Sheer indulgence

I met friends in Cartmel and we wandered into a coffee shop, just intending to have a drink. Then we spotted the meringues and they looked so wonderful that we all decided to enjoy one! I had a rosewater meringue - pink and tasting of roses, which sounds horrid but was delicious. I could have had ginger or hazelnut too. I tell myself that there is a lot of air in a meringue... (but who am I kidding?)  The reviews on TripAdvisor suggest I am not the only one who rates the meringue - see Cartmel Coffee. It was a really pleasant, modern café too, with a relaxed seating area as well as standard tables, and bookshelves and newspapers to browse if you really wanted to chill out.

A postcard from Cartmel

As you can see, Cartmel in Cumbria is a pretty little village (though overrun by cars - I thought Saltaire was bad enough!) The river Eea runs through the village, past historic buildings, mostly dating from the 16th to18th century, which cluster round a square dominated by the old market cross and some ancient stone fish slabs, a relic of when markets were held here. Narrow, winding streets radiate from the square and are now home to some very upmarket shops, many of them selling artisan foods like speciality bread, cheese; there is even a micro-brewery. There are wonderful tea shops too and an acclaimed Michelin-starred restaurant, Simon Rogan's L'Enclume, where you can enjoy a 21 course 'tasting experience'. (Not that I did.) Cartmel also boasts a racecourse in a lovely setting close to the village centre. All in all, a surprising place!

Mother and child

Inside, Cartmel Priory is an inspirational fusion of ancient craftsmanship, including fragments of medieval stained glass and carved wooden misericords, and some beautiful contemporary sculptures. Most are by Josefina de Vasconcellos, an English sculptor with Brazilian heritage and at one time the world's oldest living sculptor. I don't recall coming across her name before though I now realise I have seen some of her sculpture in other places. I found myself deeply touched by the pieces displayed in the church. The Madonna pictured was not attributed but I am pretty sure it is her work. Josefina died in 2005 shortly after her 100th birthday, having produced work well into her 90s.

What better place to spend a few moments quietly contemplating the news that my daughter is expecting her second child... Please join with me in hoping and praying that all will be well this time and that she may have an easier birth experience after the trauma of my first granddaughter's very premature delivery.

Cartmel

I made my first ever visit to the village of Cartmel, in Cumbria. It's an attractive little place, dominated by the huge medieval Priory Church. Established as a monastery in the 12th century, it survived destruction after Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s only because an altar within the church had been given to villagers. They petitioned to save the church as their sole place of worship. Even so, it almost fell into ruin and was saved and repaired many times by various benefactors. Nowadays it is a living, thriving church with a wonderfully peaceful atmosphere inside, soaked through by centuries of faithful prayer. When I visited, the nave was cordoned off and the roof swathed in plastic sheeting as they are replacing rotten roof timbers. It rather ruined its good looks but I still enjoyed wandering round and discovering its secrets. 'Ancient jewel, living church', as its guidebook says.