Just a little note…

…to say hello. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve put the blog on hiatus for a little while. Too many other things on the go at the minute I’m afraid. Anyway, I couldn’t possibly let this - the most wonderful night of all the year - go by without popping in to wish you all the happiest Samhain’s Eve. I’ll be back again soon but until then, oíche mhaith.

And the winners are…

(Random unrelated photo to brighten the post up.) 

Hello strangers! How’re you all doing? Once more I’ve set a new record for blog neglect, but at least I gave advanced warning about it this time. Anyway, I’m back now and I’ve plenty of posts (and possibly another giveaway) lined up for the month ahead. Which, it turns out, is October! I love October.

First things first though, time to announce the winners of my giveaway. Thank you so much to everyone who entered, and for all your kind words and wishes too. All went well with the op, I’m glad to report. But enough about that! Winners…

So I assigned everyone some numbers depending on the amount of entries they had in and then submitted that to that random number generator thingy. I have to say, everybody had at least two or three in there - there were 36 different people in with 106 entries. Not bad going, eh? The first number who came out won the first photo, the second number the second photo and third etc etc.  Ok, so here’s how it all ‘went down’, as they say:

*drumroll*

And the first winner is…number 62 - Pabkins!


Next up we have number 82 - that’s Kristin!


And the third and final number out is 77 - the lovely Mademoiselle G!

Congratulations ladies, I’ll be contacting you soon to get your postal info. I actually feel really quite guilty now that I only had three prints to give away. I wanted everyone to win! As I mentioned earlier though, I may be holding another giveaway in the very near future. And this time it’ll be something from someone who knows what they’re doing, namely my very talented little sister and her boyfriend.  So check back soon for more details! Hopefully I’ll manage a post or two in the next week as well, I’ve no excuses this month.

Anyhow, thanks again to everyone who entered and I hope everyone’s doing well. Must get a good catch up with you nice blogging folk very soon!

Apologies, Promises and Predicting the Irish Weather

 Image source.

 

Sorry folks, I’ve been at it again. Slacking off. I’m getting worse too. All I seem to do these days is crawl back every so often, full of apologies and promises, and a lot of chat about the weather, then slink away into obscurity again only to return a week later with a lot of the same.

So I’m going to try not to do that tonight. Though I suppose that ‘sorry folks’ is a form of apology, and saying I’m not going to go slinking away again does kind of count as a promise. Plus, I am going to talk about the weather! Well I’m Irish, it’s what we do.

As they say in these parts, ’tis a while night out there. Terrible windy. Though that’s not quite the type of weather chat I was on about. I was thinking more of the ‘reading nature to predict a storm’ sort.  In fact, I hadn’t actually intended talking about the weather at all until I sat down to write this. I had meant to post about local fairy tales for the lovely Laura.

Most of you won’t know Laura, she doesn’t have a blog, but I’ve known her in the real world for years and believe me, she’s just brilliant. She lives in England and doesn’t get home much, but I met her at a wedding the other day and she promptly reminded me that she likes to keep up to date with the blog. At least she did when there was stuff to keep up to date with. Sorry missus! (Shit, that was another apology.)

Anyway, as I said, I had planned on hunting down some local fairy stories which I knew she’d appreciate. And I did, I found some from right by the area she’s from. They’ll have to wait for another day though (and that’s another promise) ‘cause on the same site I also found this adorable guide to forecasting the weather from signs in nature.

As far as I can tell, it was written by an Inishowen schoolboy in 1938. It’s a just wee bit hilarious, especially considering the storm that’s blowing out there tonight. And I’m sure it’ll be as helpful in Yorkshire as it is here!

