
Wednesday, 9 July 2025
A Short, Short Break

Tuesday, 8 July 2025
The Green Leaves Of Summer
The tree does not really seemed to have changed since June - but notice that the crop beneath continues to change colour.
The music is the song from the 1960 film "The Alamo" . The lyrics have nothing whatsoever to do with that historic siege, nor yet Davy Crockett!
Monday, 7 July 2025
Please, Grandma...
Sunday, 6 July 2025
I Will Hold Your People In My Heart
This beautiful hymn, written by Daniel Schutte, a Jesuit Priest in San Francisco, has resonated with me since I first heard it about thirty years ago. It reminds me that God is Lord of all creation, and cares for all humanity. And He asks me to share in that mission of love and care for all creation and for all people [whether or not they consider themselves Christians] But the last line of the chorus "I will hold your people in my heart" has always been associated in my mind with caring especially for those in the church fellowships to which I have belonged down the years.
Last Sunday, I was elected to be a deacon in our Baptist Chapel, part of the leadership team - called to seek God's will and way forward for those friends who worship Sunday by Sunday. There are 5 other deacons plus Nick our Pastor. I've never been a deacon before [it's not appropriate if your parent or spouse is the Pastor] If you are the praying sort, 🙏 please pray God will give me grace, strength and wisdom for this new role. Thank you 🙏
I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin My hand will save.
I, who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear My light to them – whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if You lead me;
I will hold Your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne My people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them; they turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
Give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak My Word to them – whom shall I send?
I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them; My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide,
Till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give My life to them – whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if You lead me;
I will hold Your people in my heart.
Saturday, 5 July 2025
As You Sew, So Shall You Rip!
A bit pessimistic if you ask me. Not every item I stitch goes wrong and has to be redone. On the other hand, there are times when pulling out the errors makes such a mess of the fabric I have no choice but to start again completely.
And it folds round and slips onto the card folder beautifully. Please don't stare too hard at my machined name on the right- the doorbell rang and when I returned, I lost my place and it went wrong!!

Friday, 4 July 2025
Moderate Or Fair, Occasionally Rough At First!
I hadn't realised that the tune was chosen because it is repetitive, and so sailors are alerted to the fact it is almost time for the forecast, and it acts as a "filler" between the final programme of the night and the forecast, so it can be trimmed to end at 00:48 precisely. According to HM Coastguard is a legal requirement for the Forecast to be provided, as part of the Mariners' Safety Information.
- A strict 370 word limit [at 00:48, an extra 10 allowed, to include Trafalgar
- Gale warnings are always mentioned first to alert mariners
- Then there is a general synopsis, followed by specific areas in strict order [wind, sea state, weather, visibility]
- The words imminent, soon, and later have definite meanings, within 6 hours, 6-12 hours, 12-24 hours
- There are standard terms and abbreviations.
- light icing
- veering slowly, losing identity
- moderate or good, very poor
- new low expected, south east
Thursday, 3 July 2025
Bored Of The Flies?
Wednesday, 2 July 2025
You Couldn't Make It Up!
In our crazy language, both make up and made up have a number of meanings
"make up" as a noun usually means cosmetics, and "To make up" as a verb can mean to apply cosmetics.
But "make up" can also mean "create a fiction, tell a lie" - you make up an excuse to get out of a sticky situation, the criminal will make up a story and give a false alibi
And "to make up" means to reconcile after an argument [kiss and make up!]
Finally "to make up" means to complete something. "If you save your pocket money, I will make up the difference so you can buy the book" Or with a cake mix - make up the mix to produce a cake. Similarly made up can be wearing cosmetics, descriptive of a lie, finished arguing and became friends again, a finished product - and lately it means very happy "He offered me the job and I was well made up"
Kirsten and I are now making up - not lying, or reconciling, but completing the CoverStory project. Our two panels have all their patches stitched, their seams embellished, and the names and dates on an info panel to one side.


Thanks Kirsten for another year of challenging, exciting. collaborative sewing. And for this month's great "flat gifts" which will get a special mention later
Tuesday, 1 July 2025
Throwaway Comments
It is fifteen years since the start of this annual campaign, but I think I only really picked it up in 2019. Aiming to be 'part of the solution to plastic pollution'
I know that lots of you are already working hard at this - Taking your own containers to the local chinese takeaway, buying loose fruit and veg, having milk delivered in glass bottles, wearing pee-pants instead of plastic-based sanpro, using waxwraps not clingfilm, taking reusable cups to Costa ...
the list of good alternatives is really long - but we still have a long way to go. I hadn't realised the new kitchen would affect my thinking about recycling, but it has.
