Museums: Cheltenham and Bristol

February 2, 2026 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

We are currently in Edinburgh for the second of our annual, month-long, winter stays to continue to build our affinity with the city and, this time, spend some time with a new addition to our Edinburgh family. In the days before we left for Edinburgh and all the excitement there, I visited two museums – in Cheltenham and in Bristol.

*^{Winter Near Our Home – But With Snowdrops Emerging}*

I demonstrated a hint of senility recently as I bought the wrong trousers online. That error led me to a rare visit to Cheltenham via foot, bus and train. There, I could exchange the trousers face to face rather than go through another online and postal exchange which I would probably have messed up. Having completed the exchange, and given I was under no time pressure, I thought I would take a look at the The Wilson Museum which I only became aware of through a recent advert in our local culture listings.

The museum is in a smart modern building but was founded over 100 years ago around the collection of the Wilson Family including Antarctic explorer, Edward Wilson. The museum has undergone some recent restorations and re-organisations and has a pleasant café, educational play areas for children and a few good-sized rooms for permanent and temporary exhibitions of art and artifacts. Given how good and wholesome it was, I felt negligent in not having visited before.

The highlight was a room containing art and furniture from the Arts and Crafts movement. I’ve loved seeing exhibitions of work of this type in the past in London (and especially the William Morris Museum and Thomas Carlyle’s House which I had visited in August and September 2019). What I hadn’t fully appreciated until now was how important the Cotswolds were as a locus of the energy and talent that drove the movement. Many of the main protagonists such as Ernest Gimson, the Barnsley brothers and William and Eve Simmonds, lived in villages and homes we have walked though or past many times in recent years.

*^{Arts And Crafts At The Wilson Museum, Cheltenham}*

The exhibition was well laid out and had a good combination of very high-quality luxury pieces and very plain but beautifully designed furniture that still bore the hall marks of the movement but was for families with limited means. The latter showed how the movement aimed to bring great design and well-made things to the working population in the face of increasing industrialization and mass production.

Then, on the day before our trip to Edinburgh, Jane and I stepped up to manage Second Grandchild’s (SG’s) trip in and out of his nursery while his parents attended a funeral and worked in London. Seeing SG is always fun and it was interesting visiting his nursery for drop off and pick up and lovely to see him waving us off so happily.

In between, I walked into the centre of Bristol while Jane returned home to get a haircut. My primary aim was the 2026 iteration of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition which was on tour from its home in the Natural History Museum in London and on show at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.

I love this competition and exhibition and have seen it many times in London. It was a treat to be able to weave this year’s viewing seamlessly into my local schedule of retired life while helping Second Son and his partner. Plus, there was the bonus of visiting another relatively local museum for the first time.

The Photographer of the Year exhibition didn’t disappoint. Unfortunately perhaps, my favourite photos were the very first I saw. These were aerial drone shots of the tundra by Alexey Kharitanov that contained incredible colour. The remainder of my wander around the exhibition was not exactly anticlimactic but many of the animal shots were, maybe inevitably, rather similar in style to those from previous years and, so, less memorable. One excellent thing though is that all the exhibition is available online and so there was no need to fiddle around with picture taking of the best.

'Taiga Tapestry' By Alexey Kharatanov — *^{‘Taiga Tapestry’ By Alexey Kharitanov}*

The rest of the museum had interesting rooms, exhibiting a wide range of art since Medieval times, a large natural history collection, and an exhibition demonstrating the long history of ceramic production in Bristol before it was overtaken by The Potteries in Staffordshire. I saved some areas for another time and look forward to an opportunity to show SG the excellent collection of stuffed native birds and animals.

Bristol Ceramics — *^{Bristol-Made Ceramics, Bristol Museum}*

From the museum I wandered towards the city centre and had a ‘smashed’ burger from a street food vendor (Boigers) who do occasional pop-ups at our local village pub. It was another first for me and the burger was pretty tasty though, I suspect, nutrition-light.

My final trip element before heading back to pick up SG, was a brief visit to Bristol Cathedral. This wasn’t a first time visit but it has been over a decade since my last one which I snuck in while working briefly in Bristol.

*^{Bristol Cathedral From The Old Monastery Garden}*

It is, of course an impressive building. A helpful and patient gentleman gave me a summary of the history. He outlined how the building has almost continuously evolved over the last 1,000 years and especially since it was taken apart by Henry VIII as he closed the Augustine Monastery that had been at the cathedral’s heart. I had a very pleasant wander around and was impressed with the way the light and airy nave had been extended so sympathetically in the late 19th century to echo the Medieval parts of the building.

Jane and I had a last lovely little dose of SG while starting to receive more photos of the arrival of Third Grandchild in Edinburgh. What a full and exciting day it had been. More excitement to follow!

*^{Early Glimpse Of The New Arrival in Edinburgh}*

Betwixtmas in Belfast

January 4, 2026 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

The period between Christmas Day and New Years Eve appears to have a new name (new for me, anyway): Betwixtmas. These few days at the end of December can feel like a strange little lull. Christmas Day is such a climax of social interaction, celebration, eating and drinking. Then, although we no longer stay up to see the New Year in, the advent of a New Year is another cause for celebration and new hope. The days in between often feel calm but can also feel like filler.

Until quite late in my career, I usually drifted into work or ‘worked from home’ to get peripheral tasks done without using up precious holiday allowances. Because so many colleagues were out of the office for the holiday period, I could often get a surprising amount done. Later, I tended to take time off to chill out after Christmas away from London. Now I’m retired, there are even more options to relax into Betwixtmas.

This year we were lucky enough to be able to spend Betwixtmas in Belfast with Youngest Son (YS) and his wife. For us this year, Betwixtmas was busy and bright – certainly not ‘filler’. Our Belfast trip followed our first Boxing Day for nearly 40 years without any offspring. The uniqueness of that was tempered by a sunny walk, a very good lunch at a local and recently expanded pub (The Old Fleece), a brief visit to nearby friends and then an early night.

The weather in Belfast was very good for the time of year and the logistics of travel to get there worked. Once we were in Belfast, we had a really relaxed and great time.

