Into the Forest

I left you on a bit of a cliffhanger in my last post, longer than I anticipated too.

In short, a night’s rest didn’t solve the issues I was having with my ankle; knowing that we were heading into the forest and out of civilisation, such as towns and shops, for a couple of days that was a concern.

Thankfully Google told me there was a pharmacy opposite our hotel which opened 30 minutes before our scheduled departure time. So we opted for an earlier than intended breakfast, as we already had supplies for lunch it was down to MOH to deal with checking out of the hotel while I went in search of ankle support, quite literally.

The pharmacy over the road opened on time (phew) and with a bit of gesticulating and some broken Italian and English I was measured for an ankle support, and I left the shop wearing it and with a topped-up supply of painkillers and with more confidence that the day’s 14.5km walk might be ok.

The walk started with a 17km taxi transfer, and we were literally dropped off at a trailhead into the Foresta Umbra - the taxi driver helpfully pointed the way, no doubt noting that this was yet another mad English couple!

So off we headed.

The path and forest ahead of us as we got out of the taxi, slightly unsure!

It was immediately different to our coastal walk yesterday, not only in scenery but also in temperature and somehow more tranquil. The Foresta Umbra is the last remnants of Puglia’s ancient forests, with dense and lush vegetation. It contains monumental specimens of beech, oak and chestnut trees, with many secretive and shady paths which would take us (we hoped) to our hotel for the evening, which was located in the heart of the forest.

Looking up to the tree canopy
A yellow waymarker band painted onto a tree trunk

Our walking notes warned that the route is ‘very remote’ amid dense vegetation, and that the paths were not clearly shown on the map provided. Great!! It suggested we follow the written notes carefully, especially in bad weather or fog, and as the primary reference. Then to top it off it added that there was limited mobile phone coverage in the forest. If I were already unsure, none of that information helped.

potentially a stinking iris plant with the red berries on show
A freshly grown conifer branch

The scenery gave us plenty to look at, and while we hardly saw anyone, a few cyclists did go past us and occasionally we’d catch glimpses of others out walking, but none seemingly on the same route as us.

funghi growing up/out of a tree's trunk
A different kind of funghi growing on this felled trunk
A closer look at the paler funghi growing from the tree trunk
Looking up the tree's trunk and to the underside of the funghi

The funghi in one section of the forest was amazing, and these are just a selection of the photos I took. We knew that our hotel for the next two nights offered a ‘forest-to-fork’ dining experience, and we were hoping that mushrooms weren’t on the menu.

plentiful trees in the forest - tall and thin

We weren’t just looking up at the tree canopy, or for the various way marking signs. Our notes told us to look out for the many wonderous flowers such as violets, cyclamen, anemones, snowdrops and wild orchids. We potentially saw some orchids but the photos are poor, but we were surprised to find snowdrops out in May.

a snowdrop on the forest floor - in May
A small clump of pink flowering clover growing amongst the fallen leaves
A white flowering most likely Iris

We got the message to go right…

red and white waymarking arrows painted onto a tree trunk - thankfully all pointing the same way
A barrier ahead, with paths either side

We had a wrong turn or two along the way, which meant some backtracking but we found our way onto the gravel track and then the road in the heart of the forest, known as Baracconi. Then we knew we were close to our hotel.

My ankle held out, the ankle support and painkillers did their job - and actually walking on the forest floor surface turned out to be much easier than the tarmac road, but even so I couldn’t wait to rest it and enjoy a long cool drink from the hotel bar, before contemplating tomorrow’s ‘leisurely 14.4km circular route’.

Transition and Decay, the colourful interpretation

Back in March in an unassuming building in Nottingham I went along to the East Midlands Contemporary Textiles exhibition titled Transition and Decay. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but the leaflet was handed out at the Newark Quilt Show back in January and as we planned to be in Nottingham that week, then there was no reason not for combining a visit to the exhibition with our errands, and lunch!

And we weren’t disappointed with any of those. We started out at another new-to-us venue, the Nottingham Society of Artists Gallery in a part of the town (city?) centre we’ve not visited much yet, and we were met with a riot of colour. Even MOH was impressed and took some photos.

It’ll be no surprise to you, and it certainly wasn’t to me, that I was instantly attracted to the most colourful exhibits some of which I’m sharing in this post. My favourite item from the exhibition was this ‘Fading Hydrangeas’ as not only can you instantly see the decay, and all the colours of the hydrangeas throughout its lifecycle, but also because of the intricate work and the patience it must have required.