 Weather Signs 

by Liam Grant, Maghermore 17/01/1938

When the moon is pale it is a sign of rain.
When there is a ring around the moon it is a sign of rain.
A coppery or pale sunset is a sign of rain.
A rosy sunset means good weather.
When the stars are very bright it is the sign of a storm.
When the cloud are heavy it is a sign of rain.
When it starts to rain if the hens run to their house it is a sign it is going to fair but if they puck about it is going to be a wet day.
When the mist comes up from the sea it is a sign it is a sign of good weather.
When the mist comes down Meentagh glen it is a sign of rain.
When we hear Binion strand roaring it is a sign of rain.
When we hear Carrickabraghey roaring it is a sign of frost.
When the cow shakes herself in the byre it is a sure sign of rain.
When the smoke blows down the chimney it is a sign of rain.
When the hares comes into the fields it is a sign of a storm.
When there are clouds in the sky like goats hair it a sign of rain.
When the crows are up high in the air and fly straight down to the ground it is a sign of rain.
If you see the rock glistening in the distance hills after a shower it is a sign of rain.
When you hear the rivers sounding very loudly it is a sign of rain.
When you can see the hills very close it is a sign of rain.
When you see the merry dancers in the north it is a sign of storm.
When the hills look far away it is a sign of good weather.
When you see the dogs eating grass it is a sign of rain.
When the sun goes down red it is a sign of good weather.
If there is anybody who see wild geese it is a sign of storm.
If you see cows with their backs to the wind it is a sign of rain.
If you see a blue light in the fire it is a sign of storm.
When you see sheep coming in to the front of the hills it is a sign of storm.
If it starts to rain out of the south and the wind to change to the north it will fair.
When you see the cat sitting with the back to the fire it is a sign of storm.
If the new moon has her horns sticking up it is a sign of good weather.
When the horns are sticking down it is a sign of storm.
If the crain goes up the river it is a sign that there is going to be a flood.
If the floor gets damp in wet weather it is going to be good weather.
If the floor gets damp in good weather it is going to be wet weather.

 

THE END

Read more about the 1938 School Manuscripts here.

Some Scandinavian Daydreams (…and an awkward aside.)

© }~T~{

I went to Norway last week. I got there on a little fishing boat I borrowed from the pier one morning. I sailed up out of our lough, rounded the Scottish isles, and by the evening I was watching the sun set behind me from the edge of a fjord.   

That night I slept with the stars as my blanket and the moon my pillow.

The next day I went into the forest. There I met an elven lady who, with her sweet dog Mira, took me on a tour of its moss and mists. We ate apples and mushrooms and got pine needles stuck in our shoes…

 Ok, so sadly I didn’t really steal a boat and take off to Norway last week and most of the above story isn’t actually true. The part of about the elf and her dog is, though, and I certainly feel like I’ve been off exploring the wild woods of the north. I just didn’t have to leave the house to do it.

Nope, all I did was log into Flickr and happen to stumble upon the most beautiful fairytale of a photostream I’ve yet had the pleasure of viewing. At first I was speechless (which anyone who knows me will tell you is a rare occasion indeed) and I’m still finding it hard to put into words exactly what it is I love so much about these verdant glimpses of Nordic idyll brought to us by a girl named }~T~{. Which may partially explain the silly little whimsy above.

Anyway, here are a few more of her photographs, just a brief selection of the many, many fantastic images she has in her Flickr stream. (Well worth a wander!) The lovely lady also has a great blog if you fancy calling round for some forest tea.

Oh, and one other sort-of-related thing I just want to add (something of a wee mini-rant I’m sneaking in at the bottom here). I mentioned several of posts back that I have one main problem with Tumblr and how some people don’t use it fairly. I’m not prepared to comment on the reasons why I think they do it, but one thing I’ve seen happening a lot is bloggers posting others' photos without any links or acknowledgements. Besides the obvious copyright infringement and what not, it’s really frustrating on a less illegal level.

Take T’s beautiful work, for example. When I did finally discover her stream I realised that I had been a fan of her work for some time and hadn’t even known. You see, when a photo is properly uploaded from it’s source onto Tumblr you should be able to click right through it back to its owner’s page. Unfortunately a lot of the time the only place your click gets you is back to the person’s blog who uploaded it. And that’s what happened here; I remember coming across one of her photos months ago but when I tried to find out more about who it came from I simply couldn’t. Very annoying! 

