The Joy of Tea Towel Sharing (15)

I’m really enjoying #thejoyofteatowelsharing, seeing all these tea towels owned by other people, tea towels I’ve never seen before and wondering why. It has given me the chance to look back through my own tea towels, and sometimes link them to the ones sent in. The ‘strap line’ for both the Blog and the Virtual Tea Towel Museum has always been ‘Every tea towel tells a story’ and today’s tea towels do just that.

My own ‘Headliner’ today is from 2012 London Olympics. I have to say that I went a bit overboard back in 2012 and probably bought ten tea towels relating to the London Olympics but I pick just three for you today. The tea towels relating to that event, I thought, were very stylish. While there was the ‘official’ merchandise there were also lots of others. The iconic London buildings, in the colours used by Stella McCartney, certainly stands out. I loved the middle one from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne which depicts the Olympic Games through the years. Since 2012, I have been saying that I would love to visit the Lausanne Museum, had it on my list of things to do in 2018 and look what happened after that. The one on the right was just Team GB logo. Just looking at them, talking about them brings all those memories back. After all, every tea towel does tell a story.

And @CampievanBears proves that, hence my ‘Headliner’. The tea towel presented today is the ‘Route of 2012 Torch Relay’. “A great memory of the Torch Relay which we saw a couple of times”. I replied about the time I saw it, in Conwy when I was on holiday. It was around 8am, which meant getting up very early. There was a sense of both excitement and community, a feeling of being at one with other people. After the Torch had passed through the town, we had decided to go up Snowdon, after having had a hearty breakfast. As we arrived at Snowdon there were camera crew, barriers to keep the crowds back. I remembered reading a crime mystery about someone being murdered on Snowdon so I thought something dramatic had happened. But no, this was Chris Bonnington, the mountain climber, coming back down Snowdon in the train, having taken the Torch to the top of the mountain. Another great memory. @CampievanBears replied “This is my Mum and Dad with the Torch carried by their District Nurse. Dad died in 2018 and Mum in February this year. We saw the relay at The Angel of the North, Durham and Halifax. We also watched so much of the online coverage and have a couple of miniature ones too”. @CampievanBears’s Torch Relay tea towel is something that creates real Tea Towel Envy in me. I love it

Moving on to a range of tea towels, probably not with such emotional memories. Beth, from California, sent in three ‘Cat Ones’. “The cat tea towels were an Amazon acquisition, too cute and inexpensive, to pass up”. It’s good to know that Amazon are able to serve up some cute and desirable tea towels. That comment from Beth made me laugh.

And finally, today, we’ll go a ‘bit royal’, all three from @Scarfie1. First are two from Highgrove, Prince Charle’s home and gardens. I’m told by @Scarfie1 “A couple from Highgrove. I have the map one in blue too. I think there was a purple version”. When I asked for a photo of the blue one, it could not be located. It was a cheek of me to even ask!! Then there was the Buckingham Palace one “Today’s tea towel offering. I’ve just noticed it’s a Golden Jubilee Special from 2002”. When I commented about the fact that there was some very nice ‘royal’ ones @Scarfie1 replied “The tea towels are often the most affordable, yet useful, souvenir you can buy at Royal Palaces”. How right that comment was; you often need a second mortgage to buy a mug! The Buckingham Palace tea towel provoked a comment, and photo, from @karenjane16ka “Thought of your posts today when I saw…this chair, used at the coronation of our Queen”

Thanks once again to the contributors to #thejoyofteatowelsharing. There are still more to come!!

The Joy of Tea Towel Sharing (14)

This wasn’t how I expected to start today’s Blog but I was inspired by @CampievanBears. No tea towel posted but sent a message directed to @myteatowels. “A lovely story or two here. A couple that discovered they were on the same tea towel. Aahhh”. The story started with @rdbarrowauthor “My friend just reminded me that in Primary School we all had to draw a picture of ourselves and they printed the classes’ doodles on to a tea towel. Did anyone else do the same or is Devon just a bit odd like that?”. And the pictures of Class Tea Towels came flooding in.

