Occasional Tables And Other Musings

Lenny Henry once asked "What are 'occasional' tables doing the rest of the time?" A good question**. When we first met, Bob was surprised by the number of little tables around my tiny flat. This was the 1970s, and preIKEA. but Tricia Guild and Terence Conran were everywhere flogging cheap chipboard table kits plus round cloths... I confessed to Bob these were not tables - under the fabric were piles of plastic crates, full of school worksheets, Sunday School resources, haberdashery, tools etc. Hidden storage everywhere.
Nowadays we have cupboards, a loft and a workshop. But occasionally I relapse. Like when the family are coming, and I clear everything hurriedly into a stack in the spare bedroom. And throw a quilt over the top. And I warn Jess and Rosie - please do not go under there, as there are sharp things and breakable things which you mustn't touch. Bless them, they are very good about it. 

But they are back in London now, and Tuesday morning was spent tidying. It was a very productive exercise! Whilst tidying up, I found

• my box of vegetable seed packets [which I have been hunting for more than a fortnight] 
• my box of felt pieces [mislaid after the French Hen Project] 
• my packable waterproof jacket [I had to take a heavier coat to Bewilderwood] 
• my folder of small cross stitch designs

The sun was shining so I abandoned tidying briefly and planted some seeds, then came back to the task in hand. Whilst I worked, I listened on BBC4Extra to "Growing Solo", about retired journalist Max Cotton and his year long food self-sufficiency experiment [2024] . It was interesting - he only ate food he had produced himself, or found growing wild. So no tea or coffee, no Worcester sauce or exotic spices... Spoiler alert - this was not Tom and Barbara in the garden of a suburban semi. Max lives on a small farm in Somerset, with an attached vineyard, whilst his brother runs a nearby small-holding. So he had room to grow wheat, keep cows, pigs, chickens and a beehive...as well as producing veg and fruit [and grape juice] I am not sure he would have achieved his goal without the support of his wife and family.
I am never going to achieve self sufficiency with my little plot at Cornerstones. But I hope to grow plenty of veg again this year, and I am pleased to note the fig tree has dozens of tiny figlets.  
**Lenny says that "the rest of the time, these tables are dining or nesting"

The Chapel At Easter

The windowsills at Chapel were well received. In previous years we have had bunnies and eggs and chicks and jars of fresh flowers. But as I seemed to be without helpers, I took the line that less is more. I made some green fabric runners from the Great Stash, and then each sill had a couple of pot plants, a card with a Bible Verse or two, and either Willow tree figures or a cross. I prepared everything at home, and took a photo beforehand, showing which verse went where.

The plants looked so pretty in their wallpaper collars. I did discover that every window is a different size [the building is 200+ years old!] but the one sill I had measured was fortunately the largest, and folding, pinning and using blutac kept everything looking good.

Maybe less 'busy' than previous years, but I think they did the job.

Bob made the stands to support the crosses [which normally hang on our study wall] I created an Easter Garden on the platform. A cloth covered the table, and at the top was the cross draped with purple ribbon and a crown of thorns. Below, fresh plants, and an empty tomb. Not sure if the brief video will show the flickering tealights inside, which reflected beautifully against the gold foil. 

And I used lots of wallpaper to create the stone surround, and the green frieze in front of the plant pots! After the service, the small plants went into little paper carriers with cards ["These Easter flowers come with love from Foulsham Baptist Church. Christ is Risen!] for distribution to other. I have already had two messages of thanks from people who were really touched to have been remembered.

Now get on your way quickly,  and tell his disciples and the others that Christ is risen!

  

What I Did In The Holidays

Start of term, our writing task. . The highlight for me had been going with my Mum to a rather posh Garden Party. I was 6, and had to present some flowers to the important guest of honour. All summer, I'd practised presenting [not dropping] said flowers,  smiling and curtseying to The Lady.

I wrote about the garden, and the cakes, and then wrote "I gave a bokay to a Lady" My teacher didn't know what a bokay was. She interrogated me at length about this word. I tried to explain to her, I even showed her how to curtsey. She asked the class, and none of them knew about bokays. "Angela, I think this is an imaginary word you have made up." Everyone laughed at me. I cried tears of frustration. I thought everybody knew about bokays, after all, the Queen has them. When Mum collected me from school, she explained about the bouquet. But I was a miserable wreck, and felt the Most Important Day in my holidays had been belittled. But that was 1961, now I am happier talking about holidays!

