1066

I have been asking friends, and ‘Friends on Twitter’, whether they have any Calendar Tea Towels (doesn’t matter what year) which they could take a photograph of, and send me the picture. I like a Calendar Tea Towel but have very few. And I do have a chart of all the years, from 1950 onwards, recording if, and when, I have Blogged about them. I am happy to Blog about someone else’s Calendar Tea Towel. But response has been limited. There must be loads, stuffed at the back of kitchen drawers, or in the airing cupboard, all across the country. Someone must have bought all those Pat Albeck National Trust tea towels, going back to 1976, or all the People’s Friend Calendar tea towels, over the years. Where are they? I think I’m going to have to make this a topic of my Christmas newsletter, after all there is little else to write about this year!!

I had thought that the Countdown to 1000th Tea Towel Blog might end on a few Calendar Tea Towels, but this is not to be. There’s only three Blogs to go. So this is the next best thing. I don’t think it could be called a Calendar Tea Towel but it is about one year in particular: 1066. It was one of Con’s tea towels that I acquired in 2019. It is pure linen, with it’s original creases, never been used, never seen the inside of a washing machine, lovingly cared for. It has lovely colours and some great illustrations. I thought I might tell Readers what day the 1 January fell on in 1066 then I realised this could be messy.

The Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 was passed; its purpose was to ensure that different countries of European had the same system of dating. It didn’t quite work but certainly made it simpler. 1752 was the year when the beginning of the legal year changed from 25 March to 1 January. It follows that 1751 was a short year, lasting just 282 days. In September 1752 there were riots about the ’11 lost days’; to align the year with Europe, 2 September was immediately followed by 14 September.

So what with the Gregorian Calendar, and many others, it isn’t possible to tell you what day 1 January fell on in 1066. There were, of course, some big events in 1066, a momentous year that changed the course of British history. I wonder if 2020 will be looked upon in a similar way? The king, Edward the Confessor, died of 5 January; he had no children or named successors. There were several people claiming accession and finally Earl Harold of Wessex was crowned King Harold II, not long after Edward the Confessor was buried. It was not a popular choice and two of his brothers, plus others, challenged him but were defeated. In September 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, invaded Britain and on 14 October he defeated, and killed, Harold at Pevensey. Hence, the Norman Conquest. The events leading up to the Battle of Hastings were recorded in a tapestry, 70 metres long and 50 centimetres high, called the Bayeux Tapestry. There are many tales, none of which can be proved, about this tapestry but this tea towel takes on the style of the Bayeux Tapestry.

The question is: is this a present to Con, did she go to Pevensey, the site of the Battle of Hastings or did she buy it at the British Museum where there was once a big exhibition. I don’t know the answer but in the meantime, I will just enjoy the tea towel.

The Horse’s Prayer: Acquired 2020

As any Reader of this Blog will know, horses aren’t really ‘my thing’. I might watch a bit of Dressage, or Show Jumping, on TV from the Olympics but not much more. I certainly never bet on the Grand National, or any horse race come to that. So when I saw this amongst all the great tea towels that Vanessa’s mother had collected I thought “What am I going to do with this?”. I am seriously running out of tea towels to Blog about (who would have believed it‽) and am having to resort to this one.

I read the ‘Prayer’ several times and thought it was a bit ‘odd’. Needless to say, the next thing I did was to ‘Google’ it. Another ‘Rabbit Warren’. There is a poem, or it maybe a song, called ‘A Horse’s Prayer’. There is a video of horses with the words superimposed and it is everywhere, on cushions, fridge magnets, prayer cards. But ‘A Horse’s Prayer’ is nothing, absolutely nothing, like this tea towel, ‘The Horse’s Prayer’.

I’ve done my best. I have tried to find out if this ‘prayer’ is significant, and failed. The best I can do is to leave it with you, Reader, and maybe you’ll find out something else about it.

This is Blog 997, only three to go to reach 1000. Have a good day!!