So I am starting today’s #thejoyofteatowelsharing with my own Class Tea Towel. By my own, I mean one that I acquired many years ago. This is Dovelands Upper Junior School 1992-93, from Leicester. You will see, somewhere in the midst of those children, @JaiMackenzie. Easy to spot because of the unique name (and hairstyle). Jai is now a university lecturer, not in art. Her mother had virtually no tea towels but had saved this one for nearly 30 years and has let me have it in the Virtual Tea Towel Museum.

But I have many more Class Tea Towels that I have acquired over the years. One from Sgoil Bhagh a Chaistell 2012/13 (or Barra as many Readers will know of it). There is a Tiree Pre 5 Group in the Hebrides or perhaps a picture of Canna School, drawn by the children but not signed by them (probably because there were so few children in the school, probably about 3 at the time). I have a 2016 one from Ecole de Wix Primary School and Chacewater Church of England Primary School. There is Putney Park Lower School 1991-92. Oscar is holding his Class Tea Towel but I can’t remember which school it was (sorry). The Merry Christmas one was a unique design where each child, in a Suffolk school, could design their own tea towel, with a footprint in the centre and finally, All Saints Easton. This one was given to me by my Chiropodist!! We were talking about what I did in my retirement. Never ask me that. He was interested and later dropped this tea towel round for me. It was from his nephew’s school and he had more than one. So here are mine!!

So in response to @rdbarrowauthor places all over do the crazy Class Tea Towels but then you already know that because of the many stories that were sent in, after that post. @KatyCutprice said “Yes here’s our son George’s tea towel from when he was in nursery 20 + years ago. You will see Juliet on the row above him. They did not know each other at the time but recently celebrated six years together. They only discovered they were on the same tea towel last year”. @suerelaxkidsman said “I still have my daughter’s tea towel. She is now 23. Look at Rebecca’s fantastic drawing”

@neileley said “30 years on – still have our daughter’s tea towel” and finally, from @Mo_Ottara “We have a tea towel from my daughter’s Year 2 class. Too cute.”

And, of course, I haven’t included any that were sent in, and have already appeared in ‘Tea Towels and Lockdown’. #thejoyofteatowelsharing will continue over the next few days. Thank you for letting me see all these wonderful tea towels. I reckon many of these might have been the work of @ClassPrinting!!

The Joy of Tea Towel Sharing (13)

My holiday in Shropshire, a couple of weeks ago, was a joyous affair. While I have often been through Shropshire, it hasn’t been a place that I’ve stayed. In the time of Coronavirus Pandemic, that was the reason I chose to go there, not a tourist hot-spot so less likely to be crowds of people. What I hadn’t realised was just how many @nationaltrust properties there were in Shropshire and the surrounding counties (and there are a lot of surrounding counties). They are all so different, with all so different amenities. @NTCroome was a great day out. The sun was hot, yet plenty of shade to rest under. It felt safe because there was a one-way system round the grounds, designed by Capability Brown (That is, a one-way system round the grounds and the grounds were designed by Capability Brown, not that Capability Brown designed the one-way system. I don’t expect he thought that would happen!). We were using one of their Trampers which made life so much easier. We went wrong once, apologising to the few people we passed, because we crossed the wrong bridge. This was a truly delightful place; I loved the old children’s roundabout, similar to ones I used to play on and the Rotunda, on top of the hill, offering views that are worthy of a hundred photographs. I loved wandering down the paths, not crowded by visitors yet when you get back to the car park you can see there have been many a visitor. To be able to sit in the outdoor cafe, socially distanced, with the benefit of an umbrella if you want the shade. All @nationaltrust properties seem to take a different stance about things like The Shop. @NTCroome’s Shop has a ‘in one way, out another’ system, and a tea towel. This is the first property that I’ve been to that has two tea towels that are property-specific. I didn’t even consider the question of which one I would have; I had them both, because they are so different. I loved @NTCroome, would definitely go back and I present these two as my ‘Headliner’ for today’s #thejoyofteatowelsharing.

