243: if he worked on a checkout this would never have happened

Dear readers, this is my text for the week and the reason I spend a lot of time wishing to strangle my Beloved. Obviously I love him dearly, and he tolerates my snoring and the fact that my cooking is usually singed as I’m so easily distracted, but he does have one terrible habit.

Recently I have been watching Sons of Anarchy – I like the soundtrack so I thought I might enjoy the series. It has Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal and Jimmy Smits and Henry Rollins and other good people in it. It has redemption arcs and romance, and while I want to tell Charlie Hunnam to pull his trousers up I am, indeed, enjoying it. Yes, it’s all about a biker club who are – by their own admission – breaking the law and generally not being very nice people but (and this is an important but) it’s a work of fiction and thus requires the suspension of disbelief. This is the whole point of fiction.

What, I hear you ask, does this have to do with wishing to strangle my Beloved? Surely he is also enjoying it? After all, there were seven series so it must have had something going for it. Make yourselves comfortable and I shall tell you all…

My Beloved, bless his little cotton socks, can be positively transported by hours and hours of hairy-footed hobbits, orcs, appalling space operas like Zack Snyder’s truly bloody self-indulgent and awful Rebel Moon I and II (which he is watching again, and if anything didn’t need a director’s cut it was that), smug pointy-eared blonds elf-splaining Elven lore via inescapably dire scripts like Amazon’s latest Middle Earth epic, Vikings with suspiciously perfect teeth, and Korean zombies/demons/spirits from the vasty deep. He waits with bated breath for the next series of all these things and insists on rewatching the previous series before starting the new one. This can get wearing, especially when he rewinds a bit in case he missed something important in this series he’s watched before. Bear in mind, please, that he frequently cannot remember that he’s seen the film at least twice before, until something completely minor happens and it brings back total recall. I call these his Father Dougal moments.

He cannot, however, watch a single moment of SOA without loudly critiquing their every move for not being realistic. They made their choices, he says. They are criminals and her husband was a criminal so of course she was killed! Live by the sword, he declares. Die by the sword! She is an accessory after the fact! Guilt by association! She is aiding and abetting! Why does no one come and shoot them at home? I, on the other hand, accept that it’s fiction and not a moral fable, at that, and am happy to see where the story goes*. If I wanted a factual account of biker gangs in California I would be watching a different programme on a different channel: I don’t, so I’m not. He also argues with Midsomer, most other crime dramas and – actually – most of my other TV choices on the same basis, up to and including Doctor Who. He says these things loudly and in a tone of mild outrage and disbelief, as if fiction is not allowed to be unrealistic. This, dear reader, is why I am the patient, tolerant being that you all know and love. It’s the act of not strangling him for twenty years.

*My main question about SOA is how Katey Sagal hasn’t changed a bit in 30 years and looks younger now than she did in Married with Children in 1987.

Things making me happy this week

Taking part in the Miller Knoll Day of Purpose on Tuesday, helping them prep for a community event in December. Cutting and sticking and making stuff! Fabric galore! A tour of their showrooms! Excellent chairs!
A five mile walk on Saturday morning – no baby cows but a happy pig snuggled up in his straw bed and a friendly cat.
Starting the countdown to National Illustration Day with a series of weekly challenges
The end of the anticyclonic gloom being in sight – can we have some sunshine now please?
Tea and a catch-up with Miriam
A Saturday sticking PDF patterns together and cutting out fabric to sew up on Sunday, painting boxes for my stall and making a new sign
See the works on site underway – sh*t’s getting real….
Putting my pixie hat on and getting the office Secret Santa underway…

And now it’s sewing time!

Kirsty x

What I’ve been reading:

Babes in the Wood/The Ghost of Ivy Barn – Mark Stay. Also The End of Magic by him but it was so awful I returned it. Luckily it was on Kindle Unlimited.

Unruly – David Mitchell

Wild City: |Encounters with Urban Wildlife – Florence Wilkinson

Twisted Twenty-six/Fortune and Glory – Janet Evanovich (Audible)

242: not a dolphin in sight

Well, here I am back in a cloudy Essex after a week in cloudy (but not cold or rainy) West Wales. No dolphins or seals this year, but we still had a lovely time once we’d recovered from the drive down. Today’s cover photo shows the cottage we stayed in – the blue one! – taken from the beach so you can see how close we were.

Sunday started with an early solo dip, accompanied by a rather insouciant cormorant ducking and diving near the rocks. I named him Kevin, and he didn’t seem to mind. The water all week was around 14 degrees, and completely flat – not a wave to be seen.

At lunchtime our cousins Jane and Sal (last featured in this blog when we did Race to the Stones) arrived in Sal’s camper van Hetty. After coffee and things with chocolate on we headed back to the beach for an explore: Thing 2 was keen on rockpools and we found Thing 3 en route. He was all about the solo walks, as apparently he doesn’t like walking with ‘old people’.

