Did You Get This One?

It was only half a minute long, and to be honest, it didn't click at first. I read the final words on screen... Decorate it, cook it, eat your pumpkin. HUBBUB.

What's all that about? What is Hubbub?

It turns out that Hubbub is an environmental charity, and this is their campaign to avoid the annual Halloween food waste. Apparently 14.5 million pumpkins go to waste every year. Three in five ** people will buy a pumpkin, and half of those fruits will be carved and then discarded. HUBBUB has a whole website dedicated to encouraging people to keep their pumpkins whole, decorating the outside - then after Halloween, to peel them and use the flesh for tasty  meals. Eat them, not waste them. 

This Hubbub campaign has apparently been running all through October, but I confess I only came across it on Tuesday.

Carving pumpkins and dressing up for Halloween has never been my thing. However I the past I've found outlets actually giving away the unsold fruits on November 1st, and made soups, pies, cakes and curries. 

I wholeheartedly approve of the intentions behind Hubbub's campaign, but I wonder how many people are aware of it? 

Do your family carve pumpkins? 

And what do you do with the flesh? 

[**I'm not sure I actually believe this statistic] 

Small Is Beautiful

It is ages since I shared any pictures of miniature creations. But Tatsuya Sanako is still making fabulous dioramas, reimagining quotidien items in a new way. Look closely and enjoy!

How about a summer of swimming in spectacles, cream and face masks...? 

A pencil forest, a safety pin fish market, and sheep grazing on a green woollen hillside... 

And finally a loo roll ski slope, Santa.'s footprints on the snowy pages, and a journey up the great lettuce mountain. [without Liz Truss!] 

Good news update. Lily and Margot have been found in a garden in Cambridgeshire and are now safely back at the Zoo Full story here

Collaboration, Kindness, Innovation, Community

Yesterday Bob and I went into Dereham, for the opening of a new Charity Shop. This one is very special for us, as it is run by the Priscilla Bacon Hospice where Bob is a volunteer on the Chaplaincy Team. We talked with Helen, who co-ordinates the community volunteers, and looked round the shop. There was a lot of pink in evidence!

Bob looked at the books, but resisted the urge to buy any. And I donated a lot of my Hornsea cups and saucers**. These days I don't often have the need to serve 30 people with cups of tea. 
The Hospice has a clear vision, and is certainly achieving what it set out to do

Our Mission
To work in collaboration and collectively with the Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust to provide support and personalised care for people living with, and those affected by, death, dying, and bereavement across Norfolk and Waveney.

Our Vision
A community where organisations work together ensuring every person, and those close to them, have access to high quality, coordinated care and support to live and die well, whatever their illness, and wherever they happen to be.

Our Values
Collaboration ~We work in collaboration together as one team, striving for excellence in the provision of palliative and end of life care in our local community. Respecting, building trust, and learning from each other.
Kindness ~ We are welcoming and kind to those we support and their family and friends, to each other, and to partner organisations. We seek to understand what matters to people, taking an inclusive approach that values differences.
Innovation ~ We are innovative and creative, looking at ways and solutions to transform and sustain high quality services.
Community~ We go above and beyond for our community, recognising that we are here to serve our local community, and in turn, our local community supports our work.

**I mentioned on Saturday that I intended to do this, and Rosie asked "Grandma, what's a saucer?" She is used to glasses, beakers and coffee mugs. And for her, the word 'saucer' is connected with UFOs. How times have changed!

Amazing Grace, And Other Women...

At Cornerstones, we have an alarming number of 'smart' devices, controlled by Alexa [The Other Woman, as I call her] Bob loves gadgets, I find her very frustrating at times!

In our cars, we always refer to the voice on the Satnav as Grace. If you know the hymn "Amazing Grace" you will recognise the reference- "Tis Grace has brought us safe thus far,and Grace will lead us home"

Our original satnavs were plug in devices, which attached to the windscreen/dashboard. Then Bob's Skoda Kodiaq had a built in satnav and screen. My Skoda Fabia, purchased in the Spring has a screen  - but I have to attach my phone via a cable to use satnav facilities.

