Sunday meditation: Quiet in the woods

'Come with me to a quiet place and rest a while.' Mark 6:31

It's true that there is a special kind of peace and healing that comes from walking alone in woodland. The Scargill estate has many meandering paths and I relished my time there, drinking in all that peacefulness and the fresh green of abundant life: sturdy tree trunks interspersed with young saplings and graceful ferns. 

I've processed this image a little differently from my usual style to try and draw out that sense of calm. 

In the walled garden

One of Scargill's many delights is its walled garden, lovingly tended by community members and volunteers. It is really peaceful, with many places to sit and contemplate. (I was playing around with creative compositions, hence the triptych above.)

Mellow yellow

One of the exercises on the 'Mindful Photography' workshop was to concentrate on finding just one colour. I chose yellow, as it's such a cheery hue. I found plenty of it and then chose to place some of my photos in a grid square. I composed it on my iPad using an app (Pic-Collage) as I didn't have access to my usual processing software. Pic-Collage is pretty easy to use but images show its logo unless you pay for the enhanced version. 

Mindful photography

"Mindfulness encourages us to use all our senses to experience the present moment in all its fullness. Mindful photography encourages us to look, to really see, to explore things from different angles, to notice how light and shade falls and alters our perception, and to reflect on what we can learn when we see 'with the eyes of the heart'." (Text from Revd Janet Heighton, the leader of the workshop on which I was a participant.) The NHS website suggests that 'paying more attention to the present moment - to your own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around you - can improve your mental wellbeing'.

It's partly for those reasons that I enjoy photography anyway. Whether out there with my camera or back home processing photos on my computer, I am very much 'in the present moment' and it helps me switch off from any anxieties, worries or problems I may be grappling with. I know, however, that I can still learn to 'go deeper' into the moment and place. 

We were encouraged to find a spot to stand or sit, to really look and see, and then take some photos. I explored the margins of a small pond, taking all these images within about ten paces of each other. I normally take photos when I'm walking so it was a lovely exercise to stay in one place for a while, finding both conventional images and some more nuanced responses to 'beauty in the ordinary'. 

It could be that even looking at photos 'mindfully' can improve your mental wellbeing. I hope so! 

Simple delights

I was staying at the Christian community at Scargill House, near Kettlewell, which is a homely, welcoming and altogether wonderful place. I could sit at the windows all day just watching the clouds scud along the valley. The photo above was the view from the conference room we were using. It's taken through one of the huge windows and it was raining at the time so there are some reflections on the glass, but what an amazing view it is. 

The room where coffee is served has a range of bird feeders outside and I was thrilled at the variety of birds that were coming and going. In the space of about five minutes I saw: two collared doves, two pheasants (male and female), numerous chaffinches (including a parent feeding a young one), goldfinches, dunnocks, a variety of tits (great, blue, coal), siskins, a grey squirrel (interloper!) and finally a great spotted woodpecker, which was particularly thrilling.  The photo, taken on my phone through the window, is heavily cropped so not the best quality. 

In the walled garden, a young blackbird (I think) was curious rather than alarmed when I got out my camera and took its portrait.  

Other delights at Scargill include the food, (which I didn't take photos of but did enjoy), plentiful and fairly healthy except for the abundance of cake! One dessert that I particularly relished was a concoction of poached pears with an oat, almond and cinnamon crumble - must try to replicate it at home. It's also most enjoyable just chatting to fellow guests and community members. You meet some really interesting people there, with a huge range of skills and interests. The centre is set in a beautiful estate with attractive gardens - and all around is the stunning scenery of Upper Wharfedale. It has to be one of my favourite places in the world. 

Upper Wharfedale

Some months ago I booked myself a short break in Upper Wharfedale in July, on a 'Mindful Photography' workshop. I suppose I was thinking that by this stage I'd have moved house and got everything ship-shape. Of course, I haven't yet got everything sorted, given that my move was delayed and then inevitably everything takes longer than you hope. I'm still in the midst of decorating! Nevertheless, it was good to have a break from the chores and to breathe the fresh, clean air of my favourite local dale and, having returned refreshed, I should have more energy for finishing the remaining tasks. 