FADING HYDRANGEAS, HELEN JONES

FADING HYDRANGEAS, HELEN JONES

Helen said that she loves colour and has been inspired by the constantly changing hues of the hydrangeas in her garden; from the bright, pure colours right the way through to the delicate petals in winter. Isn’t it gorgeous?

The next one I’m sharing is more literal - ‘Use it or lose it’ - and a type of decay that I’m sure all of us are keen to embrace, but it’s also a timey reminder to actually make that happen isn’t it?

USE IT OR LOSE IT, CATHERINE TYNDALL

USE IT OR LOSE IT, CATHERINE TYNDALL

VARIOUS SMALL QUILTED SQUARES BY THE EMCT GROUP

VARIOUS SMALL QUILTED SQUARES BY THE EMCT GROUP

There was little information available in the show notes for the items above and below, but I understand they were completed by members of the East Midlands Contemporary Textiles group for their regular meetings, and they felt (and I agree) that they should also be displayed.

RAINBOW COLOURS AND EXQUISITE STITCHING, EMCT GROUP

RAINBOW COLOURS AND EXQUISITE STITCHING, EMCT GROUP

This piece by Linda Forey started as ‘a possible method of looking at transparency in colours, and became a fun game of adding applique shapes’ - either way the result is stunning and playful - and also a contender for my favourite piece in the exhibition.

PLAYING WITH COLOUR, LINDA FOREY

PLAYING WITH COLOUR, LINDA FOREY

LONG STRIPS OF INDIVIDUAL SQUARES, EMCT GROUP

I love the colourful strips of individual works pieced together, and wish I could share more about them. It was the fruit on the blue background (on the right above) that caught my eye, and the more I looked the more detail and amount of work I could see.

Truly amazing.

It was a great exhibition, which also had a ‘touching table’ where the artists had made available the pieces they’d created when starting out to create the pieces for the exhibition, that was really interesting but also highlighted that there’s always so much more that goes into creating anything quite this beautiful.

Look out for another post where I’ll share with more items from the exhibition, which look at transition and decay in a completely different way, that’s why I’m sharing it as a separate post - I didn’t want either of the approaches to get lost.

Floral Art at the Devon County Show

In one of the marquees at the Devon County Show we stumbled across the most incredible Floral Art, which reminded me of some of the exhibits I’ve seen at previous RHS Chelsea Shows.

With categories such as Ladies Day, Gold Cup, Out to Pasture, Winning Rosettes, Parade Ring it wasn’t hard to work out there was a horse racing theme! And all the exhibits far surpassed my ‘plonk it in a vase and tweak’ style of arranging flowers, these were as the competition’s name suggests pieces of Floral Art.

I snapped a few pictures of the ones which most appealed to me, and my view may or may not coincide with the more experienced judges, let me know which are your favourites.

A hat made from silvery and slightly furry leaves, adorned with greenery

LADIES DAY, JEAN ADAMS - SECOND PRIZE

A bouquet of flowers on green leaves with pink spiral shapes on a wicker head

LADIES DAY, HELEN HERRIDGE

An arrangment of yellow and white lillies with a circular rim on a polystyrene head

LADIES DAY, DIANNE WEST - THIRD PRIZE

Now wouldn’t any of those be fabulous to wear, hay fever aside?

An upright arrangement with yellows, purple and green flowers with upright cinnamon sticks at the base

OUT TO PASTURE, ANN TRIGG

A BASKET ARRANGEMENT WITH WISPY ALLIUMS AND LOVE IN A MIST

OUT TO PASTURE, HANNAH BEST - SECOND PRIZE

OUT TO PASTURE, HELEN HERRIDGE - THIRD PRIZE

THREE CIRCLES STRUNG TOGETHER DECORATED WITH TWINE AND TONING FLOWERS

WINNING ROSETTES, JEAN ADAMS - FIRST PRIZE

It was around this point that my favourites tended to align more with those of the judges, so I’m taking that to mean that one or both of us have an idea of what we like, and in the case of the judges the criteria for each category!

An arrangement with yellow bobble flowers around the basket edge with striking 'pointed' flowers and ferns in the centre

GOLD CUP, JUDITH WOOLLVEN - FIRST PRIZE

A vibrant arrangement with red, pink, yellow and orange flowers in a 'nest' like basket

PARADE RING, KATRINA HOLMES - FIRST PRIZE AND BEST IN SHOW

I told you they were all stunning didn’t I? I really enjoyed walking around and admiring the work that had gone into each and every one, but don’t worry, I know where my flower arranging skills are - and they are way, way below this! These ladies, or those entering competitions anywhere in the country, have nothing to fear from me!