It’s That Time of Year……

For Strictly Come Dancing….

I think Jason might have it sewn up. I love Alex Jones, she has a very warming personality in my opinion. It was a shame about Rory. Anita was a surprise and Lulu a disappoint. Holly has not spark with Artem. Russell is divine and Nancy has got to go edited to say she has now gone since I wrote this post. Half the time I could not understand what she was saying and I do not think she knew what she was saying either. But she brought in the viewers. Cynic that I am. Simon Cowell take note I feel. As for Tess Daly’s dresses…..

For Vests and Thick Woolly Tights….

and also summer tops and shorts. The weather has been rather changeable for October, one minute I am cold the next rather too warm. At least the white pasty legs are now covered up.

For Winter Quilts….

The summer quilt feels like it has not been on for five minutes then I am changing to the winter one, and doing the duvet cover shuffle when changing it but it is worth it to feel cocooned in it.

For Poppies….

Remembrance Day will soon be upon us. After having visited the Knitting and Stitching Show, crafts with felt are quite the ‘in thing’ at the moment, and I have some other projects on the go involving felt and flowers. The flower associated with the day as we all know is the poppy and I wanted to make my own so here it is. I currently cannot get hold of the red felt circles to make more as this particular size is out of stock. This could be a one-off for this year at least.

For Scarfs….

Well when it is cold, it is time for scarves and I have just finished the wool that I bought last year and actually got two scarves out of it! That is economising. I have started on the wool I bought this year, but it is proving slightly tricky.

For Christmas….

I have ordered Christmas at work and it has arrived. When I say Christmas I actually mean, new decorations and the paraphernalia for the dance and lunch we hold. Frighteningly to say this we will have it all done (and the decorations down) by 16 December! Talk about wishing your life away.

I have also ordered a few presents already for Christmas and in these economically challenging times, the task could be even harder this year.

What does this time of year make you think about?

I have won a competition…..

I go in for competitions now and then and to be honest I cannot even remember sending my email in for this competition at Newbooks Magazine  but I obviously did and I WON! What did I win, well it is the new P.D. James novel Death Comes to Pemberley.

I am waiting for the book to arrive, because it is coming direct from the publisher. For those who do not know what the book is about – the blurb is below

The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the nursery, Elizabeth’s beloved sister Jane and her husband Bingley live nearby and the orderly world of Pemberley seems unassailable. But all this is threatened when, on the eve of the annual autumn ball, the guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley’s wild woodland. As it pulls up, Lydia Wickham – Elizabeth’s younger, unreliable sister – stumbles out screaming that her husband has been murdered. Inspired by a lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen, PD James masterfully recreates the world of Pride and Prejudice, and combines it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted crime story. Death Comes to Pemberley is a distinguished work of fiction, from one of the best-loved, most read writers of our time.

I have seem bits and pieces about this book around the blogs, newspapers and on websites because of its obvious connection to a classic author. I will now have to get round to reading Pride and Prejudice, having only watched screen adaptations. I recently read Persuasion and loved it.  I have never read any P.D. James, which some could say is a classic author of her time and genre so great things to look forward to.

I have something to look forward to in the post! But I also have got two complimentary tickets to the Jane Austen’s House Museum which is in a comfortable driving distance of about 35 minutes from where I live.  It is a lovely part of Hampshire and I was intrigued more by it by Darlene’s visit which she talks about here. Sometimes we need outsiders to remind us of what we have on our doorsteps. Thanks Darlene.

One Book, Two Book, Three Book, Four and Five #2

Simon at Stuck in a Book started this meme a little while ago and it really caught on. Back doing it again here I thought I would join in and it would be give me an opportunity to actually post something, as there is plenty of reading but not enough finishing at the moment!

1. The book I am currently reading

The Taker by Alma Katsu, a debut novel and one sent by Newbooks Magazine for review. I have had it for a little while and started it and put it down, but decided to carry on as it deserved that much. I like the historical elements and the sections in the book very interesting however there are parts that do not appeal to me at all and I am finding these rather a slog. Nearly finished, but not worth giving up at this late stage.

I have other books ‘on the go’ but I have chosen this book, because it is the one I am reading the most at the moment.

2. The last book I finished

The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley. Review can be found here and I rate the book extremely highly. As you can probably gather from my post. Hoping to interview Lucinda on here soon, please come back and visit.

