Last weekend proved to be an oasis of calm in our busy lives.  For the first time since the beginning of December, we had a weekend to ourselves, in our own home. No-one to visit, and no visitors; temporary bliss.  Me and Mr Cooper do love to be sociable, but sometimes it is good to have a break, a welcome respite between the Christmas Festivities, and the forthcoming Wedding Festivities!

Let's go for a walk, said I, ever conscious of the fact that I had signed up to walk the South Downs Way again, in June.  Yes, agreed Mr Cooper, ever conscious of the fact that a walk usually means a pint somewhere too (or two, in fact.)
So we set off towards Westbourne, talking avidly of our trip to The Falklands, for Sarah and Ali's wedding.  The colour scheme for the wedding is silver and purple, and some hedgerow flowers kindly obliged us by providing blooms of those colours.  It was lovely to see flowers in January.

In fact, nature seemed very much on our side for, as we left the roads in exchange for muddy footpaths, we came upon frozen, silvery puddles.

We weren't the first people to enjoy those icy puddles, but we were the only ones in the whole of West Sussex talking excitedly about the fast approaching silver and purple wedding.

It wasn't too long before the wonders of nature morphed into the wonders of Westbourne. 

 In particular, The Stag, where we were spoilt for choice on the beer-front.  What is not to like about a beer brewed by Listers (stationary engines) in Sussex (what better county?) and featuring a portrait of a fox terrier (or was it a 'dog on wheels', another of my very favourites.)

What was lovely about our break there, as well as the beer and the crisps, was the fact that, as it was not our local, we were able to sit and chat away without interruption.  It is lovely to share time in a pub with friends, but just once in a while, it is lovely to share time just with Mr Cooper.

Then back out into the now sunny day, walking through sunny Southbourne, on our way home to   nutty Nutbourne.
Spring is not yet springing, but it was lovely to see more yet blooms on our way home.
A very cheering sight, a real taste of things to come.

We did continue with the wintry theme that afternoon, as we settled down to watch 'Frozen'.

Then after a tasty roast pheasant, Sunday turned into Monday, and it was back to working life again.

Monday morning found me in Andover, working for Andover Mind. I completed my first stint there as a volunteer, leading a session on handicrafts.  It was good fun, and involved balloons, glue and newspaper.  Hopefully next Monday, these will start to take shape as decorative bowls.

Monday afternoon, time to go to Winchester, where I am a volunteer in the Monday afternoon art group at Trinity.  We were completing boxes we had made, which were used art to portray our ideas and experiences with the Health Service, the focus being  on mental health.  Next Monday these will all be in an exhibition there, complete with local dignitaries, and tea and cake.

Then the rest of the session was about our next project, where we are looking at, and understanding more about, the work of the Abstract Expressionists.  As well as working for Trinity, Ali also works for the Southampton City Gallery.  I wish he had worked for Winchester School of Art when I was there, as he is very good at explaining art theories.  But when I think about it, he probably hadn't even been born when I was a student there.  Oh me, oh my.

So glue and balloons in the morning, and oil pastels in the afternoon.  Can life get better than this?

This past week, in the time when I have not been at work, which was sadly very little, I have been gathering items to pack for our trip.  It has been very exciting to create a purple and silver outfit to wear, and for the first time for absolute ages, all my clothes for Sarah's wedding will be new, and worn for the first time that day.  Let's hope they all fit, and actually go together! 

All will be revealed next month, when the photos appear.

  I have also added a butterfly to my wedding 'fascinator', so I will also be carrying with me lots of love and beauty from Bristol!  Here it is, nestling against my startlingly bright jacket.

The colour scheme for the wedding has happily spilled over into my life.

I needed a new back-pack, and look what I discovered.  How fab is that!

And in the summer, I asked Sarah if she needed any bunting made.........

........what better thing to do on a cold and rainy day than sit and sew, whilst listening to radio 4.

Mr Cooper says he can think of lots better things to do, but to assist me in my productions, he helped me by doing the sitting bit very well!

Perhaps I should be a little more speedy, when writing my blog. A few paragraphs ago and I was writing about the forthcoming exhibition at Trinity.

It happened yesterday, and very good it was too.  It was hard work setting everything up in under 2 hours, but well worth it. (And the cakes were delicious, especially the homemade lemon shortbread)

Here is a snippet from it, with most of the boxes on show having been made by the same person.

 I was not quite so prolific, and here is my offering on the bottom left, with 3 pages of writing about the circumstances around the work.  In agreement with the artist whose work is above, we were both wanting to also make the point that funding cuts, from a budget that wasn't large enough in the first place, mean many people have not the help and support they need in their lives.  If people appear to be 'getting by', they are left to do so.  This is not a criticism of those within the health service, but of those who are cutting the resources for it.  They are so far removed from the actual people affected by this, that they can have no idea of the hardships they are inflicting.  Or if they do have any idea of this, 'heartless' is a word which springs to mind.

Returning now to our adventures on the horizon.

As departure date comes ever closer, lots of little loose ends must be tidied away.  For instance, installing our friendly house-sitters, and showing them where everything is, making lists, crossing things from them, then creating new lists.  It feels strange to be packing summer clothes when it is frosty outside, but this is a strangeness I could get used to!

If you have anything strange in your forthcoming February lives, I hope it is on the 'pleasantly strange' side, as opposed to the 'really weirdly strange'. 

 Just welcome some strangeness in, and adapt a little around it.

We can all view something new and strange with reluctance and fear, let's go for viewing new things with curiosity and excitement; providing they are legal, of course.

I am hoping my next blog will be broadcast from foreign lands, but this very much depends on my grasp of new-to-me technology.  ( Sam has been assisting with my gaining a grasp, but he did say 'You're not very good at this, are you?'  I said that I wasn't allowed to say that, in all my years as a teacher.  To which he said, 'Well, it's true!')

At worst, it will be a blog without images, but I will be striving for my usual format.

Until then, keep warm and keep walking, and be welcoming to what is new.

I am looking forward to seeing you all again soon, and sharing what is new and exciting in my life.