Ghosts...

Well today got off to a rather dramatic start.

Heading to Dundee for a 9.20am appointment when our journey was abruptly halted by the A90 school bus fire!

Of course we didn't know that was the cause of the traffic grinding to a halt but we could see smoke billowing from round the corner and knew something serious had just happened.  

Realising we were going to be there for a while I phoned and cancelled my appointment and we spent the next hour and a half watching the fire engines drive the wrong way down the A90 to refill their water tanks, whilst hoping no one had been hurt.  I never get annoyed at being held up because of an accident because I realise how lucky I am that it's not me or my loved ones involved.  It's a sobering thought to wonder what might have been if one had been a few minutes further into one's journey (we left the house 10 minutes later than planned.) 

Traffic on our side of the carriageway finally started moving just after 10am, an hour and a half after we halted, and we saw the burnt out wreck of a bus on the other side of the carriage way.  Whilst it looked horrendous, it  was a relief to note no other vehicle had been involved.  Shocked to find out it was a school bus but great news that the driver and all the pupils escaped to safely.  I can just imagine how hyper the pupils were when they finally got to school!  Certainly a day they won't forget.

Appointment abandoned we took the Abernyte exit and headed to the Art and Antiques Centre for a very delicious breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, mushroom and toast for me, and eggs Benedict for David followed by a leisurely wander round the place.  I really could spend hours in there.  It's an absolute Aladdin's cave of "stuff" - furniture, clothing, art, jewellery, crystal, table ware....I could go on and on.  

Every time we go there (or its sister centre in Doune) I can't help but wonder about the people, particularly the women, who once owned all these clothes and particularly the jewellery and handbags.  What lives did they live?  What troubles did they face?  What fancy occasions did the vintage evening dresses and handbags attend?  What kind of proposals were made as the antique engagement rings were slipped on dainty fingers?

Out of all of these items, the most interesting to me are the Christening gowns.  There are usually quite a few for sale but today I could only see the small number in my blip.  The lace is so exquisite.  I always hope the babies blessed in these beautiful gowns had happy lives.

Today my eye was particularly taken by the beautiful late 18th / early 19th century ladies muslin collars.  So delicate.  If I was a young bride today I would definitely get married in a vintage gown and incorporate a collar similar to these ones.  

The cameras caught my attention too and I wondered about all the places and scenes they had witnessed and the photos they had produced in their life time.  Cameras now one place, the photographs somewhere else and their owners, many of them long gone I suspect.  

Ghosts everywhere and I really do have to make a conscious effort to shake them off.  They seep into me.  The beautiful warm sunshine on my face as we left helped pull me back to the present and we drove part of the way home on a country road that is new to us.  Beautiful scenery from the hills overlooking the Tay.

Home and into the studio for some painting.  Today it was a triptych for our bedroom.  Got it mounted and will frame it tomorrow.  When I showed it to David he really liked it and said "that would look good in our bedroom" so mission accomplished :-))

Today's classical music piece  from Year of Wonder is Viola Concerto in G Major Part 1 Largo by German composer George Philipp Telemann.  Absolutely sublime, and I look forward to listening to the full concerto.  I am also enjoying learning about the composers and the lives they led.  What an absolutely wonderful book this is.