The weather was rather mixed, with sunshine, very sharp and heavy showers and gale force winds. It made for some interesting light and skies but my camera kept getting wet so in the end I resorted to using my phone to take photos some of the time. One of the points that was made on the workshop was that we talk about 'taking' photos, 'shooting' and 'capturing' things, which is quite aggressive language. We could equally say that we 'receive' images - much gentler and more considerate. It was with great delight that I received this one, walking down off the fells along the Dalesway footpath towards Kettlewell. 

Before and after: bathroom

Since I moved in to my new apartment in March, I've been steadily progressing with its refurbishment. Sadly, it was in a terrible state when I first arrived. Its previous owner had dementia and I don't think anything had been done for months, if not years. Certainly no decorating and not much cleaning by the state of things. So the first job was a thorough deep clean and, since then, I've been planning, researching, organising and deciding how I want it to look and function. These days there is so much choice but that doesn't make it any easier! You can't just say: 'Oh, I'll paint that white', as there are hundreds of shades of 'white' to choose from!

I'm still finishing off the decorating (doing most of it myself and it is hard work!) and then new carpets will be laid. More for my own record than any other reason, I've decided to post some 'before and after' pictures. The bathroom is now finished. I've never planned a bathroom from scratch before in my life and it's nerve-wracking, but I'm pretty happy with the way it's turned out. The cabinets look a bit greyer on these photos than they actually are; they are a soft grey-blue-green. 

It's not a very big room and has no window but I'm pleased with how light and bright it now seems, and I love how the colour scheme has worked out. 

And below is the 'before' (or at least what it looked like after I'd cleaned it, got rid of the mouldy shower curtain and fixed a new toilet seat. It didn't even have one before!)

 
 

Sunday meditation: The light of the world

Quite a while ago I spent some time matching photos with Bible verses to make meditative images, and I am resolved to create a few more. This is an experimental one. I may go back and tweak it. 

'I am the light of the world; 

whoever follows me will not walk in darkness 

but will have the light of life.' John 8:12

A deserted village

Out of curiosity, we stopped to explore the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy. There are an estimated 3000 or so deserted villages in Britain, of which Wharram Percy is perhaps the most well-known. It has been subject to numerous archeological digs and some reconstruction, to better understand what life was like here and why it was eventually deserted. It was continuously occupied for some 600 years from the 9th or 10th century. In the 12th and 13th centuries it was a thriving village, home to the noble Percy family.  In the 1300s the Percy family were struck by misfortune, with no male heir, and raids by the Scots made life difficult. By 1323, two thirds of the land was uncultivated. In the late 1300s Britain was devasted by the plague - the Black Death. Estimates vary for how many people were killed, but it was at least 20% of the population and some put the death toll much higher. The Yorkshire area was ravaged by the disease, spreading north from London and also arriving by ship in the Humber ports. A switch from arable to sheep farming in the 1400s meant that fewer villagers were needed to farm the manorial lands and evictions were commonplace. By the early 1600s, the village was abandoned. 

There isn't much to see really. The building in the first photo is part of a post-medieval farmhouse, rebuilt in 1807. Part of it was demolished in 1845 and what remained was used as cottages for agricultural labourers until 1976. Rootling around apparently reveals the grassed over foundations of two manor houses and some 40 peasant longhouses but, given that it was raining steadily, I didn't do much rootling around! 

Part of the church (St Martin's) is still standing and it apparently continued to be used into the 17th century. 

Beyond the church is a reconstructed mill pond. During the course of the village's history, there were at least two documented watermills (presumably used for grinding corn) 

It's a fascinating place and, on a nicer day, I might have explored more widely. It's very atmospheric, thinking of all the people who once lived and worked here in this farming community. 

There is more information on several pages on the English Heritage website HERE. 
 

Pheasant among the poppies

I chanced upon a little patch of poppies on the edge of a cornfield - and surprised a cock pheasant, who was ambling around among the flowers. Poppies are a rare sight around where I live but you're much more likely to see them in the arable fields of the Vale of York and the Yorkshire Wolds. There was only a sprinkling here but it was a lovely sight with the view and the storm clouds. 

Kirkham Priory

Stopped off briefly at Kirkham Priory, a ruined Augustinian monastery founded in the 1120s on the banks of the river Derwent.  It's cared for by English Heritage and I don't have membership, so decided it was too pricey to bother entering for just a short visit. We contented ourselves with an ice cream at the gatehouse. 

