Falling down the rabbit hole

We’ve had a house full of good friends during the last couple of weeks which means there’s been a lot of sitting around talking and quite a lot of doing and going and eating.  What fun!

Some things go on as normal though.  We still feed our trivia thirst by having the General Knowledge crossword on the kitchen table to complete over a few days.  My m-i-l cuts it from her paper each weekend and passes it on to us, never attaching the answers!  We have our own little rule of not googling anything until we are down to the last one or two answers and of course, we never enter the competition, because by the time we’re done, it’s almost into next week.

This week,  45 down prompted a memory.  Sitting at the table with our friends, I filled in the word “singlet” and muttered “Knitting a Singlet for Cecil”.

It’s something Daddy would say, if prompted by the name Cecil, the word singlet or anyone knitting!  I never knew where the line came from or how he came upon it, but it would always make me smile (It’s that name, Cecil, isn’t it?) and I imagine, that was one reason why he said it!

So I did what we all do now, when the conversation turned to where the line came from: I googled.

I found this.  It’s a song – which you probably knew already, but this was the first I’d heard. 

I googled some more and found all the words.

So I’m knitting a singlet for Cecil (Sharp?)

I’m courting a lad such a nice sort of lad, but he’s so sentimental you’ll say.
He’s asked for a keepsake to wear next his heart to treasure when I am away.

So I’m knitting a singlet for Cecil, a nice woolly singlet for Cecil,
it’ll keep him as snug as a bug in a rug as in it’s embrace he will nestle.

It’s fancy where it should be plain but I can’t pull it all out again,
it’s low at the back and the front it’s a ‘v’ and the arm holes are not where I meant them to be,
but it’s soft so it’s sure to remind him of me, that singlet I knitted for Cecil.

So I’m knitting a singlet for Cecil, a nice woolly singlet for Cecil,
it’ll keep him as snug as a bug in a rug as in it’s embrace he will nestle.

I couldn’t afford so much wool so he’ll have to keep giving a pull,
he’ll have to use flakes when he washes the thing,
but just like the ivy I know it will cling, & lots of fond memories it’s certain to bring
that singlet I knitted for Cecil.

A keepsake to wear next his heart fancy that; to please him i really do try,
I’ve looked in the shops til I’ve got a stiff neck & I can’t find a darn thing to buy.
So I’m knitting a singlet for Cecil a nice woolly singlet for Cecil,
it’ll keep him as snug as a bug in a rug as in it’s embrace he will nestle.

My keepsake he’ll never forget, it’ll tickle his fancy you’ll bet,
it’s such a nice colour he’s sure to look swell,
it’s the woolliest wool that the wool sellers sell it’ll tickle him where
he can’t scratch as well that singlet I knitted for Cecil.

So I’m knitting a singlet for Cecil, a nice woolly singlet for Cecil,
it’ll keep him as snug as a bug in a rug as in it’s embrace he will nestle.

It’s the first time that I’ve knit one of these & it’s shorter than fashion decrees,
he might get a chill both behind and afore I think I will add just a few inches more
& then he can tuck it in his bottom drawer,
that singlet I knitted for Cecil.

Freddie Robins

Well!  who knew?  I can imagine that hitting the spot during the war, when my Great Aunts were sitting around knitting in an afternoon (as they did) and Daddy was hauled along to sit with them and his mother!

But I wasn’t done.  I spotted a video there amongst the google listings too, but sadly it wouldn’t play.

Thankfully though, it was there on Spotify, on an album of Knitting songs.  Yes, of course we had to listen!  (It did go on a bit…)

 

I now discover Melanie Gall and not just one but two collections of knitting songs from WW1 and 2…

And you wonder why there hasn’t been a blog post for a while?

Sunny June

It’s been a while coming.   We’ve been watching and waiting to start our annual ritual.

There are signs that it’s going to be a bumper harvest this year.

A bit of warm sunshine this morning brought the first elderflower blossoms out though and it was time at last for my Hero and I to gather the first bowlful.

I stood in the same place, followed the same recipe and thought the same thoughts as I have been doing for the last twelve years. 

It’s just another of those punctuation marks in our life.

Another year.  Another elderflower cordial post.

Two washers left.

In “project summerhouse”, the next step was to find some storage solution for the few bits and pieces we keep up there.  I’d looked around the sheds on the retail parks here and there and liked nothing I saw, but eventually, I spotted this one online.  You can guess where it was to be found?

Today, I began the adventure.

It was actually quite easy, but incredibly heavy (34kg!) so I was glad of a hand from my hero for the last few bits.

It fits perfectly and is just what I was looking for.

The shelves were soon filled and all that remained were two washers.  I think IKEA have improved their quality control enormously!

As we sat with a drink and reflected on our productive morning (sitting on the newly cleaned garden chairs; the product of my hero’s busy morning) ), I marvelled at the scruffy little plant which sits on our garden table right now.  Each flower is a little gem when viewed closely: I must get my paints out!

But first, there’s another project to be completed  - or at least, to be started.  I’ve built up a small collection of canvases for the stairwell and we decided there’s no time like the present to begin. I laid them out on the floor to get a balance of colour and shape.

We almost followed the plan, too.  I guess I need to finish another dozen or so canvases now.

No rest for the wicked, eh?

Getting on with it

I took a deep breath and opened the summerhouse door to be greeted with wall to wall cobwebs.  Ugh!  Never mind, our bright yellow “hard work” vacuum cleaner quickly sucked them up and feeling in a “get on with it” mood, I carried on and made it all presentable again.  But as I did, I looked at those two folded chairs and thought how sad they looked.  Watermarked and spider-spotty, I didn’t much feel like sitting on either of them.  Maybe it was time to perk them up a bit?

The last time I had that thought, I got out the acrylic paints, mixed in some textile medium and painted the canvas.  But I didn’t feel like repeating the exercise and took them apart to have a think.  I recalled a company selling deckchair fabric so before I got some lunch together, I googled and came across The Stripes Company (though I’d actually bookmarked them as Deckchair Stripes, I discovered later).  It was quite difficult to choose from some glorious deckchair fabrics but I decided on “Aerobics” and placed my order.

In true internet shopping style, it was immediately acknowledged and paid for.

Around 2.30pm I had another email.  My package had been dispatched. 

I was working this morning and in a meeting, so I don’t know what time it arrived, but this afternoon, when I arrived home, there it was.  I was thrilled with my choice and even more thrilled by the outstanding service.

I suppose it was about 3pm when I started to give the wooden frames a bit of a clean up.  I might have switched my sewing machine on around 4.

All I can say is that by 6.30pm we had two spiffy chairs, ready to use!

Slow progress

I can’t believe that it was in March when we discovered a small disaster and since then, we’ve become quite used to a rather strange arrangement of a couple of wonky pictures and some broken hooks on our staircase wall.  But it occurred to me that we expect a few guests over the Summer and I will soon tire of telling the story.

I’d got a box of box frames already, thinking that I’d create something with our travel ephemera at some point, and this was the catalyst to get me started.

The thing is, we do have quite a bit of travel ephemera…

Anyway, I’ve made a start and I think we have enough to begin the first hanging.

Though right now, I have a couple of “vernissage” issues to resolve.