4th August 1914

One hundred years ago today Britain declared war with Germany.

Between August 1914 and November 1918 there where very few families who didn't lose a relative to the war. Some towns and villages lost all of their male members of fighting age, leaving only the elderly, women and children behind to carry on.

This is how the war touched my family.

From what I was told by my Mum, on her paternal side of the family my grandfather's family were an industrious lot. They were Yorkshire folk who lived in the outskirts of Leeds and had prospered sufficiently to consider themselves rising up the class system. So much so they wanted to chart their good fortune by indulging in the new fashion of having family portraits taken by professional photographers. They would dress up in their Sunday best and sit or stand in stiff poses while their images were captured through the lens of the camera.

The Watt family consisted of Ma and Pa and their five daughters, Rosa, Lydia, Anne, Fanny Elizabeth and Tilly, plus their three sons, Jack, Alfred and Oswald. Most of the daughters worked as seamstresses but the youngest daughter, Tilly, took a very different route by running away with the circus where she took to the skies as a rope walker. (Her story is one to be told on another day). The boys all wanted to become engineers like their father. At the outbreak of the first world war Jack would have been just fifteen and like lots of other boys his age the thought of going off to fight seemed exciting. To wear a uniform and travel to the Continent was the stuff dreams were made of, to be a hero and make your family proud was a very tantalizing prospect. So much so that one morning Jack walked out of the door, went down to the recruiting office, lied about his true age and signed away his life. Like many others he didn't return, his mother received the dreaded telegram telling her he was missing in action. They never knew where he fell, only that he was a boy of seventeen when he died. 

Today I cannot imagine just how my Great, great, grandmother coped with such news. All her children survived birth and childhood illnesses but she outlived three of them. Jack, then Tilly, who fell to her death from the high wire and lastly Lydia who having held pins in her mouth for years as she stitched contracted blood poisoning through her tongue and died in her early twenties.

But today it is Jack I wish to remember, along with all those other brave souls who lost their lives to the war. 

The Watt family - minus Tilly

Jack Watt - aged 14yrs

The government asked for 100,000 volunteers to join the army once war was declared, over 750,000 came forward in the first month.

There is no definitive list for the numbers of people lost to the first world war but this is the generally accepted volume of losses.

65 million fought.

8 million soldiers killed in battle.

2 million died of illness or disease.

21.2 million wounded.

7.8 taken prisoner or missing in action.

6.6 million civilians killed.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place: and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though the poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

John McCrae

First of the Month

These Fridays seem to be on speed dial the way in which they keep rushing around on us. And it's White rabbits all round as it's also the 1st of August.

All this means it's again time for..

 .. Fabulous Folksy Friday Finds!

The letter 'L' has helped us to find special items for this week and simply styled, neutral elegance seems to be the order of the day. A look around all the featured shops is heartily recommended as they all have gorgeous items waiting to be admired, their shop url's are under their photo's.

  'L' is for...

Tea or Coffee?

L is for Leaf - Every mug needs a coaster and these are so decorative they would look great simply adorning a table top. Charlotte has a talent for ceramics and her shop has lots of useful and beautiful items for homes and gardens alike: https://folksy.com/shops/CharlotteHupfieldCeramics

Like something Jane Eyre would have in her sewing box

L is for Lace - This pincushion is one you can make yourself as Lorna sells the kit for you to create your very own. There's lots more sewing challenges back at Lorna's Folksy shop: https://folksy.com/shops/Lornabatemanembroidery

Such a sweet scented package

L is for Lavender - These pretty in pink lavender bags are almost too gorgeous to hide away in a drawer. Gillian's Folksy shop is awash with vibrant fabrics stitched in to loveliness! https://folksy.com/shops/MadePrettyAccessories

For your favourite chair

L is for Linen - This linen cushion has such understated elegance to it, love the neutral tones and can imagine it looking good in every room. Lots more cushions to fall into in Cher's Folksy Shop: https://folksy.com/shops/Nutmegandsage

