A Night On The Tiles

They are busy putting new tiles on this building at the moment- it houses Ferndown Council Offices, and our fine Town Library. Not sure this is a wise activity in a week of such high winds, but there you go...
The Latin word for tile is tessera, and small tiles, put together in a pattern are called tessellations.
I've long been fascinated by tessellation patterns, and particularly the ones created by the Dutch Artist M C Escher.
Look at these amazing creations - all exact, interlocking, repeat motifs -  Birds

Knights on horseback

 Lizards 

And a mixture of fishes and frogs

And then, this week, I came across a French Artist, Alain Nicolas, who not only draws brilliant tessellations, but has a wonderfully helpful website explaining how to design your own.
Look at these - men, dinosaurs, reindeer

These are so intricate, and so clever. Do check out his website, where he shows how to alter a basic tile pattern [square, hexagon, triangle etc] to make a repeating tile shaped like an animal or person or flower.

Here he has produced a dog tessellation in honour of his faithful friend Lucky.
I think it is so clever, and so well explained. I wish I had a class to teach this to on a wet windy Friday afternoon!
Actually I have taught about Escher in the past [without the benefit of Monsieur Nicolas' clear diagrams] and had great fun, combining principles of maths and geometry with artistic creativity.
There was a particular school I often worked at in Leicester where I did such a lesson. A few days later, a woman stopped me in the supermarket "It's Mrs Almond, isn't it? You were the  Supply Teacher for my son's class the other week. He really loved all the work you did about testicles. Thank you so much" I was slightly taken aback at first, till I realised what she meant. "Oh, yes, I remember now - the class produced some lovely tessellation patterns" [I wonder if the she realised later exactly what she had said. I hope not, the poor woman would have been mortified]
Who would have thought a host of guitarists like this could be rotated and interlocked, and used to cover a whole page?

HMS Pinafore

When I was 7, just before my brother was born, I was taken to see Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera, performed by the boys of Bishops' Stortford College. I have three memories [1] I enjoyed it enormously even if I didn't understand it all [2] I remember someone asking 'if your next child is a boy, will you be putting his name down for the College, Rev Hall?' and Dad replying that a year's fees were more than he earned in a year [the college is co-ed now, and boarders' fees are still more than a Baptist minister earns in a year!] and [3] nobody could explain to me why the ship was named after an apron.

Pinafore -  A woman's loose sleeveless garment, typically full length and worn over clothes to keep them clean. Origin late 18th century: from pin + afore (because the term originally denoted an apron with a bib pinned on the front of a dress). Today I present my own HMS Pinafore - that is, 'Her Marvellously Stitched Pinafore'

I've wanted one of these cross back aprons since I saw them on the Purl Soho website about 3 years ago. I saved the pictures and pattern on my Pinterest page. I kept looking at it, and wishing I had the fabric and time to make myself one.

Last week I was given a bag of haberdashery and fabric by a friend- which included a length of vintage linen. So I propped up my tablet on the dining table, got out the iron and the sewing machine, and made it. It took 3½ hours from start to finish. The instructions are beautifully clear and well illustrated.

Patrick on GBSB would probably say it includes quite a bit of engineering. Mathematics and geometry definitely. 11 pieces of fabric, 8 French seams, 4 regular seams, and 18 lots of top-stitching!

Note the lovely deep pockets on either side. 

It's a "Möbius" apron - in that technically it only has one hole and one edge like a Möbius Strip. It has no fastenings, you just slip it over your head [I seem unable to get it off elegantly - I let it slide down my shoulders and step out"!] Here's my apron...

I'm neither as tall, nor as slim as Mrs Purl Bee. Bob took the photos "But that looks like I have ridiculously short legs!" I protested. "Well, you do!" he replied, then he lay on the floor to task the final shot. It is very comfortable, and I know it won't come unfastened halfway through preparing Sunday lunch [or as I'm retrieving a cake from the oven] I haven't got close up shots of the pockets- but I think Patrick would be pleased with my remarkably even top-stitching!

Come Into The Garden, Maud*

The winter is over; the rains have stopped; the flowers are in bloom. This is the time for singing - or so it says in the Song of Solomon. 

The word Lent comes from the old English lencten meaning lengthen. The days are getting longer, we're less than a fortnight from the Spring Equinox. I wandered out into my much neglected garden early in the morning [OK, confession, I had forgotten the washing, which had been pegged out on the whirlygig dryer all night] 
I could not believe how many charming flowers there were, blooming prettily! 

