Did you know there's a new shade of blue available to artists? No, me neither. I heard a part of a radio programme and was so fascinated I had to go and check it out. The paint is called YInMn [or Yin Min] blue. It gets its name from the elements involved in its production- Yttrium, Indium and Manganese. These rare earth minerals are incredibly expensive, but a chemist, Mas Subramanian, was working with a team of scientists on semiconductors, at Oregon University, and serendipitously discovered this amazing shade. [some people call it Oregon blue. That's boring imho]
It is the first inorganic blue pigment in 200 years. When you think about it, other pigments - reds, greens, yellows, grey/black occur a lot in plants and animals. Think about cochineal and raspberry juice, pesto, turmeric, saffron, squid ink...But blue is usually found in minerals. The ancient Egyptians ground up limestone, sand and a copper containing mineral to make the shade known as, predictably, Egyptian Blue [ scientists researching the pyramids discovered that it emits infra red radiation]
Ultramarine, the heavenly blue - is made from the semi precious gemstone Lapis Lazuli - in the 13th century the pigment for the paint was so expensive, it was reserved for paintings of the Virgin Mary- Queen Of Heaven. The Flemish artists loved it too.
Indigo plants first grew by the Nile, colouring its waters - and its name, anil, means Blue. [so the Blue Nile is technically the blueblue] Nowadays our jeans are dyed with synthetic indigo [aniline dyes]. Global demand for denim is such that we'd need to cover the whole earth with plants six feet high to satisfy demand without the synthetic stuff.
Cobalt Blue [around since 1777] is produced by heating cobalt and aluminium oxide- the colour used in Chinese Porcelain. And it is toxic if ingested.
But the problem many artists have is mixing red and blue to make purple- apparently most blue pigments contain yellow, so the resulting shade is always "muddy"
YInMn does not have this problem - and it appears to be safe and stable, so no issues with radioactivity etc. [I'm old enough to remember when people still had cans of lethal lead paint in the garage!]
The colour has been around for about 4 years now, but it takes a while for a pigment to be tested and considered safe. It is currently available to artists only as paint in tubes- not as a powder. I love this little film of the production [spot the Very British Kenwood Chef!]
It was only passed for use by the US Environmental Protection Agency a few days ago.
If you are an artist, but cannot afford the Real Thing, Crayola have brought out a 'YInMn inspired' wax crayon, called Bluetiful.
Well done Mas, for bringing some colour into these grey days...even if the discovery was accidental.
Welcome to this morning's service from United Church Ferndown- you may wish to prepare bread and wine [or similar] so that you can join in with the act of communion which forms part of the service. The preacher this week is Bob. The link is HERE
I have removed all the photos from the albums. They were all different sizes and honestly, some of the photos were not worth keeping,. In the days when you took your pictures then sent off the film to be developed, I kept every single one, because I had paid for it. And why did I keep three very similar shots, all slightly out of focus, of a group of friends on a church picnic up a hill in the Lake District in 1978? We can't remember their names, and we've lost touch. I think there are only 30% of the pictures left now. They are all in an orange cream cracker box waiting to be put in date order, labelled and put in decent albums. Some of the pictures have caused much laughter.
1986, Orpington. We still have the red chairs- and the duplo, with its patchwork bag.
Those jumpers were the most successful garments made on my knitting machine. I got my inspiration from Clothkits, who produced lovely children's clothes [way beyond the budget of a student family]
Do you remember their lovely knitwear - and the DIY garments where the pattern was printed onto the fabric and you had to cut it out and sew it together? I designed the girls' jumper pattern on graph paper, then transferred it to punchcards, then knitted them up in budget yarn. How mad was I?
This picture is even older - 1981. We were packing up our flat in Hemel Hempstead before Bob went to Gillingham as a student minister. He is so slim, and has so much hair! You can see the arm of the rocking chair, bottom left. That is in the bedroom at Cornerstones now - still draped with my Grandmother's blanket. The bureau in front of Bob had been repainted and upcycled a couple of times. That isn't coming with us - we have no space for it.
I was really pleased with myself on Wednesday, I did this ruthless cull of the pictures, and then packed the good ones into a box and taped it up...then Thursday discovered a file of more photos in a drawer. You think you have finished a task and then realise it is never ending!
...it will be Friday March 5th - and that means it will be the [Women's] World Day of Prayer. WWDP dropped the first W some while back, to make things more inclusive. But for many people they still think of it as the women's day, to distinguish it from other World Day Of Prayer events, WDP is a women-led, global, ecumenical movement. I've been involved, in one way or another for my entire life [from the month before I was born, when my Mum went to her local service in Essex]
This year's service has been planned by the women of Vanuatu. The theme is Build on a Strong Foundation
These women will have been planning for 5 years or more- the committee in London started work on the English translation in November 2019.
