Let's play Tag!

I have just been tagged by Catriona with this meme:

              

The Rules

Link to the person who tagged you.

1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write six random things about yourself.
3. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
4. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
5. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

OK - six random things

1. My first car was a green mini van
2. I was the youngest person ever to get the Girls' Brigade Queen's Award [and always will be, as they changed the rules after that!]
3. I have got Harry Corbett's autograph [and also Sooty's!]
4. One of my childhood ambitions was to be the first woman president of the Baptist Union. But Mrs Alexander beat me to it - and she was a wonderful, gracious lady so I didn't mind too much!
5. I always cry at the end of "The Railway Children"
6. I love Marmite - especially on toast.                    

I now tag Susan, Jo , Melody, Tori ,Dawn and Dulce

The Best of the Vests

Another mad burst of creativity - all three sewing machines set up on the dining table [so all meals in the kitchen - sorry Bob!] First, a waistcoat for my friend Claire, who is in charge of the Children in Need Spectacular at school today. I made her a spotty waistcoat - but lined it with the fabric I used for her trousers back in June [see here]  That way, it is reversible, and she can always wear it with the trousers if she wants a completely crazy outfit! I also embroidered a "Music Rocks!" patch to go inside.

That's the end of the 10 metres of black jersey which someone was throwing out [and I caught it!] back in 1999! How's that for thrift?

Yesterday afternoon I lengthened a pair of cords for Bob, and took in a pair of my trousers [the diet must be working!] It seems so perverse that all my married life I have been shortening my trousers and lengthening his.

Then I finished off some of the stuff from the Wednesday Sewing Club, ready for the girls' Children In Need Sale. They have prepared aprons, cushion covers, bags and pincushions.

Today - after collecting my new Palin-esque spectacles from Boots, I came home and made some little voile bags to put the button bracelets in.

More thrifting there, the green fabric was originally -I think - a curtain from Marion's conservatory in Norfolk, and the pink ribbon is from a spool somebody gave me a while ago.

I have a sneaky suspicion that this being Leicestershire, it may have come originally from Symington's Corset Factory. It is definitely that shade of pink!

It is so sad that so many of the local clothing manufacturers are no longer in business. Mind you, as a child, I could never understand why such a constricting garment should be called a "Liberty" bodice! Market Harborough claims to be the original home of this product - but they didn't start manufacturing them there till 1908, and they'd been advertised in Scotland years before that. Whatever the derivation of my ribbon, it looks very pretty on the bags!

My other activity today was preparing little Christmas Stockings for the School Christmas Fair next week. They contain small bottles of shampoo or shower gel. Here they are, hanging on my IKEA display trees [Another sale purchase - 10p from their bargain corner]

 

I made thirty and spent ages matching up the various fabrics, so no two stockings are identical. I am not quite sure why I did that, but it was very satisfying!  And I love all the red and green Christmas stuff. Each little stocking has a cotton wall ball in the toe, and another in the top, above the little bottle, to help keep a good shape.

It has been a lovely day - I put jacket potatoes in the oven earlier, for our lunch, and loaded the slow-cooker with a casserole for this evening - and then spent the whole day happily sewing and listening to the radio. It has really relaxed me, which is a good thing! I am made in the image of a Creator God, so I should not be surprised if I enjoy being creative too.

The problem is that whenever I do manage to create something beautiful, I also create an incredible mess as well! The floor is covered with bits of thread, and fabric scraps.

Another linguistic mystery - when Brits say "Vest and Pants" they mean underwear - when Yanks say "Vest and Pants" they mean waistcoat and trousers. As G B Shaw said "two nations divided by a common language"

Neither shaken nor stirred

We went to see Quantum of Solace on Monday. I enjoyed it more than Casino Royale. I am still not altogether convinced about Daniel Craig as Bond though [so please do not buy me this Emma Bridgewater tea-towel for Christmas!]