We wound up the day with a family swim, even convincing Jane to come in although I am not sure she enjoyed it! Sunday dinner was cooked by Tan (with prep assistance from Thing 2 and I, in the shape of vegetable peeling and chopping. There was a gadget for doing julienne veg but not a peeler, so it took a while and a lot of mangled carrots) complete with amazing Yorkshires and cauli cheese.

Monday started with an early dip with Tan and Sal (Jane hung out on the beach and made friends with dogs). Despite the drizzle, once we’d warmed up we took the coast path to Tresaith to see the waterfall. We had lunch in the Ship Inn watching people fly kites on the beach and then walked back to Aberporth in the sunshine. Thing 2’s geography learning has had practical applications this week as she talked about erosion and meanders, and compared the caravan site to a favela (I’m sure they’d be delighted!)

On Tuesday, leaving the kids with strict instructions to stay out of the sea, off the cliff path and to get a chippy lunch (Thing 2 had popcorn cockles again), Tan and I headed back down to Raglan to say goodbye to an old family friend, Little D, who for a tiny person will be leaving a big space in the world. We spent many holidays in Wet Wales with her and her family, watching them attempt to put up their caravan awning and find a signal on the telly. The memorial service was lovely, an outpouring of memories and lots of laughter as well as tears. We had coffee in the Beaufort Arms before, where we met a group of elderly ladies chatting away in Welsh. One of them liked my hair colour, so we ended up chatting to them as well.

Poor Tan got sleazed at by the local barfly – honestly, I leave her alone for five minutes and a disgraced politician hits on her.

We called in on lovely Faye who fed us banana bread and tea (hello Faye!) and marvelled at the fact that the Wicksteed horse is still in the park despite it being quite lethal. The drive back was foggy and autumnal – the trees had turned in just a few days, and were showing off gorgeous oranges and yellows.

On Wednesday I hopped back in the sea first thing, and then we went to Cardigan where we wandered round the town. There’s a lot of crafty gift shops, and the town felt busy and buzzy. We had lunch in The Fisherman’s Rest, where Thing 2 ate crab and Thing 3 ate a lot of cheese.

In the evening we had a message from Mum to tell us that one of our favourite writers, who had become a friend of hers over the years, had died. Phil Rickman wrote atmospheric crime novels set in and around Herefordshire and Glastonbury, and we always looked forward to new books. If you haven’t read his novels you’ve missed out.

Thursday took us to Aberaeron, where the harbour is mostly inaccessible while they reinforce the walls and improve the flood defences. After a wander we headed up into the hills to Bwlch-Nant-yr-Arian to see the red kite feeding. Thing 3 had stayed in Aberporth as his toes were hurting, so we did one of the walking trails and then had pasties in the visitor centre before making our way down to a bench to watch the kites being fed. A few crows have taken to chancing their arm (wing?) for a share of the chicken pieces while the kites are still feeding. I hope that Natural Resources Wales keep this centre open, as it’s so well used by walkers, cyclists and geography students from Wolverhampton as well as the kites themselves. On our return we coaxed Thing 2 into a wetsuit and headed in for a dip.

Friday kicked off with a dip for Thing 2 and I, and then we headed back to Aberaeron with Thing 3 in tow as well. We bought pasties from Y Popty and went back down the coast to New Quay for lunch on the quayside, where we were watched intently by a hopeful seagull and a jackdaw. The dolphins and seals were nowhere to be seen, so we had an excellent ice cream and went down to Mwnt for a walk – we visited the tiny church and climbed the mwnt, then went down the steps to the beach. I love the waterfalls that parallel the stream, and the little wagtails that skip around them.

In the evening we went to the local Indian restaurant for dinner, which was delicious but also entertaining – the waitress is very local and was carrying gossip from table to table. Asking for dessert came as a surprise to them – quite possibly no one had wanted one for a while!

The drive home was much more straightforward than the drive down: we knew the A40 was closed again and so hit the M4. Less scenic but behaving itself for a change! And now back to work we go on Monday….

Things making me happy this week (other than holidays):

Helping out behind the bar at the annual school & Scouts firework display – I love fireworks, and this is always a great village event.
Working on a jigsaw with Thing 2 (we didn’t finish it so we’ll have to do it again at Christmas!)
Not politics, which seems to be loopy all over the place.
Not having to get on public transport of any kind.

And that’s it! See you next week.

Kirsty x

What I’ve been reading:

The Spellshop – Sarah Beth Durst

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments/The Mystery of Dungevan Castle – TL Huchu

The Crow Folk – Mark Stay

241: where’s my head at?

