I'm A Poster Girl!

We went into a coffee shop, and I went to the counter to order while Bob found a table. He sat near the window where there was a display of leaflets. The 'what's on in Norfolk' type of thing.

I ordered, paid, and went to sit down. And thought "Hang on, that's ME on that leaflet"

June last year, I went and helped at the annual Voluntary Norfolk event in The Forum in Norwich, trying to interest other people in volunteering. VN people all have bright pink teeshirts and red lanyards- unless they work with VN for the Community Health Trust, in which case they have plum coloured polo shirts and blue lanyards. And there I am, right in the middle - looking like I am in the wrong uniform. Well fancy that! 

Restored!

 Bob spent £2 on a pair of chisels at the fête on Sunday. They were in dire need of restoration [my word for this year] The blades were blunt and rusty and the handles were grubby. One side read "Marples", the other "Wm. Marples & Sons, Sheffield, Eng,." with a shamrock logo.

Bob had recognised the brand when he first saw them, and did further research when he got home. Marples were reckoned the foremost tool manufacturing company in England for 200 years. 

These ones are from the mid 1950s and feature the distinctive " split proof" red and yellow plastic handles introduced then. If you really want to know more about the company, this site will tell you every minute detail! The Hibernia Works were amazing. 

Bob cleaned and sharpened the chisels, now they are useful again

A before/after shot. The guy selling the stuff [cleared out of his late uncle's garage, he told us] clearly just wanted to get rid of things. He asked if I minded my husband picking up old rusty chisels and things? Did Bob have to conceal such purchases, and hope to smuggle them home unnoticed? 

I said no, I have no problem with it. I know he will fix things then find a good use for them himself, or give them to other people who will use them. And furthermore, as I have four sewing machines, and associated equipment, I cannot  complain!

My embroidery machine is being serviced at the minute, but my main one has been in use this week. Pictures will follow! 

A Fête On The Field

The Welsh have their Eisteddfods, the Scots their Highland Games, but the English have their Village Fêtes. Up and down the country, for a century or more these events have been a quintessential part of rural summer life. Drawing on the medieval trading fairs and Victorian community gatherings [especially around harvest time] The 'modern' fête really took off between the two world wars, in the 1920s and 30s. They began as parish 'sales of work' - to raise money for orphans, war veterans and church repairs. 
On Sunday we went to church in Wymondham - Bob is mentoring their minister,[and advising on PA] and we wanted to see how things were going now they have rearranged the inside of their chapel. They have new seats, and air-con too, so we were cool and comfortable, and it was a great service.

On the way we passed some signs to a nearby village. So, after church, we grabbed a snack at Wymondham Food Festival, and drove to a little village in the middle of nowhere [I don't recall going to Hardingham before] It was fabulous!

Helpful adults and cheerful children with collecting buckets, all in hi-viz vests, directed us to the parking area at one edge of the cricket field. 

These are just some of the gazebos! Everyone was raising money for the upkeep of the Village 'Memorial' Hall and the Parish Church. And they had all the 'proper' things you expect at a fête

Tombola, hoop-la, books, bric-a-brac, bottle stall, old tools [Bob loved them] cake stall, smashing crockery [with the option to buy any unbroken pieces from the baskets if you wanted!] obstacle course, children's games, facepainting, raffle, "village croquet"...

And inside the adjacent hall, tea, cakes, scones at one end, a bar at the other, and just outside two blokes cooking sausages and burgers. And all the while, the Norwich City Concert Band, under their huge blue gazebo, entertained us with fabulous tunes. 

I bought a Victoria Sponge from the cake stall for later, but also cups of tea and scones to enjoy outside in the sun.

Mercifully it was nothing like as hot as the previous three days.

I also had a good chat to the lady on stilts. She was so adept at balancing, walking, and standing still - and delighted the children with her handheld bubble machine. She makes new costumes each year - we talked about play costumes, and the complications of 'trousers' for the stilts.

Bob bought two chisels to refurbish and I got a calligraphy set. Before we left, I went to thank the guy at the organisers' table next to the First Aid Tent. He told me the event had run for 80 years, apart from Covid year. They begin planning in February! He said they had introduced 'tokens' this year to cope with the whole cash/cards problem. You could buy as many [or as few] as you liked from his table at £1 each, [he had a card reader] then use them at the stalls round the field. Bob and I did have cash with us - but he said many people don't carry much anymore, and this system seemed to work well. I thought back to the wonderful fundays and fêtes we had been heavily involved in, both in Kirby and Ferndown - and said we really did appreciate how much work went on behind the scenes to produce such a lovely event.
In my opinion, this is the sort of event I like to visit - you can keep your commercialised, over priced, politicised State Fairs and the like. This is just ordinary people in their community getting together to do good. I hope they do really well [and get enough money for the village defibrillator!]