Under the sink I now have two IKEA 'hallbar' bins alongside my yellow compost bin [i'm still awaiting the Council to sort out a food waste collection] These are labelled general and recycling. I have found myself being much more careful about putting packaging in the correct bin lately.
So well done to the OPRL company [On Pack Recycling Labels] who have been working incredibly hard to make it easier for us, to recognise easily what we can and cannot recycle, with labels like thisAnd it seems that their efforts are paying off. Their latest report "What consumers want" involved consumer insights taken from a study in spring 2025 involving over 5000 UK consumers. They covered six areasI find their conclusions encouraging - I do check packs for guidance on recycling, and prefer simpler instructions. I think labelling is improving - but I am aware of friends and social media spreading misinformation, usually through ignorance.
Now my bins are adjacent, it is much easier to put things in the correct one. I am not sure if there are any massive changes I can make this July, I shall just keep plodding away. Recycling, but more mindfully [and hopefully in a better way] Looking out for the informative OPRL swirls, in preference to the old three arrow triangle.
I have to come clean here - the company conducting the Consumer Insights Study for OPRL is a small one in Manchester, called Tangible, and my Steph is now the boss. I am incredibly proud of her, and her company, for this research. These small changes in labelling really are having a big impact on the amount of thoughtful recycling. And that makes for a better world for us to live, and our grandchildren to grow up in.
Monday, 30 June 2025
It's "The Silly Season" At Cornerstones
The term silly season originated in the UK and
is used to describe a period, typically in the summer, when the media has a
hard time finding significant news stories. This leads them to publish
more light-hearted, frivolous or unusual stories, sometimes referred to as
"fluff" pieces. Well it has certainly been silly round here the last few days...

Friday - still finding minuscule sequins everywhere. This was the day when there were lots of flying ants too. During breakfast we spotted an ant trotting across the floor with its head stuck in a sequin like a blue halo [sorry the picture is not in focus properly- and moving too fast and I was shaking with laughter]
Saturday - I read BBC news item about Glasto, and a music teacher called James B Partridge, who does nostalgia gigs where he gets the crowd to singalong to what he calls Assembly Bangers. Shine Jesus Shine, Lord of the Dance, This Little light of Mine etc. I watched the video clip with subtitles so as not to disturb Bob. I shall never sing Cauliflowers Fluffy in the same way again.
Sunday, 29 June 2025
Prayer Points
Thankyou
Please
Help
I think almost all prayers can be put into these three categories
We have so much to be thankful for, and it is good to count our blessings and acknowledge things
There are lots of situations where we need to say please - asking God to bless our friends, our neighbours, our country and our world.
And many situations where we are not sure what to say, how to act, where to turn - and we need help from Someone greater.Today is the Annual General Meeting at our little chapel.
- I thank God for those who meet there, all the work that is done in the community, all the friendships represented, and the opportunity to meet and worship in freedom
- I ask God to guide and bless Nick the Pastor, the deacons, leaders of the different weekly groups - and to comfort the lonely and bereaved, heal this sick, and encourage us all
- I ask for His help to show us how to share God's love in our community, and enable us to do more good stuff and overcome our inertia, and help us to be generous with time, money and resources.
Do you have any Thankyou, Please, Help prayers today?
Saturday, 28 June 2025
Don't Throw In The Towel!
To throw in the towel means to give up, to accept defeat. It comes from the world of boxing - when a fighter cannot go on, he [or his second] throws a towel into the ring to signal the end of the bout.
I was beginning to feel a bit snowed under with sewing tasks, because I didn't have the time or energy to sew any of my own projects. But as the slime and prom dress took less time than |I thought, I was able to get the machine out for myself on Thursday. I wanted to work on a Beach Towel.
My rules for the ideal beach towel
- big enough to wrap right round you and cover yourself when getting changed in/out of cossie
- not so big it won't fit easily in the beach bag
- thick enough to dry you quickly, and keep you warm
- long enough to cover a sunlounger
- not shabby, but not so precious you'd be upset if an irreversible oil stain meant it had to be discarded or if it somehow got left behind on the sand
- easy to find when you are packing for a day out
Do you have a 'dedicated' beach towel?