Anyhow, I don’t know why I moaning to you guys since most of you aren’t on Tumblr. Rest assured I’ve already ranted plenty over there too, it even lost me a few followers. They can be a more fickle bunch at times, them Tumblrs! Though most are very lovely :)

Leafy Art

I realise this is a little out of season but I love the idea of these wonderful art carvings too much to leave them (get it? sorry) till next autumn. Speaking of the seasons we appear to entering my least favourite one here- Spring. I’m sure it’s lovely and magical in other parts of the world- new life, fresh beginnings yada yada yada- but when you live in Ireland all it means is rain. A LOT of rain. Good job himself and I are planning on emigrating at some point in the coming months. Anyone able to suggest anywhere nice? Somewhere with year-round autumn/winter would be perfect. Maybe we should just become hobos and follow the fall around the world… Anyway, I hope this day finds you all well and that you enjoy the little leaves (if you want to find out more about them click here).

Halloween Pics (At Last!)

 

So I’ve finally got my connection sorted out. I’ve been trying to post these pictures all week but my broadband’s been so slow recently I kept running out of patience. Ah, the joys of living in the north of Ireland. Seriously, don’t get me started on internet services round these parts. I’m not sure if it’s just my imagination but my connection seems to play up anytime the weather gets bad, which isn’t exactly ideal in this climate!

Anyway, hope you all had a wonderful holiday. It technically still is Samhain here, and it will be for the next few weeks, but that’s just because ‘Samhain’ is the Irish word for November. Wish we celebrated it all month! Actually maybe not. Last weekend nearly killed me. I hardly ever drink anymore and I was out partying two nights in a row, with an extra hour thrown in thanks to the clocks changing. I don’t care if it’s clichéd, I’m getting too old for this shit! Twas fun all the same though.

Right so here are the aforementioned photos. I’ve actually tons more but I just picked the ones of friends who I don’t think will kill me for posting them here (or who won’t  find out!). Sorry folks, but I haven’t bothered to include any of myself; it felt too weird. My two costumes were pretty lame anyway, so you’re not missing anything. I’m really going to put the effort in next year, and I mean it this time!

 

 

Oíche Shamhna! Oíche Shamhna! Oíche Shamhna!

Is breá liom é! Hope you all have a good one folks. I’ll be back with a proper post tomorrow, and hopefully some photos, but for now I just wanted to wish you all a magical Samhain’s eve. Slán agus oíche mhaith agaibh!

Image via Turn of the Century

Not Just A Scary Face

 Image source

 

"THEN Cuchulain went on his way, and Cathbad that had followed him went with him. And presently they came to a ford, and there they saw a young girl thin and white-skinned and having yellow hair, washing and ever washing, and wringing out clothing that was stained crimson red, and she crying and keening all the time. 'Little Hound,' said Cathbad, 'Do you see what it is that young girl is doing? It is your red clothes she is washing, and crying as she washes, because she knows you are going to your death against Maev'e's great army.'"

"Cuchulain of Muirthemne" by Lady Augustus Gregory, 1902

It’s a tale almost every Irish schoolchild will be only too familiar with- the young hound of Cullen and the king’s druid on their way to the most famous battle in Celtic lore, The Cattle Raid of Cooley. Taken from the 2000-year-old Ulster Cycle it’s also the earliest written record of an encounter with that most famous of Ireland’s fairies, the banshee.

I think I’m actually going to go as banshee now, not a vampire. No doubt I’ll change my mind a couple of dozen times again over the next 24 hours, but for the moment banshee it is! I’ll probably just stick to the obvious scary version, because it’s easier, though the aul Bean Sidhe comes in all sorts of guises. The screeching ghostly spectre that most people, myself included, usually associate with her is just one of  many faces.
<--- by Sweetheart Sinner Creations

Her most famous face, certainly. Maybe that’s because her brief appearance in that wonderfully true-to-life movie Darby O’Gill was so memorable (I know it frightened the proverbial out of my wee childhood self).  But it might also be because she’s often confused with the Morrigan, an old raven-feathered deity from Irish mythology who is also associated with death. While the Morrigan accompanies a soul passing over, however, the banshee only alerts the living to the passing of that soul.  She really can’t do you any harm at all, and she isn’t always a vision of terror either.

