A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

It's been ages since we've had a sing-song, and I can't think of a better song to sing along to right now than this.

It speaks of summer nights and romance, and paints London as a happy, hopeful place to be. Which I much prefer to the recent version we witnessed.

My favourite version is sung by the wonderful Vera Lynn.

Here are the words if you want to sing along.

A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square

When two lovers meet in Mayfair, so the legands tell
Songbirds sing and winter turns to spring
Every winding street in Mayfair falls beneath the spell
I know such enchantment can be
'cause it happened one evening to me

That certain night, the night we met,
there was magic abroad in the air,
There were angels dining at the Ritz
And a nightingale sang in Berkley Square
I may be right, I may be wrong,
but I'm perfectly willing to swear
That when you turn'd and smiled at me
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

The moon that lingered over London town;
Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown
How could he know we two were so in love,
the whole darn world seemed upside down
The streets of town were paved with stars,
It was such a romantic affair,
And as we kissed and said goodnight,
A Nightingale Sang In Berkley Square

Our homeward step was just as light
As the tap dancing feet of Astair
And like an echo far away,
A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
I know 'cause I was there, that night in Berkeley Square

More collections

I'm having fun on four for the day

Have you got any good collections?

Four for the day

This week I am a guest editor on this lovely blog

It is a year long project run by an artist called S Arden Hill.

He has brought together artists and designers from all over the world to become editors for a week each, every week this year. The idea is that the guest editors show four items every day from their collections. It is fascinating what different people come up with.

If you have a minute, do go and have a peek! You may even fancy becoming a guest editor yourself...

Seraphine de Senlis

I stayed up late last night to watch a beautiful and moving film about a French artist of whom I had never heard. Her name was Seraphine Louis although she is widely known as Seraphine de Senlis, after her home town.

I loved the cinematography, which captured French rural life in the early 20th century so beautifully and the central performance of Yolande Moreau was wonderful. It was very inspiring to see her total compulsion to paint and utter absorption in the making of her work.

She spent her early years in an convent after being orphaned. A resulting lifelong deep faith ensued combined with a love of nature, which she viewed as God's work. She had no formal training, but felt that she was guided by her guardian angel in the works she painted.

Carved Chinese scene

This is not my normal type of thing, but when I saw it at the car boot sale, I felt I had to rescue it. It was in some shocking company.

I can't tell you how delicately beautiful it is. I think it is carved from bone, which is a feat in itself, but if you saw the scale you would be amazed. The little pagoda stands about 2cm high, the leaves on the trees are only a couple of mm. It really is a fine work of craftmanship.

The whole thing measures about 3 inches long. Did you spot the herons?

Blueberries

I just snuck out in between rain showers to rescue these blue beauties.

Frankly it was a race against time, because I reckon if I didn't get them pretty soon the birds would have. And I have seed for them and these bizarre looking things, dried mealworms. 

According to the packaging, they are 'wildly tasty'. I'd love to know who did the taste test.

Dream house

Today I went out walking with the girls. We passed loads of beautiful houses in lovely rural locations, on which we all remarked, so I asked the girls what their dream house was like. It was interesting. We all had different dreams.

Mine is a tiny cottage in the woods somewhere, with a lake to swim in nearby. Probably a wooden building with three rooms; bedroom, bathroom and then one living area with kitchen and dining table. Like the one in Dr Zhivago, not the big building, but the tiny one they end up living in.

What is yours?

Image 1: http://www.rogerboylan.com

Image 2: http://www.shepherdhuts.co.uk