A lovely weekend with Redwood and many other woods

(written in mid /late March!)

After a long winter it is Spring, apparently although I woke up to a very sleety world this morning, and drove through ‘sleet’ lying at depth on top of the Cairn o Mount on Monday night.

Nevertheless, I feel as if my body clock has reached spring since this weekend’s two day, Redwood Spring fair, at Echt, outside Aberdeen.

Echt is a lovely village of dressed granite, typical of those developed for wealthy landowners under the influence of Queen Victoria and Balmoral. Aberdeenshire has the granite and the royal presence encouraged the landowners to employ craftsmen to use it to help them ‘keep up’ with the royals.

The people are friendly too, as I found out when I went into the shop to check on access and parking at the hall – I was first person there, and worried I was at the wrong venue!  I had a wee car trailer yoked and don’t enjoy navigating it more than necessary.

THE FAIR! The first trader I met, similarly prompt, was Will the woodworker. He carried a coat stand into the hall and I was entranced. 

My picture doesn’t do it justice. I later noticed he had a ‘standard’ lamp made on a similar structure and I have thought of little else since Saturday. (and I have done a lot since Saturday!)

There was also a very jovial woodworker with very quirky works, whose obvious wit seemed to come through in his work, 

There was an inventive woodworker, Richard Johnston, who had branched into CD structures, and who is going to help me find the tiny wooden hinges I need to mend a cantilever sewing box.

Inside, the hall had been refurbished for the Millennium, according to a plaque, but the wooden panelling retained an atmosphere which reminded me of an Agatha Christie country house.

The familiar face of Arlene Allsorts soon appeared and set up next to me with Harris Tweed in many guises, felted soaps and crocheted items.

Wildlife photographer, Bob Hamilton hung some brilliant pix on the other side. From buzzard to snow bunting, with a Japanese style finch portrait added for good measure, I liked the birds. Others had their own favourites.
Next to Arlene, Johnny Craig’s photography was very different, with surreal effects and compositions achieved with skilled photo processing.

Most stalls were art /craft orientated, but a local retro, repro, vintage shop owner unloaded a spectacular array of ostrich feathers, a blue and white ceramic footbath, fire buckets and ‘totem’ carvings, to name but a few.

An Aberdeen charity had a well stocked stall of vintage /antique goods and my New Best Friends, Lynn and Alex Skinner, had an eclectic collection of thoughtfully displayed costume jewellery and other goodies.

On the craft side, hand knitted baby clothes faced ruffle scarves and neighboured a stall packed with stitched cotton and tartan goods.

Saturday was slow, but Sunday took off and the line up of stalls changed a little Rhinturk breads and jams remained. I have shared some of the massive banana bread I won in the raffle, and look forward to being sustained by the remainder, throughout the first week of my imminent lambing.  

Sunday brought an influx of photography; flowers from Anneke Addy, landscapes from another and mysticism from Ally Hunter of the Gemali Emporium.

I had been looking forward to meeting my new neighbour Lorna the Clutterhound since we became FB friends last year. Her stall was beautifully set out and I fancied some of her frox.

Opposite me was another FB face, a friend of Lorna’s, Jennifer Watson, a gracious lady, whose watercolours ranged from free style floral studies to townscapes of Aberdeen.

Flowers appeared in many guises in the work of Amy Neville, mobiles, pendants and light boxes. I loved the light boxes. 

As the day was busier, I had less time to look at the new stalls or to take pix and for that I am sorry.

How did my stall fare? Very well! I reduced my bulk. I sold fabric, a ‘maxi’ woollen duffel coat I loved but had only worn once or twice – literally- a ‘TV set’ of cup and plate which have been separated within my storage for a year and only recently reunited! The wooden cakestand has not photographed very well, but the ‘trays’ are carved, with a white inlay which may be ‘mother of pearl’ or some or other material.

As well as sales on the day, fellow stall holders expressed an interest in my stash of Shetland wool, ‘alternative health /spirituality’ books and a display rack for the stall. Decluttering springs ahead!

