A Poem For The Summer

O do not ask
if I am beach body ready.

Observe how the folds
of my stomach ripple
like the wind-pulled waves.

Feel these pale buttocks,
smoothed by the sand-grains
of time.

Note these milk-white limbs,
useless and stranded,
washed up whalebones.

Consider the tufts of hair
which sprout on my shoulders
like sea-grass.

And listen to the lapping
of my socks
at the shores of my sandals.

And you ask me

if I am beach body ready?

I think Bryan Bilston's poem is extremely clever.

And I am sad [and a little bit angry] that so many people feel unable to enjoy the sunshine, sand and seawater because they have been made to feel ashamed because their bodies are not 'perfect' in some way. We all have beach bodies.

Heads Up - And Down

Once my steam mop died a few months back, I reconciled myself to old school mopping. I have a handle with interchangeable heads- a broom, and a mop. The latter is a flat velcro-ed rectangle which holds a microfibre pad. I lent this to someone who was a having a dirty floor crisis, and unfortunately she thought the pads 

were disposable and returned the handle/head but threw the pads away. 

Fortunately I discovered IKEA Pepprig mop pads fit perfectly, so I bought a pack of two. 

When my steam mop died, I had three triangular pads. I like to mop with one pad and dry with another, so I decided to modify the triangles to fit the rectangular head. 

I just cut off the top section and hemmed it on my machine. The little "ears" actually help with attaching and removing.

That's HEADS UP

HEADS DOWN is in the garden. I have grown more flowers this year and realised the merits of deadheading. The RHS website has lots of helpful tips and pictures about this. [those are not my hands!]

Trimming off the dead flowers certainly does encourage more blossoms. I have plenty of mesembryanthemums in my troughs around the oil tank

At last we are beginning to see some sunshine! Long may it last.

Did you know that in other countries, the mesembryanthemum is also called the "Heartleaf Ice Plant" or "The Baby Sun Rose"? I am growing them simply because my Mum loved them. They are such amazing shades of pink

Rev Almond, In The Garden, With A Kebab Skewer

Saturday was wet, SO wet. Every garment I was wearing was wet. I was glad I'd got a set of dry clothes to wear on Sunday, or I'd have had to go to church in my pj's. It was lovely to meet up with old friends. We got home around 5, and shortly afterwards Julian arrived to stay for a few days.

Monday we went out to the coast - meandering round Wells [where I bought fishing line for mouse whiskers] then onto Hunstanton for a fish'n'chip lunch. Bob spotted a large sheet of Sundeala Board in a skip, worth about £70. Exactly what the Men's Shed needs to refurbish the Parish Church Noticeboards. I went inside the shop and asked the owner if we could have it.  "Take it - take it all if you like" he said cheerfully. I thanked him, and we loaded the Sundeala and a few other bits into the car.

Julian was greatly amused as I squeezed into the back seat. In the evening he helped me thread whiskers onto the mice, then the three of us played Cluedo.* I'd quite forgotten how much fun it is. On Tuesday Bob and Julian went to the Tank Museum and in the evening Adrian and Marion came for a BBQ. We sat in the garden as Bob cooked some delicious kebabs.. Later on, I was showing Marion my finished cross stitch when I suddenly spotted a mistake. I had stitched 3 Ls in collaboration. 

How had I not noticed that before? I've unpicked and restitched now. Julian went home yesterday, Bob had a good time at The Shed, and I did lots of gardening. Two of my tomato plants have plenty of fruit, the remaining twenty plants don't seem to have anything but leaves. My pair of strawberry plants had eight berries, but the two largest have mysteriously disappeared.[birds?] We ate the other six fruits before they were taken. I have 5 mini cucumbers on my Yard Sale plant. 

*Julian picked up a Cluedo set in a CS in Hunstanton and I said "We've got that at home" So we fetched it out after our evening meal. But all the score sheets were filled in [the set is about 50 years old, I got it as a teenager] However I was able to quickly print off some spare sheets from This site. We can go on playing. It is useful to be able to print off replacements - there are bits for Monopoly and other games. 

Do you ever play board games? Which do you  like best? the classics, or the newer ones? 

Pretty In Pink

 

I picked this up in a Charity Shop a few months back. It was originally written in Japanese. The styles are classic, and simple, and all the patterns are included, for 24 outfits for little girls aged 2-10. There's an excellent review here. 
Jess was three last week, so I was delighted to get out my lovely new sewing machine [again!] and make her two summer outfits. She does like pink!

