Tess Of The D'Urbervilles

I've heard Tess of the D'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy, mentioned many times. It has some wonderful reviews so I was really interested to read it for myself.

"With its sensitive depiction of a wronged 'pure woman' and its powerful criticism of Victorian sexual hypocrisy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles shocked readers on publication.

Its heroine is a poor country girl, Tess, whose encounter with her distant aristocratic relatives - especially the handsome, cruel Alec - leaves her broken and haunted by a secret that could ruin her. A very different man, Angel Clare, offers her salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past, or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future."

I actually read another novel by Thomas Hardy, Far From The Madding Crowd, earlier this year. My first experience upon reading Tess of the D'Urbervilles was exactly the same as it was with Far From the Madding Crowd, I found it hard going. This time, however, it didn't improve half way though as it had done last time. I just don't think that I'm ever going to be a fan of Thomas Hardy. It does make me wonder what he actually thought of women as the main characters in each of these books have really annoyed me. Tess is portrayed as a poor helpless girl who can't think for herself and every decision she makes, much like Bathsheba in Far From the Madding Crowd, is the wrong one. 

Much is made of Thomas Hardy's writing style, you can certainly tell that he's a poet by the descriptive scenes in his books, but for me, it's all just too flowery. He goes into far too much detail to the point of being boring.

As I've already said, I just don't think that Thomas Hardy is for me, but who knows, perhaps I'll give him another go at some point in the future.

Eleanor And Jacob's Wedding Day

Thank you for all the good wishes on my last post. I've been wanting to sit down and share some photos with you but this week has been so hectic after the wedding. Eleanor and Jacob have now jetted off to the Dominican Republic on their honeymoon and I feel that I can finally sit down and catch my breath. I know you're all dying to see Eleanor's dress so we'll start off with a photo I took just as she'd got ready and was about to make her way to the ceremony.

Eleanor had a trial with a make up artist but in the end, she decided to do her own make up, but she did have her hairdresser come to the hotel to do her hair. 

Here she is again with her veil covering her face.

I took a total of three photos on my phone all day, so most of these photos are what other people took on their phones. They're not the best quality, I'm looking forward to getting the professional photos back but that won't be for a while yet.

We were so lucky with the weather, it had rained in the days leading up to the wedding but it stayed fine all day. It wasn't cold either, we were able to hold the drinks reception on the terrace after the ceremony. The whole wedding, ceremony, wedding breakfast and evening celebrations, were held in the hotel.

I think Eleanor made the right choice with her dress, she looked absolutely stunning. I was convinced she'd end up with the first dress she tried on, but the minute she tried on this one she knew it was the one for her. She did have the straps customised, they were originally wider but she had the seamstress nip them in and it actually made a huge difference, it gave the neckline a whole different look.

Eleanor liked the idea of her bridesmaids wearing different shades of blue and each dress a different style, I think it looked really lovely. Jacobs sisters are by the side of him, Eleanor's best friend who she's known since they started secondary school together is by her side and Jasmine is on the right.

The boys looked very smart. Mick on the left, then Daniel. Jacob's best man is by the side of Eleanor, then Jacob's sister's finace and Jacob's dad is on the right.

The flowers were beautiful. Eleanor said they were even better than she imagined. As well as the bouquets, we had arrangements throughout the hotel. The ceremony room was decked out.

I'm not sure what was going on here, I think Jacob was trying to tuck Eleanor's huge train in underneath her chair. You can see the beautiful flowers decorating the top table. There were candles in glass holders of varying heights further along the top table too.

Some of the guests tables had these tall arrangements with three pillar candles underneath which were stood on a mirror tray. It looks a bit bare but whoever took this photo has done so while the hotel was still setting up, the chairs aren't here yet.

Other guests tables had a smaller display, stood on a mirror with tealights around.

As most of you will know, both Eleanor and Jacob are biomedical scientists. Their favours were shots in test tubes, 'We've tied the knot now take a shot'. Their table names were named after scientists and a little information about each scientist was given underneath their name, well, Eleanor says every day is a school day. It also gives the link between each of the scientists to Eleanor and Jacob too. If you click on the photo it should enlarge enough for you to be able to read it.

And another of the table names.

And another. Don't worry, I won't go through them all.

The food was delicious. I was panicking about them choosing tomato and roasted red pepper soup with Eleanor wearing her wedding dress, but she tucked a napkin down her front and it's a good job she did as there were splashes of orange on it by the end of the first course.