This week my corporeal self has been in the office but my spiritual self has been journeying to Wales. Flashes of scenery from the very well-known journey have been popping up in my brain: familiar views, landmarks (not just those where my sister threw up, which is often how the family measures journeys) and glimpses into the near future. It’s been very distracting, especially while I’m trying to concentrate on things like research into illustration as a learning tool, emailing everyone I have ever met about National Illustration Day 2024 and how they can celebrate it with us, thinking about evaluation, schools programmes, funding applications and what on earth I’m going to cook for dinner. My brain is so fuzzled this week that I forgot the name of the filesharing website I needed and had to ask the team. Luckily they knew but my mind was a complete blank. Spotify has helped – our office is on a mezzanine floor above a comms company and some days it’s very loud, so I plug into a playlist and get my head down. In the ears this week have been They Might Be Giants, Rusted Root and Dolly Parton.

It hasn’t helped that Thing 1 has inherited TT2’s inability to respond to an alarm and has them going off constantly from 5am. Apparently they sink into her subconscious, but I think its more that they wake EVERYONE else up and we all go and shout at her. Not that that works either, but we feel marginally less furious.

The journey to Wales, when it finally came, gave me a LOT of time to look at the scenery. It took us five and a half hours – the usual length of the journey – to reach the border due to unexpected road closures, tractors who were thoroughly enjoying leading a holiday parade, standstill traffic on the M25 and surrounding roads. We avoided the M4 as it was a mess, and kept to the M40/A40. Once we hit Wales it was pretty plain sailing apart from another unexpected A40 closure, with no diversion signposted, and the route we found took us over Mynydd Epynt and the Epynt Range complete with vans full of soldiers in camo paint and the odd group of squaddies in full kit appearing as if from nowhere, sheep roaming the roads and big signage telling us DO NOT STOP and that the road was open to the public that day (phew). The views were amazing, and we could see the training town on the next ridge over. We eventually arrived just before 7pm after leaving Essex at 10am. The views will be lovely in daylight!

Chip butties for dinner with popcorn cockles rounded off the day. The out of office is on, we are in Wales, aaaaaand…. relax. The cottage overlooks Cardigan Bay, so hopefully we’ll see the dolphins and I can’t wait to get in the sea.

Things making me happy this week

Watching Season 4 of Slow Horses which was way too short, and starting Bad Monkey based on Carl Hiaasen’s novel. I love Vince Vaughn.
We celebrated Thing 2’s 16th birthday, with a Wiggles the Caterpillar cake (other caterpillars are available, much to M&S’s disgust) and dinner of her choice which this year was tacos.
Seeing skies full of stars in the mornings and London at dawn, with the ludicrously Gothic old Prudential Assurance Building looking at me as I exit Chancery Lane station
Late Autumn sunshine, although it makes dressing tricksy.
Wales.

Next week: what I did on my holidays.

Kirsty x

What I’ve been reading:

Perverse and Foolish: A Memoir of Childhood and Youth – L.M. Boston

Wild City: Encounters with Urban Wildlife – Florence Wilkinson

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian – Marina Lewycka

The Good, The Bad and the Furry – Tom Cox (Audible)

Twisted Twenty-Six – Janet Evanovich (Audible)

Unruly – David Mitchell

240: Here we go again part, I don’t know, several million

Well, gang, it’s been a while since I had to get up on this particular soapbox, but here we are again. This time it has a positive outcome but quite frankly it should never have been an issue in the first place, it being 2024 and all that.

I should probably include a trigger warning here for workplace bullying, sexual harassment, self harm and fury. Skip to the happy list at the end if you like. I won’t mind. Honest.

Thing 1 has been working for the last month or so at the local pub, where she and her best friend do a mix of kitchen and front of house shifts. Another of her friends, a lad she was at school with, also works in the kitchen. It came to light that she really wasn’t enjoying the kitchen shifts, and neither were her friends, due to another, older, member of staff who was making sexually inappropriate comments to these two teenage girls and bullying the boy. Not in front of other staff, of course, but in that nasty underhand way that bullies have, trying to make his other victims complicit in his behaviour – presumably with a sense of relief that they weren’t on the receiving end for a change, because that’s how bullies work. He commented on Thing 1’s self-harm scars and ‘advised’ her on more effective methods, and made explicit comments on the girls’ physical appearance. He threatened to get them all sacked and screamed at the boy so loudly in the kitchen it could be heard in the bar.

One evening last week they got together and approached their manager, with video evidence of an incident and detailed everything else that had gone on. The manager – also the father of a teenage daughter, but I would hope his reaction would have been the same anyway – offered the girls the chance to speak to his wife if it made them more comfortable, or for his wife to join the conversation. He didn’t make them make a statement, which is supposed to be procedure at the company. The bully was sacked the next day for gross misconduct and it’s been made very clear to all the staff that bullying of any kind is not acceptable.

