Tap, Tap!

We went down to Kent on Wednesday evening. On Thursday it was the Remembrance and Thanksgiving Service for Spurgeon's College - the wonderful place where Bob trained for ministry, which closed very suddenly last summer. We both really wanted to attend this event - but it was a day long programme, 10-4, and we felt it would be too much to drive there and back in a day. Knowing that our good friends Andrew and Eleanor would be going, we asked them if we could B&B on the Wednesday night. 

"Of course" they said immediately "You can have the house to yourselves, we won't be there!" They were a few miles away, looking after the grandchildren whist Mum and Dad away [the things we Grans do for our families...]

So after Bob got back from Men's Shed we loaded the car and drove south. I'd packed two lunchboxes and made a flask of coffee. We stopped in a layby on the A11, to enjoy our picnic.

We diverted to IKEA Lakeside, and I finally purchased new rugs for our bedroom. Our current ones are 17 years old. I wanted something fresher, and I am moving the originals into the back bedroom. All these rugs are machine washable which I like.

We arrived in Biggin Hill, and found the doorkey in the Hidden Place! After visiting the loo, I tried to fill the kettle. I struggled. The water flow kept stopping and starting. Bob came into the kitchen. "Oh I was looking at ones similar to that in IKEA!" he said. The sort with a pull out spray. I declared I didn't want one!

On the other hand, I did covet Eleanor's Bayeux Teatowel! She had left it out especially for me to look at. 

We had a good night's sleep and left early next morning for Croydon. I will say more about the event later. It was a large venue

I was not sure about the motion sensor lights in the Ladies loo. If you sat down and sat still, they went off very quickly, plunging you into Stygian Gloom. And Bob wondered why the Gent's loo had a hand dryer and a hairdryer!

It was good to meet so many old friends. But some conversations were slightly bizarre.

A group of us were talking about holidays, and people had certainly been to some interesting locations. I said "We have just spent a week in Cyprus staying with friends"
Another woman in the group suddenly said "Iceland - if you are over 60 and visit Iceland, then on a Tuesday you get 10% off" The younger ones looked baffled, so I said "You do mean the Frozen Food Shop, not the country, don't you? ..."

We got home around 9pm. It had been a good day.
Andf I got to sit with Eleanor at lunch and catch up with all her news. She was greatly amused by the Tap antics - and explained it is touch sensitive - the water only flows if you keep your hand on the tap. You have to tap the tap!

You Gotta Pop A Pocket Or Two!

Someone posted in a Community FB group to which I belong. Her daughter had been receiving treatment at our local hospital, but they'd referred her on to Great Ormond Street who were brilliant. Mum wanted to "give something back" in gratitude - and was appealing for local stitchers to make some "NG pouches" [sometimes called "tubie pockets"]
Online these can cost up to £15 each

These are simple, washable pockets to hold nastro-gastric tubes tidily [and can be pinned safely out of reach of fiddling fingers!] Most are around 10cm square. How hard can it be?
The Norfolk Mum had posted a picture, so I made a cardboard template. She wanted the simple pockets, not the pones with an attached clip. I set up a production plan, and  easily made forty in a day, using scraps from THE Great Stash. I already had a poppa gadget and supplies. I used some floral prints, and some which were 'child friendly' - cars, dragons, fairies, teddies. 

Mum was very grateful, she said in her post she wanted 100 pockets. I hope that she exceeds that target,. and I am sure GOSH will be pleased too.

Do you have any experience of these little pockets?

Well, I Did Warn You!

Another post about the visit of that tapestry! The day that tickets went on sale [at 10am] for the exhibition at the British Museum  I logged on at 11.10, to this message

There are 70,564 people ahead of you in the queue.

That number has planted itself in my brain.The system was well organised. Having entered my email, I was given a personal link - throughout the day I clicked on and it told me the length of the queue and the estimated time till my 10 minute ticket-buying window. I knew from the start to would be sometime after 5pm, and that I'd be sent an email alert.. In the event., I actually got my tickets around 5.30pm. I'd hoped for the last Monday of September but there was but one ticket available at 3.30. So I opted for the Tuesday morning, 10.20am. I decided against the £35 exhibition guidebook! My friend from church logged in later in the day, and was advised that there were no tickets left, and she should apply again when the second tranche is released - there are no tickets left now between September 10th and January 1st. We have booked B&B with my SIL in Barnet.

