The Famous Vodka Cosmopolitan: 2019

On 7 January 2017, I wrote a Tea Towel Blog entitled ‘Homage to Fenwicks’.  This was about my feelings on the impending closure of Fenwicks in Leicester.  Fenwicks was a large department store, just a couple of hundred yards from the newly built Highcross Centre, a big shopping mall.  Fenwicks was the sort of shop you could find everything in: from saucepans to shoes, from carpets to curtains, from tables to trousers and from a nice cheese scone (the best I’ve tasted) to a full blown Christmas Dinner.  It was the place people met up.  The building had been a department store for more than a hundred years.  It closed because it wasn’t in The Highcross and the way the centre of Leicester was developed meant that all the shops on the outskirts of the shopping centre closed or became a Charity Shop or Poundland.  The death of the city centre.

Last week I met with Jenny in Oakham for our regular monthly lunch.  I like Oakham.  I suspect it was posher in the past, being in Rutland but today there are a combination of independent shops, artisan bakers, butchers, clothes shops, the odd charity shop or two, plenty of places for a cup of tea and a department store.  Ford’s is the department store of Oakham, probably even Rutland.  You want it?  Ford’s have got it.  Lots of kitchenware, gifts, cards, wrapping paper, clothes, shoes, towels, china and glass and much more including a gift wrapping service.  They sell local things like Rutland Teas and Sophie Allport everything.  And like Fenwicks they have always had a huge range of tea towels.  Each time I see Jenny in Oakham I would pop into Ford’s, maybe for a birthday card or the Lancaster Bomber tea towel.

As I walked past, I saw the huge red posters: CLOSING DOWN SALE and EVERYTHING MUST GO.  I asked Jenny about it; she’d just been in to snap up a bargain.  She didn’t know the story behind the closure, she speculated that it is the same old story about the ‘high street’.  A place like Ford’s is unique but their competitors are on the internet.  People will use Ford’s as a place to look at goods, try them out but probably buy the cheapest they can find on the internet.  It is at that point, when the shop closes, that people will moan and complain about its closure.  At Christmas, former customers will regret its loss.

On the way back from lunch, I popped in; I needed to see if they had a tea towel that I could remember Ford’s by and what better that this one!  Pink, garish and the way to drink to the passing of an era (not that I drink alcohol but I can do it with the wiping up!).  The difference between Ford’s and Fenwick’s is that Ford’s didn’t start as a department store. Originally, Ford’s was makers of furniture and a funeral directors.  After it opened in 1877, the other departments were added.  Today, closure is planned for 31 August 2019, unless the stock has gone before that, and Ford’s will revert to being a funeral directors with its office being part of the existing building, separated off and the rest rented out as retail space.

For me, the ‘high street’, anywhere, is becoming a very disappointing place; no independents, banks disappearing, charity shops expanding and more eateries than anyone could possibly want to choose from.  No sense of community, little choice and a set of shops that is replicated in every town across the country.  I am still sad about Fenwick’s closing so,  come August, I will go through that all again but this tea towel will always remind of a department store that once was,

Mystical Woodland: 2019

Sometimes I wonder about myself, about the fanaticism of my love of tea towels.  I look at the tea towels that I have recently bought, some beautiful, some just memories and some weird; maybe just one weird.  Why did I buy the Mystical Woodland?  I’m not into mystical things and definitely not into Unicorns and here I am with a Unicorn gracing my tea towel collection.

I bought Mystical Woodland at Crathes Castle in Scotland.  I really loved Crathes.  The gardens were amazing, especially the Red Garden, certainly gave me some ideas for my own small garden.  However, the gardens bear no relationship to the Unicorns.

I understand that the Unicorn is the national animal of Scotland which is also a bit odd but I bet it doesn’t have all the glitter that is so popular amongst small children in Disney World and Smiggle.   Actually, on looking at it, I quite like the artistic ‘take’ on it, and it certainly has a mystical feel.

