Back To The Swinging Sixties!

Yesterday morning I went off for my Volunteer Visiting at the Hospital. One patient had a fairly uncommon first name, and I asked about pronunciation. Then I said "was your surname previously.....?" "Yes!" she said. "We were at school together, I used to be Angela Hall"  We spent ages reminiscing about old friends from Primary School and High School. Both of us left Norfolk for university and then returned four decades later. It was great to catch up. I came home full of memories of those school years we shared [1965-1973] She's hoping to go home from hospital soon, but we will keep in touch.

In the afternoon I tidied the back bedroom, and listened to the weirdest programme on BBC I-player. It was called The strange parallel world of Christian pop.

If you're my sort of age, and spent your teens involved with church youth groups, names like The Joystrings, Out of Darkness, Parchment and The Fisherfolk may sound familiar. If they do, you might find the programme interesting. In the evening, Bob and I watched an Australian series - Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries on Prime. Also set in the 60s

Much muttering by me of "I had a dress like that!""That hat is all wrong"

The granddaughters had an inset day today, so the family are up for the weekend. Hot chocolate with marshmallows plus arts and crafts at Cornerstones. Grandad Bob was practising his Santa voice "Have you been good little children?" I said it was too deep and scary. Rosie pointed out that if his voice was too high, nobody would believe he was Santa. She told Bob he needed a "warm voice" 

As i said to my friend in the morning, in 1965 at Primary School, we would never have imagined where we'd be at 70 - retired and back in Norfolk!

Flash! Bang! Wallop!...What A Picture!

 

Nothing like a bit of Tommy Steele and his Cockney mates to brighten a cold wet November morning. You will remember we had our own Flash! Bang! Wallop! just five weeks ago with the spectacular demise of the microwave [Video here] John Lewis promptly supplied a replacement. And on Monday, that one went bang too! This time we asked for our money back. We suspect there was a batch of defective magnetics, and research online shows other people have had similar problems. We now have a similar Hyundai. 

What a Picture? Here's one to amuse you...

Bob has been asked to give out the gifts at the Chapel next week at the Toddler Group Christmas Party. Santa #1, who has done this for years, is just out of hospital, with a broken leg. Santa #2, who helped out last year, is about to go into hospital for an op. So Bob is stepping up as Santa #3. Except the costume was bought for #1. A small, slight man, it is Size L. Bob takes size XXL! Furthermore the beard and wig are a massive of  horrible static nylon curls.

Here he is in the unaltered outfit and itchy beard. I spent Thursday making a new beard using some white fur fabric from The Stash. I sewed fur and black gaiters to the bottom of the trousers legs, and let in some elastic into the hat so it would fit better. 

I hope there will a photo later of Santa in full costume, so we can "stick it in the family album"

Top Tips for working with fur fabric

• On the back of the fabric, mark the nap [direction] of the fur with a few arrows, so the pile runs in the right direction
• Use glass headed pins so they are easy to find and retrieve, and don't disappear into the fluff.

Teatowels, Dressing Gowns, Old Pillowcases - And A Nativity Costume Tutorial

When I was a child, I'm sure that costumes for Nativity Plays were just cobbled together from existing garments. Someone cut a head hole and armholes from a white pillowcase, and once you had a circlet of tinsel, that was your Angel's robe. And the innkeeper, Joseph, and shepherds wore their dressing gowns, with a check tea-towel tied on their head with Dad's black bootlace. Traditionally Mary had a blue shawl. Kings had cardboard crowns or Grandma's scarf wound into a turban.
Nowadays, it feels like even the preschool event requires hiring an outfit from the Royal Shakespeare Company! God bless all those teaching assistants and overworked teachers, who have assembled a class set of Nativity costumes which can be fetched out each winter and assigned to the cast. I checked back to 2014. I made 7 angel costumes, 7 shepherd outfits - and "camel humps and bodies" to go with the heads which the TAs had retrieved from the cupboard.
If you are handy with a machine, it doesn't take long to knock up an outfit though.

I found an ancient, much mended duvet cover in the loft. Bought in 1995 as a cover for a futon mattress, and patched with an old check duvet cover in 2011, and again in 2020. The fabric is so thin in parts, it is not fit for a bed anymore!

Rather than use my usual 'three rectangles' pattern I just cut out a front and back T shape with sloping shoulders. 

The neckline is a simple oval with a slit. And I put one belt loop in a side seam.  The side seams end in 10cm slits for easy movement. I used the check patch to cut two rectangles for the head-cloths and two long straps as tie belts. The waistcoat is a 45x90cm rectangle. Fold it in half at the shoulders. Cut a centre slit and curved neckline, and sew side seams to the armhole.