I’m very proud of them for standing up for themselves, but furious (mama bear again) that yet again Thing 1 has been subjected to bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Having been the victim of bullying at work when I was a young teacher, I’m aware of just how long-lasting the effects can be, how damaging it can be to your confidence, and I didn’t want this to be her impression of what work is. I’m also pleased the manager’s response wasn’t to ‘have a chat with him’ as it was when I reported sexual harassment to an HR team in the first museum I worked in. It also demonstrates the power of working together – forming their own little union, if you like, and making things better for everyone.

My baby bird has come a long way since the incident a couple of years ago with the local business owner, and I am glad that the lack of action by the CPS on that occasion didn’t deter her from reporting this, but oh, how I wish that this sh*t (sorry Dad) wasn’t still happening in the first place.

Things making me happy this week

Interesting online things – mentoring training for working with young people who want to get into the creative industries, and one on workplace wellbeing.
A good day at Copped Hall last Sunday, despite Thing 2 being convinced her feet were going to fall off. Converse are not good cold weather shoes.
Making crochet French Fancies. With google eyes.
Idris Elba’s In The Long Run, his comedy series loosely based on his East London childhood. At the same time I was reading Lenny Henry’s autobiography, set a decade earlier, but detailing his experiences growing up in the Black Country as a Caribbean migrant. There’s probably some clever comparison I can make but mostly Lenny Henry’s made me quite sad. Word of warning – Netflix have listed In The Long Run backwards so we watched series 3, then 2, then one and were very confused.
Brassic, which has gone from strength to strength as the series (serieses?) have progressed.
Bemused by Lulu-cat’s personality change in the last few weeks. She’s taken to shouting at us and demanding food loudly, herding us in a most Bailey-like fashion.

Next week I’ll be coming to you live from sunny (I hope) Wales. Must remember to pack laptop.

Kirsty x

What I’ve been reading:

Who am I, again? – Lenny Henry

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian – Marina Lewycka

Perverse and Foolish: A Memoir of Childhood and Youth – L. M. Boston

21st Century Yokel/The Good, the Bad and the Furry – Tom Cox (Audible)

239: mama bear mode engaged

This has been a fairly chaotic week, what with one thing and another, juggling family, work and finally a mercifully brief (as long as I don’t move too fast) bout of vertigo.

Thing 1, as I have mentioned before, is doing one of those new-fangled T-level things, in Education and Early Years. After a rough start at Harlow College doing a beauty course which she didn’t enjoy, she began the T-level course and got a A in her first year. A large part of the course is practical, spent on placement in an early years setting. Last year she was in a setting in Harlow, which meant the better part of 3 hours travel every day at the mercy of her inability to get up despite approximately a million alarms and an erratic bus service. This year, she got a placement in our local town, which you’d think would be a good thing – except it was the one school locally where I didn’t want her to go, as when she was a pupil there she was badly bullied. The school were unhelpful to say the least, telling me that she – as the victim – had to take some responsibility for being bullied. I have never come so close to thumping someone as an adult in my life – I was literally speechless, and anyone who knows me will be aware that that does not happen often.

Her anxiety stems from this experience, so I was worried that going back there would trigger a crisis. She felt that she would be OK, but the two reception teachers made it clear that they had no use for a student and weren’t allowing her to plan and deliver the activities her course required. She was also very distressed about their handling of a child with behavioural issues and children crying (these are four years olds who have been in school for a matter of weeks). I have long held that this particular school is not supportive of children with additional needs, and I still wish I’d removed Thing 1 before the end of primary. Things 2 and 3 changed school when Thing 1 went to secondary, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made – if your child’s only complaint on their first day is that people tried to play with her and ‘they didn’t even introduce themselves!’ I think it’s a good sign.

Luckily her tutors were supportive, especially as Thing 1 had already raised the child with a behavioural issue as a safeguarding concern with them, and they have helped her to find a new placement with a lovely local school. She’s been talking over the last few months about going to university and has expressed an interest in working with children with SEND, which I think she would be great at (obviously I am biased, but) and I really don’t want her to have a negative experience before she’s had the chance to find out what she wants to do. (My own final teaching practice began with the teacher saying ‘You can’t be a teacher in a year, I don’t know why you’re bothering’… and it went downhill from there.) The relief I am feeling and the gratitude to the local head for making an exception and taking an additional student this year are enormous. I know she’s 18 and all that, but I am pretty sure there’s no age limit to the mama bear instinct.