'Screaming Banshees' by Emily Balivet

Anyway, I’ve bored of searching for costume ideas online so instead tonight I’m going to point you in the direction of a little more Samhain reading, this time from Lady Gregory’s ‘Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland’ (1920). Specifically this chapter on banshees and other death warnings,  which provides a more accurate account of the whole phenomenon. Or, if my inane babbling has already bored you of all things screaming and keening, you might enjoy this chapter. It’s packed full of tiny little ghost stories :) 

You know it’s funny; this book hails from an age when it was all the rage in Ireland for intellectuals to troop across the country collecting folk and fairy tales from the lesser classes.  The majority of the practices, traditions and urban legends documented from the period have more or less died out over the subsequent generations, but there are still a lot that endure.  And reading back over them I’ve realised that the ones with the most staying power  seem to be those concerning death and dying.  Ah, but sure isn’t that the nature of the human condition. We’re obsessed with our own mortality. That must be why we love Halloween so much! Well, hope you’re all having a spooktacular start to this seasonal weekend!

Welcome revellers…

 

…to my Halloween wedding party! Before you ask, no, I haven’t eloped in the past couple of days without telling you. This is all imaginary unfortunately. After having my original real-life blog party plans ripped up and thrown out the window last week I was at a loss for something interesting to contribute. But then this dawned on me!

I’ve actually been planning on starting a bridal blog for ages, though I’ve too many other things on the go at the minute to get round to it. I don’t know what it is about weddings; I’m not the most girly-girl but as soon as I got engaged last year I started pouring over wedding magazines, salivating over dresses and décor.  Maybe it’s because they’re just like Halloween- a great excuse to dress up and gorge on food and merriment.

Usually I think a themed wedding’s fine if it’s subtle and tactfully done, it can add that personal charm, though too often the theme can become overwhelming and take away from the significance of the day. With Halloween, however, more is definitely more! I might have been lamenting the increasingly forgotten quiet spookiness of Irish Samhains past in my recent posts, but what I don’t think I made clear is that I really do love the modern American-ised holiday too. It has such a fun carnival atmosphere, perfect for a completely over-the-top wedding day extravaganza.  Plus, I’m a huge Tim Burton fan and, well, that just goes without saying.

In reality himself and I will probably just grab a some family and friends and head off to Italy for a few days to do it on the cheap. The pennies aren’t too plentiful and the minute, I’m afraid. But for this evening at least I would to like you to join me on a little journey of imagination, where budgets are limitless, the sun always shines, and time stands still. Let us begin…

 

The Location 

 

 More photos here

*To begin with I'm going to have to ask you do a bit of mental picturing.*

While neither of us are religious, I at least have a spiritual side and the thought of a quickie in a registry office seems rather pointless to be honest. Our original plan when we got engaged was to have the ceremony in a four-thousand-year-old pre-Celtic ring fort up on a hill near where we live, but for the day that’s in it some hallowed ground seems more appropriate. As such, the wedding proper would be held in this overgrown churchyard exactly half way between where we both grew up.

Like any graveyard worth it’s salt, this place has countless stories to tell. And it’s definitely haunted too; the other day when I went to take these photos, my mum’s dog went completely uncharacteristically crazy at one of the tombstones. The poor wee thing was terrified. Anyway, I don’t have time to get into it’s history right now, but I’ll just tell you that it dates from the sixth century and is so much more beautiful in real life. You can check out loads more photos of it on my Flickr page, though they really don’t do it justice.

We’d have the service at around 5pm, just catching the fading evening light. In reality the weather would probably be atrocious but this is a fantasy, after all, and in this reverie it would be dry and smoky, with mist hanging over the fields the way it’s wont to at this time of year. Then when the sun sets the fog would lift to reveal a huge harvest moon and a blanket of stars hanging over the lough which the grand ballroom of the reception hotel looks onto.

 

This is said hotel. Not much to look at is it? Well bear with me. Built in the mid-nineteenth century, this place once oozed Victorian charm. Even as late as the 1980s it was described by one travel writer as being a worthy setting for an Ealing comedy. I had vintage photographs of it to show you, but I’ve forgotten them so you’ll have to take my word for it. It doesn’t really matter though, because this is what it looks like today. Partially gutted by a fire a couple of decades ago, it now lies abandoned overlooking the shore front of our town. 