Have you been to any good community events this summer?

Are you involved in anyway, baking, making, selling etc?

Every Life Saved Is Hope

 

These are the words of the interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, yesterday after 12 year old Moises was pulled alive from the rubble - four days after the devastating earthquakes.
Venezuela is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. It struggles with rampant inflation, unemployment, goods shortages and a high crime rate. International sanctions, primarily from the US, have weakened the country further. Its infrastructure is crumbling, almost non existent.
So when an earthquake like this hits, there are no efficient mechanisms in place to help. I wept as I listened to a man saying he watched his neighbours tearing at rubble with their bare hands, in an effort to reach trapped family members "They have no tools, no chisels or shovels...they have no proper torches, they are borrowing peoples phones to use the torches on them" 
The window for finding people alive is closing - soon it will be not rescue but retrieval. The nation will have to cope with injured people, with bereavements, the homeless and the hungry.
I may have been hot and uncomfortable last week, I may have missed my weekend in London with my beloved family - but I still have them - so I must try and get things into perspective. And the money for my unused train ticket has already pinged back into my account.
I feel so impotent in the face of their suffering. I pray for them, and for wisdom to know what I can do to help. At the time of writing, the DEC [Disasters Emergency Committee]  have yet to launch an appeal - but they have helpfully suggested some charities already responding in Venezuela, should people want to donate now. Oxfam is one of the organisations which I know and trust. 
Please help Moises and others to have hope...
UPDATE  Do read this amazing story from the BBC

A Drink Of Water

I have been aware for the whole of June how blessed I am to have fresh water freely available - it started at the end of May when the water main burst - but we were able to fill our bottles from the tap at Liz's cottage.  The following weekend I waited in A&E for 5 hours for treatment [I'm OK now, don't ask for the gory details] it was hot and crowded, and my bottle of water was so important. The Dr impressed upon me that it was essential I stayed properly hydrated and drink lots of water. And then it got so hot -stiflingly hot [the old word round here is swullocking]🥵
A guy came to the door on Tuesday collecting for a hospice charity. I explained politely that we already supported our local hospice, and asked if he knew about Dame Cicely Saunders. He didn't, but promised to google her later [every day's a schoolday at Cornerstones!]

"Would you like a drink of cold water from the fridge?" I asked "And what about your mate across the road?" He was genuinely surprised at my offer. "We are not allowed to ask for a drink, but if someone offers one, we may accept" he said. So I gave him two paper cups of chilled water to take and share with his colleague. "Pop them in a recycling bin when you have finished with them" 

I try to avoid disposable cups, but if I do get one, I bring it home, and wash it very thoroughly and carefully. Here's my stack. Then I can happily give it away. This past week, I have offered water to any of the workmen or delivery guys who are out in the Close.
It is a small thing, but an important aspect of my faith [Matthew 25 "I was thirsty and you gave me a drink"...]

This was my birthday gift from Steph - she was on a work trip to Amsterdam and went in the Good News Coffee shop. She knew how much I would love one of their flasks. It is brilliant - easy to carry, and it keeps coffee hot, and cold water really cold for hours. 
There's a Bible story about refreshing water in the middle of a hot day...good news indeed

Jesus, tired out by his journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.  A Samaritan woman came to draw some water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” The woman answered, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan—so how can you ask me for a drink?” (Jews will not use the same cups and bowls that Samaritans use.) Jesus answered, “If you only knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life-giving water.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “you don't have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where would you get that life-giving water? It was our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well; he and his children and his flocks all drank from it. You don't claim to be greater than Jacob, do you?” Jesus answered, “Those who drink this water will get thirsty again,  but those who drink the water that I will give them will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give them will become in them a spring which will provide them with life-giving water and give them eternal life.”  “Sir,” she said, “give me that water! Then I will never be thirsty again”
[words John ch 4, The Good News Translation, picture from GNT by Annie Vallotton]

