A New Spring to ones bow.

Proper April weather.  Rain followed by sun shine.  April showers.  Also showered now with birds.  Migrants, birds displaying and pairing off.  

Down on the sea shore.  Pied Wagtail above.  Just look at the colour of those rocks. Definitely a painting there.

Wheatear below.

And up in the sky, Oyster catchers, in formation.

Inland.  The Feathered Ones also feeling Spring is in the air.

Not impressed.

Possibly impressed?

And even closer to home, a first for our garden, a Blackcap.

We are warming up a bit weather wise.  The garden is certainly showing signs and grass is growing, daffodills are in full bloom and tulips are all in bud.  Last year I planted quite a lot of bulbs.....and all seem to be successful.  Just hoping the Summer bulbs do the same.

This week I have started to plan the Summer Kids Activity Mornings at the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, in July school holidays, with a Sea Birds theme.  Plus the One Thousand Sea Birds Challenge for the Art/Craft Gallery at the same.  Done extra stints at the same as our beloved manager is taking a well deserved holiday.  Plus my usual Art Groups, Wednesday Morning and Thursday afternoon.  Tomorrow more planning, but actually a day off, Saturday a very long shift at the museum.  So tonight - a glass of the red stuff.  

I know some of you haven't got spring yet iloveacloudyday.blogspot.co.uk

and some are a bit in front of us,pennyshenhouse.blogspot.co.uk do hope I have these right, its the first time I have tried to link.

A new spring to my bow.

History in more ways than one.

Fraserburgh has had a local lifeboat on service since 1806 which was run privately by the local Harbour Board until the first RNLI operated station opened in 1858. This was the first official RNLI station opened in Scotland. Throughout the 20th century, Fraserburgh suffered three lifeboat disasters. First, in 1918, the 'Lady Rothes' capsized while assisting H.M. Drifter Eminent. Coxswain Andrew Noble and Acting Second Coxswain Andrew Faquhar drowned. Second, on the 9th February 1953, six crew members lost their lives when the lifeboat capsized while escorting fishing vessels to the harbour. On this occasion Coxswain Andrew Ritchie, Mechanic George Duthie, Bowman Charles Tait, Assistant Mechanic James Noble and Crew Members John Crawford and John Buchan all lost their lives - the only survivor was Charles Tait. Lastly, on 21 January 1970 while on service to the Danish fishing vessel Opal, the lifeboat The Duchess of Kent capsized with the loss of five of her crew of six. Those killed were Coxswain John Stephen, Mechanic Frederick Kirkness and Crew Members William Hadden, James RS Buchan and James Buchan.^[6] In 2009, a local campaign was started to raise £40,000 to erect an official monument to the 14 men who lost their lives whilst serving on the Fraserburgh Lifeboat. Coxswain Victor Sutherland announced in June 2010 that the total had been achieved. The monument was unveiled by Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun, in August 2010.

Heres the monument.

Jane Whyte - Our own local Grace Darling

Jane Whyte lived in a cottage at Waulkmill, on the shore of New Aberdour bay with her husband and 9 children. On the morning of the 28th of October 1884, she spotted the wreck of the steamer "William Hope" of Dundee. Its engines had failed during a storm and it had been driven aground on the rocks during the night. It was now mostly submerged, sitting on the rocks.

Jane could see 15 sailors were clinging to the rigging. A rope was thrown by the sailors towards the shore. Jane waded out through the raging surf to reach the rope and bring it ashore. All 15 survivors then pulled themselves to the shore and safety.

She was awarded the silver medal by the RLNI and £10. ( equivelent to 3 months pay for a top rate labourer ).

Not much now remains of her cottage. A plaque there commemorates this daring feat of heroism.

Webhistorian.co.uk.

Nine children?  She was probably escaping.  I frequently did and I only had four.

THURSDAY, 31 JANUARY 2008

Aberdour Beach. Twenty minutes away.Spooky caves.

Severe weather warnings, I hear on the radio that lorries are blown over and the road bridges are either restricted or closed. We have blue skies, gentle breeze, and its 4 degrees. So a bit chilly out there, definitely a hibernating day, but beautiful to look out on!

Hundreds of geese going over the house to their feeding fields.

Our garden feeders are emptying rapidly with greenfinches, tree sparrows, blue and great tits, chaffinches, a robin, starlings, crows. Feeding them costs more than the t.v. licence, but they are far more interesting to watch than the rubbish on the 'box.'

Now heres a turn up!  Googling Aberdour Beach so as to appear very knowledgeable I came across my first ever blog!  Greenbrae Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast.  

Theres chunks of my life on Google!!!!  Really must be more careful.

Back to today.  Calm down.  

I have been asked to paint a friends house.  No not the big bucket, and big brush, in this weather?