Other things making me happy (or dizzy) this week

A visit to the Charles Dickens Museum on Wednesday – I took their learning person on a tour of the New River Head site (Dickens was a New River Company customer, it seems – even back then people were complaining about the water companies. Dickens paid for a bath-sized cistern but it was never full enough) and then we went for a return visit.
Later that evening the vertigo started – I probably shouldn’t have gone to work on Thursday but it was World Mental Health Day and I’d organised a team lunch and made banana and Malteser cake. The journey home was not fun, I can tell you that much. Luckily the cats kept me company all afternoon and Thing 2 looked after me.
An extremely slow walk around the Knitting and Stitching Show with Heather on our annual pilgrimage to Ally Pally – I didn’t buy anything at all, which is a first, and we remembered to take our packed lunches. We saw many Bees, including Luke who won this year’s GBSB, and I met some lovely textile illustrators. The Subversive Stitcher, who had an amazing exhibition of vintage tea towels in the foyer, was a favourite, and Harriet Riddell‘s amazing embroidered portraits and scenes. We liked Richard Box’s gorgeously tactile hares and flowers, too. The show had a couple of years when the big exhibitors didn’t attend but it seems to be back on form now – the graduate showcases and quilt exhibitions are always worth a look too.
Lots of making for today’s Apple Day at Copped Hall. Thing 2 is helping me out again, and we may have to be ‘those people’ in dryrobes as the temperature is looking autumnal.

You may detect a distinctly festive theme to the making, as I have just heard I have a stall at this year’s Epping Christmas Market, but there’s autumnal ones too…

And now I am off to enjoy the new series of The Cleaner, with lovely Greg Davies. Same time next week then!

Kirsty x

What I’ve been reading:

Unruly – David Mitchell

Razor Girl – Carl Hiaasen

We Are All Made Of Glue/A Short History of Tractors in the Ukraine – Marine Lewycka

Horses, Heifers and Hairy Pigs: The Life of a Yorkshire Vet – Julian Norton

21st Century Yokel – Tom Cox (Audible)

238: I myself am strange and unusual

Last Sunday Thing 2 and I took another trip to the cinema, this time to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – my choice of film as the original is one of my favourite 80s movies. I was wary of it being a sequel for the sake of it (see the latest and hopefully final instalment of Bill & Ted for an example of this. Actually…don’t see it, it’s bloody awful, take my word for it instead). I’m happy that she wants to spend time with me even though she’s almost 16 (in 16 days, as she has just reminded me), and also we wander over to TT1’s afterwards and see the ever-growing family.

It was great. A cameo from Danny De Vito, reappearances from some familiar characters in bit parts – in bits, in fact – as well as (of course) Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara from the original cast. Jenna Ortega put in a great turn as Lydia Deetz’s daughter who’s taken second place to ghosts her whole life. Justin Theroux as a would-be stepdad was revolting. Michael Keaton, as the bio-exorcist being stalked by his soul-sucking ex, was on top form – but then isn’t he always? No story spoilers, but do go and see it.

I love a good 80s movie, and although some of them are a bit problematic in these enlightened days, I’m still introducing the kids to them when they pop up on the streaming channels. We’re drifting into the 90s a bit now, with Billy Elliot a recent watch, but mostly I’ve been sticking to my own teen favourites. So, in no particular order, here they are…

The Princess Bride. The greatest film ever. No arguments.
Say Anything. Featuring John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler, best known for standing in the rain playing Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes at Ione Skye’s window. Stalking by any other name, but I LOVE it.
Pretty in Pink. I still think she should have ended up with Duckie like in the book, and her prom dress was the ugliest dress EVER. But this was peak Andrew McCarthy…
…and so was Weekend at Bernie’s. One of the funniest films ever made. Wildly inappropriate. I still cry with laughter.
Reckless. Oh heavens, Aidan Quinn as a teen rebel. Be still my beating heart.
Ghostbusters. Giant marshmallow man. Sigourney Weaver. Bill Murray and Dan Ackroyd.
The Outsiders. Brat Pack heaven*, based on an amazing book by S.E.Hinton that makes me cry every time. So does the film.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Matthew Broderick in cheeky mode, Mia Sara in gorgeous mode, and Jennifer Grey in pissed off big sister mode
Dirty Dancing. Nobody puts baby in a corner. Great soundtrack and Jennifer Grey again, and *that* speech in Johnny’s cabin. Swoon.
Labyrinth. David Bowie and Muppet monsters. Win-win.
Batteries Not Included. Community spirit and a really cute baby alien.
Stand By Me. One of the best Stephen King adaptations ever, beautifully done – one of his novellas, starring a very young River Phoenix.
The Blues Brothers. Carrie Fisher’s finest moment. Dan Ackroyd. Aretha. Endlessly quotable lines.
The Lost Boys, Pretty Woman, The Breakfast Club, Time Bandits, Field of Dreams, Heathers., The Goonies, Footloose, Big….so many.

