A Touch of flamboyance

This is my latest bespoke headpiece, it will be gracing the head of a mother of the groom in a few weeks time. The lady was quite a petite lady who had a big personality so she wanted a headpiece which had class, style and made a statement, she was delighted with what I made for her and it suited her to a T!

Roving Rothbury Reporter

Rothbury Daily Picture has had a night out! The sun had been shining so we all headed to one of the best Pubs (in my opinion) in Northumberland, The Ship at Low Newton by the Sea.

We parked the car near Embleton Golf course and walked the mile or so along the beach, there were four of us and puppy dog, the dog probably covered a good few miles as she ran backwards and forwards chasing her ball.

We got to the pub around 7 to find it full  and lively, so as I would expect a sandy wet labrador would be welcome to sit with it's owners outside for some refreshment!

It was starting to feel a tad chilly by now so for sitting outside the pub the drinks of choice were steaming hot cups of coffee and hot chocolate,  warmed us up nicely for our bracing walk back to the car along the dunes! No alcohol consumed ( not at this point anyway!)
That's a good night out Lawson style!

Coccuveda Reflections

We have been doing a bit of rearranging in Coccuveda this week, my counter now moved to the front of the shop so that I can welcome visitors looking for Tourist Information.

I have managed to do a quick change in the window display as well, phew , it's been a hard shift this week! I have put some of our best sellers in the window, the fantastic turned wood pieces, stained glass window decorations and our new supply of local interest books and maps. If you look closely you will see that I have also managed to squeeze in a post van and a bit of the Jubilee Hall too.

Imagination required again!

You might look at this picture and think this is not exactly the best sight to be looking at but it is work in progress.
 The temporary bailey bridge has served us well over the past couple of years crossing the Coquet, some of those times have been a bit scary when the river was well flooded. The bridge stood it's ground though, we should applaud the engineering involved in this. It does look a bit precarious at the moment as really it is only half a bridge.
 It is time for old Bailey to leave the Coquet and go off to relieve another bridge in need of repair or go for rest and recuperation in a depot somewhere.
Bit by bit you can see the splendour of the new bridge emerging, the arches restored and looking as if they can hold the bridge easily for a few more centuries. Imagination is needed to picture the riverside returned to a pretty place to walk along or if we are lucky enough to get a bit of sunshine a nice paddling spot!

A Change of Warbling!

I have been warbling about other stuff over the past couple of days so today I thought I would take a photo of the High St as a reminder as to how lucky we are to live in the lovely village of Rothbury.

 One of the things that amazes visitors to Rothbury is the plentiful array of independent shops that we still have. One Lady visitor, told me how she had been hunting all over for a certain type of baking tin and she just couldn't believe that she was able to get it here in Rothbury.

 The picture may be of the High St but Bridge St is the creative quarter of Rothbury  where people are spoilt for choice for a unique shopping experience! Not that there is any bias in this statement, just because Bridge St is home to Coccuveda!

Baker "n" Eggs

Rothbury Bakery is another great independent bakers shop in our lovely village of Rothbury. I like to buy my eggs from this shop as they are always nice and fresh.
 I always make sure that I go after eaten lunch so that I am not tempted by one of their delicious sandwiches. Coronation chicken,Tuna savoury or even their ham and coleslaw are definitely my favourite. My former colleagues coming up from Hexham always rave about the pies.
Another big temptation to get me drooling is the chocolate brownie, all rich and soft with lots and lots of chocolate chips sitting on top all naughtily daring me to buy one. I do give in occasionally and  buy one, only when there is a blue moon, I haven't seen that blue moon for a while so I reckon it will be here soon!

Making Christmas Decorations Already!

No, I am not that well organised and thinking  far ahead to Christmas!

A family from York, who enjoy coming up to Northumberland on holiday absolutely love Coccuveda. They like to visit a couple of times a year and always make a point of coming to the shop to buy things from us as they enjoy finding things that are unique. I was chatting with the lady, who was celebrating her birthday while she was here, she told me how one of her beloved old westies had died recently. I knew that she was coming back to the shop on Saturday so I thought I would make her one of my felt Westie dog Christmas decorations so she can have it on her tree this year to remind her of her pet pooch. I swapped the usual red ribbon for blue as I knew that her dog always had a blue collar and lead.

New owlets just hatched!