Good things - great chase scenes, Judi Dench [she is a brilliant actress, I think], wonderful scenery [although I think the shots of 'Bolivia' were done in Chile] Daniel Craig in a suit [but then I do think almost any man looks good in a suit] I adored the shots of the Palio de Siena [Steph and I visited Siena the day after the Palio in 2006]

Less good things - not enough proper gadgetry [I miss Desmond Llewellyn as 'Q'] not enough plot. The song didn't strike me as memorable. There was an awful lot of 'product placement'

Bob was annoyed that the "In Case of Fire" [en cas d'incendie] notice on the back of the hotel room door was misspelt. I am sure there was one scene where Judi Dench's earrings changed halfway through, but I shall just have to watch carefully when it is on TV at Christmas sometime!

My overall conclusion is that the film had a theme rather than a plot. If you like Bond films, you'll probably enjoy it - but I don't think it will be listed among the "Best of Bond" films.

According to Ian Fleming's original short story, the Quantum of Solace is defined as "a precise figure defining the comfort/humanity/fellow feeling required between any pair of people for love to survive. If the Quantum of Solace is 0, then love is dead." No - I do not really understand either!!

Spots before my Eyes!

One thing I loved when my own children were younger was making their costumes for special days at school - so it is really great when friends ask me to help out with their little ones now.

On Friday it is "Children In Need" day. The BBC has had an annual charity appeal for children since Christmas Day 1927, when it was [naturally] a radio broadcast. In 1955 it moved to Television, and was fronted by the glove puppet Sooty. Then in 1985, Pudsey Bear made his first appearance as the charity's mascot. He has been updated and now has a bandage with multi-coloured spots. My school has suggested that children wear spotty clothes on Friday.

So I have spent a happy hour or so with the Great Stash and half a yard of Bondaweb, turning an old pair of pyjamas into a suitably spotty outfit for Matthew. My young friend Grace tells me that at her school they have to dress in either pink or blue for the day. [Which sounds a much easier option for those Mums who don't have the facilities for making costumes!]

As far as I know, I am not needed for supply teaching anywhere on Friday. If I do get a phone call, I shall just have to drape myself in my mock-Cath-Kidston spotty kitchen tablecloth!

The Sewing Club girls are busy making aprons and pincushions, and the Sunday school children have made biscuits, to raise money for this year's appeal. It's certainly an event which catches the kids imagination, and encourages them to think of others.

Post Early For Christmas

Well, maybe not this early - but Royal Mail have just announced the designs for this year's Christmas stamps.

Now I appreciate they have a policy of alternating 'religious' and 'non-religious' designs, so this year is the N-R one. But being first, a boringly efficient person who gets her cards posted promptly [so never relies on last minute collections] and second, a mean and thrifty person who wouldn't buy a first class stamp if a cheaper option available, I was a bit frustrated this year. Quite frankly,I do not like the rouged-up, pouting pantomime dames of the 2nd class design. Captain Hook is good fun [I love Peter Pan, and visited J M Barrie's birthplace in Scotland a few years back] but I do not often need 50p stamps.

However I am thrilled to discover that you can still buy online at  last year's stamps online from the Royal Mail Website. So I have just ordered these, which were one of last year's designs. I'm intrigued they are still available - in 2007 Royal Mail produced two 2nd class stamps- the Angel and the Madonna, but did not make the latter widely available, and a number of people made a fuss about it! Perhaps they have suddenly woken up to the fact that there are other [bizarre] people like me out there, who like their Christmas Greetings to reflect their Christian faith. [My apologies to the Village Post Office, for not buying there, I do try and support this excellent facility when I can.]

This is one time of the year when I feel justified in going on [and on and on...] "It's all about Jesus!" - don't even get me started on my rant about those cards which display snowmen and Victorian coaching inns!

