A Day At The Races?

Not exactly – we did spend Thursday at Sandown Park Race Course – but it was for the 30th Christian Resources Exhibition. This is the last time they will use this venue – next year it will be in London at ExCel. The journey down was slow and full of holdups, so despite leaving soon after 7, we didn’t arrive till 11am. We saw quite a few old friends, and visited some interesting stands. I shall blog more about some of these later, when I have had a chance to study in detail all the stuff we brought home. Look at this little haul

Between us we acquired two cotton shopping bags, a tea towel, a fridge magnet, two sets of headphones, a wooden cross, 4 pens, 2 packs of peppermints, 2 sampler CDs, lots of catalogues*, a coaster, three lanyards and a goodie bag each from Kingdom Coffee.

The goodie bags yielded two packs of fairtrade teabags, two packs of rice cakes [coated with Belgian Chocolate] and three sachets of organic peanut butter! And the heaviest ‘freebie’ was a book of fantastic sermons by C H Spurgeon [wonderful stuff, I was reading them out to Bob as he drove back up the M1] The lightest gift was a tiny bar of Preacher’s Soap, ‘for use after hot sermons’!

I have blogged lots about the Sailors’ Society [e.g.here] and yesterday I met Mark Warner, their Community Relations Coordinator. He said they have a desperate need for more woolly hats. I said that someone this week [sorry, I have forgotten who you are] had commented on another blog about knitting some of these.

And I promised him that I would put out an appeal for more. Did you know that the Philippines has been the world’s main supplier of seamen since 1987, making the Philippines the manning capital of the world? And most of those men were at sea when the Typhoon Haiyan struck last November. They lost homes, families – everything. The Sailors’ Society has been offering help and support. If you could knit a hat or two, that would be a real help. Thanks!!

Worst experiences of the day?

1. Waiting to ask a question on one stand, and hearing the staff member saying to the woman in front “You’d need to provide food for the event, but I am sure your Pastor’s Wife could cook that, she probably likes cooking” I debated having a little rant [some PWs do not feel called or gifted in that direction, so please do not assume we are all a spiritual-Mary-Berry or Blessed St Delia]
2. Being invited for a 5minute free health check [height, weight, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol etc] After being weighed and measured, I was lectured on the fact that I was significantly** overweight – and not far from obese] and at risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and premature death! I pointed out that she had estimated me to be in my 40s when I am 59, and also that I have lost weight recently, so I am going in the right direction. [and my waist measurement is under the critical 30”] Their batteries had gone flat so they couldn’t measure my BP. Which was a good thing, as it was rising. I left, and went to chat to a nice guy about microphones instead.

*Many of the catalogues were thrust, unsolicited, into our hands as we walked past. They are now in with the paper recycling. Along with the ‘Viking River Cruise’ brochure which was on the doormat when we returned. Do I look like the sort of woman who goes on cruises?

**Is a surplus of 10lbs ‘significantly’ overweight?

Despite the two iffy moments, we had a useful day and picked up lots of helpful information for resourcing our church, and growing in faith. CREX is well worth a visit!

Please Miss!

I began teaching in school 38 years ago – and my “Working Title” then was Miss Hall. I was working in a secondary school, and I was only 3 years older than some of the pupils. I was shorter than most of them too! It was really important to me that there was some ‘distance’ between us, that I carried authority because of my position as a member of staff. In 1979 I became Mrs Almond. After a maternity break from 1982-1989, I returned to the classroom.

I have done part-time supply teaching on and off ever since, most of this being in Primary Schools. I am still Mrs Almond. And I like it that way. I get called ‘Miss’ and occasionally ‘Sir’ – and frequently get called by the name of the regular teacher whose class I am covering. Now and then children slip up and call me ‘Mum’. But I do not want to be called Angela, Ang, or ‘Angie’ by the children in my class. [Heaven forfend! nobody calls me Angie, I hate it]

This daft argument that children think of ‘Miss’ as an unmarried woman, and ‘Sir’ as a knight is inaccurate. Most children think of Sir and Miss as the male and female names for teachers, much as they know you have bull and cow, ram and ewe, etc. in the animal kingdom. It’s just what you call those people who teach you.