Having decided against the official guide, I thought I should check out what Bayeux Books I had already. The Churchill tome, which sparked my interest as a child, just has a small section on the dustjacket. 
But for the first time, I looked inside the book. That was fascinating - it is a first edition! Because when it came out in 1956, my father was on the point of leaving Romford to go to another church. Two spinster sisters in his congregation bought him this book as a leaving present, knowing his interest in history. Inside the book is a lovely letter, thanking him for his ministry and assuring him of their continued prayers for 'you, your wife, and Angela. ..we shall miss you terribly, it will be a big gap in our lives' [I was aged 1½] But apart from the cover, not much info.

This book was more promising. £1 from a charity shop, it is a full length photograph, scaled down to one seventh of the original. Nearly 10 metres long. I unrolled it on the kitchen worktop.

What fun! It is accurate [there are no characters with added underwear!] I have treated myself to a 2nd hand book from World of Books by Silvette LeMagnen, who is curator of the  exhibition in France. This is one of their guidebooks [the English translation!]. 

It is well written, with details about materials, stitches and construction as well as content. She includes a note about the women, and the weaponry - as well as a general run through of the sequence of events depicted. When we go, I imagine there wont be a lot of time for dawdling, so I need to have a clear idea of any specific sections I want to see, and be ready to check them out. 

It would be no good to get to the end and say "Oh no, I missed Ælfgyva and Queen Edith!"

To that end I have borrowed a book from the Library. "What do you have on the Bayeux Tapestry, please?" I asked. The librarian pulled up a page from the catalogue. We agreed that the first on the list "The Bayeux Tapestry"  by Frank Rede Fowke seemed to be a good choice. That was the book I collected last week.  It was last borrowed in June 2000!

FRF was the son in law of Henry Cole. No not the biker guy from 'Find It, Fix It, Flog It' on Channel 4. The original Henry Cole, who took the profits from the Great Exhibition of 1881 and used them to build all those wonderful museums in Kensington. FRF married his daughter and helped with all sorts of historical projects and wrote a number of books. This book was first published in 1898, and this is the 1913 edition. It is not kept on the main shelves, it was retrieved from the county store for me. How cool is this!! 113 years old.

It tells the story from start to finish. I shall have to read it with my fold out book in front of me - sadly the black and white photographs at the end of the book are not really that helpful ! Fowke credits them to Count Ostrorog, a Polish chap who was Queen Victoria's personal photographer. Fowke also speaks of Mr Charles Stothard, an artist sent out to France in 1818 to paint a copy of the tapestry. The man brought a fragment home with him! His widow later claimed they were discarded scraps from the restoration work - they were subsequently returned to Bayeux.

Mia Hannson and Sylvette LeMagnen say there are 58 panels - Fowke lists 79.  I will wait to see how these discrepancies occur. 
There will be more posts, I promise! 

Elizabeth Wardle was in a question on University Challenge last night!! 

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!

Happy Birthday, Jess

I feel so blessed to have such a loving family. Yesterday, granddaughter Jess celebrated her 5th birthday down in London.
She is such a character, 
entering into life with such joy and enthusiasm. She adores clothes, especially hats - and trying new foods, and dancing, and books. She loves words, and numbers, art, crafts and science. We hope you have had a great weekend, with your playdate party in the park - and we can't wait to see you again soon.

You Gotta Pita Pocket Or Two!

I sometimes buy packs of pita bread from the supermarket. 50p for 6. Not an expensive product. But a few years ago Liz took me to Shuk, a street food stall in Borough Market. Shuk  is the Hebrew word for Street Market. Among other things, they sell stuffed pitas. Fabulous fluffy, light pockets full of tasty fresh food. I'd never tasted "proper" fresh pita before, the supermarket stuff seems like cardboard in comparison. 