That was before anybody knew there would be a pandemic. In our local group, it was the turn of United Church Ferndown - my church- to host the event. And everyone said how nice that would be, considering it would be my last one here. So I was a bit sorry to realise we couldn't have friends from the other churches over for singing and praying and coffee and cake. [Cake is an essential part of such gatherings]
So I put the word out among my friends in Thrive - the support network for spouses of Baptists in ministry - and asked for volunteers to help produce a YouTube service. And they have responded brilliantly. Some are already used to making services online each Sunday, for others, it is a new experience [they usually let their OH do all the techie stuff]
I've been sent lots of video clips of readers doing their bit [thanks, friends!].
The service is gradually coming together [thanks to Bob, who has excellent editing skills] and we are putting the word out that it will be online [through our regular UCF YouTube channel] from midnight GMT on the Thursday night - so anyone, anywhere, can join in. The readers come from all over England, and one from Wales - and I know already that there are some expats in Spain who plan to tune in.
I will put the link on here as soon as it is available - so if you are not able to join with friends 'live' on the day, do please link with us, as we celebrate together.
In Manchester, George continues to enjoy meal times. [Please note the unicorn bib which I stitched for him]
He's pulling himself up to a standing position by the sofa. He will soon be up and over that Triangle
And he's modelling his new Porridge Jumper with great aplomb
Rosie's technology lesson - designing a house
And an online lesson - 'find & show' Scavenger Hunt. She concentrates so hard [mostly]
I'm grateful for these lovely children, and their caring parents - and increasingly concerned for all those families who continue to struggle with all the problems caused by this pandemic.
Seeing their smiles, hearing their laughter, and interacting with them - even if it is only on WhatsApp, really makes my day.
Best image of the week - screen shot of Steph's phone- showing George listening intently as Rosie reads him a bedtime story [That's not my Unicorn,
I know, I know... in the film** they are singing about reaping and sowing. But when I read about Hillary Waters Fayle, and the amazing embroidery she does on green leaves, I couldn't help changing the spelling in my head. This talented artist lives in the USA and does wonderful stitchery on leaves. Check out her website here. And look at this fabulous work
"TO WORK WITH LOVE - I want to salvage and revive our
connection to the natural world. I study textile … traditions and
processes, using them in collaboration with found botanical and organic
material to symbolically bind nature and the human touch. These botanical
embroideries … are born of my desire to
illuminate this connection and my curiosity about the overlapping of spiritual
and religious symbology and sacred geometry, with patterns that exist in
nature. Now more than ever, it feels important to inspire a shifted perspective
on the way we view the natural world; to explore and appreciate what is so
often overlooked and to realize the potential for existence in balance with
nature.” HWF
And then, in this country, is the equally talented, German born Susanna Bauer. She uses crochet rather than embroidery - adding delicate edgings and tracery, with a limited palette of colours. Her website is here
"COLLABORATING WITH NATURE -I work with found natural objects. Leaves, stones, pieces of
wood…ephemeral things, easily overlooked. And I use crochet; sometimes as
embellishment, but mostly in a more unconventional way as a means of sculpture
and construction. There is a fine balance in my work between fragility and
strength; literally, when it comes to pulling a fine thread through a brittle
leaf or thin dry piece of wood, but also in a wider context - the tenderness
and tension in human connections, the transient yet enduring beauty of nature
that can be found in the smallest detail, vulnerability and resilience that
could be transferred to nature as a whole or the stories of individual beings."SB
** for those of you who don't remember The Alamo, here is the beautiful song from that film.
That is, a post about the post. There's apparently a national shortage of cardboard boxes [I admit we have an awful lot here right now, but you can't blame me completely] Over the last 47 weeks, people have been using postal services so much more, to obtain the goods they might previously gone out to purchase in a shop.
Then there's the online orders of "Payday Treats" - for those people fortunate enough to still have jobs are missing their coffee dates, and Friday Birthday Cakes, and lunchtime window shopping in the High Street etc because they are working from home, alone - so they're going online and ordering fancy food, candles, books, wine and more.
Grandparents are sending letters and gifts to the littl'uns, and the children are sending cards back. Bloom&Wild are doing a great job with their letterbox flowers. I even sent relations in Essex a letterbox Christmas tree! [use this code.to get money off your first B&W order] It has not all been plain sailing round here. A postman [not our regular] cheerfully handed me a B&W box on Saturday, and dashed back to his van as the rain poured down. I looked at the label - it was for another house up the road on the other side. Wrong number!