Here in our studio we've had a tidy up, not that it ever stays that way for very long. We always have to remember to leave one of the top shelves clear for the cats to have a perch on high to be able to check up on what we are up to. Although this week they had other entertainment to keep them occupied. Last Monday we found them hunkered around the wood stove, one sat on top, (which they know is never allowed), and the other sat on the hearth flags gazing into the glass door. As Gary had set it with paper and kindling ready for our next fire we couldn't see anything. But once a torch was flashed into the stove we could see what all the fuss was about, a sparrow had dropped down the chimney and must have been petrified as two pairs of cats eyes followed it's every flutter. Gary set about catching it once the cats had been banished to another room. It took him 45 minutes to catch the bird with a great deal of Anglo Saxon language colouring the air! Would you believe it but the very next day the same thing happened and who knows it could have been the same bird. This time it made a quick getaway as Gary directed it to the open window and it flew straight out... wouldn't mind but when we had the stove fitted we had asked for a bird guard and the fitters said the cowl they had used would be sufficient!

One of Gary's dog prints has been causing lots of interest this week as the Pinterest board I had made for the Folksy front page has been featured in their weekly newsletter. So our Shnauzer is feeling like the 'top dog' just now.

He's liking all the attention

This weekend we'll be back in the Studio and hopefully the new ink will have dried sufficiently for me to print the next colour on my landscape reduction linocut. Gary, with his tidy desk, will be cutting a print to add to our farmyard collection. 

Enjoy your weekend.

'When all else fails, read the instructions.'

Anon

Monday, Monday

The Tour de France finally pulled into Paris yesterday with the Italian cyclist Vincenzo Nibali taking the top spot on the podium. Yorkshire took the race to it's heart and the giddy anticipation of the tour starting in the county saw residents painting pushbikes yellow and hanging them off their homes, Pub's renaming their hostelries with a gallic twist and an entire village knitting tiny cycle jumpers to decorate the market square! It was a little unusual for us too as we saw the York race route pass by the end of the street where we had our first home in the city. Then on the final Friday of the race the route spun past the tiny hamlet we once called home in France. We used to enjoy watching the tour from the side of the road in France. We've seen a race start, with the heightened excitement and the holding of breath as the seconds to the start beep tick down. And we've camped out for hours on the sides of french country lanes to catch a glimpse of the race speed by. The fun was always to find a spot where we could climb onto our car for a better vantage point, hoping that the 'caravan' of promotion vehicles that prelude the actual race would be able to throw their freebies to us!

One of the publicity cars galloping by!

The 'tete de la course'

Our little Fermette in the Gers, South West France looked south onto the Pyrenees and the Highest peak we could see was the Col du Tormalet, one of the most gruelling climbs for the tour cyclists.

Our little bit of France with the Pyrenees on the horizon

Back here in the garden I made a discovery, a strange fruit on the large Camellia to the side of our patio area. Never having had a Camellia before now I had no clue what it was but a quick look online told me it a the seed pod which if left on the bush until it dries out will reveal seeds that can be propagated. Another use is that if picked while still fleshy it can be squeezed to release a tea flavoured oil which can be used in cooking or to soften the skin. So that's my new fact for today!

Camellia seed pod or cagary

Since our workmen finished the roof we have been able to get to the bed to one side of our kitchen doors. It's edged with some lovely old railway sleepers and is to become the new herb garden and after Gary had weeded all the big stuff out I spent Sunday afternoon clearing most of it ready for planting. It already contains a healthy Lavender and some Lemon Balm plus a blackcurrant bush which was probably a 'happy accident' from a bird dropping, this is going to be moved to a fruit bed in the veg area. Hoping to plant up not only culinary herbs but also include ones who's flowers are worthy of a place there. So I'm on the look out for Monarda plants, bronze fennel and perhaps an Angelica for it's architectural beauty.

New Herb bed cleared and ready for planting up

The Veg garden has given up sufficient to be able to make our first meal of the season off it. Granted it's not a vast amount but it was all planted rather late this year. I harvested a couple of the shallots, a large courgette, a sprig of thyme and the first two ripe Roma plum tomatoes. Once some leftover pastry had defrosted and a yorkshire pudding tin was utilised as a small tartlet tray, the four pastry cases were blind baked. The shallot, courgette and thyme were sauteed in olive oil, added to the cases along with a beaten egg mixed with some creme fraiche and a grating of parmesan cheese. Finally the tomatoes topped the tarts and they were baked until golden. A little rustic but made with love for our homegrown produce.

