What do you love..?

What do you love about winter?

lighting the fire*candle light*wintry walks*dogs sleeping by the fire*the smell of seasoned wood*warm hats and gloves*wrapping up in thick coats, and woolly scarves for a walk in the snow*stretching out on the sofa with a good book*binge watch of downton abbey*seeing animal tracks in the snow*christmas*feeding garden birds*christmas cards from family and friends*buying presents*fresh, frosty air in the morning and feeling the chill as you breathe in*making new year resolutions*seeing snowdrops and crocus pop up in the garden*dogs having daft turns in the snow*driving in fresh snow*scented candles*a hot bath after a long day outdoors*getting out early after it has snowed to see an untouched white landscape*no midges*new year, new beginings*big bowl of homemade scotch broth*a hearty stew*closing the curtains, locking the doors, and sitting by the fire listening to the weather outside*heated car seats*candle lit bath with essential oils*snuggling up to a loved one on the settee and feeling grateful*watching the birds going to and fro from the bird feeders in the garden*clootie dumpling made by my mum*making and throwing snowballs for my dogs*walking on fresh, virgin snow*bright, clear days when you can see your breath*hanging up the new calendar on January 1st*snowballs, the advocaat and babycham kind*my birthday*opening of the salmon fishing season on my local river*hot food outdoors*feeding the deer*snow melting and a greener landscape returning* old year’s day and waking up on new year’s day with an exciting, new year ahead *writing about the weather in my diary.

Janette Robertson’s Clootie Dumpling is made from a passed-down recipe of more than a 100 years old. It’s a big family favourite, and made on birthdays.

Scotland in Four Seasons asked Lucy Turner, a Textile Designer and Retail Manager from the East Neuk of Fife, about her connection to Scotland. “I’m guessing my connection with Scotland began long before I even realised. My grandmother was from Nairn in the Highlands. She was the middle child of three. When she was 17, she ran away to the south of England, where she continued to live until she died over 25 years ago. My home by birth is Reading and I loved growing up so close to London and spending my free time hanging out on the Kings Road and in Kensington High Street, digging around all the independent shops and markets.” Lucy first came to Scotland in the 1990’s. “After I left school, I came to Scotland to study textiles at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee. I clearly remember my first trip up for the interview. I had never been north before, and I travelled up on the sleeper train with my brother. I didn’t sleep a wink with the excitement and the constant rattle of the train. Seeing the huge stone walls at Waverley as we pulled in in the early morning was so exciting and I felt I was going on a huge adventure.” Did you enjoy living and studying in Dundee? “I loved life in Dundee. It is a great city for students. It has changed a lot since I was there studying, but it still has a vibrant arts scene and the college is considered one of the best in Scotland and the city now has the V&A museum on the waterfront.” “When I graduated from university, I also ran away…to Greece. It was my Shirley Valentine moment: I met a Greek waiter at a restaurant in Windsor and went to Athens for a week in the summer and I didn’t return for 3 years. I lived and worked in this vibrant city and loved every minute of it.” Scotland pulled Lucy back again in 2003, “when my then husband and myself wanted to start a new life with our children and my poorly mum. Everyone told us how brave we were, but honestly, it all happened so fast, we didn’t have time to think about being brave. We had been looking for a property to buy all over the UK, which was big enough for the 5 of us. My husband was working a lot at the time in Scotland and as I had been there at university, it seemed like a possible idea (but we did have a bit of that southern attitude that we might as well be moving to the moon!). Just by chance, we spotted a property we liked. We saw the details in an estate agent’s window and went to see it from the outside on a cold, wet February night. I remember peering through the hedge at this huge rundown white building. We asked for the prospectus and decided to go for it, not even having seen inside. We had friends in Reading who were also moving to Scotland, so it didn’t seem like such an alien concept. We put in a bid on the house and won; so, before we knew it, we were packed up and in a van travelling north.” How about life in Fife? “It was good. We had a huge house (it was an old pub, complete with all the fixtures and fittings) and we took on the job of renovating the building and turning it into a home. This was quite a challenge, as my husband was away a lot with work, my mother had joined us and needed 24-hour care and we had 2 small children to look after. The community was great though and we threw ourselves into village life and soon made many friends and we were made to feel welcome (despite being “incomers”). We were quite the talk of the town when we arrived, two outsiders from the south, taking on the old pub with our city ways! The children quickly made friends and we could walk to the school and life was busy, fun, and safe. Friends from the south of England would visit and couldn’t understand how we were so relaxed about our children playing in the street out of our sight. Everyone knew everyone and it was the perfect place to bring them up. We had a large house they could play in with their friends, we could walk everywhere, and we were surrounded by beautiful countryside.”

Designer Life in Fife

What about working life in Fife, “for over 10 years I ran my own successful textile design business from a studio I built in the home, which fitted in perfectly with bringing up the boys and life at the time.” Fast forward to the present day, “I am still in Scotland. I have moved a couple of times since then; I am divorced, and the kids have left home (how fast time moves).” “I now live in the beautiful East Neuk of Fife, next to the sea. I commute 20 minutes into St Andrews to work and I can work for myself from home in my studio here. I walk the dog on the coastal path, next to the crashing waves and watch the tourists come and go as the seasons change. I smell and hear the sea from my back garden and in the depths of winter we don’t have the hard, bitter frosts that used to be prevalent in the more central region. Though I do miss those biting crisp mornings. We often have sun when the rest of the country is awash with rain and the local farms, restaurants and markets are full of the produce from this abundant area.” Travelling around Scotland, how do you do it? “The drive to Edinburgh is longer than it was before (I dream of buying a boat and scooting across the Forth to see friends in North Berwick), but it makes it all the more pleasurable when you do go. My boys thought I had gone mad when I bought this house, as you do need to drive to get anywhere quickly, but lockdown made them appreciate how beautiful this area is and our proximity to the sea. When I am at work, I manage a new design and concept store “Spoiled Life” in St Andrews that opened in February 2020. We are still here and still busy and popular, despite the devastation reaped on businesses. St Andrews is an unusual town, full of international students and tourists, that you don’t really see outside of the big cities. Their presence brings a vitality to the town and keeps it alive and fresh.” “Earlier this year I set up my online vintage clothing store, EastNeukVintage. I have always loved clothes and fashion and I worked for years in the fashion industry, as an agent and studio manager. My mother was an antique dealer, with a real passion for fashion and vintage clothes, so I am guessing this is where my interest came from. I still have a lot of her old clothing that I cannot get into, but I will do something with them one day.” “I love to upcycle garments, relining jackets, adding panels, dyeing, re-stitching or just switching buttons. I am currently creating a studio in my new home, which was my son’s bedroom (don’t tell him), so that I can have a dedicated space to work from.” “I still find it weird that I have spent so long in Scotland (I have now been here 17 years), as I am normally one to move about a lot. I think it is home to me now, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else (apart from maybe back in Greece!). I miss London life, but I go back and visit as often as I can. Life is so expensive there that it is nice to dip in and out and appreciate the good parts.” My boys are in Glasgow and Galashiels at university and even though they consider themselves English, this is their home too. The quality of life here is wonderful, the people are friendly and welcoming, the scenery is second to none and honestly, I would miss the sky if I were anywhere else and the sunsets over the sea.” You can find out more about Lucy’s work on Instagram @ eastneukvintage and www.eastneukvintage.com.

Lucy Turner