All well and good, but my phone has really been playing up of late. I know Norfolk is not always good for mobile phone signals. But last Sunday, in the pouring rain, somewhere just north of Hoddesdon, I lost signal completely. And I was still on minor roads, and the GB atlas was in the other car. [my thanks to the lovely family parked in the layby, who were able to reassure me that the next right turn would take me to the M11 junction at Stansted] I got home safely.
I have been really frustrated with my mobile phone when texts and  messages don't come through promptly. or I cannot make calls/WhatsApps due to lack of signal.

So I have just invested in a new phone. A shiny Motorola, and all is well and good. Bob said he had an old i-phone which had battery issues, and why didn't I keep that in the car, solely to operate the satnav? That way I am not constantly plugging/unplugging my Motorola [wear and tear on the socket] This seemed a good idea. So he kindly set it up for me on Saturday morning, good news - it works perfectly. Battery issues don't matter as it is always plugged in and charging.It will be interesting to see how long the £15 credit on the sim card lasts, if the i-phone is only used for satnav.[My regular mobile operates on a monthly pay-as-you go tariff from GiffGaff and is both cheap and reliable.]

But the voice is different! There are four choices- two men [no!] or two women [American or Mancunian] We've opted for the latter. She sounds a bit like my mate Rachel.. I shall still call her Grace. 
Grace, Alexa, Siri...[oh, and the gadget in the workshop is called Dot] When my grandmother was growing up, the best regulated homes had female assistants called Mollie, Elsie and Gladys 

God Is My Shepherd

The theme of our conference last weekend was "The Lord Is My Shepherd". On the Sunday morning, before our communion service, we watched this video together. An unusual take on a very familiar passage of Scripture. But lots to look at and think about - and to apply the old, old words in a contemporary context... I thought it was worth sharing

PS Thank you so much to all of you who have sponsored me for my November Knitting Challenge

Autumn Beauty

 A tray of viola plants only cost me £2.99 from the garden centre back in September. They have been blooming for weeks! Such a pretty display. Humble little flowers which bring great joy, in both Autumn and Spring

I posted about this plant 18 months ago, and used the flower as an inspiration for my cross stitch.

Kirsten and I will be swapping our 'cover stories' in the coming week. My October offering is very different from the piece I did in March 2023.

But I am giving nothing away!

Should've Gone To SpecSavers...

I have yet to see the Aurora Borealis.  My teenage friend just up the road took a fabulous photo of them the other week. 

But spare a thought for the lady who took these two photos from her home in mid Suffolk the other night.

Unfortunately these are not the Northern Lights- they are the bright LEDs from the "Suffolk Sweet Tomatoes" factory at nearby Great Blakenham!
How embarrassing!
In other news this week, Lily and Margot, blue throated macaws, have escaped from London Zoo.They were apparently on a "routine flight" on Monday when they flew out of their enclosure. What is a "routine flight" do you think? Staff say they have long tails, and a loud call, and with their bright blue and yellow plumage are clearly distinguishable from London's indigenous birdlife.

So if you see these two in a London Park this weekend, do not ring ZSL** will you!  

This photo is the real 
Aurora, and was taken only two miles from the Tomato Factory [but in the correct direction!

[**Zoological Society Of London]

Bah Hubmug!

Some years ago Liz bought herself a Christmas Bauble, I think it was in a poundshop. But she liked it for its misprint. It simply said 

"Bah Hubmug!"

Last week I saw a bolt of fabric in a shop. I wasn't sure if it had  been named for its brown earthy colour, or for the middle eastern dip

Humus: a brown or black complex variable material resulting from partial decomposition of plant or animal matter and forming the organic portion of soil
Hummus: a paste of pureed chickpeas usually mixed with sesame oil or sesame paste and eaten as a dip or sandwich spread [also spelled hommos, hommus or houmous]
People just don't bother about correct spelling anymore!
On Tuesday I saw a notebook in a CS in Holt, with that well known quote from Thomas Edison on the front. I couldn't decide if it was a typo, or meant to be ironic. I called Bob over. We chuckled together, and I bought the book

Here's a picture of the cover.

"I saw you two laughing " said the assistant, "What amused you?" I told her that we couldn't decide if the spelling mistake was deliberate or not. She looked at the book, and said "Oh, yes, they've spelt perspiration wrong"

I researched it, and discovered this graphic was done by an artist called Ben Fearnley. I so want to believe it is deliberate, but I am rather afraid it isn't!