Over 90% of those who answered the Guardian’s online survey yesterday said they did not think teachers should be called by their first names. There was an excellent article on the subject too

This debate was sparked by Jennifer Coates, who became a volunteer at her local secondary school in London, and was introduced by the head as Professor Coates, formerly of the University of Roehampton. "Good morning, Professor Coates," the children chorused politely. Then the head left the room, a girl put up her hand, and asked "Miss, Miss can you help me?" Coates was surprised. Why? I doubt they memorised her name when she was introduced, and she ought to be grateful that the girl both put up her hand and called her ‘Miss’ – indications of politeness and respect. [The woman clearly expected to be called ‘Professor’ not Jennifer]

My other teaching rant of the week – The level-six English reading SAT taken by about 100,000 primary school pupils in England on Monday – designed to test the most able year 6 pupils – contained contradictory rules on how long pupils had to answer questions, with the exam paper telling pupils they had an hour but the instructions to invigilators saying they had 50 minutes following 10 minutes restricted to reading only, and there was also an error in the level 3-5 reading paper too. A significant number of schools have complained. It seems that the people at the Standards and Testing Agency made the errors because they ‘cut and pasted’ things without checking the contents. Does nobody proof read this stuff?

Liz gave me this wonderful fridge magnet years ago – knowing my fondness for Miss Brodie!

I love teaching, I get a real buzz from seeing children learn, soaking up facts like sponges, mastering new skills, growing in confidence, building relationships…but some days I find the politics and the constantly moving goalposts so very frustrating!

A Very Brave Lad

RIP Stephen Sutton, who died this morning, aged just 19. His Mum posted this message

"My heart is bursting with pride but breaking with pain for my courageous, selfless, inspirational son who passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of this morning, Wednesday 14th May. The ongoing support and outpouring of love for Stephen will help greatly at this difficult time, in the same way as it helped Stephen throughout his journey. We all know he will never be forgotten, his spirit will live on, in all that he achieved and shared with so many.”

The Teenage Cancer Trust paid this tribute

“Stephen was an exceptional young man and ambassador for Teenage Cancer Trust. He will be remembered for his incredible positivity by all who met or connected with him. Stephen didn’t measure life in time, preferring instead to measure it by the difference someone makes. Stephen has made an enormous difference to Teenage Cancer Trust and the seven young people diagnosed with cancer every day who need our help.”

May God bless and comfort those who knew and loved him – and may the money raised through his efforts continue to roll in, to help other younger people suffering with cancer.

Sacred Flames

I am not particularly familiar with the Spanish artist Goya – but this is his “Lunatics in the Yard” – painted around 1793, and currently in the Meadows Museum, Dallas, Texas. Goya's yard is overwhelmingly stark, showing shackled inmates enclosed by high walls and a heavy stone arch. Inmates fight and grin idiotically or huddle in despair, all bathed in an oppressive grey and green light, guarded by a single man. The work stands as a horrifying and imaginary vision of loneliness, fear and social alienation - painted at a time when Goya was unwell, and suffering from increasing deafness, and possibly mental health issues. Goya must have felt awful to paint like this!

However, this painting has been the inspiration for contemporary artist Paul Benney, whose work “Speaking in Tongues” is currently on display in Leicester Cathedral. Christine and I went and looked at it on Monday. It is based on the verse in Acts 2 – “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” We couldn’t take photos so these two images are from the Cathedral website

The subjects of the picture are all friends and contemporaries of the artist – depicted as the Apostles with Pentecostal flames hovering above them. The reflective resin surface allows the viewer to appear to be part of the group in an extraordinary and thought-provoking way. Benney’s depiction of light emanating from the head as an animation of the spirit has echoes in the imagery of many different religions such as The Mandoria in Asian art, The Pillar of Fire in Judaism, the Aureole in the sacred art of Ancient Greece, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. This is a particular fascination for Benney. [The Cathedral website gives full details of the tour – this artwork is going all round the country after June]

