Christmas, a time to remember!

Christmastime is a time to cast your mind back to childhood memories that make Christmas for you today.

Some of my earlier childhood was spent in the Far East. Java, to be precise. My most vivid memories are of an enormous real Christmas tree that reached right up to the ceiling. Bearing in mind that houses were built with high ceilings for coolness in the heat of the day. As was the usual custom, we had servants. My poor mother did not know quite what hit her when we arrived in the western hemisphere and she had to do her own housework! We used to have a maid for the laundry and general cleaning, one acted as cook and there was a gardener along with a driver who took my Dad to his office and back every day. Life was good!

Anyway, my parents used to entertain a lot but I do remember that we used to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. This gave a magical sense to the whole event with all the candles and lights shining brightly. Loads of presents were placed under the tree including presents for each of the servants and their families. It was always the custom for them to come in and be given their presents before we sat down to our Christmas evening meal. And, guess what? I was allowed a little taste of red wine with lots of water added. Oh, how the colour would sparkle as I showed my wine glass to the candle light!

Christmas in Guernsey, Channel Islands which is where I spent the rest of my childhood, was very different. Here my parents decided latterly to celebrate on Christmas Day with lunch. The magical atmosphere did not seem to be prevalent then unless my earlier childhood memories were becoming clouded.

There was one custom which I remember from Java and Guernsey. This was the custom my canny Scots father instigated! That of saving Christmas wrapping paper! Since my parents were strong believers that the festival was a close family one only (and so, there were three of us since I was an only child!) it was easier to continue with the habit of saving the wrapping paper. We had an old brown beaten up leather suitcase which had seen far better days. Inside were carefully folded pieces of Christmas wrapping paper of all sizes and styles. Many tags as well which had all been written years before, Mummy, Daddy, Patricia. Since we always had a real tree the pine needles would find their way into the case and therefore the contents always had a wonderful pine smell about them. To this day, Christmas means pine trees in my mind's eye!

The first time I spent any time outside of the home and watched as people we had given presents opening up theirs was to be a hard lesson to be learnt. They all would rip off the paper! Didn't they think to carefully remove the sticky tape and then fold the paper in the creases that had been created so long ago? This is what we always did!!! To this day, I still feel guilty if I rip or tear the paper as I try to open the present carefully whether I save the paper or not!

Now it is my turn to recreate a family Christmas. We ,too, decided that Christmas dinner should be just for our family. However, with 4 children it was a lot noisier and more fun! For many years we had our routine of trying to sleep through the noise of the children waking early, excitedly opening up the presents in their sacks. My husband sometimes worked shift work during these years and so often he would not be home until early afternoon. I would allow a couple of the smaller presents to be opened with the main ones waiting for when we were all together before dishing up the meal. Evenings were always spent playing with the new found presents.

Today, the children and their respective partners have their own commitments in that they spend alternate Christmases with their various 'in laws'. Bucks Fizz (champagne and orange) is always the starting signal of Christmas morning whether my husband and I are on our own or not. Later others arrive and we go through the ritual opening of presents, the meal, the playing with presents before we all go home to our various homes.

One day, they will all have families and want to spend Christmas in their homes. I wonder what their childhood memories will be of their Christmases?

The last of my ramblings in Spain!

Yes, I promise this is the last post which will refer to our visit to Mijas on the Costa del Sol, Spain.  I just feel that we saw so many interesting things that I love to share!

Walking around this wonderful town with its white washed houses we came across some fountains which on a hot scorching summer's day would provide cool relief.

As luck would have it, the fountains diminished just as I clicked the camera! However, I had better luck this time!

Nearby we discovered the town's bull ring which proved to be the oldest in Spain.  Originally bull rings were built in an oval and this one is supposed to replicate this.  It was opened in 1900 and is still used for bull fights and horse events. I did not bother going to the bull fight which took place during our stay!

You could go into the ring on a fighting day to see the museum but I decided not to, perhaps silly, but I do not feel comfortable with the whole bull fighting scenario.  At least we were told they did not go for the kill here as the ring was too small.  Still, I am sure you will forgive me for not divulging too much about this 'sport' which is really not my cup of tea.