Then there was the mysterious email from G-Tech late one afternoon thanking me for ordering an Air-Ram vacuum cleaner. Addressed to Angela Almond, but to go to Cornwall. I rang them. We're on their system, as Bob won a vac a few years back. They said they would correct the error. Next day I got an email at 7am telling me to expect delivery at 2pm. I got back from a bike ride to a message that my vac was with "Michael the neighbour". I rang G-Tech again. Bloke on the other end couldn't help. I checked first email, there was a phone number. So I rang and said "you don't know me, but have you just ordered a new vacuum cleaner?" "Er yes..." "Well it's with Michael your neighbour".This lady's name was almost - but not quite - Angela Almond. She now has her vacuum, and we hope G-Tech have amended their database.
I sent a surprise parcel to Rosie on January 18th. That day I took four parcels to the Post Office and three of them arrived by 21st. We're still trying to locate Rosie's package. Royal Mail Track'n'trace webpage cannot give me information "until we attempt to deliver".. The lovely guy at Ferndown Parcels Office was able to print out a sheet showing my parcel went from the PO to the Dorset Mail Centre in Poole, and he gave me a number to call. After 45 minutes on hold, Caitlin told me the parcel had been paid for at Ferndown, and the address it was going to [I know all that!] but she couldn't tell me more. I told her about the Poole Centre. She said I couldn't contact them direct. And neither could she. But if I waited 2 more days I could put in a claim for compensation [and that is just the postage refund] And that they cannot track'n'trace my parcel because I didn't pay for that service. "so why does the webpage say tell us your reference number - check your delivery then?" "Oh it doesn't mean that"
I am now using Parcels2Go for all my parcels. It is cheaper, and appears more reliable than Royal Mail. And I'm in and out of the drop off point [a local petrol station] in seconds- far quicker than the queues in the Post Office.
Sutton Hoo, an estate near Woodbridge in Suffolk is the site of two 6th/7th century Anglo Saxon cemeteries. In 1926 the property was bought by Edith Pretty, a very wealthy woman and intelligent woman. At the age of 43 she had finally married Frank Pretty, of Ipswich, with whom she had corresponded for 25 years. They dreamed of excavating the barrows/mounds on their land. In 1930, she gave birth to Robert, but Frank sadly died three years later.
Edith was not deterred from the dream - she employed Basil Brown, a local amateur archaeologist to excavate the mounds. War was looming, and there seemed ot be no 'official' finance available for the project. Then Brown unearthed a Saxon ship - and the British Museum stepped in and took over. Some fantastic treasures were discovered.
If you have heard of Sutton Hoo already, you probably know that much. If you don't know about it, and you have Netflix, you should really watch "The Dig", which was released last Friday. I won't give away any more...
It is brilliant. The stellar cast is headed up by Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan - and RF has worked incredibly hard to get a totally believable Suffolk accent**. Oh please do watch it if you get the opportunity!
After you have watched the film, [or now if you know you cannot get to see it] you may want to follow this link which explains the historical details
And Sutton Hoo is now owned by the National Trust - their website is also a mine of information about the property, the excavation, the characters, and the film. [here]
I'm a sucker for a film with an intelligent plotline, based on a true story, celebrating all the best values- love, friendship, commitment, honesty, respect for land and for history, sharing of knowledge with young and old, joy and peace, hard work and just reward, and hope for the future...especially at a time of sadness, separation, and anxiety about what lies ahead.
The Dig - definitely *****
** watch how Mr Fiennes became Mr Brown - sounding like a Suffolk excavator, and not a Dorset pirate here after Charlie Haylock "Suffolk-ated" the script
This verse is in Acts chapter 20 - Paul is preaching to the Christians in Ephesus and he reminds them that Jesus said this. Certainly in Luke 6:38, Jesus talks about giving. I have been so challenged by this in recent days.
It was an absolute joy to visit a local Early Years group. Muddy Monkies is very close to Kingston Lacy. They'd asked on Facebook for 'unwanted baskets'. I'd found a huge box of them in the loft - so I contacted them and discovered they really need craft materials [the Scrapstore is shut]
They're forest-based, and have an outdoors Piklar Triangle, a campfire, an outdoor kitchen,a composting toilet, a reading shed....all sorts of great stuff. Also a bell tent, and the children were having their post lunch rest when I arrived, so I was given the full, covid-safe guided tour. [I didn't like to ask about the name]
There were a dozen grey Oasis blocks in the loft. I advertised them free on Facebook - and was contacted almost immediately. The young woman explained she works with a group of adults with learning disabilities, and they love arranging flowers. So when she arrived I offered her a large sheaf of silk flowers too, along with some reels of floristry ribbon. She was delighted
Bob has a superfluity of technical gear. He cleaned up a complete system, removing all the personal data, then asked on our church WhatsApp group if anyone needed one. A member contacted us straightaway - she'd just been in a conversation with someone whose nephew's teacher* currently delivers worksheets to the home, because this family do not have a computer at all. When our friend collected it, she said it was amazing to see how fast the prayer had been answered.
