Dancing in the rain.

'Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.'

I read this quote on Facebook and fell in love with it. I've now adopted it as my new motto and am trying to put it into practice. My website has the title, 'Sunshine after the rain.'  I called it this as I started writing my blog when I had not long come out of a difficult period in my life. I've been through many of life's 'storms' and have been content in the past just to congratulate myself on having survived.

I'm not quite as old as Meryl Streep, but I have been aware for some time that life is indeed a gift, and a very precious one at that. But life isn't always easy and it can be hard to keep walking, let alone dancing, when things get tough.

One lesson I've have learned over the years is, that worrying doesn't change anything. It's time and energy wasted; time and energy that could be spent learning to 'dance in the rain.' Now don't get me wrong? I don't mean this literally. You won't see me dancing down the street when I'm going through some crisis or if something sad has happened.

The way I interpret this is, instead of dwelling on the negative side of our situation, we should look for the positives. Sometimes that can be hard, or even seem impossible. Little things like being thankful for those around us who are supporting us, can help to bring a smile and make us feel better, if only for a moment. But our lives are made up of moments and I believe that is what it means to embrace life. To try to make every moment count. I haven't always done that in the past.

This is especially relevant for me at the moment. Easter is fast approaching. But for a long time I dreaded this time of year. My daughter was born on Easter Monday. Easter is the time that Christians celebrate Jesus dying, then rising again to give us a new life. My daughter passed away, 17 days later.

People told me that I should try to remember the happy times. For a long time this seemed to me to be an impossible goal. She was so sick and every one of her 17days seemed to bring a new crisis. But now I remember how happy I was when she was born; the feelings of love that overwhelmed me as I sat beside her incubator, singing little songs I made up, just for her. I can even still feel her tiny hand grasping hold of my index finger and that too makes me smile. We didn't have photographs of her without tubes and wires, but a lovely lady drew this from a photograph, and this too makes me smile.

If only I'd been able to do that sooner.

One of my favourite things is a rainbow. They only appear when the sun comes out after it's been raining. Perhaps if we can bring some sunshine into our dark times, even if it's only a tiny flicker, we might make our own beautiful rainbows, out of our stormy times.

Over the past few years I've been learning to embrace life, but now I'm going to try to learn to dance in the rain too. This year I'm not dreading Easter. After all, Life is a gift.

Photos Isabel's own, apart from:-

https://www.facebook.com/AARPIllinois/photos/a.10150193683836312.307388.48774131311/10152448661796312/?type=1&theater

Isabel Johnstone 2015 ©

How Cogges becomes Downton’s Yew Tree Farm.

Cogges Manor House

Anyone who follows my blog will be well aware of the fact that I'm a Downton Abbey fan and that I'm immensely pleased that Cogges is used as the setting of Yew Tree Farm, the home of Farmer Drewe and his wife, Margi. Having seen Lady Mary and Tom Branson visit the farm in series 4, in series 5, we found out that Farmer Drewe and his wife, were looking after Marigold, the illegitimate daughter of Lady Edith. The filming took place at Cogges over several days and I was lucky enough to be around for some of it. But how do you go about turning a grand Tudor Manor House into a lowly farmer's cottage?

Yew Tree Farm

Having featured in 6 out of 8 episodes of the popular period drama, Yew Tree Farm is now an established part of the Downton Abbey estate. So how do you make this lovely Manor house look like a small farmer's cottage?

Dairy yard before

Dairy yard dressed as Yew Tree Farm

The day before the filming takes place, personnel from Downton's Art Department arrive to transform Cogges into Yew Tree Farm.  This is achieved by a combination of set dressing and clever camera work. By only filming a small section of the house, the oldest part, this gives the illusion of it being a small cottage.The technical term for this is 'close filming'. Then with the addition of some milk churns, a mangle and wash tub, plus a child's wooden cart, the dairy yard is transformed into an early 20th century farmer's yard.

The kitchen as it is normally

False sink

Inside, by adding furniture and other bits and pieces, to give the impression that it is a multi-functional living space, the large kitchen is transformed into a lowly farmer's cottage. A settle, an old-fashioned type of sofa, and an armchair are placed either side of the black leaded range. Even a false sink is put against the wall where a large wooden cupboard usually stands.

Cogges kitchen after the transformation.

Using an Ipad, photographs are taken at every stage of the process. This ensures that each object is placed in exactly the same position every time and also helps when it's time to put everything back in its rightful place, when the filming is over. It usually takes about a day to set up for filming and another day to return the house to normal.

Lady Edith and Marigold with the Drewe family

All in all, it's a fascinating process to watch.Unfortunately, we're not allowed to watch the filming itself. But as I'm such a massive Downton fan, I find it quite thrilling just being on site when it's happening, especially if one of the actors says 'hello' on their way to and from the set.


Marigold is now living with her mother up at the big house, so Lady Edith no longer needs to visit the farm. But, as I said at the beginning of the blog, the farm is an established part of the Downton estate. So who knows what might happen in series 6. I can't wait to find out.

Photographs Isabel's own. The photos of Lady Edith, Marigold and the Drewes, are photographs Isabel took of scenes on the television. With grateful thanks to Downton Abbey.