cats and dogs

photograph:Carol Stark Concentric

It's raining A-G-A-I-N! grrrrrrr

Is it just me or has this weather begun to take on Biblical proportions?

Note Mr.Lane: Find Ark building manual

Having the Boodle to exercise twice a day I find myself in various states of drenched, soggy, cold, damp, claggy, muddy....you catch my drift?

 After that rather lovely warm and oh so promising March I have been sporting lighter weight,prettier garments...hmmm, a re-think is urgently required.

If in doubt? what else is there?

D-E-N-I-M

yes siree...I am back to QUO style denim on denim I know to some of you this will be disturbing news. Denim on Denim is a tricky one, so this week I am being inspired by the following

 

 I know I sound a tiny bit grumpy and I suppose I am, but secretly I still fancy doing a bit of this...

 

rain: photograph by Richard Ford

 Denim and Hunters all the way!!!

Wellies via ignitelight.tumblr. April showers photograph: Rebecca Bellisario, methodphotos

...AND i LIKE IT, i LIKE IT, i LIKE IT, i LIKE IT, i LA LA LA Like it, LA LA LA Like ,

Here we go-o, rockin' all over the Weald.....

See you as soon as I have wrung out my jeans!

Sarah

-x-

Giant Liverpudlian Fairytale

Words are sometimes completely inadequate...such an amazing spectacle has been unfolding on the streets of Liverpool this weekend courtesy of the street theatre company Royal Deluxe.

 Giant puppets, so expressive and the scale just draw dropping.

I have been totally charmed be these giant marionettes and humbled by the ambition of staging such a magnifiicent event, Wow!

Find out more at BBC Liverpool

Sarah 

-x-

thankyou ALL

Oh my pie! Wowzers Trousers! 401 followers ~ who would have thought?

Hello and thank you ALL so much, never in my widest dreams could I have imagined reaching such heady heights.

Thank you for visiting The Lane~I am honoured and thrilled you like it here.

When I began this it was simply was a place to be me and to indulge in a spot of musing, sharing, reflecting, and photography. 

I was motivated by seeing some truly inspirational blogs and a longing to stay connected with my Faraway family in Australia. Along the way new friendships emerged, amazing discoveries were made, coincidences met...serendipitous meetings, creative stuff happened...and that's just the tip of the iceberg!

So thank you for visiting...I know we shall have many more splendid adventures together...

sharing laundry with you in lieu of hanging out bunting ...as you know laundry is very much my thing!

You're the BEST

-x-x-x-

IF...

If you can keep your head when all about you 

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, 

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, not talk too wise:

If  you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph or Disaster 

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it  on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

and never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone, 

And so hold on where there is nothing in you

Except the Will that says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings- nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes or loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, yet none too much,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, 

Yours is the earth and everything that's in it

And - which is more - you'll be a man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

~~0O0~~

I used to be able to recite "IF" and tried to remember it here...I couldn't quite! But isn't it wonderful...no wonder it was voted the Nation's favourite.

Magpie and Reynard came to stay this week and as the weather was being particularly "April'ish" we decided it was high time we took ourselves off to Batemans, the home of Rudyard Kipling.

I must congratulate the National Trust ~ I know they are making efforts to ensure that visits are less "You can look but don't touch!" and they seem to be succeeding here. I particularly liked the old wireless in Elsie's sitting room that you can "tune" and listen to Ralph Fiennes reading extracts of Kiplings' work.

The whole house is fascinating and we whiled several hours away.. outside it thundered, hailed, rained and shone in equal turns.

 Enjoying those April showers wherever you are?

Sarah 

-x-

PS This is for Kay, Georgia Girl With An English Heart...I seem to remember you asking me to visit?

Enjoy the show...

As of late I have found myself drawn to, and captivated by, so many of your blogs and Pinterest boards, I find myself dallying daily...as a consequence my own postings have dwindled, this I must put right! The thing that captures me most is when I discover a new site and  feel the truth of it's author~creator shining through the words and pictures...what a joy! More of this later...

                                                                                            image 

When last we spoke I was heading West...and so we have tarried in Devon with Magpie* and Cornwall with MIL** and camelias galore...then Easter arrived with a chocolate flourish and beautiful pictures from the Faraways***
*Magpie = Mum, **MIL = Mother in Law, ***Faraways = Brother, Sister-in-law and Babies in Melbourne

by me

One of the highlights of all this merriment was a much anticipated visit to the Cornwall Garden Societies' 100th Spring Flower Show. MIL has raved about it and promised we would go together this year. Held in the grounds at the Boconnoc Estate, this garden show is like nothing else on earth! The Entire stable block devoted to specimen daffodils, single stem, set out in identical little green vases...room after room of speicimen camelias and helebores...wowzers, it was heaven and all so very "Cornish!" The Telegraph described it as the "Little Chelsea" of the West last weekend...hmmm, I think it has much more heart.

~

From my perch I have spotted, walking down the Lane toward me with her Jack Russel, The Lovely Old Lady. I often see her from up here ~ I like her, although we have never met...She wears a plain dark grey, single breasted, knee length mac, and sturdy brogues.On top she wears a bright red beret, wisps of white hair billow around her face in the wind. I like her, Jack Russel trots jauntily along beside her, face turned up looking at her, metronomical tail wagging and yes always looking up at her...that's why I know I like her so much. Dogs are never wrong.

~

Sorry to digress...back to where we started, one of the captivating blogs I mentioned is called Beautifully, Suddenly. I was initially drawn to this blog as I noticed Natasha had visited some of my very favourite places like Lavendula, (see below) and Cliffys in Daylesford. Her pictures are gorgeous...and then I began to read...and fell in love with her writing too. If you have time read this post, The Day Everyting Changed...it is so beautiful...

by me

so you see why I have been dallying! Anyhoo ~ I am looking forward to catching up with all of you so I am off to read what you've been up to!

Sarah

 -x-