Finally stitch a loop of elastic or stretchy fabric 55cm long, and attach to front centre of the head cloth [75x45 - like a teatowel!] Tutorial HERE. All done and dusted. Ready to go off to Manchester

TOP TIPs

1. Aim to make costumes easy to put on, and generously sized to fit over regular clothes. If it is cold, children may want to wear tshirt and jogging bottoms underneath.
2. Are you dressing the child, or will the TA have half a dozen tots to get sorted? Make it easier for the dressers - the loop means you can ensure belt doesn't get separated from the robe, and Leo doesn't get Theo's sash. 
3. Likewise, the attached strap makes the headcloth easy to pull on, and shouldn't come adrift mid production
4. Shepherds are pretty rustic characters- so don't fuss too much about hemming and use non fray jersey
5. If anybody complains that your angel does not have wings, explain politely that in the Bible they are never mentioned as having wings - it is cherubim and seraphim who have them. [Exodus 25, Isaiah 6] 

THANK YOU to everyone who has made a donation to our Cornerstones Christmas Tableau-  either cash in the pink pot hanging by the display, or online. We have raised around £200 thus far, which is truly wonderful!

Goodbye, And Godspeed

This is Bob's birthday lunch three werks ago, when we went to Gem, the restaurant by Norwich Station. We are with our good friends Peter and Wendy [Peter is a week younger than Bob]

I am posting the picture now because today they are leaving Norfolk to go and live in Cyprus. I shall really miss them. When they moved to our area almost 4 years ago, they came to the Chapel. I discovered we had mutual friends in other parts of the country and we hit it off immediately.

Both Peter and Wendy have contributed so much to the life of our little fellowship.

Wendy and I have lots in common. But at least we have WhatsApp and can keep in touch. And who knows, maybe we will fly out for a holiday, and stay in their sunny new home...God bless you both

Going Postal?

Up early Monday, as I had my shingles vaccination at 9am [2nd part, 1st one was 6 months ago] This was not a 3 minute walk to the little medical centre round the corner, but at the main surgery, 5miles away. It is opposite the excellent Tea Post. I had 4 items to post, so Bob kindly said he'd come with me and sort that out whilst I had my jab. And then we could have breakfast. He had scrambled eggs on toast with bacon, I had a bacon sandwich. All good.

Not so good was the cost of postage. Bob said that the book, and the parcel of 3 shed aprons  cost £3.99, as did the book. That was ok. The aprons weighed around 800g. 

The advent calendar, very thin and flat in a square envelope, and weighing 55g also cost £3.99! Apparently the envelope was too wide for it to be classed as a large letter. I'd been so pleased to find a "proper" Advent calendar for the grandchildren, with a picture of the stable, magi, baby Jesus etc. [No chocolate though] Not doing that again!

Unfortunately my arm ached all day which slowed me up a bit, and I had ironing and sewing tasks.  But at least it did not rain! I realised that I'd missed out one of the photos from the Festival. The local woolshop had a triangular frame holding lots of colourful balls of yarn!

On the subject of wool, did you hear that many knitters are objecting to the new solar power postboxes? 250 people in the village of Titchfield in Hampshire have signed a petition in support of the "Yarnbombers" who create "postbox toppers" 

And Banxy the mystery knitter of Syston has also expressed her sadness at the March of technology stifling her creativity.

Yes, I agee these guerilla knits are bright and cheerful - but they do look sad and bedraggled if left too long at the mercy of the elements. 

Today I'm doing Christmas crafts, singing and storytelling at Little Acorns [the Toddler Group at our chapel] I will enjoy that. 

Admiring Trees, And Tracing Rainbows

Yesterday afternoon I drove into Dereham to see the Tree Festival in the Parish Church. They did their first one last year, and have clearly worked hard to make things even better this time. Ten more trees than in 2024, but also better laid out and clearly numbered. Quite a few trees had the same decorations as last year, or the same stuff with a few bits added. There were better refreshments too! Lots of business and charity groups represented. Thank you to all those in the community who worked so hard on this.

The Sally Army tree was an intriguing wooden construction, with snapshots stapled to the 'branches'

Other trees were tall and thin, short and fat, or just regular cone shapes.

The Dereham Men's Shed was another wooden piece, with tools, measuring tapes, and turned wood ornaments. 

The Litter - pickers tree was all 'found rubbish' corks and egg boxes turned into reindeer, and crisp packets heat-shrunk into red and green 'baubles'

The hospital tree had the laser designs I'd helped patients to colour in last year, and the Mothers' Union still had my little felt books - but both groups had added more stuff.