On Monday morning we went to Felbrigg Hall [NT] and did their splendid Easter Trail. Bob borrowed a mobility scooter and he was able to accompany the Jess and Ro on the whole trail. The scooters are a free service and very well organised. The girls played games on the grass, built dens, found clues, and made music in the woods. The trail cost £3.50 each, but they received a quality chocolate egg at the end. 

Monday afternoon we made Easter cards, and then made and decorated pizzas. The girls had a sleepover.
Tuesday we did more crafts - painting rabbits, and making baskets for egg collection. Jess had asked Grandad to make a sign for her door on a piece of bark she'd found. It was rather soggy, and when Grandad explained, she was happy to have a sign on a better piece of wood. He made Rosie one too.

Then on Thursday I went with the family to BeWILDerwood. Bob and I took Rosie to this theme park back in 2023, for an evening event, I had never been in the daytime before. It was great fun with treetop walkways, zipwires, mazes, slides, and other energetic activities. Plus gentler stuff - facepainting, crafts, story time, puppets, a boat ride and facepainting. And another Easter Trail to follow. We were there from 11am till 4pm, and really enjoyed ourselves. 

Overall verdict: all good, 5*venues.

The NT day was good - three of us have membership, and Jess is under 5, so we only had to pay for the Easter Egg Trail. The snacks from the food caravan were very generously sized - the girls shared their chocolate brownie, and I took half my pasty home for later. Facilities for the less mobile were excellent, and all the staff were so friendly and helpful. 
BeWILDerwood was a little more expensive [but we spent 5 hours there]  Unlike Felbrigg, where we saw lots of people clearly doing Granny-Duties, at the theme park, there were far more parents-with-children. I suspect that is because there is a lot of walking, and terrain is a bit bumpy for mobility scooters. [Bob was busy anyway, so didn't come with us]
That said, it is very well laid out, with lots of places to sit down if your little legs [young or old] get tired, and plenty of clean, well maintained loos dotted about the site [no need for surreptitious Tree Wees!] The food cabins do not charge excessive prices [we took a picnic, but bought hot drinks when it turned chilly] There were picnic benches and well labelled litter bins.  

Again the young staff were engaged and relentlessly cheerful. They were word perfect in recounting the stories of the Twiggles and the Boggles, and Cedric the Easter Bunny. 
As we left, the girls each got bags of sweets for completing their worksheets. We were all very tired but happy.

Those are some of the things I did in the Easter Holidays, and we were grateful for the opportunity to spend time with the family. I hope you had a good Easter too...

Easter Sunday

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

 

Easter Eggs

 My French hen has a sister! 

Floral Frusta Frustrations...

A frustum [plural frusta or frustums] is the solid shape formed when you cut the top off a cone, or a pyramid, with its top parallel to its base. The other way up it looks like a paper cup or a flower pot. This was my challenge...

We usually decorate the chapel windowsills for Easter Sunday. But for complicated reasons, it seems I will be doing this on my own on Saturday morning. 

I took the decision not to spend hours wrestling with cut flowers in small jars, but to buy some pretty pot plants from the local nursery. Afterwards we can add gift cards, and distribute them to the nick and seedy of the village [oops, that should probably say sick and needy!] 
But plastic plant pots are not terribly attractive and need to be covered. This was when I realised that cutting a piece of stiff paper to wrap a frustum was not an easy task! I worked it all out mathematically then realised it was not practical to attempt to draw a circle 72cm in diameter.

I found two empty flowerpots of the right size, and rolled them round on a piece of old wrapping paper, marking their edges as they rolled. This gave me 2 templates. I used these to make the final wraps. And yes, dear reader, I did use one of the wallpaper books!

It was called 'Linen' and had dozens of shades of paper, with a linen-like texture. I chose shades of cream and gold, and made 10 templates. They are simply fastened at the back with two paper clips. I have prepared the other parts of the display, and so all is ready to go in place on Saturday morning.

I also used some fabric from the Great Stash to make runners for each sill, to protect the woodwork from any dampness.

All that is left now is to print off the gift cards which will go with each plant on Sunday,

I love Easter, a glorious celebration of the resurrection, our eternal hope, and a reminder of God's eternal love. It is right that the building where we worship reflects that joy.

Do you have any special Easter Decor?
Bonnets, bunnies, lambs, flowers....