Whilst strolling around I did manage to take some pictures of the typical white washed houses.  This was harder than envisaged because I was desperately trying to make sure there were no cars around!

Especially, on a lazy Sunday afternoon you might see some of the older inhabitants taking a stroll dressed in their Sunday best as they stop to catch up on their local news.  Siesta time really does kick in every day around 2pm until between 4 and 5 pm.  After lunch everyone is home resting, especially during the hot summers when it really is too hot to venture out.  However, note the autumnal colours which I caught as I walked down this main thoroughfare.  I love the quaint street lights which give a wonderfully rustic setting!

Before I leave this, to me, fascinating subject of travels in Spain I would love to share some pictures of a marina near Torremolinos which is a large town on the Andalucian coast.  Here the normal tourists mingle together with others... how the other half live!    Some of the boats we saw were just amazing.  Imagine living in one of the flats (sorry, apartments!) overlooking this marina.  There were many deep sea fishing boats waiting to be hired.  Many boats simply tied up at the end of the season or waiting for their owners to return at the weekend to play!

Whilst we were walking around the inevitable tourist shops selling all the usual junk we noticed some people throwing odd bits of bread into the water.  There were even some enterprising kiosks selling stale bread for feeding the fish!  So, I did have to go and have a look to see what fish were being fed, didn't I?

Goodness knows what type of fish they were?  The only thing about them I did notice was that they were prolific!  Whenever someone threw in some bread they appeared as if by magic from everywhere to descend on that one spot to fight over a piece of stale bread!  An amazing sight.

And so my friends, I will now leave you with one last picture of a beautiful flower which I spotted in the public gardens of Mijas.  They were so pretty that I just couldn't resist taking a picture of them.  I am not sure of the name although they look similar to Periwinkles.

I hope you have enjoyed coming with me to revisit our trip during which we had a wonderfully relaxing time as well as seeing some fascinating sights and meeting a very friendly crowd of local people to Mijas Pueblo.

December Quiltie

A group I belong to are having a quiltie swap this month.  Now a quiltie is a mini quilt measuring a square 5".  This could be framed or hung up on its own or simply placed in an album.

The theme for this month was A Winter Wonderland.  I decided it was far too cold to see outside so decided to stay indoors and peek through the kitchen windows with their red gingham curtains.

 

I hope my swap partner likes it!!!

TADA!!! At last I have a couple of copies of the soft back for sale on Etsy!

Well, I have gone and done it!!!  As promised a few posts ago I have jumped in a new direction to bring my love of encaustics to a wider audience!  Instead of saving up to buy individual paintings why not buy a book which includes illustrations and descriptions of some of my paintings?

The holiday season is here and I am sure there are many of you, like me, who end up scratching your heads trying to think of an original present for a dear one.  You can't keep giving sweaters or socks so be original this year!  Especially, if the person you want to buy for is interested in the arts and new to encaustics.

Go to this link http://www.blurb.com/user/store/onawhimsey and you will find my first book entitled 'My Encaustics - Art in Wax'.

Here is the front cover of the book which contains 20 pages full of illustrations of my paintings.  You can either purchase the book as a soft cover or as a hardback with a dust cover.  The site leads you through the buying process and helps determine the shipping charges according to which country you wish to have your book delivered.

Let me know what you think?  You may even want to buy a copy as a Christmas present for a friend, a member of your family or just for you to place on your coffee table to enable you to browse through a selection of my paintings!

 IMPORTANT NEWS!!!

 I have a couple of softcover books that I can sell to you through Etsy http://onawhimsey.etsy.com  It will be slightly cheaper and I can send it out straightaway!

A Spanish Folk Museum

I told you I would ramble on about our Spanish holiday! Well, one day as we were walking round the delightful village of Mijas on the Costa del Sol we came upon a door opening near the centre of the village where we discovered a Spanish folk museum. First of all we gingerly entered looking for the ticket seller but entry was absolutely free and so we started on our exploration of a typical old Spanish home and how village inhabitants lived in some of these remote areas.

