that I was pleased with so Alex and I decided that a trip to the beach to enjoy the sunset was overdue.
A new textile necklace
When we arrived the at Widemouth Bay the light was stunning. The reflection of the brilliant blue sky on the the breaking waves made them appear almost fluorescent.
Widemouth Bay near Bude in North Cornwall
Near the beach, the air was laden with spray that glowed in the evening light
A big wave crashing into the headland
I always enjoy the little details as well as the broad seascape
Light effects change very rapidly as the sun sinks down
Another shot of the amazing glow in the spray lit by the setting sun
The glowing sky reflected in the wet sand
Just as the sun dipped under the horizon
I recently spent a few days staying with my daughter at her flat in Barking. During a brief but intense shower I turned my camera on the river Roding, that runs by Isla’s flat. Here are a few of my photographs.
I went for a walk in the local forest a few weeks ago and came across this glorious patch of purple. This area had been cleared last year, and the foxgloves seem to have wasted no time in colonising!
Unfortunately, there was no way to get a better view (though I did consider sending Alex up a tree), but hopefully these photos will convey some of the drama.
A lone spire of white amongst the purple.
Digitalis purpurea (Common Foxglove)
Wilsey Down Forest
Clearing in the conifers
I have discovered a new favourite museum! Hidden away in Forest Hill, South London is a late-Victorian gem – The Horniman Museum.
The facade of the original Horiniman Museum building
Founded in 1901 by Victorian tea trader Frederick John Horniman, the museum contains an eclectic mix of displays including natural history, ethnology and musical instruments. The original building was designed in the Arts and Crafts style by Charles Harrison Townsend who also designed an extension opened in 1912. New buildings were again added in the 1990’s, including a grass-roofed Centre for Understanding the Environment.
Townsend’s 1912 extension
The CUE building (Centre for Understanding the Environment)
This is a very traditional museum with many of the natural history exhibits being slightly faded examples of the taxidermist’s art, but they are a major part the place’s charm. Other display cases contain particularly good educational explanations.
Scarlet ibis
Slightly faded and scruffy but still very beautiful!
Beautiful if slightly dusty insects abound
The museum has a vast collection of musical instruments, from ancient to modern, with many beautiful specimens.
A case of musical instruments
One of the Benin bronzes in the Africa gallery
Mask
One of the delights of the Horniman is it’s freedom from the modern “sanitised” display aesthetic. Many of the ethnographic displays are housed in dark old wooden cabinets, often with an eccentric mix of items displayed side by side.
Model of a north-African doorway behind a case of stuffed birds
Fossil Ichthyosaur fore-limb
A beautiful set of teeth!
Lettuce Coral
One of the many fine moths and butterflys
I recently paid a delightful visit to Chelsea Physic Garden, the first time I had been there in many years. For those who love plants, this is one of London’s great hidden treasures. Being someone who is inspired by natural forms, I found many unusual shapes and textures that can serve as inspiration for my work but the garden is a great place for anyone to visit.
Chelsea Physic Garden is one of the oldest horticultural establishments in the world. It was founded in 1673 by the Society of Apothecaries as a place to train apprentices in growing and using medicinal plants.
Despite its long history, the garden only opened to the general public in 1983. Prior to that time it was almost exclusively a place for scientists and students to study and today the garden remains a centre for education and scientific research.
I love to explore textures and colours in my textile work, and I try to make sure I’ve got my camera handy to snap anything interesting. Below are a few of the images that caught my eye in Oxford: colour combinations in lichen-covered bark, forms in tree sap, and mosaic reflections in windows. 
Thanks to the beautiful weather we’ve been enjoying, we’ve taken full advantage of our Eden Project Local Passes. I always spot something new and unexpected, which makes the visits fantastic for firing up my imagination and creativity.
I thought I’d share some of my photos for those of you who are a bit further afield – I hope you enjoy!
For more Eden photos, have a look at these posts (back when the weather wasn’t quite so good!):
Gardens of Eden
More Eden
There is not too much happening at this time of year but it is nice to take a walk when the weather clears up a bit. The local landscape where I live is not spectacular but I love it right now, the grass is very green, the branches on the bare trees are so intricate and the fine twigs look almost like mist from a distance. Here are a few photographs taken on recent walks near my home:
Wai-Yuk Kennedy Textile Art 
