Comment le dire....

A visit to our fleamarket, quite appropriate for such a rainy Sunday.

Par un dimanche pluvieux, rien de mieux qu'une visite à la brocante!

LA trouvaille de la journée, c'est grâce à la truffe infaillible de mon EG.

Et l'après-midi me voit m' immerger dans un livre de poésie écrit plus de 100 ans auparavant. Entièrement ecrit à la main par une demoiselle. Le livre commence le 30 septembre 1896 et se termine le 30 novembre 1927. Il contient une collection variée de poèmes, de proverbes, de pensées.

Les pages usées sont recollées par les moyens du moment: sparadrap, timbres pour soutenir les "tuberculeux de la guerre".
Malgré son âge, le livre est dans une excellente condiditon.
Le fait de feuilleter à travers les plus de 300 pages, le livre me tient, il me parle et m'emmène sur un voyage dans les profondeurs de la poésie française. A tel point que je ne peux l'abandonner. Je dois continuer à déguster chaque page. Absorber les vers, mon coeur s'ouvre et j'entends la douceur des mots.

La chanson du Printemps

Petits oiseaux du bon Dieu

Voici la saison nouvelle

L'air est pur, le ciel est bleu

Vous pouvez battre de l'aile.

Déjà de tous les buissons

Les fleurs sont écloses,

mêlez vos douces chansons

Au parfume des roses.

***

Vous papillons diaprés

Fleurs vivantes et joyeuses

Sur les luzernes des prés

Fixez vos ailes joyeuses

Unissez d'un doux lien

L'aile et la corolle

Et qu'on ne sache plus bien

L'aquelle s'envole.Page après page une revélation.

Il y a même une table de matières à la fin du livre mais elle n'est pas complète.
Une carte d'invitation s'est glissée entre les pages.

Et plus que j'absorbe ces pages qui me parlent, plus un petit ressentiment de tristesse me prends.

La tristesse des temps perdus à jamais. La tristesse que nous n'avons plus l'abilité et la persévérance d'écrire comme cette demoiselle. La perte de la puissance du mot écrit à la main, avec une plume. Et de l'encre qui ne s'est pas éffacé même après plus de 100 ans. Qui ne semble pas avoir souffert par les intempéries et tourmentes de deux grandes guerres. La tristesse de vivre dans un siècle où le monde semble avoir moins de couleurs.

Maurice et Marie

Maurice, vous me regardez sans cesse.

Et vous me suivez en tous lieux.

A la promenade, à la messe....

Maurice! Maurice! vous aurez mal aux yeux.

Marie, vous êtes bien coquette!

De nous deux quel est le plus fou?

A force de tourner la tête,

Marie, vous aurez mal au cou!

12 Mars 1898 M. L......

would that be the author's own creation?

Ce livre restera un trésor rare parmi nos trouvailles d'antan.

Blind? Date

This was my destination and here I was!

After a smooth trip to Calais, taking the ferry exactly in time and a trip without any disruption since Dover my first intake of sunny Shropshire was done in Minsterley cimetery. I did not feel the almost 800 km or any sign of tiredness as I was still as excited than when I left.

How impressing is this old way of creating hedges!

I smiled on the insription that this man was "a great story teller who never lied just a stranger to the truth". I don't think that such words could be found on a Belgium cemetery.

Thanks to the best Shrophire guide in this world, dear Snailbeachsheperdess, I now know that what shows on the top photo on the left of the tree, is called "the Ridge".

I was standing there, still, alone and my heart opened wide and I tried to engrave this fantastic countryside forever into my memory.

After a nice meal and good sleep, the adventure with SBS started and whilst I never had seen her in real, she is just as I had imagined her! She showed me round the Ridge, showed me the Devil's Seat, explained all the particular things about this fantastic spot of countryside and -lucky me!- I am even now the proud owner of a book she has written which explains it all in detail!

We went to Bishops Castle, cute, nice little town:

Was that the ladies jail one day?

This lovely shop would see me daily if I lived there.

The tiny details of those old houses are always so enchanting.

Could not any house do with such a friendly guard?

She then showed me the "Wintles Estate". This is an eco community and all the houses are built "bio", have alternative energy sources, wood burners and are mainly built of eco treated timber and those colours seem to me being based on lime, they have wonderful pastel tones. Behind is an area with allotments. (Note: In the last Country Living these kind of eco-conscious communities are listed, amongst are the Wintles).

Must be a comfortable living in these houses, can you see that little JRT in the window? He just watched.

After having collected LLL = Lovely Lawyerlady from Shrewsbury station, we went to the Lowfield Inn in order to meet up with the gang and having a nice lunch :-)

Afterwards, Mountainear had organised a visit to one of the oldest wooden churches on top of Trelystan mountain.

Happy to be at eternal rest on such a great place!

Carpets of special snowdrops, they must have a triple layer of petals.

Special thanks to all you nice people to having let me be with you and share that most beautiful county - so I think - in the UK.

I think, I made some new friends! Bye Chester!

Vorfreude - Joie anticipée

Here we are in March, oh joy!

We can see the water surface of the pool, the "Little Baltic", again. It was permanently frozen since 17th December and only reappeared last week.

Busy times are ahead, the antique markets are going to be crowded again. Several times I went to the one held every Friday in Liège, St. Pholien.

One can find almost everything, there.

And I was lucky to get matching bits to my collection. Like 'des pots à épices' all complete with unbroken lids. I had the oil bottle already. A Royal Doulton cup called " the Wedding" out of the Brambly Hedge - I bought the book years before (in French, in an almost new condition) and am now impatient to read it to my grandsons. The covered bowl with the red rose is now complemented by one with a white rose, same make.

More treasures, like that Limoges plate with lovely spring flowers and the set of egg cups, they seem to have never served their purpose. Found plenty of old laces and linen, dainty and delicate.

Finally this little treasure: a sewing machine for millinery. Made in Dresden and no records are available. The big challenge will be how to thread it and to make it work... If anybody has a clue or a description, it would be highly appreciated. The make is H. Grossmann and its name is "Alemannia"

Projects for March will be as healthy as visits to a fitness center: plans for a greenhouse and a new design for the front garden. The whole pile of 4 year old horse manure has to be wheeled round to its destination as the greenhouse will be built here .

Before and ....32 wheelbarrows after (all EG's work):

Start in the front garden. Taken from 2 different perspectives. Does not look much, does it?

The best is yet to come. I am travelling to the UK this week for a few days for a very exciting meeting with plenty of country girls and I am so much looking forward to it! The journey is the destination.