Quel Plaisir!

We studied the medieval period at school, and were given a project for half term; "choose one aspect of life in the period 1000-1500 AD and make a display about it on this piece of paper". 56 or so girls struggled to get an A2 sheet of cartridge paper home without damage [on the bus or on the back of our bikes] We brought them back completed and they went up on display all round the history room [just in time to impress parents at Open Evening] Our them,es were many and varied - although we all felt desperately sorry for one girl who had done an impeccably neat, beautifully illustrated poster unfortunately entitled "The Everyday Life of the Pheasants"
I knew that Needlework would be my topic the moment the task was announced. I divided my sheet into 4 rectangles- and on one of them I recreated a section of the Bayeux Tapestry. I found an old piece of sheeting, and drew out the picture from the front of my Dad's copy of Churchill's book.

This was the famous 'one in the eye for Harold' part! Back in the 1960s, we couldn't just click on the internet and instantly find information. If I couldn't find what I needed on the bookshelf at home, it meant a trip to the town library on my bicycle after school.
But I discovered that William's brother, Bishop Odo commissioned the tapestry and it was probably designed by a Norman but stitched by Englishwomen [it's an embroidery not a tapestry, which you knew already] There are depictions of 600 men, 200 horses, 50 dogs... and just three women upon its 70 metre length.  
William Morris helped fund a project to make "England's Bayeux" - a replica now on display in Reading Museum, and three years ago, a man in Norfolk [where else?] carved a half sized wooden replica after the death of his son.

I should love to see the original in Bayeux sometime - the intricacy of the stitching, the detailed work, it all fascinates me.
But, what a delight - last week friends lent me a French jigsaw puzzle of the BT! It shows the part where William is sailing across in his ships to England. If you watch this BBC video clip, with Clive Anderson, it comes in after about 21 seconds!
Inside the box, I found a bag containing all the edge pieces neatly sorted, and a photo of the completed jigsaw. 

This was extremely useful, because if you look closely at the finished puzzle and at the box, you will see another boat with 5 soldiers on the right, and at the bottom, the birds feet and another fabulous creature. French people clearly don't expect to get the whole picture.
Another interesting thing was the different shaped puzzle pieces.

In all the British puzzles I have done recently, there is always a point where the corners of 4 pieces come together. On this French one, there isn't the same matching up of corners - which adds an extra challenge to the completion.
I had loads of fun with this one, especially marvelling at the stitchwork - showing the expressions on men's faces, and the lovely waves on the water, splashing up onto the sides of the boats.

That's 3 jigsaws completed recently - Ambridge, The London Underground  and now this one

Once I have completed them, I have no desire to keep them or do them again. What sort of picture should I go for next....

In Search Of Hygge?

 According to the RSPB Website, "The waxwing is a plump bird, which is slightly smaller than a starling. It has a prominent crest. It is reddish-brown with a black throat, a small black mask round its eye, yellow and white in the wings and a yellow-tipped tail. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor, in some years in larger numbers, called irruptions, when the population on its breeding grounds gets too big for the food available."

These attractive birds arrive here from Scandinavia [and Russia] hoping to find food - they are particularly fond of berries like rowan and cotoneaster.



These ones were spotted last week not far from here [in Halfords Car Park in Poole ] but they have been seen in Norfolk, Cardiff, Buckinghamshire...all over the UK. 

I think they are so attractive- look at the lovely black and yellow patterns on their tails and the glorious soft shades of brown and beige across their backs, and the tiny little bright flashes of red, matching their berried diet.



Here is a useful information chart about them - I have been looking, but I've not spotted any in Ferndown itself yet

This one was spotted in Norfolk, not that far from Cornerstones. 
According to one article I read, a third of the British population feed the birds in their gardens, and the positive effect of their action cannot be underestimated. The RSPB gives helpful advice if you want to do this

And who knows, in return, you might just see a waxwing from you window.     

[Pictures from the Bournemouth Echo and Eastern Daily Press]

Cutting Things Short

During Steph's pre-move wardrobe sort she discovered this garment - which was too a little too short to be worn as a dress, too long as a tunic. Could I hem it at hip length, please? 