It is exactly 20 years since the artist Michael Landy produced a drawing called "Break Down"
This represents the Art Installation he set up in the deserted C&A building in Oxford Street, He catalogued all his possessions [7227 of them] then they were loaded onto a conveyor belt, and as they went round the items were stripped down to their component parts and destroyed.5.75 tonnes of 'rubbish' sent to landfill. 45,000 visitors came to watch over the course of the fortnight's activity. And I guess ML made a lot of money out of the project.
I was appalled then, and I am still horrified by such waste. It does take longer to post these things on line, and then careful planning to arrange safe collection. It might seem easier to shove the surplus stuffing to black bin bags and send them to landfill. But I cannot do that.
*God bless all those teachers out there, preparing online classes, delivering classroom lessons- and providing extra resources for those children whose families lack the resources to get their children fully equipped to meet the challenge of education in this difficult time.
We've had a lifetime of school productions, and Holiday Clubs, and belonging to organisations that required hats - and we both love wearing hats generally - whether to shade us from the sun or warm us in the cold. But to possess over forty is probably a little excessive now we approach retirement
Baseball caps, berets, felt hats, straw hats, wedding hats, fancy-dress hats, uniform hats, mob caps, and warm woolly hats...and my jester hat with bells
The three oldest; Mr B's banker's bowler [1940s]. My mum's summer hat [1960s] and Bob's mortar-board [1970s]
I have been ruthless- and put crushed wedding finery and moth eaten berets in the bin. A large number are going to a local pre-school group's dressing up box.
The ones we still wear regularly - my Tilley hat, Bob's straw panama, a couple of baseball hats...these and a few others have packed into a proper hat box ready to travel. Two warm hats have been kept back as the weather is still rather cold and we might need them in the near future.
And now I have just remembered that when I dashed up to Cornerstones at the beginning of December, I hung up a whole row of Santa hats on the pegs in the Utility Room, and they are still there.
A strange nursery rhyme indeed - has anybody any idea what it is about? Pease-porridge [or pease pottage] is a thick savoury pudding, made with yellow split peas. often served with ham. Not a dish I have ever cooked. But I do enjoy regular oat-based porridge - a hearty breakfast on a cold day. Our recipe is 1 cup oats, 1 cup water, 1 cup of milk and a pinch of salt. I know that each family has their own favourite method. Bob has promised that once he is retired, he will turn me a proper porridge spurtle on his lathe.
George likes porridge. At the moment, George likes most food - and cheerfully gives his Mum a High Five at mealtimes
I saw this rather attractive textured Sirdar Pattern and asked Steph what she thought. She liked it - "it looks like porridge"
I downloaded the pattern and knitted it up in some oatmeal coloured DK I had in my stash. The pattern is very simple - only 4 rows to remember [ A - knit, B - purl, C - k1p1, and D- p1,k1below] It does look quite porridge like!
I recently treated myself to a tin of knitting clips. They have proved very useful - holding work together safely. No risk of accidentally leaving a pin in the garment - or on the sofa where I sit to sew.
I have just used them to hold fabric when sewing on the machine -- equally good results.
Porridge in his tummy, and on his jumper -George will be well equipped to face the cold weather in Manchester [or Norwich, when he next visits East Anglia]
I will admit that I cannot stand Iggle-Piggle and In The Night Garden. And don't get me started on The Teletubbies.But over the summer, Rosie introduced me to two of her favourite CBeebies TV presenters - and I think she excellent taste.
Justin Fletcher - aka Mr Tumble - is brilliant. He engages the children, is a master of costume change,
a wizard at Makaton - and generally very gifted. He includes children of different ages and abilities in his show - and makes learning fun. Andy Day, presenter of Andy's Dinosaur Adventures is equally talented. Under his excellent tutelage, Rosie can now explain the differences between a triceratops and a pterodactyl. Our Dinosaur Day last summer certainly benefitted from some of his teaching materials.
