The Wheel.

As the wheel of the year turns, so all things change. They take their turn on the wheel and then move on until their turn comes again. So it is with all things, but most notably the seasons. We can't stop them from rolling into the next one as the year draws closer to it's end. That shouldn't be too depressing, it's just how it is.

When I left the house early this morning to feed the ponies, it was in bright sunshine, but there was a definite nip in the air. Autumn is knocking on the door of Summer and for the first time in months I came home and put a big pot of porridge on to cook.

The vegetable harvest continues as I have the last of the potatoes to dig up and store, and the beans are having a last minute abundance. I wonder if they are a late variety, or whether they would have been better if the deer had left them alone. They are called Monastic Coco and are a sweet and tender bean when picked young, but if left to mature, they make a great soup bean. I will definitely grow them again.

My Graziella squash have grown very well, despite the fact that I nearly lost the lot to rabbits. I hope to have enough seed to send some out to people for next year, so when the time comes, sign up if you want to try them. They are pure Sunshine, captured in a golden shell, with the smell and taste of hot, lazy August days. They are an old French variety, brought over by my lovely neighbour and named in her honour, as their original name has been forgotten.

I hope to try some more exotic vegetables next year, as I'm learning about what works well and what not to waste time with. That's the beauty of growing your own vegetables. You can try foods that you'll never see in the Supermarket and at the same time, do your bit for the Heritage varieties. This is a topic very close to my heart and one that I want to explore more as time goes on.

The Heritage seeds come from the Real Seed Catalogue and you can find them here: http://www.realseeds.co.uk

I'll be back later with some pictures, hopefully, so have a good day all and enjoy this lovely weather while it lasts.

Annual Exhibition.

Our Annual Exhibition opens this coming weekend, and I'm so proud to have been part of a great team of workers and organisers. Many people's jobs are dirty and unnoticed, like the team who bring the blocks and screens from their deep dark storage shed that used to be part of a chicken farm. The Committee members who organise all the paperwork, making sure that the insurances are in place and remember to book the hall a year in advance, oh, and make sure that we have enough money in the kitty to pay for it all, especially the lighting.

The proof of a great team is in how smoothly the Exhibition comes together, how it looks effortless and easy even though it is far from it. So many Members pay their fees and exhibit their lovely work, but so few realise just how much work goes into it. If they knew, they would join me in thanking the unsung heroes, the people who bring this enormous undertaking to it's stunning conclusion.

This is the 75th year of the Exhibition which began in March 1934, when a group of artists got together and planned an Exhibition of their work. My favourite of these artists was Flora Twort. She was a very independant lady for her time, setting up a bookshop in Petersfield with two of her friends and then buying her own cottage in Church Path which was also at the time her studio. Having spent a good deal of time in her cottage, which is now a museum, I feel very close to this remarkable lady. I was minding an Exhibition on an icy November morning, armed with a thermos of coffee and sat in what would have been her bedroom, surrounded by beautiful art. Hearing the sounds of tinkling china coming from the tea room downstairs, I drifted into a daydream, where I was a visitor in her home, listening to her making us a lovely pot of tea that we could enjoy while discussing her latest paintings. So lost was I in my daydream, that I almost saw her walk into the room, look out on to the green in front of the Church before turning to regard me!

Anyhoo, back to the present time!

This year I volunteered for the postition of Craft Manager, it's a huge responsibility and a lot of hard work, but I'm so glad I took it on. I had two other people helping me, plus P, who worked her little socks off.

We took this


to this in two and a half days.


And we went from this


and this


to this in that time too. The pictures were hung by another Team and somehow, we co ordinated the paintings and sculpture so that it flowed in a perfect sweep around the room with no clashes of colour or form. To the right of the picture is the huge crane 'thingy' that shifts things!


I'm so pleased with how my pieces turned out, and they look lovely beside the other work entered.

Holy mo!

The whatsit has really hit the fan now, and I'm so worried about security that I've had to close Oakmoon. I've discovered that Google cache much of what we bloggers write, so that even though the blog is shut down, some of it can still be read. This does concern me and brings it all into focus. This isn't a private place to have a chat, the whole world can read it! Sheesh, I'm depressed now!

New blog, new start.

Well, this is it, a new start. I've closed the old blog for many reasons and will simply revive it at a later date to showcase my work. It's been great having it, but now it's time to change and move on, hence the retreat :)

I hope you will continue to join me here, as I will still be the same whimsical person, trying to save the World and have fun along the way :)