The outside of the house has harl on it (like pebbledash) and I had the idea of using salt in the paint to give the effect.  When I read up on this it did warn about the salt exploding.  Exploding?  What damage could exploding salt do?

Well it makes it look mouldy!

Some people think history is mouldy, but I dont.  Away off to read what I got up to in 2008.

Give me socks every day.

 Today I decided to wear a skirt I bought for peanuts in the Spring sale, which required me to wear tights.  I had to google it to remember how to put them on.  Despite the fact the tights were labelled small, at 5 feet nothing I still felt I should have them up to my chin for them to fit right without looking like Nora Batty (Last of the Summer Wine).  But I still looked like Nora, so dug out some long legged boots and tucked the surplus down their legs.  Making sure the waistband is in the right position totally threw me as I havent had a waist for some considerable years.  But the tights  fitted nicely under the lower edge of my bra.

So - swanning out - feeling like a woman, (tortured) I went to Cafe Connect to sort out their producing the OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS CARD FOR THE LIGHTHOUSE MUSEUM from our winner of the Christmas Card Challenge.  Challenge?  I had all on to find the 'stick' given to me by the DP, which contained the picture and the Lighthouse Logo, in my power driven woman's handbag.  This contains phone, camera, diary, chewing gum, inhaler, scissors, masking tape, various lists on odd bits of paper, sweeteners, business cards, loyalty cards, other peoples business cards, receipts I need to get money back from, Tesco vouchers, tissues, and some other stuff I would rather forget about.  I think we managed to come to some sort of knowing what we were all doing.  And I am seriously considering getting one of those baskets on wheels.

Then it was on to the Lighthouse Museum.

Rarely have I seen the sea away from the rocks, proving there is a reason for having a lighthouse to warn ships to keep away.  

The Dawn Patroller and I had our coffee and watched the Gannets diving into the sea.  The Oyster Catchers hopping along the edge.  

Home again, and down the shed.

The above is my depiction of the lighthouse when they lit the light and there was a beacon to celebrate the Queens Jubilee, June 4.  I struggled with that b***** beacon and still it looked like a mouldy piece of rock.  Or worse.

 So I chopped it off.
I can always admit defeat.

Right, now you are totally bored with this post I give to you the real heroines of the North East.  The Herring Quines, the women who followed the herrings and in this day earned 10d (thats not 10p its less than an old shilling, so less than 10p,) a barrel for gutting the herrings.  I did this pen and ink/watercolour in one colour, burnt umber and dark sienna pen.

And they did not wear tights.

Warmth.

This morning in Tescos.  The DP and I had volunteered to man the RSPB/Tesco Save the Rainforest charity collection.  We had been issued with buckets, sashes, which kept falling off, stickers, which didnt stick.  When we arrived there was no stand, no banners.  No nothing, and no-one at Tescos knew anything about it.

Fortunately the week before, the DP had met a (paid) lady on a stand with banners, monkey masks and colouring in cards in Tescos, who very kindly had said she would leave us all that .  So after a bit of hunting by Tescos staff the stand was found and we wheeled it into place.  Otherwise we would have been stood with buckets, juggling stickers and leaflets, and worrying about the strict instruction, YOU MUST NOT SHAKE THE BUCKETS.   How else people would be aware we were collecting money just stood there carrying a bucket and juggling leaflets and stickers I know not.
So we stood there for three hours and the lovely people of Fraserburgh and around threw money in the buckets in droves.  The leaflets were for them to hand over for all their green points, for using their own bags, to be handed over to charity.  (Tesco staff did not know anything about these leaflets, and when I tried to use one spent ten minutes reading everything on said leaflet, including very small print.)  Hey ho.  We were actually supposed to be their for four hours, but as we were by this time freezing cold, (and  it was the time when lunch break customers were hurtling in for a sandwich and a fizzy) we decided to call it a day.

Our afternoon was spent visiting more studios involved in NEOS (North East Open Studios).

We went first to Pennan.  This was the village hall following a mud slide from the cliffs above.  It is now completely refurbished and inside were the craft group and artists.

There was a wood turner, jewellery, knitted stuff, preserves, paintings, plus home bakes, coffee and tea, superb.

Pennan.  There is the Pennan Inn, pub restaurant.  The village is where the film Local Hero was filmed, starring Burt Lancaster, and has the, now listed building status red phone box bu the harbour.    You can just see it in the picture above, the film is excellent and if you get the chance do see it.  No sex, no violence, just a warm feeling.

How the hell did they build this house (above). And it is above, could not work out how you got to it.,.,,

The harbour from above, Pennan.

Next we went to Crovie, pronounced Crivie.

In Crivie there is no road access to the houses.  Everyone has a wheelbarrow.  They park their cars at the far end and barrow everything to their home.  We saw a coal delivery.  The lorry parked at the end of the houses, put the sacks of coal onto a trolley and staggered off to deliver to the customer.

