Back, Again

The main issue which has complicated things over the past week has been Bob's worsening back pain. On Thursday and Friday, he was struggling to get out of bed, and to walk to the bathroom or lounge. The GP has been incredibly helpful, and upped the pain meds significantly.  But that means he's a bit woozy some of the time and cannot drive. And planned activities for the next few weeks have been severely curtailed.

I don't cope very well when the people I love are in pain, and I feel so impotent and unable to help. Thank you everyone for your concern, and the comments here, and all the emails etc. We are both grateful.  Taking each day as it comes.

Yesterday evening was lovely - Bob's sister and her husband have been in Norfolk for a couple of days and came over for a meal. It was so good to chat, and laugh together.

I took this picture of a beautiful rainbow shining over the Close. We have so much to be thankful for.

Walrus, Eric, And Paris.

When I was a supply teacher, in the early 90s, it was not unusual to return to the classroom after lunch and find an enthusiastic pupil waiting to put up a sign for me. This was before interactive whiteboards and so much taught using screens. Many notices were fixed with blutac onto the drywipe board. And these three signs were very popular, and all meant roughly the same thing.
WALRUS  was Writing and listening, reading and understanding
ERIC meant Everybody reading in class
PARIS meant Please, all read in silence
I expect other schools had similar acronyms, for that blessed quiet 20 minutes at the start of afternoon school, when children had their heads down reading and teachers and classroom assistants could get other tasks sorted. It helped to give children the idea that doing some reading every day is a good idea - at school, and then hopefully again at home [maybe with support from family members] 

One phrase popular at the moment is "My chapter book" - ie the book from which I read a chapter each night. Steph tells me that this one is George's current favourite. 
As we get older, it is sometimes harder to maintain a regular reading habit - life so often gets in the way. I am being much more disciplined lately - no screens after 10pm. So no sitting up in bed 'doomscrolling' or even reading magazines or flicking through Facebook or Pinterest. Instead I am going back to a chapter or two of a library book each evening. 

I am very grateful for the Norfolk Library Service, and especially the mobile van which comes once a month to the next road.
Our local Mobile Service is celebrating its centenary this year. The driver told us that their great celebrations got overtaken by all the hype about the Castle refurb- but they had a party for staff, and got a whizzy new electric van, which has a timeline of photos dating back to 1925 along the side.

Thank you to all the team, especially our local driver, Mark [aka BookMark] So many of the elderly folk in our village cannot  easily get into Dereham  or Norwich, but the monthly van brings the books they want to the end of the road.

On Thursday we were on the van, and my friend Jane told us this great story;
Last summer she had been picking flowers and pressing them inside some books. Inadvertently she'd used one of her library books. A couple of days after the van visited, she had a phone call from Dereham Library "Please can you come in and collect something?" Mark was sorting out the returned books on the van, and found the pressed flowers. He worked out that Jane had borrowed that book - so he carefully removed the flowers, put them between two sheets of card, and left them in the town library - having asked the staff there to phone Jane and tell her where they were!! That is the sort of Gold Star service we get round here!! 

Screens are useful, and the ability to find information quickly can be a blessings - but lets not ever forget the benefits of the printed page. And always remember the importance of passing the habit of reading on to future generations. 

Thank you for all the kind words yesterday. The service went well at Church, and Bob and I enjoyed a quiet afternoon. Things are resolving slowly, and I will explain later.  But your love and prayers are greatly appreciated ❤️

Answered Prayers

The last few days have been a little unsettled. I will explain later, but things are certainly much calmer now. A good friend, who knew what was happening, wrote out Psalm 91 for me. It was the Psalm for the week in her Hannah Dunnett book. But she felt verse 15 was particularly suitable for us. I am grateful for her love and prayers - and reminding me of encouraging verses is a always a boost.
Today I am taking the service at Chapel as our Pastor is preaching down in Suffolk. My sermon text is Philippians 1v5.

It is good to remember that God is with us - and that we have many friends, near and far, who care about us. I am so grateful for these blessings.

A Square Granny?

