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International Women’s Day
Can’t do better than to include my report from last night’s performance of Carmen by the amazing Iryna Ilnytska:
EXETER OPERA GROUP
‘CARMEN’ AT TEIGNMOUTH MUSIC FESTIVAL
“It can’t get better than this!” exclaimed Barry. And yet, each performance by this talented group of singers does get better each time. From the opening bars of the overture, the audience was enthralled by the humour, the joy of the performers, the later pathos as the story took a darker turn, and laughed, gasped, and clapped in all the right places.
Bizet’s beautiful music and well-known songs transported us to a world of warmth and sunshine, a world away from the chilly, damp, and murky evening outside. Organised as part of Teignmouth Music Festival, the event was held in the imposing church of St Michael the Archangel, whose stained-glass windows glowed invitingly from outside, and attended by an enthusiastic audience of around 60 people. We enjoyed coffee and cake during the interval, which also provided an opportunity for friendly conversation and to speak with the cast.
Exeter Opera Group was established by mezzo soprano, Iryna Ilnytska in 2024 following many years of performing as a soloist and with other groups throughout Exeter. She is a force of nature who draws people in with her warmth and friendliness. Her voice is superb but, not only that, she also manages to transform into character in a way not often seen.
Special mention needs to be made of the pianist, Tim Laurence-Othen, who played tirelessly and seemingly effortlessly, and brilliantly, for the entire performance. We were also treated to a performance by flautist, Suzanne de Lozey, as we settled down after the interval. The overall event was a feast of sound and colour to delight the senses.
As well as directing and performing, Iryna works tirelessly to raise funds for Ukrainian volunteers and injured servicemen. Money raised goes directly to where it is needed. Her next fundraising concert is: May 22 Exeter Cathedral 1pm.
Karen Hedges
8 March 2026
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1st March
It’s sobering to realise that last week saw the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. My poor Ukrainian friend saw her family home in the Donetsk area, bombed, could not visit her parents there but had to go to Kiev, had a daughter, married, all without her family on hand. She fundraises tirelessly for the volunteers she knows out there.
Education has been another sombre topic with reviews of SEND education support, a drive to improve behaviour by men towards women by beginning with education in schools. I wrote an essay a few years’ ago bemoaning the young age at which children, boys in particular, begin school and expected to sit still. There is no sadder sight than seeing young, lively, Year 1 boys outside a classroom for ‘bad’ behaviour. It has been shown in other countries that a later start means children are more prepared to sit still in a classroom with better social skills.
Bizarrely, the cost of train tickets to Berkshire and back cost more than a week’s holiday in the sun. It is what it is, I said to the ticket person. The whole process was more complicated than booking a round the world trip (which I did once upon a time).
In the name of progress, I learned our friendly local bank will close next year. Apparently, the post office will gain an extra counter for those who wish to deal with a human and to take coins out of the bank.
Well, I think it’s time for some positive comments with the knowledge that with February having now marched off, Welsh cakes and daffodils take centre stage. My Welsh husband is currently in the kitchen making a fresh batch, while vases of bright yellow daffs bedeck the rooms with cheerfulness. Bread of heaven indeed.
More positive news with a sighting of some early flowering cowslips on our afternoon stroll. One day nothing is there, the next they are out in all their glory. Amazing nature.
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w/e 22 February
I am a lizard. At last! The sun has climbed high enough up in the sky to beam into our little sunlounge. Where lounging in the sun has to be done. It is so nice to feel the warmth of the sun on one’s back when out for a stroll. More and more flowers have been enticed to show their colours, with yellows and purples adding to the early white of snowdrops.
What a glorious treat the winter Olympics have been with the many breathtaking exploits. The curling proved to be an unexpected delight with its technical aims and frantic ice brushing.
As I realised we are already nearing the end of February, I made haste to pick up the phone to wish a couple of friends happy new year before it really proved too late and into the Easter season.
My arm continues to be a bit painful although I am gradually getting more movement in it. The escapade brought joy into people’s lives as they could not process how a non-slip mat managed to slip me up. It could only happen to me!
At the Norman Lockyer Observatory I was privileged to show the Lockyer telescope and archives to a guest speaker from the Met Office, and found we knew the same people. Not really surprising but made me feel a bit of a dinosaur when told some of these had trained that person and were now retired. I still feel in my forties. The guest really was.
So, with advice seemingly everywhere to keep supple, eat well, move more, I shall endeavour to get back to where I was in January when I was exercising along to an online exercise chap with the evidence becoming apparent in my arms. Pottering in the garden beckons, alongside trying my hand at some water colouring of the pretty plants. Unable to see the stars outside due to the clouds, I was delighted to be given a starry jigsaw courtesy of my local library.
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w/e 15 February
It is with disbelief that I read that 2026 is the National Year of Reading, at a time when local libraries are under threat of closure. The world has gone mad. School libraries have long been an issue with hours cut, staff expected to run the library ‘in their spare time’ or with volunteers. With all the news focussed on the cost of living, it is surprising that more people do not use libraries. However, there is much in the news about screen time, as well as the pressure for ‘results’, and there is much more back-to-back organised activities for children than there ever has been. With both parents expected to have a career, there is less time for leisure with one’s children it seems.