A pink summer dress, and a little two piece- a cross back top and matching shorts. Both of which I hope she will enjoy wearing and find cool and comfortable when [if?] we get hot sunny days.

I saved on fabric by using bias binding - although the book gives instructions for making your own binding. I used vintage buttons on both items, and pretty star stitches on the machine to decorate the pockets.

The fabrics came from Anglian Fashion Fabrics, and I got a discount because I belong to the Costume and Textiles Association. I do love the bees and strawberries print. 

Peace Like A River

I was in our little Museum on Friday, and had another look at the Picturing Peace exhibition. This time I remembered to take a picture of my friend Clare's piece. It is a watercolour painting on top of the words of a hymn. It's often called "Peace Like A River" or sometimes "It is well with my soul"

Clare is an extremely talented musician, and an accomplished artist. If you do not know the story behind this hymn, watch Hugh Bonneville explaining it here.

May your day be full of joy and peace...

Keep The Chairman Happy!

Bob has a beautiful office chair, it was made in High Wycombe, about 50 years ago. HW was world famous for chair-making-  the first "Windsor" style chair was recorded as being made here in 1732. Our friend Peter was the Baptist minister there, and when he left the church [around 50 years ago] to move to Kirby Muxloe, they gave him a specially commissioned office chair. 

When Peter died, in 2008, his widow Janet generously passed the chair on to Bob. Peter was a good friend and a brilliant preacher. It is a good reminder of his wise words, and longstanding friendship. But the seat on the chair has gone a bit saggy in the centre. Reupholstery would cost rather a lot of money. We didn't want to give up on the chair. 

Bob measured up carefully and bought a rectangle of 40mm foam, and I found some grey fabric in my Great Stash. A simple cushion cover, with ties which slip neatly between seat and frame [and fasten underneath] and he's sitting comfortably again. Result!

A Prayer For Today

 

Going Back

I think it was 2006 when plans were first mooted about a massive housing development just up the road from Kirby Muxloe - the village on the edge of Leicester where we'd lived since 1995. The Council had thousands of letters of protest in the first week. And just one saying "Our church is very close to the proposed site- if you do this how can we help build a good community there?" And because he was the only one who offered help, they took Bob seriously. We got Churches Together In Leicestershire on board, and went for prayer walks round the muddy fields where the new town was due to be built. The Council said if we provided a community worker, they would provide housing [which was way more than we'd dared hope for]

As we left KM for Dorset, the development was coming along nicely. We returned for the commissioning of Sue Steer as the Community Worker [she's a Baptist Minister] Things have gone from strength to strength. 

Today we're going back to join them for Lubbfest, and tomorrow we will be back at our old church [followed by lunch with friends] 

Hoping the journey is smooth, and the weather is kind.

No Martians Here...

You may recall the alien spaceship round the corner. Well, last Friday we drove up the road and noticed it had gone. Flown back to Mars? 

On Saturday, at the Village Yard Sale, all was revealed. The house owners were listed as having a sale, so we were able, quite legitimately, to go through the gate and into the garden. It is normally hidden behind a thick, high hedge. The UFO lay in pieces on the lawn. 

The owner said it was in the garden when they got the house. They suspected it was meant to be an ornament. 

They separated the two halves and the grandchildren played in it. 

They'd got fed up with it - so it was stored on top of the

shed for a while. 

But now it was for sale. No price just "make me an offer"

Even with our commitment to recycling, neither of us could see a use for two plastic domes 4 feet across!

I wonder if anyone did buy it...

Mice!

I think mice
Are rather nice.
Their tails are long,
Their faces small,
They haven't any
Chins at all.
Their ears are pink,
Their teeth are white,
They run about
The house at night.
They nibble things
They shouldn`t touch
And no one seems
To like them much
But I think mice
Are Nice 

Skye reminded me of this lovely little poem by Rose Fyleman [thanks, Skye] . Over the weekend, in between working out to fold forage caps, and manipulate wax washers and cotton reels into tanks, I made two prototype mice, using my new book [yes, I ordered my own copy, 2nd hand online] They both came out around 6½" tall

Prototype 1;  I used some white curtain interlining [because I have loads of this, it was free] This was not 100% successful, as the woven fabric distorted when I was stuffing it, and frayed too easily. It had a strangely fluffy texture, and would have been better for sheep than mice, I think. I didn't have any fishing line, so improvised whiskers with beading wire - which bent too easily out of shape. Time to make -2½hours