I’ve never been inside myself but from what I hear I imagine dusty chandeliers, once grand but now creaky sprawling staircases, hallways like those in The Overlook, cobwebs and candelabras… Perfect really!

Again, it’s high up there on the haunted scale too.  My secondary school was right around the corner from it and I’ve heard many an urban legend about the entire area encompassing the hotel. Some were about rooms in the main building itself, others about a particularly cursed house next to it, and loads about students from the school holding séances in and around it. Every one had a tragic or otherworldly ending. I wish I’d time to tell you some of them, maybe I’ll do a post on it another day.

The Décor

DIY ideas from Country Living

I think the graveyard is pretty enough in itself not to need any embellishment, and the hotel is almost eerie enough not to need much work done to it either. There’d definitely be no need to tidy it up too much; we could keep all the spider’s webs and dust layers for effect. (Personally I think the rats could stay as well but I’d say some of the guests might not be too keen on that.) There’s also a heap of antique furniture lying around inside on account of a local manufacturer once using it as a storeroom. All we’d need to do is drape old white sheets over anything that didn’t have a tatty charm.

 That being said, weddings are such a wonderful excuse to get crafty. Wherever and however I get  married, for example, I’m definitely having paper flowers. Let the real ones grow where they are, I want to make my own! And when it comes to DIY Halloween décor the mind literally boggles. Here are a just a few ideas for inspiration:

Crafty inspiration from the Creepy Cupcakes blog

 

Supplies from Save on Crafts

The Dress

Vintage gowns by Nataya

Ah yes, the dress. Now this is where I become undone. It’s also a perfect example of the gulf between my real life plans and my fantasies. Whereas I actually plan to get a really simple and plain tea length number, my imaginary dress could be almost anything. Well, anything except one of your typical strapless, poofey get ups.  I’ve included here just a tiny example of ones I love, and these are only the those I think would suit Halloween. You know, I’ve so many inspirational gowns bookmarked I could start a whole blog for them alone!

Dreamy dresses by Maria Lluisa Rabell

Gothic grandeur by Kambriel

Masks

Jack of Blades by Attic Raiders

One of the most enduring elements of the traditional Halloween is the custom of wearing masks. Back-in-the-day folks believed they’d prevent them from being recognised by any of the wandering souls returning for their annual visit. If there’s any truth in that then we’d definitely need to don a few for protection in our haunted reception site.

Beautiful Autumn masks by Balmasque

Food and Drink

Image by JPL4

One thing that’s wonderful about a Halloween party is that the food can double up as decoration. Just take that most wonderful Autumn delight, the toffee apple. They look and taste yummy, and we could attach little name tags to them and use them as place settings and favours.

We could also put the insides of all those turnips we’d have carved to good use in the hearty banquet of Irish seasonal treats we’d be laying on: vegetable broth dished out from a giant cauldron and served with wheaten bread; coddle and cabbage and bacon and champ for the main; baked pears, apple tarts, and berry crumbles for dessert. Later in the night we’d serve tea and barmbrack for supper.

Crafty idea from Martha Stewart

All this would be washed down with as many beers and ale we could muster, as well as whiskey, red wine, cider, and even mead.  Oh, oh, and absinthe poured over sugar for that dry ice effect. 

 

Victorian style wedding cake

As for the cake, instead of going all ‘Corpse Bride’ and ghoulish I think an old fashioned vintage style classic tiered creation would fit better with the old world atmosphere of the location. And, like in bygone days, we’d have little trinkets baked into it for luck.

Entertainment

By Cox and Cox

After we’ve recovered from the feasting we’ll need something lively to get us back on our feet, like a decent ceili band. They’re always good for a laugh and suit all ages. We’d have to have a fair aul dose of rock thrown in there too though, for after when all the mammies and daddies have sneaked off to bed. And what better band for it than one of my all time favourites (and his too!) The Smashing Pumpkins. Don’t forget this is a fantasy people, so we’d have the actual guys themselves playing! We could get in The Pixies too for pure 90s heaven.