^{Views From The Metropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast}

YS and his wife are a brilliant team. They are currently setting up a new osteopathy and Pilates business called Nellie Studio. This will be on a floor of a Victorian warehouse in East Belfast that they are renovating. They have grappled with the treacle of having to obtain planning permission and building regulations control for the listed building and are now pressing the letting agent and builders to get the space ready for income generating osteopathy treatments and Pilates workouts. Observing the way they are working together to achieve all of this was inspiring.

Billie Studio's Osteopathay Treatment Room Taking Shape — Screenshot

^{Billie Studio’s Osteopathy Treatment Room Taking Shape}

In between dashing across Belfast to source curtain poles and extra wood flooring, while we babysat their dog, YS and his wife entertained us with films and sport in their cosy lounge, trips to excellent restaurants and walks in surprisingly sunny weather. For me, the only blemish to Betwixtmas was that Forest Green Rovers (the football team I support rather too obsessively) failed to win either of the televised games in the period.

*^{Dog (Reggie) Sitting With A Very Relaxed Dog}*

Belfast is a significantly smaller city than Bristol or Edinburgh where our other sons live. However, it is developing quickly as the Northern Ireland Troubles gradually recede into history. Young entrepreneurs appear to be establishing new independent businesses and there is already a busy and excellent café, restaurant and bar scene. There are far fewer of these than in, say, Edinburgh; but how many does one need? Belfast has enough and is developing further between each of our visits.

Breakfasts are particularly well done. Cultura again stood out for me as the most outstanding breakfast but we also had a great brunch at DRIP and the best coffee was at Established which has long been one of our favourite breakfast haunts.

On an outing to the south of Belfast, we visited Fodder in the Woods for a burger lunch and then wandered around the associated gift and food shops and Finnebrogue Woods. It seems that, well beyond Belfast, young businesses are starting up everywhere.

*^{Fodder In The Woods And Finnebrogue Loch}*

We also had a treat of a dinner at the new Capparelli at the Mill restaurant that has been established by one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s ex-chefs. It is in a lovely building that has been expanded imaginatively and lovingly. The service and food were outstanding and I can’t wait to go again.

Capparelli Mill — *^{The Approach To Capparelli At The Mill}*

We ate very well throughout our stay. YS, his wife and her mother all produced great home cooking for us on successive evenings. We also visited a couple of pubs that we hadn’t been to before (The Jeggy Nettle, which had a lovely open fire, and Northern Lights, which had a range of twenty craft beers of the type I like). YS also gave us the first margaritas we could recall drinking – complete with salt around the top of the glass – all very innovative and special for us!

'Archer Fam' Chicken Pie By YS's Wife - Delicious! — *^{‘Archer Fam’ Chicken Pie By YS’s Wife – Delicious!}*

We squeezed some culture and some walks into the schedule. As on previous Belfast visits we strolled through the Botanic Gardens to the Ulster Museum.

Here, the exhibition on the origin and history of The Troubles is well put together and informative. We had seen this before but there is too much to absorb in any one visit and this time I focused on the videos spelling out origins of The Troubles. We have seen the excellent, recent TV series Say Nothing, Trespasses and (most of) Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland and the Ulster Museum provided another dimension to our understanding of the issues and the way they have been, at least partially, resolved.

*_{Collection OF Ceramics By Local Artists At The Ulster Museum}*

On our last morning, we popped into the Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) where there were exhibitions by William McKeown, Niamh Seana Meehan, Marie Hanlon & Rhona Clarke. Each one was diverting in their diverse ways and the building itself is interesting. I’m sure we will visit the Ulster Museum and the MAC again during future Belfast trips.

*^{Sea Skin By Niamh Seana Meehan At MAC}*

So, Betwixtmas was very successful for us this year. It came following a wonderful Christmas Day with Second Grandchild (SG), Middle Son (MS), his fiancée and her mother in Bristol. MS treated us to not only brunch but then a very tasty Christmas dinner of chicken, ham, pigs in blankets, stuffing and about six vegetable side dishes – my plate near overfloweth!

MS Was So Impressively In Control OF Chrismas Lunch (Ably Supported BY His Sous Chefs) That He Was Able To Take Us For a Walk Through St Werburghs, A Very Bohemian Part Of Bristol — ^{MS Was So Impressively In Control Of Christmas Lunch (Ably Supported By His Sous Chefs) That He Was Able To Take Us For a Walk Through St Werburghs, A Very Bohemian Part Of Bristol With Gaudi-esque Buildings}

Betwixtmas ends with New Year’s Eve. As we move past New Years Day and into the early days of the new year, there is a chance to think about hopes and resolutions for 2026. Maybe I’ll write about those New Year Resolutions later this month if I can sustain actually doing them for that long. Meanwhile, Happy New Year to all!

Great As It Is To Travel Away From Home, It Is Always Good To Come Back - Ruskin Mill In Winter Sun — ^{Great As It Is To Travel Away From Home, It Is Always Good To Come Back – Ruskin Mill In Winter Sun}

I Do Like A Plan!

December 18, 2025 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

One of the things that occasionally frustrates Jane, my wife, is how I love to stick to routines. I’m not good with the unpredictable and the unexpected. Surprise visitors, sudden changes to imminent diary dates, unbidden moves of items from one storage location to another, furniture moves, unnecessary changes to mobile phone features; all tend to cause me more anxiety than they should, especially as they are trivial first-world problems and my wife loves them all.

I think that my craving for plans to achieve calm routines is why my career went best when I was in operational information technology. There, the reliability of day-to-day computer services is critical. Having computer services working smoothly day after day was a key aim – not least because running computer services is cheaper that way. Changes had to be managed very carefully and if an anomaly happened then all efforts were made to ensure they didn’t happen again. Plans and routine were lovely then and I still hanker for them.

Fortunately, especially since my retirement, my wife jolts me out of this way of being so I am forced to stay on my toes. She will be the one to suggest that we go to a different pub for our usual Sunday pint and crossword. She will change the drawer contents around in the kitchen so I can’t find anything for a few days. She will poke me into holidays and outings. I think I am better at embracing, and even instigating, change than before – for example, my cooking skills and bravery are vastly improved from a few years ago – but it is my wife who tends to really try new things.

