miss marie's miscellany

Snow keeps on coming

We had more snow during the night here in Glasgow. It's been a good thing though, the pavements were so icy before that it was a nightmare trying to walk anywhere, and drive, for that matter. But the snow has made the paths easier to tread, thank goodness.

I headed to the park for some much needed fresh air. Walking boots on, so no fear of flying!

 

 

 

 

 

I feel better now! Time to head home to take down the Christmas decorations.

 

I hope the weather is being kind to you wherever you are :-)
 
 
 
 
 

2009 - Review of the year

Another year is almost over, and what have I done? 

I visited all these interesting and beautiful places

 

I've grown all these flowers and enjoyed their colour and beauty

 

I taught myself to crochet and started a new obsession! And I made all these,

 

I have read all the books in this list.

I took 3863 photographs!

And I watched the changing of the seasons

  Starting to write this blog was a big step for me, and it's been quite a journey, gaining the confidence to write and show my photos here. I wouldn't have missed it for anything! Many thanks to everyone who has visited and commented over the year. I really do appreciate you stopping by and all your encouraging words. I hope you'll be back to see what 2010 will bring. Happy New Year to you all :-)

 
 

  

10th

This church is St. Andrew's in the Square in Glasgow. 

It's quite an impressive building with its tall spire. It was built in the 18th century and is modelled on St. Martin in the Fields in London.

 

It's no longer used as a place of worship but is a lovely concert hall and wedding/ceilidh venue, with a very nice cafe too.......worth a look if you are passing by.

 

 

By the bonny banks

At Loch Lomond, playing at a wedding at big posh hotel, I managed to catch this lovely late afternoon view as I was leaving just before the light started to fade. 

Glasgow University

At Glasgow Uni for a concert, I took a few photos of the wonderful buildings on the campus.

It really is magnificent, how wonderful to study in such splendid and inspiring surroundings. The university has been in existence since the 15th century, but these buildings were erected in the 19th century when the university moved from the ever-growing city centre to the leafy (and now trendy) West End of Glasgow.

The views across from the uni to nearby Kelvingrove Museum are grand too; here it is seen through the trees of Kelvingrove Park

A lovely last day of September. Autumn colours with sunshine, let's hope it continues like this for a while longer!

Down by the river

Yesterday, I went to the Tall Ship at Glasgow Harbour. I was there to take part in a fund raising concert, so my visit was for business, but I still managed find time to take some photos. I've driven past here many times but never visited, so it was good to take a few moments for a closer look.

The boat is a 19th century barque, permanently moored here. Inside it is a surprisingly large and well-eqipped space, they had ample room for all the diners at the function (about 150 people). The boat can be hired out for childrens birthday parties, how to impress your school friends!

By the time we left, it was getting dark, and the boat and harbour looked so impressive against the twilight sky.

Back on dry land now!

Bulbs and gardens

Yesterday  was another sun-filled day, and I went with my sister to Greenbank Garden, for a bulb fair, and a good look round this beautiful garden. The bulb fair was good,with all the usual spring flowers, with lots of different varieties. We both indulged in a little purchasing!

The Greenbank Garden is a National Trust property, in a quiet leafy area of Glasgow. It's set in between woodland and fields, and is a walled garden with a lovely mixture of formal and less structured planting.I visited once before in spring 2008, before things had really started blooming, which was still enjoyable, but it was more lush and colourful this time. The first thing we saw was this buddleia festooned with butterflies and bees; there must have been at least 4 of these butterflies!

There is an elegant Georgian house at the front of the garden which isn't open to the public, a shame as the views of the garden from inside must be lovely. 

Shades of Jane Austen!

Once we'd crossed this immaculate lawn in front of the house, we saw this gate inviting us into the walled garden

It really is a garden of delights, so much to see. Paths lead you round the garden

This one was lined with bamboos, which swished in the gentle breeze

There's some interesting topiary - I love the snail and the dog!

Lots of flowers of course

Some beautiful tall thistles

and teasels

This lovely water nymph fountain was hidden away behind a hedge  - only the sound of the fountain guides you to it

We both loved this sheep having a nap in the shade

There are plentiful benches to sit and take in the view- I liked this arbour with rose design

  

Exotic flowers and plants in the glasshouse

There are some autumnal touches here and there adding to the rainbow of colours

Wonderful to sit and feel the sun on your face and look at the blue sky

I'm so glad to have visited this garden when it looked so lovely, and to enjoy it with my dear sister. It was a real shot in the arm for us both; sunshine, flowers, shopping and tea and scones, that's got to be a winning combination!

Hill House

Charles Rennie Mackintosh is famous all over the world for his unique architecture and design, nicknamed the Glasgow Style.  There are many examples of his work in Glasgow, and to the west in Helensburgh is another of his designs, the beautiful Hill House. 

As its name suggests, the Hill House is built high above the town, with great views of the Firth of Clyde, although these were completely obscured when we visited because of rain (I refuse to let the inclement weather keep me inside!) The house is owned by the National Trust and they don't allow any photography inside, so no pics of the lovely interior: the main living room and master bedroom are a mixture of cream and pink with typical Mackintosh rose design and gesso panelling, and most of the rest of the house has dark wood panels with tall thin windows. I found these 2 images just to give you an taste of what it's like.

If you click here you can see a few more detailed interior views. 

 

The house was commissioned by Glasgow publisher Walter Blackie, who also had Mackintosh and his wife Margaret design the interiors and much of the furniture for the house. I like the fact that although the house appears to be built on straight lines, on closer inspection one can see it is anything but symmetrical. Windows are different sizes and shapes, the roof is on several levels with chimney stacks of different heights and there are some turrets and curves too. 

I like this curved wall at the back of the house which encloses the main staircase.

This is the view of the back of the house from the orchard 

I'm not sure what happened to this tree!

There was a small vegetable garden

and a huge garden, mostly lawned with flower beds nearer the house. My mum told me about a TV programme she saw recently about children from Glasgow who were evacuated to the house (still privately owned) during the war; it must have been wonderful to have the run of a huge garden like this, and to stay in such an original home.

 

There is a cafe which is in the old kitchen, although it's self-service it's still posh! Proper china cups and plates and the delicious cakes on stands with lids. There's a souvenir shop with much tasteful CRM themed merchandise and a design shop with some gorgeous glassware, pottery and jewellery.

Despite the terrible weather, I still enjoyed visiting this lovely piece of architectural and design history. It is beautifully preserved and restored, hard to believe that the house and many of its contents are  over 100 years old. 

August collage

My favourite shots from August. I was thinking what a quiet month it has been, and also how awful the weather has been, as I look out at the pouring rain and grey clouds; but I'm cheered up looking at this collection of photos because of the variety of colour and all the good memories it's brought back. Especially the sunshine!

Stained glass

I admired these beautiful windows which I saw at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow. The predominant blue colour is so striking, and luckily, the sun was shining, so the colours are richly vivid. You can read more about the design here, a very complex musical and historic inspiration - explained far better than I could ever hope to(the history of piping is not my forte!), and I'm sure once read, it will illuminate this stained glass even more!