Sunny Saturday Story

Last weekend, Jon brought Jess up to Norfolk so Rosie and her Bestie could have fun sans siblings. We looked after Jess on Saturday, and went into Norwich in the morning.
We began in Castle Mall, where there was a Toy Story Event

Overhyped and underwhelming. Jess went into the ball pond to find a magic red prize envelope. As far as we could tell, the cards inside all read "Sorry, no prize this time" or "You have won a free cup of coffee". Jess had the former, a number of grumpy children near us were saying "But Mum, I don't like coffee!" You could queue to be photographed with a real live character. But the line had about 30 people in it, no sign of 'character'. I asked nicely, and the assistant said yes of course Jess could be photographed in front of the cardboard cutouts.

We decided to go and do some history instead, and took Jess to show her the Castle now it has been refurbished. She loved the banquet in the Great Hall, and dressing up as a medieval princess.

In the gift shop, Jess tried on a medieval head-dress. [£15] It was time for lunch, so off to Christophe's Crepes

Then home, to make first a Father's Day Card for her Daddy, and second, a pointy hat! We used Grandma's sewing machine. And had a quick maths lesson- Jess learned to make a cone shape using a circle. 

Jess said her favourite parts of the day were looking at the pretend banquet food in the castle [eggs and almonds made of wood!], the ancient toilet [a plank of wood with two hole in it!] the lunchtime crepes, and opening her pink Barbie egg
She is growing up very fast!
Have you seen any of the Toy Story hype?

Have you seen the film yet?

Heatwave - A Marmot Thing, Love It Or Hate It!

I should have been on the train* to London, meeting Liz and the girls and going to this. But the Young V&A is closed due to the heatwave. And instead I have fallen down an Internet rabbit hole, no, a marmot burrow. Consider the French painter Fragonard for instance. Until this week, I only knew two of his paintings

Young Girl Reading - which was on a postcard pinned in my student bedroom, and The Swing [I saw this in the Wallis Collection]

But now I have found The Girl With The Marmot, [in the Albertina Museum, Vienna] and I have now learned an awful lot about marmots. These cute rodents [related to the groundhog] live at high altitude , spending many months in hibernation. They come out for just 4 or 5 months in the summer, and display hyperphagia - extreme insatiable hunger.

This enables them to build up body fat to sustain them through their winter months, in their underground burrows. But these creatures are ill-equipped to survive temperatures about 20°C. They cannot sweat [no ex-Royal-related jokes, please!] 

They have to sploot - that is, spread themselves out, face down**, on a cool rock in the shade somewhere. This helps them reduce their body temperature. Maybe I should strip off and sploot on the cool tiles in the Futility Room? Perhaps not. They forage and eat early & late, and take it easy in the hottest parts of the day. 
I could definitely be a Marmot Girl, following their example 

 - and this is my summer! 

*Trainline are refunding my tickets - thankyou!

** the marmot in the cartoon is lying the wrong way up!

Utter Fabrication!

The phrase means "a lie -  totally made-up". But the other week, Bob and I visited an utterly fabulous exhibition of fabrics from all around the globe. Entitled "journeys" and displayed at Blickling Hall, our local NT property, it was just a part of a lifetime's collection of fabrics, amassed by Karun Thakar. Born in Kenya, growing up in Delhi finally settling in the UK, this man has been obsessed with textiles since childhood. There is a helpful explanatory video here [I'm putting KTs quotes in red.]We began in the entrance hall- KT says "the hall has a lot of portraits of men...so we wanted to bring the presence of women's work into the hallway"

We saw  kanthas, and baghs - the former , bedquilts made from saris or repurposed fabrics, the latter, head shawls worn at festivals and weddings. A riot of colour, a diversity of stitching- representing the realities of rural and local life. 'In the textiles, needles became tools of agency and remembrance for women'

In the Brown Drawing Room, KT chose to display lots of Indian textiles. in 1938, Philip Kerr,Blickling's last owner, invited Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi here, to discuss the future of an independent India. A Kashmir shawl, Gujurat hangings and a palampore [block printed cotton wall hanging] The British East India Company [founded 1600] exported Indian fabrics to Europe, and they became instantly fashionable. I was sorry that no reference was made to the Norwich Shawl [a number of reviewers have picked up this point!]

