Tattie Fortnight

Traditionally, here in the North East of Scotland, the next two weeks is where everyone, including children, went out into the fields and picked potatoes.

Nowadays we dont herd the kids and every able bodied unemployed person out there into the wet (usually), windy (definitely) and cold (most definitely) muddy fields.  

There is some sort of machine which extracts them while the driver sits in a warm cab and listens to his i pad or whatever.

So what do the kids do.  Well they have two weeks off school..  And many of the churches, and idiot volunteers, roond and aboot entertain them.

 This is one I made earlier.

As many of you know I organise Kids Activities at the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, in the school holidays.

This time round the theme is 

Let there be Light.  

Along with Lighthouse making, there are pumpkin lanterns, lanterns, hopefully some reference to Divali, The Festival of Light, sun catchers, glitter, glue,  all great fun.  I hope.

Following my planning, obtaining supplies, I am there for the setting up and at the end the tidying up.  But while snotty nosed kids are in the activity area I am not.

I do miss it tho....... Specially story time at the end.

Apart from it being Tattie Fortnight around here it is also half term for the schools.  We get two weeks of it, but most of the other schools in Scotland it is one week only.  Then the second week we start with the English Tourists Kids.  So very busy at the Museum, shop and cafe.



As we move towards November our days continue to shorten.  At the end of Tattie Fortnight the clocks go back.  Lighter mornings for a while but dark much earlier at the end of the day.  Which means I have to be strictly organised in getting into the shedudio.

Not a potato in sight, unless thats what the hens have found.



 

Wind, rain and arts and crafts mish mash.

Today's weather.  100mph winds and snow on the Cairngorms.  (Mountains).  Not quite as bad here, windy yes, just managed to rescue the oil cloth, tastefully decorated with Christmas Baubles, that covers this years wood supply.  Goodness knows what I will use for this years Christmas table festivities.  It was either using it or purchasing some vastly expensive tarpaulin.  And the Christmas table cloth does raise a smile.

Wood burning stove is crackling away and whistling as it would appear there is more wind coming down the flue than otherwise.

But hey ho, toasty and warm, curtains closed. Hatches battened down (havent actually got any hatches.) Listening to the rain lashing across the windows.

The Dawn Patroller has been on one of his jaunts at the weekend and taken some photographs.

Salmon leaping at Black Linn Falls.

Meanwhile I tried to get back to normal and do some painting.

Also creating posters for next Kids Activities.

And if any of you want to ask, "Why Father Christmas?" for goodness sake!  When does he arrive?  IN THE NIGHT.

Crap poster, but I did this when I was ill.

The other poster is for an Art and Craft fair I am organising.

You would not believe the amount of people who want to book a stall with anything but art or craft.  Party planners, factory made stuff not even from this country.....and I know we have a vast untapped source of people beavering away in producing hand made exquisite stuff.   I despair.

Onwards and upwards.  PJs, blanket and switch brain off.

 
 

Walking the plank.

The second and last Kids Activity Mornings at the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, for the  Easter School Holidays.  Downhill for me to July sheesh.

Our second week we had, yet again, over 70 children.  But this week not only did they come with Mum or Dad, or both, but also Grannies, Grandpas, Aunties and Uncles came too!  Probably people they dragged in off the streets, well thats what it felt like.  And so many dressed as Pirates, even the adults.

The wee ones too.

Gathered together at story time.

Anastacia, Peter Pan's crocodile, and the alarm clock, (which is bigger than the croc. whoops.)

We had an ace story teller, The Blacksmiths Daughter, who did songs too.

Prizes for the best costume (homing in on a home made costume rather than shop bought.)  and every child got a gold coin, made of chocolate.  Plus all the wonderful stuff they had created, telescopes, masks, hats, hooks to replace their hand, lanterns, flags, their own pirate pictures laminated, jigsaws, parrot puppets, pirates from loo rolls, almost everything made from recycled stuff.

And finally, the volunteers who made it all possible.

So relieved, no one fell off the plank.

Fun!

Museum of Scottish Lighthouses Kids Activities one of two.  