Each room that you came into had been laid out with original, authentic pieces of furniture to show how families would live. Here you can see the corner of the room which has been set aside for sewing - well I had to include that didn't I?

One of the bedrooms had the main bed made up whilst a wooden crib lay alongside.

Although the main family room had a dining table and chairs there was still space for another sewing machine! Note the family pictures that adorned the white washed walls of the house.

Walking round the house we were stepping upstairs to find this bedroom. Very cleverly presented since the viewer is actually looking through a pane of glass mounted in the back of a wardrobe. So, you can't really enter the room but feel part of it!

Summers are incredibly hot in this part of Spain but as you climb the external steps to another part of the house you look down into the internal courtyard onto which all the rooms open. Note the wonderful plants which give you a sense of coolness.

In another area of the house there was a display showing how bees were kept. You can see in the picture below the tools and equipment used to protect from and manage the bees. Pictures hung around showing all the different crafts that the women and men were involved in such as this lady who was basket weaving. As we entered another area of the building we came upon the part of the museum which held a display of 3D pictures made of clay depicting life in and around the village such as the blindfolded donkey walking round and round as the flour was being milled.

See the olive gatherers in this 3D image. The area had a profusion of olive trees with looked wonderful with their old, dark knarled tree trunks which were a sure indication of their age.

In this picture someone is depicted doing the mending which in past days would have been an ongoing job, every day!

In a way it was a shame that everything had Spanish labels making it difficult for the visitor (there were many from different countries) to fully understand the descriptions. However, it did make the museum feel that more authentic and less commercialised.

You'll be pleased to know I am nearly, not quite, done with my Spanish ramblings so watch this space!!!!

Sark Stone

Many years ago I lived on the Channel Island of Guernsey with my parents.  Whilst there I came across an amazingly beautiful stone which we all called Sark Stone.  I remember one jeweller in town who had a massive piece in the window surrounded by a vast quantity of sark stone jewellery. Sark stone is the colloquial name given to a form of quartz, similar to amethyst that used to be found on the island of Sark.  Due to over zealous collectors the resource is now completely exhausted.

This stone was called Sark stone for pretty obvious reasons, it was to be found on the beaches of Sark.

Sark is made up of a 'diamond' shaped island which sits on a tear drop island and both are joined with a very narrow isthmus or causeway.

The island is one of the last bastions of feudalism.  It is most famous for its enchanting and relaxed pace of life.  Sark enables you to step back in time – a visit here is like no other.  Sark is the smallest of the four main islands that make up the Channel Islands which are situated some 80 miles of the coast of southern England.  No cars are allowed only a tractor to haul goods up the steep incline from the harbour.  Bicycles are readily for hire on the island otherwise you have to use your legs to get around!  The current Monseigneur of the Island has to be able to provide to the crown a total of 40 able bodied men to serve the monarchy.  The Channel Islands have belonged to the Crown since the time of William the Conqueror when they formed part of the Duchy of Normandy. In the 13th Century, they were retained by King John when the rest of Normandy was lost to the French. In 1565, Queen Elizabeth I granted Sark to Helier de Carteret as a 'fief haubert' and the island's unique status has remained the same ever since. Today, Sark holds the last remaining feudal constitution in the Western world; neither part of the United Kingdom nor European Union, yet not a sovereign state either. The Seigneur holds the island from the Monarch in perpetuity, and governs in conjunction with Chief Pleas, the island's parliament.

Sark, with no airstrip, no motor cars or tarmac roads and with personal transport limited to foot or bicycle remains the least affected by modern life amongst all the Channel Islands.  Oh, you can use the horse drawn carriages which travel between the harbour and the little town.  So, yes, as I said you are stepping back in time when you visit.

Anyway back to the Sark stone.  I knew that the stone was now scarce if impossible to source on the island.  However, once I did a little research on the Internet I found that this stone could be found in Brazil. So, that was that.

Now, we come to the exciting bit, for me anyway!  You may remember we were on holiday in Spain a little while ago?  Well, on arrival at the property my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets, as they say.  Everywhere, on the steps leading up to the front door, around the swimming pool and even incorporated in as a feature in a wall, I saw Sark stone!