Having indulged myself, with my @NTCroome tea towels, I now moved on to the wonders of tea towels belonging to other people. I don’t know if people know of my love of the work of Pat Albeck, but today I have two to present. @janeandtortie said “One for you?”, a beautiful image of @WallingtonNt. This is certainly a property that I love. While this one must be at least 15 years old, the one from @Joseamey is much older, although possibly not used. It is called ‘Fruit and Flowers’ and is a style of hers from possibly the 70s or 80s.

My friend Gwyneth, appears to be scouring the tea towels of her friends and I am delighted she is on this mission (although one of her own would be good). She has submitted three from Hartford Manor Primary School “This is where my friend Hilary’s grandchildren attend”. Nothing like a Classroom Tea Towel.

Now we have two from ‘Places’. The first is ‘Screech Owl Sanctuary’ submitted by @CampievanBears “A further anti-rattle tea towel from the van. It was hidden in a cupboard and forgot we had it”. The second one is from @rachblacklabel of ‘Durdle Door’. “I couldn’t resist a tea towel to commemorate my swim”. For me, this creates real Tea Towel Envy. Durdle Door was one of many places that I visited when I was doing A/Level Geography. I thought it was one of the most beautiful places in the world. In those days, there were no tea towels.

The final two for today are quite ‘special’ from people who have a particular style when it comes to buying tea towels. The first is from Beth, who lives in California and is a big Tea Towel Fan. This one is called ‘Feldman’ from @V_and_A. Beth says “The tag says that ‘Feldman’ is adapted from a furnishing fabric in the Museum Collection, designed by J. Feldman and produced by David Whitehead Ltd of Ravenstall, Lancashire in 1954. I am a big ‘Mid Century Modern’ fan and have a hard time passing up anything that relates to it. I don’t remember where I got it but have never used it. It has hung in my kitchen for a number of years. I could never take the @V_and_A tag off it”. And finally, from @GeoffRimington ‘Miffy’ “Here’s my latest acquisition for #thejoyofteatowelsharing. Fresh out of the packet!”

Unlucky for some, Number 13 #thejoyofteatowelsharing. @BitThing is a Tea Towel Fan. She has a collection of very fine ones including one with a Lucienne Day design. There was a recent Tweet from her “I had a Wash Day Accident and turned a whole load of everyday towels a dreary pink. Disaster. Thank goodness none of my favourites were in there – well, maybe one”. I sympathised because I have done the same and asked her to send the photos, but nothing arrived, so I enclose my disasters!!

It’s a shame that the pink on those tea towels just makes them look grubby rather than pink!! There will be more from #thejoyofteatowelsharing soon.

Jamie’s Italian Spaghetti: Acquired 2021

Yesterday, under ‘Queen Bee’, I wrote about going to my Aunty Joyce’s funeral (Part II). I did get the answer to one of my ponderings, from my cousin Julie. “The Hospice of St Francis was indeed where she spent her last days, having been there on two previous occasions; it was somewhere she always felt safe and well cared for. Their care and compassion for not just her but for the whole family is something we’ll never forget….”. I don’t think my 50p for a tea towel will boost their funds. Julie’s response contained one other comment “It was lovely to read these memories you’ve shared of mum, some of which I hadn’t heard”. That’s what happens when someone dies, people have different memories and somehow there can be an assumption that everyone knows these memories, but they don’t. Being sick across the kitchen floor, aged two, is not something I would necessarily share, or be proud about (and Julie would have been about two months old so it wouldn’t be in her memory bank).

There was one part, however, that I left out. After the internment of Aunty Joyce’s ashes, before getting into the car, Julie shouts “Wait a minute. I’ve got something for you”. From the back of her car she produces, like a magician pulling the rabbit out of a hat, a small purple-dotted gift bag. I could see what lay across the top, a tea towel. “We thought you’d like this but it’s the only tea towel of Mum’s we could find”.

I ask myself, how can someone live well into their 80s and only have one tea towel? And a tea towel that hasn’t been used, at that? And how did she acquire this one? It wouldn’t be a tea towel I would have associated with Aunty Joyce, maybe a bit too ‘flash’, unless, of course, she was a huge fan of Jamie Oliver.

