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Angela Cave

Travelling is never time wasted

Off to the land of the Chettinars…..

One of our favourite hidden places, the gracious Visalam hotel hidden amongst the crumbling palaces of the Chettinars. The Chettinars were rich, they built palace after palace from the middle of the 19th century to early 20th – and then they left. Their legacy is the beautiful and melancholy villages with row upon row of architectural gems slowly decaying in the heat of the sun.
Visalam was a private home built for a favourite daughter and is now a small and charming hotel and the perfect base to explore. Take a bicycle or a bullock cart and just wander through the streets – some of the palaces are open with maybe a caretaker to let you in but this is no tourist trap, little known it remains a gem.
It is also the region of the horse temples, out in the countryside, quiet apart from the birdsong and with the astonishing terracotta horses guarding the shrine and offered yearly by villagers. It is also home to my new suppliers of hand loom cotton the Mahalakshmi weavers, so happy to be able to offer this wonderful quality cotton in scarves, shawls and towels.Images of the Chettinad region

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July dates and places

Just back from fabulous Croatia and gearing up for some busy weeks.  I will be at the Cotswold Show in Cirencester on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd July  and at Barbury International Horse Trials 7th – 10th July.  Friday 15th, 22nd, 29th July and Friday 5th August I will be at Marlborough College for their Summer School – looking forward to it all greatly.

The Parrot Cage in The Shambles in Devizes will be open as follows with my chum Karen at the helm so do say hello to her when I am not there!

  • Wednesday 29th June
  • Thursday 30th June
  • Friday 1st July
  • Saturday 2nd July
  • Sunday 3rd July closed
  • Monday 4th July closed
  • Tuesday 5th July open
  • Wednesday 6th July open
  • Thursday 7th July open
  • Friday 8th July open
  • Saturday 9th July open
  • Sunday 10th July closed
  • Monday 11th July closed
  • Tuesday 12th July open
  • Wednesday 13th July open
  • Thursday 14th July open
  • Friday 15th July open
  • Saturday 16th July open
  • Sunday 17th July closed
  • Monday 18th July closed
  • Tuesday 19th July open
  • Wednesday 20th July open
  • Thursday 21st July open
  • Friday 22nd July open
  • Saturday 23 July open
  • Sunday 24th July closed
  • Monday 25th July closed
  • Tuesday 26th July open
  • Wednesday 27th July open
  • Thursday 28th July open
  • Friday 29th July open
  • Saturday 30th July open
  • Sunday 31 July closed.

Below are just 3 of my new and very lovely floral pashminas – there are so many it was hard to choose but they are the perfect accessory for summer – simply stunning!


Just a little touch of Spring to ward off the cold!

Totanicals are not only for gin!
Pretty in pink
Roses grow on you

A touch of the blues

 

Well January is about to wave goodbye and in my garden there are little green shoots shivering their way up.  That means that I am busy planning some cheering and beautiful treats for Valentines, Mothering Sunday and Spring in general.

I still have some wonderful warm winter wools and cashmeres as the cold is still very much with us, and have just had a consignment of truly beautiful scarves and shawls but here is a little taste of spring for you……

January 20, 2022 Angela Cave scarves & shawls, Uncategorized 2 Comments

The Parrot has landed!

How very exciting- The Parrot Cage has opened in The Shambles, Devizes. Day 2 and just about set up and ready to share my beautiful shawls, scarves and bags from India.  Lots of really stunning designs from traditional pashminas to modern classics – all with the vibrancy and beauty of Indian fabrics.  I will be open Tuesday to Saturday, with the occasional day when I am at a market around Wiltshire so I will post my days weekly so you will know where I am.  This week I am in all week up until Sunday, closed Monday and open all next week – do come and say hello and I am really thrilled to be here and to meet lots of new people.

October 15, 2021 Angela Cave scarves & shawls Leave a Comment

A little bit of history about cashmere …….

Treats to come…..and a little bit of the history of cashmere.

The Empress Josephine of France might not have been great at choosing partners, but her wardrobe was simply marvellous.  Amongst many treasures, she possessed over 200 beautiful cashmere shawls so was obviously a woman of sartorial taste and elegance!

Cashmere, and its use in clothing, has a long history.  Marco Polo is reputed to have remarked on the fine quality of the woven cloth when he popped into Kashmir on his travels and Kashmiri traders have been sharing their wonderful wares with us for several hundred years.

There are some wonderful images by artists such as William Simpson of the weavers at work. William Simpson –  1823-1899  –  was a Scottish journalist  and water colour artist working as a war correspondent.  In 1859 he was sent by his employers, the Illustrated London News, to cover the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and also to send back sketches. The artist arrived at Calcutta on 29 October 1859 and travelled widely in Northern and Central India and the Himalayas and Kashmir. In February 1862, he returned to England having drawn about 250 sketches which were later published as a book in 1867 and give a wonderful insight into the country and its artisans.

Even Jane Austin was apparently not averse to a fine shawl – very handy when sitting at ones desk writing – I have a cashmere scarf around my neck as I write this, tho that is where the similarity between me and Jane Austen ends, as you might have guessed.

The more traditional designs are simply wonderful, and I have ordered just a few of the very fine large ones which will be winging their way to me shortly.  If we are allowed to have picnics, garden operas, outdoor music and the like then a big snuggly cashmere shawl is very handy on a less than balmy British summer evening.  Should we get lucky and have a hot summer cashmere is great too, it has very good wicking qualities so there is just no excuse not to add one to your wardrobe.  I have also ordered some very fine soft wool pashminas, dyed to order, in the loveliest of pastel shades, plus some modern patterns in silk, silk wool and cotton silk mixes – see the pics below, they are just gorgeous. I will also have some scarves bearing parrots & peonies, how exciting is that!

As soon as I know when I can be out and about again, I will give you dates of where I will be and in the meantime I, like most of us, am dreaming of summer and just a little freedom and I hope that you are all safe and well.

 

Angela

Cavea23@gmail.com

If you want more info, or have a special occasion and want a particular colour match do let me know, I can get shawls, pashminas and scarves dyed to order – there is a little lead time due to delivery from India so do get in touch in good time.

February 12, 2021 Angela Cave scarves & shawls, Travel Leave a Comment

About Angela Cave

Angela CaveLove to travel, love to write and love to take photos. Work for a publishing company, living in Wiltshire, married and enjoying seeing the world.

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