Then I had pita in Gem, a Turkish restaurant near Norwich Station. I asked the waiter if they were made in the kitchens or bought in. He said they came from London, arriving fresh every morning on the early train. "you can't buy them like this in Norfolk!" he said.

We had roast lamb for lunch on Sunday with the family [it was in the freezer, I'd got it half price in Morrisons a while back] Bob suggested the leftovers would be lovely in pita pockets.

So I decided to make my own.

I used Delia's recipe for pita dough in the breadmaker. It was really easy. (here) The recipe makes 12. I cooked four on each baking sheet. We had two each, and put 8 in the freezer.  They were soft and fluffy like the ones in Shuk and Gem. I made some raita with my homemade yogurt, and the free cucumber I got in Lidl at the weekend. Bob added spicy sriracha sauce too. 

And the cost? 50p for twelve - half the price of cardboard ones in the supermarket. I shall definitely make these puffy pita pockets again. If you have a Breadmaker with a dough facility, give it a go. 

Siblings On A Sunny Sunday

First thing, Steph and Gaz went off to the Starting point, and met up with their good friend Rob. They started off running together

Meanwhile, Liz and I took the boys to the park, then walked along the footpath back to the house. Why was one street sign in Welsh?

Things were going quite well, until Steph and Rob noticed their trio was now a duet. Actually, Gaz was behind them...
Steph was running faster than Rob, so he urged her to go on ahead, which she did...

By now, we were back home, Liz put together a picnic lunch and I encouraged the boys to use the loo. We walked a few yards round the corner and sat down on the pavement to eat our lunch and wait for our runners to come past

There was an online system for tracking, but neither Liz nor I could get it to work on our phones. But Christine [Rob's wife] who was near the finish line, and Bob [In Norfolk] kept us supplied with the necessary information. 

Eventually all three ran past - my first picture of Rob was spoiled by a very large man running in front - but here is the rear view of our friend going by.
Steph and Gaz both diverted and gave the boys quick hugs.

Once we had done waving., Liz and I took the boys home [Can I watch some TV now, please? asked George] 

Christine actually managed a video of Steph 200m from the finish line...

Steph's time was 4.09.11, knocking nearly 40 mins off her previous Personal Best. Liz went for her train, and I fed the boys, bathed them and got them in pjs. We watched more SpongeBobSquarePants. I do declare that programme is drawn by drug crazed insomniacs. I cannot make head nor tail of it! [my family will insist on calling it AngBobSquarePants] 

Christine met the three at the finish line, with fresh clothing, and they all had a brief celebration. [How does Steph look so bright, and nothing like someone who has spent 4 hours running?]

Mum and Dad finally got home around 6.30. The boys were overjoyed and larked around wearing the medals...

2015, 20224 and now 2026. Steph says that she does not plan to run any more marathons [that orange vest is at least 11 years old now] But I am one very proud Mum this week. 

Not just proud of Steph - but of sister Liz giving up her weekend to come and help with the boys. And two little brothers who were very supportive. And these two cool dudes in London, who stayed at home with Dad. [And well done Rob and Gaz for running, and thanks to Christine and Jon also in their supporting roles] 

The boys were so good

Having Sum Fun

 For Christmas, I got the London family an annual pass for MathsWorld

This is a new venture, not far from Tate Gallery, with lots of activities and immersive experiences to help children [and adults] discover about maths. Liz took Rosie and Jess on Sunday. The girls really enjoyed themselves, climbing into pyramids, creating bubbles to stand in, solving puzzles etc. They were quite excited to tell me what they had seen and done - and Rosie explained it is on two floors, so they hope to go again and try out even more of the activities. I'm all for anything that gets people doing maths - and whilst it might be relatively expensive for a one-off visit, that ticket can exchanged for an annual pass. 

Maybe if I am staying in London, I might be able to go with them. I'm sure Jess will enjoy explaining everything to me. It is a certainly good venue for a wet Sunday afternoon. I think we will get our money's worth- and I hope the girls might become as fond of maths as their Grandma! They have just opened another site in Leeds
Have you been to MathsWorld?
Are there other similar places you would recommend?