I don’t have, never had, never wanted, a dishwasher but I understand that for people who use them then the tea towel can become a bit superfluous, just let the dishes drain off, so maybe that’s why she didn’t have any. Maybe this tea towel was just a gift she liked, kept but never used. Maybe Aunty Joyce, over the years, did have some pragmatic tea towels (like the blue and white, red/white, green/white, black/white checked ones) but, as with many people, when they have become grubby, stained or worn, they are relegated to the duster drawer. I, of course, would never do that!! I like this process of speculating about other people’s tea towels.

This Jamie Oliver one is bright and cheery, would certainly liven up wiping up but maybe it’s memory is about a business of Italian restaurants that went bust in 2019. But I’m glad to welcome Jamie Oliver’s tea towel into the Museum; it will be loved and cared for, and used.

Queen Bee: Acquired 2021

Abbots Langley is a large village in Hertfordshire, with a population of nearly 20,000. As a village, it was mentioned in the Domesday Book, in 1086, with a population of nine families. I’ve never been there before yesterday, yet for many years my Christmas cards and presents winged their way there because my Aunt and my Cousin both lived there.

Driving through the village, there was a short row, on both sides of the road, of shops. Local shops, a butchers, hardware store, gift shop, a couple of cafes, a Charity Shop; this looked like a village that would have it’s own tea towel. St Lawrence’s Church had had a church on site for 850 years; Nicholas Breakspear (later Pope Adrian IV) was the only Englishman to achieve Popedom, back in 1100s. Elizabeth Green, born in 1615 was the mother of 37 single births plus a set of twins. Even James Murphy, the propagandist of Hitler, translated ‘Mein Kampf’ while residing in Abbots Langley. This stuff must be enough information for a unique village tea towel. “I’ll come back” I said to Liz, “later in the day”. I needed a local tea towel to make sure the day was remembered in my mind, and commemorated in The Tea Towel Museum.

I didn’t need a tea towel; I would always remember the events of the day.

Liz and I had driven from Nottingham to Abbots Langley for the day. This was to be Part II of my Aunty Joyce’s funeral. The world has been topsy-turvey with Coronavirus. Aunty Joyce had died seven months previously, in the midst of Lockdown. ‘Stay Local’ was the mantra, funeral numbers limited. I didn’t attend the service but was invited to the interring of the ashes, in the Remembrance Garden outside of St Lawrence’s Church, yesterday. From the plot you could virtually see the house where she lived. In good health, she walked past the church everyday. This was her home patch. Only a few people were invited to the internment.

I would describe Aunty Joyce as elegant, in a casual sort of way; she was slim and attractive in a low-key way. She had a good sense of humour but was very tolerant of everyone around her. She adored her two daughters, Julie and Amanda, although would make wry comments about the fact that they were always late. In all the years I’ve met up with her, even from early childhood, I never saw her scruffy or untidy. She was never late, anywhere. As we all stood outside of the church, waiting, the Vicar said

“So who has the ashes?”. Julie and Amanda looked at each other, and then at the Vicar

“The undertakers delivered them on Monday” said Amanda, with confidence. “I went in last Friday and arranged for them to do that”

“Oh” said the Vicar “I’ll just go and check where they have been put” adding “I didn’t see them delivered”. He returned a few minutes later “They aren’t here”

The family had had to wait seven months for her to be laid to rest, and now she wasn’t there. Julie broke the tension “She’ll be watching and saying ‘You couldn’t even get me to my own funeral on time'”. The Vicar rushed off to ring the undertakers, returning to say that they were being brought to the church within the next few minutes.

“We’ll remember this day, certainly” said Amanda, in the hot sunny weather that continued. No one really knew how this was going to work. There was a small wooden square and a wheelbarrow. Julie was hoping the Vicar wasn’t going to just tip the soil into the hole. But it was done beautifully. The wheelbarrow was so that everyone could take some soil from it and scatter it on the casket. A small bunch of unwrapped flowers were lain by the side of her.

There was a finger buffet planned at a local pub, outdoors, still in the sun, socially distanced. There were plenty of memories talked about but I think we all held even more close to our hearts.

