Covid 1

Prince Charming has just emerged from his turret after eleven days of either Omicron or BA.2, who knows anymore? He doesn't have hair long enough to get him down from the window, and the only succour from his princess in shining armour was an occasional tray at the door. He had to shield in the first Lockdown, so we are immensely thankful that pain and tiredness were as serious as it got.

Downstairs life went on, with everything pared back to the bare minimum. Which is lovely enough when the bare minimum still involves heat and light and food and water and quietness on tap. I was chatting to a girl in school today about the news and about where she found her hope. We both agreed that tea is often enough.

You could get annoyed, I suppose, that the best a son could do was your school water flask when a friend leaves you flowers. But then again, here we all are together and the best that we can do at any given moment is all there is, and there's such joy in knowing that you've been given the best that someone can do.

Praying that our Ukranian brothers and sisters will be blessed with the best that friends and families and kind strangers and generous hosts all over Europe can do x
 

Donna and Mags do afternoon tea #1

 Everybody needs a partner in crime, metaphorically speaking. I realise that I am very blessed to have many co-conspirators, and here is one the best! Donna and I met when our older boys were great friends at the start of primary school, and here we still are: deciding to work our way through 2020 with a tour of local afternoon teas. Sandra, I don't think we'll top your Titanic experience, but we'll have a good go!

On Saturday, we braved the elements and headed slightly north of our little suburb to Carrickfergus. The most important thing you can do in Carrickfergus is visit what is possibly the UK's finest example of a Norman Castle. Apparently the quirkiest thing to do in Carrickfergus is visit the old gas works museum, but I've not done that... yet. We, however, headed to the Loughshore Hotel which is a huge monstrosity of a place on the outskirts of the town, beside a much nicer little M&S food hall. We were hoping not to judge this book by ts cover.

The food was lovely. Tiny warm quiches that were delicious. Sandwiches with generous, if extremely plain fillings, and very small scones. My appreciation is in descending order.

The little scones were delicious, and there was certainly an enormous amount of cream available, but I think that they should have had full sized, adult scones, given that the sandwiches were just a tad uninspiring. What was great, however, was the amount of fresh strawberries.Overall the bottom layer of a savoury course was a bit too meagre for me. We booked for 2pm, and my morning bowl of porridge was well digested by then, so I would have liked a slightly more substantial "real" food offering before devouring the desserts!  

The toffee profiterole didn't last long enough to be photographed, but here are the other desserts. Possibly defrosted and therefore a bit too soft? Not the macarons though; they were wonderful, as macarons always are. Then there was a top layer of too many chocolates. Perhaps you feel that there can never be too many chocolates. It is a standing joke in this house (and my place of work) that I don't like chocolate. I don't, particularly. Certainly by the time we had eaten absolutely everything (including all the chocolates), I did feel that I had overdosed on sugar, but would still have been able to eat something tasty and filling and scone-like, with some of that left-over cream.

What put me off the most though, was indeed the setting. There is a very interesting frieze of Belfast in the entrance hall, but the tea itself was served in the main restaurant. This felt a bit odd, because lots of families were finishing their carvery lunches, and when they had all been and gone, we were left with the good folk clearing away counters and dishes. We did feel out of place. We moved out to the seating area at the front of the hotel with our tea and glasses of fizz, and there was much more of a relaxed atmosphere there. We could even watch a lovely wedding unfold!

Lessons learned:

Brush your hair before letting anyone take your picture.

£15 is very good value when it includes a glass of fizz, but you can't drink the fizz if you're driving so look for something that might cost the same, without the fizz, and give you more on the cake stand.

Look for somewhere that can let you sit in a nice, relaxed coffee area, or somewhere with a nice view from the window, or plants.

And finally, marks out of ten? Well, Donna would have gone to 6 but I think I might stop at 5. It was super fun being out with a good friend, with hours to sit and catch up, and the food was lovely. They did also very happily refill my pot of peppermint tea. I think however that the setting could have been made nicer, and I am looking forward to more interesting sandwiches and bigger scones next time. Donna, diaries out...