Poppy Sunday

As a small child, Remembrance Day meant standing with Mum in the cold, damp, misty weather, watching the solemn procession to the War Memorial - the military band, followed by men in uniform, then the dignitaries from the council with heavy overcoats and gold chains, and the local clergy [Dad being the only one not in clerical robes!] and finally the Scouts and Guides. Poppies were wire and paper, with a black bitumen centre and held on with a regular pin.
In my teens, I was marching with the Boys' and Girls' Brigade companies [in my smartest uniform, diligently keeping in step] They started putting plastic stems on poppies in 1967, and the paper leaf disappeared. In 1982 there was the Falklands War. There was a resurgence of support for the poppies. In 1987, the leaf was returned [by popular demand] and in 2000 they introduced large poppies to fix onto cars.

Then we had 9/11, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Previously the veterans had been mostly from WW1 and WW2 - but now there were young men marching, or being pushed in wheelchairs, and young widows, proudly wearing the medals their husbands had won, posthumously. We were not just remembering distant past conflicts, but conscious of very recent sacrifice. More people turned out to walk down to the Memorial in Kirby Muxloe, Rachel played the Last Post, Bob and the Vicar led the Act of Remembrance together

2014 was definitely the Year of the Poppy - 100 years since the beginning of WW1, and the Tower of London had a display of 100s of ceramic poppies, entitled "Bloodswept Lands and Seas of Red". I went to see it with Liz. Adrian gave me a poppy for Christmas.
Back at church in Kirby Muxloe, we had a huge picture of the local castle. and people added their own messages of remembrance written on paper poppies

And that was the year I worked in the Autism Unit, and helped the girls to sew their own poppies, using four red felt hearts [love] with a black button centre[ sadness]

Now the British Legion poppies are 100% paper, and 100% recyclable. And there are far more public poppy displays than ever

But whatever these red flowers on our lapels are made from, however many knitted poppies adorn our churches, shop-windows, lamp-posts and pillarboxes, the message remains the same...throughout the years, so many have paid the price for our freedom - and we honour their memory, their sacrifice will not be forgotten.

We WILL remember them

En-RHAP-tured!

Definition enrapture- to give intense pleasure or joy

I've been watching the Last Night of the Proms, since I was about 6 [sitting in front of my parents' tiny b&w tv) but I think Saturday night's programme was the best I've ever seen. 

• The stunning, enthusiastic conducting by Elim Chan
• Soprano Louise Alder's enthusiastic performance
• Witty, talented Bill Bailey on typewriter [and organ]
• Trumpeter Alison Balsom's retirement appearance
• ...and best of all, Bohemian Rhapsody, now 50 years old 

The whole evening was a glorious riot of exuberant joy, thoughtful interpretation, gifted musicians and singers - and cheerful promenaders. Bob and I enjoyed it immensely.

It was the second time this weekend that I'd enjoyed a celebration of Queen's wonderful song, now half a century old. 

There was a superb flashmob in Paris, led by pianist Julien Cohen, singer Mickey Callisto, and guitar prodigy Olly Pearson, who is just 11 years old.

You can catch up with the fun from the Albert Hall on BBC I-player. The Parisian entertainment is here...

Dud you see either of these?

Will you do  the Fandango?

Four Decades Later...

When Liz was 3, Bob was at College and money was tight. There weren't Charity Shops on every other street corner then - so I made lots of her clothes from remnants and scraps. Laura Ashley sold lots of gorgeous cord dresses and skirts which I could not afford. But they also sold bags of the odd shaped leftover pieces from the factory. For a couple of pounds I got loads of small cord patches. I made Liz a little blue jacket,  and appliquéd houses, and Big Ben, and on the front, a cloud and the sun. On the back, above the houses, I put stars and the moon. The cloud and moon were scraps of my wedding dress fabric. Liz called it her sun, moon, stars jacket. I gave it to her for Rosie, but it was just before lockdown, and Rosie never wore it. But this weekend, Liz showed it to Jess, and she adores it...

I just wanted to get a couple of pictures, front and back. Jess was busy dancing about, waving the bathroom duck, explaining it all to me! That's  Big Ben, Grandma. In London..." 