Aunty Joyce was the person who found me, at the age of just over two, in the kitchen she shared with her mother-in-law, being sick all over the floor, and crying. She picked me up, wiped me down and then washed the kitchen floor. From that day, I have never been able to eat eggs and tomatoes on the same plate, separately yes, on the same plate, no!

About 11 years ago, Aunty Joyce had sciatica and went to a reflexologist. We discussed this at the following Christmas because I had sciatica. I was sceptical of alternative therapies but just decided to give it a go. Anything has to be better than that excruciating sciatic pain. 11 years later I still have reflexology. I will always be grateful to her for that.

After we left the buffet, I asked Liz if we could just drive through the village so I could see if I could get a tea towel. Abbots Langley, like many other small villages, has early closing on a Wednesday. The gift shop, my best chance, was shut. Then I saw a Charity Shop – St Francis Hospice – with their doors open. It’s always a bit dodgy with tea towels and Charity Shops but I had to give it a go.

“Have you got any tea towels?” I asked the volunteer.

“Don’t know. Will have to ask” as she disappeared into the back room. “Don’t think so”. This was followed by someone shouting “We’ve just got one”

“I’ll have it” I said, not having even seen it, not knowing if it would be a duplicate.

“That’ll be 50p”. And here it is, an unused Ulster Weavers tea towel ‘Queen Bee’. Amanda was certainly right it’s a day I’ll never forget. I’d like to think St Francis was the hospice Aunty Joyce spent her last days in but never mind if it wasn’t, all hospices do good work.

The Joy of Tea Towel Sharing (12)

The last Blog I wrote, on #thejoyofteatowelsharing, was on 9 June 2021. I can’t believe it was so long ago. On 14 June 2021, I went away for a week, the first time away since February 2020. We were going to stay in a cabin, on its own, in the middle of a field; we knew there would be no Wifi so I didn’t take my iPad or anything to do with tea towels because I wouldn’t be able to publish anything. Got there and there is a big router-thing sitting in the kitchen and instructions how to get into the Wifi. After a lot of swearing, I just accepted this would be a Blog-free week and to make up for that I would buy as many tea towels as I could (not that I wouldn’t have done that anyway).

Shropshire is a strange place for tea towels. There is a ubiquitous one from @emmaballltd called ‘Shropshire’; it really is everywhere and is probably the only tea towel I found from a ‘place’ although there are plenty of @NationalTrust ones, but not at every property. There were days that I bought many, and days when I found none; the search was always exciting.

My first contribution, the ‘Headliner’, is from Bromyard, from one of those hardware stores that sells everything, absolutely everything. I had asked the shop owner whether he had any tea towels. He said their next order was a day later but thought there might be a few. He rumbled and rummaged on shelves, and in tubs, until he found a raffia basket full of tea towels, lying on the floor beneath a shelf. There was an excitement in me; they were £1.69 each. Looking closer, I could see why. Called ‘Festive Magic’, there were two Christmas Tea-Towels (as written on the cardboard packaging) from China, made from Chinlon (proper word for Chinese Nylon). They are colourful, make your hair stand on end because of the electricity they generate and come with a warning ‘Cold machine wash, do not bleach, iron, soak or tumble dry, line dry in shade only’ and finally ‘do not dry clean’. And, I ask myself, who would think of dry cleaning a tea towel?

Having got over the surprise of not being able to dry clean my tea towel, I have begun to realise that the population of Bromyard have missed a bargain: Christmas Tea-Towels in June for £1.69. Sadly, there were only two designs, so I bought them both and this is the ‘Headliner’ I offer you today!!

The first offering today, from other people, is from Beth who lives in California. “Just got these two new beauties in the mail today. What I particularly like about these towels is the design is printed on the bottom half only, allowing me to hang it on the handle of my range and still see the whole pattern. Most of my other towels only allow me to see the bottom half, or the upside down top half. This was good thinking on their designers part! I also have another V&A towel from Ulster Weavers that I forgot about….it’s very mod. I will send a photo soon”. These are great tea towels from Beth who also advises me on some American TV serials that I can watch on Amazon Prime!