A celebration of all things homegrown

In the Studio we are excited that one of Gary's limited edition prints is featured in UK Handmade's Summer Showcase Collection.

Avocet - gracing the pages of UK Handmade Summer Showcase

I've tried to upload the link to the online brochure but it is misbehaving so here's the link to the site and from there if you go to the Showcase you will be able to flick through the Summer Collection brochure pages online and find our Avocet print there. It's worth a look through as it's brimming over with UK handmade wonders. Link below:

http://ukhandmade.co.uk/showcase/summer

We've been busy printing this weekend too. Managed to find a free hour to print the third colour of my latest linocut, not ready for a full reveal but here is just a hint of what it might be...

What on earth could it be?!

This week will see us cutting lino plates, no doubt printing, building more fences and hopefully getting on with the herb bed.

Hope the week brings you smiles.

'Summer is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather'
John Ruskin.

Holiday Mood

It seems everyone is in holiday mood, the schools are out, the summer sun has arrived and the general mood of everyone seems lifted. The weekend stretches in front of us with all it's potential, but before we kick off our shoes and head out to enjoy the weather it's time for...


 .. Fabulous Folksy Friday Finds!

It's the letter 'K' in the spotlight and we've found a great selection of beautifully crafted items all from fellow Folksy sellers. Don't forget to take a look around all the featured shops, their shop url's are under their photo's.

  'K' is for...

Elegant key - it must open something special!

K for Key - such a delicate looking silver Key pendant. Gemma's shop is full of really original jewellery, any hand stitchers out there just take a look at her little thimble necklace, so sweet:

https://folksy.com/shops/TheSilverShed

An Oriental flavoured purse for all your Yen

K is for Kimono - Well, 1950's Kimono material to be precise. It makes a very colourful purse with a vintage look to it. Carol uses all sorts of vintage materials to make her pretty purses. Find them all in Carol's Folksy Shop: https://folksy.com/shops/OhCarol

Such a delicate pattern, beautifully crafted

K is for Knitting - This is knitting of the highest skill level, just love the muted shades used in this heather shaded cushion. Rachel crafts some lovely items with her knitting needles up in bonny Scotland. Find blankets, scarves and cuddly hot water bottle covers back in her Folksy Shop:

https://folksy.com/shops/rachelc

A flash of blue for your lapel

K is for Kingfisher - Just love the jaunty pose from this bright blue Kingfisher. There's a whole aviary of bird life fluttering around Sarah's Fun Folksy Shop:

https://folksy.com/shops/lotusblossom

Two of Gary's new cat prints made their way into our online shops this week and both are getting lots of attention. The sleepy black cat is another inspired by the many photo's we have of our little black beauty and the Tuxedo is based on a friend's new feline buddy.

Black Cat Bedtime

Tuxedo cat looking dapper

In the garden the flower borders are recovering from the battering they suffered in last week's storms. The new Shiatsa Daisies were worst hit, think it might be wise to cut them back and hope for a second flush of blooms. 

The greenhouse is getting greener as the tomatoes and chillies take over every available inch on the inside. We savoured our very first tomato yesterday lunchtime, a couple of tiny ones had coloured up first and the anticipation was too much to let them stay on the vine any longer. Can't wait for the glut to commence...

As everything is vying for space under glass on fine days the Aubergines get to play outside. I planted up 4 plants that I had raised from seed earlier in the year and they are all looking very healthy with lots of flowers. Will feel so guilty when I have to stop them after two fruits appear, always want to try and nurture more fruits off each plant. I have a delicious Aubergine Chutney recipe which I am hoping I can fill the pantry shelves with!

Aubergine flower with Spider keeping guard

Enjoy your weekend.


'Life is like a 10 speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use'.
Charles Shulz.