Answers on a (virtual) postcard, please!

We live quite close to a suburban university campus, and there is a lane that links the campus to the boys' school. This is most convenient as it allows school pick-ups to happen in the university car park rather than engendering traffic chaos on the dual carriageway that fronts the school. Sometimes one of my boys will come out at the usual time with the other not expected for another hour because of some after-school activity, mostly GCSE revision sessions for Sun 1 these days.

All this to explain why, now and again, I find myself in the campus café, slumped over an enormous cardboard cup of tea listening with attempted enthusiasm to endless tales of schoolboy misadventures. For an hour.

The café is suitably named Einstein and it has exactly this sticker on the wall facing the sofa where I found myself slumped last week. Jo and I looked for it when we got home. He did think it ironic that such a statement on creativity should be displayed in such an utterly empty picture. I was just pleased that he could use a word like ironic...

But the question is: was Einstein right? Far be it from me to consider questioning his scientific genius. No, no, no. I can't even use a word like quantum. I just thought about this quote all the way home, and it still wafts about in the often utterly empty space that is my head. Surely this quote stands on lots and lots of assumptions that we might not actually accept:

Do you have to be intelligent to be creative? And what is intelligence anyway? Can we not all have light-bulb moments, regardless of either our creativity or our intelligence? I think I wholly disagree with the greatest genius of the twentieth century. Hmm. Maybe I just need to drink more university tea!

Outside Tea in Lent

 Well, there's the end of another Lent. I hope yours was full of insight, and warmer than ours here in the Frozen North! I think I did learn a few things along the way...

  If you drink tea outside every most days in Lent, you may catch cold. This cold could last forty days and forty nights plus their associated Sundays. You may well end up on a very strong antibiotic! Falling asleep outside, see below, will not bode well! If you do all this in the Frozen North, be not deceived by short moments of sunshine. And most of all, climbing Northern Ireland's third highest mountain with said levels of congestion will not be a happy experience, at least on the way up!

 Secondly, there is a distinct contrast between the earlier and the later days. At the start it was all about taking time out, literally, to be more disciplined about listening to God. Then the idea took over, to the exclusion of the reflection. This has happened to me before, and is for me, I think, quite linked to the whole social media thing. So in the days before Pentecost I am going to be much less on farcebook, and much more locked in the metaphorical upper room, before the invention of WiFi! Waiting for the Spirit, rather than the likes. This is a shameful admission for a woman of nearly fifty! I do have a greater desire to seek God now than I did forty pictures ago.

What strikes me very much about the pictures is that the vast majority of them are taken in our garden. The meadowplace is predominantly where I live and move and have my being, but there needs to be a bit of an effort now to have open doors, an open life as our sermon encouraged today. There are a few opportunities that I have ignored for weeks, but I am saying yes to them now. Very scary in all three instances, but small steps!

 And lastly the Cross. My main intention was to appreciate, not just understand, the importance of the cross. This has been a very humbling journey. Right through the denial of Judas, and predicted denials of Peter, in John 13. It was my sin, my daily denial, that held him there. And yet, immediately after John 13, in 14:1-4, Jesus promises a room for me, prepared, with safe passage guaranteed.You know the way to the place where I am going!

 It does tickle me that I ended up with forty pictures- admittedly they are not all outside! I thought I would be able to pick a favourite, but now I'm not so sure. My top four might be mountain tea, soon-moving-to-Glasgow-Catherine tea and the silly black and white ones: there's a trend among the wittiest of folk-from-church-on-farcebook to be witty in grayscale. I don't quite cut it, but it was fun to have a go!

So, cheers! A kind, and incidentally hilarious, colleague of Prince Charming's sent me at one point an envelope full of delicious tea sachets to help me along the way, and I have two left. Leave a comment and I'll pull a name out of the hat, and send them on. But if you're going to be drinking outside tea- do wrap up well!

Outside Tea

 I laughed painfully when I read this quote about the narrator's ineffective mother at the start of "The Third Policeman". This sums up perfectly what I do now, with only two days teaching in the week and the whole house crying out for attention! It was also an unwittingly ironic precursor to the routine into which my Lent has fallen.