The next three are from my friend Gwyneth who I was at college with in 1977, in Stockport. But they don’t actually belong to her, but to her friend Hilary “Hilary (a colleague from the murky past of day services) took some random shots of her sister, Jo’s tea towels. Hilary and Jo are active in the Kidsgrove community, Hilary as chair of U3A. It is just coincidental and links with your talk at the U3A meeting this month”. There are three tea towels: 1993 Calendar Tea Towel. I love a Calendar Tea Towel and 1993 was the year I got married, to which Gwyneth and her daughters came. As Gwyneth says “Good to see a Calendar Tea Towel still in use after 28 years”. There is ‘Farne Isle Puffins’ which Gwyneth really likes and a ‘St Thomas, Kidsgrove’ tea towel. And yes, the poor people of Kidsgrove U3A will be suffering a talk, on Zoom, on tea towels, by me. Why? Who knows?

I’m hoping there will be many more tea towels on display in #thejoyofteatowelsharing. See you soon!!

The Joy of Tea Towel Sharing (11)

As usual, I will initially share one of my own tea towels, acquired in 2021 although I am sure that it is a bit older than that. I was offered this one in January 2021 and I couldn’t resist another National Trust one; I’d never seen one like this. In the third Lockdown, looking at a tea towel with all those words, it brought back all the things I’d been missing: ‘coast’ and it was Project Neptune, back in 1984, that inspired me to join the National Trust. I spent many a holiday in Cornwall and the idea that National Trust would preserve and care for places like Bedruthan Steps was enough for me. ‘Scones and Jam’ just reminds me of @nt_scones project to have a scone in all the National Trust properties that sold them. She wrote a Blog about each one she visited, scoring both the property and the scone out of 5. I read every one and was always disappointed when she didn’t visit one at a weekend (that is until I found out that she was a Brentford FC fan and I could forgive her). The project isn’t completed yet, a Pandemic has got in the way, but she has written a book in the meantime ‘The National Trust Book of Scones’. @nt_scones introduced me to the Christmas Pudding Scone at @TreasurersHouse in York. Such joy!! If I am honest, I’ll be disappointed when she’s finished, although I imagine she might be quite pleased. I wasn’t expecting to see ‘Lighthouse’ but that reminds me of @SouterNT in Northumberland, my favourite National Trust property. ‘Live the good life’, I don’t think that is something the Harpur Crewe family managed at Calke Abbey but it is full of ‘curiosities’, ‘mysteries’, ‘mansion’ and ‘woodland’ and the nearest National Trust property to where I live. I still have the photos from 1987, when I was lucky enough to get a ticket, open one day only, to look at how they were beginning to curate @NTCalkeAbbey. I love a stuffed bird, good job, because they certainly had a lot!!

These days it is the ‘parks and gardens’, ‘valleys, lakes and rivers’ and ‘wildlife’ that I enjoy so much at the National Trust (that is, besides their tea towels), their shops (nothing quite like a National Trust shop), the chance to be outdoors, away from people. I enjoy the fact that some of their properties now have Trampers for hire, making the outdoors much more accessible. Wiping up with this tea towel, takes so long because it can take me back to so many places, over more than 40 years. Big sigh!!

And now I will introduce you to some tea towels that have become part part of #thejoyofteatowelsharing. I’ll start with ‘The White Heather Story’ from @gorton_carol “Found another one”. It would appear to come from the Speyside Heather Centre. That sounds like a good place to visit. I do love a tea towel with words, poems and stories and for anyone who likes Scotland, this might be the one for you. And, completely out of the blue, my friend Jenny, who is not a fan of the Tea Towel Blog, WhatsApped me ‘Aneurin Bevin’, hanging on her washing line “Here you are. I am treating you to another of my political tea towel favourites which this time needs no explanation”. A good @radicalteatowel design and very appropriate at the time when we are still struggling with a Pandemic.

Yesterday was #WorldOceanDay so I asked Twitter People if anyone had any appropriate tea towels to share. There were some interesting submissions. First, from @emmaballltd, “Here you go”, is everything you associate with the ocean: beach huts and the seaside, seabirds swooping above and the dolphins and fish beneath the surface. Brilliant. The second on this line is from @johnrstevens “There you go”. It is an image of the ocean, Japanese-style. Very striking.