This was just amazing!  I had not seen this stone since, oh must have been, mid 1970s.

So, you can imagine, I had to find out where on earth the owner of the property had been able to find this stone and, so much of it too!

Turns out that he had been involved in some construction work and whilst organising some transportation of pallets to Brazil he had approached his boss to ask if he could fill up the empty pallets which were being returned to Spain?  It was agreed and soon after a large amount of 'Sark ' stone was uplifted and brought to this guys house in Spain.  He soon realised how excited I was.  I explained how I knew about it and then he very kindly offered to cut some for me to take home as a souvenir of our stay in Mijas.  After deciding the size and the practicalities of carrying a piece on Easyjet on our flight home I simply asked for a small piece the size of which would fit into the palm of my hand.

Isn't it amazing what can happen when you least expect it and also the generosity of folk.

Gibraltar

Whilst on our visit to Spain recently we thought we ought to make the effort to travel that little bit further.  In fact, to visit Gibraltar which turned out to be just an hour's drive from where we were staying in Mijas on the Costa del Sol.

The Rock of Gibraltar is located at the entrance to the Mediterranean.  It has a solid economy and because of its history and location has always remained prominent in the world's press and media.  Gibraltar has been a British Territory since 1704. Ceded forever to Britain by Spain in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Gibraltar joined the EU in 1973, under the British Treaty of Accession.  When General Franco closed the border for a while ,in the 1950's, with "the Rock" at the nearby La Linea (meaning 'boundary line' in Spanish), it was Algeciras that he decided to develop to absorb the Spanish workers who used to be employed in the British naval dockyards and in order to break the area's dependence on Gibraltar.  Gibraltar has always relied on La Línea for the supply of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish as well as many other products. There is also an important Spanish military presence in La Línea.   

First of all I have to tell you that both Hubby and I visited Gib, as it is affectionately known, about 40 years ago!  SSShhsshh!  Where has the time flown?  Anyway, Hubby went there with friends on a holiday and stayed with them on Gib itself.  However, I flew into Gib (always did have to be different!) on my very first familiarisation flight on joining the Royal Air Force.  Gib was and still is a stragetic spot with a small airforce base keeping its presence. The airport serves as a military base as well as a civilian airport.  There aren't many air movements as you can see from the state of the runway!

I see no aircraft this way.......

 

 

 

Or here!   These pictures were taken as we walked across from La Línea , Spain.  You actually walk along a pathway alongside the road for cars.  It is a strange experience and you keep watching out each way in case of aircraft!!  One of the strangest sights to see is that of English policemen around the town.  Here is one on duty outside the Departure lounge at the airport. 

Once we arrived in Gib, we had decided to leave the car in Spain and walk. we headed for the town centre.  Gib is a mixture of historical buildings and modern.  My biggest disappoint was that it was so geared up for the tourist, or rather the English bucket and spade mob as well as the large cruise liners.  Did I really want to choose between a full English breakfast (cholesterol on a plate), a medium sized breakfast or a huge one!!  Other than that you could have bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potato), meat pie etc etc.  When I think of the wonderful fresh fish that should have been available.  Also, because the traffic tended to be a very transient one which meant that visitors would literally spend only a few hours on a day visit, the customer service in many establishments left much to be desired.  Shops along the High Street were all those you would find in any English town.  Such a shame when I felt they could have exploited Gib to far better effect other than appearing to try to fleece the unwary and push so many Duty Free goods that were often cheaper back home!

Still, we did walk around although we did not feel up to going on a tour of the Rock.  Again, the tours that were on offer were so expensive.

Historically, Gib has much to offer from its Garrison days.  This link http://www.gibnet.com/data/facts.htm is very useful and interesting in its recount of the how's and when's of Gib in explaining its long and checkered history.

However, we did walk around and explored many of the side streets which gave the feeling of the real Gibraltar.    Here are remains of the original fort with various plaques such as these of the King's Bastion describing different events. Whilst in complete contrast I managed to capture a picture of a typical old residential building making sure I did not have any tourists or cars in the shot!

Both Hubby I would not have missed this visit for the world but came away feeling somewhat disappointed that such an important and unique place could be so exploited.