I must leave the PC now, it is Monday-Day=Off, and my own personal First Class Male wants to use up our freebie cinema tickets to go and see Quantum of Solace. It is pouring with rain, so a cosy seat in a warm cinema seems a reasonable destination for the day!

Remembering

This morning's service was very well attended - including some folk who came simply because it was Remembrance Sunday. Bob was continuing his Seven Deadly Sins Series- and today was on Pride.

On arrival at church, everyone was given a small coloured slip, which they subsequently filled in with the name of a person of whom they were proud.

Later on, during the Sermon Slot, the children went out and pasted all these slips onto a template shaped like a Victoria Cross.

It looked really effective - and some of the words on the slips were quite moving.

People were proud of parents, children, friends - for all sorts of achievements.

One of the Williamson children in Peru is celebrating a birthday soon [I am fairly confident he doesn't read this blog!] so the children also made Samuel a birthday banner today.

Feliz Cumpleanos is Spanish for Happy Birthday to You. On the back are the names of the children and a greeting.

Due to the wonders of modern technology - and a lot of hard work with a recalcitrant church PC this week - we were able to link in to the BBC broadcast from the Cenotaph. I always find this very moving, the two minutes silence, then watching the Queen laying her wreath on behalf of the nation, as she has done for 56 years now. Some things change each year; no longer The Queen Mum, Diana and Fergie watching from the royal balcony [now it is Sophie and Camilla] and the various politicians change [Mrs Thatcher looked rather frail, and I wish Boris would get a proper haircut] and the religious dignitaries vary each year - but for as long as I can remember, the Queen has laid her wreath, then walked carefully backwards down the steps, and bowed her head briefly. She is always gracious and dignified. Prince Phillip looked rather cold and old. Hope they didn't keep him outside too long in the bitter weather.

After the service, we joined the congregation from St Barts, and walked down to the War Memorial by the Village Hall. There must have been around 200 people present - not bad for a small village on a cold damp Sunday morning in November. The Guides & Scouts were parading too. Today - like the Queen, I wore a hat [a rather gorgeous black felt affair which Liz left in the wardrobe here] I think it is an important mark of respect on this occasion [and it also helped to keep me nice and warm.

Added to the roll call of names this year was that of Christopher Dunsmore - a 29 year old local lad who died in Southern Iraq last year.

It was good that he was included- but so sad that the list had to be added to.

We began our service with that great old Isaac Watts hymn, "O God our help, in ages past" and ended with a newer one as a benediction

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me;
Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father, Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother In perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now.
With ev'ry step I take, let this be my solemn vow;
To take each moment and live each moment
In peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

Handy for the Andes!

I have been doing lots of tidying up and I found this.

It is the Peruvian Hat I knitted for Liz when she was a baby.

I found the pattern in a library book, and knitted it from oddments. Bob and Steph had them too!

 

Here is a picture of Jessica and Sam Williamson in their Peruvian hats - they sent the photo to Bob as a birthday gift on Tuesday!

I wonder why I never put the plaits on the ones I made - I guess they cannot have been on the pattern. It was about 25 years ago!

And why have I kept the little hat all this time?

The correct name for this style of hat is a chullo, and the knitters [men and women] of the Andes produce these with incredibly fine wool - some even sharpen bicycle spokes for needles!

I have learned a lot about Peruvian knitting from this wonderful site.

Now I shall get back to tidying up and see what other treasures I can unearth.

The Sewing Machine Song

Isn't this a great little song? I must teach it to the girls at Wednesday Night's Club!!

For Chairman Bob!

Some lovely autumnal flowers, which arrived for Bob on his birthday.

I don't have a proper pedestal vase, so I did the Martha Stewart Cheat thing and put a white china sugar bowl on a smaller [inverted] white china dish.

 

The office chair in Bob's Studio is looking very worn and he asked me if I could do something to improve its appearance.

So once I had tackled the ironing mountain, I found some fabric in The Great Stash and made new covers. Quick and easy - they are basically elasticated circles like Giant Shower Caps.