Of course, external events also push me off my routine and disrupt our plans. COVID almost derailed our family Christmas in 2020 and it did ultimately erase our plans to walk the North Devon/Cornwall Coastal Path earlier that year. The weather has also intervened to prevent or near-ruin other holidays in the past.

*^{Opening The Bedroom Blinds To The Sort Of Winter Sunrise And Weather I Like!}*

Increasingly too, as I get older, I’m conscious that health issues can mess up the best laid plans and prevent implementation of my normal routines. For example, I hate it when an arthritic joint prevents me from walking comfortably into town to get the newspaper and daily shopping. Last month, the blow up of my ankle problem took me off my feet for a few days and this month, a bout of orbital cellulitis (an infection of the tissue around the eyes) did the same. Anyone would be annoyed at these unplanned health issues but I feel my anxiety about them is amplified somehow by my feeling of missing out on my usual pattern of life.

Those ‘outages’, as we called computer service failures in my working life, help me appreciate the days when I can just get on with the routine and think about plans relatively proactively and calmly. ‘Seize the day’ as Jane often tells me. I need to do that more.

The bones of our plans for Christmas and the New Year are pretty much in place and, while weather and health may, of course, disrupt them, I’m very happy with what is in store. We kick off with carols in a local church then dinner at ours with Jane’s siblings. Then Christmas Day will be with Second Grandchild (SG), his parents and his other grandparent. SG is a very happy little boy by nature and I can imagine he is going to be beside himself with Christmas cheer – while not yet fully understanding many of the related concepts.

Boxing Day will be just Jane and I – for the first time ever, I think, we will be on our own. I am hoping for a sunny, crisp, wintery day and a long walk to a local pub for a leisurely lunch.

*^{Winter Sunset At Ruskin Mill (Jane’s Photo)}*

Then we are off to Belfast to see Youngest Son and his wife. To round out the family tour, we are then in Edinburgh for four weeks during which another Scottish grandchild should arrive.

We were last in Edinburgh for First Grandchild’s (FG) fourth birthday. As usual, we had a great time as we mixed family socials with art and nature. Eldest Son and his wife always provide amazing hospitality and it was lovely to see how FG had developed since we last saw him in the summer. His sense of fun combined with his determination and focus on detail were brought out by some of the presents he got for his birthday. It is clear that he is going to love ‘LEGO®’!

The Water Of Leith - Very Full During Our November Visit to Edinburgh — *^{The Water Of Leith – Very Full During Our November Visit to Edinburgh}*

The arrival of FG’s new sibling in January is going to colour, enliven and warm our visit next year. We had hoped to repeat what we did early in 2025 (without, this time, Jane breaking her shoulder!) but the flat we had rented then and booked for this visit was unexpectedly withdrawn from Airbnb last week – a very irritating imposed change of plan!

We have rebooked elsewhere (inevitably at a higher cost….) and are looking forward to our time in Edinburgh enormously. We just need to complete the plans for our schedule of trips, restaurants and art intake for the time we are there. I do like a plan!

Friends

October 8, 2025 / fgrtommo / 5 Comments

A couple of recent events have got me thinking about friends. Friendship is a nebulous and sometimes transitory thing. I looked up a definition on Wikipedia:

Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an “acquaintance” or an “association”, such as a classmate, neighbour, coworker, or colleague.

Although there are many forms of friendship, certain features are common to many such bonds, such as choosing to be with one another, enjoying time spent together, and being able to engage in a positive and supportive role to one another.

Using that definition, I can see that I have been fortunate and have had a lot of friends in my life. I’ve been supported by, and enjoyed time with, friends at school, university, work and, now, in retirement. I have not felt the need for a lot of friends at any one time. I seem to prefer relatively deep friendships with a few rather than broad but shallower relationships with many.

Painting Depicting Friendship By Samuel Peploe (Scottish Colourist We Encountered In an Exhibition Of Scottish Colourists Earlier This Year) — *^{Painting Depicting Friendship By Samuel Peploe (Scottish Colourist We Encountered In An Exhibition at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh Earlier This Year)}*

Having said that, two of my biggest life regrets are to have failed to keep in touch with any school friends and not making the most of a network of colleagues at work. I would like to know what some of my best mates at school are doing with their lives now and whether we still have things in common. And putting more effort into maintaining a network of work colleagues would have made my life in jobs, and between jobs, a little easier and, perhaps, more rewarding.

Two of my four main friends at university have died recently. The preparation for and conduct of a memorial service for one of these a few weeks ago, has been one of the events that has got me contemplating the value and meaning of friendship. Indeed, these deaths got me thinking more about mortality as well as friendship.

The remaining two best friends from my university era and I got together in London for lunch and a few beers to discuss our prospective speeches at our friend’s memorial service. There was a lot of catching up on what we were each doing, a bit of nostalgia and many funny reminiscences. But what struck me most was that, despite not meeting either of these guys for many months, we slipped into a shared history and conversation as if we talked together all the time.

We have been in contact with each other with varying degrees of intensity over 50 years and there have been many events together over that time. However, the other surprising thing for me was how much of that shared experience I have forgotten. As the old stories came out over the drinks, I could have sworn that I hadn’t been at several of the occasions that were being recalled. But the photos did not lie; I was usually there!

The memorial service itself was in Oxford. Jane and I were able to spend a very pleasant morning there before the memorial ceremony. Oxford centre was busy with tourists and a fresh batch of students. In a bit of free time, I visited the site of the old castle – a large mound next to the newer castle but one without good views across the city as I had hoped. I also strolled out of the crowds along the Oxford and Coventry canal and then through the pretty and interesting area of Oxford called Jericho. I had a very calming hour or so.

The ceremony in the Oxford Friends Meeting House was moving and the speeches (including my short one I think) were well received. Then we adjourned briefly to a packed pub and continued some of the reminiscences and the catching up with current lives. The whole process was very friendship affirming even though we had just lost a very good friend.