Blackpool: Acquired 2020

From 15 May 2004 to last Sunday, I have watched every single episode, of every single series, of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. That includes 11 Christmas Specials and 9 Charity Episodes. For me, it is a little dollop of escapism in my world that started to be very busy at work, then moved to a world of retirement and, finally, a strange world of Coronavirus. It was last Saturday’s episode, which should have been at Blackpool (and wasn’t but pretended to be) that sparked my interest in the two Blackpool tea towels that I was given earlier in the year. They brought back all sorts of memories but fortunately they both have the Blackpool Tower on them.

Who was my favourite Champion? That’s difficult. Probably Abby Clancy or Jay McGuinness. Abby Clancy because of that amazing Quickstep that she did. Was that at Blackpool? and Jay McGuinness because of his Jive, which was equalled only by Jill Halfpenny. Abby and Jay were both very tall which often made getting their posture correct more difficult; they were also both people who hadn’t danced before so their improvements were a marvel to watch. They may not always have got the highest scores but they were good and a joy to watch. An underestimated winner was Tom Chambers but that Fred Astaire routine in the final was a worthy winner. I liked Mark Ramprakash, light on his feet with a fabulous Argentine Tango. I remember when he got tangled up with Karen Hardy’s costume and him begging to be allowed to start the dance again. Natasha Kaplinsky was so graceful, elegant and very shy but also made a worthy winner.

Did I think there were any winners who had better rivals? I wasn’t keen on Stacey Dooley and Caroline Flack. I had a sense they were voted for by their personal fans, not because of their dancing. Possibly unfair but a personal taste.

Did I think anyone was eliminated prematurely? Definitely Austin Healy and Jake Woods. Both great dancers. Austin Healey’s Paso Double was brilliant and that was the episode where he was voted out

Who was the biggest surprise? And it was a nice surprise, and that was Pamela Stephenson. She was light on her feet, graceful and not the youngest of the contestants. And Darren Gough who became light on his feet once he had lost a lot of weight, and then went on to win it. The judges weren’t very keen on Chris Hollin but his Charleston was a winner with the fan base.

The most embarrassing? There are too many to name but most of them had a great boost to their careers (not as dancers) as a result of being on ‘Strictly’.

Do I have a favourite dance? It has to be a ‘toss-up’ between Paso Doble, Jive, Argentine Tango or Quickstep. I’m not so keen on the dances which involve ‘lifts’. I dislike the Rumba; I think that is because so few contestants ever manage to achieve a good Rumba.

It took a while to start writing this Blog because I went down the ‘Rabbit Warren’ of looking at ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ on Wikipedia. I hadn’t realised there had been 18 series or so many different professional dancers. And who was my favourite professional dancer? From the past, it would have to be Mathew Cutler because he was tall, blond, good looking and a winner with Alesha Dixon. Currently, my favourite is Oti Mabuse because she is such a fabulous choreographer with an infectious laugh.

I don’t think I had realised that Blackpool was not in the programme every season but I do know that the three people who have been in every series are Anton Du Beke, Tess Daly and Craig Revel Horwood. There might have been the odd absence: there was Tess’s pregnancy and Craig’s hip replacement but they have been there. I didn’t realise there was such a variation in numbers of contestants: from 8 in Series 1 to 16 in Series 6. Only Series 1 started in May, all the rest have been around September time to end in the build-up to Christmas.

I am always interested in the people who admit to, or deny, watching ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. I know a lot of people who are out-and-out fans, who never miss an episode. There is Anne, who I used to work with and Ann my former Reflexologist, Julie and Amanda who are my cousins. In contrast, there were Liz’s parents who always denied watching ‘Strictly’, being very critical of it, yet knowing all the contestants and what had happened to them, whether they had been voted out or not. For some people, it is like a secret, that they will not admit to but for others they just talk about it all the time coming up to Christmas. But I don’t care. For me, ‘Strictly’ is the best thing on TV. I can cope with the different formats, different judges, different dancers and different presenters because it sticks to the same theme, a Dancing Competition. I just love it and I’m not ashamed to admit it!!!