3. The next book I want to read

Actually I am not sure. Anything really, probably something light. I currently have moved The Birthday Party by Veronica Henry from the bookshelf in the living room to by the bed. So it could be that one but then again……

4. The last book I bought

Difficult one to remember but I think it was The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory from a charity shop. I have not read The White Queen yet, although it is on my shelf and it is tempting me, but I think after finishing The Taker I need something lighter before diving into a Gregory novel.

5. The last book I was given

Actually it was The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley (have I mentioned this one?!). So as not to go on about the book, which I can assure you I am not getting any payment for promoting. I have decided to go back to before that and it was in fact 3 books given to me by a friend of my parents who reads and reads some more. Just like all us book bloggers I suppose. Nigel Farndale – The Blasphemer, Babs Horton – A Jarful of Angels and Rohinton Mistry – A Fine Balance. Has anyone read these.

This is a great little meme and because it is an infrequent it always throws up some interesting finds from other bloggers. Do let me know if you take part and I will pop along and say hello.

George’s Marvellous Medicine – Roald Dahl

I have spent some of this year with my reading, revisiting favourite children’s authors. One of those was Roald Dahl and in fact probably still is a favourite. Having read Matilda earlier in the year I wanted to venture back and read one of the others. So why George’s Marvellous Medicine? Jackanory that is why.

I remember having read the book and thinking it thoroughly delightful in a disgusting sort of way. George Kranky is an 8 year old boy who lives on a farm with his mum, dad and grandmother and life would be alright if was not for the grandmother! George is treated like a suspicious, sneaky slave by Grandmother and like all 8 year old boys (and girls) secretly plots his revenge. Given the opportunity one day to give her a taste of her own medicine.

…He found another jar of creamy stuff labelled HAIR REMOVER.SMEAR IT ON YOUR LEGS, it said AND ALLOW TO REMAIN FOR FIVE MINUTES. GEorge tipped it all into the saucepan. There was a bottle with yellow stuff inside it called DISHWORTH’S FAMOUS DANDRUFF CURE. In it went.

George starts to create the marvellous recipe which has decided effects on his dear old grandmother, and a chicken, and a pony…..

Grandma yelled ‘Oweeeee!’ and her whole body shot up whoosh into the air…Up she went like a jack-in-the-box…and she didn’t come down…she stayed there…

George’s father, Killy Kranky thinks they can solve all problems, their own financially and the worlds by producing large animals and subsequent produce. Trying to recreate the said marvellous medicine has some disastrous effects and the Kranky household is changed forever.

But what did Jackanory do? * Simple they brought the story to life with the help of Rik Mayall who went round the house recreating the medicine. The YouTube clip below is a bit shaky and unclear but I think you get the gist.

I am sure that someone has analysed these books and they have some moral undertone and meaning. But I think this book is simply cashing in on every child’s dream of making potions, mixing mud with water and whatever else is to hand to create something magical. For George it became true, although it could not solve world hunger, which is where the message perhaps lies. As an adult reflecting back, solve the things you can solve that are manageable, though I do not suggest blowing grandparents up with a rather dodgy medicine, there are some which are just beyond our means but not necessarily our imagination.

*Jackanory is a BBC children’s television programme that has been running since the mid sixties and was where a famous actor, actress would read out children’s stories over the course of a week in five, fifteen minute episodes. Enough to hold a child’s attention.

The Girl on the Cliff – Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley’s first book Hothouse Flower was excellent, her second surpasses that; something which many authors struggle to do.

This is a book where its core theme is love both with the present story and the past story which is told to us by Aurora the girl on the cliff. Aurora opens the story telling us as a readers she is going to tell her story, that of the past and the present and the intervening years and she is going to tell it despite unhappy occurrences and struggles of her many relatives.  Immediately Lucinda Riley has you hooked, as there is something ethereal not just about Aurora’s voice but also her character as the story starts to be told.

Grania Ryan has escaped from her wonderful life in New York, walked out on her lifestyle, her sculpting career and her boyfriend after suffering a miscarriage. She does not tell her mother why she has returned to West Cork in Ireland but through her mother’s instinctive love she knows Grania needs protecting. Grania is stubborn and her pride is a strength which at moments in this story could easily become her downfall and was obviously one of the reasons she fled New York. Back across the Atlantic Matt the man she has left is struggling to work out what he has done and his story of love is scattered throughout the book until Aurora remarkably performs the denouement.