What did we make of it? Well… we had an interesting chat with another lady about there being twelve Apostles [although Judas had gone, they’d just chosen Matthias to replace him] and the fact that only the twelve are depicted [I believe there were others there too, including women! see Acts 1;15&16]

We were struck by the ‘ordinariness’ of these guys “Which one is Peter? ” asked the other onlooker “And are those two James and John, do you think?” I said. We liked the way that some were casual [the guy in the hoodie – sadly not visible in the section shown above] and others smart [the one in glasses with suit and tie]  I have always had a mental picture of the flames on top of there heads – these seem to emanate from their foreheads. As Chris pointed out, they don’t exactly ‘sit’ upon them. I think what struck us most was the different ages of the men- from young to middle aged- why is it one assumes that the disciples were all thirty-somethings?

Having come home and checked up on the Goya piece, I can see the similarities- that lighter triangular section of canvas at the top, the use of shadows and dark tones, the different angles of faces and postures, and clever use of body language.

All the men looked …bemused, expectant, wondering…as I guess you would if such an amazing thing happened. The Verger said “It is amazing at night, when the Cathedral is dark – all you can see are the glowing flames.” Which seems appropriately profound – when the world seems dark, we look for the Light of God’s Spirit to illuminate us, and the Fire of His Power to inspire us.

Intriguingly, as we came back on the bus, I saw posters for the new film Divergent – these also have a flame on them

There appear to be two straplines – the first “One choice can transform you” and the second “What makes you different makes you dangerous” The apostles discovered that choosing to follow Jesus transformed them – and the rest of the world discovered the difference in these men after Pentecost. Beforehand  a scared bunch of people – afterwards a united, powerful, challenge as the church grew and spread.

Three Minutes Peace

It is Christian Aid Week.  For more details about the work of Christian Aid, and to find out what happens to your donations, visit the website here.

Just take three minutes out of your busy life, and reflect quietly.

Fun With Florentines

Down the years, I have accumulated a box of ‘cover kits’ – the things that come stuck to the front of craft magazines. Back in London, we had a friend who worked for the Railways and his job was to collect and return all unsold magazines from WHS– but the ‘freebies’ had to be removed an discarded. So he would bring round bags of bits and pieces – toys for the girls, floppy discs [remember them?] for Bob, and stitch kits for me.

I decided one of my 52 projects should be to stitch them up, and find creative uses for them. I had a set of three tapestry kits – canvas, yarn and needle which were landscapes. But no charts to work from.

The pictures of the packets were really too small to decipher – but then I had an idea. I downloaded a Florentine chart from the internet [that is the stitch pattern, not the gorgeous chocolate biscuit!]

Because the threads were all nature/earth colours, they went really well together and I stitched a little rectangle in the pattern [in America this pattern is often called Bargello, after the Florentine Palace where chairs are stitched with this pattern]Then I stitched up two more – and pondered on what to do with them.

I don’t have a needlecase at Cornerstones – I realised at Easter that the needles there are just stuck through a remnant of felt. So I found some suitable fabric in an old book of sample swatches

I sewed a little book, with an inside pocket, and fastened it with a bit of slim leather thong, wrapped round a vintage brass button which I thought looked suitably Italian.

I put a little pocket inside too, to hold a needle threader. A quick and easy project which has made something useful from something otherwise neglected.

Steph and I had a wonderful Citybreak in Florence in 2003. So much art and culture to see and enjoy. It now appears that the pounding feet of the tourists may be damaging David’s ankles. Oh dear!

If you do feel the need of the biscuits, here is the recipe from Ocado.

Allegedly they were created in Renaissance Florence by the cook of the Medici family.

Smile, Please!

Last week, a teacher at school said "I am sorry, I should have asked before - what is your name? I can't keep calling you The Smiley Lady Who Comes On Wednesdays!" I was quite touched by this. Much better than being called ‘the Grumpy Old Bat Who Comes In To Do SATs Support’ Smiles are so important. Proverbs 15, in The Message, reads thus

A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face;
a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day

There are some great ‘smile quotes’ out there [some better than others – and apologies that some are a bit ‘girlie’!]