Are you as organised as my Liz? She always keeps a "Beach Go Bag" ready, with towels, cossies, sun cream, wipes, buckets and spades etc.
Friday, 27 June 2025
What Is A National Treasure?
In 1922, Gainsborough's "Blue Boy" was sold to an American collector. 90,000 people came to the 'Farewell Exhibition' at the National Gallery. Many were moved to tears - how could this unique, beloved work by an English artist leave our shores for the USA? After WW2, the Waverley Report was published in 1952, setting out criteria for "National Treasures" and situations where the government could step in to 'save it for the nation' when something was likely to be sold overseas. These three criteria were
History: Is it closely connected with our history and
national life?
Aesthetics: Is it of outstanding aesthetic importance?
Basically, what it means is that in certain cases the government [guided by the Secretary of State and a committee of eight 'experts'] will refuse an export licence and declare something may not leave the United Kingdom. Often export licences are deferred, giving a chance for somebody in the UK to buy the item. But the number of refused licences is very small in comparison to the number granted. For instance, in 2012-2013, 33,842 items with a value of £1.7 billion were issued with export licences. Only 19 were referred [their value was £114 million - including Estate Maps of Hampton Court, and two paintings by George Stubbs [the latter bought by the Royal Maritime Museum in Greenwich]
Thursday, 26 June 2025
I'll Dye For You
From the sublime to the slime
Here's an exceedingly long and beautiful prom dress spread out on my bed. The owner is about my height. I have just shortened the frock by about 9". I will be vacuuming tiny blue sparkly sequins from the carpet for months. Really tiny, here are two beside a 20p piece.
She's my GSCE student, and it is her 16th birthday this week. It has been fun working with her, I hope she enjoys her prom. Meanwhile her younger brother is in the school play. He came home with a list of requirements for his costume - which included "Two tan shirts, one must be covered in slime"
Mum asked if I had any ideas - the price of tan shirts is too much - so I suggested getting a twinpack of white school shirts and dyeing them. Where do I get the dye? she asked. I said it could be done with a pot of coffee. "I'll dye for you!" I said. Here's A Quick Tutorial
One can go back in the packet, prepare the 'slime' for the other. Find some plastic bags, preferably grey, green, black.
I used a heavyish grey refuse sack, and some 'parcel' bags [M&S dark green] and lighter green compost caddy sacks. And a blue latex glove. Cut out a 'waistcoat' from strongest bag, and lots of 'slimy dribbles' from the other bags.
Stick the dribbles down with appropriate adhesive - along the top edges so the garment does not become too stiff.
Wrap this round the shirt and stitch down the front and round the neckline. If necessary, cut the armhole slot a little bigger to allow for movement!
Wednesday, 25 June 2025
It's Almost Five Weeks...
...since we declared The Kitchen Project "finished". Thoughts thus far
- we still need one more coat of white paint on the door surround. Oops!
- despite using the room A Lot, it remains amazingly tidy and clutterfree
- however late it is, I will not go to bed if there is anything on the worktop which should be elsewhere
- the undercounter lighting is superb
- the majority of 'new protocols' have worked
- keeping the Futility Room as a 'scullery' for dishes and cutlery [both clean and dirty] is proving a very efficient system
- the 'Breakfast Area' works really well, apart from one minor change ***
- regular use of my new, more accessible, breadmaker means I am buying less bread, and eating in more mindfully
- the bins under the sink [recycling, compost and general waste] are an efficient system
- listening to other people's comments is amusing
- I like the alphabetical pull out spice drawer, I want one!
- Where did you get the Atora sign? [Liz picked it up from a freebies heap on the school run]
- How do you know where everything is? [I have it all listed in my little file here]
- The labels on the electric plugs are brilliant...especially the one that says μwave, because μ means micro [this from my GCSE student]
- The tiles look really brilliant
- having the cooker hood venting to the outside has made a difference- especially in this hot weather. The kitchen is by the front door, so the exhaust comes out over the doorbell. The Evri delivery guy actually said to Bob "Is that your wife cooking the tea? It smells delicious - she's a keeper" I'm still grinning about that unexpected compliment.
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Say "Cheese!"