The whole point about my collection of tea towels is the memories they create and, however, odd it is, this one certainly creates memories of a great holiday in Scotland.

The Owl and the Pussycat: 2019.

In Creative Writing today, we were given a poem from which some single words were removed.  We had to read, and study, the poem and try to add the missing words, using the style of the author.  This is called a Cloze Exercise.  I might call it the ‘Impossible Exercise’.  It was hard.  It’s a good challenge, to make you think more creatively but not one that I relish.

The second exercise was to come up with two verbs that relate to cocktails, dancing, baking or swimming.  The Tutor collated all the efforts of the class.  From those words we had to choose four and create four sentences, unrelated, using one word in each, trying not to use the words in an obvious way.  There were some beautiful, creative, imaginative efforts but I’m not sure mine came into that category: She blended in like a cockerel on a dance floor.  That I believe will be my last efforts today at being creative.

But I could move on to one of my new tea towels!  And the question you might want to ask me is “What were you doing buying this tea towel?”.  Long story but a few weeks ago I was staying in Aberdeen.  One day we decided to go to Crathes Castle, a National Trust for Scotland property.  It has been visited by Liz’s family over the years and I can see why.  It is set in lovely grounds with a beautiful walled garden.  It is a hilly site and a challenge to my wheelchair-pushing skills.  I was doing ok when a nice man from NTS saw me struggling and helped me get up the steepest of slopes (even he struggled!).  The gardens are laid out in a great fashion and worth going back at different times of the year.

Crathes Castle has a good cafe and a wonderful shop, with lots of tea towels.  As I was looking around I saw this small room at the back with a sign saying ‘Clearance Sale’.  ‘Clearance Sale’!?!  I’ve never seen a National Trust Clearance Sale.  As I wandered down the corridor, I caught a glimpse of a pile of tea towels.  It’s been a long time since I bought a tea towel for £2.50.  This is one that can be cut in half and sewn up into a cushion.  A multipurpose tea towel, couldn’t be better.  Very similar to my Dons tea towel.  Thank you NTS.

 

Pitmedden Gardens: 2019

I was in the tiny shop at Pitmedden Gardens, part of the National Trust for Scotland, admiring the wonderful array of tea towels; I couldn’t see any that directly referred to the gardens.  That was strange since I could see at least twenty different tea towels.  “Have you any tea towels that relate to Pitmedden?” I asked the woman behind the counter.  She was really helpful, looked at every one that hung on an old wooden laundry frame.  “Sorry” she said “we don’t seem to have any”.  I was a bit disappointed but I couldn’t let that upset a day out to some gardens that I had never heard of before.

Pitmedden Gardens are stunningly beautiful in a very formal way.  But best of all is the attitude of the staff.  This is a garden that was designed in the late 1600s, with steps and narrow pathways.  Under normal circumstances this garden might have been off limits to someone using a wheelchair.  But with a ‘can-do’ attitude, this is an accessible garden. The woman in the shop directed us to the gardeners’ workshop and told us to ask for access to the lower gardens.  It worked like magic, through gates usually closed to the public, we were able to get through.  The gardener told us the best way to reach the orchard, which parts of the grass that had most recently been mowed, for easy access, and how to get the best view of the gardens from the highest point.  She made us feel like welcome guests, not a ‘problem’ or a distraction from her work.  She said the gardens weren’t at their best because they were about to be planted up the following week.  They might look better in the summer but they certainly looked good that day.

Pitmedden Gardens is a garden noted for its geometric parterre which vary in shape: could be Lord Pitmedden’s coat of arms or a thistle.  It has 6 miles of box hedges, an orchard, various garden statues and the Museum of Farming Life.  Not only that, but a great tea room which sells the most wonderful soup; you can’t beat lentil soup with cheese scones, all with well balanced seasoning.  I was beginning to sound like someone from ‘Masterchef’.