It is so lovely to see the little jacket being worn again

Another Bryan Bilston Poem

This is a reprint of a post from July 2018 - after I had gone to London to protest with Liz about President Trump's first State visit to the UK. Afterwards she sent me a BB poem. So my post about that march was entitled Liz Sent Me A Poem - here's a shortened version of that post...
Friday's march was a joyous carnival event -[many people] united in their anger and sadness over the activities of one narcissistic man. Liz and I were marching with Jenna, originally from Michigan - I was proud of these two young women beside me who shared my feelings about the arrival of this man on our shores.

We commented on the diversity of issues represented [racism, misogyny, nuclear weapons, global warming, mistreatment of refugees, Islamophobia, imprisonment of asylum seekers, homophobia, separation of children from parents...and more]We sang, 

 cheered, clapped, blew whistles Afterwards Liz sent me Brian Bilston's poem. I shall endeavour to live up to it as I grow older!

AS I GROW OLD I WILL MARCH NOT SHUFFLE

As I grow old
I will not shuffle to the beat
of self-interest
and make that slow retreat
​​​to the right.

I will be a septuagenarian insurrectionist
marching with the kids.

I shall sing ‘La Marseillaise’,
whilst brandishing homemade placards that proclaim 
‘DOWN WITH THIS SORT OF THING’.
I will be an octogenarian obstructionist,

and build unscalable barricades
from bottles of flat lemonade,
tartan blankets and chicken wire.
I will hurl prejudice upon the brazier’s fire.

I will be a nonagenarian nonconformist,

armed with a ballpoint pen
and a hand that shakes with rage not age
at politicians’ latest crimes,
in strongly-worded letters to The Times.

I will be a centenarian centurion
and allow injustice no admittance.

I will stage longstanding sit-ins.

My mobility scooter and I
will move for no-one.

And when I die

I will be the scattered ashes
that attach themselves to the lashes
and blind the eyes
of racists and fascists.

Thank you Bryan! I was in my 60s when I protested then, I am in my 70s now. I hope I never lose the fire in my belly that makes me want to speak out against evil and injustice. 

Trump is due here for another State Visit in September. According to CNN last week  "More specifics about the state visit will be released in the future, the palace statement said. As with every state visit, it will include a full ceremonial welcome and state banquet. All senior members of the Royal Family are expected to take part."

Of course, the King's brother Andrew will not attend the banquet, as he is no longer able to take part in State Events, because of his unfortunate close friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein...

I'm Sew Excited!

Have you heard? The Bayeaux Tapestry is coming to England in 2026!

OK, it is a temporary exchange of treasures - the French are getting the Lewis Chessmen and some of the Sutton Hoo hoard. In the 1000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror, this 70 metre length of embroidery [it is not tapestry work, by the way!] is coming back to the land of its creation. 

We asked to borrow it in 1953 [Coronation of Elizabeth II] and 1966 [900 years after the battle] and quondam Culture Secretary Matt Hancock* assured us in 2018 that it would be coming in 2022. [huh!]

But now there is a definite date, and it will be on display in the British Museum. Oh how I long to go and see it...
I have dreamed of seeing this for more than 55 years, ever since I laboriously copied a portion onto a bit of sheeting for a school project on mediaeval needlework. [I finally saw my other favourite French stitching, the Lady and The Unicorn, last year in Paris]

I am clearly not alone in this longing, poet Bryan Bilston has written a little ode, which I plan to print out and stick on the fridge...

Tapestry of Dreams

for sew long how I did yearn
to visit you in Bayeux

but with the conquest of the years
my hair is getting greyeux

for Time will wait for Norman
-that's one in the eye for me

yet hope hangs by a silver thread,
I now hear you'll cross the sea

oh, I'm on pins and needles
I've been waiting since my youth

no stitch-up or false-spun yarn
it's the unembroidered truth

Brian Bilston

Will you be going to see it do you think?
* I have always wanted to use the word quondam in a post. I am not at all fond of MH, so am pleased to have found an appropriate adjective for him at last.