I do hope I am not one of these- but I do love a neat Granny Square. Kirsten has niftily incorporated her crochet skills [way better than mine] into her patch for this month's TwoByTwo. One advantage of this latest collaboration is that we only need to exchange small envelopes each month, saving quite a lot of postage costs! Mine arrived on Tuesday, containing this set of treasures

• An English Heritage postcard - vintage picture of a horse being shod. I love that old word shod!
• One of K's handpainted watercolour bookmarks, 
• A very beautiful 'art' tin, with a sliding lid containing peppermints. Yes I know they look like aspirin. They aren't!
• The patch for the month

It is a lovely piece of purple linen [beautiful quality - I keep stroking it!] K tells me it is from a fabric sample, just large enough to do the two patches [perfect!]
The square is crocheted in leftover random dye sock yarn, with a very fine hook [previously used by her Godmother with perlé cotton to make table runners]
There is running stitch round the outer edge holding the chains in place, and in each cluster of triples, an extra stitch to hold it to the backing.
My two squares thus far have involved adding stitches to embellish printed fabric. Now I am thinking about some sort of appliqué work.
Another bonus of this project I have just learned another keyboard shortcut - if you type Alt0233 you get an accented é like this. This will prove a useful timesaver for typing French words. 

Once again, thanks Kirsten!

More Busy Bees

In September we were in Manchester looking after the grandchildren. I love that the emblem of Manchester is a bee, representing industry and community. For our second collaboration, when Kirsten and I worked on evenweave Aida cloth, I sewed a bee on a golden honeycomb of Spanish work [aka blackwork] 

As we visited Quarry Bank Mill, in Styal, this time round, I bought a Fat ¼ of cotton fabric, printed all over with bees.

I used 2 strands of brown, charcoal grey and yellow DMC floss to cover the printed bee, in backstitch, satin stitch and French knots. 

With iridescent Guterman Sulky, I did backstitch wings.With a reddish brown DMC I outlined some honeycomb in double running stitch.
Using the waste canvas technique I stitched "Quarry Bank" in dark brown. Then I cut the fabric and made up the two squares 

You cannot see it on the photo, but when you move the patches, those wings really sparkle and catch the light. 

I am rather pleased with this month's squares. But it is not straightforward...
In Victorian times, Manchester was known as Cottonopolis, because so much of the UK's supply fabric was woven in the city.
This is a difficult subject for me - I really struggle with the fact that the wealth of so many was built on the labours of slaves - both the unemancipated black workers across the Atlantic, and the poor white men, women and children working long hours in dangerous conditions in the mills like Quarry Bank. Even philanthropists like John Rylands, whose money paid for libraries, public baths, schools, chapels and more, and who offered "Free grown Cotton"  and showed some support for the Abolitionists, still made so much of their wealth on the backs of the poor.
We cannot rewrite history, and it is hard at this distance, to understand the actions of others. Did they know all that was happening out on the plantations, but choose to ignore it? How could the owner of Quarry Bank Mill live right next door with his young family, at a time when children were being injured, mutilated and killed by the unsafe looms? 
But we can make an impact now by thinking about where and how our clothes are produced today, and asking the difficult questions about fair wages and safe working conditions. My little squares are a reminder of our responsibility in this.

Norfolk Beauties

We had cake at Craft group last week - and Sue kindly gave us her recipe. On Sunday afternoon I used it to make this. It was very pleasant. I used some of the Norfolk Beauties from the Station Orchard, and a few of our pears which had blown down on Saturday night. I did forget the icing sugar on top, but it was still fine. I had no cream, so served it warm with custard.

Speaking of Norfolk Beauties, my hair has got really long. I popped into Supercuts on Monday. It feels much tidier now! Thanks to stylist Brandon

No Itinerant Musicians, Or Females Of Doubtful Reputation...Only Bob And Me At The Station!

Did you visit anywhere significant during the ten days of HODS? While we were at Anglesey Abbey we met families visiting a National Trust property for the first time, simply because it was free entry there last week. I popped briefly to Bishop Bonner's Museum - but only to drop off some resources for children's crafts to my friend Katie. I had just the one thing on my list this year - The County School Station at North Elmham. 

