TRANSFORMATIONS

TRANSFORMATIONS.

ravens’ world & dancing sandmen

Anyone acquainted with this Nordic shore will tell you how mystical an afternoon (or any time of day) can turn at a flick of the sun.   Whatever the season, our sky paints a Turner’s or a ravishing Van Gogh’s… It is no secret to the wanderer to wrap up well and hit the shore for the pure joy to find a place inside this world.

It is precisely what I did earlier on this Sunday. As light overrode rain, hail showers, I put my new keep warm & dry kit to the test and left my home with a great sense of joy. Far too long have I not set foot on my dear sandbridge. , my home from home, North Atlantic, salt, Arcania. I love the way rollers unveil blue, white or grey… Breezy does not seem too strong to define January. In between ebb and flow, long-tailed ducks and great northern divers (loons) paddle happily in the shoormal. Closer to the edge of sand, purple sandpipers & ringed plovers play mechanical… Classic image from this double stretch of wild waterline.

 But as we look into the sand, more ethereal creatures defy eye and the lens. You may have heard of extraordinary tales from the edge of the world. Among brittle shells and windblown treasures, I came across dancing sandmen. Tiny beings with hearts of glass, en pas de deux in between gusts, staring at gigantic passers-by, they followed the mood of the wind. Unafraid of tides or ravens, they began to race without trace and disappear as they felt rain… I knew I entered Arcania. Titanium grey overrode blue. All around me, fulmar petrels flew in circles.  I long lost track of my sandmen, as I reached the small island. Clad in my padded coverall, I braced myself for a wild crossing back to the mainland, and met with a friendly dog walker. Ravens always point out to land. They are the messengers of change.  To me, they seem a good omen.

 Little did I know I would later find the  surfman on the other side of the isle. Astonishing sight in winter, as waves call men inside shallows… Pure fun I guess! I don’t believe for a minute he was in pursuits of selkies that usually rest on boulders. How brave of him to tame the wrath of January, as air pressure plummeted all day to diabolical levels! In any case, he quickly came back to shore… Is he dreaming of a selkie wife tonight? I leave this to your imagination 🙂

My Sunday belongs to the gales, amazing sights and ravens’ world.

world première: car cosy for 2013

 NTS IGNITION OPEN DAY, 12 JANUARY 2013

We gathered in many places till this grand day – Lerwick’s Mareel Café & Shetland Library – as car yarners knitted their squares and spent hours sharing stories on selected themes… Last December, we even gathered at The Brae Youth Club for a special Open Day with the same gang & Parkour boys. That’s when we met da White Wife and some of the crew from NTS based in Shetland till Yule… Happy memories.

And yesterday came the big day: a WORLD PREMIÈRE – the world’s very first “car-cosy” assembled before the very eyes of Shetlanders & NTS crew! Mareel hosted once more car yarners, Parkour boys, led by Chris Wright,  as well as a horde of car-enthusiasts of many kinds as part of NTS Ignition Open Day. The public were invited to take part in a myriad of activities and workshops  – ranging from radio car racing to creative writing on windscreen, via dance and parkour –  and what a successful day it proved to be. Folk flocked

in amazement, among others who came to enjoy a good film… In our Car Yarners’ corner, needles raced against time, hands assembled the beige coloured 50-stitch squares – Jacqui and Becky began to play with gooey spray on the very car that was waiting for a very special treatment! It felt a real beehive – the atmosphere was electric!

We lost track of time and stitches, as hours vanished without trace among smiles from the visitors and car yarners. Whereas Becky & Jacqui braved the wintry weather throughout the afternoon,  I manned the windscreen corner – yes, that great fun creative workshop at Jacqui’s request and meddled with bairns (kids) of all ages, who were far too happy to make their marks on the glass in a pictorial or wordy way. This alone proved a great success 🙂

…On the other side of the great bay windows from Mareel,

Brave Becky and Jacqui defied the elements to clad the very vehicle with its first car-cosy till well after sunset. I hear they finished off today in a heck of a  gale… We do have Ignition in Shetland, and a great world première! 

welcome to Pondering Ponies in wordpress 🙂

Pondering Pony

Just before Christmas we moved back into our house after a 3 and a half month forced absence. The powers of nature rained down on us in the form of a lightning strike.  Was this a message from the Universe? No that would be daft.  But what it was was an awakening.  We realised just how much junk we had in the house when the builders needed rooms emptied to be able to affect repairs.    The local community skip has already been half filled with our rubbish and there is more to go yet. With all this unwanted and unneeded clutter gone to a far better place we have reclaimed two rooms that had been unused for much too long.  I now have a study.  It’s still a work in progress but a study none the less. I’m a very lazy decorator and with one radiator painted and two…

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