Jade and Pearl

Posted on December 6, 2009 by lindaharley

I had the real pleasure last week of collecting a piece of jewelery that I had designed and commissioned myself.  While in China I’d acquired a couple of small pieces of jade, and a few freshwater pearls.  Intrinsically they had very little value, but I was keen to have them incorporated into a piece of jewelery that I could wear.  Here’s the end result:

A pendant made from jade and pearl

unique piece

I’m thrilled to bits with it, and am looking forward to wearing it over Christmas.  I tend to buy necklaces and the like when I’m abroad, simply to be able to answer “Oh I got it in Venice/ Luxembourg/ Skye” or something when it gets admired.  So I shall look forward to telling people about the jade carving factory just outside Beijing, and the freshwater oyster place in Huangzhou where I picked up these little  gems, and of course they are a beautiful reminder for me of a beautiful country.

And a big thank you to Margaret Forbes the jeweler for creating such a stunning piece.

Filed under: China, Lisburn | Leave a comment »

Orangefest

Posted on July 13, 2009 by lindaharley

I remember Orange parades on 12 July when I was a wee girl, back in the sixties.  Then, when they became a focal point for trouble, I kept away.  In today’s new improved Norn Irn, there’s been an attempt to rebrand the event as an inclusive family festival.  And there’s certainly plenty of colour, and music to entertain visitors!  It’s a tall order, though.  The police presence this morning was very low key:  most of the cops were on bicycles (what a brilliant idea!), and one solitary helicopter hovered overhead.  There was a zero-tolerance stance on alcohol consumption by either bandsmen or the crowd.

My video footage sadly missed some of the great enthusiastic beating of the lambeg drum, and some fantastic youngsters twirling their batons.  And we had Max with us, who behaved beautifully given the crowds and the loud music, and who received much admiring attention.

Filed under: Lisburn | 1 Comment »

« Previous Page