Prototype 2; I'd bought a pack of cheap felt [with a high %age acrylic] to get different flesh tones for my Egyptian Puppets. So I made a second mouse using that. It worked better, but still went a bit fluffy when handled, and stretched when I was doing the fiddly head shape. I stopped before doing the nose and whiskers. Time to make - 1½ hours

Clothes;  I made the red felt blazer, and a blue cotton dress, using patterns from the book. They came up rather too large [that blazer is pinned at the back for the photo]  I think I should have had a greater seam allowance! Time to make -  less than 1 hour

Conclusions
Better felt will give a more professional result, I think, especially if I am planning to make and sell these. The instructions are really good [except for the seam allowance advice] with clear photos

Sue Quinn recommends cotter-pin-joints for arms, legs and head. I didn't want to go down that route. Too fiddly and expensive. My friend Wendy from craft group makes lots of rabbits, and just stitches the limbs on. It seems to work - I don't need these to be poseable.The pattern is designed to be machined - and that really does speed up the process.

Sue recommends forceps for pulling the pieces through [so seams are inside] and for pushing in the stuffing. I use a bamboo chopstick for stuffing memory bears. But forceps?
That's OK, said Bob, what size do you want - and went out to the Lathe Palace where [surprisingly]  he has locking forceps in three different sizes [Is he practising brain surgery out there, do you think?] The little 4" ones were perfect for the task. 

I shall find some fishing line, and have ordered better quality woollen felt*.and start designing a few different garments. But it is a good start, and I hope I will get some made for the shop in the autumn,

* on Tuesday afternoon I turned on the TV to the Create and Craft channel- which I rarely watch. There was Corinne Lapierre - who designed my Advent picture kit She was launching her latest book, and for one day only her packs of felt [wool/viscose] were on special offer. How cool was that? I had just finished sending off my order, when someone emailed me asking if I could make felt mice, as she has need of some for a special project she is doing. I replied that it seems the way was already being prepared, and sent her the picture.

Thank you all for the lovely comments yesterday about the Cross Stitch.

My stats have gone back up again, so I hope that means people are getting my posts on their feed.

I'm certainly getting Sue-In-Suffolk again [and other favourites] who had 'gone dark' last month.

All Stitched Up!

 I have finally completed my half of the Cross Stitch Collaboration. The stitching was all done by Pentecost as we planned, but I had to complete the notebook with details, and scan the book to send a copy to Kirsten. Now it is all done. My final stitching was the border round the edge. names and dates top and bottom, and I chose verses from Psalm 4 for left and right. 

"You put gladness in my heart" 

    "In peace I will lie down and sleep"

You should be able to click on this for a better view, and for the individual months, click on the "cross country collaboration" label in the sidebar.

The whole piece measures 21" x 11" and is yet to be framed.

The side borders of  Kirsten's say 

"Dum Spiro Spero - while I breathe, I hope"

    Lo, I am with you always"
This has been a great follow up to our original Postcard Project. I can really recommend this collaborative stitching to build sewing skills and strong friendships.

D Day Done

Did your community commemorate the 80th anniversary in any way? The Parish Church was open all day. I called in briefly for the regular Thursday Morning Coffee. At 6.30 the bellringers began an hour of pealing the bells. Bob had a committee meeting in the nearby Pub, so I went into the church at 7.15 to wait for him. It was - despite the bells - a space to pray and reflect. I'd just heard from a friend with a dying relative, so I prayed for that family, and also for Michael Mosley and family, as that story had just been on the news.The bellringers finished, came down from their loft, and left the church - clearly not seeing me, "Shall we lock up?" "Who's got the keys?" they called to one another. I replied "Please don't lock me in!!" They apologised, and left, then Bob arrived, then Rev Rachael came to light the commemorative lantern. We went across to the Village Green where the beacon was being lit.

That was a disappointing non-event, The chair of the council just walked up and lit the beacon. No words, no moment of silence and reflection. Nothing. On the left of the picture is a group of villagers chatting, not even watching the beacon. 

More Village stuff on Saturday - in the morning a yard sale, and I found my mini cucumber and aubergine plants for £1.50. Yippee. Bob bought a lovely £60 bowl gouge for woodturning, only £5. In the afternoon we went to the Village Hall for the D Day Commemorative Tea Party. Bob provided 1940s music and a continuous video of D Day stuff . I had loaned a load of books and posters, and volunteered to organise a children's activity table.  [and all my Union flags and bunting]

Kelly, the Parish Clerk had decorated the Hall beautifully, and made a display of WW2 materials. The children did colouring, painted pebbles, made newspaper forage caps, cotton reel tanks, and assembled planes.

