BOOK NOOK : The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow

 

"At first, alone in her tower, she wept for the loss of her love. From the window she could see so far, but not as far as the other side of the universe. After a while, alone in her tower, she began to spin, fine golden thread. After a while, alone in her tower, she began to weave.  And after a while the rhythm of the loom would mingle with the memory of his songs and she began to sing. And in her song was the sound of the wind and the call of the birds, the ache of her heart and the strength of her love, and the loneliness of living."

My editor introduced me to the work of British artist, Jackie Morris, a few years ago, via a rather lovely Christmas card and I'm so glad that she did!  I have always loved whimsical art, poetry and fairytales so Jackie's work is just my cup of tea. Over the years since I have collected quite a few of her books and art card collections, and they are always a delight.

The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow is a collection of soft and dreamy fairytales, written to complement the artwork within. Each picture is a colourful kaleidoscope of soft muted tones and bolder accents, with the downy wash of watercolours expertly blended together. Originally these images were designed as charity Christmas cards for a musicians benevolent fund, so they all feature snowy landscapes and musical instruments alongside fantastical creatures, angelic beings and whimsical backdrops.  Although the stories were added later there is a perfect sense of synergy between the words and pictures, creating a beautiful cohesive whole. 

Opening up this book is like stepping into another world! One that is unique and at the same time, strangely familiar, for the narrative voice is that of traditional fables and fairytales. You can hear the forbidden music in the rhythm of the words, for this is a book about a world were music is banned and where musicians are forced to venture far and wide in order to find a new place of belonging.  It feels like a book from your childhood, even though it was only published fairly recently in 2016. It has the same comforting vibe as Narnia or The Box of Delights, spiriting you away to an imaginary winter realm, populated with polar bears and snowy hares, jesters and princesses, tiny kittens, silver tigers, angel cats and so much more. 

As you turn each page you are drawn more deeply into the joy and enchantment of the winter season. The pictures are filled with intricate detail, with tiny creatures hidden in the background that you might fail to notice unless you really study the images, for there is always more to discover. In this world of pure wonder, rocking horses gallop through deep snow, hot air balloons float across starry skies, polar bears are called home to icy landscapes and swan boats carry people to their dreams of love and freedom. 

These fairytales can be read as individual stories, but they also build upon one another, their edges gently merging into each other and pulling you along from one tale to the next. The words are poetic and pretty, soft and dreamy, the lyrical style lulling you into a state of wonder and quiet magical charm.  It's a lovely book to read at the end of a bad day, or when you're going through a difficult time, because the effect it has on the reader is so soothing, its almost a form of self-care! 

Also, don't dismiss this as a children's book because it can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Yes, it is a picture book and a collection of fairytales, but it is also the dreamwork of a visionary artist who draws you into the fantastical world she has created so that she can soothe your soul while you're there. I firmly believe that this book is good for mental health. 

The wintry dreamscape it presents means that it is the perfect book to curl up with this December in the run up to the festive season.  It is a book to be enjoyed by a twinkling Christmas tree, or in the depths of an icy January by candlelight, with a cup of hot cocoa beside you as you allow yourself to drift into The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow. Enjoy!

Bright Blessings,

Marie x

AD: This book is published by the Welsh publisher Graffeg Ltd and is available now. 

ONCE UPON A DREAM: Festive Dunoon!

 Sunrise over the Bay at Dunoon

I have just returned from my birthday trip to the Highlands. I wanted to go to a part of Scotland I had never been before, so I decided to visit Dunoon in Argyll, which is at the lower end of the Western Highlands. Dunoon sits on the western peninsular, which means that you have to go by ferry to get there. This was one of the most wonderful aspects of my holiday because it meant that I had a boat trip twice a day to get to and from mainland Scotland! 

It was like living on one of the Scottish islands and I enjoyed it so much. The gentle rocking of the ferry was very relaxing, heading out in the early morning and retuning in the dark in the late afternoon. I loved the experience of 'island life', where people catch the ferry instead of the bus to get to work and back, or to do their grocery shopping. Its so quaint and lovely, though I expect it can be a bit of a trial in bad weather when the ferry is cancelled at the last minute. 

Fortunately we were very lucky with the weather, with bright winter sunshine and gorgeous dry sparkly days, though it was cold by night, but I didn't need to use my umbrella at all, which is unusual in the Highlands at this time of year.  The sun was shining its birthday and festive blessings on us all week, which was very nice.

I had a sea view from my hotel room, with a little roof just below where the gulls would congregate, so each morning I woke to the beautiful cry of seagulls. This is one of my favourite sounds and it was a wonderful alarm clock to wake up to! On my arrival at the hotel I found a box of chocolates and a bottle of bubbly in my room, along with birthday cards from the staff there. My mum had arranged it all as a surprise, plus I got a birthday cake at dinner on the first night too, compliments of the hotel, with all the staff and my mum singing happy birthday to me! That was such a delightful surprise and I wasn't expecting it at all. 

Dunoon is a pretty little coastal town with whitewashed houses and long, long gardens that lead straight down to the sea front. Its actually an estuary, where the river Clyde meets the Irish Sea, but it is known locally as the Clyde Sea and it has a nice promenade to walk on and plenty of places to sit and enjoy the beautiful views of the mountains and sea.  It reminded me a lot of Ullapool, further up the western coast.

Like many Highland towns, Dunoon depends on tourism to hold up the local economy and there are not many opportunities outside of the tourist industry itself. It always grinds my gears when tourists complain about a place being 'touristy' - as if they are not tourists themselves and are somehow better than everyone else who visits! Its akin to sneering at how someone makes a living and demonstrates elitist snobbery at its finest. 