Counter to this gloomy news, is the heartening meeting with a parent of a former young observer who was ‘over the moon’ to have bumped into me. I was told that the young person is set for an internship at CERN and is indebted to me and a colleague for our efforts with a group of young people at the Norman Lockyer Observatory. I loved leading the younger part of the group and was sad to have to stand down when my father was suffering from dementia, at the same time as my mother-in-law was also hospitalised. It was a busy and fraught time. Then came the Pandemic.
Valentine’s Day comes and goes in our house with a nod to the occasion by way of a heart-shaped cake, which this year was upside down pear cake for a change. With it occurring on a Saturday this year, there was plenty of scope for increased commercialisation and bucket loads of flowers in the foyer of our local supermarket.
A Sunday drive to take Mum to a garden centre became a rather ambitious adventure along busy lanes due to road closures from flood damage, dodging potholes and puddles, while enjoying the sight of drifts of snowdrops and daffodils on the verges.
As I sadly did not get to visit Milan for the Winter Olympics, I have been watching curling, skeleton, skiing, and skating live or via iPlayer. I also caught up with the European Ice Dance Championships, before seeing the latest competitions. So many hours of delight. The skill and beauty of the performances defied belief on occasion, with the skaters seemingly to possess rubber legs.
And so another week begins of rain and cold, yet Thursday looks to contain a ray of hope for a glimpse of those elusive stars. At least our star has shown itself now and again.
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w/e 8 February
Well, the first week of February has been washed away…hopefully, life will become drier now that all the reservoirs are full to the brim, and overflowing. The potholes are like crater lakes these days. It is now two years’ since getting about on crutches following a second foot operation to remove arthritis. And still struggling with balance issues on dodgy feet. This week saw me take a tumble out of the shower onto the bathroom floor in an ungainly leap ending in a sore heap. My little toe had got caught on the non-slip mat!
Despite all that, I managed to give a talk about a little known scientist who discovered that the Earth’s magnetism had a ten year cycle. I had volunteered to give a talk about John Lamont because he originated in Scotland and ended up in Germany as Johann von Lamont. A fascinating tale of an amazing character who catalogued, with assistance, 30,000 stars as well as his magnetic research, and observations of little moons of Saturn and Uranus. In honour of his research, he was given an honour by a Bavarian monarch thus permitting Johann to use von in his name. John had changed his name to Johann after a few years of living and working in Germany.
I ventured to Exeter by train and then across it by bus and finally on foot given that not one, but two roads near my destination were closed. It was lovely to catch up with a friend before making the return journey. The traffic was appalling, the river in full flood, the place shabby and dull which made me feel glad to be living in a country area and nearer the coast.
In the garden, a brave daffodil succumbed to the wind and bloomed when bent over. Spears of purple crocus pushed through the gravel despite the frequent deluges. Resilience in action!
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A great end to January and a brilliant start to February…
On the last evening of the very wet month, we enjoyed a ray of sunshine in the form of a celebratory concert of Mozart’s music from Exeter Opera Group in Topsham. The singers, some of whom were not used to singing solos, performed bravely and magnificently. We were carried away on a sea of sound and emotion. Although the venue had a few heating problems, the warmth of the welcome, the audience, and the performers, this was soon forgotten.
As we came out, a sub group gathered to enjoy the splendour of the Moon and bright Jupiter, encased a beautiful halo of ice crystals lit by the moon’s glow.
Here I am with a nice cup of tea and a good read…super to see another story of mine in print in the March edition of Prima magazine. It was edited slightly by them but retains the magic of friendship I wished to convey.
The full moon on the 1st means that the rest of February will offer increased better viewing of the stars…if the clouds stay away that is. Fingers crossed! The phases fit nicely with the dates of the month and indeed is similar to the pattern in January when the full moon was near the beginning of the month on the 3rd. You can download and print useful moon observation sheets from the internet. Full Moon on the First is a good place to start logging – just try to observe from the same position each day, shade in the phase on the chart, make a note of the time – again, try to stick to the same time each day. The end result will be a visual of the Moon’s phases along with a better understanding of the Moon’s movement across the sky.
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w/e 25 January
Uncharted waters. I have realised I should be receiving my state pension next year, and turning 65 has focused my mind on my age for some reason. My sixties are not what I had in mind many years’ ago, but that was before the changes to state pension age for women, and before the pandemic changed the world forever. My view of people in their sixties is coloured by my upbringing amongst elderly grandparents and young parents (my mother was just 23 whereas her mother was 40). In my fifties I had a vision of gently driving along the back roads of England, exploring and stopping at interesting places. Quite apart from the previously mentioned changes, my feet have suffered with arthritis and operations on each foot. The net result is I do not drive long distances any more and find stop-start driving uncomfortable and tiring. I have given a couple of talks recently, and am busily preparing two more. This is something completely outside my parents, and grandparents, world. My grandparents played cribbage, grandad went for walks, grandma did crosswords and crochet, my parents enjoyed drives in the country, bike rides, allotments and cooking. I don’t think anything prepared them for someone like me! The life I lead in so-called ‘retirement years’ is new to me…uncharted waters indeed. I am feeling my way. Exercising to keep fit and supple, still trying to make a viable living from my writing, helping a friend in his 90s to be a recognised space artist. My auntie had a zest for living, my uncle enjoyed creating things out of wood, another friend took up A level maths for fun in her 80s, my mother-in-law in her 80s travelled solo to Canada. All these have helped reformulate my view of aging. No one knows how much time is left and I intend to make the most of it and complete all my outstanding projects as soon as possible.