A good time was had by all. The children were all so well behaved and enjoyed the activities on offer.

At 6pm a lady in full 1940s dress arrived to provide an hour of WW 2 songs.

But before that we all enjoyed the most splendid tea

In 2022 we had the Queen's 70th Jubilee. In 2023 the Coronation Celebrations. In 2024 the D-Day 80th Commemoration.

I sort of hope 2025 won't have any major national events ...

Just One Thing

Such sad news about Dr Michael Mosley. I did not know him personally - but listened to him on TV and radio, read his books, and even tried his diet plans. I particularly enjoyed his "Just One Thing" programme. I did briefly attempt the cold shower thing, but decided against that becoming a daily habit. 
I do believe he was a good man, who genuinely wanted to help other people to live happier, healthier lives. He always came across as kind and caring, with a good sense of humour.
My thoughts and prayers are for his widow Clare, their four children, and his many grieving friends right now. And with the people of Symi - a tiny island now overwhelmed with media coverage. They really pulled together to search for him [one of their police officers fell and broke his leg] and this is not the outcome anyone was hoping for.
Thank you Michael - for challenging so many of us to think seriously about the way we eat.RIP

The Ship Of The Church

Two logos - one for the local grouping of Churches Together, the other for the World Council of Churches.
Oikoumene means inhabited world
Both include the image of a ship on the sea. Traditionally a symbol for the church throughout the ages. Jesus' first disciples were fisherman - and he calmed the storm - the winds and the waves obeyed him.
When we were in Paris we visited the church of St Etienne Du Mont [St Stephen of the Mountain] which is situated just behind The Pantheon.] This is a fascinating church - there has been a place of worship here since the 6th Century. 

Clovis, King of the Franks, and his wife Clothilde were buried nearby, and St Genevieve, Patron Saint of Paris. Mathematician Blaise Playwright Racine, and Politician Marat all found their final resting place here.
When we visited, on a sunny afternoon, we found - as in every other church we entered- there were many people sitting alone, at prayer. Some lit candles, or wrote their prayer in a book or on a noticeboard, others merely sat or knelt, hands clasped, heads bowed. Old ladies, smartly dressed businessmen, fashionable young women on their lunchbreak, scruffy students with backpacks...it is quite usual for people to pop into a place of worship for a few moments [or longer] to find a quiet place to speak to God about the things on their hearts. I love the fact that they can do that - that others respect their activity and do not bother them with chatter. We were both appreciative of the opportunity to stop, and remember friends and family at home in the UK, difficult world situations - and the impending election. 
St Etienne has an amazing display of stained glass windows in the cloisters - rescued from other churches during the first world war. This one particularly caught my eye.

At the top, Noah's ark, as he rescues all the animals from the Great Flood. Below, "The Church As A Ship" Jesus at the prow [in totally inappropriate sailing gard] and behind him, Kings, Saints, Noblemen, and "those who paid for the window" all in their finery - behind them the ordinary people in simpler monochrome clothing.

A reminder that God cares for those he has created, and will be with them in the rough storms of life.

The animals were great - notice the Unicorn - and also Noah's big stick [is he conducting their singing?]

I spotted the Dive representing the Holy Spirit instead of a Crow's Nest - but I don't know why Jesus is apparently steering the ship with a floor mop through the hole in the side! I suspect that these are all good Catholic Saints - the poor Baptists are below decks, in the galley making lunch. But I am grateful for all my sisters and brothers, who sail with me in the ship.

May the breezes be soft on your back, and the waves gentle for you today...

Has-Been Aubergine...

Months ago I ordered some plants from Suttons - including a special offer of three veg plants in pots for £9.99. I chose a 'heritage' tomato, a mini cucumber, and an aubergine. The tomato came a while back, it is thriving in the greenhouse and already has tiny fruit like petit pois. But I had a message when it arrived saying the other two would come later. On Thursday 23rd, I had an email saying they'd been "prepared for despatch". I tracked my order, and knew that on Saturday it was at the depot in Norwich. So I spoke to my kind neighbour Jo, and said "If it doesn't come before we leave Tuesday morning, will you look out for it please?" I left notices at front and side door saying "please take parcel to neighbour at #..." Which they clearly hadn't.
Thursday afternoon [30th] I had a WhatsApp from another neighbour saying that she had walked her dogs and seen a parcel on my path [she does this really early before work] I WhatsApped Jo. She said she'd been checking regularly, and spotted the parcel, on the path at 7am. Delivered by Yodel. The tracking site said "left in a secure place as requested"

But it was really battered, the plastic was cracked in places, both plants had broken stems.and shrivelled leaves. She took photos as evidence. Although she took them home and tried to revive them both died.

