Birthday Present From Afar...

I've been so busy these last few weeks, working at night, but also 2 of our favourite friends from Cornwall came to visit for 2 whole weeks..
During that time, I had a birthday...eek! So, we had even more adventures...and some presents..for me...
I had the trilogy by Stieg Larsson beginning with ' The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.'..very good it is too!!
I also had Victoria Hislop's 'The Return'
I had some fat quarters, a table mat and a cookery book all the way from an Amish farm in Philidelphia ( thank you Heather and Gareth!)

But...but!...but!!...look at this ...look!!.... it's a bowl, not just any bowl.. but a bowl brought all the way from Cornwall.
I used to make bowls and ceramics is still close to my heart...so when this beauty was brought, by hand, by my friends, all the way from Cornwall I was stunned (clearly not into silence!)

Look at the tones, the colours, the lines...don't they remind you of Cornwall? I can see dry stone walls, hedgerows, the sea and sky...yes, I can...
Can you tell I love it???
And to add to all the excitement...I know the woman who constructed this bowl...
she lives in Mabe Burnthouse, which is very close to Penryn where I lived for over 20 years.
Her name is Charlotte Jones, she lives with her husband and boys in a converted chapel. Her husband Ron is equally talented and I advise you to go and check out both their websites now...without further ado.... it's well, well worth it....
Thank you Julie and Mark...you know I love it!!

The Island...Revisited!

I discovered another 'The Island' film set a couple of weeks ago, this time in Pano Elounda
I had heard some friends of mine had been 'extra' extras so I asked if I could incorporate photos of Sybil and Mike into my post.
In addition to that, I also received a photo of the author of The Island, Victoria Hislop, as an extra too..she's the woman in the above photo sitting on the wall. My friend Sybil is standing below the wall on the right.
Above is a close-up of Sybil's make-up, she was acting as one of the unfortunate lepers that lived on the island of Spinalonga...

There's Mike in the middle standing and Sybil is sitting in the middle..

Sybil told me it was very cold and uncomfortable on the island that day and they filmed the scenes of the last day when everyone was taken off in small boats..she said it was very emotional and a fantastic experience.

Now look at Mike...eek!! Isn't that effective?? Obviously lesions from the condition..

Sybil also said she was so entranced my Mike's make-up she didn't notice that they'd shaved Mike's beard off..

Locals have been wondering why so much of the old buildings have had to have been covered and rebuilt with plaster of paris and fibreglass 'fronts'

As you can see from these photos the surrounding buildings are very similar...and more authentic as they are covered with detritus, stains and aging..

Obviously, one of the reasons was to hide modern day pieces, telephone kiosk, meters, wires etc.

I still find it very interesting though..I'm very glad I found this scene and I'm grateful to Mike and Sybil for allowing me to use their photos..it helps to make it more personal..Thank you!!