While we waited on those guys to set up we could take a stroll down to the beach for a huge bonfire. The path down would be lit with luminaries and before returning to the party guests would get paper lanterns to release into the sea air. Hell, we may as well throw in some fire works too. It is Halloween after all.

Just For Fun 

  Finally *phew* I’ve just a couple of ideas for other little quirky finishing touches. I can’t believe how long this post has taken me, and to think that this is the shortened version! I would never have gotten it published on time if I’d included everything I’d planned on. Maybe I really will have to start a wedding blog… Anyway, I love the idea behind these little cards from HandyKane that guests can fill out and leave for you to read in coming years. With our friends and family I dread to think what they’d predict for us. I’d say it’d make good reading though!

And  how about getting an arty friend to alter your zombify some of your wedding snaps as a gift, something like this wonderful art print from Corpse Key Co.

Well there you have it, folks, a little run down of my imaginary Halloween wedding. Thanks for reading and I hope I haven’t bored the arse off you all! I’d also say a special hello to any newcomers who have found their way via Vanessa and her wonderful party. I hope to be visiting all of your little corners of the web shortly!

I’ll leave you now with a little video from the aforementioned Smashing Pumpkins.  They actually have so many better songs than this, some really beautiful ones that would be perfect for a first dance, but I love this video. I generally love all their videos, though this is probably the freakiest and most Halloweeny. I’ve also had weird dreams based on it in the past, but we’ll not get into those now…Anyway, thanks again for stopping in. Hope you all have a fantastic Halloween!

Stuck For Party Food Ideas?

I have a little recipe for you this evening. It’s for the Irish Halloween cake, barmbrack. Actually, it’s more a bread than a cake but we’ll not split hairs. Either way it’s yummy. I’ll not be baking it myself for another couple of weeks (I‘ve other plans for the blog party), but I did have some shop-bought stuff this morning. Toasted with the butter melting into it, washed down with a good strong cup of tea. Heaven.

It’s really worth going to the effort of making your own ‘cause the kind you buy these days are so boring. Some might taste good, and the odd one might have a cheap plastic ring thrown in, but for health and safety reasons they don’t bake in any other little charms or prizes anymore. When I was a kid it was so exciting to see what you were going to get. You only ever really cared about the coin, though; it was usually a 50p or £1 piece, a fortune in the days when penny sweets cost a penny.  

<---A brack by any other name…image by Tom Allen.

Ah, yet another one of those dying traditions I was lamenting the last day. Fortune telling used to be a big element of an Irish Halloween but, like the poor wee fae, it’s becoming increasingly forgotten. Baking lucky trinkets into things like barmbrack or apple tart was just one of the many ways of predicting your fate for the coming year. If you were served the slice of brack with the coin in it, for example, you could expect a wealthy time ahead. 

A ring, a pea, a thimble, a piece of cloth, a matchstick, a button…any combination of these items or others might be baked into a brack. They all have a meaning, usually something to do with money and marriage, but I can’t recount them all right now. Goggle’d probably tell you. Though you really could use anything that symbolises something to you. Just wrap up the little tokens in greaseproof paper and toss them in to the dough mix!

Right, back to the recipe. Just a few things to note first of all: some people say you should soak the dried fruit in tea over night to make them plump and juicy, but I wouldn’t bother me arse. Keep your tea for drinking with it. And you can also use baking soda instead of the yeast like your supposed to, or even just self raising flour, especially if your as inexperienced a baker as I am. Oh, and in true Irish baking style, all measurements are approximate :)

You will need:
-1lb Dried Fruit (raisins, sultanas, mixed peel etc);
-An Egg;
-1lb Flour;
-1 Teaspoon Baking Soda;
-1 Teaspoon Mixed Spice;
-6oz Brown Sugar;
-Honey for glaze (optional).

Method:
Sift the flour, baking soda, spice etc into the fruit mixture. Add the beaten egg and mix. Pour mixture onto a lined and greased 7” round cake tin. Bake in a preheated oven for about an hour and a half. Let stand for ten minutes then cool on a wire rack. Brush on the melted honey for decoration. 

Naturally, there are much more complicated and fancier recipes out there but this is about the most my oven expertise can handle.  I hope some of you give it a go, and don’t forget to include the lucky charms!