Returning to the shop, in order to decide which tea towel to buy as a momento, I spotted one I hadn’t seen before, underneath a basket.  I fetched it out (see above) and said to the shop assistant “Here’s the Pitmedden Gardens tea towel” to which she replied “I’ve never seen that before” and I thought ‘of course you haven’t, it was under a basket’.  I love it as a tea towel, unusual and showing the man responsible for the house and gardens: Sir Alexander Seton, 1st Baronet Lord Pitmedden (1639-1719).

I’d recommend anyone, and everyone, should go to Pitmedden Gardens, a truly great, yet unpretentious property.

Muckspout: 2019

English Heritage have developed a range of goods, for sale in their shops, called ‘Unpleasantries’.  It includes mugs, key rings, coasters, greetings cards and, of course, tea towels.  ‘Unpleasantries’ is based on a book, written in 1909 by Andrew Forrester, called “Passing English of the Victorian Era, a dictionary of heterodox English, slang and phrase”.  It lists some words and phrases used in the Victorian era.

I spotted ‘Muckspout’ and immediately thought of my friend Fee.  Seems harsh but Fee is someone who can swear with confidence, adding some colour to her phraseology.  She doesn’t swear at people, or about people, and always knows in whose company she can swear.  She is never offensive.

When I spotted this in Belsay House, I bought the greetings card to send to Fee and the tea towel for myself (I knew she wouldn’t want a tea towel).  I love this tea towel and am determined to collect the rest of the set.  In the meantime, I will just enjoy this one and I think I need to plan a holiday to see Fee, its been too long.

Clan Gordon Tartan: Acquired 2015 (but much older)

‘Jute, Jam and Journalism’ is what I remember from my geography lesson, aged 7.  This was about identifying what the main industries were for each major seaport.  This is the only one I can remember; it had a nice ring to it.  If you haven’t guessed, it is Dundee (Scotland).

For over 25 years, I have driven up to Aberdeen, several times a year, to see friends and relatives.  I always pass the signpost to Dundee, I always drive around it, I always announce ‘Jute, Jam and Journalism’.  I see the mural of ‘Desperate Dan’, one of the printing successes of DC Thompson; I buy a jar of Dundee Marmalade and wonder what they use Jute for these days.  And everytime I cross the Tay Bridge I think “Must go to Dundee, visit it properly”.

Back in 2004, I did discover the Parrot Cafe, a lovely, unique tea room serving loose leaf tea.  I have no idea if it is still there.  But it wasn’t in the centre of Dundee, more the outskirts.  In 2014, with the caravan, on the way to Stonehaven, we stopped in the car park of the most enormous Tescos I have ever seen and had a cup of tea in Dobbie’s cafe; not really my sort of tea room but its difficult to find places to stop with a caravan.  Surprisingly they served loose leaf tea.

When I heard that in 2018 the V&A had a new museum in Dundee I thought, once more, that I must go there and this was a reason.  So in May 2019, journeying to Aberdeen, we stayed overnight in the centre of Dundee in order to visit the V&A; in fact, we stayed immediately opposite the V&A so we wouldn’t miss visiting it.

You don’t need the brown road signs to find the V&A, it is such an unusual building, reminiscent of the silhouette of a ship, you couldn’t miss it.  The size of the exterior is such that it belies the fact that the interior is much smaller than you would expect.  The ground floor is the cafe and shop.  First stop, the shop in search of the ever-illusive tea towel, but I was hopeful.  This was Scotland and Scotland is absolutely brimming over with tea towels.  I would have settled for any old tea towel that I bought within the museum; I could create a tale around that.  In the end, I had to ask the shop assistant if they had any tea towels.  “Don’t know” was the helpful answer.  She turned to the woman next to her “Do we have any tea towels?” .  “Ran out of them ages ago” she replied as she turned her back on me.  She turned back and said “There’s lots of other stuff on sale”.  Well, that was helpful.