*You may spot that apart from #7 there is no Tom Cruise in this list. I loathe Tom Cruise, even more than I loathe Jim Carrey and Ricky Gervaise. This means that there will be no Top Gun or Legend on this list. Ever. Despite Tim Curry’s appearance in the latter. Tim Curry also gets an honourable mention as The Grand Wizard in The Worst Witch (also starring Diana Rigg as Miss Hardbroom – perfect!).

Other things making me happy this week

A sunny walk this morning to the farm and across the hare field – no hares today, but lots of deer and some autumn calves. I did a bit of jogging and a bit of walking, and my knees and achilles seem to have survived which is nice!
On Tuesday I took part in audio description training run by Mind’s Eye – so interesting and useful, and it really made us all think differently.
Taking a break from making tiny Christmas Mice – making crochet gingerbread men and starting a baby blanket too
Series three of Heartstopper – this really keeps the feel of the graphic novels
Tiny pumpkins. I am tempted to paint them.
My beloved made me some excellent display boxes for my Copped Hall Apple Day stall next week, and Thing 2 and I started making props for Christmas displays.
Being given a rheumatology appointment well within the twelve weeks – six weeks since referral, in fact. Less pleasing was the ‘aging’ bit but at least it’s osteo and not rheumatoid. I think.

Today I am off for a swim at the lake with the ladies, and next weekend it’s the annual Ally Pally visit for the Knitting and Stitching Show.

Have a good week, people!

Kirsty x

What I’ve been reading:

21st Century Yokel – Tom Cox (Audible)

Real Tigers – Mick Herron

Unruly – David Mitchell

We Are All Made of Glue– Marina Lewycka

Razor Girl – Carl Hiaasen

237: excuse me, did you see where summer went?

Well, where did it go? This week has been very rainy – indeed, torrential at times – and there’s been a definite chill in the air in the mornings and evenings. I was even forced to wear socks while working at home on Friday which seems a step too far after last week’s warm sunshine. I’ve swapped the cats so Ted and Bailey are the upstairs ones this week, as they’re pretty much guaranteed to lie on me at night and keep my feet warm. The downside of this is opening my eyes of a morning to find the pair of them glaring at me, especially if I’ve had the temerity to sleep in past 5.30am and their breakfast is late. Teddy, in particular, likes to tap-dance on my ribs to encourage me to wake up.

In the usual manner of things, of course, I can’t find the jacket that’s been hanging around all summer, and it’s still not quite cool enough for a coat. It’s also dark when I get to the bus stop in the mornings. It does mean we can look forward to crispy autumn and winter swims soon, and Thing 2 and I had fun popping conkers on the way home this afternoon. She brought me a pocketful of conkers from a walk the other day, knowing how much I love their shiny, silky shells.

I love autumn, it may be my favourite time of year, with the forest showing off its best colours – even London’s street trees get their chance to shed crunchy plane leaves all over the place, at least until the street sweepers turn up. There’s tiny pumpkins in the garden and squirrels are parkouring around the place collecting acorns and burying them so they’ll pop up as little oak saplings all over the garden next year. We* have transplanted enough of these into pots to make a small portable forest.

*Not me, obviously. My beloved, but I admire them when he’s done it and point out new ones when I spot them.

Other things making me happy this week:

Christmas crafting – making gingerbread men and yet more tiny mice
Afternoon at Jill’s for her annual Macmillan tea party. I left before the gin was cracked open…
Colleagues who recommend good books, and library ordering systems
Another cross stitch finish and a StayPuft Marshmallow Man
My job – working in an organisation genuinely committed to EDI and understanding barriers to access both internally and externally. Kindness and respect go a very long way.

Today I am off for a morning swim, and then Thing 2 and I are off to the cinema to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – I was in charge of tickets and she’s on snacks, and then we’re going to go and see TT1 and the family. And then she’s in charge of dinner, hurray!

This week is new washing machine week, as Repairman 2 wrote it off. Currently when it goes into spin it sounds like its filled with cats and rocks, neither of which should be included in laundry.

Same time next week, then?

What I’ve been reading:

Murder at the Monastery – Rev. Richard Coles

The Island God – Sarah Painter

We Are All Made Of Glue – Marina Lewycka

Tricky Twenty-Two – Janet Evanovich (Audible – and a lot of live Eddie Izzard)

Real Tigers – Mick Herron

236: Saturdays are Library days

It’s Saturday evening and I am typing this in an advanced state of ‘is it nap time yet?’ after a day at the British Library’s ‘Marvellous Me!’ Family Day. This was the last of our pop-up appearances for the summer and I was joined by illustrator Beth Suzanna and Marina from our Artistic and Creative team. We were making paper portraits using collage in Beth’s signature style which is full of bold colour and opportunities for families to add as much detail as they liked. We had a great day, meeting more than 100 people and seeing some amazing creations – one of the families from our summer play project came to see us, too.

