The Other Side Of The Coin

This year marks the centenary of the outbreak of WW1, so the Royal Mint has announced it is producing a commemorative coin, based on the famous Kitchener Recruitment poster.

Many of us are actually wondering if this is the best choice – and  one enterprising woman, Sioned-Mair Richards, has started an online petition for a different person to be represented [more details here] Rather than a man who summoned hundreds of young men to their deaths, this lady proposes we remember a woman who saved many of them, and helped them get safely back to England – but was then shot by the Germans for doing so.

Edith Cavell was a Pastor’s daughter from Norfolk, who trained as a nurse, and in 1907 became Matron of a hospital in Brussels – she was there at the outbreak of WW1. In the first year of the war,she helped over 200 British soldiers escape.

You can read lots about her life and work here, here, and here. I remember being taken, as a very small child, to see her memorial behind Trafalgar Square. My Dad compared her words, with those of Lord Kitchener – and said patriotism was not the highest goal.

Edith Cavell knew from her youth that she wanted her life to mean something to other people. She reportedly wrote to a cousin that “Some day, somehow, I am going to do something useful. I don’t know what it will be. I only know that it will be something for people. They are, most of them, so helpless, so hurt, and so unhappy.” When she was urged to stop her work with the soldiers, because she was in danger of being caught and punished, she said “I can’t stop while there are lives to be saved.” When placed on trial for her life, she refused to lie to save herself.

She was said to be "quite the most famous woman to be killed in World War I." Piaf, the famous French singer, was born two months after Edith’s execution – and named after her. The Canadians have a particular respect for her, and even re-named a mountain in her honour [read this article from last week!]

The Royal Mint does appear to have backtracked a little, and say the Kitchener coin is the first in a WW1 series.  I do so hope that one of the coins will acknowledge this remarkable woman, whose life was one of service and bravery – full of love, faith and peace.

Patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone

January Giveaway

Last month, I said that once I had 200 followers, I would celebrate with a giveaway. I have passed that now – and have done well over 3000 posts – so here it is

As many blogs are focussing on being frugal, saving money and cooking from scratch, I decided to go for a kitchen themed package.

One of my home-made aprons [with useful pockets] to protect your clothes whilst you are cooking, some quick midweek supper recipes, and a book of ideas to produce interesting meals with a can of beans. You will be wanting to sit down with a cuppa in between all this thrifty baking, so here’s one of my teacosies [fabric, not knitted this time] and a little book of money saving tips to read during your teabreak. And a pack of tissues, in case chopping onions reduces you to tears [or you catch a cold] I’ll probably pop in a few other little surprise bits when I get the parcel ready for posting.

If you’d like to be on the receiving end, then leave a comment on this post, before midnight next Wednesday [29th]

You can find some more great ideas for being frugal over at Elaine’s blog this week- her Frugal Book is now available for free download. She compiled it from her reader’s tips - I’ve even got a comment included in it myself.

Thank you to everybody who is following this blog – publicly or anonymously. Your positive comments and emails are a real encouragement.

52 Projects, Week 3

I am not sure if I can keep this up! Week 1 was actually making a start on the list [that’s definitely a Work In Progress] and Week 2 was the Remake of the Amish Dress. But Scarlet asked about that white tunic which was stained [I blogged about it in October last year] and wondered if I had managed to rescue it yet. Having put that item on my 52 Projects list, I took that as an encouragement to fix things.

I began by tidying up my stash of lace and trimmings, and particularly sorting out the white cotton oddments. Empty wooden cotton reels which I’d been saving for some unspecified purpose came into their own as I wound lengths of lace round them

I also had a little bag of random motifs and collar pieces – I pressed these and looked at them carefully. I am not sure who gave all these to me!

This little collar is not white, it is ecru – but why did the original owner cut out that daisy? Perhaps she too wanted a little patch to cover a stain . I had some good lengths of broderie anglaise trim, both wide and narrow.

