The tale of the Handy Heffalumps (and a little bit of Norway)

I have some Handy Heffalumps given to me in the dim distant past by a friend. We knew each other for many years as friends and work colleagues; at one stage she was also my very kind boss but, as often happens, post retirement we have lost touch. Life sometimes intervenes. The Heffalumps usually live in my handbag, and are taken out to carry bits of shopping all over my home town. At every use I send a "thank you Rhona" to her, wherever she is, and hope life is being kind to her. They are one of those miraculous breed of fold out shopping bags which, by some Zen principle of origami, can be persuaded to go neatly back into their inbuilt carry pouch, if you are especially patient! 

 

They haven't travelled abroad before though, until now, when they went to explore Norway, in an airplane across the sea

Along the way the Heffalumps saw many wonders, tucked away in my bag

Edvard Grieg's house nestled in the woods above the water

His little composing hut, sheltered down on the shoreline

The eerily wonderful Fantoft Stave Church, again, tucked away in the woods

The delights of Bergen looking Christmassy

It was here we boarded our cruise ship to go hopping up the coast. On the way we saw Art Nouveau Alesund

But, on one fateful shore trip, the Heffalumps were dropped, position unknown, complete with pair of cleats they were carrying!

The owner's bag went on past more wonderful sights in Trondheim: the glorious cathedral (where cleats might have been very useful in all that ice)

Many strange bits of delightful street art or memorial 

until the owner suddenly stopped, here, realising the Handy Heffalumps were gone!  

Powerhouse Brattørkaia – Snøhetta

There was some considerable sadness for such a mundane thing, but they had been my companion, memento of my friend, for many years.

The shining gods of the eco powerhouse must have been smiling on me though, along with some kind fellow cruiser, who retrieved that nylon bag, bringing it back to the ship. The following day I and my Heffalumps (and cleats) were happily reunited in the lost property section of our Hurtigruten ship. I will never know who rescued them, and they will never know the impact of their kindness. So thank you, whoever you were, for returning a nylon shopper (plus all essential pair of cleats) to MS Polarlys in early December. Your kindness enabled the Heffalumps to see more delights, including

A snow hotel with huskies

wonderfully Jule festive looking ports

The crossing the circle ceremony onboard; occasion of much jolliness and laughter at others' discomfort. Feel free to speculate as to the contents of the icy silver bucket! A ladle was involved.

The rather magical Arctic Cathedral in Tromso

Glorious scenery

Days where sunrise and sunset are all the daylight you get, while the sun hides below the horizon. 

More Christmas cheer

And many more marvels besides. The Heffalumps may have been deployed on several occasions to carry wool, or fabrics, or other lovely things back to the ship. 

And the question you always get asked, "Did you see them?"

I am thrilled beyond measure to say I did.

I hope you have all had a very merry Christmas, Solstice, Yule or whatever other way you celebrate the turning of the year.

Japan's beauty

It has been a while since I wrote. In the between time I have been away on a great adventure, long awaited and much anticipated: two weeks on a textile tour of Japan. I must confess to some trepidation beforehand; a long flight, potential for being fed "squiggly things" (I am a food coward), potential for offending the Japanese folk through misunderstanding. All nonsense of course, the trip was just marvelous, and included a large and inspiring amount of textile related visits and workshops. It also included two breathtaking gardens; one at the Adachi Museum of Art in Yasugi, and the second, the Korakuen Gardens in Okayama.

The first are advertised as a "living Japanese painting" and indeed they were. They are viewing gardens, rather than ones to stroll through. One walked through the museum of art finding numerous points in the journey to stop and take in the perfection and pristine presentation of these wonderful arrangements of trees, moss, water and gravel, finely crafted gateways and borrowed landscapes. I confess to enjoying the gardens a great deal more than the art on the walls!

The following day we visited Okayama Castle. 

Before climbing the hill to the castle itself, we spent far too short a time in the beautiful Korakuen Gardens just below, where we were allowed to stroll, stop and wonder. After an initial query about the lack of green, we were told that the golden brown of the grass was quite normal in early spring, and not the result of a dry winter, simply the way Japanese grass grows. Again, there was such harmony in the arrangement of carefully manicured trees, bridges, lanterns and water. The reflections doubled the pleasure of the view and of course, there were the flickering bodies of gold and silver koi moving beneath the ripples, one rather gorgeous terrapin and the stately, swaying trunks of bamboo. 

All too soon we were called away to visit the castle. A few members stayed in the gardens and I was almost sorry I hadn't done the same. While a marvelous trip, there were too few moments to just stand and reflect, so I am perhaps getting more pleasure from revisiting in my photographs than I did while I was there. I hope you enjoy then too.