I went round and collected them the day after we got home. Very dead! I emailed Sutton's on the Friday - and they responded immediately. There are no more of these plants available, so they refunded my £9.99 in full. [thank you] Which I consider to be very efficient customer service. But I would still like to find some mini cucumber plants somewhere...

Girl Bands [A DIY Tutorial]

Rose went to a craft fair and tried on a headband. It was an animal print fabric, with a little knot on the top. She looked gorgeous, and she really wanted it. But it cost £14. Mummy Liz suggested she should see what Grandma could do. I searched on line, and found a number of video tutorials and DIY patterns. I bought a pack of simple hairbands, and a pack of 6 polycotton squares. Here is my template, cut from a cereal packet.

The tie is a strip 1½" x 8" cut to a point at each end.

The main band - 16" long, 1½" at each end, and 3" in the middle. You will see the pattern is half length, you need to place it on the folded fabric. Cut two pieces of each shape

Right sides together, sew round the edge of the tie.
Turn out and press. Sew up the gap neatly

On the band, right sides together, sew just along the LONG edges. Turn out, press. Now slide the band through the tube, and tuck in the raw ends at each end. make pleats to gather up spare fabric.Sew across neatly by hand.

Now tie the tie round the centre, pull tight  [Fold in spare fabric on the top of the band - this loose fabric adds to the effect] Hold tie in place with a few stitches on the underside.

I polished off half a dozen in an afternoon. The girls were delighted, and took the spares back for their friends.

If the fabric is fine and floppy, the use iron on lightweight interfacing on just one of the two tie pieces, and on one piece of the band strips[the upper strip] Total cost about £1 per band, and I have lots of fabric, and a loads of bands leftover.

What's A Conundrum?

According to the dictionary, “a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words” – or simply, a puzzle, I love wordplay, and cryptic crosswords. So here’s a conundrum for you “What connects Disney, a Dwarf, and D-Day?” Answer – PLUTO – the Disney cartoon dog, the dwarf planet, and the Pipe Line Under The Ocean.
In August 1942, a disastrous raid was made on the French Port of Dieppe [under German occupation] It was a fiasco – 5000 Canadians were killed, wounded or captured, the Navy lost 33 landing craft, and the RAF lost 106 planes. After 6 hours, there was a hasty retreat. Lessons were learned, and by 1944, plans were underway for a second invasion – to be known as Operation Overlord, and taking place on D-Day. Churchill had said that all operation names had to be selected at random – without suggesting their character, or anything disparaging - “do not enable any widow or mother to say her son was killed at Operation Ballyhoo or Bunnyhug”
After Dieppe, the ‘boffins’ had been busy – they had developed two  “Mulberry Harbours” – in effect, portable floating harbours which could be assembled on the beach to facilitate rapid off-loading of troops and supplies. They had the PLUTO which carried essential fuel for tanks etc., and all manner of weird and wonderful vehicles known collectively as “The Funnies” – amphibious Sherman tanks, “The Bobbin Carpet Layer” which laid matting across soft surfaces to enable vehicles to travel over without getting bogged down, and the Churchill AVRE – a modified tank which fired 40lb mortars known as “flying dustbins”By June 30, over 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles, and 570,000 tons of supplies had landed on the Normandy shores. Fighting by the brave troops of the allied forces on the western front, and Russian forces on the eastern front, led to the defeat of German Nazi forces. On May 7, 1945, German General Alfred Jodl signed an unconditional surrender. This invasion had helped bring about a swift end to the War. We had the longest, straightest runway in Europe here at the RAF base in Swanton Morley, and many planes flew out to support the troops.
Back to the conundrums and crosswords – bizarrely the pipes for PLUTO were wound on huge steel drums – called conundrums. Even more bizarre, during the month before D-Day, answers to the Daily Telegraph crossword puzzles included the words Gold and Sword – then Juno, Utah, Mulberry, Overlord and Neptune. The first two initially considered a coincidence, but 5 more and MI5 smelled a rat! The compiler [Leonard Dawe, Head of a boys’ school in Surrey] was arrested and interrogated. It transpired that the school was next to a US/Canadian camp. Dawe had asked his pupils to suggest words for his puzzles, and they’d innocently repeated words they’d heard the soldiers bandying about [security clearly very lax among the Yanks!] MI5 let Dawe off with a strong caution [he very nearly lost his job]