There followed much thought, and consultation with Bob . “Look at these, please – which is better, ‘A’ or ‘B’?”– it was a bit like visiting the Opticians. I came to a decision. I got some broderie trim about 1½” wide. I pressed a pleat all round which started at the top of the stain, and was 1” deep. Here’s a picture of the back of the top.

The stain still showed through, but I sewed three overlapping rows of trim [to the front only] and that looked good.

There were afour small black spots still showing, so I cut individual cotton daisies from a strip of narrow trim, and sewed them down. I now have a top which I can still wear – entirely repaired from bits and pieces I had already. Very pleased with this.

Pride And Prejudice

Yesterday I blogged about the New Living Translation of the Bible which we have just been given. It is not the first copy of this I have owned…Back in 1969, I won a School Prize. The system which East Dereham High School For Girls operated was this; Mr Chambers, the local bookseller, brought in loads of books, which were placed on the big tables in the school library. Prize-winners were allowed to go in a choose a book from the selection [I believe we were allocated particular tables, depending on our age] BUT if there was a specific book, within the given price range, which we wanted, but was not on display, we could ask for that instead. I requested The Living New Testament, which had just been published, in paperback, in the UK.

The Head was thrilled, and said how excellent it was that a girl should want a Bible. Mr Chambers duly ordered a copy. On the morning of Speech Day, I was summoned to her office. I would not be presented with this awful book by our Guest of Honour. the Head had been reading it and deemed it unsuitable for a public presentation. But why? I asked, it is a Bible. Miss Ambrose sniffed, and said she would be telephoning my father to tell him what she thought about this. But he suggested it as a suitable prize, I told her. Later that day, I went up on stage to be given this instead…

I was SO cross that I put P&P on my bookshelf and never read ANY Jane Austen till I was in my twenties.

After Speech Day, the Head gave my Dad the Bible after all - in a plain brown envelope! She explained to him that she had glanced through the book, and felt it entirely inappropriate that a girl of 14 should be reading things like “The angel told Mary ‘you will become pregnant’” [presumably the Head then had a fit of the vapours, and never got to Mary's response about being a virgin]

Another Red Letter Day

Isn’t it strange how things happen sometimes? I posted about Red Letter Days on January 9th, and then again two days later, after Kath’s email reminding me of Red Letter Bibles. On Friday Bob had a visitor who brought a gift for us. This gentleman’s mother died last year [she was a member of our Ladies Fellowship] and he has been making regular visits to the village to clear her house prior to its sale. It is now cleared, and sold, and the local Hospice has benefitted greatly from his generosity – but he came round to bring us her Bible. He didn’t want to just send that to the Charity Shop.

It is a beautifully bound slim-line edition of the New Living Translation.

I am aware that many people are not keen on using versions such as the NLT, or The Message, because they are paraphrases rather than translations. For myself, particularly when preparing sermons, I usually use the NIV as I feel it is the translation I get on with best. I sometimes, go back to the old KJV. Bob uses that one too [but he also has the skills to read scripture in the original Greek and Hebrew] However I do like to read different modern translations and paraphrases now and then just to hear a familiar passage with a fresh ear, perhaps in slightly more ‘contemporary’ language. But certainly I wouldn’t use them as a basis for my theology.

But what I was really excited about is that this really is a Red Letter Bible! How cool is that? And it arrived within a week of my wondering about what had happened to my Nana’s RLB.

Bob has just started a sermon series on Colossians and last Sunday he set us three challenges

1. To pray for him as he prepares the sermons, and for all those who will hear them.
2. To read through the book of Colossians every week during the series [it only takes 5 minutes or so] so that we are familiar with the passages he is preaching about
3. To write down any questions we might have about the epistle.

This morning, before I go to church, I shall read through Paul’s letter in the new Bible. [I’ve done #1, and #3 may follow later]

Skirting The Issue

Two years ago, I bought a Next dress in a charity shop for £4. I didn’t like the cap sleeves so took them off- and wore the dress on its own, or sometimes over a shirt.