No problem - and I ended up with a strip of black and white knitted fabric.

That's now become a little jacket for Isla the AG doll.

Over the weekend I discovered that Isla's owner has a good friend who also received an AG for Christmas. I expect I shall be making a few garments for her too.

I received a lovely parcel in the post from another blogfriend on Saturday

Two books of knitting patterns for dolls' clothes- and a selection of floral fabrics. How very thoughtful! The riding outfit is great fun. Isla's owner often goes riding with this charity, so I suspect this one will be high on my want-to-make list

Thanks to everyone who provides me with the resources for these projects!

If You Care...

On Sunday, Bob read a "Carer's Prayer" in Church - and I thought of all the people I know who have responsibility as carers

• elderly folk whose partners are disabled, or caught in the cruel grip of dementia
• young wives whose soldier-husbands have returned from the fighting physically and emotionally scarred
• parents [and grandparents] caring for crying babies and recalcitrant toddlers
• charity volunteers providing respite care, who struggle to push wheelchairs round the supermarket or down bumpy kerbs 
• professionals working in homes, hospitals and hospices 

I know that many of you reading this blog will fall into one of these categories- the work you are doing, and the love you display is appreciated - even if it sometimes feels that it is not noticed or acknowledged.

This is for you

A Carer's Prayer

Let me be kind 

when tiredness overwhelms my weary brain 
and turns my legs to lead
let me brave 

when truths must be conveyed,
confronting the past and all things left unsaid;

Let me fight on for the one I am caring for 

when various rules make nonsense of personal rights 

and reinforce the fears;
grant me the stamina to speak and treat with fools,
remaining calm when biting back the tears.

Help me to know somehow that life goes on
beyond this time of stress and sleepless nights;
and help me to smile and love 

in the midst of endless pointless and exhausting fights.

And when the caring ends, 

help me to be kind, 

in my guilt and weariness, 

to me.

For Valentine's Day - A Promise, And A Challenge

The Dud Avocado

Confession - I have been intending to read this book for about 39 years! Katherine Whitehorn quotes from it in her book 

"Cooking in A Bedsitter" [utterly brilliant, Bob proposed after he had cooked me one of the recipes therein] When I was helping Steph move, there it was on top of a box of books, so I borrowed it. Half way through so cannot comment yet!
But we had a ripe avocado, lying lost and forlorn in the fruit bowl, so I decided to make something interesting for Saturday's lunch.

Stripes of green avocado and white soft cheese, garnished with chopped sundried tomatoes, strewn with basil leaves, on a slice of seedy brown toast.
All very artistic 
I have been experimenting with the cheese thing lately. After decades of avoiding cheese because it makes me feel nauseous, I am coming to the conclusion it is something to do with the process of 'ripening' the hard cheeses like Cheddar. I can manage smallish quantities of fresh 'farmhouse' type cheeses like cottage cheese, ricotta, paneer etc. So I have been making my own cottage cheese by straining home-made yogurt.
On the internet, I was reading about Skyr, the trendy strained yogurt from Iceland [country,not foodshop]  and this guy said he had a Salter Yogurt Maker like mine which he had modified. He'd bought a second inner bowl and fitted it with a little rubber plug at the bottom. When the yogurt was made, he lifted out the bowl, removed bung, and let the whey drain out. Simples! 
I thought I would try this theory out using a large plastic yogurt pot - I made a row of holes along the bottom with a skewer and put my batch in, to let it drain.

Epic fail!! at first nothing came through the holes, and then when I enlarged them a tiny amount, lots of yogurt as well as whey drained out. I have returned to my original system of coffee filter in a funnel in a large pyrex jug. That works extremely well, and is quite fast too.

And I have a good amount of whey left for scones etc. So I am not going to bother spending £5 on another plastic inner bowl, when I have the kit already.
In case you are wondering, the passage from the Dud Avocado which KW quotes is

“Any moron can cook a steak, I kept saying to myself…. Everybody was terribly kind and co-operative at dinner and it took all four of us ceaselessly moiling and toiling from kitchen to studio and back again to organize and consume a simple meal…” 

Personally I don't mind boiling, but 'moiling and toiling' is not my idea of food preparation. This is the picture currently on my fridge!!