It was early, so not all the pink-rimmed day's eyes were open
But where did the pink and blue hyacinths spring from?
In the front garden, larger daisies, muscari and a heather
Relieved to see the wild garlic flourishing, and the rosemary 
My bay has revived [I thought it had died in last summer's extreme heat]
Daffodils- large, miniature, and in bud.
I have a challenge for you. Last year I was rootling about in the shed, and I found a packet of seeds "Mixed herbs- sprinkle onto a patch of ground and you will have herbs all summer" it said "reduced to 25p". Like Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, I'm a cock-eyed optimist, and so I filled some small tubs with compost and broadcast the seeds, watered, waited and watched.
Result - not the lush crops of parsley, coriander, marjoram etc I'd hoped for. Lots of different leaves though. We occasionally plucked one and nibbled it, hoping to recognise the herby taste. "I suspect most of these are weeds" said Bob "Look at that, it's definitely a dandelion" [and declined my offer to make frugal dandelion soup]
But one particular plant in the tubs has gone crazy. It has produced pretty flowers on long stems- and I don't care if it is a weed, I like it. But please, can anyone among you who knows about gardening and does it properly, identify this for me?

.

I think the flowers are delicate and pretty - but I would like to give it a name

The blossom on the tree is past its best - the recent high winds covered the front grass with pink confetti! But I am grateful for the beauty of nature.

The Japanese have a phrase, 'shrinrin-yoku' meaning 'forest-bathing'. They have recognised that spending time in the open air among plants and trees has a truly beneficial effect on health and well-being, and set up 48 'therapy trails' to encourage people to go outside. Just as the British Government promoted the "five-a-day" campaign to get us eating our veggies, so the Japanese spent a fortune urging people to go outside and get healthy.  

*I don't think I know anyone called Maud, but my Grandfather used to sing this Victorian song sometimes. My Gran used to chide him, and say "Why is he persuading her to go into the garden at night? Up to no good if you ask me!"

Into The Wilderness

I was hesitant about taking on a Lent Challenge this year, because I didn't want to give up half way through. But I have found inspiration in an unlikely place. This is a picture called "Christ in the Wilderness- Driven by the Spirit" and was painted in 1942 by that most eccentric English artist, Stanley Spencer.
SS challenged himself to paint 40 pictures- one for each day of Lent, on the theme of Christ in the Wilderness. After spending fifteen years on this project, he had only managed sixteen sketches, and eight finished canvasses. 
I am not aiming for 40 works of art, just a daily acknowledgement that there is too much stuff in my life, and it is getting in the way of other things. Four days in, I am doing OK. 
At the start of this week I was preparing a Sunday School lesson about Jesus and the Temptations - and that was how I discovered these pictures. They are certainly thought provoking.
Because I grew up with the King James' Version, my childhood mental images had Jesus 'in the desert' [sand dunes, the occasional camel or palm tree...] but really it should be 'in the deserted place' - i.e. away from other human beings - and Spencer has made that 'the wild place' - the wilderness. In his paintings he reflects on Jesus 'getting back to nature' [more about that in future posts] I'm not 100% sure about the rather tubby character here, who looks as if he should be en route to Slimming World. 
...But maybe Spencer has a point. Other artists have depicted Jesus being tempted as a thin, almost skeletal figure, desperate for stones-turned-into-bread. But perhaps the artist wants to show us that Jesus has come away from his home, where Mary, the good Jewish mother, was always busy trying to feed her son. There he would have learned to savour his meals, and be grateful for all the blessings around him - fresh fish from Galilee, lamb from the sheep on the hillside outside Nazareth, juicy figs and dates picked from the trees near his home. And as a carpenter he'd have developed muscles, from his daily manual labours. This was a young man with a healthy appetite for food. And that would surely make the temptation so much harder - and the overcoming of it so much more important.
Although not the first picture to be painted in this series, this is the first in terms of the biblical story [Matthew chapter 4] I love the determined expression on Jesus' face, the way he is grasping at the branch to pull himself forward, and his bare feet gripping the uneven rocky ground beneath him. 
And I draw strength from the truth that there is no part of my life's journey that is unknown to Jesus, and he will be with me through every challenge I face, whether great or small. And if I stumble, he will help to get up and keep going. 