The prints in the Print Room were mostly collected  by an earlier owner of the Hall, John Hobart on his travels in Italy. John had eight children, four of whom died very young. He never recovered from this loss. KT chose to display this unfinished Italian silk-on-linen embroidery to represent their unfinished lives..."I am fascinated by unfinished textiles because they represent all sorts of possibilities...a thing of curiosity that leaves the gaps for the viewer to fill in"

In the South Drawing Room, KT reflects colonial trading power. The East India Company brought in the chintz printed fabric in the 1600s but this affected English and French producers. The Calico Acts were passed in the 1700s - and European textile production, like these French toile du Jouy designs flourished, whilst increased colonial activity in the subcontinent decimated the Indian industries.

In the Upper Ante Room Blickling has a collection of Japanese object - here KT displayed some of his kimonos [the guide told us he has thousands in store!]

In the Peter the Great Room, there were, unsurprisingly , many robes from the Russian Empire - " I want to show the diversity of people living across Russia in the 1800s...ikat robes, and Arabichi coats

The Long Gallery and Library housed some fabulous African printed fabrics - kente cloth made from silk and cotton traded across the world as early as the 1500s/

The whole thing was a riot of colour, and beautiful stitchery. As I went from room to room ,there were many other visitors [mostly women], admiring, discussing, comparing the textiles. It was good to talk with other people who share my passion for working with fabric, restoring old materials, reclaiming forgotten techniques ....

It is a good, worth seeing. But Bob and I both felt the information panels were a little short on facts- which places in Russia were represented by those robes,  how did the designs link across the world? Where are they telling the story of how the boteh motif of India appearing on the Norwich shawl, and then on Paisley shawls and now often called a Paisley Pattern? what was the symbolism of the different colours used?  I did feel sorry for the volunteer NT guides, because many of the visitors were asking these questions, and they were not sufficiently equipped to answer them. 

But that deficit means I only award 4*

It's Too Darn Hot!

 I am up to my eyes in making bears, with frequent breaks to wash my hands and rehydrate. The neighbourhood cats are sheltering in their homes, avoiding all hot roofs [tin or otherwise] The solar panels are quietly generating lots of energy. 

Here's a brief excerpt from Kiss Me Kate. 

I am left with two questions...

1. If it was that hot, why were they all leaping about so much?
2. Have I left it too late to take up tap dancing?

The Simple Things

I have blogged about Edith Schaeffer and her book"The Hidden Art Of Homemaking" before. This gifted mother of four, [and wife of Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer] wrote this book in 1971. Her premise is that in the ordinary everyday routine, we can find "hidden art". That with a little time and effort we can transform the quotidian into something beautiful. I used to have this page from "Simple Things" magazine pinned up in the kitchen.

I thought about this on Sunday. Jon and Jess popped round for an impromptu lunch before going back to London. I had a small amount of ice cream in the freezer - what could I add to make a "proper pudding" for our Fathers' Day lunch? 

One Kiwifruit, one banana, one easy-peeler and three strawberries,. Less than five minutes with a sharp knife and a pretty glass plate... [and a little lemon juice to stop the bananas from browning] 

Much prettier! Very healthy too [if you ignore the scoop of ice cream!] 

After lunch I showed Jess how to make a daisy chain bracelet.

The end of a lovely weekend with this lovely little girl. 

Once my photos are sorted, I will tell you what we did on Saturday. 

But if I'd had more time and some blueberries... 

PS Thanks for all the encouraging comments yesterday about minimal housework!

Is There Life After Housework?

I read this book back in the 80s. Three things I recall

1. Use a squeegee after every shower, it will keep the glass and walls sparkling [at the time I did not have a shower - but in the years since, I have stuck rigidly to this habit - it works
2. When mopping the floor, keep clean water and wrung out dirty water in two different buckets. I use a pad type mop, and have a clean dry pad for drying and finishing off, rather than wringing out the dirty pad. 
3. I did not like his "life's too short" model - with frequent use of single use disposables, both for cleaning and decor. [Especially "don't put all the Christmas stuff back in store, ditch and and buy new next December"] What about saving the planet, Don?
   However, about the same time I read the book, I often walked the girls home from school along with another mum and daughter. One Friday she said "I feel so guilty, I haven't washed down the skirting boards this week"  I cheerfully responded "Don't worry, I haven't done mine for well over a fortnight, and the world hasn't ended!"  [truth be told, I couldn't actually remember when I'd last done it, it may have been after the flying chocolate mousse incident the previous autumn...I was a busy and stressed Mum back then] 

The more I think back to those sunny days, making models, visiting NT properties, climbing over the cannons at the Maritime Museum, enjoying Holiday Clubs and Pancake Parties, the more I realise Mr Aslett was wrong. The question ought to be "Have you enjoyed life before the housework?" 
Obviously there are some chores which happen as part of the daily routine. Habits like pulling out the wheelie bin on Wednesday. loading the dishwasher after the meal, dropping dirty clothes straight in the bin as you take them off, squeegeeing the shower before you get out and dry yourself, putting the milk jug back in the fridge promptly - especially in hot weather...