Thinking of Christmas: Acquired 2020

This is another tea towel that arrived on my doorstep on the first day of Lockdown Number 1, courtesy of Vanessa’s mum. As a Reader, you may be asking ‘when will she have finished blogging about Vanessa’s mum’s tea towels?’ ‘Not for a long time’, is the answer. There were 96, after all.

I hadn’t intended writing about the few Christmas tea towels awaiting a Blog, until at least 1 December, but yesterday I was feeling a bit odd, had very mixed emotions, anger, sadness and happiness. That’s unusual for me; I associate Christmas with joy and happiness.

I am actually very angry. Here we are, ‘locked down’ with Coronavirus, in November, knowing that the virus thrives on cold weather, and talking about a ‘Christmas Break’. Politicians talking as though Christmas really is the happiest time of the year, when we actually know that domestic violence rises over the Christmas holiday and that it is a peak time for families to split up, ending up in divorce. Listening to Boris Johnson, and even some of the medics, talking about Christmas sounds like something from the Sony Christmas Movie Channel. This is real life. So are they really thinking about letting people have a 5 day break to celebrate Christmas, even if there is another Lockdown after Christmas. Does COVID-19 understand that it mustn’t spread itself over the days we are allowed to mix with people? Is Coronavirus willing to give up it’s favourite time of the year, the very cold weather? This focus on Christmas overlooks, and belittles, the fact that people who celebrate other religions and festivals have lost so much this year. We can all support Black Lives Matter as long as it doesn’t include their religions. Black Lives Matter is more than just about the colour of someone’s skin, it’s about culture, lives, experiences, religions, history……, about a whole person yet the government ignores that, ignores what people gave up in relation to Diwali, Eid and much more. If ‘We’re all in this together’ with regard to Coronavirus, then we have to be in it together with regard to religious celebrations.

What happens to those people, on their own, who may have gone to a shared Christmas Dinner at their local church? or what has happened to Crisis at Christmas and their help for homeless people? The spirit of Christmas is more akin to ‘We’re all in this together’ than selfishly spreading the disease. Whose mother, father, brother, sister, child, aunt, friend are you willing to sacrifice for five days of over-eating, watching too much TV and spending too much on Christmas presents?

I am also sad, not so much because Christmas will be a bit weird this year as a result of Coronavirus but sad because there are people I know who won’t even be able to share that weirdness. We can look at the figures on the TV screen of people who have died during this pandemic, ‘Excess Deaths’ as they call them and it can feel overwhelming but slightly distanced. But when those ‘Excess Deaths’ include people you know it feels so much closer, so much more real. My friend won’t be around, even though we would have celebrated Christmas via Zoom or similar. Gwyn had had cancer(s) for 17 years. She tackled cancer with an amazing fortitude but was terrified that she might get Coronavirus. She knew she would be unlikely to survive it. She didn’t get it because she and Pete were so careful but she still died. Remembering how terrified she was, I would never do anything that would belittle those feelings of terror.

Then there is my Aunty Joyce, also suffering from cancer, also terrified of getting Coronavirus. She had lung cancer; Coronavirus would have been a death knell. She didn’t get it because her two daughters took responsibility for caring for her during Lockdown, to cut down the amount of people going into her home. They gave up so much to do that but it was the fall that got her in the end.

But there is some happiness. You can celebrate without being physically in the same room. How good is Zoom? You can buy presents without going into a shop. Many shops have adapted their selling by improving their online sales. Small independent sellers are holding Online Markets. It’s possible; it just takes imagination.

Whatever Boris Johnson does, trying to improve his popularity, we all need to think about whose lives we are prepared to endanger over Christmas by recklessly meeting up with too many people.  We can all think of different ways of doing things, this is just one Christmas.  Perhaps we need to be slightly less selfish and slightly more selfless.

