Three More Rooks and a Sad

Happy March (the month – I hope our March is happy too). Milder, still a bit wet, loads of plants doing their deal. Big deep sigh of relief. Probably we’ll flood again at some point but it won’t be freezing cold and dark as a dungeon. Some things to be thankful for.

I did the last three Rook samples and basically I’m perplexed.

Three fragrances with very different notes lists that all start out and for a period smell like iterations of leather. A Rook-ade? I didn’t get this in the other three. Anyway, briefly.

Forest. Cypress, pine needle, black pepper, elemi, green notes, patchouli, cedar, white musk. On me this opens pine and pepper, leaning dark green. This is where it sits for a good while before showing a whisper of leather (not in the notes). It’s nice. If you like greens might be worth a look.

Rook. Birch tar, tobacco, castoreum, cardamon, ginger, civet, agarwood, incense, ambrette, ambergris, guaiac wood. Definitely leather this time which the notes to prove that. Smooth and a bit peppery (ginger and incense?). I like the idea of a perfume named after a bird.

Amber. Saffron, smoke, incense, amber, maple, musk, tonka, benzoin, resins. OK, last one. On me this has nothing to do with straight up amber. Rather, it’s once again leather, but this time more suede-like (maybe the saffron). Definitely more so than Suede, which I looked at last week. After a long while (this is reasonably long lived) it becomes a sweet, gentle amber, a good perfume to see you off to sleep.

Now, getting to the sad (not related to world events which are turning me into a pretzel).

I think I’ve mentioned the bakery/café in the next town over numerous times. I’m generally there weekly, Sara has made holiday desserts and sometimes birthday treats for us for years. It’s a small pink place with a glass case full of delights, lots of hot and cold drinks, five small indoor tables, three outdoor tables in a fenced in terrace. Inside, there are fabric roses everywhere and people leave magazines when they are done with them for others to enjoy.

It’s closing. Sara told me last week. Nine years and it’s no longer financially tenable. The town is something of a tourist destination but there are at last count four bakery/cafes plus an extra bakery for a place where you can walk the main high street in 10 minutes. You’d think a well off place could support that but apparently not. (Ironically, another bakery/café – strangely plus ceramics – is opening up in the spring.)

Her husband earns well so they are all going to be ok (two little kids who are very sweet and well behaved when they visit the café).

Sara is a special person and the café is a special place. And during covid she did delivery to surrounding villages – both to keep the business going and give people something pleasurable to look forward to.

Not good.

So, I’m now going more often to help her earn just that bit more before the place is shuttered in late April.

At least it’s getting warmer here.

Pics: mine, pexels