This huge school, for 300 pupils built by the local rector went up in 1874, to provide an education for 'the sons of Norfolk farmers and artisans'. As the railway line passed close by, a special railway station was erected. Except there was a decline in agriculture, and few boys attended - it was seven years before they had 100 on the roll, and by 1891 there were just 16 boys. It closed in 1895 - and re-opened in 1903, as Watts Naval College - designed as a school to  equip Barnardo's boys to serve in the Royal Navy or Mercantile Marine. The Maths teacher was Lewis Mills, and his son was born here in1908 - [Sir] John Mills, of the acting dynasty. The school closed in 1953, and was demolished- the land returning to agricultural use. All that remains is the County School Station -now part of Mid Norfolk Heritage Railway. And it was due to be open on Sunday as part of HODS. I marked it in the diary. We drove over after lunch [no pudding, we can get a cake in the tea room I said]
We arrived at 1pm, driving down the lane past the "Station Tea Room Open" sign, and parked in an empty car park. Absolutely nobody there!! And a sign saying sorry, tea room was shut. We pootled around a bit.

I was intrigued by that milk churn - on the top it says "North Elmham, then Romford Dairy". I believe the LNER railway ran milk trains from Elmham down to Lucas Dairy [later part of United Dairies] in Romford. I was rather amused by the sign in the window of the Waiting Room

Another would-be-HODS-visitor turned up. He too lamented the lack of tea and cake. We talked about HODS week. He had done the Shoebox Experience, and a talk at the Cathedral. The three of us walked down the path behind the station to the Stationmaster's Orchard. We passed the wartime Anderson Shelter and beautiful flowers and shrubs full of bees and butterflies.

It had been very windy on Saturday night, and there were so many apples lying on the grass under the trees. Bob and the guy were picking up small ones and sampling them. I took half a dozen "Norfolk Beauties" This cooker was developed 200 years ago at North Walsham, close to Blickling Hall, and went into commercial production in 1902.

If I had room for another apple tree in the garden [I don't] I think I would want one of these.

We went home, and I made Bob the cake he was hoping for!

A Bunny From Bunnings

If you live in the Antipodes, you will know about Bunnings, a huge DIY chain. Ten years ago, they made a failed attempt to rebrand the UK Homebase Stores as Bunnings . 

If you are in the UK have pre-schoolers in the family, you may have watched "Bluey and Bingo take a trip to Hammerbarn", where Hammerbarn is a DIY store in Brisbane Australia, based on a real Bunnings store. This excellent episode was pulled from Australian TV, after Bunnings started selling merchandise based on the episode! However, your UK 4 year old need not be deprived, as it is still available on iPlayer and YouTube. 
But although we no longer have Bunnings DIY here in England, we do have the Norfolk firm of Bunnings, an excellent fishmonger based a few miles south of our village. They supply fish, wild meat and game to a number of Norfolk Stores, they will deliver it to your door, or you can find the man-with-the-van at the market. Last Friday I stopped to buy kipper fillets for breakfast - just a little more expensive than the supermarkets, but infinitely more flavour.  And the guy had fresh rabbits for sale. Bob used to eat rabbit a lot in his youth - his Mum cooked it, and it was often served in his college dining room. It is not a meat I have often cooked. In the 80s my colleague raved about the frozen Chinese rabbit meat on sale in Sainsburys - but I did not want to eat something that had travelled halfway round the world. Bunnings rabbits are all local, from Norfolk. Mine cost £3.50, oven ready.

Bob deftly jointed it when I got home, and it went in the slow cooker with onions, carrots, and potatoes - plus salt, pepper, thyme and juniper berries - and some chicken stock. It was a delicious meal and served us for two days.

The first day we had toast, the second day some homegrown chard. The remainder was blitzed with the leftover stock to make a rich, thick soup which made four generous portions to eat with chunks of homemade bread. That's four meals, each for two, adding in cost of bread and veg, I reckon the total cost was about £6. 