Easter And Eagles

28th February is Shrove Tuesday [do call in for a pancake, if you happen to be passing our house that evening] and Lent begins on 1st March. 

Two years after I started blogging, I got involved in the great Pause In Lent blog-fest originally organised by Floss. 

This will be the 8th year I have done it. Floss is very busy with other important domestic matters at the minute, as well as doing sterling work helping refugees in France, so I know she's happy for me to facilitate it again.

The aim is just to spend a quiet moment during the weekends of Lent to reflect on what this season is all about. You could say it's a bit like our Pause In Advent, but without the chocolate!

If you are interested in joining as a contributor, please comment below- or you can just read the other bloggers [I'll put a list on my sidebar] The dates are the 4 weekends in March plus the first 2 in April - but don't worry about doing all 6 posts [Easter Sunday is 16th]. Last Sunday I blogged about the Albanians and their eagles. My friend Andrew has sent me a picture of his Albanian Eagle. 

He did not give me any details, but I imagine this is on display in his church in Beckenham, reminding the folk there to pray for their friends far away.

Bob is currently preaching a sermon series on Abraham - so this week I have been singing an ancient hymn to myself, "The God Of Abraham Praise" [you can listen to it here] That has a verse about eagles in it...

He by himself has sworn;
I on his oath depend.
I shall, on eagle wings up borne,
To heaven ascend.
I shall behold his face;
I shall his power adore
And sing the wonders of his grace
Forever more.

Roots and Fruits

From last night to this evening, many Jewish families will have been celebrating Tu B'Shevat  which is the New Year Festival for Trees. No, seriously - it is! Part of the reason for having a specific date for the trees is to enable the proper calculation of due tithes. Children will make tree-themed crafts, and there will be tree-shaped loaves.

People are expected to eat lots of fruit in this 24 hour period, 
particularly from the kinds that are singled out by the Torah, in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. 
It's considered to be a time for trees to engage in soul-searching. Not ‘New Year Resolutions’ but ‘Old Year Reflections’ – thus using wisdom learned in the past to inform future behaviour in the future. Here is the Tree's New Year Checklist:

● Did I grow towards the sun as a tree should, reaching up higher and higher towards that which I can never grasp, but which nurtures me all the same the more I strive towards it?

● Did I make sure my roots remain firmly planted in the soil that nurtures them, and did I drop my leaves there in the autumn to give back life to that which sustains me?

● Did I ensure that my fruits were sweet and nourished all that came to enjoy them? Did everyone walk away from me with a smile?

● Did I shelter the seedlings that live in my shade - so they will grow up to be a next generation like myself?

● Did I bend gently in the wind, accepting what God sends but never breaking or giving up hope?

● Did I grow in strength and wisdom during this past year?

New Year Resolutions are quickly forgotten - but it strikes me that there is a lot of worth in Old Year Reflections.

What do you think?

Peas On Earth?

I am used to the idea of being given an Inventory when you move into a new rented property. But this is a new one on me... The documents for Steph's latest place included notes of the condition of the apartment when she moved in, and a note saying "There was food left in the dishwasher" - and a photograph of said d/w filter, with a sad green[ish] pea lying on it!
Sure enough, when we arrived and opened the d/w door, there it was, forlorn and shrivelled. And- because the door had been firmly sealed for a little while, there was rather a lot of nasty black mould too.

I took all the loose parts out and gave them a good scrubbing in the sink [photo shows nasty scumminess floating around] and ran the empty dishwasher through one cycle to get it cleaner.
We are all wondering why the person who checked the d/w for the agents didn't at least remove the offending pea after they took the photo, and why they closed the door, sealing in the damp vegetable so it could sit there in the dark and multiply the bacteria? Even if the photographer was grossed out by someone else's leftover legume, at least they could have let the air and light in?
We have a dishwasher, washing machine and fridge at Cornerstones, which are often switched off and left unused for a few weeks at a time. Unfortunately these have sometimes been left in less than ideal conditions, which has meant they needed immediate cleaning on arrival. 
So here are my Top Tips for Neglected White Boxes.