Taking a peek at the speck of blue sky in a run of wet, windy, days.
Bravely poking through the soil, the wet soil, despite the deluge and wind.
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w/e 18 January
Yesterday (Saturday) was a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon…and around 25 people came to Seaton Library to listen to me talk about the stars, the sun, the moon, and the Norman Lockyer Observatory. Great audience, with some wide-ranging questions, and some familiar faces! Thank you to all who came. Stargazing for All is available from Winstone’s Bookshop in Sidmouth as well as Amazon. Just go outside and look up – can you see bright Jupiter near the twins?
There are many articles bounding around at the moment about the bleakness of January with some suggestions of how to bring light (literally) into your life. What about the reverse though and embracing the dark…and enjoying the stars, the cosy nights in, the chance for the body to rest and recover from the busyness of Christmas and last summer. I bring out my green vases and have some dried Autumn grasses in a vase on the windowsill, while in the lighter, summery months, I bring out my white floral vases. Red and green lend themselves to the winter season by bringing warmth into the home. Initially struggling with not having work to bring structure to my week, I do not miss having to get up early on a dark, wet morning and coming home in the dark. To be honest, I also struggle with the couple of weeks in high summer that are invariably too hot while also trying to make the most of the extra daylight…
Living more seasonally is often promoted for more sustainable eating patterns but could equally apply to living patterns. With electric light, we have become used to staying up as long as we like rather than have natural cycles of near hibernation counterbalanced by busy periods of outside working.
On the subject of seasonality, I am working on a series of short stories taking young people through the events of the year and explaining the origins of various events. Many people enjoy the gift-giving, the feasting, the decorations, the parties of the winter season without embracing the origins, either Saturnalia or the birth of Christ. I feel we have been conditioned to ‘spend time with family’ whatever that means, feast, have fun, give gifts regardless of personal circumstances. It is that that puts people under pressure unless you have a fairly relaxed view of the 25 December. ‘Christmas’ can be celebrated around the actual date of 25th although the enjoyment of singing of ‘Come all ye faithful’ in its entirety can only fully be appreciated on Christmas Day.
Looking at the week ahead, the sun is gradually moving back towards getting up at 8 o’clock so the end of the dark mornings is in sight. Meanwhile, the evenings have been steadily getting lighter for a while now moving back towards 5ish. Have a good week! And make the most of those dark evenings…
A happy blue image for Monday
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w/e 11 January 2026
Well, it’s been a cracking start to the new year with an outing to Royston Lake and a trip to Topsham Rugby Club to enjoy ladies rugby…for my husband Royston’s birthday weekend treats. In all the years I have lived in Honiton, I had not been to the area around Otterhead Lakes let alone seen the name Royston Lake, although to be fair, it was not something on my radar. Nevertheless, it is an unusual name. But not only that, there are two large tumuli next to the road to Taunton which I had not seen either, even though I have driven along there many times. Rugby is not really my ‘thing’ but the game was reasonably fast paced and the team had been coached by Roy’s son so it was good to support him. The chat with friends and the hot chocolate and cake in front of the log fire were much enjoyed, too.
With the lighter evenings gradually returning it is worth wrapping up warmly to enjoy Jupiter at opposition. What does this mean? It means that the massive, bright planet is opposite the setting sun so it’s easy to find in the night sky. I saw it last week through the Lockyer telescope at the Norman Lockyer Observatory in Sidmouth, with the 4 little Galilean moons nearby. Don’t forget the mornings for observing too, if you have time. The sun is still not rising before 8 yet so you have a couple of comfortable viewing hours.
Last but not least, come and listen to me talking about stargazing with copies of my books for sale at Seaton Library on Saturday 17 January at 2pm.
Top of the tumuli
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2026
And a woman still has to prove her identity every single time. Surely, by now there must be an easier way for organisations to check identity. The Inland Revenue know who and where we are, surely this information could be made available to others seeking verification? I cannot face going through all my papers yet again – wasn’t expecting to need to do this anymore so deleted info from my laptop – in order to take on a study role. I will plough on with my research and hope to find some funding elsewhere at some stage.
And another thing….a young lady has just been awarded a new music award…with a sad back story, but I would like to see my friend Iryna Ilnytska achieve a much-deserved wider audience too. She has a back story. Born in Ukraine, family home virtually destroyed in the Donbas, horrendous tales of Russians and Ukraine, she fundraises tirelessly for Ukrainian volunteers and is a suberb mezzo soprano and unique performer. How do some people make it through and not others? It’s a mystery.
Here is a nice happy photo.
Karen Hedges 