Grania escaping from everything meets the girl on the cliff and a bond is formed so quickly and mysteriously that Grania’s mother Kathleen starts to worry even more as this attachment to each other has a place in the past that Kathleen would rather not visit. Then begins the story of the past, the story of war, of the domestic staff, of starting again with nothing but love and becoming something from nothing and the potential of losing it all. As the story unfolds for Grania (and us) the ties that bind Aurora and Grania through their families past come together, in fact Aurora now has a new history which suddenly explains the present and even the future.

This book at over 500 pages long has packed in such a lot that you have to keep reading because once you think you have perhaps worked out how the links of the past come together you learn something else. It is packed with characters past and present who are all relevant to both Aurora and Grania, a family tree is provided but cleverly it comes at the point of the book where we believe we know everything there is to know and then the story is going to follow perhaps a common well written pattern. It does not and Lucinda Riley provides us with more storylines and paths to walk down with Aurora and Grania.

As with Hothouse Flower, the writing is atmospherically eloquent. From the winds blowing on the Irish cliff tops to the dark days in wartime London you are transported there without effort. Even the houses which feature in the book, Dunworley House in Ireland, Cadogan House in London and the loft apartment in New York are uniquely described that you can know exactly where you are at any one point.

The plot if I tried to break it down in a review would actually mean I gave it all away, that is the key to this book it has so much to offer.  If you are a fan of romance, historical theme books, contemporary novels, fans of society and those upstairs and downstairs or a fan of all then this is the book you must read this autumn, in fact this is a book you just must read.

There is so much more I want to say about this book that if I had packed it into a review for Amazon then they would probably have been a bit annoyed! But that is what is great about having a blog I can witter on to my heart’s content! 

The character of Aurora is so magical that I actually thought at one point she was not real and this book was going in a completely different direction how I wrong was. Grania a lovely Irish Gaelic name has such pride but is so hurt that I would have defied anyone not to have wanted to help protect her in some ways. Matt has the same pride as Grania but neither of them realise it and when Charley appears I wanted to scream as she manipulates Matt for her own end. It always takes a woman to see exactly what another woman is up to, if only I could have stepped in before…..

The characters from the past, Mary was so strong and her relationship with Jeremy was so heart rendering that I shed a few tears. They were not the only tears that I shed in this book, it is so heart warming and sad all at the same time. Grania’s family, her mother Kathleen and her father John are just as important, although it is to be noted that this book is full of strong wilful women. Kathleen through her story of the past which relates to her family and the family of Aurora goes through some sort of closure for Kathleen and realises that the past actions of the relatives of one small child cannot hold up in the present. 

In the back of the book, is the first few pages of Lucinda’s new novel The Light Behind the Window. I could not bring myself to start something that I would have to wait a while to finish, so I have closed the book and let it tempt me.

Thank you to Lucinda Riley, the author for sending me this book to review. I will treasure the book and the story. I am hoping that Lucinda will have the chance to pop along to this blog soon and answer some questions so if there is anything you want to know, please let me know. 

Requiem for a Mezzo – Carola Dunn

Daisy and Alec get the opportunity to go to see a performance of Verdi’s Requiem at the Albert Hall and what more could a couple with a burgeoning relationship wish for on a pleasant Sunday afternoon.  Pleasant it is not when one of the leading female singers stands up and gives her final performance as she sings her last breath as she collapses to the stage and dies in front of a packed Albert Hall.

Conveniently for those around, Alec is in factor Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard. Inconveniently for him is that Daisy is the Honourable Daisy Dalrymple who seems to have had a knack lately of turning up where murders have happened. Daisy with her journalistic nose, twitching wants to help. Even more so when it is in fact Daisy’s neighbour Muriel Westlea who is closely related to the dead singer. Alec is less than keen, but he knows somehow Daisy seems to be able to get people to talk to her and reveal facts without actually trying. Despite Alec’s best intentions, Daisy seems determined to help in any way that she can. But she has not forgotten that her afternoon out with him has been ruined and hopes that they will be able to make up for it soon.