It started when I told the Wondrous Catherine that I was going to sit outside every day in March and drink a cup of tea, zealously intending to escape the domestic madness within and spend a few precious moments listening to the birds, now returned from warmer winter climes. Which sort of became a notion that it could be a Lent thing, and maybe the listening could be to God as well. Tea and Lent- they are, after all, two of my favourite things!

And thus was Outside Tea in Lent born! A farcebook friend decided she would do something different with chocolate (apart from giving it up) every day in Lent, and this is why you maybe see lots of pictures of mugs and dessert dishes on my daily feed! After that people started asking questions- what was it for, what was the idea, could they drink Outside Tea with me?

Today I did meet someone for Outside Tea. Today the wind is groaning down the chimney and the rain is lashing the daffodils into horizontal submission. Today we didn't even sit in the semi-al fresco shelter of the doggy porch- we sat inside wallowing in the central heating and watching the puddles rise up to meet the misty lough!

Last week, also on farcebook, which I might add I find mostly very useful, Our Daily Bread posted this picture:

And this is what Outside Tea in Lent is about. I might get to a late point in the day and think- oh good, I haven't had my Outside Tea today. I wrap myself up and sally forth. Sometimes I do read and pray and think. Sometimes I just listen to the soundtrack of my life: the birds, the husband, the boys, the friend. I'm hoping that by the end of Lent it will have forged a habit that gets to a late point in the day and thinks- oh good, I haven't had my great big dose of God's love and voice today. I'll wrap myself up and sally forth. I'd recommend it! And if you're within Outside Tea distance, pm me on farcebook!

Taking the hump

 I know it's not Wednesday anymore- it's very nearly not even Thursday anymore in this Frozen North time zone! We are, however, mostly all advocates of Wednesday Hump Day in this house. 75% of us breathe a great big sigh of relief as we come back down the other side of the week towards the weekend. Not Jo. He has the not beloved violin class on Thursday, so he doesn't breathe his sigh of relief until end of play today!

In a great display of maternal support for my younger sun, I took myself off to our craft group last night, my own sigh of relief well in place. We had a special decoupage session led by one of our members who is a passionate advocate for all things napkin covered. Jo would have loved it: a beautiful brush, a pot of glue and lots of ripping and sticking. And tea. Shame about that old violin practice...

I did include it in my medley of family life. Lots of noise, two superheroes, an airplane for my aeronautical engineer, and berries. Our home on a Wednesday, and any other day of the week. Weekend, here we come!

This month

 

Bluebell 1. n /'blu:bel/ a European woodland plant of the lily family, which produces clusters of blue bell-shaped flowers in Spring.

 

Bluebell 2 n. /'blu:bel/ where bread and cakes are made and happiness always shines.

 

 

Dear Bluebell Cafe in North Belfast,

Thank you very much for the pot of hot and much needed tea this morning. You were an oasis of sit down and think about nothing in the middle of a celebrate-birthdays-filled month. I do come in now and again for one of your amazing sandwiches and then I take it next door where I get my hair cut and I eat it there, breathing in the moments of manic-free hair product.

Today I had some time before moving next door and I sat down to wonder at the clock made of tea-cups, and wall of funny signs like the one above, and the trio of folk at the table next to mine. That was one fascinating bunch! I wonder did the lady on the right begin to see her partner's money as her own?

I am three birthday celebrations through out of four this month, with the Spring Ball tomorrow night, and we had an impromptu theatre trip last night. Normal stay-at-home service will be resumed soon, but this morning I just needed tea!

Thank-you!

Mags x

Wind in the Willows Grand Tour of the Whole World Return Celebration Worldwide Tea-Party (and this week's Views!)

This time last year the Willows Boys were actually here in the Frozen North of Ireland. Little did Mole know when I took this photo in a very charming coffee shop that he was forty-five minutes away from being left all alone in the rainy street. Until after dusk...