Then one day last year Bob said something about the dress “having a sort of Amish-housewife look about it” – and I just knew he didn’t mean in a Harrison-Ford-likes-Kelly-McGillis sort of way. So the dress was temporarily relegated to the wardrobe in the spare bedroom.

Then a couple of blogs [here, here] I dip into on a regular basis mentioned the 52 projects thing. So I started making a list – and ‘do something with that Next dress’ was high on the list.

I carefully dismembered the dress, then I dug out this Simplicity pattern, which I purchased [on offer] a little while ago, and used the skirt part to cut out the pieces for the shorter of the two skirts on the pattern. There was a fair bit of fabric there. I used some vintage buttons for the little tabs, and not having any brown twill tape, faced the waistband with some scarlet tape from the Great Stash.

On the left – the one on the pattern – on the right, my new skirt

The first thing on my 52 list was ‘make a list’ and the second ‘sort out Next Dress’ – and here we are in week 3. I have some cheerful yellow cotton print, so maybe if I have time, this week’s project will be to make one of the tops from the pattern…

I shall wear the skirt with my green opaque tights and boots and a green poloneck sweater. That certainly won’t look too Amish, will it?

Not Fit For Human Consumption

There is a very old story about a desperate Vicar appealing to his rather unreliable congregation* for contributions to the Harvest Lunch. “What we want is not abstract promises” he declared “but concrete puddings!” I thought of him yesterday as I passed a building site in the middle of Leicester

As I approached, I thought I saw some cupcakes on the ground

In fact they are part of the reinforcement of the concrete foundations, and for some reason the filler in each pipe is an amazing pink colour.

But from a distance, they did look like chocolate cupcakes, with strawberry frosting and a flake stuck in the top of each one!

*I should say that our fellowship are brilliant at providing refreshments for events like last week’s visit by Lyn Green [new General Secretary of the Baptist Union] We had carrot cakes, fruit loaf, scones with cream and strawberry jam, mince pies with starry toppings, ginger and spice cake…No wonder I cannot lose weight!

Quite Busy Right Now…

…but still dancing. As Snoopy says

All Change In Ambridge

“There’s something wrong here,” I said to Bob one night last week, “Tony Archer doesn’t sound quite right” Indeed he didn’t – because the actor has changed. After more than 40 years in the role, Colin Skipp has retired on health grounds, and his role has been taken over by David Troughton. [below Colin left, David right] The change was effected very quickly, and I missed the announcement, so was quite caught out by the new voice.

I suppose it is easier to change actors in a radio soap when you don’t actually see them – and in a few months time, Archers Addicts like myself will have adjusted to the new voice. David Troughton is a well known actor – son of Patrick, who played Dr Who #2, he has appeared in quite a lot of TV stuff, and comes from a family of actors, his brother Michael and son Sam are also in the business.

Colin Skipp is 74 [10 years older than the character he has played for so long] and well deserves retirement and time with his family. His mother in the soap is played by June Spencer, who is 94 [yes 94!] She was in the original pilot programme, and is still there! She took a break from the role from 1953-1962, when she and her [real] husband adopted two children. Another lady took her role for a decade, then she came back! In Ambridge, she has just been widowed for a second time by the death of husband Jack Woolley. I felt the script writers handled the problems of Alzheimer’s Disease very sensitively.

Just lately I have been quite busy, so I haven’t kept up with the goings on in the village as assiduously as in the past. 

But I still think this radio soap beats any of the TV ones.

The Archers is like Marmite – you either love it or hate it.

Dum-di-dum-di-dum-di-dum….