Post Memorial Service Catching Up — *^{Post-Memorial Service Catching Up}*

It’s been harder to keep up friendships with people I met during my 30 or so years in London since I moved completely out of the city a few years after retirement. I managed to stay in touch with a small group of friends in London who met every few months to work our way through the alphabet of cuisines. I made it to most of those sessions but they came to a natural end once we reached ‘Z’. I’ll need to redouble efforts to stay in touch with the participants.

Meanwhile, I have invested time in building up a new friendship group in and around our local village. And yes, building friendships does take effort and time. I have been lucky after moving to Gloucestershire post-retirement in that this is Jane, my wife’s, home territory. She has a large network of friends here and that provided a ready-made group of acquaintances.

Also, many of her family are based nearby. And, of course, family can be friends even though, apart from one’s partner, they are not chosen. Jane’s sister has recently moved to the local area and I’m looking forward to getting to know her and her husband a lot better as we become able to meet up more often. Plus, one of the things I am continually thankful for is that the relationships I have with my sons and their partners is akin to great friendships; I feel we both get on very well with them all.

My strongest local friendships have been built through my personal involvement in the local football team (Forest Green Rovers) and village events including Parish Council meetings, the Village Fete and Festival, the Pub Quiz and Crawl and, especially, the village’s Horsley Climate Action Network. These friendships may not have the longevity of some from my education or working life but they are some of the best.

Variable Weather During Prep For This Year's Village Fete — *^{Variable Weather During Prep For This Year’s Village Fete}*

This leads me onto the second recent event that got me thinking about friendship.

I am a frequent attendee at the local Talk Club (a session for men who generally don’t talk about feelings much, to talk about feelings). When this was on pause two summers ago, one of the other attendees and I decided that we would continue meeting up on walks. We would use these to keep tabs on each other thoughts and feelings and provide any support we could while enjoying the countryside, keeping our fitness up and providing custom to a few of the local pubs. That continued until my friend needed to go into hospital to have a fairly major operation.

*^{Peaceful, Sunny Scene On The Walk To A Friend}*

A month or so after that, I walked over to his neighbouring village to see him. It was a beautiful sunny day and a long leisurely walk. On the way, I was struck by how much I had missed him and had enjoyed our chats. Even after almost 70 years of making friends (and losing them again), it is still possible – indeed, easy – to make and maintain friends if one puts in the time and effort and are lucky enough to find people who are open, who listen as well as talk, and are fun to be with.

Family Holiday In Italy

September 22, 2024 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

Jane and I, our three sons, their wives/fiancées and our two grandchildren all made our way to a rather splendid villa in Italy for what turned out to be a wonderful holiday; all that I had hoped for and more.

*^{The Dramatic First View Of Our Holiday Villa As We Arrived}*

Getting everyone together for a family holiday for the first time like that was a feat of flexibility on the part of those, unlike me, who are still managing careers. It also involved precise scheduling and effective logistics including three hire cars, enterprising use of car boot space, and multiple airports and pick up points. I felt very privileged and lucky that we could manage it.

We stayed in a villa near Lake Bolsena, about 90 minutes north of Rome (where, at the end of the holiday, Jane and I, plus Youngest Son and fiancée, went to the wedding of one of Jane’s nieces). The villa was in a very rural, rather remote setting overlooking an ancient volcanic caldera and Lake Bolsena within that. It was an elegant, comfortable and well-equipped villa. Importantly, for the relative youngsters and, especially, the grandchildren, it had a substantial swimming pool.

*^{The Evening View From Our Terrace With Lake Bolsena In The Distance}*

We had every breakfast and evening meal at the villa. The group included excellent cooks and baristas plus willing clearer-uppers afterwards. I barely got a look in on either aspect but took responsibility for the recycling and most of the considerable waste disposal. Despite the local market and supermarkets being a little disappointing we ate extremely well and the bottles and cans recycling bins were repeatedly overflowing.

*^{Catching Stray Wildlife In The Pool}*

Orvieto was about an hour’s drive away and is perched on the top of a prehistoric volcanic plug. We had been there when our children were very young but while memories fade, of course, the key visitor sites were unchanged. Given we visited the city just out of prime tourist season this time, the crowds felt substantial. However, as ever, a few yards away from the main tourist routes, the streets were quiet and picturesque.

*^{Quiet Orvieto Square In Front Of The Church of Sant Andrea And A 12-sided Tower}*

After a very good lunch with the grandchildren and their parents, Jane and I left the group to visit Orvieto Cathedral which dominates the city and which can be seen from many miles away. The façade is wonderfully preserved and impressive. The other walls are also memorable – both inside and out – since they, and the internal columns supporting the roof, are unusually, horizontally striped with alternate layers of basalt and travertine. It was great to be able to visit and remember it again.

We visited a few of the smaller towns around Lake Bolsena. Now edging beyond the tourist season, some of these reflected what we have read about small rural Mediterranean villages gradually emptying out and becoming inactive backwaters. Our closest town was Grotte Di Castro. It is beautifully (but seemingly precariously) situated on a high ridge; of course, these hill-top towns are two-a-penny in much of Italy but even so it seemed surprisingly quiet and there were a lot of ‘For Sale’ signs.

Montefiascone on the opposite side of Lake Bolsena was bigger and busier. It too had wonderful hill top vistas and inviting alleys and cobbled streets. Their steps and sharp inclines challenged my currently dodgy left knee but I think the exercise did it good. While in the town, we were lucky to avoid the storms that seemed to be gathering all around us and, having failed – not for the first time – to find a restaurant both open and selling pizza before sundown, we headed back to our villa via Bolsena.

*^{Stormy Weather Over Montefiascone With Views Of Lake Bolsena and Cattedrale Di Santa Margherita}*

The town of Bolsena was much closer to our villa and did offer takeaway pizza during the day. We sampled that with First Grandchild (FG) in mind couple of times since he had said a few weeks before that pizza was what he was looking forward to most about the holiday. In the end, I think we were more concerned about tracking down pizza than he was.