I think that's pretty good value for money. 

And now you can enjoy Bluey as she visits the other Bunnings!

Pants!

According to my Sewing Notes Book, which I have been maintaining diligently since spring last year, I have mended or shortened 12 pairs of trousers/pants in the past month, for friends and family members!
Last week, I watched a NT volunteer diligently repairing a pair of Lord Fairhaven's Underpants!

She is holding them up by the toe. These soft merino wool Long Johns actually have feet attached. They are more like tights than the leggings I'd expected.

I guess that as they were made to measure, the heels and toes would come in the right place. 

So they would fit even better than a pair of Snag Tights! [my go-to choice of hosiery these days] 
People have been very kind in their comments about my previous two posts about our day out - so here are just a few more pictures for you.

The cyclamen walk was charming - the ground was carpeted with small pink and white blooms. It was a peaceful stroll among the flowers, listening to the birdsong. I bought two little plants in the shop - one for myself, and one as a birthday gift for my good friend Christine.

The dahlia border was even more colourful, shades of pink, lilac, red, yellow, white, purple... I considered trying to grow dahlias next year. Each plant was numbered, and there was a list of their names.

"Which was your favourite?" I asked Bob. He said Number 23, I said I liked Number 7. On this photo 7 is top right, 23 bottom left. They are very similar in colour aren't they? I'm glad we have agreed on that. 

7 is "Barbary D'Amour", and 23 is called "J S Dorothy Rose" It seems they are only available from one supplier. I shall have to take advice from others about the best way to grow dahlias [do I need pot tubers, mini plants, or garden ready? and when?] Just a few more pictures to share

The Windsor Guest Suite - isn't the fabric on the bed, curtains and chair amazing? I like those little buildings! The towels in the bathroom were hand embroidered with entwined Fs [for Fairhaven, I guess]

The Dining Room, adjacent to the kitchens, is the oldest part of the Abbey, with the original mediaeval vaulted ceiling. Quite small really, compared to those in other NT houses- but Lordy liked small intimate dinners at home, with close friends. The table usually set for 6 or 8 diners. Note the Victorian tiled floor. The ancient pillars are Purbeck Marble. Note the deterioration at floor level.

Finally, pictures of the different parts of the kitchen, pantry, scullery, butler's room as they were in the 1960s.

The other women who were in the kitchen when I was [all of us OAPs I think] were commenting on the familiar items - Green Beryl cups, Oxo Tins, Canisters of Vim, nutmeg graters, Brillo Pads, Fairy Soap and Prestige pressure cookers... We all said it made us feel old to see these things from our childhood**.

There was an Esse range, plus two regular electric cookers. Note the special feet under that huge table. The cook was Bob's height, and requested it be raised to a comfortable height!

**I still have, and use, some of these!!

That's the end of my review of AA. I hope to go back sometime - maybe in the Snowdrop Season.

Apples Are Not The Only Fruit...

The apple tree and pear tree are looking good, with plenty of fruit. The apples are so red. I said to Bob they reminded me of someone's art work  bright against the green leaves, coloured with Crayola Crayons. Next day, I got something in the post - from "Art For The Soul"

I had ordered a pack of Reflection Postcards from my good friend Alice Price. She was our Youth Worker at Kirby, and Bob conducted her wedding - she married Steve the Magician. They live on the Wirral, and she is a Christian worker - and an artist. She's just started this website selling her artworks. One card seemed very apposite. 

Here's front and back.
Look at the picture, think about it - then turn over to see the thoughts on the back.
With her permission, I am sharing this one, to give an idea of how the cards can inspire positive thoughts and reflections.

I think the pack is well thought out. I may get more to send as gifts - or tuck individual cards in with birthday greetings or other presents. They are attractive, thought provoking, but not at all "preachy" 
Please do check out her site...

Lordy! Lordy! What Are You Wearing Tonight?