I have fretted myself for some months about this.  On previous times there were many Lighthouse Volunteers who took the Kids Activity Mornings on board, then , for whatever reason the volunteers took their bats home.  It has been a struggle to gather together some volunteers who wanted the Lighthouse Museum to thrive, so six of us went ahead. 

A Pirate theme.

And oh boy, our work paid off.

And here is me, smiling.  

We had queues out of the door to come in, we gave them colouring in, draw your own pirate, we had templates of lighhouses for them to draw their own version of marauding pirates, make your own telescope, pirate mask, parrot puppet, pirate or parrot figure (using the now banned loo roll inner - excuse me? how many people have actually been diagnosed with whatever from doing crafts using a loo roll inner = nil.)
Make your own telescope, using kitchen paper inners, pirate masks, parrot puppets, pirate and parrot figures, badges, and the most popular craft of all, which everyone wanted to do, was the one  I threw in as a well, as I had  run out of ideas, lets try an old one,was the.......

so simple, make your own hat from just folding paper, went down a storm.

At the end of the session many went up to the cafe for Pirate themed biccies and cakes, and were rewarded by this from Nature.  Out of the window of the cafe, 

A complete Rainbow.

Now lying in a darkened room with, you've guessed it, a glass of red.

Activities Arts and Crafts.

Yesterday, Wednesday, morning was my Art group.  We have been invited to the Loch of Strathbeg in March to be part of their Art Workshop, beavering away in the background throwing out wonderful sketches, paintings of what is around us.

One of our (leading) members, (well he likes to think he is,) had the bright idea that we should practise before going.  "Here's one I made earlier, " sort of thing, in case we cock it up.  Hmm. Now I had the meeting with the organiser of this from the RSPB and really this was not the idea.  We are supposed to troop around the reserve, sketching what we see, gathering up bits for a still life maybe, hmmm.  En pleine air, on the job so to speak.

Wasnt keen on that either, to be honest.  

Sitting in the Visitor Centre, coffee nearby and gaze out on what decides to pass in front of the window was more my idea.

But, hey ho.

Oyster Catchers.  I can't show you the full painting as its one of those narrow panoramic ones, and my camera refuses to do that.

Sketch of pink footed goose.  They will all have gorn orf to feed in the day when we will be at the Loch, tough.  I did it.

Pen and ink, and brush and ink, Barnacle Goose.

I will not bore you with all the others I have cracked out.  

So by the time I get there in March I will be all goosed out.

Now, the afternoon was quite exciting as I joined my other Art Group in Fraserburgh Library for a Celebration of Arts and Crafts in Aberdeenshire.  I did intend to show you the leaflet for that, but I seem to have lost it.

Basically there were stalls - Knit and Knatter, Closet Quilters, I did ask, and just got, BECAUSE WE CAME OUT OF THE CLOSET.  OK!

 Fraserburgh Photographic Society, the Dawn Patrollers lot, (and he was on the front row of pics. x bless.)  

The Broadsea Art Society, of which I am a member, but dont go as they meet in the evening and I dont do evenings.  

And our lot, The Dalrymple Hall Arts Society.  (I didn't even know we were called that till yesterday.)  - My Thursday Art Group.

Now this was supposed to be a way of recruiting new members.  But as far as I could see everyone who came in, and partook of the free coffee, tea, shortbread biscuits were all members of said societies.

Apart from one, lone, lorn, chap, who looked at the Broadsea Arts Society stand.  As there was no one there, they were all supping coffee and eating biscuits with the head librarian, I asked if I could help.

"I just want to go somewhere quiet and draw."  

Well, I could think of plenty places, my shed, when the opera isn't on, but ...I told him to avoid at all costs the Wednesday Morning Art group, ditto the Thursday afternoon lot and go for the Broadsea Arts lot.  Theres only about six of them, and , I hope none of them reads this blog, but they are mostly pretty ancient and quiet.  But lovely.

This morning.  Three of us braved the cold and into the Lighthouse Museum Store and brought out all the craft resources and sorted.

What a pile of stuff!  Thrown in, in boxes, in bin bags, all mixed up.  Jeez.  but we did it.
The three of us were exhausted but we did it.  So now, with plots, plans, shopping list we will be ready for the Lighthouse Museum Kids Activity Mornings come April.