1. Switch off the electric sockets
2. Turn off the water supply to Washing Machines and Dishwashers, in case of unexpected drips.
3. Ensure these boxes are emptied, cleaned and dried before you depart. The odd sock in the washer, pea in the d/w filter, or bit of cheese in the fridge door will breed smelly bacteria. The next user will have to sort that out before they can use anything. 
4. Leave the doors open.  Not wide, just ajar, so there is clearly an airspace for ventilation. Drape a folded towel or teatowel over the top of the door, so they cannot get accidentally pushed shut. 
5. Don't forget that if the fridge has an ice-box, that needs to be dried and left propped open a little too.

I used to subscribe to the 'keep a dish of bicarb in the fridge to absorb bad odours' theory. Then I decided it wasn't a good idea. If there is something 'going off' in there, then the bad smell is the way that I am alerted to its presence. 

Surely it is far better to keep the fridge clean and checked regularly, than to mask the smell until the mouldy carrot is just about ready to crawl out of the veg drawer by itself?

I note that they are still called 'white boxes' or 'white goods' even though many of them are different colours, or hidden behind fascia panels. 

I am glad to have left Steph with a pristine d/w, anyway - and fortunately her fridge and washer-dryer were OK. We have quite hard water here, and in Norfolk, so I use a descaling tablet in my washing machine very occasionally, and run a cleaner/descaler through the w/m and d/w about once a year. [useful article here]

Moving Along

It has been a busy week. On Monday, Bob cycled to the Industrial Estate and collected a van from Enterprise Van Hire [it is the most efficient way to do it - he then put his bike in the back and drove it home]
Then we drove to Wimbledon and loaded up Steph's stuff. 

Those vaccuum bags are very useful!















Steph found her Wonder Woman outfit when she was packing - but fortunately decided not to wear it on the journey!

It was like a bizarre game of Tetris. There was an awful lot to pack!
Then after a lovely evening meal at Liz and Jon's place, we went to bed, getting up very early next day to drive to Manchester. We left at 7am
The journey was rather long, but we got to her lovely new apartment at lunchtime. And we unloaded it all

Somebody appears to have caught me relaxing [briefly] with a book and taken a photo on my phone! 

Steph's new place is built in one of the converted Mills by the Canal - the redevelopment of some of these old Victorian premises is fantastic. It was lovely to see how they had retained lots of the original features, both outside and in. I intend to research more of the history of the building.

Then Bob and I left her to all the unpacking, and drove back home to Dorset. 



We got home at 10.45pm [total round trip around 550 miles]
Wishing Steph every happiness in her new home, new job and new life up in the North.

Going, Going, Gone...

... back to the Charity Shop! I  picked this up the day before my trip to Albania to read on the plane. In the end I was busy knitting and chatting and looking out of the window down.  I finally read it when I got back. 
I'm pretty late to the party here.  I imagine lots of you have already read this one and/or seen the Ben Affect and Rosamund Pike film. 
"A book you'll be begging other people to read,  just so you can discuss it with them "says the blurb on the back cover. 
Well,  no.  I  am not! In the beginning I thought it was a an intriguing read,  with a clever bifurcated plot. Then I got irritated by both main characters. Then I ceased to care!  I understand the author rewrote the ending for the film.  
Some parts were just a bit too contrived,  other sections not at all credible. Maybe the film is a little better.  
Perhaps you enjoyed it.  But I  am not sure I'd recommend it, if you haven't read it.  Rating this one just **

The Buyerarchy Of Needs

You're probably familiar with Maslow's Pyramid in which he sets out the needs and motivations of human beings. In his 'hierarchy of needs' the most basic requirements of life are at the bottom [food, water, warmth, rest] and at the top the needs for self-fulfilment.
Sarah Lazarovic, a Canadian artist, has re-imagined his pyramid in terms of our need to purchase things.