At this time of year though, outside of the holiday season, Dunoon is a quiet, peaceful and beautiful place to stay on the coast of Argyll. Its been a great escape for me , as the mountains surround the town and the sea  was stretching out before me -  I felt like I was hidden in a little nook of natural Highland beauty, safe and serene. 

Its a fantastic place for a writer because its so inspiring, with both history and classic literature being represented in the town. High on Pier Esplanade stands a fine statue of Highland Mary, or Mary Campbell. She is the woman who stole the heart of a young Robert Burns, so much so that he wrote his famous poem about her, entitled Highland Mary. She stands proudly facing out to sea, overlooking the Firth of Clyde.  It's a lovely romantic monument, not only to Mary, but to Burns' enduring love for her and the poetry she inspired in him, so I feel very lucky to have seen it up close.

Dunoon also has a museum and a castle, but that was research for one of my future books so I'm not going to write about it here. That was the reason for the trip - to gather information and inspiration from the Scottish Highlands and from places I've not yet covered in my books. I'll be hard at work soon, putting my research into my writing as I work on the new project over the next few weeks. Research trips are a great source of inspiration for authors and I was busy soaking up the atmosphere of Dunoon's history and environment for my work. 

We took a couple of trips back to the Scottish mainland too. Our first trip was to Glasgow and the festive Christmas markets they have going on there. This was just the ticket to tip me over from birthday vibes into festive, Yuletide vibes! There were stalls selling lots of pretty tree decorations and fancy gifts, plus lots of food and drink vendors. We had fudge and Baileys hot chocolate as we walked around the market, Christmas carols were playing over loud speakers and it was all so festive and cheerful.  

All the shops were decked out for Christmas too, with golden stags, a silver peacock and various window displays, the best of which was easily Dior which had a golden tree that just gleamed with golden makeup trinkets from their Royal Ball Christmas Collection - it looked so beautiful it was breath-taking! I've never seen Glasgow looking prettier - everywhere was lush and luxurious. We had a mulled wine by the Christmas tree in the middle of George Square, then got the ferry back across to the peninsular and back to Dunoon. 

The next day the weather had taken a sharp turn. It was still bright and dry, but the temperature had dropped significantly to -6C, so it was a chilly drive out to Inveraray. It was stunning though and it felt like we were driving through a Christmas card or a movie scene - everywhere was picture-postcard perfect, in a shimmer of white frost - even Loch Fyne was iced over! Inveraray is one of my favourite places in the Highlands and I try to go there as often as I can. It's an original white walled town dating from the 1700's and it has strong historical links to the Jacobite Uprisings.  Sitting on the banks of Loch Fyne, the town boasts some incredible scenic views. It is a picturesque village that has some fantastic artisanal craft shops, so you can pick things up that you just wouldn't find anywhere else, all with a lovely Gaelic touch. The backdrop is, of course, Inveraray Castle with its four iconic fairytale turrets. Its so pretty!  

Inveraray is firmly in Clan Campbell country and the castle is the ancestral seat of the Duke of Argyll, with the 13th Duke and his family still in residence today. It's a beautiful castle and it looks as if it came straight out of a fairytale, especially when it glitters in the frost as it did when I was there. I wish I could live there!

After Inveraray we had a couple more days in Dunoon, wandering around the picturesque shops and doing a bit of Christmas shopping. I treated myself to a hand carved wooden swan which I saw in the window of a gift shop and I just had to bring her home with me as my souvenir of Dunoon. I discovered The Bookpoint book shop which is a bookworm's dream - books stacked high from floor to ceiling and piled up on tables, with the stacks back to back leaving just a narrow space to squeeze through and a couple of tables in the window where you can sit with a cup of tea or coffee. It was a lovely bookstore and I picked up a few books on Scottish folklore and Argyll legends, plus one about the darker legends of Yuletide and Christmas which I'm going to read first. I also found a cosy little café called The Swallow Café where I had a pink peppermint ruby hot chocolate with all the trimmings. It was delicious and definitely on a par with The Oban Chocolate Shop. 

All in all it was a magical trip and it has been a fantastic end to my prolonged birthday celebrations, not to mention the start of the Yuletide festivities. My heart always sings in the Highlands. It makes my soul happy to be there and the mountain air is so good for me - I can breathe easier there and I feel the fresh clean air doing wonders for my health, both mental and physical. It was also wonderful to spend time by the sea again, walking on the beach each day and making friends with the seagulls. I'm already thinking of where in Scotland I might want to go next!

Dunoon was lovely and I had a really nice time. I would certainly go back there again as it was so peaceful and tranquil, which is just what I needed after a rather hectic year of hospital appointments, x-rays and physiotherapy on my poor little wrists. They've been through such a lot this year, but the Highlands is the most healing place I know and it was just the right medicine for me. I'm already looking forward to planning another trip!

In the meantime, I have my own new books to write and deliver to my editor before the Christmas break so I'm going to be rather busy again. However, I will make time to read my  books from Dunoon too. As its Sunday, I plan to unpack my cases, then immerse myself in some festive Yuletide folklore with The Dead of Winter by Sarah Clegg (which looks at many of the same characters I covered myself for one of my new books that comes out next year, so look out for that!), while nibbling on some Highland Butterscotch Fudge from the old fashioned sweetie shop in Inveraray. And next week I'm finally going to see Wicked! I can't wait to watch such a witchy confection of a film! 

Serene Blessings

Marie x