He is pleased with the result - and so am I [more using up of the GS, and therefore another problem solved without spending any money!]

<<before

after>>

Chariots of Fire

It has just been announced that next year, the O2 Arena [aka Millennium Dome] will be hosting the World Premier of a new performance of Ben Hur, with a cast of 400 actors and 100 animals - including live chariot races! This is to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1959 film which starred Charlton Heston.

This was the 4th film version of the book - and it won 11 Academy Oscars [a record equalled, but not beaten, by Titanic and Lord of the Rings III]

When I first read the story of the writing of the original book, it fascinated me, but such details conveniently gets overlooked by the secular media. This novel was written by Lew Wallace, a former Civil War General. His wife, Susan Arnold Elston, was already a published writer, and had produced a number of works, mostly on Christian subjects, and some of these for children. Her husband was apparently rather anti her beliefs, and declared that he was going to write a novel which would disprove Christianity once and for all.

The story goes that whenever he disappeared to his study to work on the novel, his wife gathered her friends in the parlour for a prayer meeting. As he struggled to write, Wallace was convicted of the reality of the gospel, and fell on his knees, crying "My Lord and My God!" - he went out to the women, and declared "It is all true!"

The book he went on to write was "Ben-Hur, A Tale of the Christ" which is the story of a man who encountered Jesus in first century Palestine. The book became the best selling novel of the 19th Century.

However I am not sure that Lew and Susan would altogether have approved of some of the changes. The original film lasted four hours - this show will only take two. According to The Times today, "Franz Abraham, the new show’s German producer, promises to create all the excitement of the film in half the time and with jokes.

Audiences attending the evening performances on September 15, 18 and 19, rather than the family matinees, will also see that the book’s rather prim orgy sequence (omitted from the 1959 film) has been fleshed out with considerable nudity and 'above the belt erotic scenes. . . which show more explicitly what happens in an orgy'."

I couldn't actually remember an orgy in the book - but sure enough, when I checked my copy, in part IV, chapter 10 ends with these words "There was a shout that set the floor to quaking, and the grim Atlantes to dancing, and the orgies began" And that's it!! Lew Wallace obviously felt that he didn't need to spell out to his readers what happens in an orgy - he had a much better story to tell.

The producer is reducing sixty-six chapters to a two hour production - but obviously feels that he needs to 'flesh out' one brief sentence on page 116 ['flesh out' is certainly what it is going to be!] I really don't want to turn into Mary Whitehouse - but is this really necessary?

I don't think I shall applying for a ticket! I may become even more pedantic than usual, and start referring to the book by its full title too - "Ben-Hur, A Tale of the Christ".

An Uphill Struggle

Sometimes a day in the classroom leaves me feeling like Sisyphus!

I was working with Year 1/2s, looking at a history timeline - dating from 1408 - 2008. This is hard work, because many of them don't really understand big numbers like hundreds and thousands. So six hundred years is a really difficult  concept. They have just been doing Guy Fawkes, so we had to put 1570 [his birth] and 1605 [Gunpowder Plot] on the timeline. We had a few other dates -  including 1666, 1926, and 1952.

They had heard about the Great Fire of London- one child remembered it began in a Baker's Shop. Another waved his arm at me "Yes?" "Please, Miss, my uncle lived in London. But he's dead now" - and another child said "Did he die in the Great Fire, then?"

I moved on to 1926 - the year Princess Elizabeth was born, and 1952, the year she became our Queen. "Miss - she died in a Car Crash didn't she?" "No, that was Princess Diana, in 1997. The Queen is still alive"

"So Miss, was it Queen Victoria who died in The Car Crash?" "No - that was Princess Diana - we aren't putting her on our time-line"

I continued, trying to explain just how we were going to fill in the TimeLine in our Topic Books, and once they had all the information recorded, if there was time, they could draw some illustrations [A house on Fire, A crown, etc]

"Is everybody clear about what to do?" Great chorus of "Yes, Miss!" One solitary hand goes up. "Yes, dear?"