Here’s two I particularly want to share with you – first, because I am smiling this weekend as my hospital appointment regarding my troublesome wisdom tooth has come through – having been told ‘around the end of 2014’, I rejoice that I am seeing the Consultant during the first week of June – just a month away!

And second – just for you, dear readers…whatever you are going through right now

Scandimania

I first blogged about Clare Young’s lovely book of Scandinavian Needlecraft back in 2010, and again a few months ago. At Cornerstones last month, I had another book from the library, “Stitched in Scandinavia” by Karin Holmberg. KH’s book was full of facts about Nordic Needlework, and I got quite bitten by the bug.
When we got back from holiday, I dug out an old cream fleece throw and a ball of red crochet cotton, and my new Frixion Erasable Pen, which I bought at the Stitching Show in March

The pen is great – and has many uses.
The main thing is that the ink can be removed by friction – on paper, rub with the grey nub on the end of the pen – but on fabric, the heat of an iron will make the lines disappear. The marks will come back if you put the object in the freezer! Not everyone is convinced [cautionary tale here] but I am pleased with the results.

I drew up four designs from CY’s book, one in each corner, and then stitched them – using whipped running stitch, blanket stitch,chain stitch and French knots. I like the dandelion – Bob’s favourite is the bird [based on the book’s cover design]
It is a relatively small throw – these designs are all around 8” square. I found the synthetic fleece fabric really hard to stitch. The weave was very tight, and it was not easy to get the needle through sometimes. But I love the final result, and plan to embellish something else with more scandistitching in the future.


UPDATE - I emailed Clare Youngs about her lovely book, and my blanket and had a really kind reply. Thank you Clare!

Friendship

Busy morning, doing lots of housework, getting ready for the arrival of my great friend Christine, who is staying here for a few days whilst she attends the Baptist Assembly in Birmingham. [I am missing it for once – very unusual for me!]

I found this really great quote about friendship the other day – often wrongly attributed* to George Eliot,[1819-1880] but actually by a contemporaneous auther called Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, [1826-1887] in her book “A life for a life”

“Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.”

[*the most alarming error was by an American literature student who quoted it, said it was by Eliot, and went on to say ‘what he means is…’. What do they teach them in schools these days??!!]

282820!

Kezzie had a great post with this title last week – a very clever pun on “tu whit tu whit tu whoo” and the owl card she’d made for her beloved. Owls seem to be very ‘on trend’ right now – and on Tuesday my students made some owls in our sewing session.

Here they are, perched on top of the sewing machine. They were so easy to do.

• Cut a quarter circle in one fabric, and an eighth circle from another.
• Sew the straight sides together to make a cone, and trim away excess fabric
• Turn right sides out, carefully push up the point.
• Fold over the top to make the beak, and sew down.
• Sew on two button eyes
• Run a gathering thread round the base and stuff well with polyester filling.
• Pull the thread tight. Sew up the hole at the bottom
• Sew a large flat button over the hole, to make a firm base for the owl to stand on.
• Done!

We used a 12” plate to draw our large circles and an 8” one for the smaller owl. The height of the finished owl will be around one quarter of the diameter of the plate. We thought of some possible uses for these owls

1. a small one on a ribbon could be a charm to hang on a bag or keyring
2. a set of three would be good for juggling
3. fill one with rice to make a paperweight
4. a huge circle [30”] would make a big owl to fill with sand or gravel for a doorstop
5. skip the buttons and replace with circles of felt to make a soft toy for a child
6. make a set of little Christmas ornaments

Peel, Petals and Pomanders

When we went away to Cornerstones, I thought I had put all our remaining fresh food into the coolbox to take with us. But I had overlooked a few ‘sweet and juicy easy peelers’ on a plate on the sideboard. I’d bought them to take to school with me, but they were neither sweet, nor easy to peel. On our return, they looked very sad

They were rather dry and shrivelled. I really didn’t want to throw them away. I selected the best looking one, and wrapped it with some ribbon, and then studded it with cloves [these were languishing in my spice drawer, and rather old, so I decided I would rather do this than cook with them] That’s made a traditional ‘Pomander’

I sliced the remaining fruit and left them to dry out in the oven.