Hopefully all bad memories will have been long eclipsed by the myriad adventures since! And today here we all are- see the list to your right- eating cake and drinking tea and smiling happily at the thought of three little characters travelling the world with their book. Circumnavigating the globe in a way that most of us will only dream of!

This morning the most fabuous four-month old Hannah came to Strawberry Land for its Tea-Party. Obviously she stole the show on the frock front! Red spots and stripes and cosy dress. I did not even compare!

We gave her a copy of the Wind in the Willows to read with Mummy when she gets a bit older. I am delighted to hear from Mummy that she started to devour it as soon as she got back home. For her first birthday I think we'll give her this for her library...

And for the marvellous mapley Jane here are some belated views from The Land.

I would like you to note one very significant difference in the environment.

And no, it has nothing to do with the still slightly forlorn For Sale sign!

Invitation to a tea-party

Dear Esteemed Bloggiste,

You are most cordially invited to a Spring Tea-Party on Friday 1st March. (Apologies for the short notice- please ask your secretary to check your social engagements for that day?) Please wear your cheerfullest frock and come for dainty, smileful delicacies.

Let's ring a joyous trill of bright, happy celebration throughout the Land of Blog, for the Willows Boys are safely returned home to Pom Pom. Though actually, a spot of bright, happy celebration is just what we need here in the Frozen North- any excuse for a party!

To attend our International Bun-Fight, please be so good as to:

1. Blog on Friday and link either to us here at fraise or to Pom Pom,
2. Show us photos of your tea tray and of your frock!
3. (optional) Invite someone who will be most delighted with cheerful, child-like joy. I am expecting the few months old Hannah and her lovely Mummy, Ruth.
4. Sign up for our tea-party in a comment below, or chez Pom. We shall aim to have a list of tea parties on our sidebars so that you can have as much virtual tea and cake as possible!

Do come! The Wind in the Willows' Grand Tour of the Whole World is complete. Adventures have been enjoyed, hospitality has been poured out, smiles have been smiled in abundance- it's time for tea!

Yours most faithfully,

Mags x

Hookery in the Forest

 Dear Queen Niqi and Lorna,

What a lovely surprise to have you both call in tonight!  I'm nearly glad that no-one had showed up at Hookery if it meant having such pleasant company while PC was at band practice.  How fascinating tomorrow morning will be, Lorna- being an extra in an as yet unspecified movie, shot right here in Belfast. I'm glad you chose the black dress; it's the one I liked.

And thanks Niqi for bringing cake. You really are the queen of Hermans!  It's always nicer in the Forest of Toon with friends. And very much nicer with friends who bring cake...

Plans for a Cosy Monday Morning

Dear Animals,

Who is celebrating their birthday today?

If no one is, then who would like to have an early birthday?

If no one would like that, then who wants to celebrate something else and invite me for cake and tart?

If no one wants to do that either, then who wants to bake a cake (with honey and cream and sweet jelly and melted sugar) and to ask me to come around and eat it up?

If no one wants to do that, what then?

Help me.

The Bear

"Dear Animals"  Letters to Anyone and Everyone  Toon Tellegen

Tomorrow I will definitely be not working. The lovely very local little school that gives me work is having a staff training day and I am free to roam the Forest of Toon.  We are all thus gathering at Crafting Catherine's place for cake and tart, and hopefully some sock knitting.  Some sock knitting learning.  There may be pictures. Tomorrow.

Random acts of blogging

Blogging is a wonderful thing.  It forges ties across continents that would never otherwise have been so much as a mere concept.  Offering words that are lives that are inspirations and encouragements and lessons, that is already a good and wondrous gift. But when bloggistes are prepared to send tangible evidence that we are connected, that is a humbling experience.  (Not least because I am the worst person in the world at posting promised things.  You poor folk know who you are...) So, thank you, Floss, for my red package, which arrived last week and brought us great excitement! And thank you, Ang, for my teabag! The tag reads, "I'd like to come and see you and have a cup of tea, but as this is not possble, please have this one on me!"  Have some cheesecake, ladies; have a slice of love as a small token of great esteem!