"So did Guy Fawkes die in the Car Crash then?"

I give up!!!

Psalm 127:2

OK, I admit it - I did not go to bed last night! I sat up till 4.45am watching the US election results, then curled up for a few hours and slept on the sofa. It would have been mean to go upstairs and wake Bob - who only managed to stay up till about 2am.

Fortunately I knew I wasn't teaching today and had other stuff to do at home at my own pace, so being sleepy hasn't been too much of a problem.

I couldn't just sit about and do nothing while Dimbleby et al waffled on, so I had a tray of buttons on my lap and produced LOADS of bracelets.

I was really pleased with them, and have more than enough for my Christmas gift list.  I may take some to the Craft Fair at School and  see if they will sell there. I plan to make some voile bags to put them in.

I worked out a way to arrange them for the photo - on a cardboard

wrapping paper roll! I happen to have an empty roll because I spent Monday evening wrapping gifts. Please don't get annoyed with me! The more I get done now the more time I will have when December gets here to enjoy the important spiritual side of Christmas - the part I love the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the voting is over, let us not forget to go on praying for the USA, and for Obama, their President-Elect.

Many Happy Returns, Old Man!

Today is Bob's birthday! He's had some great gifts [which he may blog about himself]

Happy birthday, Darling, have a wonderful day.

 

 

I really must find a better photo of him. This one is not properly in focus!

Yes he IS that tall! He shares his birthday with James Montgomery the great hymnwriter [Angels from the Realms of Glory, Hail to the Lord's Anointed etc]

I'd make more of a fuss, but I'm off to lead the Ladies Meeting Now!

God Bless America!

America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, 

With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:    

As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free, 

While God is marching on. 

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,   

He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is succour to the brave,   

So the world shall be His footstool,

and the soul of Time His slave,

Our God is marching on.

[shameless name dropping here - I have never met Obama or McCain, but Rick Warren gave me two hugs when I met him in Birmingham three years ago!]

Signs Of The Times

Monday - Day Off - went into Leicester as we needed the Bank & GPO.[and Maplin, and Button Boutique,of course!]

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this sign. Sadly, spelling is so bad nowadays, I am afraid that many people will not even realise the three homophones.

There was another wonderful sign on the back of a bus, which stopped beside me as I was waiting for Bob. "Reducing your Revs cuts fuel costs and Co2."

And there was me hoping we could INCREASE  our Revs by getting an Associate Minister.

Better Late Than Never

Don't you just feel silly when something occurs to you - and it is SO obvious, that you feel daft for not thinking of it before? In the past week I have had two such epiphanies.

number one - in the past few weeks I have got down my trusty Slo-Cooker. It is ancient, at least twenty years old [Bizarrely, it was a freebie when I purchased a pair of sheets for the girls bunk beds]

In the winter months I fill it in the morning and then when I get home from a day's teaching there is a casserole or bolognaise ready and waiting. What I have only just realised is that it is BRILLIANT for making stock. We had a chicken on Saturday and yesterday Bob stripped all the remaining meat from it. Last night I stuck the smashed carcase, plus a few veg and seasonings into the pot, covered it with boiling water, and left it on overnight. This morning I had some wonderful, golden stock which has formed the basis for a batch of nourishing chicken soup [I'm turning into a Jewish mother!]

number two - I have had a vintage 1960's Midwinter Sienna Cake Stand for ages. I love it - but the previous owner obviously overtightened the screws and cracked the glaze. On Saturday, for the first time, I worked out how to disguise this. Unscrew the thing, cut tiny holes in the centre of two doilies, then re-assemble round the doilies.

Voila! damaged parts covered and cake plate looks wonderful.

It looks even better piled up with goodies. I made some Button Biscuits and we enjoyed them with a cuppa on Saturday when the others were here. Only these three remain!