The Forget Me Not dementia group had their interesting green 'golfball tree' again.

The trees were ranged down the side aisles and up into the choir. The Stewards were welcoming and chatty, and the cakes looked tasty. 

They were huge slices, so I wrapped mine in 2 napkins, and brought it home to share with Bob.

The rain had stopped when I came out, and there was a rainbow over the carpark. I watched it all the way home! Just before I got to 'My Tree' I pulled into a layby to take a second photo.

The rainbow's end was a vivid streak of colour going straight down from a cloud, into the field behind the Close! A bright ending to a lovely visit

Hold On To Hope

Yesterday was quite busy. We began with a nearby Craft Fair where we met a few friends [and found a couple of Christmas gifts] then dropped in on the Village Hall where our neighbour was celebrating her 18th birthday with a lunchtime party. Then on to the Hospice for the Christmas Fair there. We encountered a number of Bob's colleagues, including Hugo, the Head of Fundraising, who was interested in the tableau. We purchased a Christmas wreath from Jack, the gardener. The team of volunteer gardeners have made loads of these from greenery around the site. We ended our afternoon in Earlham. A quick stroll round a couple of charity shops, then on to the Greengrocers, for cups of tea, and a shared slice of cake. They have a community noticeboard, where locals can pin their adverts. For maths support, chess tuition, harp lessons, yoga classes and more... I was very taken with the message on a postcard pinned there.

Isn't this the heart of the Christmas message? Hold on to Hope, for behold I bring good news of great joy for all people...
It was a miserably wet day, but when we drove into the Close it was getting dark. The light in the stable shines brightly

In The Bleak Midwinter

Wednesday night was very cold, and it snowed! Thursday morning was sunny, but still chilly. Many neighbours with solar panels woke to find frozen white rectangles on their roof. But they thawed very quickly. Which was good, because we had marked the date in the calendar for setting up the tableau.

We fetched the wooden frames down from the Workshop Loft, and the boxes of costumes etc from the Futility Loft. Some of the labels were a little amusing!

The angel is suspended, and does not have a frame like the others. Instead of gazebo legs and bits of broomstick, the heaven seraph is a polystyrene head stuck to an upturned laundry bin, with wings threaded onto an old piece of curtain track. The little shepherd was a headless shop mannequin found at a yard sale for £5

The main addition this year is a pink collecting pot for the Hospice [plus a QR code, if people want to pay by phone] We'd just finished putting it all together when someone who was visiting our neighbour walked over to have a look - and immediately put a handful of coins into the pot. This is year #5. It is interesting to see how things have evolved
2021-  Just Mary, Joseph and the baby, plus one wise man
2022 - Added; a shepherd boy, plus sheep, and Rosie's owl. Plus a net light on the backdrop
2023 - Added an angel, a red star [which didn't work properly!]
2024 - Added a better illuminated star, the wise man's gift [biscuit tin!] and a small mouse [the owl had a year off]

This year the owl is back, and there's a collecting tin, and a poster on the side of the workshop with the QR code for donations [https://www.justgiving.com/page/bob-almond-1] The lights are on from dusk to 11pm. The costumes vary slightly each year! No there will not  be a camel. Thankyou to those who have already made a donation. God bless you all.

Fancy Festive Foodstuffs

I am so very traditional when it comes to my Christmas Cake. I made it in October, on the same days as Bob's birthday cake. If the oven is on for hours I might as well have two cakes cooking. My kit is rather old...

• Good Housekeeping Cookbook 1978 [Book Club]
• Salter Scales 1988 [Holiday bargain purchase in Yorkshire]
• Kenwood Chef 1994 [from Bob]
• Mason Cash Mixing Bowl 2002 [from Steph]
• Red Melamine bowls 2009 [from SIL Denise]
• small M&S Mason Cash bowl [2015, CS]

But it is reliable, and used every year to produce my cake. Some years I have pushed the boat out a bit and tried making fancy Christmas foods.

In 2013 for our 'Open House' I made a wreath, rosemary from the garden on a round tray - with red and green grapes, cherry tomatoes and cubes of feta cheese in petit fours cases.

I note that this year Aldi have a recipe for a charcuterie wreath
This looks truly amazing, 40mins prep time, serves two [is that all?] It does look glorious.

M&S have a recipe for a mincemeat tree [serves 4, 35 minutes to prep and cook]

Costa are serving 'festive cherry bakewells' Methinks with some green marzipan and a holly leaf cutter, and I could pimp up a pack of regular supermarket ones...

