Usti the Seahorse

Thanks to the generosity of customers and staff at the Fish Quay Fair, North Shields, who have been buying our chocolate sea shells, Sea Witch has been able to adopt Usti, a spiny seahorse whose Cherokee Indian name means 'little'.  As Usti is not yet fully grown (she will eventually grow to about 8") customers will be able to watch her grow up via updates here on the blog and also displayed at the Sea Witch stall in North Shields.

You can read more about the work of the Seahorse Trust here:
http://theseahorsetrust.org/

Poem, Pearl, Pagoda

The teeny tiny sea pottery pagoda from the Etsy shop is going to a new home overseas. It's probably part of a 'willow pattern' plate or cup, a design which has been popular since the second half of the eighteenth century. The 'story' of the willow pattern is now thought to be of English origin, as key elements such as the apple tree, doves, and figures on the bridge were not included in Minton's first copy from the original Chinese design:

The Willow Legend There was once a Mandarin who had a beautiful daughter, Koong-se. He employed a secretary, Chang who, while he was attending to his master's accounts, fell in love with Koong-se, much to the anger of the Mandarin, who regarded the secretary as unworthy of his daughter.

The secretary was banished and a fence constructed around the gardens of the Mandarin's estate so that Chang could not see his daughter and Koong-se could only walk in the gardens and to the water's edge.One day a shell fitted with sails containing a poem, and a bead which Koong-se had given to Chang, floated to the water's edge. Koong-se knew that her lover was not far away.

She was soon dismayed to learn that she had been betrothed to Ta-jin, a noble warrior Duke. She was full of despair when it was announced that her future husband, the noble Duke, was arriving, bearing a gift of jewels to celebrate his betrothal.

However, after the banquet, borrowing the robes of a servant, Chang passed through the guests unseen and came to Koong-se's room. They embraced and vowed to run away together. The Mandarin, the Duke, the guests, and all the servants had drunk so much wine that the couple almost got away without detection, but Koong-se's father saw her at the last minute and gave chase across the bridge.

The couple escaped and stayed with the maid that Koong-se's father had dismissed for conspiring with the lovers. Koong-se had given the casket of jewels to Chang and the Mandarin, who was also a magistrate, swore that he would use the jewels as a pretext to execute Chang when he caught him.

One night the Mandarin's spies reported that a man was hiding in a house by the river and the Mandarin's guards raided the house. But Chang had jumped into the ragging torrent and Koong-se thought that he had drowned.Some days later the guards returned to search the house again. While Koong-se's maid talked to them, Chang came by boat to the window and took Koong-se away to safety.

They settled on a distant island, and over the years Chang became famous for his writings. This was to prove his undoing. The Mandarin heard about him and sent guards to destroy him. Chang was put to the sword and Koong-se set fire to the house while she was still inside.

Thus they both perished and the gods, touched by their love, immortalised them as two doves, eternally flying together in the sky.

(www.thepotteries.org)

Waves, Willows, Autumn

Summer is really over - a wave here thudding over the North Pier this morning - and I have been out cutting goat willow along the banks above the estuary, ready to weave into Christmas garlands.

The green willow withies are still soft and springy. If you have some cut and aren't ready to use them straight away they can be kept in a bucket of water to stop them drying out.  The leaves are still so fresh and green I hung up a small garland without removing them:

ivy, berries and other decorations can be added later in the year.

More about the willow and its uses;

http://www.ecoenchantments.co.uk/myogham_willowpage.html