Satisfying Start - Hope It Continues

The Lent 40days-40bags Decluttering is going slowly, but surely. Challenge #1 took a little longer than 10 minutes- but I ended up with 2 bags for the CS, and one briefcase which really was worn out being finally thrown away. I also emptied every bag of tissues and pens and other detritus, and tidied my 'school briefcase'. I know the minimalists say you only need one bag, but that doesn't work for me. I've got a school briefcase, a 'Sunday Bag', an everyday smart handbag, a small backpack style bag [for when I'm cycling] a  'weddings and evenings' clutch bag and a black, formal 'funerals etc' bag. 

BUT there was an added benefit to this sorting and tidying - as well as a multiplicity of pens and notebooks, I found my little Radley purse which I'd mislaid, and scattered among the bags, nearly £10 in cash. 
This was very good.
The fridge had been sorted and cleaned thoroughly on Tuesday to make room for Bob's large jugs of pancake batter. He complained [rightly] about the large number of chutney/relish jars. Following last year's efforts, once again I cooked up all the stuff in them to make 1½ bottles of brown sauce. 8 glass jars went into the recycling on Thursday. Challenge #23 is ticked off.
I am not sure if I will achieve all 40 challenges- but I feel very positive about it. Letting go of 'stuff' is doing me good!

A Pile Of Perfect Pancakes

We had a wonderful time. Bob and Geoff cooked over 120 pancakes. 
It was good to have so many friends dropping in.
I went to bed for an hour in the afternoon, in order to have enough energy for the evening, which was a wise move.
BTW The Waterloo Jigsaw Giveaway last week was won by Nicky - please can you email me your address so I can post it to you!

Which Came First...

...the hen or the egg-cup?
That's not the usual riddle I know, but bear with me. 

A friend posted about her breakfast and included a picture of her boiled egg, in a charming egg-cup. When I commented on the e-c she said it was the last of the set she had as an engagement present. I started thinking about engagement presents, and brides-to-be, and How Things Have Changed Since My Day.
Back then, a high proportion of women lived at home till they got married- and so the marital home was the first time they'd 'properly' lived away from Mum and Dad. So an engagement was often the time when people started collecting homewares for their "Bottom Drawer". The orange tablecloth pictured is the one I embroidered for my bottom drawer when I was 18. I was at Uni, and my landlady's sister ran the Kenilworth Woolshop. They gave me this cloth, and the silks so I could make something for my BD. It was the 70s, so it was trendily orange. Only 36" sdquare, the cloth is quite small. I used it on our tiny table when we were first married, but it has been in a box in the loft for years! As far as I can remember nothing else was ever made for my BD. And when I met Bob a few years later, we only received one engagement present.

The Celery Jar. Unfortunately when it was given, it was in a box, wrapped up, and I was told "Be careful, it is heavy and breakable". I mistakenly thought I was getting a colourful chunky glass vase. To unwrap an olive green pottery face with hairy eyebrows, which looked rather like Dennis Healey, was a teensy bit disappointing! But I have kept it all these years anyway.

Do people still receive engagement presents? So often these days, couples have lived away from home for years, maybe already living with their intended- so they already have all the bits and pieces needed for setting up home.

When I was engaged and about to be married, I never had a Hen Party, but 'Hen Dos' are much more popular now. I have some photos of Lucy's Tea Party. There were a couple of dozen of us, and we sat either side of a long table. There was one tired stand of food between every set of three guests. Sandwiches, scones and cakes. Kelly, Lucy's friend had prepared a quiz "How well do you know the Bride" [which Steph won] and we also had to write down good advice for newlyweds. We signed a card with a kiss [what a range of lipstick colours!] to "Kiss goodbye to the Miss" and generally had fun.

Don't ask me about the other guests - I've no idea!
Were you given engagement presents?
And did you have a Hen Party?

Just Jammin'

Last Saturday morning Bob had a Deacon's Prayer Meeting at 7.30am [then a Men's Breakfast] and I had the house to myself. I had a great burst of energy and put some bread in the breadmaker, washing in the machine, cleaned the bathroom...and made some marmalade. Now I have good friends who always make their marmalade in January when the Seville oranges are in the shops. I admire their diligence. But for forty years I have always taken the easy way out and made mine with a can of MaMade.