I’d saved the petals from the red roses Bob bought me the other week and put them in a pretty bowl.

So that’s three different natural air fresheners – much nicer than a chemical spray.

Not Four Candles–Fork ‘Andles

classic comedy!

Having read two books about Zakka whilst on holiday, I thought I’d make something useful. Specifically, I wanted something to hold my cutlery when I take a salad to school for lunch [on Supply, you cannot always guarantee there will be a knife and fork easily available in a strange staffroom!] In my stash I had an old M&S teatowel, purchased years ago in a sale. I wanted it for the chicken and egg motifs round the edge. I’d used some – and had this bit left.

I needed to cut two right-angled triangles with sides of 15”. Ideally that would be a 15” square cut in half along the diagonal, but I didn’t have enought to do that. I cut one triangle from the top left hand corner, then cut and seamed the remaining remnant to get a piece big enough for triangle #2. I also cut out a small circle round the green egg [bottom right] and cut round the chicken motif [top right] I appliqued the chicken to the plain corner of one triangle, and made a tiny ball by stuffing the circle with polyester filling.

I sewed a length of orange bias tape in half along its length, then attached the little ball to the middle, and the ends to the corner. Then I sewed the two triangles together all round [leaving a turning gap]

I folded in 5” on each side at the bottom and oversewed the edges to make pockets. The little pockets–neatly hold the fork ‘andle - and the knife ‘andle, and the blade and tines too. 

At lunchtime, I can take out my cutlery, and I have a neat little cloth to lay across my lap in case of spills. After lunch, I’ll wash the cutlery and put it  back, roll up the little zakka and secure it with the tape. And it can go back in my bag

I am absurdly delighted with this little cutlery holder – It’s a shame today is my last day of SATs support work. I hope I get more supply work soon, and a chance to use my new gizmo.

One Girl’s Trash Is Another’s Treasure

Well, that was a good outing! We were up before 6am, and had breakfast, then went off to Measham Carboot. The weather was great – the only thing I forgot was my camera. Did we sell stuff- yes we did. Was it the stuff we expected – no it wasn’t!

We took a flask of coffee and some fruit, which sustained us [and stopped us buying bacon cobs or burgers from the takeaway vans]

Who would have thought that people would have paid good money for a cardboard stand-up figure of Obelix, an old plastic loo seat, a blue bath mat, a set of speakers with half their innards missing**, and some freebie pens? At the end, when people were packing up, I went round to one of the Charity Tables [Chernobyl Children, I think] and asked if they were interested in a box of our leftovers – so the car came home much lighter than it went. Much decluttering, and I am glad other people can recycle the stuff we no longer need. **Yes, the buyer did  know, he was buying them for spare parts.

But we did break our self-imposed rule and spend a little money – I bought a Coronation mug, two plates and some vintage Tupperware [total spend £2.40] Bob got a set of ladder carriers for the car roof. These are normally around £40, and he has wanted some for ages- so £5 was a bargain. We still made around £50 which has gone into his PA Upgrade Fund. Coming home, we stopped at the Chippy, to get a pie and and chips to share for lunch.

As I say, I forgot my camera – this is definitely not us! What kind of mad bloke takes a girl out in his luxury sports car and expects her to share his chips served with a wooden fork from a polystyrene tray?

Hoping for Boot-y-ful Bank Holiday!

One thing on my 52 Projects list was “Sort, then sell stuff at a Car Boot Sale” But I have a problem here – most CBs are on a Sunday. However I have tracked down a very good one which is on Saturdays and BH’s!