Hawking or Falconry: Acquired 2019

When I Blogged yesterday about ‘The Original Course of the New River’, a tea towel belonging to Pete’s mother, I mentioned another one of her’s, ‘Hawking or Falconry’. Pete questioned whether these were her tea towels, and, with pomposity, I reminded him that I had catalogued my tea towels and knew exactly where they came from. This is an incredible tea towel. I assume it is a reproduction of some 17th century engraving (or at least something similar). It is those tiny handwritten markings, very complicated and convoluted, in ‘Old English’. Where on earth would someone buy this?

First, let’s look at the meaning of ‘falconry’ and ‘hawking’. Falconry is the art of catching animals in their wild, native setting by the use of trained birds. This might be anything from mice to squirrels, using any kind of trained bird of prey. Hawking is the same, a less common phrase these days because it also has other connotations to do with selling goods not from shops or stalls.

Falconry has a very long history across the world, with drawings dating from 2000BC. There are many Falconry Centres across the UK, where you can observe birds in action or where you can buy ‘an experience’ of flying the birds or even go on a ‘falconry walk’. In looking at all these sites on Google, I was hoping to find a ‘shop’ where tea towels, such as this, might be on sale. No such luck! ‘Sponsor a Bird’, ‘Fly a Bird’, ‘Walk with a Bird’ but no ‘Buy a Tea Towel’ options.

My only experience of Falconry, and I certainly would never want to hold or fly a bird, was in Italy. We had a holiday with Jai and her family, staying on Lake Maggiore. Jai was very keen to go to a Falconry Centre to see an display of birds in action. It was fascinating. No tea towels on sale in it’s very extensive shop, sadly.

I’ve looked on Etsy and eBay with no luck, so I have absolutely no idea where this tea towel came from, whether Con bought it herself or whether it was a gift. Wherever it came from, I think I m lucky to have it in my collection. If any Reader knows more about this tea towel please let me know.

The Original Course of the New River: Acquired 2019

This is an amazing tea towel that once belonged to Con, Pete’s mother. I acquired it in 2019 when Con moved into a residential home and no longer had need for any tea towels. The detail is superlative, hand-written notes, sketches and a lot of history. It has a copyright notation of 1992 so probably has age and it has been used because there is a notorious tea stain on it.

All this taken into consideration, I have no idea what this tea towel is all about, so here follows a ‘text conversation’ with Pete:

“One of your mother’s tea towels is called ‘The Original Course of the New River’. What is the New River?” I texted because I knew Pete would know about something like this.

“New River maybe the one which supplies London with fresh water. Neither ‘new’ or a ‘river'” he responds. I sent him a photo of the tea towel saying

“Is this what you were talking about?”

“Lovely tea towel/map. See Wikipedia” was Pete’s helpful suggestion. He obviously wasn’t going to give me a short cut for the answer to my question. He knows the ‘dangers’ of sending me off to Wikipedia; I’ll be down yet another ‘Rabbit Warren’. But I did as I was told and did follow a ‘Rabbit Warren’. It was so good.

I replied, some time later, “Fascinating. The footpath sounds like a great walk. Why did your mother have this?”. I knew there must be a story behind it.

“No idea. I don’t remember it at all”. That wasn’t very helpful so I tried again.

“What about the one about ‘Hawking and Falconry’? Another interesting tea towel” I ask.

“Are you sure they were Con’s?” was his final response. The cheek of it; I know exactly where, and when, all my tea towels originate from. I have a system of cataloguing!! I curate a Museum, for heaven’s sake!!