Needles At The Ready

I ran for charity [2011] and abseiled for charity [2016] but since then I haven't taken on any challenges. I do not like heights so bungee jumping and skydiving are out of the question. I still cannot believe I descended from the church tower on a rope. 

But I can knit. So I am taking part in this fundraising for the Bone Cancer Research Trust. 
The two most common forms of bone cancer affect children and young people, and tend to start in the long bones of the arms and legs. I have not had any close friends or family members with this illness, although it has affected two pupils in schools where I did supply work.

Twenty years ago, in 2004, a group of families who had lost children and young people to primary bone cancer came together. They wanted to tackle head-on the fact that there was virtually no accessible bone cancer information, and practically no funding for research into this disease. The Bone Cancer Research Trust was registered in 2006, and the first grants were awarded that same year. Today, the Bone Cancer Research trust aims to fund research into all forms of primary bone cancer, and ensure that information and support are available to patients of all ages.The BCRT aims to provide research,awareness, support and information, with prompt diagnoses kinder treatments so that more patients will survive and thrive.

Maybe you think this will be an easy challenge for me - but I suspect doing 30 minutes every day  for 30 days won't actually be that easy. Last year I started my Christmas Knitting projects in September, and finally completed the 4th jumper on 27th December. Here's great nephew with his grandad [my brother Adrian] I have just two projects on my Christmas knitting list for this year. 

So I am going for it. And however busy I am, I will do my 30 minutes a day - even if that means I will pick up my needles at 11.30pm if I have to. Although I sincerely hope I will be better organised than that!

I know you are all generous people, and I fully understand that you are probably already supporting other worthy causes at the moment, but if you can spare just a quid or two, link HERE

Thank you

 

What A Night!

The weekend went incredibly well. So goid to meet up with so many friends. Here's a crowd of flower folding females!

The food was excellent, bedrooms comfortable, staff cheerful and helpful. 

On the first evening we had the usual "housekeeping" information.

• Wear your keycard-lanyard whenever you leave your room
• No fire drills planned, so if you hear the alarm, go to the assembly point in the car park
• There are two other groups, we each have designated meeting/dining areas
• Clear your room by 9am Sunday

All good. I slept really badly Friday night,don't know why. Saturday night went to sleep easily. Woken around 4am by loud noise. I thought it was my alarm clock. Fumbled for light switch. Thumped alarm. Noise continued. Spotted red overhead alarm was flashing. Opened my door to find two friends in the corridor "What's happening?" "Fire alarm, come on!"

I'd put out my Sunday clothes and packed most of my stuff before going to bed. So there I was trotting down the corridor in pj's, best blue suede heels, and my biker jacker. I'd remembered to take the card out of the power slot and tuck it in my lanyard. But I didn't put in my two little partial dentures, or remember my watch, phone or glasses! 

My friend had let her door slam behind her. So was stuck in the corridor without a keycard to get back in. Just in her nightie, no shoes or coat. Someone lent her a cardi. We all trotted outside to the meeting point, following the line of women ahead of us. Sarah kindly took my arm in case I stumbled on the steps [with no glasses it was all a bit blurred in the dark] 

Top marks to Lori from our planning team who had a list of Thrive delegates on her clipboard, and a pen to tick us off. We were all present, if not correctly attired! We stood around for ages. The other conference delegates were in their groups. 

Then somebody said we could go back in, false alarm! But nobody was quite sure who had said it,. The women by the door said the alarm was still going off, and they could smell smoke. Back to our muster station... 

Shame I had no phone, I'd have rung Bob for a chat [at 4.20am? He'd not have enjoyed that!] Shall we sing "My favourite things" to make us feel better? Or a rousing hymn [like "Send the Fire"] Tried not to think about needing the loo.

Finally we were sent back inside at 4.50. It was definitely a fault. No fire or smoke anywhere. I got into my room, visited the loo, put my little kettle on, made a cuppa, and did a sudoku. This will go down in Thrive history as "The Conference With The False Alarm" 

Happy Birthday Steph!