I think this is an extremely clever idea. Sadly her blog seemed very short lived [3 posts a few years ago] but the principles in her pyramid are good ones. How often do we assume that when we 'need' something, then we should just go out and buy it?
I'm presuming that 'thrift' is used in the TransAtlantic sense, that is "to obtain cheaply/2nd hand/Charity Shop etc"
I suspect that in this house 'make' would come a lot nearer the bottom of the pyramid, and that the bottom line would be amended to 'use/repair what you have' 
Case in point - when I got my sewing machine out last week, the plastic spool holder on the top had snapped. I loked online, it would cost around £4 and take 3 or 4 days to get a replacement. It took me a few minutes to find this youtube clip. Bob looked at it, said "I can fix that!" and went off to the garage. He was back after 10 minutes - so within half an hour of discovering the broken part, my machine was whirring away again, good as new.
Now I know I am extremely blest to have a brilliant DIY man around. Not everyone would have an instant repair like that - but I am glad that I have saved money and resources. 

 

Have you been able to solve any problems lately by using the ideas at the bottom of the pyramid, rather than getting out the credit card?

And So To Bed...

... Says Samuel Pepys,  frequently, in his diary.  My latest effort in dressmaking for Isla the American Girl doll  is a dressing gown and pyjamas. The D.G. was made from the final piece of lilac fleece which I  bought about 10 years ago for a Christmas  project. The pjs  were made from a pair of my pyjamas which I no longer wear. There are loads of free AG patterns out there, and it didn't take long to put this together.  I thought that lining the hood with the butterfly print finished it off nicely. 

Where Eagles Dare...

At Mother Teresa Airport last week, we were greeted by a sign saying "Welcome to Albania" and underneath it said "Mirëpritur të Shqipëri". We asked Merita about this - and she explained that Albania is the old, medieval name for the country, but Shqipëri is the name the people use - it means 'land of the eagle' - and they called themselves  Shqiptarët, 'children of the eagle'

The legend goes like this...

A youth was hunting in the mountains. An eagle flying above him landed on top of a crag. The eagle was especially large and had in its beak a snake. After a while, the eagle flew away from the crag where it had its nest. The youth then climbed to the top of the crag where he saw, in the nest, an eaglet playing with the dead snake. But the snake wasn’t really dead! Suddenly it stirred, revealed its fangs and was ready to pierce the eaglet with its deadly venom. Quickly, the youth took out his bow and arrow and killed the snake. Then he took the eaglet and started for his home. Suddenly the youth heard above him the loud whirring sound of the large eagle’s wings. 

“Why do you kidnap my child?” cried out the eagle.

“The child is mine because I saved it from the snake which you didn’t kill,” answered the youth.

“Give me back my child, and I will give you as a reward the sharpness of my eyes and the powerful strength of my wings. You well become invincible, and you well be called by my name!”

Thus the youth handed over the eaglet. After the eaglet grew, it would always fly above the head of the youth, now a full-grown man, who, with his bow and arrows, killed many wild beasts of the forest, and who, with his sword, slew many enemies of the land. During all of these feats, the eagle faithfully watched over and guided him.

Amazed by the valiant hunter’s deeds, the people of the land elected him king and called him “Son of the Eagle.” 

The nation's flag has borne the double headed eagle to represent this for over a century. It has seen many changes down the years - the last change being the removal of the Communist star which was added between 1946 and 1992 [from 44-46 there was a hammer and sickle] The two heads represent north and south, the Albanian ladies told me.

Certainly the Albanian people have been determined and strong despite the many adversities and occupations and foreign rule they have suffered, not just in the 20th century but before that. 

Listening to the stories I was told last Sunday [which I am going to be sharing incessantly with friends and family I suspect] I am sure that many of the WDP Albanian ladies must share my affection for Isaiah Chapter 40. Always a comfort to me, this great passage ends with these words

Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint. [Isaiah 40]

One Plane, One Purl...