The BL runs three family days a year, and this one is in partnership with the British Museum and the Frank Barnes School for the Deaf – an opportunity for D/deaf and hearing families to learn together. There were interpreters on hand, performances by a signing choir, BSL storytelling and sensory spaces and the whole day felt inclusive and welcoming. I had a wonderful conversation with the mobile evaluator team and will definitely be stealing their ideas – and inviting them to be part of our access panel. We spoke about the need for 360 degree reflection at the end of projects, and the importance of understanding why things go wrong sometimes.

I say this every time, but…. yes, I am absolutely shattered, but I’ve met 100 people of all ages, from babies up to grandparents, and every single one of them reminded me why we do what we do (and why we bloody love it),

In other work news, we had a fundraising event at our new site – the last one before we start the build, which is PRETTY FLIPPING EXCITING – and despite promising myself I would not be completely overexcited at meeting illustrators I failed. It was all fine until Nick Butterworth, creator of Percy the Park Keeper and Tiger and Jasper’s Beanstalk turned up and Tom Gauld, whose cartoons for Guardian Books speak to me very loudly.

There were delicious macarons, and Quentin Blake sent us a special message via monster.

On the less happy side, we also said goodbye that evening to our lovely Head of Comms and Content who is off on a seaside adventure – but I did get to hand over her leaving gift. I will miss her very much!

Other things making me happy this week

Crochet mice. I like making these!
Coffee with my LEN (Lovely Ex-Neighbour) Emma after WAY too long. Our midkids (aka Bonnie and Clyde) have been besties basically since birth, and we used to open the gate between our gardens and drink wine while they rampaged.
A Sunday morning swim
Finding a lot of Eddie Izzard included in my Audible subscription and laughing out loud on the tube
The cat being signed off as healthy by the vet. We knew she was better when she savaged a small visiting child but it’s nice to have the official word

Right! My family require feeding… have a good week!

Kirsty x

What I’ve been reading:

The Distant Echo -Val McDermid

That Mitchell and Webb Sound (and various Suzy Eddie Izzard shows) (Audible)

Dead Lions – Mick Herron

Murder at the Monastery – Rev. Richard Coles

235: red hot chillies and tiny hats

This week has seen the return of the crafty mojo after my worst craft stall ever at Copped Hall on bank holiday weekend – I sold two pairs of earrings all day, which tends to make you wonder why you’re bothering. Even the two tiny dachshund puppies I made friends with didn’t quite make up for it…it’s surprising how much impact one off day can have!

I pulled myself together enough to put in my application for a stall at Epping Christmas Market and went back to crocheting chilli peppers on the tube in the hope that the next stall will be more successful. An Italian lady who bought a pair of chilli pepper earrings told me that in Italy chilli peppers are hung up to ward off stop people gossiping about you and to bring good luck, and who doesn’t need that? Perhaps I should start hanging them over the stall.

This year’s decorations will probably not include pigs in blankets unless people ask me really nicely, but there may well be cats as Thing 2 has decided that’s what’s missing from my stall after scrutinising everyone else at the event. There will also be mince pies and mice, and probably penguins. Let’s see where they get me….

I’ve also been making a couple of cross stitch gifts but can’t share them till they’ve been handed over, so you’ll just have to wait.

Tiny twins in Sprite hats. Aren’t they adorable? Just don’t ask me which is which

And tiny baby hats in multiples of two using yarn from the stash, for Arlo and Bohdi, who I finally got to cuddle last Sunday after taking Thing 2 to the cinema to see Despicable Me 4 (we loved it). They are so, so small and so laidback, which I’m quite sure won’t last once they find their voices. We were entranced by the way they mirror each other’s movements. Thing 3 was terrified when we first handed him a baby but got quite relaxed after a while, while proud Grandad was his usual baby expert self. We know he’s proud as he accosted all the neighbours when TT1 popped round last Saturday with the words ‘Grandchildren! Look!’ which is positively effusive for him.

During the evening crafting sessions I’ve been binging the excellent Slow Horses, starring Gary Oldman and the ridiculously elegant Kristin Scott Thomas. I’ve so loved the books and was assured that the series was just as good, and – for once – it is. Hopefully Apple TV’s adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s Bad Monkey will be just as good – the soundtrack of Tom Petty covers is a good start, as is the casting of Vince Vaughn. We’ve also been watching Brassic, a Sky programme which is very ‘it’s him! from that!’ and extremely funny with it. The hims and thats in this case are Joseph Gilgun from Preacher, and Ryan Sampson from Plebs, both of which we enjoyed.