We went up to the first floor where the the Scottish Design Galleries were. Free, interesting but rather squashed.  Not a lot of room to manoeuvre in a wheelchair but well worth the visit.  It celebrated all things designed and/or made in Scotland with a particular emphasis on Dundee (Jute, Jam and Journalism).  If you didn’t look carefully it would be easy to miss some of the artefacts on display.

There was a section on the Clan Gordon Tartan and the Black Watch.  The Clan Gordon Tartan is based on the Black Watch with the added yellow stripe.  Then I remembered Jean’s Gordon Tartan tea towel that she gave to me when she moved into a Nursing Home.  This tea towel was made by Ettrick Valley and went out of print many years ago, to be replaced by a Stewart Tartan tea towel (useless piece of information discovered when I was researching this tea towel in 2015).  Because of its connection with the V&A, I would have to use it for my trip to Dundee.  The museum has missed a trick not having its own tea towel since Scotland is prolific in its production of tea towels; it makes the V&A Dundee seem very English, not native Scottish.

In Search of the Osprey: 2019

I lived in Leicestershire for more than 40 years.  I was there when Rutland Water, man-made reservoir, was planned, objected to and built back in the 70s; when Rutland was part of Leicestershire before it became an independent county once more.  I watched the way Rutland Water was developed, as a wildlife area, as an arena for leisure sports, as a great place for walking .  I watched how Ospreys were very gradually helped to find a home on Rutland Water.

I listened to Jenny, who lives in Rutland, telling me all about it and to Gwyn who had tried using an electric bike there.  My mate Ian, who died a couple of years ago, helped set up Rutland Sailability on the reservoir.  But I had never been there and I have no idea why.

A few months ago, Liz discovered the Rutland Belle Osprey Boat Trips, and that they were wheelchair accessible.  Always on the look-out for places to meet up with her sister Lyn, an Osprey Trip seemed like a good idea.  Lyn and Rob like the outdoors, photography, birds and a nice meal.  Lyn wanted to hear the talk about the Osprey, Liz wanted to try anything that was wheelchair accessible.  This could be a good day out, even better if there was a tea towel.

We started with a meal, recommended by Jenny, went onto the talk, bought the tea towel, walked to the hides, cup of tea before embarking on the boat trip at 5.30pm.  It was fascinating watching the Osprey chicks being fed, via the nest webcam.  Mesmerising.  From the hide you could see the nest, the Osprey flying around and fishing, as well as another webcam view of the nest.  The boat was accessible, although not helped by the man who said “these wheelchair people always get to the head of the queue and have good parking spaces”.  I thought Liz was very polite, smiling while almost certainly thinking “You can have the car parking space but you will need to take the disability”.  The boat trip was good with a couple of sitings of Osprey flying, perching on branches and returning to the nest.  It was a good day out and nice to be able to share the early days of Rob’s retirement with him.

It was only a few days later that we travelled to Aberdeen and spent four nights, on the return journey, in Northumberland.  We hadn’t done much research about what was available to do in the vicinity.  We spent one day at Kielder Water, walking from Tower Knowe Visitor Centre to the dam and back.  A lovely accessible walk, along the water’s edge, through trees and open ground, surrounded by a multitude of birds.  We stopped to have a look around when Liz said “Isn’t that an Osprey?”.  We weren’t aware that this was an Osprey spotting area.  We stood mesmerised, not sure what we had seen but then we saw one diving for fish, later flying over the water and resting in the trees.  This was a wonderful surprise.  “Do you think they have a tea towel?” I ask Liz.  She doesn’t reply.  On our return to Tower Knowe, we go into the shop and there is a Kielder Water tea towel with an Osprey at the centre.  I’ve got to have this.  I take it to the counter.  “£2.50” the assistant says.  “How much?” I respond, stunned at the price.  “We reduced them because we had such a lot”.  I’m not going to question this because I have a bargain.