Just a few pictures of the last 40 years - one from your childhood, one from Brazil, when you spent the summer working with the street children, and others since your graduation.

Have a wonderful day!

Never stop sparkling!

We love you so much

Very Cheerful Food [4]

That was a clue in a cryptic crossword I was doing recently. At first I couldn't work it out, but once I'd filled in the down clues, I got it. Very = So, Cheerful = Up. The answer so-up = Soup.

I was at the dentist's on Monday,and as I walked back to where I'd parked the car, I saw this sign
I do love the idea of Soup Church! I wonder if the Methodists of East Harling are Very Cheerful Christians, I do hope so. They are clearly keen on good food and gentleness. It is a shame that it is a 70 mile round trip to my dentists, otherwise I'd be tempted to call in!

There is something special about sharing good food in good company [companion comes from the old French compaignon, one who breaks bread with another] I shall be eating meals at the conference this weekend with many friends,new and old. I know I'll look round the dining room, and hear gales of laughter from one table, and see deep conversations going on at another...
A blessing of retirement is having the time to invite others to share a meal with us - at home, or at a local 'eatery'. It doesn't have to be 5* cuisine - soup and a roll, a cuppa plus cake...but it is so good to meet together, and eat together. 
Jesus did it all the time [feeding 5000, Cana Wedding Feast, Supper at Emmaus, a BBQ on the Beach] I think we should too!!

What The Vicar Taught Me...

Last month I dropped in at the Parish church "Coffee, Cake and Chat" group, and Rev Rachael taught us to make paper roses [thanks]. I've been cutting squares for a Kusudama Workshop I am running today at my conference, here's a quick tutorial on roses...

For each rose you need 3 squares [these are 9cm²]
Fold each square into 4, then diagonally in half.

Now holding the point of the triangle, trim rund the open edge to get an ice cream cone shape. 

Then cut a tiny triangle from the bottom

Now open out your three flowers [A,B,C] Cut one segment out of  A, two out of B and three out of C. Line the 6 pieces up in order of size.

 

Now you need to take the smallest petal, run a line of glue down one straight edge and roll it up. Then take each petal in order, rolling it round the central 'stamen' and gluing down its outer edge. Here is the last petal waiting to be added. The pen mark indicates where you put the glue!

Once the glue has dried, gently roll each petal over a pencil to give it some curves. 

I made stems using wire, wrapped in a thin strip of paper. One flower is made from pages of an old paperback book, the other using an old map. 

The map pages were hard to curl. Next time I shall curl them before  rolling and sticking, I've tucked the blooms in my reed diffuser!

Come back Marie Osmond, all is forgiven!

Busy With My Friends

For the first time since 2017 I am actually going away to the residential conference for "Spouses of Baptist Ministers". Our group is now called Thrive, prior to that it was Connexion, and before that it was "The Baptist Ministers and Missionaries Wives Fellowship". The original title was rather unwieldy - and also outdated once we had husbands of Revs coming to the local groups, and we opened up to spouses of chaplains, and others who were serving in Baptist Churches, but not necessarily in the traditional roles. So in 1997, we became Connexion- because that word historically represented groups of nonconformists, and also because we were a very disparate group, but with this one connection - what our spouses did. Then about 8 years ago, when things were very different and we were connecting via social media, and patterns of ministry were continuing to change, we became Thrive. Because we wanted to encourage our members to do just that - not just to survive the rigours of marriage to someone in a 24/7 job. 
I love the conference- it is time to reconnect, to share our stories- to encourage one another - to relax - to laugh and to cry together. These women [no husbands attending this year!]are among my oldest and dearest friends.

I should point out that even in the days when my Mum attended they didn't dress like this!

Tomato CatchUp

All this talk about the importance of 30 minutes reminded me of a time management system which was popular in the 80s. Back in those pre-internet days, I'd push Steph in the buggy round to the library and come back laden with craft books, novels, and books which promised to get my life, house and family organised. Then the children would play with their toys or look at books, while I sat and read. I made endless lists; things to do, budget charts, meal plans...

One popular time management technique was developed by an Italian, Francesco Cirillo. This guy's motto is 'work smarter not harder' Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato. and Cirillo realised his tomato shaped wind-up kitchen timer was just what he needed to get things done.
The idea is to break everything down into smaller tasks which take 25 minutes. Wind up the timer. Do one of these 25 minute bursts of activity, then rest for 5 minutes, then repeat. After four such tasks, take a longer break. Like this...