So when you read this, I hope to be at Measham Carboot, along with Bob, a table, a clothes rail and heaps of stuff! This little heap is just a fraction of our merchandise – once I got starting on amassing clutter, Bob produced an old guitar, computer keyboards, kites, patio cleaners*, and all sorts of other odd electrical stuff. I am not expecting to make a lot of money – but it will be good to have got rid of items we no longer need.[* how did he come to have three of these?]

The Measham  Carboot has a good reputation – look at this photo

I have some important rules when I CB–

1. remember to pack small change, warm clothes, folding chairs and some refreshments [like a flask of hot coffee] as well as merchandise
2. only put things into a carboot which are worth buying
3. if items do not then sell, they must be passed on to a CS [although not all will accept electrical/computer bits]
4. I always take somebody with me – to help with difficult customers, and to watch the pitch if a break is needed for the loo etc. Liz and Steph have helped in the past, it will be fun to have Bob there this time.
5. if I am going to sell, then I am not allowed to buy! [That means no Hornsea, no Pyrex, no enamelware]

The field opens to sellers at 7am – and finishes at 1pm, which is good and early. If I just make enough to cover the cost of the pitch and the petrol to get there, I shall be more than happy. Anything above that is a bonus.

Richard Branson Visits Cornerstones!

Well, not him, personally, but his balloon flew over the garden this evening, Liz has just sent this amazing photo [she and Jon are there for another cycling weekend] She said it was really low – they took photos, and were able to wave to the people in the basket. Amazing!

The Getting Of Wisdom [Teeth]

I have been greatly exercised in the matter of wisdom these past few weeks. Quick dental update; following the visit to the very helpful emergency dentist on Good Friday, the antibiotics worked, the infection was dealt with and things are almost back to normal. But eating hurts and takes ages. I cut everything up very  small so I do not have to move my jaw too much!

Fortunately the pain subsides soon after meals, and the occasional painkiller deals with it. I visited my own dental practice, where they said I was doing all the right things, and the dentist would see me immediately if pain became continuous and unbearable. But that I shouldn’t expect to get my first hospital appointment this side of Christmas. [That’ll be Turkey Mince on Dec 25th then!] On the plus side, I am not eating sweets or snacking, so that must be good!

Wisdom teeth are so called because they arrive later in life than all other teeth, usually between 17 and 25 [I am clearly a late developer then] and come at a time when one is supposedly ‘older and wiser’. All round the world they are called wisdom teeth, in different languages. That’s apart from Korea where they are called sa-rang-nee or 'love teeth’ [referring to the young age and the pain of the first love] Did you know that almost 100% of Mexicans get all their wisdom teeth- but that their appearance is virtually zero among the Tasmanian Aborigines [it’s a genetic thing, apparently]

But wisdom itself – that’s a different matter. The word crops up all over the Bible. Proverbs 4 “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

Psalm 111 says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding”

And of course, King Solomon asked God for wisdom that he might rule his people well – and his name has become a byword for this quality..

In the New Testament, we read a lot about wise people. “There came wise men from the east, asking ‘Where is he that is born King of the Jews?’” Jesus told parables, about a wise man who built his house upon a rock, and about five wise virgins, who made sure they had adequate oil for their lamps.

Wisdom is such an important thing to possess, and it is not the same as knowledge. You have heard the quote “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit – wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad” How about this one…“Knowledge is realising it is a one-way street – but wisdom is looking both ways anyway”

When I was a student I was going through a difficult patch and I telephoned home to pour out my woes. My parents were supportive, and I knew they would pray for me. A few days later I got a note from Dad in the post. It just said “Refer continually to James 1;5” So I looked it up, and read these words

Sometimes it is hard for us to find the right words in a situation – maybe we have some knowledge about the situation, but we need the wisdom to say the most helpful thing. Either to a friend in distress, or a young person who has messed up in some way – or to someone who is asking sincere and deep questions about the awful things we have seen in the news this past week. We must not rush to give glib, facile answers.

It is not easy to understand these things – but we can always ask God for His wisdom and strength, and know He gives generously, and will guide and help us. May God give you all the wisdom you need this week!

[these two Willow Tree figures are ‘Wisdom’ and ‘Quest’  aren’t they lovely?]