Bolsena is another attractive town perched on a volcanic outcrop. Several of us had a good lunch in a restaurant adjacent to the lake. While FG played with a new remote-control toy, several of us took turns to take very pleasant strolls down a street lined with huge plane trees and up through its pedestrianised alleys to the castle and main church. From the top of the town there were broad views of the Lake Bolsena, its islands and the surrounding ridges. Second Grandchild (SG) was entertainable, calm and happy (as usual), FG had his new toy, and we all had a relaxed time in the town.

Lake Bolsena is the largest volcanic lake in Europe and there was volcanic activity within it as little as 2,000 years ago. With it being so close to our villa, a swim in its waters was on the holiday agenda for many (but not me; I really don’t like getting wet!) SG and his Dad also missed out because it was nap-time but the rest of the group had a boisterous time in the water. FG loved the water and all the splashing with his Granny, Mum, Dad, aunts and uncles. I took charge of capturing the action on camera with the big sky and gorgeous landscape around the lake in the background.

*^{Frolics In Lake Bolsena Under A Lovely Blue Sky}*

Much more swimming, splashing and fun and games were done at our villa. It was lovely to see both grandchildren ignoring the coolness of the water and just loving every moment in it. I also loved the opportunity to take both of them around the villa on little walks. FG is old enough now to appreciate nature and we had lots of lizards, millipedes and ants to observe and blackberries to eat on our ‘adventures’ (as he called them).

And then it was time for us to leave all this fun and conviviality. It had been so good to see everyone enjoy the holiday with its mix of group and separate activity, the games, the food and drink and the diverse chat. I hope we can repeat the model again but practicalities may intervene to prevent that so, for now, I am just going to continue to soak up the happy memories.

Horsley Unwrapped

March 9, 2024 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

The Horsley Festival – subtitled ‘Horsley Community and Culture Unwrapped’ – was substantial triumph. The events that comprised the festival included concerts, art exhibitions, craft workshops, poetry recitals, storytelling, wildlife walks and dance workshops. These events were presented very professionally in a brochure and on a dedicated Horsley Unwrapped website. All of the events were very well attended – indeed, most were fully booked up – and all the events I went to were even better than I expected. It was an incredible achievement for a village of about 300 households.

*_{Ruskin Mill Valley Near Horsley, Gloucestershire}*

My wife, Jane, was on the steering committee. This was chaired by the brainchild and prime organizer of the event – a friend of ours and a real hero who must have worked almost full time on the festival for weeks and who was incredibly busy during and, especially, between the events!

^{The ‘Inspire’ Art Exhibition Organised By Jane Including Works By Children At The Local School (bottom right) and Works By International Artists (bottom left) – A Diverse Mix!}

Jane was responsible for the central art exhibition which kicked off the festival. It was a significant effort to organize about 25 local artists so that information about their work, and the works themselves, were available on time, and that those works taken away promptly at the end. There were also trials and tribulations associated with ensuring that large display boards and plinths were procured, restored and erected safely and in time. The result, though, was much-praised and Jane was very happy with its success.

*_{Some Of The Art Works – By Local Artists Maisie Meredith, Jo Hofman And Kim Roberts}*

As well as the art exhibition and the associated opening ceremony, I attended a variety of other events. There were three music concerts during the nine days of the festival which framed the talents of three solo musicians and eight bands from the local area. Horsley has attracted a large number of artists and musicians over the years and the quality on show was terrific.

*_{Closing The Festival: The Village Concert Starring The Elastic Band, Diana Yukawa, Bill Roberts, Solskin And Hawkmoth}*

There was a lot of dancing – including some rather chaotic but very amusing line dancing which Jane enjoyed. However, the music I liked best was a set of haunting violin-based music by Diana Yukawa. We have listened to and enjoyed music by this international performer at home before. Even in a rather ordinary village hall, and in front of her very proud looking daughters, her performance was very moving and memorable.

Listening And Dancing To The Bagelites, Kinvara And Spiracy

The three wildlife walks with the Chair of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, who lives just down the road from us, were booked up very quickly; too quickly for me to get a place. However, I did manage to get on a tour of the main Ruskin Mill College buildings and workshops in the valley I walk through frequently on my way into town.

The valley itself is very familiar to me but an introductory presentation on the way the restoration of the old mill and fisheries has taken place over the last 30 years provided fascinating, new information. We were given a little book describing the history and values of the Ruskin Mill Trust and the way it provides specialist education for teenagers and adults with complex needs.

The college values are inspired by those of Victorian architect and artist, John Ruskin. I have been interested in him, and William Blake who lived a little earlier but shared similar views, for quite a long time. Both of them were keen to revive traditional craftwork amid the mass production of the Industrial Revolution. Ruskin’s interest in that is reflected in some of the workshops that now enable students at Ruskin Mill College to learn rural crafts such as pottery, ironworking, trout farming and woodworking.

Our visits to the fish hatchery, woodworking centre and the forge (with its three forges showing Iron Age, Medieval an Edwardian methods) were enlightening. The demonstrations of blacksmithery and wood turning were eye-opening.

*_{Tour Of Ruskin Mill, The College Forge And Greenwood Workshop}*

The tour was crowned with a visit to the college staff art exhibition and delicious, homemade pizzas made in the college pizza oven; very nice!

*_{Ruskin Mill Staff Exhibition: Some Gorgeous Wooden Spoons By Richard Turley}*

Another highlight for me during the festival was an ‘in conversation’ session with four local, young artists that was facilitated by a good friend of ours. The artists were a commercial film maker working in the advertising world (in a similar but bigger way to that of our Youngest Son), a photographer, a storyteller and a maker of naturally dyed textiles. The latter, Maisie Meredith, is someone I know a little and her work, including a beautiful booklet, is a brave, direct response to her personal issues with endometriosis.

The artists described their work, approach and way of working. That was very interesting and the dynamic as they asked each other questions and reinforced or developed each other’s points was refreshing.

*_{Local Young Creatives ‘In Conversation’}*

The point when the storyteller, Hannah Moore, told a brief story to illustrate the way she used stories to facilitate restorative justice – the process of getting criminals to talk with their victims to reach some point of closure following a crime – was my best moment of the festival. It was matched a few minutes later when she told another story, impromptu but masterfully, in response to a question from the audience about the possibilities of using storytelling to resolve wider conflicts such as wars.