I was 45 before I flew in a plane. And I hate take-off. My first flight was pre 9/11, so I took needles and yarn and produced a pair of baby bootees on the flight to Paris, and on the way back.
Then airlines banned knitting needles.
I dislike tunnels, so I took plastic needles the one time I went on Eurostar - and was so tense I snapped one!
But just before leaving for Albania, a friend posted on Facebook that her cousin needs knitted baby hats to take out to Nepal. I checked with BA - needles are allowed again! I found a pair of plastic ones [which I could live without if they made me surrender them at check in] and a few leftover balls of yarn - some chunky-ish, some fluffier 4ply sock yarn.
And I knitted happily there and back - and even whilst in Albania. 

Dita laughed at me, and grabbed my needles. She was like a machine - her technique was so fast. 
"Tell her to stop!" I asked her daughter
"She say's she's helping you and the poor babies"
"No, she must stop knitting- she has reached the point where she needs to start decreasing!" Click this link >> Dita Super-Knitter

I shall be able to take 9 hats to Sophie at church tomorrow to pass on to her cousin.

And I am much less stressed by take-off now!
The pattern? 
5mm needles, and either use 2 strands of 4ply knitted together, or a lightweight chunky 

• Cast on 60sts.
• Knit 4 rows K2P2 rib
• Knit 4" in stocking stitch, end with P row
• decrease for crown...
• [K4, K2tog] repeat to end [50sts]
• purl one row
• [[K3, K2tog] repeat [40sts]
• purl one row
• [K2, K2tog] repeat [30sts]
• purl one row
• [K1, K2tog] repeat [20sts]
• purl one row
• [k2tog] repeat [10 sts]
• purl one row
• [k2tog] repeat [5sts]

Cut yarn, leaving about 12" for sewing up. Thread yarn through remaining 5 sts and pull tight. Sew up back seam. They aren't all exactly the same size. But then, neither are babies heads!!

Elf An Saty

A decade ago, I was talking to a class about the need to be careful when handling electricity. One of the children wrote that it was becos of elf an saty

I am not sure that H&S legislation has reached Albania yet. Or if it has, people just turn a blind [blinded?] eye to it. 
The electrical wiring outside the apartments was like untangled knitting - and inside, multiway extension cables appeared to be daisy-chained across the floor so that multiple appliances could be plugged in to the one socket in the room.
Both the older buildings from the Communist era and the newer apartment blocks suffered from external macramé cabling 

Water tanks and air-conditioning units were positioned precariously on wall, overhanging the pavement. But nobody seemed to mind, and nobody appeared to get hurt.
The bottom left picture in the collage shows the view from the front seat of the taxi which we travelled in to and from the airport. Yes, those lines across the screen are cracks. They clearly do not bother with MOT tests either. Our driver had a seat belt. We had straps - but no corresponding point to plug the buckle into! Our coach out to the coast was the same. 
I just had to take this picture on our ride back to the airport

I was really amused by the pink T-mobile ad [left hand side] It proclaims "One life" - and I wonder, if we only have one life, why are we driving in a manner which may shorten it?
On the right was the petrol station. Kastrati seemed a rather odd name for the main Albanian independent petroleum company. It clearly means something different in the local language - I cannot see macho petrol-heads from the UK stopping to buy fuel there.
I thought their blue and yellow geodesic dome was attractive though.
But these were minor things and did not spoil our enjoyment at all. The people were all so happy and friendly, and so generous and laid back about life - and maybe sometimes we here in the UK get just a little too bothered about the regulations. I guess if I had been living for so many years in a strict communist atheist state, I'd really relish the freedom to do my own thing.

Hogs and Candles

Today, February 2nd, is Candlemas Day. The 40th day of the Christmas-Epiphany season in the church calendar, it commemorates the ritual purification of Mary after the birth of Jesus, and the presentation of baby Jesus in the Temple. Luke chapter 2 speaks of an old man called Simeon, who held the baby and declared him 'a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of God's people, Israel'. This is believed to be the derivation of the name. Then it became the day on which all the church candles were blessed for the year.
Candlemas falls at the midpoint of winter- halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. 
There are many superstitions and bits of folklore surrounding this day. One very ancient rhyme states that

If Candlemas day be fair and bright

Winter will have another flight

If on Candlemas day it be shower and rain

Winter is gone and will not come again.

So watch out for the weather, and hope for a shower or two!