Next time I shall roll them a little thicker,  bake them for a shorter time and probably reduce the temperature slightly - these were a little bit overdone at the edges! The recipe came from the Ideal Homes 2008 Christmas Guide. The button idea appealed to my ongoing and insatiable love of haberdashery**.

BUTTON BISCUITS

1. Combine 125g softened butter with 125g soft brown sugar
2. Sift in 250g plain flour, 2tsp ground ginger. 1tsp baking powder, 1 tsp mixed spice. Mix well, add 3tbsp golden syrup
3. Mix, then knead to a dough by hand. Wrap in clingfilm, chill for 30min. Preheat oven to 190ºC.
4. Roll out on floured surface to 5mm thickness. Cut out with round cutter. Make 4 holes with skewer [large, as they close up when baking] Use a smaller cutter to make an indent for button edge [I used a glass, and found it worked best if I pushed into a piece of clingfilm so it didn't stick]
5. Bake 15 mins.

** I have been trying to find the origin of this word and it appears there are at least two theories. It definitely dates from the 14th century - but it is either from the anglo-french word "Hapertas", a kind of coarse fabric, or it is a corruption of "Habt ihr das?, when German peddlars were asked "Do you have that?" All this may of course just be haberdoedas - which is dutch/flemish for gibberish!

Random Numbers

Jo, another blogging Supply teacher, has kindly awarded me this

I feel highly honoured to have received it.

I am now required to post 7 Random Facts about myself, and then nominate some other bloggers.

That is quite hard, but here goes

1. My Grandfather's cousin survived the sinking of the Titanic.
2. In 1963 I went to a CSSM Children's Holiday Club - and I still have the badge they gave me in my jewellery box
3. I am exactly 150cm tall [and have been known to lie down in carpet shops in order to measure the size of a rug]
4. I was born on Easter Sunday [1955] and baptised on Easter Sunday [1969]
5. When I was at School, I won a certificate for "Progress in Maths" but it was awarded by the Guinness Company - so my teetotaller mother refused to display it [even though she had my other certificates framed]
6. If I eat cheese I vomit!
7. This month marks 40 years since I started preaching [and 30 since Bob did - that's seventy years between us.Gracious me!]

I nominate Seraphim, Monica, Tina and Lynn

Unbirthday Party

It was lovely today - my brother Adrian, sis-in-law Marion and niece Lucy came over from Norfolk for the day. In the next two weeks, both Bob and Adrian have birthdays, so after lunch we had some present-opening, then we ventured into Leicester so they could visit the Highcross Centre.

Adrian is a Deacon at their church and Marion is in the Worship Group - so we find it really hard to get together as we are all so busy. Family days like this are very special and precious.

Adrian had brought a faulty PC with him, and whilst he and Bob got that fixed, Marion and I shortened her skirt.

It is a full-length Per Una skirt - she has had it a while, but always felt it was a little too long. The design on the fabric is lovely. However it's one of those crinkly affairs - and to shorten the skirt and the lining means sewing nearly 5 metres of hem!

But we picked up some cones of thread in John Lewis, and it was a matter of minutes to re-do the hem on my trusty Toyota Overlocker.

It is really satisfying to be able to do a job like this for someone, and make a garment useful and wearable.

The finished skirt looked good, and Marion was pleased with it.

Yesterday I did a bit of baking, and used my new mini-morsel baking tin [purchased at Lakeland in Windermere last week] to make some chocolate tarts for dessert, and some salmon and chive mini-quiches for tea.

They looked remarkably impressive [almost good enough to be from M&S!] but I think I shall need to tweak the recipe a bit to get the quantities right. I forgot to take pictures of my creations before we ate them,so here is the picture from the Lakeland website.

Despite the awful rain, the family got home safely and in good time.  I don't think we will be able to meet up again now until we go over to Norfolk on New Year's Eve.