Despite using pre-prepared fruit, I feel my marmalade making is becoming more professional. I now have maslin pan, a jam funnel, and a proper set of jamjar tongs. Bob found the tongs in a sale in Poole recently.
These seven jars [plus the less photogenic final jar, not a gingham Bonne Maman one] will keep us going for a year or so. 
These worked out at around 40p a jar. I could buy 'basics' spread for slightly less in the supermarket, but the flavour is not so good - more sugar, less fruit, little peel.
And it is so easy. I always add in the peel and juice of one lemon to each batch too.
After my Mum died, in 1991,  people were very kind to my Dad, and he asked if I could think of a simple Christmas gift he could give his thoughtful friends. I suggested he did marmalade like this - and saved all sorts of interesting jars for him. He designed his own custom labels and about two dozen folk were thrilled with their presents.
We were all highly amused when one lady whispered to me "Your Dad is so good, he made us marmalade you know. And it tasted brilliant, you could tell it was proper home-made stuff from real oranges, not that tinned stuff like B. uses, hers is not as good. And he's a man"  We never told her Dad used Mamade too. But every time I make a batch I think of the incident and chuckle to myself. 
Maybe in these days of equality they should produce cans of 'Pa-Made' too! 

Simplifying Things

After a lot of dithering, I have decided on my 2019 Lent Challenge. I found it on the Happily Homegrown blog. It is a 40-bags-in-40-days challenge. I like it because it is manageable. You spend just 10 minutes a day on this task [more if you can] and focus on one area at a time. Unlike the KonMari method, where every garment you own is brought into one room and sorted, this scheme breaks it down into manageable steps.

Here's the chart

1.  Bags and Briefcases 2. Medicine Cabinet 

3.  Make-up, Skin/Hair Care 4. Jewelry 

5.  Linen Closet 6. Understairs Closet

7.  Storage Closet 8. Laundry Supplies

9.  Junk Drawer 10. Under the sinks 

11. Under the beds, bedside tables 12. Hall & Porch

13. Books, Magazines, DVDs 14. Food Storage Containers 

15. Travel Mugs and Water Bottles 16. Kitchen Gadgets 

17. Spice Rack 18. Table tops

19. Counter tops 20. Top of fridge, anything held on by a magnet  

21. Cabinet 22. Pantry 

23. Fridge 24. Freezer 

25. Cleaning Supplies 26. Desk/Filing Cabinet 

27. Sewing/Knitting crafts 28. Bathroom 

29. Papercrafts  30. Living Room 

31. Clothing  32. Master Bedroom 

33. Spare Bedrooms 34. Kitchen 

35. Dining Room 36. Loft

37. Kids Crafts/Teaching materials 38. Car & bike

39. All flat surfaces 40.Any one area that needs more TLC

I've modified it slightly from the original - I do not have a basement, or children's toys/bedrooms. And the garage is Bob's domain. I am not going to work strictly in order either - if it is a Sunday, or a very busy day, I shall find a task which fits in well. But I have boxes and bags ready for CS donations. 

I'll let you know how I get on!

Fur Coat, No Knickers!

Which means "having a superficially positive appearance that is belied by the reality" But I have become a little more concerned about a superficially positive appearance to my household appliances, which is concealing the fur coat on the inside.

These little mesh metal donuts are brilliant at collecting the limescale which furs up the kettle and affects the quality of the tea.
But it is important to remember to take them out regularly and rinse and squish them well to dislodge the little bits of fur. 
After tomorrow's pancake party, I shall gather up the lemon skins, and boil them up for a while inside the kettle, to dislodge any remaining fur. A quick rinse, and all will be sparkling again.

My kettle doesn't have an exposed element like this- but honestly, how many people have a furred up kettle in their kitchen which they use daily, yet neglect to descale? Our coffee maker gets descaled regularly. It's a Melitta 'Look' and has a number of great features, including a light which comes on when it's time to descale. And then it has a descale programme which is really easy to operate.
You just put the solution in the reservoir and press the button!
My steam iron is a Rowenta DG1740, purchased April 2008. The most expensive iron I've ever bought, costing over £70 [and that was a half price offer!] I calculated then that if it lasted 5 years, it would be 30p a week for my ironing. 
I have emptied out the water reservoir and descaled it regularly-and 11 years on, it's still brilliant, and costing less than 2p a day to run.

I definitely do have knickers, but I am very happy to report that my appliance do not have fur coats.
It certainly pays to take care of things, they will pay you back for your TLC by lasting longer.
Are there other items in your home which get furred up? Do you have any useful tips?

Loving Our Neighbours...

Here's a group of ladies in Dorset who read the words of the Slovenian women at the service on Friday. And here's one of the songs we sang at the WDP service. Written by a Methodist, Andrew Pratt, from Manchester, it is sung to the tune of "Scarlet Ribbons" [I found a flautist playing the tune on YouTube, see below]. 
It fitted well in a service aimed at reminding us of our responsibility to the marginalised members of society. 