Family tensions are brought out in the open and enemies seem to be coming from everywhere who has something to say about the dead singer. All readers of mystery crime novels know the smell of one particular poison, but is the smell to obvious and is there perhaps more to this death than is first thought.

The third in the Daisy Dalrymple series and the perfect escapism, although it did take me a while to get into as within the first few pages a number of characters are thrown in and I was unsure of who was who and their relation with each other. That aside, a good book and I look forward to reading the next along in the series.

I had to look up what a mezzo was; a medium soprano female singing voice. OK, so that was what Mezzo was, but I needed to relate to my ear so to speak! (Please excuse the puns!) A bit of googling and the name Katherine Jenkins came up now I understand and know what I would be hearing. Having been to the Albert Hall and sat right at the top along the back, literally the last row I know what a vast venue it is and for me not a very nice place to sit. Don’t look down; the feeling of nausea did not pass. Never was I more glad to get outside and onto the pavement.

I digress, but imagine being the detective who has to say they want to interview all the people in the venue about what they witnessed c. 5500. Luckily for us and probably them, Alec Fletcher and Daisy only have to concern themselves with those on the stage itself.

I wonder what Daisy will get herself involved in next. Whatever it is I am sure Alec will be near by, as their blossoming relationship is quite endearing to read about. A great cosy crime with a sprinkling of romance. 

Wonderful Wednesdays #7 (Favourite Authors)

Wonderful Wednesdays is a meme about spotlighting and recommending some of our most loved books, even if we haven’t read them recently.  Each week will have a different genre or theme.

This weeks theme is favourite authors.

This is such a difficult topic because I could come up with a number of names. Daphne du Maurier springs to mind, but that is because Rebecca is one of my favourite books and I only have read this and Jamaica Inn. There are many more I could be reading, and I have yet to participate fully in Discovering Daphne which is running this month.

I thought I would go and look on Goodreads as it comes up with some silly statistics and I see under ‘ most read authors’ comes Mary Jane Staples and I have read 32 of her books. I have not read any for many years, but I went through a stage of reading them one after the other. She is an author of the genre ‘aga saga’ and I loved reading about the Adams Family from the turn of the twentieth century through the wars. For some reason though I tailed off from reading them. The author is no longer with us but her books still seem to be being printed and I have read that some of her books written under pseudonyms are being reissued. Perhaps this favourite author should remain a memory of the past.  Aga saga and ‘village’ story authors feature in my most read authors on Goodreads. But does most read equal favourite. No I do not think so.

I would still from a children’s book perspective say that Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl are favourite authors. I have revisited various different Enid Blyton books this year and I am currently on a bit of a Dahl binge as well. More about that in a later post.

Most recent favourite authors include Patrick Gale, Notes of an Exhibition is an excellent book and I recommend it. I have not read all of his back catalogue (no doubt I will at some point) but I would certainly be interested in his future books. Linda Gillard and Lucinda Riley are new authors to me this year and they have some fantastic books which everyone should read. Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard is a book which explains much about mental health issues but also helps with those who suffer or know someone who suffers. Lucinda Riley’s Hothouse Flower is a great novel to escape into and her new novel The Girl on the Cliff  is great and I am over 100 pages in and hopefully Lucinda will pop onto this blog for a chat soon. Other authors that pop into my head; Sharon Owens, Kate Atkinson, Phillipa Gregory, Deanna Raybourn to name a few who write very differing genres.

Oh I could go on (do not worry I will not!) but I think mention has to go to Agatha Christie as she is up there as a favourite author without a doubt. For that passion I thank my mum.

In conclusion I am not sure I have a favourite author and actually I think if I answered this question a year a go it would be a very different post with different names that pop up. As more books are let loose on readers like us all, more authors are discovered and favourites come and go.

Do join in if you want to here and leave link to your post so we can all pop along and read and perhaps pick up some new favourite authors along the way.

The Secrets Between Us – Louise Douglas

Sarah and Alexander meet in Sicily, Sarah is escaping her broken relationship and the loss of her stillborn son by being with her sister and brother in law. Alexander’s reason for Sicily is not made clear at the beginning as he is there with his son Jamie.  There is a connection between Sarah and Alexander and on returning to England, Alexander asks Sarah to come and be his housekeeper and part time nanny to his son, their passionate tie seemingly forgotten.