Snowdrops are sometimes called 'Candlemas Bells' [or sometimes Mary's Tapers] because they usually bloom around this time of the year. 

Some folk used to believe that these flowers should not be brought into the house prior to Candlemas as it would bring bad luck – others said to bring snowdrops into the house on Candlemas Day itself meant there would be a death in the family [imho that’s a load of tosh!!]  

However, in more recent times, superstitious people say that these flowers purify a home.

According to folklore, an angel helped these Candlemas bells to bloom and pointed them as a sign of hope to Eve, who wept in repentance and in despair over the cold and death that entered the world. Many Christians see the flower as a symbol of Jesus Christ being this hope for the world. Candles that are lit during Candlemas also symbolize Jesus as the “light of the world”.

Another bizarre tradition is that any Christmas Decorations which were not taken down by Twelfth Night should remain in place and only be removed on Candlemas Day.

And if you are reading this and thinking that British folklore is a weird and wonderful thing, and we are all completely bonkers, just remember our cousins across the pond.

In the USA, February 2nd is Groundhog Day. In 1841, a Pennsylvania storekeeper wrote in his diary 

"Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas Day,  the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."

nd even to this day, people will go outside and see if the groundhog appears - and how quickly he returns to his home - and that will predict the weather for them. Madness!!

Clearly this is a day for 'weather prognostication'. You may have seen the film of G. Day, with Bill Murray. 

The picture is a groundhog in Punxsutawney, PA - the place to be if you want to know whether or not to pack away your winter woollies.

I shall check the back garden for snowdrops later - but that will probably be the limit of my Candlemas Celebrations. What about you?

Afternoon Update- rain all morning [stopped now] and I found a clump of snowdrops, a single snowdrop - and a golden crocus blooming in the back garden [also two fluorescent footballs have recently arrived in the back of the shrubbery!]

Close To The Water, Close To The King...

OK, this is not a photo which I took over the weekend - it is simply one I found on the net which I could modify to indicate where our bedroom was at the hotel where the WWDP event was held.
I have yet to upload all my photographs and sort out my thoughts, so I cannot post anything coherent at the minute. Returning from time away always means catching up with emails, sorting out washing, unpacking bags, dealing with things forgotten/overlooked before departure etc. 
But as you see, our room was high on the 6th floor, and we were overlooking the Adriatic. The umbrellas were all dismantled as it was put-of-season January, and the swimming pool full of rainwater and dead leaves... but nonetheless we had a stunning view from our balcony of the beach and the Adriatic. On Saturday night at midnight we could see and hear a firework display further round the bay.  Durrës is the second largest city of Albania, and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Here is the picture I took on Friday afternoon...

The ladies kept telling me that they have a special phrase in Albania "Close to the water, close to the King"
I asked what this meant - and they explained that when you are near water [be it sea, river, stream, lake or whatever] you realise things are growing, you can find food, you are able to wash...close to the water, there is life, and that life is a gift of God. At least, I think that was what they were telling me!
I suppose it is a bit like that English poem God's Garden - people only know that one phrase about being 'nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth'
Whether or not I understood their explanation it is certainly true that by the seaside, in the company of these amazing ladies, I was really conscious of the presence of God. 
When I posted the picture on FB on Friday, an old friend commented "What a wonderful experience for you to be in the country. I don't think your presence for such a reason would have been possible in the 60s, 70s & 80s given the proclamation of the 'world's first atheist state'" He was so right - and it was a real privilege to hear the stories of how many secretly clung to their faith, despite the rulings of the state. The churches of Albania may have been closed, demolished, or maintained as 'museums of historical culture' - but they were still able to find God as they walked by the sea, or swam in the lakes. I have been truly humbled to meet these women.
Siobhan and I told them that we too lived close to the sea [she is from Exmouth]. I often walk along the sands at Christchurch, or sit on the quayside at Poole, here in Dorset- or paddle at Cromer or look out across the marshes at Brancaster when I'm up in Norfolk . I hope that next time, I shall remember their words, and feel 'close to the King' myself - and also remember to pray for my new Albanian friends.