I should mention too that the All-Comers Darts event I organised in a small corner of the less serious end of the festival, went very well. We had he right number of participants for an event where no-one had much darts skill but where all improved over the course of 90 minutes. We all had a lot of laughs and fun. I almost won! That was a reflection of the low quality of dart throwing on display (the pub darts team was playing away from home that night) but encouragement enough to get me thinking of organising a village darts ladder.

We will see….. but whether I do or not, the Horsley Festival has left a legacy of fond memories, reminders of past cultural events – some of which were well before our time in the village – and a momentum that may result in future, similar events. It has also enabled new personal connections between the residents and I, for one, have strengthened or initiated new relationships. I know Jane has strengthened and made many more.

*_{Jane Walking Through Mist And Sun In Horsley}*

Since retirement I have embedded myself into this little Gloucestershire village and, over the last couple of years, for the first time, have felt as though I am a proper, full part of a local community. When we ‘downsize’ again and move out (timescales yet to be agreed), we will miss Horsley hugely.

Darn It!

January 28, 2024January 28, 2024 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

One of my New Year resolutions was to do more creative things. I think I have met that challenge, albeit rather mundanely this month, by darning several pairs of socks. I had bought the materials to do this some time ago but had left them languishing in a drawer. I got them out again and followed a YouTube video showing me how to bring a bunch of socks back to life. I admit that the holes were quite small and the finished products are not works of art, but I was proud of myself for doing it rather than just throwing the socks away and buying new ones.

^{Not Beautiful But Newly Functional}

My wife Jane has also been darning and even went on a workshop to facilitate more complex darning processes than I had attempted. Her main output was a repaired soft toy – called ‘Robert’ apparently – that my late mother had knitted for our Middle Son (MS) and which he still remembers adoring as a small child. MS and his fiancé are expecting a baby in March and, touchingly, MS wanted the baby to have a smartened up ‘Robert’ for his or her nursery. As with my socks, the repairs are, fashionably I’m told, very visible. Hopefully, both socks and ‘Robert’ will have a new lease of life.

*^{‘Robert’. 30 Years Old And Going Strong. Thanks Mum!}*

Most of my other New Year Resolutions have started well. I’ve been walking a lot, watching my weight and my alcohol intake, and have countered my fear of average, lukewarm coffee by going to a cafe with Jane when she has requested (only once so far). I’ve reduced my intake of the miserable world news a bit. I’ve also remembered to do my back exercises on most days and although they are limited, they are also pain free. While doing them, I have enjoyed remembering that these exercises weren’t really possible a year ago after I put my back out with an unexpected, untimely and big sneeze; that’s good progress.

Only the gardening resolution is untouched but, so far in January, the weather has been either too cold and frosty (lovely to walk in), too windy or too rainy. Climate chaos certainly seems to be producing very varied winter weather and convenient excuses not to get out working in the garden.

^{Frosty Mornings On The Way Into Town}

In the last two or three weeks, there has been plenty of cloudless sky in between the storms. Jane and I had a lovely walk through some woods on the other side of the Stroud Five Valleys from our home. Lack of parking places forced us to alter our plans slightly but it is always rewarding to find new places to stroll through and the Five Valleys are blessed with a vast network of well-tended footpaths.

*^{Striding Through Sunlit Oldhills Woods On The Chalford Biodiversity Trail}*

I have revisited some of the long walks around our village for the first time for months. I’ve loved these sunny walks, their views and their solitariness and the time they give me to think (but not about very much). The frozen ground meant there were no worries about the mud and the mix of bright sun and deep frost everywhere has been spectacular at times.

*^{I Love This Old Barn Complex. I Hadn’t Been Past It For Ages}*

Some of the recent winter sunrises have been spectacular too.

Spring is on its way. I often find upcoming February is the toughest month to negotiate; I get impatient for the ever longer days and daunted by the amount of work there is to do to prepare the garden for planting. Darn it, perhaps I should have focused a little less on mending socks in recent days, and a little more on gardening so as to have got ahead of tasks on the vegetable patch and in the field. Even in retirement, time is too short.

Belfast Christmas

December 31, 2023December 31, 2023 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

Christmas in Belfast started at a furious pace. Youngest Son (YS) picked us up from George Best City Airport and whisked us off to an Asian small-plates restaurant in the centre of town called Yugo. We had an early, swift and tasty dinner there before zooming off again to traditional Irish bar in the old docklands, The American Bar. Here, we met up with YS’s future parents-in-law and had a catch-up chat while staying well out of the way of the regulars who seemed very proprietorial about their seats at the bar.

Then we crossed the road to the Dockers Club for a gig by George Houston who was an excellent warm up act for Joshua Burnside. Both artists were amusing between the enlivening music and they both had songs with interesting lyrics.

It was a great venue; apparently the gig was sold out but it wasn’t too crowded. The acoustics were great. I could make out all the words of the songs as long as I didn’t stand behind the enthusiastic woman who thought she knew them all and thought we’d benefit from bellowing them out. Plus, the Guiness was creamy and proper. Seeing a gig in such a lively, functional venue was a real treat.

It was interesting to see YS and his fiancé bumping into several acquaintances and friends. Belfast is small compared to London where meeting up at a gig would be unlikely unless planned in advance. It is clear that YS’s partner has a huge network of friendships in Belfast through living in the city through her youth and, now, through her work as an osteopath and as a Pilates and yoga teacher. It is great to see how settled – and successful – they have become in Belfast.

It was late by the time we got back to their house and Reggie, their one-year-old dog was suffering cabin fever and then overexcitement as we walked in. Let’s just say he had an unsettled night of whining and moaning…. To be fair, he was very quiet on the other nights of our stay and he has settled down a lot since we last saw him in Spring. He no longer chews the furniture and stairs – though his history of this remains evident – and he is a very gentle dog whose only anxiety seems to be worry that everyone in his ‘family’ are close by. I’m looking forward to even more maturity by the next time we visit.