Thunder Bolts

We've had some fabulous storms overhead this weekend, spectacular lightning shows which thankfully didn't take out the electric supply. The rain made our lane look like a boating lake but instead of ducks enjoying the water we had a large family of sparrows taking baths instead. Everything has had a good watering so that is one gardening job off the list. We haven't managed to get outside so we still have our last raised bed in the veg garden to plant up. Can't decide what to use it for, it might get a scattering of late carrots, spinach and salading seeds. In a normal year we'd think about crop rotation but as we have had to wait so long to complete the beds, instead it's a kaleidoscope of crops out there, root crops rubbing shoulders with legumes, lettuces sharing bed space with onions.

Another bargain flower find this week was four fabulous Lavenders, all costing a mere £2.49 each. Ended up buying two white, one purple with a low growing habit and another purple tufted. They are still patiently waiting in their pots as I decide where they should live in our borders.

Bejewelled flower heads

All the poppy seeds that where casually broadcast through the borders are all coming up and making a colourful splash of petals.

The first of the Ladybird Poppies

Thursday morning while having our breakfast in the kitchen we spied a visitor to the garden.

Are you looking at me?

It was a baby Hedgehog sunning itself on the Patio steps. Hoping that our ever growing population of slugs and snails will keep Master or Mistress Hedgehog wanting to stay for the summer in our garden, do hope we see more of our new prickly companion.

It's been another very productive week here in the Studio. Gary has been working on a couple of feline beauties while I have started a new reduction linocut print this time using our magical landscape for inspiration. The first sky blue colour came off the press yesterday evening and the paper is hanging on the rack to dry. Now the delicate part of the process beings as I start to cut away at the plate, one slip and it's curtains for the entire edition! The new inks are proving a good investment, they are rich and thick allowing us to blend beautiful deep shades with them. As my new piece will use four colours we are looking forward to the alchemy of mixing up all those shades.

Thought we would let you have the first peek of Gary's two new cat prints, they are on the drying rack just now and will be in our Folksy and Etsy shop this week.

Two new Cat prints - in our shops soon!

'It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent'.
Dave Barry.

The Cool of the Studio

The sunshine here is reported to be warmer than in Hawaii, so we are seeking out the coolest part of the house which is luckily the Studio with it's south facing window nicely shaded by the large Holly tree outside.

So it's Friday and it's time for...

 .. Fabulous Folksy Friday Finds!

It's the turn of the letter 'J' and we have found some great items. Don't forget to take a look around all the featured shops, their shop url's are under their photo's.

  'J' is for...

Jolly Journals for all your jottings

J is for Journal - always handy to have one on your desk for all those moments of inspiration. There is also a pretty selection of hand made photo albums and guest books available in Liz's Folksy Shop:
https://folksy.com/shops/LizzieMade

An heirloom in the making

J is for Jewellery Box - this fabulously crafted box is made from solid Walnut and Madrona Burr. It was difficult to choose which photo to show here as the interior is as gorgeous as the exterior. Putting this on my Christmas list! Lots more boxes back at Paul's Folksy Shop:
https://folksy.com/shops/norfolkwoodcrafts

This jug would brighten up any table

J is for Jug -  a vibrant red jug just waiting for some Cream and Strawberries, how pretty would that look! A real cornucopia of ceramics back at Claire's Folksy Shop:
https://folksy.com/shops/clairemanwani

Good enough to eat - with no calories!

J is for Jammie Dodger - guilt free snacks! Lots of fun, felt creations in Jo's Folksy shop:
https://folksy.com/shops/PickleLily



The skies over our garden are filled with Swifts and Swallows at present, more than I have ever witnessed before here in UK. When we lived in France we had scores of Swallows that used to visit every year. They would keep us amused by swooping down, breezing past our heads while we worked in the veg beds. Whenever it rained they had a favourite puddle outside our front door where they would take it in turns to fly low and dip into the water for a cool down. One family set up home in one of our barns, this particular barn led to the back door of the house and was the one we used most often. We watched daily as the parents gathered mud from the surrounding fields and quickly constructed their sturdy nest for their clutch of eggs. The eggs duly hatched and we then had the joy of watching the 5 chicks put on weight. We named them, 'Doe, Ray, Me, Far and Sow' and would often be heard singing it to them as we walked past their nest. Every noise they heard would prompt them to stick out their heads, cheep loudly and open the yellow gorges of their throats, ready for any tasty tit bits. One morning I had the privilege to see them fledge. One by one they took to the edge of the nest and then boldly took a leap of faith and flew to the nearest roof truss. As the last one left the nest they all made their way to the barn opening and out into the clear blue sky. I cried once the little family of Swallows left us for North Africa.