But then there is Genevieve, Alexander’s wife the third person between Alexander and Sarah but the world to everyone else. The village where Alexander lives and brings Sarah to, treats Genevieve as their centre. Locals regard her as a minor celebrity, her beauty; her horse riding ability, her presence brings them joy. Her family are also resident there, but there are secrets that they all seem to be hiding and not acknowledging. The past is slowly catching up with them.

Sarah as an outsider suddenly starts to question everything about Genevieve and it seems Genevieve is starting to haunt Sarah. Everything points to Alexander having something to do with Genevieve missing, is he keeping one secret between them that could destroy everything? The book written in first person narrative brings you closer to Sarah immediately and you begin to question everything that she questions; the noises, the faces, the images glimpsed. It also shows the reader the depth of Sarah’s love not just for Alexander, although I think it wavers on occasions but also his son Jamie where no matter what she is willing to protect and love as if he was her son.

For me the strong female characters in this book shone through, there is Sarah as the main central character and Genevieve whose missing presence is just as strong. Louise Douglas starts to let you feel sorry for her, you worry about her missing, but as the book moves on and more is revealed then I started to change my mind. Genevieve’s mother, Virginia has the perfect life at the cost of others, and her step-daughter Claudia, Genevieve’s half sister is the antithesis to everything Virginia wants from a daughter. There are also other smaller roles, for Sarah’s sister May as a confidant and help, Betsy the only village woman who understands Sarah’s agony at being an outsider not conforming to the village ideal stereotype.

This book has a resonance of Rebecca and Jane Eyre, the perfect wife and the missing wife respectively but it stands alone from these great classic. It has drawn on Gothic thrillers and builds such tension that you have to keep reading because you start to believe that everything is not as it seems. There are twists and turns within the book, and this surprised me as I could not put all the pieces together where they made sense and come to an obvious clear conclusion. An excellent book from an unknown author to me and if this is the calibre of the writing then I hope to read more.

This was the fourth book I read for the Transworld Challenge and was excellent. A new author to me and I am now going to seek out previous novels and see how they measure up to this book. 

In the ‘publicity’ of this book I can see that references are made to Rebecca and Jane Eyre, which even I do in my review but I do feel sometimes that tagging a book with such a reference can sometimes leave the reader expecting or wanting something exactly the same – they do not get that with this book. Rebecca and Jane Eyre are books in their own right, and so is this one, it should not be perhaps grouped together, although flattering to be grouped with such excellent books.  I suppose that is where book genres come in. 

I was not shocked by the ending, I had worked out ‘the twist’ about 100 pages before the end of the book, and it did come as rather a shock, but then it suddenly made everything else make sense. As if the clouds cleared and you could see everything exactly how it was, not fogged by images. Louise Douglas gave Sarah that feeling as well. 

I have enjoyed this Transworld Challenge as I have read 3 authors I would not normally have read! Hope they do another one again soon. 

The Magic of Christmas – Trisha Ashley

Christmas is an important time in the village of Middlemoss, in fact they spend a great part of the year organising it starting in August with the Christmas Pudding Circle. Locals gather together to plan, the puddings they will make for the hampers for the senior citizens, as well as the annual Mystery Play which is held, ideas for flavours of ice cream, things to do with mincemeat, a glut of apples plus all the local gossip. A real village community project.

The circle is made up of the Postmistress and her husband, a local farmers wife, an infant school teacher, the retired vicars daughter and the main protagonist of this book Lizzy who in fact as well as being related to distantly through marriage to the locals in the ‘big house’ scrapes a living my writing her on chronicles about real life in a cottage, in a little village and all the cooking and the goings on of the residents. In fact these chronicles form the opening of each chapter.

And so Trisha Ashley sets the scene as she does in previous novels. But this by no means twee, add into the Christmas mixture, a son going off to university, the new rather shy young vicar, a husband who seems to be a permanent surf bum and flits from women to women, without many of them knowing about each other, the dotty aunt at the ‘big house’ owned by the Pharamonds, a pet sitting business, disappearing squirrels, a marriage, plenty of flirtations and lots of delicious sounding food that makes you want to start baking straight away. That complete mix gives you The Magic of Christmas by Trisha Ashley.