Other things making me happy this week:

Fountain pens. I have the urge to write letters to people just to write with one. I feel I should be that person, and live with the misguided hope that perhaps a beautiful pen with real ink would miraculously render my atrocious handwriting legible.
Six month health checks for Teddy and Bailey, who do not need to be wrangled into the cat basket at serious risk to my wellbeing, and who are both very doing very well. Lulu, on the other hand, requires a pincer movement, two people and ideally steel gauntlets, full armour and a welding mask. Even then you should have the first aid kit handy.
Washing machine insurance. Mine apparently requires a new drum, a new PCB (whatever one of those is), a new seal and a new front.
Early morning coffee with Amanda.
Impending autumn, with chillier mornings and not melting on the tube.
Visiting the new Islington Museum ‘People of Islington’ exhibition, celebrating local artists and makers. They have a section of elm pipe from the New River which I’m quite jealous of. I wonder if they’d miss it?
The rather elegant cat below, who I met on my way home from Islington Museum. He was waiting impatiently for someone to come home and let him in.

And that’s it from me for the week – next weekend you can find me at the British Library’s ‘Marvellous Me‘ Family Day with illustrator Beth Suzanna making paper portraits. This is the last of our pop-ups for the summer and we’ll be alongside a whole lot of other excellent organisations so do come on down.

Same time next week then!

Kirsty x

What I’ve been reading:

The Skeleton Road/Out of Bounds/Broken Ground – Val McDermid

The Masquerades of Spring – Ben Aaronovitch

Murder at the Monastery – Rev. Richard Coles

That Mitchell and Webb Sound (Audible)

234: I thought we said Saturday

Some weeks it feels like the weekend is a long time coming. Other weeks you text your friend and say ‘still on for tomorrow?’, they come back with the title of this post and you realise it’s only Thursday and there’s still a day to go.

Not that it’s been a bad week – just long and quite productive, from chatting to the lovely Islington crowds at Angel Canal Festival on Sunday to writing a journal post about our play adventures over the summer, via a thought-provoking evaluation kick-off session, lots of spreadsheets and report writing, and the odd meeting or two.

Things Two and Three went back to school this week, and Thing 1 came back from a long weekend in Brighton and enrolled in year two of her T-level course. I am so over school now, and no longer feel the need to ensure they have new pencil cases and so on. Not because I’m a terrible parent but because they either lose them or don’t use them, preferring instead to use their blazer pockets, a random paper bag or something equally irritating at laundry time.

I, on the other hand, know the value (and joy! so much joy) of a new pencil case. I have many, including my sixth form pencil tin which has ‘Beware of the Spiders!’ on it. Today my pencil cases are scattered across project bags filled with notions and crochet hooks, or even occasionally with pencils. Every ‘Back to School’ display in WHSmiths or The Works or Hobbycraft is a temptation.

There is something magical and filled with potential about stationery: new notebooks, sharpened pencils, a rainbow of coloured pens. My favourite notebooks these days are the freebies from events and conferences with their smooth covers and elastic pen holders. For well-organised to-do lists you can’t beat a classic A4 refill pad separated into sections. And dotted and squared pages make me feel cool and creative. The V&A shop does a nice A5 hardback notebook with different sections, which feels solid and professional and classy. All my notebooks bristle with sticky markers within days, which give the illusion of organisation…

Of course, there’s also the fear of a blank page and of making a mistake on that beautiful clean page and therefore RUINING the whole book, but there we are. Perhaps this will be the notebook where you write your best essay or poem or story, or that is the pencil with which you will draw your best ever picture, or create the most magical doodle. You make a silent promise to the notebook or the new fountain pen (I love a fountain pen. I need a new one, I think) to always use your best handwriting and definitely never to tear scraps off the last page for shopping lists or bookmarks. The promise lasts at least until I make my first mistake, but it’s good while it lasts.

Things making me happy this week

Finishing the kantha-inspired bag
MANY baby cuddles on Saturday, starting with Twin 2 and moving on to The Oat (TM) over iced coffees at Gail’s…looking forward to snuggling Twin 1 tomorrow
Starting a new cross stitch small project
The Airborne Toxic Event’s new album
Fab lollies and avocados, but not at the same time
Finally starting to watch Slow Horses, which is so far living up to to the books and is filmed just round the corner from my office
Lulu Moggy coming through her bladder stone operation. She’s now feeling much better and is back to savaging small children

Today I am taking Thing 2 to the cinema for a mum and daughter day out – she offered to watch the new Beetlejuice film but I know she secretly wanted to see Despicable Me 4,m so that’s what we’re doing. There will be popcorn.

Same time next week, gang!

Kirsty x

What I’ve been reading:

Smoke and Whispers/Why We Die – Mick Herron

We Are All Made Of Glue – Marina Lewycka

Four Seasons in Japan – Nick Bradley

The Skeleton Road – Val McDermid