The Art of Writing

How often do you put pen to paper nowadays? What was the last thing you actually wrote? The shopping list; a date on the calendar; a note on a Post-it? So, what about the last time you typed something with fingers or thumbs? I’m guessing just before you read this. It’s the way most of us communicate now.

I enjoy writing. I write for work and I write for pleasure. I like writing cards to friends and family and I love receiving a handwritten card or letter myself. So, not surprisingly when I started noticing more and more beautiful writing around – on Instagram, in books, on labels and on chalkboards in shops and cafés, I wanted to have a go.

 

 

I am referring to Modern Calligraphy – a current and popular art form that is much looser, bouncier and fun than the traditional calligraphy you find in more formal documents – or those old Medieval scripts.

One inspiring Instagram site that I follow is Quill London, who style themselves as the home of modern calligraphy, stylish stationery and correspondence. I bought their book, written by calligrapher Lucy Edmonds, who heads up their modern calligraphy studio, and I haven’t looked back since.

 

 

If you have distant memories of those laborious handwriting classes at school, then you’ll know what I mean when I say I have followed lots of drills, starting off with practising the type of strokes you can see here – the idea behind modern calligraphy is that there is a thick downstroke and a thin upstroke.

 

 

I then moved on to learning how to write the upper and lower case alphabet; writing words, joining up letters and experimenting with different styles of writing including spacing and embellishments…

 

 

So when it came to Christmas, I was keen to put my new skill into practice. Believe me, this hobby is very therapeutic – and extremely addictive, although I am not at the point where my shopping lists are written in calligraphy just yet. Anyway, back to Christmas where I wrote place names for the table..

 

 

And much as I would have loved to make all my own Christmas cards, I’d left it far too late for that. However, I did create a special card for Mr B, who was full of cold, so I suggested he might wait before acting upon the instructions on the card.

 

 

The next stage I’m looking forward to is experimenting with some colour so I’ve just ordered some gorgeous Finetec Watercolour Pearl Colours, which you brush onto your nib. You can use any liquid in calligraphy, even tea, which I’ve very nearly done by accident! Also winging its way to me is a Tombow Brush Pen as I want to have a go at learning some brush lettering too. I’ll keep you posted as to how I get on. So, until next time…..

A Winter Beach Café

As far as bracing winter walks go, striding out along the vast sandy beach at Hunmanby Gap on a bitterly cold January morning probably comes high up on the list.

 

After the excesses of the festive season – cheese, chocolate, Christmas cake, cheese, chocolate, Christmas cake, cheese….coupled with us all having this nasty flu virus that’s been doing the rounds (clearly not affecting our appetites…) we were ready for a trip to the beach with the boys and the pup.

 

As the rollers surged onto the beach with the boys trying to dodge them, my cries of “Don’t get too wet, I haven’t packed any spare clothes…”, went unheeded and needless to say, trousers got soaked and wellies were sloshing with water within minutes. Our labradoodle Lola was more intent on chasing the tiny bubbles of froth that were getting blown across the sand – oh, and admiring her reflection!

 

Hunmanby Gap, a couple of miles south of Filey on the North Yorkshire coast, ticks several of my perfect beach boxes. When the tide’s out, the sands are huge and you can walk for miles; it’s dog-friendly all year round; it’s less than a thirty minute drive from our house; has easy parking; is rarely crowded – and perhaps the biggest tick of all, it has a lovely, welcoming beach café.

The Beach Café is perched above the bay with indoor and outdoor seating. It’s a snug fit inside but we managed to pile in and pull up a seat on the quirky coffee sack-upholstered chairs. There’s a good variety of food here from full English breakfast, burgers and toasties to scones, cakes and ice creams.

It was mugs of tea and teacakes for us while the kids tucked into bowls of chips and an impressive hot chocolate. For some reason I must have been too engrossed in my tea and teacakes as I forgot to take a photo of the interior and more importantly of the hot chocolate – chunky glass tankards filled with milky hot chocolate, a swirl of thick cream and dotted with pastel-hued mini marshmallows.

There’s always a warm welcome from the ladies behind the counter here. The views are fabulous from both inside the café and outside. In summer we have had lunch out on the huge decking area which is lovely when the sun is out and the weather is good.

 

Through winter the café is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm. If you’re looking for a beach walk to blow the cobwebs away then this is your place with the bonus of coffee and cake at end, not to mention the panoramic views.