If we claim to love our neighbour, 

while the hungry queue for food,
are we prey to self deception? Is perception quite so crude?
If we sit beside our neighbours, begging for the things they need,
we might share their own injustice 

in a world that thrives on greed.

If we punish those with nothing, 

blaming them for where they stand,
is this love of friend or neighbour, do we still not understand?
Love of neighbour is not easy,cuts us till we feel the pain,
sharing hurt that they are feeling 

till they find new life again.

Love of neighbour sets us squarely 

in the place where they now sit,
till the richness God has given builds a pearl around the grit;
till each person shares the comfort 

of the love of which we preach,
till we live as fact the Gospel:

none can be beyond love’s reach.

Rewards And Reviews

Last year, I took part in a week-long survey for Ipsos Mori about travel- I had to log how I travelled [foot, bike,car etc] and at the end of it I received a gift voucher. I was able to choose from a list of vouchers, and I opted for a supermarket gift-card. 
The final question was 'would you be prepared to do another I-M survey?' and I said I would. Four weeks ago, a pleasant lady telephoned on a Saturday afternoon, and said would I take part in their TouchPoints survey about internet usage, it would take 7 days. TP has been around quite a while, in fact Steph did work on it when she first left Uni in 2006. I signed up.

This time there was no choice about the reward - but I was pleasantly surprised to receive a large voucher for Amazon [£60!] Not having done any teaching for 7 weeks, that was very welcome.
I couldn't immediately think of anything 'useful' - but did mention to Bob I had heard part of a book about needlecraft being read on Radio 4 and it interested me. He suggested that I should treat myself - it cost around £15, or £10 as an e-book.
Now here's the thing, I like to hold craft books in my hands, and pore over the illustrations, and trace templates, and get physically involved with the actual book. To flip back between pages comparing the finished object and the instructions. To put two books side by side to see similarities and work out how to amalgamate two projects into one...and you cannot do that easily when it is an e-book!
But as this was a treat and I have the token, it should be a no-brainer. I went to the site to order. But first I decided to read the customer reviews. I'm not sure quite when I learned that reading the reviews was an important pre-requisite to on-line buying, but it is a habit I have no plans to break.
I am so glad I did - 95% of the reviews said "a lovely book, beautifully written, but where are the illustrations?" "so disappointed, how can this book refer to pieces of stitchery but not include any pictures?" One person even complained that she had purchased it after reading a positive review in the Radio Times which had lots of pictures - so was really surprised to discover they were not in the book. So I haven't bought it - but I have instead ordered a copy from the Library. Maybe once I have seen it I shall rethink my decision.

Some customer product reviews are plain daft - written by people who clearly didn't check what they were buying, and got annoyed when the item didn't meet their needs. But many are useful guides to the quality and usefulness of the product. The ones on the Lakeland website are usually useful.

If a blogfriend reviews a book or film, that's helpful - because these are people whose thoughts I read regularly on their blog, and if they express an opinion on a film or book, I feel better informed about my decision to watch or read. 

Writing a book review can be hard. When I first began blogging, I was asked by a Pastor's wife in the US to review her book. She sent me a copy. My review was mostly positive - but I did say that I wasn't sure it would suit UK readers. It had too many American words [faucet, stall, fannypack] which would not necessarily be understood by Brits [who say tap, toilet cubicle, bumbag] Furthermore, it was centred around a nail salon where all the church ladies went every Friday evening for their manicures. In 2008, I didn't know any groups of Christian women here for whom this was a weekly social activity. The dear lady was desperately upset and asked me to remove my 'negative comments' - she said it wasn't right or kind to say such things, and I should have only written praise for her efforts!  
I'm afraid I cannot agree with that. I felt I needed to be honest. It is a good thing that writers like Lucy Mills and Emily Owen understand that readers will perceive their books in different ways, and I am happy to review and endorse their output. The best review I've read in Blogland this week is here [thanks M.] 
So - Ipsos/Touchpoints you get ***** for well planned easy-to-follow surveys, with generous rewards, promptly despatched.
Amazon and Lakeland ***** for publishing customer reviews online so I can be well-informed before I spend my money.
Ferndown Library ***** for an efficient ordering service!

Come, Everything Is Ready!

