Frome by night

I went to the Merlin Theatre on Tuesday to watch a series of documenteries made by young people. One of the docs was co-created by my daughter and this was to be the first showing with the official premier to be in April on a much smaller screen.

Look what greeted us in the 'foyer' on our arrival.!!!

Frome Stitch 'n' Bitch!

Mostly knitters, some sock knitting, one making a Scandi style ski jumper on a circlular kneedle. They had chocolate cake!!! They meet on a Tuesdays. Each crafter donates £3 to the Merlin Theatre. Both Sophie and I would have joined them if we had our knitting on us, but we went into the auditorium and watched the films.

 Generations Together

One of the films, by students at Frome Collage, and called 'Generations Together' was about young and old people. Amoung the people interviewed was a young graffitti artist Tom Sturgess who spent some time working with an older sculptor and fine artist Barry Cooper. The  painting they both worked on in the film was displayed in the theatre, so I got a shot of  Tom with the artwork.

Tom Sturgis Graffitti Artist

 People on the move

Sophie's film was shown after the break. I caught a glimpse of myself #1 son, and others in the background of some of the shots. This film is going to be archived in Somerset's record office, and is about people who moved to Somerset from other countries. A wide age group was interviewed from The landlady of the shop I rent (83) to children who moved here with their families or alone as refugees.

 

Here's a temp image of Sophie (left) and the crew.

Sophie and I had to leave early, so missed the last films. The friendly Stitchers were still there when we left. They stitch from 7pm to 9pm.

Lavender's blue dilly dilly

SOMERSET LAVENDER

Topping up the little heart shaped sachets in my shop has left me low on lavender, so Mc, Sophie and I went to Somerset Lavender in Faulkland somewhere between Frome and Radstock to replenish supplies.

This is a very photogenic place. Sophie took her camera and props to do a photo session, and almost every one else was taking photos. The view of the lavender garden and fields was stunning, the fragrance wonderful.

It is great to be able to source lavender products from within Somerset.

This is a family run farm. They grow, harvest and distill lavender to make essential oils, soap and other toiletries as well as producing a culinary grade lavender which features in some of the recipes used in the cafe.

Originally I had planned to arrive in time for the 11am farm tour. Tours are not every day, so I was fortunate that there was one on the day I was going. After a horrific choking incident involving No1 son and a detour to drop papers off at college we arrived in time for lunch. We will catch the tour another time. The cafe menu had choices suitable for us all, so we decided to eat before looking round. The cafe and part of the shop are housed in the same area, so we got a good look at the items available for sale.

Here one of the cats seeks shade by some camomile. Wild life abounds here. As well as the butterflies and bees that love the lavender there is a pond that attracts dragonflies.

We were taking photos in the field to the sound of humming bumble bees. There are also honey bees making honey in the farm's bee hives.

The rows of lavender were providing runways for speedy young children.

There is lots of space to move around plenty to see and loads to photograph. I liked the willow tunnel and the vegetable garden. A lot of the food in the cafe is home grown. This place is a sensory playground with great sights, smells and even sounds (especially the acoustics in the plant sale area). Everyone was rubbing the tips of lavender plants between their fingers to release the fragrance. Lavender scones were on the menu at the cafe. I had Ceylon and lavender tea.

I'm going back for some lavender, but took home a candle, soap, essential oils and a greetings card.

Farm opening times and details are on http://www.somersetlavender.com/

Rook Lane Retro 27th March 2010

I had a lovely time in Bridport at the Rag Market. I said good bye to lots of lovely fabric. The venue and facilities were wonderful, with tea, biscuits and cakes readily available for the stall holders. I didn't take my camera, sadly, so I have no pictures to show you.

Apart from the flea at the Bath & West weather permitting, the next fair I'm doing will be the fabulous Rook Lane Retro in Frome. These photo's are of my last visit there which was as long ago as September 2008!

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