@townsendtowers sent in a wonderful picture of ‘FY81’. You get a real sense of being on the water. This is followed by ‘Love is Love’ by @megan_poxon. This is the Staffordshire Pride Tea towel which I do think is glorious. I am going to put out a call for any other ‘Pride’ tea towels; they deserve to be shared. The final picture is from @JanCherryJovi which I have called ‘Bubbles’. I don’t think this was supposed to be a submission for a Tea Towel Blog but it sums up the whole purpose of a Tea Towel Blog – the tales of wiping up. “Washing up an empty gin bottle…..it struck me how pretty washing up bubbles are”

Thank you to everyone who has joined in #thejoyofteatowelsharing. I am looking forward to many more!

Waterways Alphabet: Acquired 2021

I like words. I like playing with words. I admire the way people can play use words, jiggle them around, make them sound more interesting, so I really love this tea towel, for two reasons. Firstly, it’s the list of words linked with canals beginning with each letter. There are always letters that are difficult to generate words but Q = Quack is cute, Z = zzzzzz is clever but I was challenged by Y = Yellow, Red, Blue, Green. While Yellow is ok, yellow is a key colour in Canal Boat Painting. Why introduce other colours, not beginning with Y? It doesn’t make sense. Just leave it at Yellow if there are no other words beginning with Y. It just spoils the alphabet. I know this because of the second reason why I like this tea towel.

In the midst of all the Lockdowns, My Aunt Catherine, who I haven’t seen since 2019, but with whom I have many a Textation, suggested that we all do an Alphabet Challenge. When I say ‘all’ I have no idea who this actually referred to. I know she does it, and possibly her friend Mary but only she knows the true, and full, answer. All submissions just go to her and I only receive her efforts. There are possibly hundreds of people, around the country, taking part, sending their efforts to Catherine each day. The way this works is that each week is dedicated to a different letter, fortunately working in Alphabetic Order otherwise I’d never know what letter to use. The challenge is to send a text, each day of the week, preferably first thing in the morning, using as many words beginning with that letter.

There is a huge difference between the letters and how easy they are to make into a composition. I think it is dependent on whether a particular letter has the ability to be used as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb and preposition. Personally, I liked Q, possibly because there may not be so many words but they are long. These texts often do not make a great deal of sense but are good fun. I think my best was in S, where I managed 53 (according to Catherine). This was the middle segment of a steamy murder story! “Sheena submerged her emotions. She was sad about Stephen’s end but, suffice it to say, she moved on. Stephano strolled into Santander to draw out their savings while she set about her next scheme. First sunbathing. Then would she give him six weeks or seven months? At what point would it seem suspicious? These thoughts scrolled through her mind as Stephano snogged her. Not bad but a bit sloppy. The sun shone down on their stripped bodies, slicked with sweat they had sex. She had to admit his voice was sexy but it was suddenly getting under her skin. They swam down the coast to Seville and set up another savings account but she knew after sixty days of sun, sea, sand, sangria and sex their relationship would be severed. But how? Shooting, a bit messy? Stabbing, too scary? Strychnine? Too close to Stephen. Sorcery? Now there’s a thought…..”

This week is T; it’s quite easy but we are approaching the more difficult letters. Today, I realised that, after T, we only have six weeks to go. I find it difficult to think of breakfast without the Alphabet Challenge; it gets the brain working. I understand that Catherine composes her renditions as she lies in bed. That would be impossible for me because I’d never remember what I had decided upon.

It is strange how the Pandemic has generated new ideas, new ways round things, new ways to entertain oneself and it is that part of the Pandemic that I have enjoyed. The Pandemic has also made many of us look at different ways of keeping in touch with friends and family. I recommend you all try the Alphabet Challenge!!