For those Readers who are waiting, with baited breath, for the story of New River, here it is. The New River is an artificial waterway (a water supply aqueduct), opened in 1613 (certainly more years ago than my tea towel), to supply London with fresh drinking water. The water was taken from the River Lea and Chadwell Springs, in Hertfordshire, together with other springs along its course. The ‘river’ mainly follows land contours but has been straightened in parts, over the centuries. The New River still flows, supplying London with 8% of it’s drinking water (48 million gallons a day). The original New River ended in Islington but today it stops short at Stoke Newington. In the past, there had been plans to close it down but no longer. Instead, there is a 28 mile long distance footpath from Chadwell Springs to it’s original end in Islington.

Today, I printed off the map of the footpath, with all it’s features, and the miles for each section. I really want to walk this footpath, in stages, and now I have the means to do it. Thank you, Con, for inspiring me. But there is a background to this inspiration.

In the weeks before moving to Nottingham, we drove around/looked around the area and discovered a sign to the Nottingham Canal. We thought that would be a good place for a stroll, along a canal towpath. It never occurred to us that the Nottingham Canal was disused. There are lots of waterways around here so assumed the Nottingham Canal was part of that. Of course, things changed as soon as we got here; Liz was no longer able to walk. During the recent travel restrictions we were able to take our exercise using the Derbyshire County Council Trampers (all terrain vehicles). As we entered into Tier 3 (for the Coronavirus Pandemic), Liz decided that she would buy a Tramper of her own. Very exciting.

Having bought an Ordnance Survey map as well, we realised that the route of the canal was marked on the map but that it was disused, in fact some of it existed no longer. We decided to follow the path of the Nottingham Canal, at least the bits we could easily reach. Pete joined us. The Nottingham Canal is delightful, a great path, beautiful trees. We found the remains of an old lock in an area where the water had long since disappeared. On one journey we were taken through the local garden centre, with a nice stop-off for a take-away cup of tea.

Nottingham Canal was only 14.5 miles long when fully functioning, so without travelling far we could find quite a bit of it. I am realistic enough to know that while a Tramper can go many miles, my poor legs don’t. But we have found many different approaches to it. Getting very excited, Liz found a book called ‘Nottingham Canal: A History and Guide’ by Bernard Chell. This was even better, being able to read about it’s history with some lovely photos from 1970s and 1980s.

There is no doubt that canals provide some easy walking territory, with glorious countryside and some great history. One day, I’ll walk the New River as well as the Nottingham Canal, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.

Iceland: Acquired 2020

This is a great tea towel. Definitely touristy, very colourful with both history and wildlife images. You can see that it is brand new because the label is still attached. It definitely does what it says on the tin; it’s from Iceland, about Iceland. Love it.

A friend of my cousin Amanda, bought this back from her holiday. I never met this friend but she is one of those ‘recruited’ to acquire tea towels for me. Amazing. That process was going so well until none of us were allowed to travel abroad because of Lockdown. This one arrived in a big box of tea towels on the day Lockdown Number 1 began. While I was gleefully trying to arrange the other 100 tea towels into some kind of order, I had overlooked this one. I am really sorry about that but I’m glad it can be included in the ‘countdown’, countdown to my 1000th Tea Towel Blog. It gives this one some notoriety.

Iceland becomes 992! I went to Iceland, on a cruise, in 2006. We spent four days there and I NEVER saw a tea towel on sale so I am glad to add this one to my collection. Iceland was a fabulous place. The geology, the hot springs, the scenery, the remote places, the greenery and the societal arrangements were something to envy. On one sightseeing trip we were driven by a bus driver who spoke perfect English. His main job was as a Headmaster of a school but as he said “Most of us have at least two jobs and enjoy them” so during the summer he drove coach tours. Iceland has a free health service and free education, excellent maternity leave and good worker’s rights. The ‘price’ for this is that all workers are taxed at 40% and no one objects because it is ‘value for money’. I have often wondered why we don’t have a tax system that is realistic for the things we are all demanding: free health care, good benefits system, free education. Seems very sensible but probably not something we will see under a Tory government. And on that sombre note I end

So thanks to Amanda’s friend for a brilliant tea towel from Iceland evoking some great memories.