I haven't decided how to decorate the Christmas Cake yet. Something simple. One year I made a croquembouche as well as a fruit cake. Stacks of choux pastry balls, drizzled with caramelised sugar. Never again! The kitchen floor felt sticky for days! 

For about 10 years we had Snowy Mountain Pudding  -it looks impressive but is incredibly rich

Kirsten  makes Speculaas as a nod to her Dutch heritage [My Belgian calls them speculoos] My FIL used to cook and press a tongue.

Do you have a go-to Christmas recipe in your family?

Does Someone Have A Screw Loose?

I quite like the work of the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt [1862-1918] He was fascinated by Impressionism, Symbolism and Art Nouveau and created some spectacular works. He painted naturalistic figures- but often against sensuous, complex backgrounds - with rich colours, geometric designs and using deep and bright colours. On Tuesday, one of his paintings sold for a record sum.

Two of the most well known are "Portrait of Emily Floge" and "The Kiss" So I was quite excited to spot a jigsaw, reduced to £1 in the Cancer Research Charity Shop. It was in a round box, and the label informed me it was double sided, 19" in diameter, and had 500 pieces. I already have some puzzles yet to do, but this was a bargain!

It was from 'Past Times' - that retailer of retro goods which went into liquidation in 2012, and was bought out by WHSmith [I cannot call them TGJones] I have no idea how old this jigsaw is - but the plastic bag of pieces has never been opened. I suspect [like many PT products] it was given as a gift and never used. Emilie was a fashion designer, it is thought she designed - and maybe stitched - the gown. I know that Kaffe Fassett likes Klimt too, his knitwear is full of coloured patterns like this! 

Inside the box is the sealed bag, a small information leaflet about Klimt - and a small brass screw. We have no idea what it is - and suspect it has nothing to do with the puzzle. But how did it get there? and what is it for? 
Perhaps someone was clearing up the Christmas decorations and found it on the floor, so popped it in the box, and forgot about it.

Which side should I complete first? the blue Emilie, or the golden Kiss?

The Wife Of Bath

I have never actually read this story from The Canterbury Tales [ my knowledge of them is lamentably poor, I confess] Although I do know that "Bath" refers to the city, not the place where one washes.
I was thinking about baths this week - one friend has problems with her boiler, another with her immersion heater. Lack of hot water is an issue for both of them. I remembered my childhood - how different things were back then.

I usually had a bath once a week, and there was not much water. I'm amazed we didn't have one of those black lines painted round, as they did in the war years - only 5"water allowed. Sometimes there was just not enough hot water. So I was given a 'strip wash' at the sink, involving a damp flannel. The bathroom was so cold.

And sometimes, I had to kneel with my head over the bath, and Mum would wash my hair. She would pour water from a jug, and somehow it always went in my eyes and down my neck! I was so excited when we got one of those y-shaped rubber thingies that fitted on the taps, so she could direct the shower head onto my hair/head and the process seemed easier.

My own daughters hated hairwashing when they were very young [I usually did it as they sat in the bath] I am not sure those hairwash shields were very effective. But eventually they got used to the idea. We were pleased when we got Cornerstones, to discover the bath is quite long - Bob can sit in it quite comfortably. Yet we have hardly used it, preferring to take a quick shower. I am not one of those candlelight, lots of water and bubbles, and a glass of wine sort of bathers [like Bridget Jones and co] 

The bath only really gets used when the grandchildren are here, and Rosie & Jess, or George& Jakey, pile in together and play with the rubber ducks and the pirate ship. And they gleefully squirt Grandad with the water cannon.

Our washing habits have, I hope, improved since the Wife of Bath and her medieval friends. We have baths, showers, bidets etc. We should not take our hot washing water, and cold fresh drinking water for granted. So many in our world go without either.
During Covid, the Toilet-Twinning charity did tap twinning, to enable people in the 3rd world to maintain good hygiene standards in the pandemic. We twinned the tap in the Futility Room. That group no longer offer this twinning, but another group does. And Water Aid does an incredible amount across the globe, to provide clean water, toilets, and good hygiene. Spend a penny, then send a donation...

Angels And Snowflakes

We had a workshop at the craft group yesterday. Barb, who is a beading expert, taught us to make angels and snowflakes.

Here are our efforts, hanging on the tree. I managed one snowflake and two angels. I wasn't happy with the nylon line so have replaced that with fine cotton hanging loops. They make attractive little gifts, don't they?

I have a lot of beads in my stash, and hope to make some more little decorations.

They look very pretty as they turn and catch the light.  Thank you Barb for a fun, creative morning.