- JUNE 2022 -

Hello! Today is the final post of the spring edition of the three seasonal photo journals.

こんにちは。お元気ですか？今日は3回に亘る季節のフォトジャーナル春編の最終回です。

COUNTRY WALK JOURNAL

Compared to May, it seems like we have finally drier weather after such wet months. Chris took some photos of wild baby rabbits we often meet during a walk. Around the lake, it is a baby season for various creatures.

5月に比べると多少雨の降らない日が増えた気がします。兎に角よく雨の降った今年の春。写真はクリス撮影の野うさぎ。湖の辺りでは、白鳥などの水鳥、羊、ウサギや牛達のベビーシーズン!!

The area I sometimes encountered roe deers during the winter is now completely covered with ferns.

冬の間、時々鹿を見かけていた辺り、今はすっかりシダに覆われています。

We went to a local country park for a picnic the other day. Climbing a steep slope, you can reach the top called Windy Hill. As the name suggests, the wind was so strong that we needed to leave the site to escape from the wind. Even though it has such a fabulous landscape, there was no one around. Only the skies, the hills, a few sheep and invisible birds’ chirping.

地元のカントリーパーク。ここは急傾斜を登り切って辿り着くWindy Hillという丘。名前の通り風が強くて、ピクニックは早々に引き上げました。こんなに素敵な場所なのに、人っ子一人いない。空と丘と羊が数頭に姿の見えない小鳥のさえずりのみ。

GARDEN JOURNAL

The roses in the garden are blooming beautifully this year as well. The tree looks like to have more buds than last year. The scent is also wonderful.

今年も美しく咲いてくれた庭のバラ。去年よりも更に蕾をつけています。香りも素敵。

Epimedium youngianum Niveum：We've been collecting plants with a Japanese-feel from a nearby nursery. This flower is called [ Hime-ikari so ] in Japanese, literally means princess anchor plant, derived from the shape of the flower which looks like an old Japanese style anchor with four arms. So delicate, so pretty.

姫碇草：車で20-30分程のガーデンセンターを見つけてから、日本的な雰囲気の植物を積極的に集めています。写真は新しく庭に迎えた姫碇草。花の形が和式船に使われていた四本爪の碇に似ていることから名付けられたそう。明治以降、洋式の二本爪の [錨] が日本へ紹介されて以降、元々は石製を指していた漢字 [碇] は使われなくなったとの事。姫とつく名前に相応しく可憐な花。葉の形も左右非対称で日本的なところがより魅力的。

DAYS OUT JOURNAL

Report #1

- The Burrell Collection, Glasgow -

We visited the Burrell Collection, which just reopened this spring, is located in the woodlands on the outskirts of Glasgow. It is a museum that showcases a collection of 9,000 items donated to Glasgow City in 1944 by William Burrell (1861-1958), a shipping magnate in those days. From the exotic arts and crafts collected from the east and west, to my favorite portraits of the 16th century, amazing exhibits are housed in spacious rooms.

The building, which was renovated over the course of six years, is a lovely museum with modern illuminations and fun gimmicks for kids. The arranged furniture is also cool, and the cafe is relaxing overlooking the green fields through the glass wall. After arriving, we straight went to a restaurant for breakfast. The quality of coffee and pastries were also good that made me thrilled and look forward to explore the museum.

今月の遠足。まずはこの春に再オープンしたばかり、グラスゴー郊外の森にひっそりと建つバレルコレクション。海運王と称されたウィリアム・バレル（1861-1958）が1944年にグラスゴー市へ寄贈した9000点に上るコレクションを収蔵した美術館。古今東西のエキゾチックな美術工芸品から、大好きな16世紀頃のイギリス肖像画まで興味深い展示が広々とした空間に収められています。

6年の歳月をかけ改装した建物は、今流行りのイルミネーションを使った展示や、キッズ用の楽しい仕掛けがモダンに施された素敵なミュージアム。配置された家具もオシャレで、カフェも全面ガラス貼りで広々とし、緑を見ながらゆったりできます。コーヒーやペイストリーもクオリティが高く、到着後に直行したカフェの朝食の時点で早くも心が踊り出しました。

A great collection of ancient Egyptian reserves, 6-7th century Zui Dynasty pottery, 12th century elephant ivory box with Byzantine & Islamic design elements made by Muslim craftsmen in Norman Sicily, and ancient Greek 7th century BC unisex aroma oil flask bottle pottery.