La Ricetta Della Felitica: 2017

Following Friday’s Blog about Spanish Recipes on tea towels, I thought I might continue in this theme. Sadly, this tea towel does not belong to me; sadly, because I think it is beautiful. My cousin Andrew, who lives in Italy, sent me a photo of this tea towel for the Virtual Tea Towel Museum. It is called a ‘Recipe for Happiness’. While I did do Italian O/Level, many many many years ago, there is no way in which I can translate this tea towel. It looks interesting. I’d love to be able to translate the hearts and those lines of text all down the tea towel. I did see ‘Romeo and Juliet’ although I’m not sure I would put them in a recipe for happiness.

So thanks to Andrew for letting me use this tea towel. Keep safe.

Spanish Recipes: Acquired between 2015 and 2020

I am fascinated by the ‘style’ of a ‘Nation’s’ touristy tea towels. In Italy, which I am very familiar with, it is a large piece of material; wider and longer than any British tea towel, colourful, often informative, both regional and national. You get the feeling that they design as many as possible so that tourists will definitely buy more than one and, in my case, that is certainly true!! In Spain, tourists seem to like the Recipe Tea Towel, and, Readers will know, I love a Recipe Tea Towel. These Spanish Tea Towels tend to be square, therefore shorter than a British tea towel, often made of a material akin to towelling; they have a ‘rough’ texture, with a very good absorbency rate.

One of the things I like about the Spanish Recipe Tea Towels is, in the main, the full recipe is written in Spanish, but also in English. The English translation can be a bit ‘iffy’ but that’s what makes them cute! They can still be very useful for tourists who want to take home that ‘feel’ of Spain by recreating Spanish dishes they have tried on holiday. There is nothing like a Paella to bring back that sense of Spain, the hot sun, the little restaurants down the main street, taking your time over a meal, a glass of wine. Almost sounds as though I’ve been there.

Now, I have never been to Spain, although I will confess to two trips to Mallorca, back in my youth. I never bought a tea towel there. But I have seven Spanish Recipe Tea Towels; they were all ‘inherited’ from other people’s parents. And I love them. I have given much thought to how I should deal with these in a Blog. Should each have their own story, based on research rather than experience? Maybe two or three at a time? but how would I choose the combinations, since I’ve never been to Spain and I don’t cook? Or, maybe, combine all six in a Blog, to give a Reader, unfamiliar with Spanish tea towels, the sense of what they are like. That is what I decided to do.

At the bottom of this Blog, I will tell the Reader how I acquired each of these tea towels.  Note the ‘theme’: always people on the picture, handwritten recipe, a vivid border, many with the red curves, all slightly different.

The tea towels manage to incorporate aspects of Spanish culture: the Flamenco, the Spanish Guitar, castanets and fans, Spanish lace, rural countryside, olives.  I am surprised that there wasn’t a matador; that may not be so popular nowadays but some of  these tea towels are quite old.

Initially, I didn’t include this tea towel because I thought it came from Macedonia, not Spain.  But today I found out that was true.

And so to, how I acquired these tea towels: and my trip down the ‘Rabbit Warren’ of Google

Pescado Frito a la Andaluza: Given to me in 2020, as part of a collection that belonged to Vanessa’s mother. Unused, pristine, creases still in place. Google tells me this is fried fish, with some nice pictures, very tempting.

Huevos a la Flamenca: When my friend Jean moved into a residential home in 2015 she no longer wanted her tea towels and gave them to me. This one probably was bought in 1980s, the last time she went to Spain with the Trefoil Guild. It has been used, well used, and if it was used then I know it was boiled each time it went into the wash. This recipe is basically ‘Flamenco-Styled Eggs’ and if you want to try them, go to Google because they are loads of recipes, handy hints and videos!

Paella Valenciana: Another one from Vanessa’s mother, another one that has never been used. If you want a recipe for Paella then Google is your friend. I’ve never seen so many pictures of a Paella.