For some tasks, this is a really helpful way of breaking up the activity. Although a cup of coffee every half hour is maybe a little too much caffeine for me!
I notice that a number of British Universities actually promote this technique to help students with revision. 
I have a slightly less structured way of doing a similar thing.
Whenever I put the kettle on, I try and find a task I can do in the time it takes the kettle to boil. I know I can

• clean my teeth
• empty the dishwasher contents onto a tray and carry it into the kitchen [Bob often puts things away, which helps - otherwise they sit there till the next kettle-boil]
• empty all the wpbs and pull out the wheelie bin onto the pavement.
• take the dirty laundry to the Futility Room and load and run the machine
• empty the machine and hang the wet laundry on the airer
• water the houseplants

If it's true that "A watched pot never boils" then there is no point standing in the kitchen staring at the kettle - I can catchup with my tasks and make positive use of my waiting time.

Do you use a Pomodoro Technique or similar to ensure that you get tasks completed?

Just Ten Weeks...

I do not bother to get so organised about Christmas these days. Fifteen years ago, our family Christmas and the church calendar was utterly manic. I made Bob a special tee shirt listing all the events.

Retirement has many blessings - and one of them is having time just to enjoy the season.

I don't really need to add to my seasonal decorations - and certainly I decluttered lots of stuff in the Autumn before retirement. We have no need of a staircase garland when you live in a bungalow, or the shelf with stocking hooks when there is no mantelpiece.

But I did succumb this week, and spent £2.50 on Charity shop bargains.

The needle-felted dog on his sled, and that red love-joy-peace mug really needed to come home with me!

I did not succumb to the Musketeer Bear. There were at least 60 bears from this collection in a bin in the CS**, at £1 each. At their original prices, that would have cost someone over £300. Cute though they were, I did not fall for the charms of Caesar the Roman bear,nor Vik the Viking, nor Giorgio the Gondolier. But a serious arctophile like Gyles Brandreth would find lots of bargains here [**the new PACT charity shop in Dereham] 

Have you started 'Christmas Planning' yet?

The Fruits Of Their Labours

On Sunday after church we drove over to the Museum for Apple Day. Many people were lining up for selfies with the Big Apple [not me]

Plenty of activities - crafts to try, apples to taste. All these ones which were actually developed in Norfolk, as well as dozens of others from around the country. I asked for advice about what to do with my new plant. I was told that if it was a seedling it probably would not survive, and who knows what variety it will be? [I was not encouraged by that!]

There were lots of exhibitors at the event - craftspeople, apple growers, compost makers, spinners and weavers, beekeepers, folk dancers. 

For me, the most interesting person I met was Robin Carter, who is an illustrator. He came to Gressenhall a while back to paint the Suffolk Punch Horses on the Farm attached to the Museum. It was suggested he should bring some artworks to Sunday's event. You can see examples of his work here. But what fascinated me was his stamps. Robin illustrates postage stamps. He was asked to produce one set and the whole thing just took off. If you go to the Stamps of the World website here and type in Robin Carter, you can see just how many he has done. 

A lot of places use commemorative stamps as a way to boost there economy - there are philatelists out there who will snap up the Falkland Islands Land Rover Set . Robin explained that he is given his theme, and usually works from photographs [he doesn't get flown out to Ascension Island, or wherever!] He produces a finished artwork about 6" square, then it goes back to their printers who add the "furniture" that is, the sovereign's head, the value, and other necessary wording. What a fabulous job - and one which clearly makes great use of his undoubted talents.

Here is the original alongside a sheet of stamps, which were produced to mark the 350th anniversary of the Royal Marines.

Robin was so interesting to talk to, I felt I had learned so much. 

I am grateful to all the volunteers who gave up their day to make it a good event. There were loads of people there, and the weather was good - families were going across to the farm,and down to the adventure playground. I wished we could have had some our of littl'uns with us. They'd have loved riding the mini tractors and diggers, and sampling the fruits.

Thank you Robin and co, for making Apple Day so good this year.