Cornflower

Threads of silk and gold

    If you're in Oxford before the 27th. of January, pop into the Ashmolean and see the exhibit Threads of Silk and Gold: Ornamental Textiles from Meiji Japan. The embroidery particularly - there are examples of dyeing, too - is stunning and unexpected in terms of both style and colour palette.

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    Again, just by the way, the 'books of the year' non-fiction list in now up here.

The rising of the sun and the running of the deer

    Not really a rising sun, as this was taken in the afternoon,

and these deer are hardly running, rather they are sedentary or quietly ambling ones, but the words of the carol roughly fit the pictures taken at Magdalen College last week, and even more neatly, we then went into the chapel to hear the playing of the merry organ, and later - at evensong in Christ Church - sweet singing in the choir.

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    Nothing to do with Oxford or Christmas carols, but if you happen to like 'books of the year' lists, my fiction one is now up here.

In the naughty corner

    "All the walls in North End House were whitewashed and as amateur fresco painters ourselves, though in the humbler medium of the nursery chalks or a pencil, we could understand what fun it was for my grandfather to be allowed to paint on a wall unchecked ... On the other side of the fireplace was another small recess. This was the fatal corner into which I was put when I had offended against any of Nanny's rules. It was a good corner where a rebellious child could be fenced in with a chair and left to repentance. One afternoon my grandfather came up to visit us in the nursery after tea and found me, face to the wall, expiating some sin. The sight so rent him that the very next day he took his paint box into my corner and painted a cat, a kitten playing with its mother's tail, and a flight of birds, so that I might never be unhappy or without company in my corner again. I don't know what Nanny thought of it."

From Three Houses by Angela Thirkell.

Mariana & co.

    A few months ago I mentioned what was then the forthcoming Tate Britain exhibition, Pre-Raphaelites: The Victorian Avant-Garde. I got the chance to see it this week (it closes on 13th. January) and I'm glad I went as there are some stunning pieces there - and some quite unlovely ones, too!

 

    I couldn't linger long so I went quickly through all the rooms, spotted the works which were truly arresting and then went back and took a closer look at them. You can take your pick from the myths and allegories, the religious scenes, the naturalistic ones, the strong-feautured Rossetti ladies, heavy of hair and dour of demeanour, or the atypical - wider-ranging, less predictable pictures such as some beautiful works by Millais*.

   

    In addition to the paintings you'll find sculpture, tapestries, textiles and Morris carpets, stained glass and furniture by Burne-Jones (who features delightfully in his granddaughter Angela Thirkell's memoir Three Houses which I've just read), all representing the fusion with the Arts and Crafts Movement.

*The dog in this one is very good; this reproduction of Mariana doesn't quite do justice to the original, nor does the heightened colour in this version of Portrait of a Girl - Sophie Gray (who also appears in Autumn Leaves - Essie Fox writes about them here).

The Cornflower Guide to Good Places to Stay, chapter 3

    I've been in London and Oxford this week, and more on my travels anon, but to begin with a few words on and pictures of the wonderful small hotel we stayed in.

    This is The Old Parsonage Hotel in Oxford, a treat on all fronts. We arrived chilled to the bone having been in an unheated train from London, and that Hobbit-house door above (it's the original, dating from 1660), beautifully decked with Christmas greenery, was a welcome sign of promise within.

    This shot doesn't quite convey the absolute cosiness of the entrance hall with its log fire and Farrow & Ball glow, but I knew as soon as we'd crossed the threshold that we'd chosen the right place to stay (Mr. C. had suggested as an alternative a guest room in his old college which, though very beautiful indeed, does not perhaps offer the same degree of comfort...).

    All was perfect at the Old Parsonage, from the accommodation to the food to the friendliness and efficiency of the staff, and it was all much appreciated by us.

    I'm planning a return visit as soon as possible.

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     Other entries in the Cornflower Guide to Good Places to Stay include The Inn at Whitewell (Lancashire), The Peat Spade Inn (Hampshire), and Palazzo Abadessa (Venice).

A door to somewhere

    An oak door made by Rollo Dunford using traditional planking and nail work techniques. The oak leaf latch handle is by blacksmith Terry Harwood. The wood for the door is from a 222-year-old oak tree grown on the Blenheim Palace Estate and felled for the One Oak project, and all the items made from it or inspired by it have been on show here in Edinburgh at the Royal Botanic Garden.

    We were very taken with the door which is for sale (£1700, I think), but having no place for it here I hope it finds the right home.

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    Along similar lines, you may remember a post on gateways and one on footbridges.

It was dusk - winter dusk

    "... Snow lay white and shining over the pleated hills, and icicles hung from the forest trees. Snow lay piled on the dark road across Willoughby Wold ... Snow lay thick, too, upon the roof of Willoughby Chase, the great house that stood on an open eminence in the heart of the wold...."

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    "Marco da Cola, gentleman of Venice, respectfully presents his greetings. I wish to recount the journey which I made to England in the year 1663, the events which I witnessed and the people I met, these being, I hope, of some interest to those concerned with curiosity."

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    Those passages open the books the Cornflower Book Group will be reading for discussion in January and February. If you'd like to join us you'll find all the details here.