There are very few D-Day veterans left – 23 will be going to Normandy with the King for the commemoration this year, and a further 21 will be at the National Memorial Arboretum event. We will be lighting a beacon tonight in the village. Let us not take their sacrifice for granted.
[btw the "D" just stands for day - so it is Day-Day!]

Time On My Hands

In the heart of the city is a shop called Samaritaine. It is the fashion store, and has been for decades

Bob decided we really ought to visit. Apart from anything else, my watch broke recently, and I was wondering about a new one. One with hands to tell the time - no fancy step counting, heart rate monitoring etc. I went up to the floor where the watches were. A very kind lady discussed my choices, and whether I wanted a leather strap or a metal bracelet. Having encouraged Bob and me to sit down at the lower counter, she put a pair of black silk gloves, unlocked the case, and laid two wristwatches on a green baize tray.

She helped me try on the one on the left. The right hand one cost a little more, but came with a second, gold bracelet, so you could change it up for special events. The left hand one was just under €2000. But with the discount [Mother's Day Weekend] and the refund of VAT for foreign tourists, it would only be €1475. That's around £1250. I thanked her, and said they were both attractive, but we would go and have a coffee and think about it.

I didn't have to think too hard - do I look like a woman who wears a €2000 watch? In 1974, Samaritaine had an award winning ad campaign featuring King Kong. 

They are celebrating the 50th anniversary with a replica of KK's hand. You can pose in its terrifying grip. So I did

And what about getting a replacement watch? I now have a lovely Sekonda, with a metal bracelet, proper hands, a sweep second hand, and the date. Bob spotted it in the RSPCA CS on Friday. So I guess you could say it has a second-hand second hand.
It cost 1% of the French watch - just £12.50

And it ticks [and tocks] all the boxes. I am utterly delighted with it!

[Thanks for spotting it at the top of the glass cabinet, Bob]

Allo! Allo!

I freely admit we are a little bit eccentric at times. Whilst many people visit Paris and go to the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, etc etc, we prefer [having done all those in the past] to seek out strange and quirky museums, unusual shops, and off-the-tourist-track destinations. Bob had researched and found there was a Police Museum, close to Notre Dame - so we went to find it. 

It is situated in Rue de la Montaigne St Genevieve**, on the upper floor of a working Police Station! Free to enter, and quite fascinating. The Paris Police Force began in 1667, almost a century before London's Bow Street Runners. The collection of artefacts is diverse and intriguing, from the 17thC to the present day,

Kepis - the iconic cap, in different styles.

Early uniforms [oh the embroidery...]

Whistles of metal and ivory

Heavy clothes for dog training - and different guillotines [used 1792 till 1977]

There are sections on famous murder cases - in fact, Georges Simenon [who created Maigret] came here to research, and based some stories on actual cases. He signed the Visitors' Book [so did I  before I left!]

Public info posters...

Cultivons Notre Potager [let's cultivate our vegetable garden]  a WW2 Poster akin to the British "Dig for Victory".

There was also a 1970s recruitment poster, seeking to attract more women into the force [I would have been too short to sign up!]

It was light, bright and very pleasant to look round, things were well laid out. But the glass and lighting made it hard to photograph things.

It has not always been easy for French Policemen. During revolutionary periods, they were often executed without trial.

The Museum pays tribute to some amazing acts of bravery - and unexpected aspects of Police life. For instance, they had Police Dogs who not only helped intercept criminals [and in recent years, sniff out drugs] but also were trained to rescue people who fell into the Seine.

The motto of the Paris Police for 350 years has been  netteté, clarté, sûreté, which means sharpness, clarity, safety

We spent a good hour there, then crossed the road where Bob bought a pack of tea.

La Route Du The was a lovely shop, and his first holiday souvenir was some "Genghis Khan" which is a type of Russian Caravan Tea.

Then we had lunch in the adjacent restaurant La Pie Noir, which serves Breton style cuisine. But that will get another mention later!

**This street is in the Latin Quarter, and Ernest Hemingway lived there a century ago, and wrote about it