But the sun's shining and you want to go for a walk, take the grandchildren somewhere fun, or attend a free organ concert in the Church - so forget washing down the skirting or re-organising the sock drawer! 

Another Mum I knew back then said that she had never seen her mother do housework. Cooking and clearing up meals yes - but cleaning, washing, ironing - Mum did all those other tasks once the three children had gone to bed. I couldn't get my head round that - didn't vacuuming keep them awake? If she ran the washing machine at night, when and how did she get the laundry dry? 

According to a survey two years before the pandemic, the average British woman spends 2 hours a day on household chores, and men a little less than that [i.e. a total of 14 hours a week] . I couldn't find out if the 2 hours included meal prep&clearing. If it does, then that seems about right for us. In retirement it is easier to share out the jobs [and he is a better cook than I] Many working women, like my daughters are well organised, busy juggling family, work and home. I know it is tiring for them [so grateful that my two always make family needs their #1 priority] Perhaps I should keep a time sheet for two weeks and see what gets done and when. But not this week - I'm off to London on Friday morning! 

How have your housekeeping habits changed over the years?

Do you have any help? [humans or gadgets]

Ten Years On

It is ten years this week since the nation voted, and the result was Brexit. I decided to repost today the prayer which I shared on the Sunday after the vote [Written by the churches' Joint Public Issues Team] as I believe it is still very relevant.

God of every nation and people,
At this historic moment we pray for all who are affected by the decision that we have made.
Whatever differences this has revealed within our own society,
    may they not eclipse what we have in common.
Where the narratives of political debate have caused harm and division
    help us to reclaim the true values of our shared humanity.
Where exaggeration and distortion have generated suspicion and fear
    may truth and honesty restore hope and goodness.
We pray for all the nations of Europe
    that you will help us to find ways of living and working together
    to pursue the mercy and justice that you require.
We recommit ourselves – together – to the values of your eternal Kingdom
    and pray that along with all people
    we might help your world become more as you intended.

Jellyfish, Jelly-ish

Two news stories recently about Jellyfish. Rosie mentioned she had seen one on the sand on a trip to the Norfolk coast last month. She is wise enough to know the look-but-don't-touch rule. "National Coastwatch Brancaster" issued a warning in the Eastern Daily Press about these giant jellyfish

"As summer warms our seas, an all-you-can-eat plankton buffet triggers a massive jellyfish baby boom. Because these guys are 95% water and shockingly terrible swimmers, they can't fight the ocean currents. Combine that with strong onshore winds and high spring tides, and they get pushed right into shallow waters, leaving them stranded when the tide goes out." The authority has described the surge as a totally natural event and has urged those visiting Norfolk's beaches not to touch the animals. Dead or alive, these gelatinous tourists can still pack a painful sting. 

Meanwhile, in Wales, the BBC reports a number of velella vellela  jellyfish appearing on the beaches across Anglesey, Gwynedd and Tenby. The popular name for this beautiful blue babies is "by-the-wind-sailors" and they are closely related to the better known, much larger,  Portuguese Man O'War . Jellyfish are freefloating hydrozoans. These ones are about 7cm across.
They have a small sail like structure which catches the wind and moves them, in shoals, across the surface of the ocean. They sparkle in the sunlight. Their sting is milder, but nonetheless painful. 
Such fascinating creatures - very popular in children's cartoons [eg SpongeBob SquarePants] and on CBeebies...

I've Sent A Cable

 A cable [or cablegram] was the historical name given to a message sent by an undersea cable. Isambard Kingdom Brunel built the iron-hulled SS Great Eastern, which laid the first transatlantic undersea cable in 1866. My great great grandfather was on the crew of the ship at the time, and very proud of being there.
For my latest DoubleKnitting contribution I decided to do some cable knitting.