Kielder Water was another great day out, with more Osprey and a great tea towel.  I’m keen now to seek out other areas in the British Isles where Osprey fly free.  Maybe the first stop should be another trip to Rutland Water.

The Railway Enthusiast: 2019

Last week I was staying in Bellingham, Northumberland.  I had been there before but never bought a tea towel.  Bellingham has a Heritage Centre so I thought “That’ll be the place for a tea towel”.  Sadly, there were tote bags, fridge magnets, pencils and even a cuddly toy with ‘Bellingham’ emblazoned on them but no tea towels.  The woman behind the counter, desperate to please, said “There is this one, don’t know what it is”.  And it was The Railway Enthusiast.  It may have nothing to do with Bellingham, per se, but I did think of @MrTimDunn.  I had to buy it and I knew I would dedicate this Blog to him (and include a couple more Railway Tea Towels).

I joined Twitter in 2015, as part of writing this Tea Towel Blog; in that process, I started to ‘follow’ various people and @MrTimDunn was one of the first.  I am fascinated by people with quirky interests, people who are passionate about the out-of-the-ordinary, people who rarely discuss politics on Twitter.  @MrTimDunn is certainly one of those people.  I look forward to his daily photographs and tales: trains (mainline, steam, diesel, narrow gauge, heritage), the Underground, roundels, moquette patterning, Model Villages, broadcasting, talks and model railways on his desk at work (or even round his lounge), which number 73,000+.  I loved the pictures of his moquette socks, scarves and cushions.

Over the last four years, @MrTimDunn’s selfies have become much improved and his interests have broadened, moving towards gardening and topiary.  For me, this is what I want from Twitter, ideas, suggestions, interests not politics and slagging people off.   It was at his suggestion that I visited Bekonscot Model Village or have looked more carefully at the London Transport roundels.  I have relooked at Hanger Lane Underground Station and revisited Ealing Broadway Station.  I have travelled on Heritage Railways and met some Railway Enthusiasts.  @MrTimDunn has added to my enjoyment of Twitter for which I am very grateful.

I have always hoped that I would persuade @MrTimDunn to become a Guest Tea Towel in http://www.virtualteatowelmuseum.com but have never managed it.  Thanks, anyway, to @MrTimDunn for a great deal of enjoyment and I look forward to many more Tweets.

Cactus,USA: 2019

Time changes everything.  It used to be that you would go on holiday, send a postcard to your nearest and dearest, take a whole load of photographs, get them printed and then show everyone your holiday snaps.  It was a long drawn out process and there could be a long time between receiving the postcard and seeing the photographs, and then having to relive someone’s holiday.  I have always liked seeing other people’s holiday photographs but it was always the time lag that made things difficult.

An iPad changes things and amongst my friends and family this is certainly true.  When David had a major stroke, lost his mobility and speech, Lyn and Liz bought him an iPad.  The idea was that we could all send photos to ‘Dad Album’, a shared album amongst the family, and on visits could show them to him.  He could keep up with what his sister Jean, 400 miles away, was doing; he could see what his grandchildren and great grandchildren were doing; he could follow their holidays, their first day at nursery, and school; he could see their Sports Days, Liz and Lyn’s trips to the theatre and how everyone celebrated their birthdays and Christmas.  David was able to keep in close touch with his family without needing to move or speak.  The iPad enabled conversation with visitors and even via FaceTime with his sister.

Because the whole family could access ‘Dad Album’ it meant we could all keep in touch with each other, wherever we were.  If anyone was on holiday, they could ‘post’ holiday photos and you were there, with them, enjoying the beautiful, unusual, comical and relaxing times; you understood what they were doing.  You could be inspired to do a similar thing, go to the same places in a way that a hard copy photograph, months after it was taken, could engender.  The iPad was a brilliant medium for a family that lived miles apart.