Thank you to organiser, Lin Murdoch of Redwood Gallery for the use of her pix amongst my own and for the supply of tea and coffee during the day and for the gorgeous cheesecake!

Filling in the Gap

( this was written in December! but not posted for some reason - it may help to bridge the gap. Maybe I was hoping to find some pix.)

I'm not usually so quiet for so long, but I HAVE been busy - amongst other things - cutting grass at the caravan and attempting to cut grass at the caravan! Solution has been to borrow an ultra smart new strimmer.

Vintage fairs from Aberdeen to St Andrews have helped me to reduce my stockpile a little and I am beginning to see an improvement in floorspace.

Fairs have been very unpredictable, influenced by advertising, weather, competing attractions and demographics. I am fascinated by the demographics and how they work - at fairs around University and Art College, my wardrobe, dating back to 1980s - including the recent uncovering of a shelf of five jumpsuit /cotton flying suits  (but I am keeping one!) - seems to sell. In a country town, older buyers, who comprise the bulk of visitors, don't need crockery but will buy collectibles, bargains or something useful. When the wind blows young women into town, vintage tea sets are all the rage!

Edzell's Vintage Bazaar is the best for bringing a wide cross section of all ages and interests. Women of all ages will buy good quality clothes - and that is helping to make space in the wardrobe; younger ones like china, men will look out for collectibles - checking makers' marks and stamps as much as the look of an item.

I've just come to the end of three weeks of two fairs each weekend but sadly, didn't last the course. Coming home from Dundee on Saturday night I wanted to stop the car and sleep, but drove on the short distance, With a cup of tea and some fruit I went straight to bed, and must have been asleep by 6 pm!

This morning I woke up, intending to add some goodies to the car and head to Blairgowrie Then and Now Fair, but couldn't face food or drink and after phoning in my apologies went back to sleep.

Saturday in Dundee was a lovely day. It was a new, 'one off' Christmas craft fair in Roseangle Arts cafe. Footfall wasn't high, but there was a lovely atmosphere, lots of talented, friendly artists and makers and one very  artiste - a Spanish born singer songwriter called Fiona McAndrew - "My Dad comes from Edinburgh". Fiona played and sang throughout the day and she reminded me of famous US singer songwriters who say, "I started singing in coffee houses." She was excellent.

There were a number of crafty folk amongst the visitors including the very talented Heather Lumsden whose tartan jackets and embroidered velvet and tweed hats are legendary. I admired her 'biker' jacket, adorned with gold and silver painted knotwork designs. She, in turn, commented on my fringed tartan jacket and told me that she made fringed tartan jackets, too. The combination of that info and her Aberdeen accent led to my asking if she was the famed designer / maker and she acknowledged that she was. I felt honoured when she studied the design and construction of my jacket and even identified the type of machine with which the fabric had been bound.

Dundee Skillshare group had a stall too and I was delighted to receive a 'FB friend request' from a delightful Irish girl I met yesterday and had met previously at a skillshare class.   

The Fair Place - written two weeks ago

 On Friday night I drove over the Cairn o Mount in darkness and driving rain.

I parked the car, put on my wellies, picked up a bag with milk, bread and butter, put a lead on my dog and walked through darkness and wet grass, armed with a torch the size of a phone, to my caravan. 

I opened the door, lit a candle and switched on a solar lantern that had been gathering sunlight over the past week. I took off my wellies and jacket and instantly felt a wave of happiness and relief. I sat down and suddenly realised my mouth was stretched in a smile as broad as if I had a little coat hanger forcing it into as broad a grin as I could manage.

I am home, in a 14 ft caravan in one of the loveliest places in the world and I wouldn't change places with a soul. 

When I first fell heir to the caravan, every time I stayed in it, I felt as if I was standing in a shower of happiness, or as if buckets of happiness were being thrown at me.

One day, this year I looked across the fields in the early evening sun and felt blessed, and since then, I realise how blessed I am. Now, the shower of happiness has become buckets of blessings.