Eleanor wanted a simple white cake with sharp edges with no other decoration than the roses. Each tier was a different flavour, top to bottom lemon, chocolate, vanilla and carrot.

The cutting of the cake took place at the evening reception.

I didn't expect them to cut it and start eating it though, haha.

It was such a wonderful day from start to finish. It may have been stressful organising it but I'd happily go through it all again if I could go through the day itself again too. I didn't expect to feel as emotional as I did, both Eleanor and I were setting each other off all day long, and many others shed tears too. It was lovely to hear so many people say that it was one of the best, if not the best, wedding they'd ever been to. Eleanor and Jacob were so relaxed and happy and Eleanor literally sparkled all day long, not just because her dress was shimmering but she was sparkling from within.

More guests were invited to the evening reception and everyone had such a great time, the dance floor was never empty. Eleanor and Jacob chose Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis for their first dance, the same as Mick and I had for our first dance. 

Many people had booked a room in the hotel and others were staying at a Premier Inn a short taxi ride away, so it all had a bit of a holiday feel to it. I think there will have been a few sore heads the morning after.

Eleanor and Jacob are away for a fortnight now. Their honeymoon was cancelled for the second time just a week before the wedding so this past week has been rather stressful to say the least, but they managed to book another, this time with a different company, so we're hoping everything goes to plan now. Mick drove them down to Heathrow, setting off at 11pm yesterday, he got home just before 7am so we're going to have a lazy day today.

Eleanor is now a Mrs, she's a wife, she has a husband, I'm a mother-in-law and I've got a son-in-law, it all feels rather surreal after two years in the planning.

The Final Countdown To Eleanor's Wedding

Eleanor and Jacob's wedding is only a couple of sleeps away now, we're on the final countdown, so I'm going to take a little break away from the blog, but before I go I thought I'd show you a few photos that have been taken in the run up to the big day.

I showed some photos of the afternoon tea we went to as part of Eleanor's Hen Weekend, but after that, Eleanor and her hens headed off for the weekend to Manchester and these are a couple of photos taken in the place where they were staying. The photo below was taken the evening that they arrived at their lodgings, the girls decorated it with balloons and banners and made it fit for a bride to be. They were all just chilling out. The photo above was taken the following day, just before they went out on the town. They all had a wonderful time.

Eleanor and Jacob had to postpone the pre-wedding photo shoot they had planned when they both came down with Covid, but it was rescheduled. There's somewhere in the region of a hundred photos which were taken in the hotel and grounds where they're to be married. They've been presented as a video and set to music, it's really lovely, but it's not the finished article, that comes in the package with the wedding photos, so I've had to screen shot and crop the photos below to show you. They're just a small selection from the ones taken.

We're all very excited as the big day approaches and I think we've got just about everything organised now, time to sit back and enjoy it!

Strictly Sockalong 2022

I haven't done any knitting at all since I finished the socks I made for the Strictly Sockalong 2021. In fact, I haven't done any crafting whatsoever since I moved house at the end of April. If there's anything that will get a pair of socks cast on the needles though, it's the Strictly Sockalong, which is hosted by Ali on the Little Drops of Wonderful podcast. I think this is the fifth year that I've joined in.

I had a look through my stash and decided it was high time that I used this lovely skein from Maximoo Yarns which my friend Susan, from Granny Smith's Quilting, sent to me all the way from Australia last year. It's in the Candy Store Ruins colourway. 

I've pulled out a project bag to use. This is one I treated myself to a few years ago and I love it just as much now as I did then, those cute little doggies.

The pattern I've decided on is Solar by Gill Slater, it's a free download on Ravelry. I haven't used this pattern before so it will be nice to knit something new.

The launch show of Strictly Come Dancing was last Friday and it was back on our screens again on Saturday, so we had a double helping this week to get us going. This is how far I've got so far. The rib is done and the first few rows of the leg have been started.

Let's hope that picking up my knitting needles will encourage my knitting mojo to return, I must say that I'm enjoying getting back to a bit of sock knitting again and there's a few things I'd quite like to cast on, watch this space.

A Belated Birthday Surprise

I had such a lovely surprise on Saturday. Mick had gone to cricket and I was just about to start some ironing when there was a knock at the door. I wasn't expecting any deliveries so it was a surprise to be handed a parcel. 

It turned out to be a belated birthday gift from my friend Maggie who blogs at BlackCountry Wench. 

Maggie always wraps everything beautifully, it's a shame really to spoil all that lovely packaging.