 We walked up the path towards the house- following the large pairs of scissors - these were to lead us to the "Tailoring an Image" Exhibition inside.  "Lordy" Fairhaven had most of his clothes made by Huntsman of Savile Row, his shoes were handmade, and all his clothes were washed and ironed by a laundry in Saffron Walden
They were taken the 20 miles there and back by train. He did not want his shirts and 'smalls' hanging out on the line to be seen by visitors to the Abbey! 
He was certainly very daring in some of his fashion choices - evening suits in shades of ruby, sapphire and emerald velvet. His dinner jackets were midnight blue, because he said that at night they looked 'blacker than ordinary black ones'. His valet maintained his clothes with great care laying out the day's garments on the bed all ready to be worn. 

Because his garments were so meticulously made, and diligently maintained, they lasted him years. He was always a stylish dresser. He wore a red carnation in his buttonhole during the day, and a white one in the evening.

He loved bright colours and fine patterned cloths. His suits all had a lilac and cream striped silk lining to the sleeves.

Many of his clothes were in the exhibition, beautifully displayed- handstitched suits, silk pyjamas, his Home Guard Uniform [way smarter than poor old Pike's gear in Dad's Army!] The finest sheepskin coat you could imagine for "gardening wear"

Lord Fairhaven moved in the highest circles of British Society - with politicians, industrialists, bankers- and of course, Royalty. He was friends with Edward VIII - and many important Americans. Many of them would wear similarly created garments - handmade to fit them personally, in quality fabrics made to outlast their owners. Many folk continue this practice today King Charles is known to wear suits which are decades old. Patrick Grant wears jackets which were his fathers. And actor Damien Hurst wears his grandfather's handmade overcoat!
Below is a very informative 10 minute video produced for the exhibition by "Huntsman&Sons" - his tailors, still in business 60 years after his death [his personal paper suit patterns are still in their archives!] It is well worth watching. This 'proper' bespoke tailoring is the complete opposite of Fast Fashion. Oh dear, I must sort out my summer/winter wardrobe swap soon. 

Ang Goes To Anglesey

No, not the Welsh place, but Anglesey Abbey, the NT property in Cambridgeshire. It has been on my wish list for years. I put it on my 70s list back in April. When Bob said on Tuesday morning "have you got a lot to do today?" I realised it was the only day this week without commitments [other than housework. Which doesn't count] "Can we go to Anglesey Abbey?" I suggested [he thought it was in Wales so was reluctant at first ]

It took about an hour to reach this National Trust property. We arrived just before 11am and drank coffee in the car [yes, we thriftily took our own flask, and Tunnocks wafers!] There was plenty going on, the welcome guy enthused about the bookshop, the restaurant, the little café, the gardens [especially the dahlia garden and the cyclamen walk] the house, and the special autumn exhibition about men's tailoring... Suffice it to say we were there till gone 3pm. 
Founded as "Hospital of St Mary"  in 1135 by Henry 1, converted in C13 to an Augustinian Priory, in 1536, Henry VIII dissolved priory and gave it to a lawyer. He took much of the roof and bricks to build nearby Madingley Hall, leaving the Abbey to decay. [careless chap] Owned by a couple of other men, then acquired by the Downing Family . They were founders of the Cambridge College, and the Street in London was named after the one who acquired New York from the Dutch. Then an MP, and a Vicar owned it.

Huttleston Rogers Broughton, was the eldest son of a Very Wealthy Englishman [Urban Hanley Broughton] and his American wife [Cara Leland Rogers] Cara's grandad was one of the 25 richest men in US history]  HRB bought the property in 1922, along with his brother Henry. Huttleston and Henry agreed that the first to marry would sell his share of the house to the other. Henry married in 1926. So for over 40 years this guy lived in the property and bought an incredible amount of art and statuary and sumptuous furnishings. His father, Urban, had been an MP and philanthropist - he it was who purchased Runnymead in 1929, where the Magna Carta was signed, and gave it to the nation [to stop builders developing the site] For this he was awarded a peerage, but died before it was conferred- so the title passed to Huddleston- who became Lord Fairhaven. He lived at the Abbey till his death in 1966, and bequeathed the property to the NT, with the request that it be maintained as it was when he lived there in the 1960s
His servants called him 'Lordy' he was a shy man, but always generous and friendly towards his staff. He was fond of shooting parties, good food, and fashionable clothes [as well as art, and books and fancy furniture] The NT did a lot of research, speaking to former staff. They spoke well of their boss [although there were those servants who said his mother was a formidable woman and he was something of as "Mummy's Boy"] 

We walked from the Visitor Centre to the house, arriving just before noon, which meant we were there to see the Pagoda Clock chiming 12. It plays tunes, has twirling automata, and is generally an amazing spectacle. You should be able to watch the video HERE.

