Beautiful August night.

Moonlight over Snowdonia

After a beautiful August day, came one of those magical moments when the moon rose through whispy clouds over Carnedd Llewelyn, Snowdonia.

The sun’s last pink glow, promising good weather for the morrow, had just left the mountains, handing them over to night’s caressing darkness, when the creamy moon slipped silently up from misty, cloud shrouded mountain tops and rose high in the sky to glow with a mysterious and ethereal light. The Menai Strait lay becalmed and silent below, the lights of Bangor foreshore reflecting languidly in her still waters.

Dorothy.

5th August 2009… a few minutes ago

Quilt Show in Menai Bridge. August.

From 4th to 8th August look out for Llandegai Patchers Exhibition of Quilts at the English Presbyterian Church (next to the Victoria Hotel), Menai Bridge, Anglesey.

Poster for the Quilt Exhibition at Menai Bridge

There will be all sorts of lovely quilts to enjoy – including one or two of mine – and with homemade cakes and a cup of tea or coffee on offer, stalls selling fabrics and accessories for patchwork and quilting, and a warm welcome to everyone – what could be a better way to spend a couple of hours? Entry is £1, children free and money goes to charity.

Dorothy.

3rd July 2009

Summer

On the lovely Isle of Anglesey, as elsewhere in the UK, we have been treated to a month of blue skies and long days of sunshine. This morning we have had a much needed shower to refresh the plants and encourage growth in my vegetable patch – some of the potatoes should be ready to dig up and enjoy while they are small and tasty.

Mourne Mountains summer 2009

Daf and I found time to sail over to Carlingford Lough, the border between Northern and Southern Ireland. It was beautiful with the Mountains of Mourne as a backdrop and we had a lovely relaxing time but the prices in Eire astounded us! I had heard from a number of friends that holidays in the Euro Zone were really expensive because of the comparative weakness of sterling but it still came as a shock – we certainly didn’t eat out – luckily the boat was well stocked!

What I don’t understand is why the whole of Europe and America isn’t holidaying in Britain (Wales!) this year while the exchange rate is so much in their favour!

Meanwhile my current quilt workshop series has just come to an end and I’m preparing for the next – ‘Beginners’ and ‘Intermediate’ – which commence in September. It feels a long way off but it’ll whizz by and we still have our Pot Luck Supper for the current workshop students to look forward to in a couple of weeks.

Dorothy. 3rd July 2009

Cauldron wins first prize ‘Group Quilt’ at Malvern.

'Birthdays' A Quilt by Cauldron

Great excitement at Coed y Berclas – ‘Birthdays’ wall hanging by Cauldron.

Members Jenny Roberts, Gill Marshall and Doris Alcock won First Prize in the Group Quilts category at the Malvern Quilt Show – Quilts UK. Now all we have to do is produce more prize winners – so no pressure there then!

The next place to see my quilts – group and individual – is at the NEC, Birmingham, at Festival of Quilts in August; so if you’re in the area drop in to see if you can find them in probably the biggest quilt show in Europe. Later in the year I will have a quilt in The Great Northern Quilt Show which takes place in September at Harrogate Showground.

In the meantime the larger group to which we all belong, Llandygai Patchers, will be holding our own Patchwork and Quilting Show in the English Presbyterian Church in Menai Bridge, Anglesey in the first week of August – this will include some quilts made by members of my workshop series.

The next issue of the Anglesey Informer will have a two page spread about my own Patchwork and Quilting and my Workshops. It will be out in June; it’s free, and as the title suggests, it gives a lot of information about Anglesey. There is a little pile of past copies building up in our holiday Cottage.

Dorothy

Berclas Blog 1st June 2009… a Tit

A Blue Tit chick

The weather is just gorgeous: the sun is shining from a clear blue sky onto a blue sea rippled by gentle breezes and the mountains are clear as though they had been cut out. All the trees are in full leaf and the sound of bird song fills the air. We watched recently as a family of blue tit fledglings left their nest in the cottage nest box one at a time – some of them were distinctly nervous of leaving their sanctuary, their little fluffy heads bobbing in and out as they summoned up the courage. The rabbits too have a number of young (well that’s what rabbits are supposed to do!) including some really tiny babies. They form the welcome party at the entrance to our drive and frolic, as though to entertain us, on the lower lawns.

The buzzard parents have been teaching their young how to fly, calling to them to watch the most amazing aerial displays – we, of course, were watching too. How wonderful it must be to soar, swoop, hover and dive with such consummate skill – I can both admire and be envious of this wonderful bird and its astonishing abilities up there in the wide open skies.

Dorothy

Classic British Sports Cars at Coed y Berclas.