Singing for their suppers

Our French memories are at the fore front of our minds this week as many of Gary's mono print landscapes have a French flavour to them. He is busy photographing the series of prints and they will be available in our Etsy shop soon. But thought it would be appropriate to show a portion of one here as it is titled 'Gascony' the south west region of France we called home.

Gascony - with it's rolling hills and it's fortified villages

We have just taken delivery of new lamps specifically for photo shoots so this weekend we will start the long job of updating all our photo's, a mammoth task hopefully interspersed with some time in the garden, there will be some harvesting of veggies to be done and new lavenders to be planted out.

Enjoy your weekend.

'To succeed in life, you need three things; a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone'.
Reba McEntire.

In the garden...

It's been great weather for the garden this past week, hot sunshine and lots of showers. Thursday night the heavens gave the garden an overnight treat as torrential rain bounced down with such force it woke us both up. We were able to lay and hear our new 'deep flow' gutters doing their job very proficiently. By morning the water butt to the back of the greenhouse was two-thirds full!

Found some great plant bargains, the best yet, as had I paid full price they would have cost nearly £46.00 as opposed to the paltry £1.20 I parted with. The attractive collection included 3 Red Robin Photinias, a French Lavender called Encore and two deep red Primulas, all marked down to just 20p. 

All well watered and ready to be planted out.

The new flower garden has been an exercise in stocking the borders as inexpensively as possible. We have moved shrubs, lifted and split perennials from the front garden, taken advantage of all the special offer plug plants free in gardening magazines and scoured the bargain shelves in all the stores. Plus earlier in the year I planted up lots of annuals to help fill in any empty pockets in it's early stages of development. The next challenge is to move a 10 foot Rowan tree. This has set up home - probably from a bird dropping - at the side of our driveway and as we are about to erect a new fence there it has to go. Rather than just chop it down we would far rather make use of it in a large gap we have at one end of the large curved floral border. With the mind set that 'things just want to grow', we will endeavour to move the little Rowan tree to a new and much improved home.

A colour palette of Dahlias, Hebe and Lavender

Bargain Passion Flower - happy to flower in sun or shade

Other garden activity has been accompanied by the sound of sawing, hammering and nailing, all care of Gary and his recent project - building log stores for all our winter fuel. He has cleverly utilized old wooden pallets plus off cuts left over from the new gable ends to construct the first of three stores which will sit on the patio. Now begins the Herculian task of splitting all the logs to fill up the new stores.

The roof is level with the window and will be filled with pot plants

Having recently read an article about superfoods I was inspired to make something including oats. Decided on flapjacks and as we both don't like things too sweet I reduced the sugar drastically but instead added a couple of tablespoons of chopped stem ginger and 50g of dark chocolate. It very nearly turned into a kitchen disaster as the oven temperature started out too high and checking them after just 10 minutes the baking tray was a bubbling mass of oaty lava. Turned the oven down and hoped for the best. What turned out was a chocolate and ginger oat bar which might not win in the looks department but certainly wins on taste.

Chewy, chocolate and ginger oat flapjacks

Back in the Studio another floral print is almost ready to be added into our online shops. It is being mounted for photographing today and will be uploaded this evening, but here is a sneak preview of it drying on the rack

Oxeye Daisy hot off the press

We have another busy week in store. I am pondering over my next floral piece and Gary is working on a very detailed landscape alongside another feline and hound print. We have just taken delivery of some new soft lino and vegetable oil inks so we will be experimenting with these. The ink looks fabulous and will help especially with reduction printing as it has good overprinting qualities. Can't wait to try them but first we need to cut lino plates...

'Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can'

Danny Kaye.