In my experience, it is often difficult to keep in touch with cousins if you don’t live near each other.  This way the cousins knew exactly what their relatives were doing.  When David died last year, a new album was created: ‘Family Album’.  So many photos have been added to this album.  It may only have been a few from each holiday, but you get a close connection with family, knowing what they are doing, almost enjoying it with them although they maybe thousands of miles away.

Lyn and Rob have recently been on holiday to USA, Palm Springs and the Grand Canyon. Each day there were a few photos, cacti galore, large, giant, flowering, scary, beautiful.  Each morning I’d look forward to seeing what they had seen, thinking it would be nice to visit there.  They obviously had a great time, and I had a great time watching them have a great time!  The iPad has become a new sort of photo album, one that is much more easily accessed.

And as a present from their holiday, they bought a Cactus Tea Towel!  What better present and what a great reminder of their holiday photos and experiences.  Thank you Lyn and Rob!

PS: It is a beautiful soft cotton material, making you want to stroke it, and absorbent as well.

Dig for Victory: 2019

Over the last few days, I have been watching the news stories about 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings: original news stories, oral histories of men who took part, tales of those who never came home, the political manoeuvres that allowed it to happen, the weather forecasts, the role of Bletchley Park, the story of Alan Turing and much more.  I watched men in their 90s make the trip to Normandy, back to the beaches they arrived on, for the 75th anniversary and noted how many of the veterans said that this would be the last time they will visit the Normandy Beaches.  It is the realisation that there are so few veterans left, and those few recognise that age may well prevent a similar journey next year.  They are the remaining few to whom we should be grateful, for saving Britain from being invaded.  So many veterans talk about the evil of Brexit, wanting to maintain our relations with Europe, avoiding any more wars.  It is difficult to believe that the Second World War will soon be just a history lesson rather than a personal memory.

When I was in Northumberland, I found the Dig for Victory tea towel.  I thought it was cute but it also reminded me that one of the Creative Writing sessions  was built around the word ‘Dig’.  We all were able to offer our own interpretation of that word: everything from digging the garden, to places to live, from a 60s term for liking something to delving into history.  To me, the phrase ‘Dig for Victory’ sprang to mind.  I managed to create four Triolets abound that phrase.  A Triolet is an eight line poem, very structured with one line repeated three times and one twice; there is a rhyming rhythm.  I am not a poet but, through Creative Writing, I have discovered the Triolet, something most people dislike.  So here are my four Triolets on the theme of ‘Dig for Victory’ with references to some advertising slogans about vitamins, Goodnight Mr Tom, growing your own veg, the use of metal garden railings to build planes, Anderson shelters……..

Dig for Victory (1)

Dig for Victory posters say,

As Spitfires fly above.

Self sufficiency is the way,

Dig for Victory posters say.

Will planting veg save the day?

Spuds and bullets work hand in glove.

Dig for Victory posters say,

As Spitfires fly above.

Dig for Victory (2)

“Dig for Victory” I hear them say,

Mr Tom springs to mind.

Self sufficiency is the way.

“Dig for Victory” I hear them say

Will scrap drives save the day?

Anderson shelter well designed.

“Dig for Victory” I hear them say,

Mr Tom springs to mind

Dig for Victory (3)

Garden was a war zone,

Scrap drives wrote history.

While spuds and carrots were grown,

Garden was a war zone.

Morrison’s shelter in our home,

Fate of railings a mystery.

Garden was a war zone,

Scrap drives wrote history.

Dig for Victory (4)

Grow vitamins at the kitchen door,

Make rations go farther.

Unrecruited army corp

Grow vitamins at the garden door.

Help fight a bloody war

Plant or bomb? I know I’d rather

Grow vitamins at the kitchen door

Make rations go farther.

In keeping with the ‘Dig for Victory’ tea towel, the two ‘Help for Heroes’ tea towels go with this blog.  I bought them in the unlikely place of Cotton Traders.  I hadn’t realised they sold these tea towels.  I am not complaining.  I am delighted to have these three tea towels added to my collection.