Saturday 4 June 2016

Inspiring Days Out

I've had another lovely week in between the writing, with two inspiring days out with friends. The first was last weekend, when Paisley Abbey had a Medieval Day around the area beside the River Cart. My good friend Catriona and I went along to enjoy the afternoon sunshine while absorbing some of the sights. The 12th century abbey is one of my favourite buildings and is always worth a visit.

 

Although not as lavish as one several years ago, it was especially fun for children with the mock sword fights, a man in the stocks, puppet show and various birds of prey. We enjoyed listening to the young man playing a harp (a replica of one from the past) and singing soulful medieval ballads. A few of the outside stalls were interesting, especially observing how the women cooked the food over the open fire and the type of utensils they used. Needless to say, we spent some of the time sitting chatting over a cup of tea and cakes!


On the Tuesday, I was off with three friends to another interesting venue which was new to me. Myra had the clever idea of treating Joan, Sandra and me to Afternoon Tea as a birthday treat instead of gifts this year (two of us have birthdays later in the year). Ocho is a lovely little cafe at Speirs Wharf, right by a small stretch of the Forth and Clyde Canal. I didn't even know this area existed, or that the old whisky warehouses are now fabulous flats.





I loved the quirky little corner of the cafe with its miniature shop, trunk and various pictures. It was a cute, old fashioned kind of tea, with different designs of china cups and saucers and a cake stand made from floral patterned china plates, topped with a cup! The sun shone the whole afternoon and after a delicious tea with sandwiches, scones and cakes, we wandered along by the canal, glad to be away from our desks for a while. I'm sure both days will provide much writing inspiration at some point.

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In between, I've been putting together another collection of short stories - more about that when its ready!

Meanwhile, my latest Aphrodite and Adonis novella from Tirgearr Publishing - The Aphrodite Assignment - is on a special kindle promotion at only 99p (99c) all this week, if you fancy some romance and mythology on Cyprus!

Have a good weekend,
Rosemary

10 comments:

Jean Bull said...

How lovely to be enjoying the sunny weather, Rosemary! I've never heard of Paisley Abbey, but it sounds very interesting. Good Luck with The Aphrodite Assignment too.

Teresa Ashby said...

It all sounds lovely, Rosemary - and looks it in the photos too :-) xx

Joanna said...

That's a beautiful abbey, Rosemary, and what lovely pictures you take. Your weather looks much sunnier than we've had here. So good to make the most of it with gorgeous days out like these.
Looking forward to news of your short story collection. xxx

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Thanks, Jean - it's a famous abbey in a nearby town and quite stunning.

Thanks, Teresa - I have to hope these days out provide writing inspiration!

Many thanks, Joanna - yes, we're making the most of our unexpected summer as it's so rare!

Rae Cowie said...

Lovely post, Rosemary. Glad to see you're finding time to enjoy the sunshine and catch up with friends, in between writing. And that short story collection sounds interesting... : )

Carolb said...

Looks like you've been having a good time and well-deserved break, Rosemary.

Seeing how people cooked in the past is always interesting- and you never know when the information may be needed for a story. :-)

Nicola said...

What a wonderful treat! And what lovely friends to share it with. I look forward to hearing all about your new book of short stories. Have a lovely week, Rosemary.

Julia Thorley said...

I don't know your part of the world, Rosemary. Maybe we should do one of those house-swap hols!

Stephanie Faris said...

What fun! It's so nice to see other areas of the world.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Thanks, Rae - always enjoy being with friends!

You're absolutely right, Carol - much better to get a real idea of how they lived in the past.

Many thanks, Nicola - it's all distracting me from finishing the novel of course!

Now there's a a thought, Julia!

Thank you, Stephanie - it's one of the good things about blogging!