This is where you park.  I got out and said to the DP, "You do it."  This is him trying to park the car, bear in mind, when you wish to leave you have to do a three point turn.  I did consider reversing all the way back up the hill but as it is something like one in 27 and there's a steep edge at one side of the road, you must do a three point turn here, avoiding the sea, so ok a 77 point turn.

But there is here also a red phone box.

These amazing rag rugs made of recycled clothing and blankets in the most delightful cottage.

We returned home safely!  And found Kurt, one of our neighbours with a trailer full of logs.

As he said, "Wood is great, you get warm chopping it down, warm chopping it up, warm loading it, warm unloading it, warm moving it to your wood store, warm moving it from the wood store to the house and warm burning it."

All in all its been a warm day.  Warm welcomes from all the artists and crafters, warm craik discussing our variety of interests, and warm neighbourly feeling.

Rattray, Rattray Head and Strathbeg.

Rattray was settled as far back as 4000 BC.  It was largely destroyed in the 18th century by a storm which covered it in shifting sands.

St. Mary's Chapel, the only remaining building.

Rattray  Head lighthouse was built in stages and began working in 1895.  It was designed by David Alan Stevenson and Charles Alexander Stevenson.  A request for a lighthouse had been made year on year prior to this, it was one of the worst places for ships foundering.  It was not until massive works were going on at Peterhead Harbour that the money was grudgingly found.  It cost just over £18,000.   They were spending upwards of £500,000 at Peterhead.  Presumably if ships kept hitting the rocks at Rattray the port of Peterhead would have fewer boats in its harbour and lose money....

A Lighthouse Keeper with his family.

Now I know why I learned semaphore in the Brownies.  Just in case I married a Lighthouse Keeper.

The Lighthouse became automatic in 1982.  So she could put the flags away.

The terrific storm in 1720 created the Loch of Strathbeg.

Prior to the storm it was an estuary and one boat was trapped as the way out to sea was no longer there.  It was a small vessel laden with slates.  Subsequently the slates were used for roofs at nearby Crimond and Haddo House.

Latest water colour from that infamous woman down the shed.


Rattray Head Lighthouse .  (I am reliably informed that lighthouses are not straight and the Stevensons designed them this way to survive the weather - and there was me thinking I had it squinty.)  (But, then again......)

Activities.

Not much going on here on the beach at Fraserburgh.

Please dont talk when I am interrupting.

 The crafty group plotting our next venture.  Action stations!


Now then, does anyone know anything about sheep?

There has been a lot of activity on the road outside our house.  With transporter loads of sheep going one way.  And then another load of sheep going the other.  

Are they all just out on a trip?

Activity at the Art group - and down the shed.  Trying to paint these three boats.  Not easy.


So at the moment, total inactivity beckons.

Banff and Macduff Coast Festival.

This morning the DP and I set off to Banff for the Coast Festival.  Run totally by volunteers this is an amazing success story which can only get better in that more people will visit this North East Corner and enjoy what we have to offer.

This Georgian mansion was built on the site of an ancient castle.  If you want to know more google it.  Not here today for a history lesson, tho I may do it in the future as it is interesting.

The flags are all made by local voluntary groups, such as Brownies and Scouts etc.

The view from the grassy bit you can see above, over the bay looking towards Macduff.

Now where other than the Med would you see beaches like that and seas that colour?

This is a paper kiln.  Inside which are various pottery bits and pieces.  We saw one opened up earlier with some beautiful pots and bits.  So it works.

The sheeps skull is to appease the Pagan Gods who have to be appeased when one tries to make pots from clay/sand - and paper as it turns out.

The massed flags.

A wee Pagan.

My main reason for being there was to see the Art work.  The one below is by my art teacher Louise M Hewitt.

Unfortunately she hasnt updated her web site.  


Her exhibition today was from work done on prisms from the lights in the Scottish Lighthouse Museum and just blew me away.  So the picture above is not quite the spectrum of light she has now achieved, but gives you an inkling.  Although it is sunrise and sunsets.


We went upstairs and viewed the Banff Art Club exhibition and I was very pleased when the DP muttered "Well yours are better than any of them."  (and they were priced at £60 upwards.)


We came home via Macduff,( in fact there isn't any other way), and stopped off at the Town Hall.  Now this was art.  I had to be dragged out kicking and screaming to stop me spending money we dont have on the most fantastic bowl.


This is by the same artist.  Maralyn Reed-Wood.

But the one I wanted to buy was a wicker sort of edging with greeny fish , oh how I wish I had taken a picture.


And bought it.


There was lots more happening - for children, for singers, for well you name it.  


But the DP and I came home and he cut some grass and I did some drawing.


But we will be back next year.