No activity now, I am off to bed.

Weather report 2 + crocheting the results.

My view from the Lighthouse Cafe, today, as I had my lunch.  Roast Garlic and Lentil Soup, yum.  And a calm sea viewed from the window.   

I am working (unpaid of course, being a trustee today, tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday.)

Totally different from yesterday, when a South East Wind brought havoc to the North East Coast of Scotland.  View my photographs of yesterdays blog.

The Wine Tower, Kinnaird Head.

Legend tells us that Isobel the daughter of Alexander Fraser (c1536 to 1623) 8^th laird of Philorth had fallen in love with a servant piper, and that the laird was not happy about this.  So to separate the two the laird had the piper tied-up in the cave under the Wine Tower known as Selches Hole (Seals Hole).  The laird then locked-up his daughter in the uppermost floor of the tower (The chapel) and retired to Kinnaird Castle.  Unfortunately for the servant there was an abnormally high tide due to a storm, and the poor man drowned.  When Isobel the laird’s daughter was informed of her lover’s fate, she was distraught and committed suicide by jumping from the top of the tower onto the rocks below.  The rock that she fell on is still painted red to this day.  It is said that Isobel is seen prior to bad weather, and when the weather is bad it is said that you can hear the skirl of the pipes being played by the ghost of the piper for his lost love.

Well, no-one heard the skirl of the pipes yesterday.

Our Wine Tower at Kinnaird Head.

This is a picture of a fairly normal sea bashing up the rocks.

Inside the wine tower are these corbels, this is one, and there are about ten of these.

The Wine Tower was actually a chapel.  It  probably became called the Wine Tower from the winding path from the harbour area.  

We really do not want to lose this place.

The severe winds we had yesterday have damaged this path, and it is feared the land between the wine tower and the sea.

Also damaged was the Golden Horn, the beacon at Fraserburgh Harbour.

Which survived this a few years ago.  But not the weather of yesterday.

Peterhead, has apparently, suffered worse damage.

Barriers have been put up to warn people of the dangers, the cracks in the edge of the paths that skirt the sea.  What do we get?  Idiots in their droves, hanging from their toe nails to see the damage.  

The sea was flung so high it hit the Kinnaird Head Lighthouse door and salted up the padlock!  Back up and see how far away from the sea the lighthouse is normally.  

I hope to bring you all better news as the days go on.  Barriers have been erected but the idiots ignore them, and then who will be to blame when the earth goes asunder from beneath their feet?

Back to normality?

Oh dear, oh very dear, Mum!
My first, and second, attempt at crocheting.

First was the maroon, getting smaller, despite my doing the extra stitch at the end, green one a slight improvement?  Battle on.

Christmas Wreaths

My first crafting session at the Lighthouse.  When I say my first, I mean the one I organised and supplied everything to make the wreaths.

Our garden has been well pruned.  Conifers, fir trees, holly (unprickly) with berries, rosemary, box, and some others I know not their names.

Oasis rings, ribbons, florists wire and lots and lots of decorative bits.  And Christmas Music in the background, we had hymns from all the greatest opera stars, dead and alive, and the sort of stuff you get in the supermarket from pop stars dead and alive. 

Now you have to bear in mind that we were in the Lighthouse Museum.  Normally our craft sessions are held in the Exhibition Room which has better lighting but less heating.

 So its bloody cold in December down there.  So today we were planted in the area within the Museum,  for more warmth, and a light that went round and round.  This meant we placed our bits of greenery etcetera into the wreath in short bursts.  As the light provided or otherwise.

All go one minute, rest, quick shove in, rest.

And a first !  We had one of the male species, who enjoyed himself as much as the rest of us.

The results were amazing.  Most of the crafters today were wreath virgins.  And all did extremely well.

A man always has to do better....?  Twinkly lights, wow.

The tradition in the North East of Scotland is that wreaths are taken up to the cemeteries and laid on the lairs,(graves).  So some were heading that way.  Others were to be hung on doors, and mine 

was to surround a candle.  Could end up with more light than wanted if it sets it on fire.

At the end of our session we adjourned to the Lighthouse Cafe for some amazing hot chocolate with cream and all manner of bits on top and warm scones.  Yes!