I have not knitted any cable since we retired. My last bit of cable work was at the end of lockdown in September 2020. I knitted one of my niblings a cable jumper for her new baby. It was from my much used Sirdar Baby book, and has a run of two cables centre front. Almost identical to #27 Double Cable in the book! I am really pleased with the definition of this latest pattern – it astounds me that just swapping the positions of 6 stitches can make such a huge difference. So much texture, you can follow the twisting ‘ropes’ all the way up. So very clever.

Pinning the square to the bedspread made it much easier to photograph. I did two identical green squares, Kirsten opted for pattern #34 Allsorts, but instead of using a selection of different colour yarns with a black line between, she used balls of random 'self striping' yarns. She says "I used a fluffier yarn which slowly changes colour, so I didn’t do the stripy pattern in the instructions but just kept on going. I think I prefer the more muted shades, and I like the way the fuzziness blurred the stitches and the colour changes.
I found it a bit tricky to keep track of where I was. The double decrease every other row makes it more complicated than just marking the centre stitch and decreasing from there as the actual centre stitch gets knitted into the decreases along with the stitch on either side."  she added
"When I’m knitting mindless squares, I mark the centre stitch and just K2tog immediately after on every row. Much easier, and no thinking required. There’s quite a difference between ‘mindful’ knitting and ‘mindless’ knitting! "

The way you start with casting on two edges and then keep reducing at the centre to make the diagonal is intriguing - ending with just one stitch to cast off at the top corner.

I've Lost The Cat!

 

Last Thursday, Yorkshire born, world renowned artist, David Hockney died. He was 88. He began life the son of an accountant and grew up in Bradford. He went to art college, and as his career took off, he went to the USA. He was a leader in the Pop Art movement. In 1967 he painted A Bigger Splash, a glorious blue swimming pool and hot summer sky in sunny California. 

I love this painting. When Liz worked at Tate Britain 20 years ago, she gave me two Hockney prints. This one, and my favourite Hockney painting - Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy. 

This was painted around 1970. The couple are fashion designer Ossie Clark and his wife, textile designer Celia Birtwell. Clark and Hockney were best friends, and David was best man at their wedding.

Celia is wearing a dress called Heavenly Twins which Ossie designed for her [in

2015 it sold for £11K and is now in Manchester] I saw this dress before that at a exhibition in London with Steph, alongside the painting. The cat was actually called Blanche [Percy was their other cat!]

On Monday I decided I would get my prints down from the loft, and display them for a few weeks as a tribute to the newly deceased painter. I picked up the cardboard storage tube. It was neatly labelled "Tate, Splash, Percy"

But it was empty!!!!  Neither print inside. I cannot work this out. If I'd decluttered and donated them, I'd have given away the tube too. If a mouse got into the tube and ate the prints, there'd be evidence [we had mice up there a few years back] If they didn't go to a CS, where have I put them? Maybe they will turn up. 

I shall just read all the obits and enjoy looking at his pictures [his later ones of Yorkshire are lovely] RIP David Hockney July 1937- June 2026

Do you have a favourite Hockney painting? 

Pearl's A Singer

Occasionally when I was a child, my Mum would make a stew and put pearl barley in it. Every time, my Dad would make a joke about Pearl Barley and Pearl Bailey. That gifted American singer was born in 1918 at the end of WW1, she died in 1990. She had a long and varied career - on Broadway, on TV, providing voices for Disney animations. She was a personal friend of many US Presidents and their wives. Gerald Ford made her a Special Ambassador to the UN, Richard Nixon appointed her as an "Ambassador of Love", Ronald Reagan gave her the Presidential medal of Freedom. She won many awards, and was friends with politicians and performers. 

Pearl Barley, on the other hand is processed barley which has been polished to remove its outer coating. It is also known as pot barley and Scotch Barley. It is hearty and filling, a good source of fibre. I bought a pack in the supermarket the other day. It takes an hour to cook on the hob, but only 30minutes in my rice cooker in the microwave. I sometimes put it in a casserole. We both enjoy this as an alternative to rice, it works out around 6p a serving - and it is produced in the UK. And it works well cooked and cold in a salad too. Healthy and thrifty and tasty!
I think few people remember Pearl Bailey now, but here's Elkie Brooks with her debut chart single from 1977,  about another singing Pearl. Elkie is 81 now, and currently doing her farewell tour this year!

Do you remember Pearl Bailey?
Do you ever cook with Pearl Barley?