I'm not a great cheese eater, I can manage soft fresh "farmhouse" cheeses [cottage, Philly, boursin etc] but not the harder matured stuff like Cheddar or Red Leicester. It makes me feel very queasy, or worse, actually sick. Bob on the other hand will try any cheese at least once. In Brussels once, he bought some ettekeis which absolutely stinks - the cheesemonger actually queried whether he was sure about this purchase!
But what makes a good cheese? Sue mentioned Thomas Tusser in her recent Midsummer post, and he actually wrote down ten qualities to be desired in the ideal cheese.
Not like Gehazi, dead white, like a leper
Not like Lot's wife, all salt
Not like Argus, full of eyes
Not like Tom Piper, “hoven and puffed”
Not like Crispin, leathery
Not like Lazarus, poor
Not like Esau, hairy
Not like Mary Magdalene, full of whey or maudlin
Not like the Gentiles, full of maggots
Not like a Bishop, made of burnt milk
Tusser clearly expected his readers to be well versed in Scripture, as some of these refer to Bible characters, or church teachings
3. Argus Panoptes is a character in Greek mythology who had many eyes. Presumably a warning to avoid cheese full of holes?
5. St Crispin was the patron saint of tanners and leather workers. Shun cheese with a leathery texture
6.Lazarus was the poor beggar in Luke 16 [not the guy brought back from the dead [John 11] no poor quality cheese
7. Esau was a hairy man [Genesis 25] avoid hairy cheese at all costs!
What qualities do you look for in a piece of cheese?
Monday, 23 June 2025
Bits And Pieces
Just when I thought I was coming to the end of sewing tasks, a request for a school play costume, and another for a memory bear arrived over the weekend. But the weekend was Hot Hot Hot and I decided to chill out and have a go at a jigsaw instead. I got this one three weeks ago - and it seemed appropriate as we had old friends visiting on Sunday, on their way home to Leicestershire after a trip to Norwich on Saturday. I decided to time myself. It took 5 hours
Sunday, 22 June 2025
Word-Art
I am not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't what happened! Clare said she was going to a free workshop at the Green Pastures Bookshop in Dereham, and would I like to join her? "It's about Bible Journaling". And I thought this would be a session on how to read the Word, and keep a journal of what has been read, and learned. I know my German friend Chris has some beautiful Lyra coloured crayons, and as he reads, he marks verses with specific colours to indicate what they are about [God's love, the life of the church, evangelism etc] Furthermore there are some colours in the sets he does not use, and he generously passes them on to me to use with the children. I went off in my sunhat and found 9 other women sitting round the table at the back of the shop - including my good friend Wendy from chapel.
Cheryl, who was leading the workshop explained that Bible Journaling "helps you deeply engage with God's Word, fostering spiritual growth and understanding. It allows you to slow down, reflect on scripture and connect your faith with your creativity...using your artistic talents to connect with God and express your faith in a unique way" So more art, less words then? We were asked to write on a tag what we expected from learning to BJ
A quiet space to grow in grace I wrote, and made a pocket for my tag in the cover of the notebook provided. We spent the next couple of hours illustrating verses from the Psalms, with stencils, paints, ink pads, stickers etc. It was a blistering hot day, but we all worked really hard! Here's Cheryl with Clare and Wendy, and below, the whole group displaying their artwork. And lots of pictures of what people did with the verses from Psalms which Cheryl had given us...
I thought Clare's wings on a pink/blue/golden background were stunning.
BJ is a bit like scrapbooking, or cardmaking. Cheryl showed us all the equipment she has [alcohol inks, brushes, washi tape, stencils, stamps, glustix, and stickers...]
Chatting afterwards Wendy said it did seem to need a lot of 'stuff' which she doesn't already have [she's an incredibly accomplished knitter]. I said I do make cards occasionally, but feel happier with a needle and thread [hand or machine]. So whilst it was fun to meet with others for a crafty morning with good conversation, I am not sure either of us would pursue this seriously. Clare seems to be a natural at it!
But thank you GP for allowing us the space to try it, and to Cheryl for leading the workshop. Anything that encourages us to read the Bible more, and learn what it says, is of value. Familiarity with God's word definitely has an impact on my life.
But next time I get invited to a workshop, I will ask more questions. I would never have worn a white shirt had I known I'd be handling blue paint!