My little fingers have been very busy over the past few days, busy with needle and thread, pretty fabrics and felt, a few buttons and sequins too.These little owls are the result. I had quite a lot of interest in my first brood of owl keyring/key pockets that i thought  I had best make some more, I have modified the design too. I also decided to make some owly birthday cards, these ones are winging their way to a couple of members of my family with birthdays this weekend.

Slacking on a Thursday

I hold my hands up, on a Thursday I don't start my work immediately I am in Coccuveda. Thursday is Northumberland Gazette day.My Thursday routine is arrive at the shop, coat off, kettle on and purse grabbed and straight round to the paper shop to get the gazette, back to the shop make my coffee and then park my posterior and settle down to catch up on the weeks Northumberland goings on! I usually manage to find something to have a chuckle at. The Gazette is the best place to find out what's is on the entertainment front, find reviews of local eating places, letters people have sent in to get there point across and my favourite of all is when there is the Rothbury Parish Council news!

Extra Extra Extra.
The silly blooming wind again in Rothbury nearly knocked my block off today. This blew and missed my nose by a whisker!

Giant Owl in Rothbury!

No, I am definitely not all of a sudden becoming obsessed with owls!

 I thought I would just let you see another handcrafted specimen, rather larger than my fabric offerings and I would reckon that there is a lot more work and expertise involved. If I remember correctly I think his name is Cornelius.

We Have Daffs!!!!

Well we now have our host of golden daffodils, they are keeling over in this photo because it was blooming windy today.The sky is blue the sun is shining but the cobwebs have well and truly been blown away. I think only the very brave would have been venturing up Simonside today!

I am on Trend! Twit twoo!!!

No, I am not a twit, well I hope not anyway! My latest fabric offerings for sale in Coccuveda are these little owl keyring/holders. The blue one has been made using my favourite vintage Liberty fabric, it has sold right away though, I had more or less just attached the bow  and cut the thread when a lady said "I will buy it!" I hadn't even worked out the price, I think she may have got a bargain!
 Owls are so trendy at the moment, they pop up everywhere.

Scone Saturday

In Rothbury we are lucky enough to have two lovely Bakeries, each with their own specialities. On a Saturday I have gotten in to the habit of going to Greenwell bakery to get one of their delicious cheese scones for my lunch, they are the most light and delicious scones ever, I also occasionally, on really cold days, enjoy their home made soup.

Vintage Railway Posters

As part of the new "informative" Coccuveda I have increased my stock of the ever popular Vintage Railway Posters. By far the most popular one is "life is gay in Whitley Bay" My personal favourite at the moment is the one of Berwick-upon-Tweed, It manages to make Berwick look so continental and somehow it reminds me of Verona. I don't know if it anybody else thinks that!

Toys in Rothbury

Part of the charm and what makes Rothbury a special place is our richness in well established independent shops. Soulsbys has been has been a treasure trove of entertainment for children for many many years, I am sure Santa Claus does a bit of filling his sack here.

If it looks a bit dark it is because pic was taken after 6pm when all hard working shop keepers are heading home for dinner, including me

Colourful Spring Accessories

Some new handmade colourful accessories just hot of my Coccuveda production line, Fabric covered button earrings , a few pairs are made using vintage Liberty fabric. Also some pretty felt flower hair clips, embellished with beads and sequins, a bit of fun for spring hairstyles for the very young to the very young at heart!

The reddish River Coquet

 The name of my shop, Coccuveda is an old Roman name for the river Coquet which roughly translated means Red River. The sunset on this picture of the Coquet definitely gives it a reddish tinge. Yes we did have some sunshine today, not warm though!

Still waiting on a host of golden daffodils

William Wordsworth was inspired to write a very famous poem about the beautiful sight of daffodils. I reckon this time next week our lovely village market place in Rothbury might be so inspirational too, the dafs are not quite blooming yet but they are nearly there. Now I am not promising a Wordsworth type poem or indeed any sort of poem but I do love the cheerful bright picture the host of golden daffodils give.

New Signs

The new signs are now up and in place in Coccuveda, letting everyone know that we are open for local information and local crafts. We now stock a small range of maps and books and have a greater selection of the ever popular Railway Posters. This is just an initial experiment to see how well it works and so far it is going very well, I have already helped a few visitors with walking information and maps, they were very grateful to have found exactly what they wanted at Coccuveda.