There was so much to see and to learn. I shall put more pictures on tomorrow's post. I was very conscious of how much easier it is to take in all the details when one is not looking after 2 lively little boys, and carrying a backpack with a potty and spare clothing. Watching two young mums with their pre-schoolers, I am not sure AA is the most child friendly NT property. But it is absolutely fascinating.

Fourteen Weeks To Go

I really could have done without the announcer on Classic FM mentioning that yesterday afternoon. There are many tasks I would like to complete before I begin thinking about Yuletide. I shall have to sit down and make a proper list. 

• I plan to enjoy and Autumn, the changing colours of the season
• I hope to do my summer/winter wardrobe sort
• I intend to have a short holiday soon [one without trips to A&E]
• I want to make another batch of Shed Aprons
• I need to prepare some good meal plans for colder weather
• I must get regular exercise and be diligent about weight loss

And if I can tick those things off the list, maybe then I will apply my mind to preparations for the Festive Season.  Come on, it's only September and we haven't reached the equinox yet...Mincemeat and wrapping paper and holly wreaths can wait 

Not Tempting Fete?

I am going to have a rant. And I am not going to apologise for it. I feel that village fetes generally aren't quite what they used to be. There is little I am tempted to buy at the stalls round the edge of the field.

I have been to a few this summer, and come away with the same question every time.  

Why are so many people selling small plastic animals ?

Every colour under the sun, some multi coloured rainbows, some shiny iridescent, others sparkling glittery finish...And why are people shelling out so much money for them [many cost £2+] when they cost about 4p each online?

At our village school fete, it was one of the most popular stands. At the event we dropped in on last Saturday there were three different stands,  all selling these horrid things.

They have no purpose, many are poorly made, and some are downright ugly. And they are all made of plastic - so will be littering our planet for centuries.

These items seem popular with children in Primary School. But they are a choking hazard for toddlers and small creatures.  Their popularity will not last long. Unlike Lego bricks and Playmobil figures, they are quite cheaply made, with limited play value and do not fit together as part of a larger creation. They cannot be recycled.

One stall holder was explaining that the dragons she was selling were unique, they were her own design made on her 3d printer at home, which is why they were £6.99 each. I hate to think how long her printer was running, and how much energy it consumed to produce these items. 

I know it is hard to be consistent, and we cannot avoid every piece of plastic - nobody makes wood and metal pcs, phones, or TVs. Unlike George Washington, who had wooden teeth, I am smiling because I have a synthetic dental implant. And the front of my car is plastic to make it safer for pedestrians in the case of RTAs. But surely these bits of tat are quite unnecessary?

What is the point of encouraging my grandchildren to think about litter, and landfill, and the pollution of the oceans if I then give them a handful of plastic lumps which they will tire of and discard within days [if not hours?] 

There were other 'craft' stalls at the last fete I attended - 3 with crochet items [I recognised two of the grannies and their products from other local events] a couple of 'wax melts' stalls, and a lady with handmade cards. I was not tempted by any of their items.

A teenager was selling friendship bracelets in aid of Breast Cancer. She told me her Mum died two years ago. I gave her a donation, but declined the bracelet, and told her to sell that to somebody else. She seemed slightly surprised that someone would give without expecting an item in return. 

If the fetes' food stalls have changed policy and now use recyclable cups and biodegradable paper napkins, why is it still acceptable for other stalls to churn out all these plastic items?

Is this an unreasonable rant? How can we make a better impact?