Fans of her books will perhaps recognise some of the characters, as this is loosely based on an earlier novel Sweet Nothings but has been reworked and with a lot more additional material. As I have not read this I cannot comment, though would be interested to see what others say. However this is a good book to start with if you have never read any Trisha Ashley before because it has romance, family arguments, disputes and skeletons. It has pathos but it also has humour and Ashley manages to combine all of these that you feel the characters come off the page and you would certainly be welcome in any of their homes to eat whatever they cook. My only criticism if it can be called one is I was slightly confused about how Lizzy and her husband Tom, fitted into the Pharamond family tree, I did try and make sense of it, but in the end just went with the flow and enjoyed the book.

Great for all Ashley fans and for those who perhaps have never read any of her novels or for those who fancy a bit of Christmas reading. Delicious!

I could not resist this book on kindle because it was only £1.99. Paperback not out until 27 October and according to Trisha Ashley newsletter the kindle price will go back up. It does seem weird reading about Christmas in October, but who cares, it was just a lovely comfy read and on the settee with some chocolate was just what the doctor ordered although not the diet. Even if you are not eating whilst reading Trisha Ashley’s novels, you will find your mouth-watering so much. Not ideal for someone like me, trying to maintain all the weight I have lost reading about such delicious delights. 

I only discovered Trisha Ashley last year, with The Twelve Days of Christmas and  since read Chocolate Wishes. I still have a few more to catch up on! And I am sure I will enjoy them all. 

Now I have had a taste of Christmas in books, I think I might be venturing into some more Christmas reading. Bliss. 

Alexandra Palace – 2011

For those who have read my blog for a while will know that I am into crafts, and that once a year I go the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace every year. Friday gone saw me doing that for the umpteenth year, in fact I think my mum and I have lost count. I reported about 2010 here and interestingly enough some of those comments still stand!

It was a great day out, as it generally is. Overall, knitting is certainly back in the forefront again, stitching is taking perhaps a back seat for a while. However, having been to many of these, everything comes round so no doubt it will change again. There was very little papercraft there which in some ways is good as I think this has now developed into its own separate shows. A great amount of material if you are into quilting which is one of those things I wish I had the time to do.

There was the stands which sold the chocolate, handbags et al and the wonder mop was there again this year competing with a wonder iron. It is only a wonder to me if it does it without any effort from me? No, did not think so!

So let us get down to the purchases, I was very controlled and restrained due to finances, and my budget that I went with, I cam back with half of it.

In the picture you should be able to spot, a tape measure – having seen an idea whilst there it involved a tape measure, more of that later in the post. Felt flowers, star and circles and balls, again another idea seen but I refused to pay £9 for something that I could make myself for very little in fact all that felt came to just £4. More wool, for more scarves, different sort of wool and I must knit this up before next year, as the wool I bought last year has got as far as this

It has now made it out of the spare room into where I sit with all my other stuff!

Back to the main picture, at the top is a kit for a Crazy Patchwork Christmas Tree which my mum bought me as an early birthday present (this has become a tradition). I have not had a chance to read up on it, but I think this could be a challenge but it looks really lovely finished. Some more paper mache boxes to do some decopatch on. This was a craft I picked up on last year, and has sustained me throughout the year, with various different projects. Finally, it is all on a cloth bag, which I bought (I wish I had bought now) as I wanted to decorate it, probably with the felt flowers or something of that ilk.

Now for that tape measure (be warned this might be a Christmas Present for many this year!)

I spotted these tape measures by sheer accident, and went back a couple of times to have a look so I could make sure I had the idea the right. This is one I made and not bought. There were animals and Christmas themed ones of course. My mum has found 7 tape measures both square and round, which can be covered and created into something other than a boring plastic tape measure. You get a lot of free tape measures when you subscribe to craft magazines over the years. Oh yes, how does it work….

So that was what I came away from, but there is more in some ways that pictures cannot express. The way all the colours are displayed in the material, the threads, the choices but also those ideas which are around everywhere. Not just on the stands but the people who were there as well. Knitted jumpers, waistcoats, badges, bags, brooches, hair pieces you name it you could probably have seen it there.  Yes, it is mainly full of a women, but there was more men than previous years, and also there is always a huge young presence there, through school and college trips I realise but I hope that these people are the next generation to keep crafts alive.

As for the journey home, I refer you to last years post. It must have been the same ladies! You can always tell a non-driver. The coach driver had a lot of patience.

Now to get on with the creating.