Recuerdo de Benidorm: The third of Vanessa’s mother’s Spanish Recipe Tea Towels. While she was a collector of tea towels, she didn’t go abroad much and it is likely that other people brought these back from Spain as a gift. Look this up on Google and you will get hundreds of pictures of souvenirs of Benidorm, everything from a thimble to a CD but no recipes.

Callos a la Andaluza: This one belonged to Dorothy, the sister-in-law of Jean. It is likely this was a gift from Jean. This was another well-used tea towel, the difference being she didn’t always boil the tea towels, hence it has a bit more colour. Although it was well-used, I found it at the back of a drawer, one of those that she ‘rested’ once in a while. Interesting that all the Google entries are in Spanish. Sorry.

Ensamada Mallorquina: This tea towel belonged to Nicky’s Aunt and I acquired it in 2016. This does not have an English translation of the recipe. Best of luck if you want to try it out. However, if you do want to try it, go to Google. This is a pastry from Mallorca, one of their specialisms. More photos, more YouTube videos. They look really nice.

Finally, Macedonia de Naranja: The original Blog did not include this tea towel because I thought this must have come from a Balkan country. But no, this is a Spanish Recipe Tea Towel. I have no idea what it is a recipe for because anything on Google is in Spanish and I can’t find the ‘translation’ button. I think it is to do with fruit but the recipe does have an English version on the tea towel. Good Luck. This was another of Vanessa’a mother’s tea towels.

Pleasanton: Acquired 2020

I have never been to Pleasanton, and almost certainly never will. Doesn’t mean I can’t write a Blog, inspired by this tea towel. I’ve never even heard of Pleasanton, although clearly it is in California. The tea towel says so. It came into my possession in March 2020, along with many others, from Vanessa’s mother. I like it’s simplicity. It is very small and slender. And I don’t know the history of the tea towel, why Vanessa’s mother had it. I have just been down the ‘Rabbit Warren’ of Google to see if there was anything interesting about Pleasanton. And there wasn’t, other than being established in 1894, it has achieved a lot of acclamations except that Wikipedia is out of date. I think you probably have to be quite rich to live there.

In this process what I realised was how much I missed going to places where I could buy a tea towel. If you are a collector of tea towels, have a Blog about tea towels and curate a Virtual Tea Towel Museum, the lack of tea towels is quite painful. I know that during Lockdown some people have really struggled and others have experienced great sadness, so a lack of tea towels is not really a big issue but it does cause me some sadness.

Tea Towels have been like a Memory Book, a way to remember things that have happened, places I have been, people I have met, family and friends and without them there is an emptiness. I recognise that I have told the story of most of the tea towels that I personally own. I have included pictures, in the Museum, of other people’s tea towels. I have asked people, if they have a Calendar Tea Towel, to send me a photo of it so I can Blog about it. I have had several but not enough. I suspect people think I am asking for their tea towel, but no, I just want a photograph, after all, that is the joy of a Virtual Tea Towel Museum.

Just before Lockdown Number 2, I went to Elvaston Castle. There is a large building but you actually visit to see the grounds and gardens. There is a small gift shop. You used to be able to wander around closely packed aisles. Now all that is blocked off and from behind the Perspex screen you can buy a drink or a bar of chocolate. Behind the counter, pinned on the wall, is a Collective Noun Tea Towel, designed by Perkins and Morley. I already have it but asked if they had any others. “The tea towels are not for sale at the moment” the assistant said. I’d have bought it, if only to give to someone for Christmas. How sad.

I don’t necessarily want tea towels from fancy places; I’m not fantasising about visiting foreign climes. I’d just like a tea towel. Our local Garden Centre is open but not selling their vast range of tea towels just yet. I can feel that I will be going into the local equivalent of Poundland and buying a very cheap, nondescript tea towel just so that I have something to hang my memories of Lockdown Number 2 on.