I see God going about like a cross between Father Time and an old farmer - finding a bucket of blessings and throwing them over me. He always seems to be rushing, which I suppose is why he works the buckets rather than scattering sprinkles. I got a bucketful tonight.

I thank God for his blessings. I thank my grandma who brought her young family to this beautiful place, which was called in Gaelic 'the fair place', the family who made space for my grandma and the families who have made spaces for her children and grandchildren in this lovely place over the past 80 odd years and my auntie who gave me her caravan. 

I went outside and the sky was full of stars, many, many more than in any astronomical diagram and I realised I was standing right under the milky way and I thought, "another bucketful."

Are you Scottish or British? - Right now I'm Rushin'

A very quick post to say I have three posts in my head that I really want to write up but I am rushing now to get to the World Sheepdog trial at Fearn, near Tain in Rossshire. 

You can follow my reports in the P&J and Courier and when I'm back I'll update the blog with (some) of the news of my past few weeks and the dates of forthcoming fairs, including a brand new, regular Winter Market planned for Arbroath.  

The pictures above are from my stall at the Little Birds Market in St Andrews.

 I am looking forward to being in Aberdeenshire again for my next market, Knitty Kitty Bang Bang at Culter.

August, season of major sheepdog trials

Not so much busy times as frantic, and I have been struggling to remember what day it is and where I am supposed to be - and still not entirely sure I've mastered it yet. 

The Scottish National sheepdog trial in the Scottish Borders involved a long trek with caravan in tow. I thought this picture would entertain people who don't follow trials and only now realised there isn't a dog in the pic, but trust me, a dog had jut put the sheep in the pen, the man closed the gate and one of the sheep didn't fancy the look of the inside! 

Then, it was on to Banchory for another of Chic Retro's 'special' summer fairs.

Because of limited time, I concentrated on crockery and fabrics which seem to attract interest in the North East,

 and "something I made earlier" - cosy woollen cushions. 

It was nice to see Neil from Forfar, back at Banchory.

There were some new stallholders with lovely things,

 some I hadn't seen for a long time, 

some camera shy,

some regulars,

and some whose presence brighten up everyone's day.

Make someone's day; serve tea in a vintage tea set!

Cancelled at short notice

APOLOGIES to all! The Cats Meaow vintage fair at Alford has been CANCELLED by the organiser,  100% Vintage Aberdeenshire, with less than 24 hours notice with no explanation given.

Anyone looking for lovely vintage crockery can contact me directly by commenting here or through my facebook page ruralreads I'm not sure if this link will work, as the address shows as facebook/home !!! Sorry, folks.

Hi, Summer!

Well it is definitely summer now and we have had great weather. Monday afternoon in a sheltered field in Aberdeenshire was almost unbearably hot. Barley in Angus is turning and some has turned - ready to cut - just!

Chic Retro sale in the Burnett Arms in Banchory was on a hot day and it was thought that this may have affected the footfall, and certainly anyone with children would almost certainly have had other priorities than hunting out vintage!

I was delighted to sell a compact 'phone table' - an unknown concept to the current generation - with a surface for the phone and a shelf below to house the 'telephone directory'. The 'splayed', wooden legs unscrew, so it is easily moved and or stored, but it has been taking up space in my life for too long and it will add a vintage vibe to someone else's life.

I also sold some Carlton ware dishes, one of which had a small ceramic butter knife. I have been in constant fear of breaking it, so I'm glad it has gone to an appreciative home with more space than I have, to store a ceramic knife safely.

At the end of the event, I made a good follow up sale which was discussed at the last fair, and left with a strong note of interest in 'something at home'.

This weekend although there were no fairs, I met up with lovely Rosa who bought a suitably lovely rose patterned tea set and produced an equally suitably lovely young man to hold the precious crockery safe, home in the car.

Looking north again, to Alford next weekend. Meanwhile, plants and sapling trees are being planted on Deeside.