Pullovers, Potatoes And A Poem

 

I weighed out the wool in my stash, and calculated that if I did a different stripe pattern on the sleeves, I would be able to make George a Robot Jumper, like the one produced in 1986. It has knitted up really quickly, and has been sent off to Manchester for him.

I'm sure Steph will send a picture of him in it. 

Three pictures

Steph 1988, Liz 1986, and the new jumper 2022

These colours are much closer to the ones on the original pattern. 

Some of you may remember that in Jan/Feb 1976 [ten years before I knitted the first robot jumper] there was a shortage of potatoes, and the price rocketed. One MP made a speech in parliament about it, saying

"In recent weeks, potato prices have gone sky-high. The price of potatoes is now three or four times what it was this time last year, and there is still no sign of any stability in the market. Even before the latest escalation of prices, potatoes largely contributed to the 23 per cent. increase in the cost of food last summer. The quarterly return, July, August, September, from the Ministry of Agriculture showed that the amount spent each week on potatoes doubled from 7.9p to 16.15p, despite a 14 per cent. drop in sales. The overall food increase, including beef and milk along with potatoes, meant that the food bill for a family of four went up by £2.88 a week in that quarter."

That year, the local paper had a competition for Valentine poems, and I wrote one [it was utter doggerel and I didn't win!] I was sorting out some old greetings cards at the weekend, and I came across a letter from my old University landlady sent in1981. Mrs Lawrence included a copy of my poem which she had found in a drawer, saying "I'm sure your Bob would love this" As the diet means we are not eating many potatoes at the moment I thought I'd share it here. Pam Ayres, eat your heart out!

To My Valentine

I felt my loving declaration

Must suit this time of great inflation

Our love can conquer any crisis

Ill love you forever whatever the price is

Darling I love you, I'm not afraid to say so

I love you more than my favourite potato

If I had you I'd be happier than words can tell

[As long as I had some spuds as well]

No words can express the way I feel

You are better than spuds, you have more ap-peel

I love your face, your hair, your lips

I love you more than ten portions of chips

Oh how I love spuds, especially roast

But my darling, I love you the most

Potatoes may change, chip 'em, boil 'em, mash 'em

But for you I have an unchanging passion

I liked potato crisps when younger

Now you can be my Golden Wonder

Oh Valentine, be min - tis true

I don't need King Edwards if I can have you!