And these two- plus a number of other TV presenters and well-respected actors [like Annette Badlands -oldies like me know her from many radio and TV roles, lately the Pathologist in Midsomer] got together a couple of years back to produce a play. With the help of the Royal Shakespeare Company, they did The Tempest - for children.
Rosie sat and watched it with her parents over the weekend. She thought Andy made a very good monster [Caliban] Mr Tumble, not surprisingly, was in truly well-cast as The Jester.
The filming was beautifully done on stage in Huddersfield, with an invited audience of parents and pre-schoolers.
It is a truly magical show - in the heady pre-lockdown age of 2018, the sight of the children laughing, singing and clapping together is heartwarming. And the cast [plus stage sets and costumes] are superb.
Rosie's a bit young for Mr Morpurgo's Tales as yet - but this is certainly something to get a child turned on to the Bard from early years [well done Liz and Jon]
If you have an hour to spare, enjoy this production. After Rosie saw it, I made a point of watching it - a glorious romp, as good as any Christmas Panto. Link to the whole production is HERE - or you can just watch the songs
I kept reading about Stasher Bags - these eco friendly, easy-use silicone food savers. The website tells you how they are good for you, and for the planet - how every time you buy one, a some of the money goes to clean up the oceans...The blurb is pretty compelling. Very green credentials...
"Stasher bags
are multi-purpose, easy to use, easy to seal and reusable. You can cook dinner
in them, use them for kitchen storage and even fill them with cosmetics for
your travels.
Key
features:
Made from
plastic-free platinum silicone
Easy clasp
pinch-and-press airtight seal
Reusable and
dishwasher safe, but hand washing is recommended
Freezer and
microwave safe, and oven safe to 220°C
Ideal for
sous vide cooking
Complies
with FDA and European food-grade standards
Made from
platinum silicone, they’re plastic-free and cause no harmful off-gassing when
exposed to the sun, making food storage and cooking healthier.
Fold them
over to expel air before sealing them with a pinch and a press to make them
airtight. Poach fish in them, with added herbs for flavouring. They’re ideal
for marinating meat in the fridge and then simply transfer for cooking without
fuss. Add a little water to steam vegetables, retaining nutrients and flavour.
You can put them in a saucepan of boiling water or use them in a sous vide
machine to tenderise meat for tastier meals.
Stasher bags also keep food fresher for longer. Expel the air and place half an avocado with its seed in the fridge to keep until you’re ready to eat it the next day. Take a stasher bag on your travels, filling it with cosmetics and toiletries or pens and pencils to keep kids occupied. You can even write on the bags with dry-erase markers to label your food by date for the fridge or freezer."
Then I looked into the price - Lakeland sell the smallest 'snack size' one for £9.99. No way! I asked around among my 'green living' friends and couldn't find anyone who had tried them. Then in August, I found one reduced to £3.50 in John Lewis, Norwich. So I decided to treat myself, and see how I got on.
My conclusions
This is probably the wrong size bag for me.
Size: It is OK for snacks- but not of much use for anything else. Without the rigidity of a lock'n'lock, I thought fruit etc might get damaged if the bag was slung in a backpack.
Versatility: I tried all the suggested uses....
Storage: Slightly too small for a my chunk of cheese - so I trimmed the Cheddar.
Sous-vide: I cooked some frozen peas - dropping the bag in the saucepan in which I was boiling potatoes. They cooked fine- but it was hard to get them out!
Oven: I baked a piece of salmon. Lovely and clean, fish kept moist - but the skin stuck to the side, and again, removal was difficult.
Freezer: I put stored blueberries in it in the freezer - that worked well.
Seal: I found the whole 'burping' and open/close procedure rather fiddly, so did Bob
Cleaning: It washed OK in the dishwasher, but I had to leave it open to dry thoroughly.
Family: I'm not sure a child [eg Rosie] would manage it very well in a lunchbox.
Eco - yes, they are 'green', and ZeroWaste not single-use, and ethically sound
Maybe if I had bought a larger size I would feel differently - and I am glad to have tried them out. I have an adequate supply of good quality plastic foodstore boxes, and I think this is not something my kitchen needs. I don't do 'sous vide' cooking, but I can see that if you do, they'd be useful. And my 'rose quartz' bag [the only colour in the sale] looks strangely...surgical. The mint colour is more 'food friendly' imho.
Overall I would rate this product *** which is a shame, I hoped it would score more.
Please do let me know if you are using these- and what your opinion is.
Preacher, teacher, wife, mother, grandmother, craftswoman. Married to wonderful Pastor Bob since 1979, now happily retired to Norfolk, but still busy. I am blessed with two brilliant grown-up daughters and four wonderful grand children