We spent this evening playing Monopoly and eating chocolate cake, with left over strawberry puree from the cheesecake.  This is about as close to wealthy strawberry property deals as we will be getting!  Wishing you all a week filled with good dealings and a nice taste in your mouth!

Greatitudes 542 - 570

It generally all boils down to boys and buns here! Admittedly for most of the last week it has been about nothing much more than boys and bugs (of the tummy variety) but we are now all most well. And that is an extremely good thing. But otherwise there is nothing, still as yet nothing, quite as calming to a houseload of sun-filled, sun-stoked suns and other people's suns than a batch of buns and a table load of icing and things. This is another extremely good thing while it lasts. Friends of suns are also an extremely good thing. That's fabulous when going well. So well done to Troubled Sun for being nearly at the end of a trying year on the suns of other people front. I may have been a little bit blank to one of these people at the level crossing hiatus today. This is not an extremely good thing.

When do buns become cupcakes anyway? Is it when they are properly iced and enormous and you could look at them for a long time before daring to eat- with a small fork, obviously. We had lots of those, not made by me, at last week's Mums in May. Now this is a huge source of gratitude on my part. I managed to organise a Mothers' Union event. Phew. Slightly absolved after a year of inept muddling! More gratitudes- people came and brought friends, they all brought more food, they must each have donated double the suggested amount for the work of Irish MU, the sun shone and shone and shone! The sun has in fact just stopped shining, which is nearly a tiny relief given that we are people of a frozen clime and a fortnight of South of France temperatures is definitely more than Calvinists deserve!

Are YWAM folk Calvinists? I didn't get much of a grasp of the work they were doing out and about this week. We were hosting a little family, so Strawberry Land was wholly concerned with falling in love with Layna! Layna discovered Charlie and Lola, which was a fine excuse for me to sit down and revel in Lauren Child. Not that I ever need much of an excuse... Such a novelty to have a house full of something other than boys and buns.

Now the above illustrates what happens when actual cakes become cup cakes! We have decadently celebrated two Bean Birthdays in the last fortnight. We don't physically go to the Bean Coffee Shop for birthdays anymore- we take the birthday to crafting person's home and invade it and put up the personalised banners and eat the personalised cakes by Lorna, and eat all the other food we've brought as well. Sometimes we hook. Usually we just eat. It's like having your eighth birthday all over again, except that your brother doesn't pull your hair, or your best friend run off with your new Sindy. And you get to blow out the candle without having to light it again for your children. I love it! Happy Birthdays, Niqi and Cathy!

Hooray- the Willows have not only arrived safely at Carolyn's glorious place of Mess, Muddle and Fun, but they are exploring the Lake District too. Do visit and comment!

Now finally, Thrifty Thursday has a confession for the group. She has been most careful during this Year of Living Small, and it has indeed been a time of living very large in the wonderful provision of He who provides, and in the kindness of friends. She has shopped locally and cannily and kept within budgets. She has made do and tried to mend! She has used everything to hand, and has moved in an environmentally responsible manner. However. Due to the very wonderful amount of substitute teaching that she was given at just the right times, and having helped pay some big bills and taken the strawberries away at Easter for PC's birthday, Thrifty made a spontaneous decision. Do you remember those? You used to do them before you had children. Maybe you don't recall. It certainly took Thrifty by surprise, but believe me, given the right opportunity, you would be amazed at how fast you could text back simply, "Yes." No thought required!

Tune in next week. I'll be there before you, Willows!

Sonja Landweer made this. It's called Relationships: Community. It sits on the very top level of the Ulster Museum, just waiting for you. Basking in the bright, white, atrium light of that floor. Admittedly you do first have to prise yourself away from the display with the Venice Throne.

Just the very thing to find on the first morning of a new term when you've raced across town to pick up a birthday present from the museum shop (and therein lies another story!) and think maybe you just might have time to rise up through the levels of history, nature and dinosaurs to the section you never get to stand still in at all, ever!

Even better when you realise that there is definitely time for tea and a cupcake and a view of the park before you return! All this on the day when Ireland starts to vote on which of its paintings it loves the most...