A Morgan and a TR6 came to Coed y Berclas

We had a treat over the May Day bank holiday… Two beautiful classic cars swept down the drive at Coed y Berclas – a Morgan and a Triumph TR6 – all the more poignant for us as Daf once had a TR4A and I had a TR6 and subsequently a Triumph Stag; all wonderful British sports cars. They were then to be seen touring round Anglesey for the next few days and I’m sure a lot of heads were turned. Usually classic cars, like butterflies, hibernate, (snug in their garages – getting a lot of ‘hands on’ attention) then come out, as the days get longer and the weather kinder, to display their beauty in the sunshine. We look forward to more visits in the future. I’ve just realised I haven’t even mentioned their owners – well, they were all lovely too!

Dorothy

Quilt Workshops Anglesey

Dorothy Russell Quilting workshop on Anglesey

I’m now half way through the twelve session quilting course I’m teaching to a group of new quilters and I’m enjoying it hugely. They are all lovely; they’re getting on really well both with their work and with each other – and they want to carry on after this course – which is brilliant.

I hope lots of the quilts will be ready for the Llandygai Patchers’ Exhibition in Menai Bridge in August this year.

I also offer patchwork/quilting lessons to guests staying at Coed y Berclas Holiday Cottage but recently I had a request to teach a lady staying elsewhere on Anglesey – I hadn’t previously thought of offering quilt days to visitors other than those staying with us, but why not – so if you live on Anglesey or in North Wales or are visiting the area – wherever you’re staying – and you would like to enjoy a few hours of Patchwork and Quilting tuition, beginner or improver, give me a call or send an email.

In September I will be starting another twelve session Beginners Quilting Course too – Contact me for information and to put your name down.

Dorothy

Ice Cream in Beaumaris

Red Boat Ice Cream Parlour, Beaumaris

Sunday 22nd March 2009

Daf and I went to Beaumaris this morning to buy some teak garden furniture for the Apartment – there are quite often interesting sales in the Bulkeley Hotel Ballroom.

While we were there, we spotted a new arrival on Castle Street which is going to be a must for our guests – an Ice Cream Parlour called Red Boat – offering ice creams, sorbets, coffees, paninis and sandwiches. I enjoyed a Bounty flavoured ice cream in a cone and Daf had an amazing blend of pineapple and basil, which was really good. The only thing which worries me is that we may feel driven to try every flavour!

Spring

A spring Daffodil

The snowdrops have now finished flowering and the daffodils are in full bloom especially on the aptly named ‘Daffodil Lawn’ which catches sunlight throughout the day. In fact, Coed y Berclas ushered in St David’s Day (March 1st) with a fanfare of the first yellow trumpets opening their smiling faces to the sun. These lovely blooms were well chosen as Wales’ national emblem. We brought one daffodil into the house where it glows in our kitchen against a backdrop of Snowdonia and the Menai Strait.

The Spring has begun here in earnest and the birds are busy, their song brightening our garden – I’ve been out there starting the seasonal tidying. There’s plenty to keep me busy and soon I’ll be out in the vegetable garden getting the seed potatoes in – I love going out mid summer, taking crops straight from our garden and into the kitchen. I don’t know whether they do taste better but they certainly seem to and they couldn’t be fresher. It always takes me back to my childhood, sent out to pick peas for Sunday lunch – there were always three for the bowl and one for me and I still eat a few while I’m picking – I refuse to cook any peas I’ve grown, they’re much better fresh!

Geese at Malltraeth Nature reserve

The days are lengthening now and Daf and I went back to Llyn Coed Mawr at Malltraeth – such a lovely peaceful place – and this time there were no fewer than ten egrets sitting together like sophisticated white mopheads resting in the last of the day’s sunlight. Two pairs of Canada geese noisily layed claim to the same small island, Mallard were ‘a dabbling, up tails all’, a couple of Gadwall glided silently along with the ‘peeping’ coot, while a group of Shovelers paired up to perform an intricate circle dance. The bright eyes of the Tufted Ducks caught our attention before they vanished under water to come up some distance away. A large Buzzard flew low over the water but none of the waterfowl seemed in the least bit disturbed. High in a tree two Raven sat motionless, surveying the scene below. I’m sure you can see why Llyn Coed Mawr is now one of our favourite places.

Dorothy

Posted: 2009-03-08

Red squirrels on Anglesey

An Anglesey squirrel

10th Feb 2009

We had a visit today from Craig Shuttleworth of Menter Mon. He is responsible for overseeing the development of the Red Squirrel population on Anglesey and we’re pleased to note that these lovely creatures are well settled in Pentraeth Forest and Newborough Warren. Not only that, they’ve been seen very near to Coed y Berclas and we’re assured that it’s only a matter of time before they are seen in our woodland.I can’t wait! The last time I saw a red squirrel was on a visit to the Lake District in the early 1980s.

Menter Mon’s work is supported by the Red Squirrel Survival Trust which has Prince Charles as its Patron. It is vital the grey squirrel is kept away from red squirrel settlements. Not only do they out-compete they also bring with them a pox to which they are immune but which brings a lingering and painful death to the reds. Just imagine how lovely it will be to wander through woodland and know that at any moment we might catch a glimpse of one of Britain’s most endearing native creatures.

Dorothy

Posted: 2009-02-11

Dorothy