After that exciting first evening, the pace slowed and became very relaxing. YS loves a bit of technology and he has a huge telly with surround-sound in one room and a (pretty awesome) projector in another. That meant that while YS and I could watch football in one room, his partner and Jane could watch a stream of Christmas holiday movies in the other. The latter included Bernard and the Genie which we all watched. I hadn’t seen it since our sons were very young and was surprised that, amid the hilarity, some bits are amusingly inappropriate for the young.

We played games. YS won at HeckMeck as usual but Jane and I were dominant during my first exposure to Articulate! We had a hoot with that! I was less good at Jenga 😊

^{Ormeau’s Bread and Banjo Bakery – ExcellentAnd The Best We Have Found In Belfast So Far}

We ventured out to the independent shops in the local Ormeau area primarily to get some very good bread and bagels. Then, for the first time, we visited Lisburn Road, which also has an attractive range of shops, and picked up sherry and some interesting wine.

*^{Maven – A Cool Home Decoration Shop In Lisburn Road}*

I dipped out of some of the perusal of shops to walk through pleasant but wintery Ormeau Park. That enabled me to get exercise sufficient to enable conscience-free consumption later

*^{Carved In A Tree Stump With A Chainsaw By Hazy In Ormeau Park}*

On Christmas Eve we had a lovely walk along the Lagan River and into the woods near the Stanmillis Sluice Gates.

*^{Stranmillis Sluice Gate On The River Lagan}*

On Christmas Day we strolled through the Botanical Gardens and past the Queens University Sports Hall. There is a surprisingly large amount of interesting green space near to the dense but attractive residential housing of Ormeau – much needed with a dog as big and energetic as Reggie.

On Boxing Day, the weather was excellent in the morning and YS insisted that we fulfil what is becoming a tradition when we visit him in Belfast: a sunrise walk on a beach. Fortunately, its winter so the need to see the sunrise was less demanding on our sleep patterns than in the past.

*^{Just Before Sunrise – Helens Bay, Belfast}*

We went to Helen’s Bay and Crawfordsburn Country Park and it was empty and gorgeous.

*^{Helens Bay With Reggie At Full Pelt}*

Fortunately, especially early in our walk, there were few other dogwalkers. Reggie the dog is gradually becoming more manageable with other dogs but he is over-enthusiastic and provokes fuss and bother. Amusingly, when he gets into a tangle with another dog, YS and his fiancé’s strategy is to run away as fast as possible – not to ignore the problem, but to lure Reggie away promptly. It sort-of works and some other dog owners found it funny.

YS’s Partner’s Pictures Of Reggie At Helens Bay

Finally, it being Christmas and all, we ate and drank well. YS had bought a selection of excellent beers with strange names from Boundary Brewing.

On the food front, a highlight, of course, was the Christmas dinner itself which included YS’s terrific pigs-in-blankets. We also feasted on a huge selection of local cheese that had been provided by YS’s next door neighbours in gratitude for tolerance in the last 6 months while they built a very substantial extension on the back of their house. (Hopefully, one day, YS and his fiancé will be able to build an extension too!). Then, on our last night, YS’s fiancé made a delicious prawn and orzo dish that I will try out at home.

^{A Full Plate Of Christmas Dinner – Lucky Us!}

It was a lovely Christmas. Three years ago, Covid broke the mould of the succession of Christmas get-togethers with all of Jane’s family at our house. Then, two years ago, we decamped to the Isle of Skye for a small family Christmas with those sons and partners without a baby. Last year was a relatively small affair at our house with sons and partners that focused on First Grandchild as much as Christmas. And now we have done Belfast Christmas.

Next year the plan is to host at our house all three sons and their wives, partners and fiancés plus what will be two grandchildren by then. It’s only a plan but it is clear that the time for extended 15 to 20-strong family Christmas lunch has, passed for us and, now I have retired and have no work constraints, I can envisage that we may be even more innovative in Christmas location and composition in the future. Long may that continue. Lucky us. Happy New Year!

Last Day In Ghent

October 25, 2023 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

On the morning of our second and last full day in Ghent, Jane and I set off north again to the Museum of Industry. The sun was already shining again, the temperature was pleasant and we seemed to be finding, together, a good pace and combination of visiting the sights of Ghent and of casually taking in its atmosphere.

Gent is a significant industrial centre and, it seems, has been so for centuries. The museum focused on Ghent’s history in textiles and printing.

*^{Museum of Industry, Ghent: An Original ‘Mule Jenny’ Brought to Belgium Illegally From The UK To Spawn The Textile Industry In Ghent}*

There were working machines and technical descriptions but what was even more interesting were the accounts of peoples lives as the city’s industry developed. These were presented among relevant artifacts through short videos that I found very informative. This was an excellent museum.

*^{Museum of Industry, Ghent Including Some Very Large Looms And A Lot Of Old But Operational Printing Equipment}*

Following a quick stop for a revitalising coffee and off-the-beaten-track people watching at Peaberry, we used our trusty ‘CityCard’ to embark on a guided boat ride around some of Ghent’s waterways. The sun helped make this a very pleasant and novel excursion. The boat also took Jane towards another linen store that had been recommended at the Museum of Industry.

While she sought out the linen she wanted and then sat in another bar, I went off to visit the Bijloke campus.

*^{Bijloke Campus: A Mix Of Old And New}*

This campus is a monastery and hospital founded in the 13th century that is now a collection of buildings of various vintages that include the Ghent City Museum and a concert hall. I spent longer in the City Museum than I had planned – I found it very interesting and its contents dovetailed nicely into what I had learnt in the Museum of Industry earlier in the day.

^{Inside Ghent City Museum: The Monastery Refectory and Cloister}

By the time I got back to Jane, I was ready for a beer and planning for the evening. Guess what? More beer and another burger!

This time we ate at the Artevelde brewery and I cleared another item off my Belgian bucket list: drinking a sample tray of beers. All of the beers was good and the accompanying burger, almost overwhelmed by chips, was one of the best we had while in Belgium.

We had a final beer in the rather luxurious bar in our hotel. This time we got free beer and snacks courtesy of the fact that we had eschewed a laundry change during our stay – apparently a small encouragement to eco-practices pursued by hotel management. That was a nice bonus to round off our stay.

