mfw beaded jewellery

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-05-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

Dear folks,

Wonderful to be home. Have just had first hot shower since Monday morning. Cold water only in Bangkok this time. Am eating real bread with Vegemite, YUM. Before we left Bangkok, Kevin and I went to what is claimed to be the largest jewellery store in world; the Gems Gallery, specialialising in Thai stones. A truly impressive place. They take you through the workshop showing stones being cut and then set into jewellery about 20 craftspeople each an expert in a different aspect of cutting, making and setting. Then into a ginormous glittering room with every conceivable design but all featuring local stones. Kevin fell in love with an orange Sapphire which is now my birthday present (we nearly ran foul of customs bringing it back ) Can't wait to show it to you. About to make Kevin a real cup of tea.

Michele

mfw beaded jewellery

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-05-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the gods smile on you and yesterday was such a day. The week had alternating days of Museums and out of the way meanderings in search of unusual jewellery materials. The weekend was reserved for the markets. There we found a beautiful example of a ring I had been seeking. A Victorian sentimentality where the first letter of each stone reads out the word DEAREST. Kevin met a collector of unusual pocket knives who was about to sell his collection much to Kevin's delight. We then met a couple who delighted in referring to us as the Colonials and by chance spotted their walking cane with a mineralogists hammer for its handle, just perfect. To top it all off we met a dealer in antiquities with a fine collection of Neolithic, early kingdom Egyptian and Roman artefacts and beads. What a day!!!.

Michele

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-05-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

Another day, another museum! The British Museum must be the premier museum of the world. All sorts of treasures lie within its walls. This close up shows the detailed bead work being carried out in the 7th and 8th century. These millefiore were found in a woman's grave in Norway.

Regards

Kevin

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-05-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

1st May 2008

Well, we are off to another Museum, this time the Victoria and Albert Museum, with its emphasis on decorative and applied arts in history.

This is a fine example. It is a column capitol from Spain dating from 1370-80. It has a clear Islamic style and would originally have been painted in gold as well as blue.

Kevin

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-05-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

As we continued on through the Museum of London, there were so many treasures that it was hard to take it all in. This is a photograph of a string of Baltic amber which dates from the 1st or 2nd century AD. The thing that is remarkable is that it is still on its original string!

Kevin

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-05-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

A second visit to the Natural History museum, saw us in the "Vault". Here lie some of the treasures of their collection. I have pictured here a large aquamarine crystal (pale blue) which is completely enclosed in a crystal of morganite (pale pink), from Paprok in Afghanistan. This is one of the finest crystals of its type in the world.

Enjoy

Kevin

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-05-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Harrods food hall is everything they rave about and more. In fact the whole of Harrods is a palace of plenty and splendour. After wearing our feet out walking all day, we retreated to Harrods for Cream Tea, along with half of the other tourists in town. It did not feel crowded though because of the scale of the place. Their cheese counter is the length of David Jones food hall in Sydney, divided into countries of origin. Stained glass ceilings, enormous ornate chandeliers, carved and gilded columns and don't get me started on the chocolate hall. No photos as it would have been intrusive and bad manners. Their range is staggering. We had gone in search of a particular micro Jigzaw puzzle and came away with two. You could spend a week in there it is truly a shopaholics dream.

Michele

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-05-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

The Museum of London is not as famous as its sisters, "The British" or the "V&A", but it should be! It contains objects directly related to the London area from prehistory, through Roman, Saxon, Medieval, Renaissance to modern times. It is organised in time periods, with a balance between interpretation and objects.

Directly related to our bead quest, this photo shows beads that were recycled from Roman Glass in about AD50-70. This was about the time Queen Boudica burnt Londinium to the ground. They are tribal design and reflect either the persistence of pre Roman tribal values, or opportunistic recycling after the Roman defeat.

Kevin

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-05-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

1st May 2008

Back to the Natural History Museum again, it is just so fascinating. The building itself is a constant wonder and the exhibits spellbinding. We found out about The Vault whilst drooling over a precious jewels case from the visitor next to me otherwise we would have missed it. Diamonds of every imaginable colour and cut, huge stones with stories of intrigue and power as well as curses. Diamond dust from the beginning of the universe. Just extraordinary! We will have to return as we have barely seen a fraction of the exhibits there.

Regards Michele

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

30th April 2008

On our first day in London we visited the Natural History Museum. The building itself is magnificent in its level of architectural ornamentation. Everywhere you look the animals and plants, ancient and modern, carved into the stone. Inside are treasures of the natural world. I have never seen so many fossils gathered under one roof. The mineral specimens in its Treasury are unbelievably beautiful. Amongst the specimens are collections of rings, including one which dispays 50 or so stones from the one mine in Burma, with a huge range of colours. Mind boggling. The picture is of a cast of volcanic ash which bears the footprints of a family of Australopithicines (related to the ancient ancestors of homo sapiens) who crossed it when it was still wet, some 3.8 million years ago.

Regards

Kevin pictures (top) volcanic ash footprints (bottom) natural history museum

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

30th April 2008

On the bus home. Have walked from SELFRIDGES to Covent Garden and back. Lunch at Libertys for a treat. I had the artisan cheese board with walnut bread, fig and pear chutney and 5 deliscious cheeses including one from Scotland which was sensational. It is called Stinking Bishop and is flavoured with a herb of that name. We took a deep breath when the bill came, an apron there costs $190. But the cache of the history of the company and its glorious building was worth it.