Tiny Toes

The girls I work with on Tuesdays both wanted to make baby shoes – so I have spent time over the weekend preparing some exemplars for them, to take to today’s session…

The patterns are all from the internet – from left to right

• Craft Bits ‘matryoshka doll’ shoes [here]
• Stardust shoes [here]
• Purlbee baby shoes [here]
• Martha Stewart felt slippers [here]

The Purlbee shoes don’t show up well in my photo – please do click on this link to see the originals in a glorious rainbow of colours! They are completely hand-sewn. The others are a mixture of hand and machine work – and quite fiddly to make because they are so tiny. I shall be interested to see which style the girls choose.

The two pairs shown above are my favourites. I don’t mind making exemplars of small items like this – I am glad it was nothing larger.

I Can Sing A Rainbow…

Do you know this old children’s song? [written in 1955, and recorded by lots of artistes; Peggy Lee, Andy Williams, Cilla Black and others]

I know the colours aren’t accurate – but I remembered it one afternoon last week when Bob came in with a gift for me. He’d been out pastoral visiting [we have an awful lot of church folk who’re unwell at the minute] and one lady had send me this little bag. Fifteen spools of thread – she no longer sews and thought I’d have a use for them. I spread them out and admired their pretty colours

I love the fact that the older ones have a name for their colours, not just a code number. Why did thread manufacturers stop doing that? I cannot imagine Farrow and Ball giving up their evocative paint colour names and just having “Grey #17” instead of “Mole’s Breath”!

This little collection includes dark jade sky blue gold peacock sage saxe blue dark claret light pomegranate & dark olive

Googling about, I have discovered that there are still colour names – but the manufacturers no longer print them on the spool labels. I am a little bit frustrated that in America you can buy a spool of blue thread called variously Wedgewood and Wedge Wood. Somebody should tell them that Josiah the potter never had an ‘e’ in the middle!

I know I shall never be able to use all the reels of thread in my box, or the fabric in my stash. I have recently started making up little shoeboxes of fabric, threads, buttons and trimmings to pass on to the young people I know who are starting to sew, so that they have stuff to practice on. Two of my pupils had sewing machines at Christmas – and were quite thrilled to be given a ‘starter pack’. It costs me nothing – and means these resources will get used.

“Every young girl should be taught to do the following kinds of stitch, with propriety. Overstitch, hemming, running, felling, stitching, back-stitch and run, button-stitch, chain-stitch, whipping, darning, gathering and cross-stitch”

[quote from Catherine E. Beecher, A Treatise on Domestic Economy, 1843, the picture is Mary Cassatt’s “Sewing Class”]

I am sure that all the generous older ladies who have given me stuff over the years will be happy to know that I am putting it to good use like this.

Shine!

A number of my friends choose a word for the year, or a Bible Verse. Lucy Mills at Looking Deeper has selected ‘release’ as her 2014 word. Lucy is another Pastor’s wife, and a poet. Her blog is truly inspirational and full of superb photographs.

Gary Sanders, over at ‘Trials and Tribulations’ writes that he has chosen a section of Ephesians 6. Gary is a member of our worship team here at KMFC, and he and his wife Fiona do lots of great work with the young people. Gary is a very hardworking local councillor. Gaz also plays the ukulele and writes songs. Gary has chosen

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

I haven’t ever done this word/verse thing in the past. But after a week of consideration, I have concluded my #word365, for this year just has to be shine -

with the associated #verse2014 from Philippians 2 [Good News]

You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky as you offer them the message of life.

I am lighting this candle every Sunday lunchtime as a reminder!

 

Write On!

A quick update on my red pen – now down from 10cm to 7cm of ink – here is a new one beside my started one.

And thankyou Kath, who sent me an email saying she has a Red Letter Bible – I had quite forgotten about these, although my grandmother had one. These are Bibles [usually King James Version] where the words of Jesus are printed in red ink. This is because they are so important, and so precious, they need to stand out on the page, my Nana said.

Despite a serious hunt in the loft, I’ve been unable to track down my Spirograph set – so plans for mathematical doodling currently on hold.