building huts

On Sunday, whilst everybody was glued to the tennis, myself & K  were out lending a hand to my architect brother's hut building project in Falkland in Fife. Two site-specific woodland huts that are being built as part of Falkland Estate's Big Tent Festival (a music & environmental festival happening later this month).
                     

The onsite construction is being done by volunteers (which inevitably means a good dose of friends & family in these things) and by the time we got there Sunday midday f&f troops Bill & Stewart had already been working away with Alasdair for a few hours and were ready to be relieved. 

My chief role was of being 'the extra pair of hands' - holding things, passing things, and going getting things (like lunch/tea). Not the glamour end I know but all very necessary when there's only three of you! By the end of the day the roof was watertight and the canopy was ready to be fixed on. Very satisfying. 

 

You can read about the project (a bit larger) by clicking on the above picture.

The canvas canopy was put on the next night.

This is the first of the huts, with the second being at a less advanced stage, so still an awful lot to do.  Hopefully will be back again to help out a little bit next Sunday. 

Studio Baird Architects

Big Tent Festival

stockholm & helsinki

In the absence of summer.... a wee look back to a watery Nordic trip from this time last year. Never quite got round to blogging about it before. We had a few days in Stockholm before taking the ferry over to Helsinki for a few more. Before we left the weather was dismal (here & there) so we packed accordingly, but on arrival we hit a bit of a heatwave. It was hot!!

For anyone who has been to Stockholm (or Helsinki) you'll know that it's not cheap, so it was a diet of bread, cheese & water for us for most of the time (I won't embarass myself by listing all the food items I managed to pack into my suitcase beforehand!), and it was probably the most sober holiday for a long time (my husband is a brewer so beer usually features high up on the agenda) but we definately made the most of eating outside.   
   

One of the best things we did in Stockholm was to hire some bikes and get out and about around the many islands. It's such a joy to cycle there as there are cycle-lanes absolutely everywhere. It feels extremely safe - even in the middle of the city. And it was a perfect way to get about in the heat. I couldn't recommend it more.

  

We decided to book the overnight ferry to Helsinki after being told by a friend that it would be just as cheap or cheaper than a night's accomodation elsewhere. It wasn't. At least not compared to the places we usually stay! Oh well, we all have our different budgets (perhaps he's not quite a bread & cheese kind of guy). Having said that we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Our cabin on the ferry! (complete with faux view)  

This was our first time in Helsinki (I've been to Stockholm once before, K a couple of times) so would have liked to spend a bit more time here to get our bearings. Would have been great to get out and about on bikes here too. It was extremely hot (you don't quite get that from the photos) so we spent a lot of time lurking in the shadows.  

   

a little bit of jubilee...

Everywhere you look at the moment there are Jubilee themed shop windows strewn with red, white & blue. We've not quite gone down that road here at Boo Vake but we do have a small collection of Jubilee(ish) items (that we rather like) in the shop at the moment....

The Jubilee Jelly Mould!! Comes complete with instructions on how to get the best wibble & when you're finished making the perfect Queen's head jellies you can hang it on the wall! £10

  

Royal Tea bone china Jubilee mug. Featuring royal commemorative cups from the past. Comes in it's own little labelled box. £10

Woof bone china Jubilee mug. Two rather regal corgis proclaim the big event. Also comes in it's own little labelled box. £10

Those little boxes for the Jubilee mugs! All the Illustrations are by Charlotte Farmer.

Close-up from the Royal Tea teatowel. 19 different royal commemorative mugs & cups from years gone by. £12 

 Fabulous temporary tattoos. Two different packs available. £3 each  

A 'subtle' blend of two events in one with Lush's Royal Dressage teatowel. Royal malarkery in the park! Love the pantomine style horses. £11

Well there you have it! And all made here in the UK.

The morning after the night before.....not a bad way to spend it!

Myself & other half were at our friends' wedding in Kinlochard Village Hall at the weekend (a fabulous spot for such a thing (pre-midge season)). We had a really good time helped on in no small part by a nice bunch of people, beautiful surroundings, great B&B overlooking Loch Ard & a stumble upon a rather fine tearoom at Balquhidder on our amble homewards(ish). 

Congratulations Katie & Nico! 

early closing on Saturday...

Boo Vake will be closing at a ridiculously early 12 noon this Saturday (5th) as I will be away at a wedding (sorry!)
(as much as I'm looking forward to it, in my mind I've already jumped past Saturday's proceedings and am firmly focused on Sunday's cooked breakfast in the B&B (these things just don't happen that often :)))

making space...

I've been doing a bit of decluttering at home and in the shop recently. Not a full-on clear-out but a slower bit-by-bit sifting. Yesterday's small task was just one drawer in a soon to be redundant chest of drawers. In amongst other long forgotten 'items' was this small stash of my spectacle wearing history. Note the Deidre Barlows from the 80s (although missing is a large white metal framed pair - the memory of these must have been too much to bear). Second down were my Jack Duckworths with sellotaped legs (worn for rather a long time in this state). By the mid 90s my staple were the round framed Harry Potteresque pair which wobbled around on my nose. Not just a sad reflection of my fashion sense in the 80s/90s/00s but a frightening illustration of the mammoth task ahead!          

 

new hilke Macintyre...



'Watering', 'Strawberries', & 'Raking' - each £59 (4cm x 22cm)

,Here are some of the new limited edition ceramic reliefs we have in from Fife based artist Hilke MacIntyre - featuring everything from working in the garden to on the football pitch!  

 'Walking the Dog' - £79 (16.5cm x 12cm)

   'Cockeral & 4 Hens' - £69 ((5.5cm x 21.5cm), 'Tackle' - £69 (5.5cm x 21.5cm),

'Cycling' - £39 (5.5cm x 10.5cm)

back to 1992...

I've been doing a bit of a clear out at home and came across this blast from the past - my degree show poster from nearly 20 years ago! Themed, as you can see, as an identity parade (ID/ interior design - get it?!). I'm the one who didn't own the required bleached jeans (a popular choice back then - at least in our studio) and appear to be wearing my pyjama bottoms. I'm presuming the untucked t-shirt was an attempt to hide that fact!

I know very little about what everybody else is up to these days (being the time before mobile phones, email, facebook....,when you had to be a bit more committed to stay in touch). One, I know, emigrated to Australia, and another walked into the shop just a few months ago, the first time we'd seen each other in almost as many years!