Just to let you know, the blog is taking a back seat for a while.
I’ve had lots of things going on and I’m currently knee-deep in work around the publication of new novel by an indie press. It’s due out in the autumn – more news to follow.
Have a lovely summer, and maybe catch up with you through posts on my Instagram and Facebook pages, although these will also be a bit sporadic over the coming months.
Love, Maddie x
Apologies for the dearth of posts this past week or so.
We’ve done a bit of travelling and are now heavily involved in a village event coming up at the end of May.
The weather here in Dorset is absolutely splendid and it’s wonderful to get out in the garden and soak up the sights and sounds. Flowers are bursting forth from lush green foliage, bees are buzzing and blackbirds are singing their dear little hearts out.
I made the mistake of watching some of the Chelsea Flower Show programmes on the BBC this week.
One was probably enough, to be honest.
I mean, I love seeing the incredible gardens and plants on display but there is only so much I can take of grinning presenters we are clearly meant to know (their names only appear in the credits at the end) and celebrities I have never heard of.
Grayson Perry described Chelsea along the lines of being Middle England’s ‘Glastonbury for people who wear linen’, and he’s not wrong.
There is no way I could cope with all those crowds. I get slight agoraphobia just by watching it on the telly.
So this spring bank holiday weekend, I’m looking forward to spending time in my own glorious garden -small but on the way to being perfectly formed – as the sun beats down from a clear blue sky.
Enjoy the weekend, where ever you are.
Last year I was involved in a project in my Dorset village.
This is the film that goes with it. It’s just been uploaded to YouTube and I thought you might like to see it.
This is the link to the accompanying article on the Windrose Rural Media Trust website that tells you all about it.
It was a privilege to lead this project, which combined oral history, creative arts and community participation to explore rural life and identity.
My cohort of local people were a joy to work with, and the film by my colleague Simone Einfalt brings tears to my eyes.
Of course we should listen to locals who are born and bred in a place. Not to do so is arrogant folly.
New projects with Windrose are on the horizon, if I can find the funding to implement them.
Please get in touch if you’re in Dorset, Somerset or Wiltshire if you think our creative paths could converge.
I’m thrilled to be involved in a local heritage project bringing the magnificent Red Dress to Bridport, Dorset, next summer.
It doesn’t happen until 31 July – 15 August 2027 but it’s such a coup to have secured it.
The town won’t know what’s hit it – believe me, the place will be absolutely buzzing with people coming to see this extraordinary creation which tells the stories of ordinary women – often vulnerable or living in poverty- through embroidery.
The Red Dress Project was conceived by British artist Kirstie Macleod as a collaborative artwork showcasing the creativity of women globally.
Since its inception, women from all walks of life—craftswomen, textile artists, volunteers, and community members—have contributed their skills, creating a dress that tells countless personal and cultural stories through embroidery, patchwork, and textile art.
I was contacted about it by an old friend, for whom I used to model at vintage fashion shows (the 1950s was my favourite era), who wondered if I could help with the publicity.
She didn’t have to ask me twice. It’s such an incredible project – a beautiful piece of art with the most amazing back story and stories, bringing disparate groups of women together from all over the world to create something truly stunning and inspirational.
I’ve written about the project for this month’s Marshwood Vale Magazine – you can read the article here.
We arrived in France on Thursday, just as the weather changed.
By Good Friday, in the south west of the country, the sun was out, the sky was blue and we were thanked for bringing the weather with us.
As if.
Just like the UK, it has been a cold and wet winter here in France. So to see – and feel – that shining orb looking down warmly – well, it’s been a welcome visitor with a smiley face and absolutely no baggage.
Today, our part of Dorset is similarly clad in warmth. Spirits soar and everything in the garden is lovely, if you forget world events and personal traumas and focus instead on the trees ditching their winter wardrobe and grabbing their spring and summer clothes from nature’s rail.
Lush Places gets back to normal tomorrow, with temperatures plummeting and roadworks all over the place as super-superfast broadband is installed by a roving crew, leading to faster internet speeds and frazzled drivers.
Here, we’re set fair until Sunday when temperatures, too, will plummet along with (if there was any justice in the world) fuel prices. But we all know justice is in short supply these days so I’m not going down that particular route for fearing of reaching a dead end or one great big pothole.
Gather ye rosebuds while you may and make hay while the sun shines and all that.
Be kind, hope for the best but expect the worst and you will never be disappointed.
Speak soon.
Maddie x
Maddie Grigg 