Today is the World Day Of Prayer, prepared by the women of Slovenia.
You can find out about local services on the WDP website, as well as lots more information about the country, the theme, and the global movement that is WDP.
Here's a lovely prayer written by my friend Louise Bowes, Northern Ireland Rep of the National WDP Committee

COME

The invitation is given, COME:
Children, Older folk, Middle-aged, Everyone.

However, excuses are made with precision.
Exclusion is chosen instead of inclusion.
But the invitation is extended with power and grace,
Through God’s spirit to every heart.
May there be no foolish excuses.

Father God, shake us out of
complacency to do our part,
To share your heart, your love, and tell of your forgiveness.
May we sense the urgency to share your invitation,
With family, friends and neighbours,
And invite them to our community and to the feast.

The invitation is given, COME:
Children, Older folk, Middle-aged, Everyone.
No matter where you have been
Or what you have done,
The Lord invites YOU, he says COME.

A Right Royal Order

We Brits know how to do pomp and ceremony, and among our great catalogue of Royal Events, there are the occasions when Her Majesty celebrates the Order of the Garter, and the Order of the Bath.

But did you know that there is such a thing as The Royal Order of Adjectives?
Victoria Coren Mitchell made mention of it on Only Connect this week. Bob and I hadn't heard of it, although it seems we sort of knew about it, and I had a vague memory of an English lesson back in the 1960s...
It seems that it is something that we instinctively learn as we grow up speaking English, and it is the correct order in which to place our adjectives.

For instance, if I was describing the bottle in front of me, I would say it is a small blue glass mineral water bottle.
I would not say it is a glass mineral blue water small bottle
The same adjectives, but they just don't sound right when describing this item [a souvenir of my holiday in Florence with Steph 17 years ago, which stands on the bathroom shelf, still sparking joy]
The order in which you put adjectives before a final noun has significance. The Royal Order depends on nine categories of adjectives, and here they are.
Determiner - that's articles [a, the, an] possessives [my, your, his etc] number [ten, some, several...] and demonstratives [this, that, those, these]
Observation/Opinion - cold, ugly, heroic, retired, enthusiastic, soft, priceles...
Size- huge, minuscule, massive, petite
Shape - square, circular, trapezoidal
Age - old, young, ancient
Colour - green, blue, pink
Material - wooden, velvet, steel
Qualifier  - a noun used as an adjective to identify the type of noun. hound dog, evening gown, Baptist minister, or an adjective ending in -ing like walking stick, frying pan etc.
In the car returning from Norfolk, we were trying out this rule, to see how it sounded with different well known adjectival phrases

Little Red Riding Hood
The Jolly Green Giant
Great grey-green greasy Limpopo
Long winding road
The thinking man's crumpet
A tall dark stranger
Cheap tin trays
Silly Old Mrs Pepperpot
A beautiful pea-green boat
Bob kept on about a Tall blonde Swedish Assassin. I think he has been watching too much EuroCrime on TV.
There is a very helpful article about it all here. 
But did you learn this rule at school? 
And why is it that we instinctively know if the order is wrong?
PS Happy Birthday today to Gary, who is my generous young son-in-law

Dead Ringers

When I wrote about Sansom's Tombland a few weeks ago, I mentioned that the picture on the cover is one of the door panels from Norwich City Hall, depicting the execution of Kett

These bronze panels were made in 1938 by sculptor James Woodford.
Opposite the City Hall, just above the market are the War Memorial Gardens. Here you will find the City's cenotaph, designed by Lutyens. 
I knew about the doors, and about Lutyens Memorial. But I didn't know until Monday that the flagpoles at either end of the gardens were also sculpted by Woodford.
We were sitting eating our pork rolls at lunchtime and I noticed the bases of the flagpoles for the first time.
The matching poles are encircled by dancing Assyrian figures celebrating agriculture. I took some photos

 They are incredibly detailed. 

 I realise that agriculture is important to Norfolk but I'm not sure why Assyrians are involved! 

 I think it's Art Deco. 

I have tried to find out more  but not doing very well so far. One article said "the flagpoles are decorated with figures who are walking lie llke an Egyptian" but was no more informative than that. 
We finished lunch, and walked to the second identical flagpole. Bob stopped to look at the motorbikes parked next to St Peter Mancroft Church. 
I stopped to take a picture of a memorial by the door, which made me smile. 

Samuel Thurston, truly a Dead Ringer. 
His sudden death clearly upset the other exercisers. I hope it wasn't during bell ringing practice. 
You just have to love Norwich - a fine city full of hidden gems.