古代エジプトの埋蔵物、6-7世紀随王朝時代の土器、ビザンチンとイスラム王朝の特徴をミックスしたデザインを施した12世紀ノルマン朝時代の象牙箱、古代ギリシャ紀元前7世紀男女兼用のアロマオイル用のフラスコ瓶土器など素晴らしいコレクションです。

The only Japanese work I found this time - Hokusai woodblock print.

今回唯一発見した日本の作品。北斎の木版画。

The Spanish Chair by Børge Mogensen, 1958

Apart from the exhibits, one of the things I was impressed with was the furniture placed in the museum, especially the chairs, which definitely had a strong presence. I researched about it and found out it’s actually a very famous chair called Spanish Chair made by a Danish furniture designer, Borge Mogensen. It is said that the name comes from the design that incorporates the techniques of traditional Spanish furniture. In Japan, the chair is sold for over £5,000!

From the professional perspective of Chris, who has worked in the museum and gallery industry for many years, he had a lot of reservations about what had been done, but it is relatively a short drive from home, and like many British museums, it’s free, they just ask visitors for some donation so it’s definitely worth revisiting. Besides, the museum is located in huge woodlands. After enjoying the museum, you can also take a walk in the pleasant and quiet forest where the Scottish native Highland Cows welcome you. I definitely want to visit again in the near future.

展示美術品もさることながら、ミュージアムのあちこちに配置された存在感のある椅子が印象的だった今回。一脚でも家に欲しいなと思って調べてみると、デンマーク人家具デザイナー、ボーエ・モーエンセンによる作品、その名もスパニッシュチェアー (1958)。スペインの伝統家具技法を取り入れた特徴が名前の由来だそう。日本では一脚80万円也。

クリスにとっては、ミュージアム&ギャラリー業界で長年働くプロの視点から、100億円以上の予算を掛けたバレルコレクションの大規模改修に様々な評価や疑問点も多くある様子。それでも家からも比較的近く、多くのイギリスの美術館、博物館同様に寄付金を奨励しつつ入館料無料でこれだけの施設を自由に楽しめる事は、本当に恵まれていると思います。おまけに、ここは広大な森の中。美術館でインドアを満喫した後は、スコットランド在来種ハイランドカウが迎えてくれる、気持ち良い静かな森を散策するのも◎。近いうちに是非また訪れたいです。

Report #2

- Potfest Scotland @ Scone Palace, Perth -

The next week was POTFEST SCOTLAND, which we visited last year as well. The pottery market where Wendy, a potter from the same village as us, also participated. The venue is the Scone Palace in the town of Perth, which is about an hour and a half drive away. We bought some pieces from the same potter as last year.

翌週は昨年も訪れたポットフェスト。私たちと同じ村在住の陶芸家のWendyも参加していた陶器市。会場は車で1時間半程のパースという町のスコーンパレス。去年と同じ作家さんの作品をいくつか購入しました。

The Scone Palace is also known for the beautiful peacocks including rare white ones. It seemed that the number of the birds has increased since last year and there were some baby ones strolling among people having a picnic.

会場であるスコーンパレスは、沢山の孔雀がいることでも有名。珍しい白い孔雀、サービス精神旺盛な美しいカラフルな孔雀が放し飼いされています。ピクニックをしている人たちの間を散歩している孔雀の赤ちゃんなど、去年より家族が増えている様子でした。高い木の上で優雅に休んでいたかと思えば、遠くまで響き渡る程の大きな声で鳴きだす孔雀もいて、来場者の人気マスコット的存在。

After enjoying the pottery market, we went for a walk to see a collection of giant pine trees called Pinetum. The collection started from seeds brought back from North America in the early 19th century. Among them, Western Hemlock has fresh new leaves, and the deep green female cones that swell up are really beautiful along with the old brown pine cones.

陶器市を楽しんだ後のお目当ては、Pinetumと呼ばれる19世紀初頭、北アメリカから持ち帰った種を元にスタートした巨大松のコレクション。中でもアメリカ栂は、フレッシュな新葉が付き、ぷっくりと膨らんだ深い緑のメス球果が茶褐色の古い松毬と並んで本当に美しい。