It was a nostalgia trip for me as, when I was a child, we always used to stop off there for a break and a picnic on our way to the coast at Scarborough. In those days, as you drove down the hill into the valley, there was a magnificent view of the abbey ruins and the river. Now, trees have grown up to block the view, so it's not as dramatic as it used to be. 

It's set in a pretty valley and as well as the river crossing you have to cross a railway too. It's funny how it still seems quite exciting when the level crossing gates are closed and you have to wait for a train to pass... in fact two, one in either direction, as we waited! 

Walled garden

Whilst Castle Howard's grounds are mostly sweeping parkland, lakes and woodland, there is also an extensive walled garden, beautifully laid out and immaculately tended. At this time of year the stand-out stars are the roses, festooning walls and borders, lending a light fragrance to the air as you walk past. 

The gardens were presided over by an imposing 'larger than life' statue of George William Frederick Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle (1802-1864), who had an illustrious career as an MP and, later, Member of the House of Lords. For a few years he held the role of Chief Commissioner for Woods and Forests, and was apparently an enthusiastic champion of Kew Gardens and instrumental in securing funds for a significant plant-hunting expedition to the Himalayas by Sir Jospeh Hooker. 

Tony Cragg sculptures

This summer at Castle Howard there is an exhibition of sculptures by internationally renowned artist Sir Tony Cragg, who is British but now lives in Germany. I think I've seen pieces by him before, perhaps at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. They are monumental works, made of a variety of materials: steel, bronze, glass, wood, fibreglass, plastic. His work pushes the boundaries of the materials and contains echoes of his interest in geology, palaeontology and biology as well as the human form.  

I can't honestly say I warm to them... To me they are 'interesting' but not 'beautiful'. They did, however, look commanding in the landscape around Castle Howard and in parts of its interior too, and the pieces were carefully chosen for their locations (though not created as 'site specific').

In the 'Temple of the Four Winds' - an elaborate summerhouse, designed by Vanbrugh in the 18th century as a place where the Howard family could have refreshments (prepared by servants in a kitchen beneath the structure), and sit and chat or read - there was an elaborate Cragg artwork made of sand-blasted glass vessels. There were two stewards keeping an eye on it, who seemed keen to chat as there were few visitors braving the rain to walk out to the Temple. 

The amazing stucco work by Francesco Vassalli that decorates the Temple dates back to 1738. 

Of all the Tony Cragg pieces I noticed, I most liked this one (below), for its sinuous shape and the interesting way it incorporated its surroundings through the twists and bumps in the glass. 

Castle Howard's lakes

Castle Howard's grounds are extensive and contain several lakes. On such an overcast and stormy day, there were some dramatic scenes to be captured. 

In common with many of our stately homes, the grounds contain numerous follies and focal points in the landscape. In the distance (below) you can see the Mausoleum, where generations of the Howard family are buried. In front of it is the New River Bridge. In the last photo you can just about see some of the statues that line the path to the 'Temple of the Four Winds'. 

Unfortunately the heavy rain rather spoiled our walk. Can you see it bouncing off the water in the photo below? We got absolutely drenched, several times! If it had been a nicer day, exploring the grounds would have been much more enticing. We had a map but it soon disintegrated in the wet! 

Music while you walk

Whilst we were exploring the interior of Castle Howard, a gentleman started to play the piano in the Long Gallery, which was rather pleasant. I gather that is a very expensive make of piano: Bösendorfer. 

Owing to the fire, many of the rooms are still quite bare with exposed timberwork and brick walls, which are gradually being renovated.  Some are furnished, like the appropriately named Turquoise Drawing Room, which had fabric-covered walls and many portraits, though some, I think, were copies rather than originals.   

This is the Crimson Dining Room (imaginative names!) with its ornate fireplaces and elaborate chandeliers. 

The dome above the Great Hall collapsed in the catastrophic fire in 1940 and has been rebuilt. Originally it had been decorated by the Venetian artist Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini in 1709-12. High up in the dome itself, 'The Fall of Phaeton' is a reproduction of his original, painted by the Canadian artist Scott Medd in 1963. 

The family Chapel dates to 1870 and is richly decorated in the pre-Raphaelite style with William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones designs and lots of gilt, very opulent.  (I prefer my chapels to be somewhere in between the austerity of Ampleforth (see last Monday's post) and this level of extravagance!) 

I absolutely adore Morris/Burne-Jones stained glass though. The faces of the figures are always gorgeous.