On our final morning, Jane did a bit more shopping while I took a farewell look at Ghent from the top of the Ghent Belfry (Belfort). Once again, the presentation of information – once I had found the way in – was very good. I was glad that I went early in the day though, since the stairwell was not built for crowds!

Our journey back to Brussels and then London and then home was uneventful. There was plenty of time to contemplate a very good city-break holiday and how, after all these years of going on holiday together, Jane and I have both compromised to find, I think, a good balance between sight-seeing and chilling out in cafes and bars. We must plan another.

Proper Baby-Sitting and Grayson Perry

September 21, 2023 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

We have babysat First Grandchild (FG) a few times for short periods during visits to Edinburgh during the last year or so. It’s been a joy and a privilege to be able to do so. Plus we always enjoy visiting his parents and seeing Edinburgh.

*^{The Water of Leith From Dean Bridge – The Steep Gradients So Near To The Centre Of Edinburgh Still Surprise Me}*

Our baby-sitting responsibilities went up a notch at the beginning of September when First Grandchild’s (FG’s) parents went to a wedding of an old friend in Spain. Jane and I were thankful to be asked to baby sit for the 36 hours they were away but were unsure how the experience would go for us and for FG.

His other grandparents do a lot of babysitting and look after him all day on Thursdays. But it would be the first time that someone other than a parent would get FG up in the morning (twice), manage his afternoon nap (twice), put him to bed (once), plus feed, entertain and keep him safe in between. It was our first go at proper grandchild babysitting!

Eldest Son and his wife had departed in the small hours of the night. Apart from 15 minutes of full-on anxiety and yelling after he woke up that morning, and another five minutes of low-grade moaning after his first nap, FG was fine with the whole weekend.

*^{First Grandchild Exactly Where We Wanted Him – Asleep With His Monkey and Other Soft Toys}*

FG knows his routine down to the fine details: which soft toy needs to be kissed goodnight in what order, which book is the last book to be read before bedtime, which bedroom light goes on and off when. As long as we stuck to that routine and provided plenty of book reading, tower and garage building, and other activities at other times, he was very happy. FG, his parents in Spain and, certainly, the two of us, all had (tiring) fun.

Of course, we visited a few Edinburgh playgrounds and, as usual, the Royal Botanic Garden with FG while we were with him. The weather was kind to us and we were able to walk, to and from everywhere and around the gardens, at FG’s pace.

Like most kids his age he loves being able to take mini-decisions about what to do when and, as grandparents, we have the time to allow that. That Jane has had a motherhood bringing up three boys and then a career in providing parental advice to troubled mums and dads really helps. I learnt a lot from her about how to give toddlers options so they feel a semblance of decision making while the adults actually remain in control.

A highlight with FG was a trip to Portobello beach. We got there early so the crowds were yet to gather in large numbers in the sunny and warm weather. FG loves the outdoors and the novelty of visiting the coast. He loved wandering along the shoreline and collecting shells and other debris along it (and, in some sort of memory throwback to my own childhood, so did I). It was a great way to spend a morning.

*^{First Grandchild (FG) And Granny On Portobello Beach}*

Another morning with FG was consumed with a trip on the new tram service to and from Leith. FG was more concerned with engaging with fellow passengers willing to smile at him than with looking out of the window. He enjoyed the journey and a big vegan biscuit at Williams and Johnson Coffee Co. Leith appears to be an increasingly cool place to live and work and the tram extension is surely a catalyst for that.

Before FG’s parents shot off for their whirlwind jaunt to the wedding, we managed a good dose of art and culture by visiting The Scottish Gallery, a nearby private gallery we have visited several times before, and the National Gallery of Scotland.

*^{‘Folk At Heart’ At The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh}*

The Scottish Gallery was showing a range of artists embracing traditional folk art. Although the gallery is quite small, there was plenty to admire. I particularly liked the woven baskets, the muted colours of some of the naïve style paintings and prints and, downstairs, the textiles by Jane Keith which were innovatively displayed given the compact space.

*^{Textiles By Jane Keith At The Scottish Gallery}*

The headline exhibition at the National Gallery was a substantial retrospective of Grayson Perry’s work. I’ve enjoyed Grayson Perry exhibitions before – notably the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy in 2018 and, more recently, in Bath. The latter was a small exhibition of his ceramics where Grayson explained the pieces in his own words.

Grayson provided the captions for each piece at the National Gallery exhibition too and, apart from the art itself, this was one of the most attractive features of the show. His art is very accessible anyway but his thoughtful captions alongside each piece were unpretentious, clear and highly explanatory of the themes that have dominated his work since he was a very young man and how they have developed in his mind.

*^{Examples Of Grayson Perry’s Ceramics, Iron And Tapestry Works – With Typical Intense Detail}*

From the first work – a plate he made in 1983 called ‘Kinky Sex’ – the irreverence of his approach and the courage of his anti-establishmentarianism came through. But rather than be just a series of bold, even brash statements, the exhibition and particularly Grayson’s own words, drew me into what I see the Guardian newspaper calls ‘a thrumming conversation’.

*^{Grayson’s ‘Tomb Of The Unknown Craftsman’ (2011)}*

Some of the pieces on show were beautiful to my eyes, some were rather ugly, but every one of them had something to say and was engaging in some way. Rather than say more here, this is a link to a video hosted by Grayson describing much of the show: Grayson Perry’s Smash Hits. Watch out for references to ‘Alan Measles’ who is Grayson’s (troubled) childhood teddy bear who, entertainingly, crops up in various guises throughout the exhibition.

*^{‘Kenilworth AM1’ (Including Alan Measles’s ‘Stunt Double’ In The Box On The Back)}*

The only downside to the exhibition was that, somehow, I missed the last room and exited prematurely. Nonetheless I thought it was brilliant.

As was the whole weekend! Proper baby-sitting was a resounding success and we look forward to doing it again (we are scheduled for a longer stint in April next year during another Spanish wedding trip).

Having said that, it was great to get home, slot into routines less driven by a 21-month-old, and have a bit of a rest in what remained of summer in our home and garden.

My Retirement Journey

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Retirement