Michele picture (Covent Garden London)

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

29th April 2008

Dear friends,

I have said this before. I love London, I feel so excited to be here. It is the most marvellous meeting ground. Sit at any table anywhere in the city and every table will have a different accent or language being spoken.The museums we have visited so far have expanded our awareness of ourselves, our culture and our history in such extraordinary ways. I feel truly priviledged to be here.This morning I visited a gallery to see the latest jewellery trends and a delightful out of the way store that specialises in unusual bottons. Just bliss.

Michele

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

We are following Hadrians Wall - an amazing fortified wall which stretches from one side of England to the other. Corbridge is the biggest Roman town along the wall, with large graneries and barracks. The onsite museum has a wonderful collection of artefacts, although some of the finds now reside in the British Museum in London. This is an enamelled open work wheel brooch, which shows the level of detailed work that the old craftsmen were capable of.

Kevin

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

26th April 2008

Today all roads lead to London, but for us a small detour past Eleanors Cross an ancient monument to a much loved Queen. Tomorrow we hope to be up bright and early to visit Portobello markets, then on to the Natural History Museum with its wonderful building and amazing collections. It will be strange to be in one place for more than a night or two. I will miss the fields of Daffodils and baby lambs, the beautiful birdsong and even those impossibly narrow lanes, it has all been a wonderful adventure and too soon over.

Michele (top) Eleanors Cross Northhampton (bottom) Portobello Markets

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings all, We are in Whitby in Yorkshire. Where Captain Cook came from, but more importantly for us it is the home of Jet; that wonderful fossilised coal so beloved of Queen Victoria and used since pre- history for making beads. Having trawled the streets for hours looking at contemporary Jet jewellery we are now at the magnificent ruined Abbey on the cliff. A foggy day in Whitby, and the Abbey was looking its spooky best in anticipation of the goth festival the next weekend. This is about the location that Suttcliffe took his wonderful shot of the Abbey many years ago.

Michele

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

Breakfast in the hotel and we are awaiting our porridge. Yesterday we visited the pencil museum. When I was 8 years old all I wanted in the world was a box of 72 Derwent coloured pencils. To see where the pencil was invented and the history of Derwent pencils was a genuine treat. I have collected coloured pencil sets all my life and yesterday was no exception.

Michele

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

Today we head to the lake district. I have found a couple of good books on Roman jewellery in Britain and look forward to reading them. Life on the road is time consuming. One is forever packing and unpacking and heading to the next destination. Don't get me wrong I love it but it is my excuse for not writing more.

Regards Michele

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

2008-04-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

We head for kevins ancestral home today, the cotton mills of Bolton, whilst he is photographing the holy shrines I will catch up on postcard writing. My fantasy of just sitting back and enjoying the drive was very short lived. Routes have to be planned. Accomodation calculated and organised, and corrections and updates reprogrammed. I've become quite adept at yelling at the GPS as she leads us onto yet another non existant road or down a badger hole. Much love M and K.

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hello all

This is the Westbury White Horse in Wiltshire, carved in the 1600's or the 1800's into the chalk. It follows a tradition going back to prehistory, and followed by the armed forces during WWII. This one has been covered with concrete to preserve it, but it still makes an impressive sight. The hill is very steep, so it must have been a massive job to cover it!

Kevin

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-13T03:22:00.000-07:00

We have just caught a local whaler(small and open) now used for ferrying visitors to St Michaels Mount. 0ur voyage was accompanied by dolphins and the local sailing regatta. This castle was originally built by Benedictine monks in the first millenium and added to by various inhabitants. After the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII it passed into private ownership. It is an impressive sight on its own island at the bottom of England. Will write more soon, however I'm having trouble sending photos but I will keep trying. Michele

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

Friday, 11 April 2008

"Kevin is out chasing follies on the windswept cliffs of Cornwall, gloriously pituresque. Our GPS has developed a penchant for country lanes the narrower the better. Port Isaac where Doc Martin was filmed was our first stop this morning. As we left the public parking area above the harbour the GPS led us down right into Port Isaac again, very steep with streets so narrow that to avoid scraping the houses on either side we had to pull in our side mirrors . Kevin has absolute faith in the GPS whilst I hold my breath and pray." Love M and K

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

Thursday 10th April

"Today we will venture to Dartmouth ,approached by ferry, it is a picture postcard of pastel coloured fishermens houses in a steep bay. Hope to send photos of where we have been so far tonight technology permitting."

Regards

Michele

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

2008-04-08T00:09:00.000-07:00

Monday 7th April 2008

United Kingdom

"Dear folk, there is very little to write about jewellery at this stage,also the internet and even phone coverage is patchy out here in the wilds.However the thatched medieval villages, prehistoric sites and stunning snow covered counryside wiil form the basis for future stories I'm sure. We head towards Cornwall fortified by porridge and the TomTom. I don't know how we would cope without it." Michele and Kevin

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com

Michele's 2008 UK Diary

2008-04-08T00:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday 3rd April 2008

Bangkok

"Life is lived on the streets babies are bathed food is consumed constantly cots tables chairs all crowd the footpaths, street vendors take up any spare space usually tending spitting woks or steaming couldrons with makeshift trestles groaning under the weight of any amazingly varied range of foodstuffs.There is obviously no space to walk so we walk on the edge of the road dodging the roaring tide of tuk tuks and scooters piled high with goods twice their size.we just saw a scooter carrying a new fridge in its box.The only jewellery I have seen is very yellow gold and in this heat, 40 degrees in the shade, I am not inclined to search out stones and not having the language puts me at too great a disadvantage ,so I will wait for the UK."

http://www.mfwbeadedjewellery.com