Showing posts with label mudlarking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mudlarking. Show all posts

Sunday, April 23, 2023

St. George, Shakespeare and my auntie Kitty

 Happy St George's Day!

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Also possibly Shakespeare's birthday and death day, and the birthday of my Auntie Kitty, who could have taken them both on.

One look and the dragon would have rolled over, paws in the air. And she'd probably have fixed Shakespeare's spelling, at least made him spell his name one way, just make up his mind.

Although I grew up in England, I had grandparents of all four nations: English, Irish. Scots, Welsh, one each, in alphabetical order. I hugely support independence of all of them from the others.

Yesterday I found a couple of great YouTube channels to recommend, if you like joyful happy expeditions. 

It's a mother and daughter team who go out mudlarking all over England, riverbanks, woodlands, seashores, to search for beautiful tiny abandoned and tide swept items, some of historic importance, some just lovely. 

The mom of the team is knowledgeable about domestic history and artefacts, but doesn't flaunt it, just slips in information as they go.  

There are places such as  some of the mudflats of the Thames in London, where you can't just go and pick things up. The likely historic significance means you need a proper permit to do it, with the agreement that important finds be handed over to the conservators, often museums or officially appointed folk. So don't just try it if you're a tourist without a permit, because the Tower of London is quite near.

Then our team, Kit and Caboodlers,  create miniature scenes using their finds.

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They're just such fun to follow, a lovely change from doom. Along with Atomic Shrimp, they're a great antidote to stress.

And today I wove my scarf as far as I can. There's a point where even though there appears to be plenty of warp left, the space required to raise and lower the heddle is too tight and you have to stop 

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So, the near end of the scarf is now off the loom, and tomorrow I'll do finishing, fringing and knotting, and declare it done. The white triangle is sunshine.

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And Gladly, the Cross Eyed Bear, took charge of the gear till I set up again. Ursula, in her tiny pink pussyhat, kittenhat, thought it wise to duck down in case he started swinging the PVC piping around.

Happy day everyone! Soup on the stove today, for lunch with a lentil flatbread. Carrot, sweet potato and butternut squash. Not too hot yet for soup.


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