These look like little bags of jewels. They look so enticing, it was exciting to see what was inside.

I wasn't disappointed, not jewels but just as precious. Beautiful mini skeins of yarn which will look gorgeous added to my scrappy blanket.

And the other lovely gifts I opened. A gorgeous bee and sunflower burner. I've just been sorting my ornaments out since the house move and I've got just the place for this, I love it. Two balls of cotton yarn in such pretty colours, I think they'll make some very pretty dishcloths. A box of Toffifee which I haven't opened yet because I know that once I do, they'll be gone that same day. Is it just me or does everyone have trouble stopping once they start? I received a lovely card too.

Thank you so much Maggie, I love everything, you obviously know me very well.

Queen Elizabeth II

I think we'll all remember where we were when we heard the news of the Queen's death. Mick, Eleanor, Jacob and I were sat in a meeting with the wedding coordinator at the venue where Eleanor and Jacob are getting married when we heard the sad news. 

We'd heard earlier on that day that the Queen was under medical supervision as doctors were concerned for her health, but I didn't expect anything to happen quite so quickly. Although she was 96 years old, it seemed like she would go on forever. It was hard to imagine her not being here, she marked her 70th year on the throne this year and most of us have never known another monarch.

So many people have queued for many hours to pay their respects as they see the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall, but for those of us who haven't made the trip to London, the television coverage has been exceptional, allowing us to see the procession and all the major events of the past ten days.

Today, the Queen is laid to rest in a historic state funeral. She fulfilled her promise to devote her whole life to our service and that devotion to her duty is an example to us all.

It's now time for her son as King Charles III to take his place on the throne and I think he'll do a magnificent job. After all, he's been in training for a very long time and has been set such a marvellous example by the Queen.

Northanger Abbey

I read my first Jane Austen novel, Persuasion, earlier this year and enjoyed it so I thought I'd give Northanger Abbey a go. When I was studying for my O-levels, I had a friend who attended a different school to the one I went to. Although we were both taking English Literature, we were studying different books. One of the books my friend was reading was Northanger Abbey and I've always wondered about it ever since.

"Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland excitedly accepts an offer to accompany family friends on a trip to Bath. There, Catherine makes new acquaintances who invite her to Northanger Abbey, and she encounters a world she'd only glimpsed in the pages of her beloved gothic novels. Through Catherine's eyes, the Abbey is full of mystery, suspense, and adventure; and she is the heroine at the centre of it all. As her imagination begins to run wild, she imperils her summer, her new friendships, and her burgeoning relationship with the charming Henry Tilney.

Both a satire of gothic fiction and a coming-of-age story, Northanger Abbey is widely regarded as one of Jane Austen's most comedic works."

Although I enjoyed Persuasion when I read it, I have to say that I enjoyed Northanger Abbey a whole lot more. What a shame I didn't study this for my English Literature O-level, though I probably wouldn't have been drawn in to all the drama of high society in Bath at such a young age. The characters are larger than life and although the storyline is light-hearted, it kept my interest the whole way through. 

I shall definitely be reading more Jane Austen.

Kirkstall Abbey Market

It's a long time since we've visited a market at Kirkstall Abbey but as Mick's cricket match had been cancelled the week before last, it gave us the chance to rectify that. It was sunny and warm too, which was a bonus.

Set in the beautiful surroundings, local suppliers, makers and creatives sell their wares. The markets are held here on the last weekend of the month.

There's all manner of stalls, food and drink, cheeses, baked goods, jewellery, toys, button badges, and crafts, among others. We came away with some delicious brownies as well as some chutney and loose tea which will go in a hamper we're planning to make as a gift at Christmas.

After looking round the market, we had a wander around the ruins. Founded in 1152 by Cistercian monks, Kirkstall Abbey is one of the most complete examples of a Cistercian abbey in Britain.

It gained its wealth from keeping sheep for the wool trade.

It was disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII.

The Abbey is set in beautiful parkland along the banks of the River Aire.

The church still stands to roof level.

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the main thoroughfare to Leeds actually ran through the nave of the church. It was diverted following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 to stop the monks from returning.

It was quite busy with the market in full swing and the weather so good, but it was still so peaceful.

The abbey is a Grade I listed building. It was acquired by the Leeds Corporation as a gift from Colonel North, an English investor and businessman, and opened to the public in the late nineteenth century.

It was a lovely couple of hours visiting the market and then taking a stroll around the grounds. It's definitely worth a visit if you're ever in the area.