The Joy of Tea Towel Sharing (10)

On Monday, @lizmac307, @GwynFraser and I went for a walk along the towpath of the disused Nottingham Canal. You can start from near my home, walk through the woods and join up with the Canal. This will then take you to Trowell Garden Centre. Sadly, we cannot go any further because the gate beyond the Garden Centre is not accessible to a Tramper. It doesn’t tell you this on the maps but we found out last December when we thought we would take a longer walk. This time our aim was a trip to the Garden Centre, with a stop for a bite to eat. Trying this out was a bit scary but their eating area is indoors, in a marquee and outdoors. The woman asked where we wanted to sit, adding that she had seats in all three areas but outdoors was very hot. We didn’t care, outdoors with all the fresh air, was good enough for us. I promised myself that if we managed this hurdle I would buy myself a tea towel.

We had food and drink, noticing all those people eating chips, chips that looked so good. I read the menu and they did chicken and chips, took me back more than 50 years to chicken and chips in the basket in the Berni Inn in Ealing.

“Next time, I’ll have chicken and chips” I said enthusiastically

“We can drive here and pretend we’re going out for a meal” said @lizmac307

I can imagine it, a proper meal out, in the fresh air, that’s something to look forward to. There are things to look forward to, after all. The cup of tea was really good, quite surprising for a tea bag. It was nice to have a proper sit down and have access to a toilet.

On the way from the toilet, I steered myself through the department with tea towels. Two A-line clothes hangers with different tea towels on each rail. What a choice! Actually, it wasn’t so much of a choice because I had each of them already, besides ‘The Bullfinch in an Apple Tree’. This was one produced by @ulsterweavers for @edenproject. Two years ago, I bought a ‘Robin’, same theme for @edenproject. I remember ‘Robin’ being hard wearing and super-absorbent so this one would be good too. The label even tells you about The Bullfinch: “This male is easily recognised by his bright pink breast. The female has a lighter fawny-pink breast. April is the start of the breeding season. They are quite secretive birds, their song is a quiet warble and they also have a piped ‘phew’ call. They eat insects, berries, seeds and are partial to buds too so sometimes not the fruit-growers best friend”. Great tea towel with some interesting information. That wasn’t enough for me. I needed to know if there are other such tea towels for @edenproject, produced by @ulsterweavers, and there were. I will be on the look-out. So my ‘Headliner’ today is ‘The Bullfinch in the Apple Tree’. That was definitely #thejoyofteatowelsharing.

Now on to the tea towels of other people who also join in #thejoyofteatowelsharing. I start with @stephenkeeler who has a penchant for the crisp lines of a Swedish tea towel. Who’d have thought you’d find a similar style in Halifax. @stephenkeeler was away from home and sent me a picture of this tea towel in it’s stylish cardboard band “Might even open this out for a better photo when we get back to our hotel. Meanwhile martinis and friends await in York – and it’s a very long time since I’ve been able to say that”. I liked the idea of seeing a full frontal of the tea towel. Days passed, no picture, @stephenkeeler had moved on to other things so I tweeted him, asking where the photo was. He had been reluctant to open it out because it was going to be a present for someone, and five minutes later a tweet came back “Here you go”. It was worth waiting for! That’s a classy tea towel!

Tea towels do always have a story to tell. @rachblacklabel wrote a tweet, accompanied by a photo, saying “Reunited with Granny for the first time in 46 weeks” with a picture of the Welcome to Wales sign (so I am assuming Granny lives in Wales) and a picture of that first hug. It occurred to me that Granny might have a few tea towels, I know there are a lot of Welsh tea towels (My Collection proves it to be true). “I bet she’s got some tea towels” I tweet. A quick reply “I will investigate and get back to you” and a flurry of tea towels wing their way to Nottingham, including the cat that likes to sit on tea towels (as my own does)

And now for Granny’s tea towels, hanging on a rotary dryer. I recognise ‘Clipper Teas’, a promotional tea towel. I’m not sure if the ‘Bees’ are from @MollyMacLiving. I love the ‘Tulips’. But I’m not sure if I recognise the one of the older woman and I’m sure the ‘Hailiwick of Guernsey’ should be hanging at a different angle, but I do love to see A Hanging of Tea Towels, on a washing line.

So it is a great big thank you to those contributors to #thejoyofteatowelsharing. Still more to come