'"Tis But A Thing of Straw"

 I unpinned my corn dolly from the top corner of the bookshelves when they were emptied ready for moving when the floor was being done and bits fell off it. It's looking very faded too.

This is how it looked when new

 So I had to look back on the blog to see how old it was and turns out I got it in October 2020 because of the connection to the Ogham Tree Alphabet which has Wheat Straw representing October to November.

The Wheat-straw Page from Karen Cater's book" Ogham Sketch Book"

Later I was shifting more books from the living room shelves out of the way and re-found a sort of scrap book I started with great plans about 8 years ago. (This is a different scrap book to my two old fashioned scrapbooks started in 2021!) It has cuttings about the seasons and weather folklore taken from the pages that I wrote for the Suffolk Smallholders Society newsletter and cuttings from Country Wisdom and Folklore Diaries but not much else. Trouble is they are all stuck in with glue and can't be taken out.........Anyway, while I was flicking through a loose cutting fell out -taken from an old Folklore Diary all about Corn Dollies. Ah Ha I thought - I can make a blog post from this. ............

From the diary

Twisting and plaiting straw to make effigies and other objects has been practised all over the world and is closely linked to harvest thanksgiving. In the British Isles, the men who brought in the harvest traditionally made a human-like form out of the last wheat standing. This tradition developed to become a decorative pastoral craft often practised by women. Crafting these symbols of good luck and fertility, which reflected superstitious beliefs also enabled them to earn a small extra income. In it's purest form, the corn doll was used to than Mother Earth for the harvest.

'Tis but a thing of straw' they say,

yet even straw can sturdy be

Plaited into a doll like me.

And in the days of long ago

To help the seeds once more to grow

I was an offering to the gods.

A very simple way indeed

Of asking them to intercede

That barn and granary o'erflow

At harvest time, with fruit and corn

To fill again Amalthea's horn.

Minnie Lambert 1957 

(Amalthea's horn is another name for a Cornucopia)

From the book Cattern Cakes and Lace by Julia Jones

Great ceremony was always attached to the harvesting of the last sheaf  and a great Harvest Shout was raised by the reapers as it was cut. It was treated with special respect and used to make the corn dolly which would be carried home atop of the last load from the field. In the following year the Corn Dolly would be planted in the first furrow on Plough Monday, so that it's spirit would be released and ensure another good harvest.

Many parts of the country gave names to the dolly made from the last sheaf. In Devon the 'Crying The Neck and Kirn Baby'. In Hertfordshire 'The Mare'. In Shropshire ' The Old Hare'. In Hampshire 'Kern Baby' and in the Highlands of Scotland it was called 'The Maiden'.

I may have a morning out sometime to Corncraft  in Monks Eleigh for a new corn dolly, a look around their shop - and a coffee and cheese scone of course!

Back Soon

Sue

This Week

 Proper Autumn weather now and when a frost got mentioned,  my Money Plant - which is the only house plant I manage to keep alive - has come indoors after it's summer holiday outside. It's looking very well considering how neglected it is most of the time, actually I think it ought to be re-potted but if I do that it won't fit into the pretty Portmeirion planter it lives in on the bathroom windowsill.

Lots of notes this week............

The flooring was done on Tuesday by two guys who didn't stop talking to each other all the time they were here - overheard such a lot about their families, friends and people they didn't get on with - much more than I wanted to know! They were working at the same time - thankfully - and didn't even take up my offers of coffee/tea etc - very unusual.

Had to re-think my plan for painting the living room. I really wanted to sand down and clean up the whole room all at once but then all the furniture would be in the middle of the room leaving me nowhere to move - and live. So two walls prepared and painted - only to find the Dulux Timeless isn't covering the grey very well. Two coats will be needed but I can't keep moving the plastic floor covering so will have to do second coat on the two walls before I get to the other half of the room. - Watching paint dry! Might take me a bit longer than I thought especially as my energy runs out after about 4 hours work. Oh well - I guess it doesn't really matter how long it takes.

Essex and Suffolk Water came and fitted me a smart water meter on Monday - replacing the one which was also quite smart  - but wasn't smart enough apparently, even though it was only fitted 2½ years ago.

I picked up a carrier bag with 3lb of cooking apples from last Sunday's car-boot sale for £1 but when I came to peel and chop the whole darn lot were full of codling moth maggot damage - UGH, only got a couple of small bags to put in the freezer. Shan't buy from that lady again. Her eggs are good though and apples and eggs were all I came home with. At our Keep Moving exercise group someone brought in a small box of windfall cooking apples and we all helped ourselves to a handful. I added a pear and made a crumble which was a nice treat for 4 days. I hope they bring some more next week.

If there was a prize for worst ad on TV at the moment it would have to go to  The Pure Cremation company ad with a fat man in a bath - it's quite revolting!

I've been watching some of the US crime series on 5USA ever since I found and watched all of NCIS but hadn't watched Blue Bloods because of Tom Selleck's moustache! Anyway I finally got round to watching despite the facial hair - but someone please explain to me how they can get away with the bloke playing T.S's father being only 5 years older than TS himself. Of course if they had to find an actor the right age he would need to be 105!

Strictly Come Dancing starts tonight - that's my Saturday nights sorted from now until Christmas.

I'll be getting on with the living room this weekend, visiting youngest daughter and maybe a car-boot sale early. It is Heritage Open Days weekend but nothing I really want to visit without travelling halfway across the County - so I probably won't bother this year.

Back Monday, when we will be into the second half of September............already!

Sue

First Book For Autumn Reading the Seasons.

 Someone mentioned this book when I said there are a shortage of books with Autumn in the title but  there was no copy to borrow at the library.  I've read several others by Barbara Pym so didn't mind buying a second-hand copy and Abebooks had one for a couple of £s.

So this is my first for Autumn for the Reading the Seasons 'not really a challenge'.

 

1970's London and four elderly single people work in the same office but live separate and lonely lives. This is the quiet story of their day to day life, the things that annoy them, which seem so trivial and the things that worry them as they get to the end of their working lives.

Like most of her books this explores relationships with a touch of humour and sadness too.

Published in 1977 after a 15 gap this was her 7th novel and was originally turned down by her publishers. She almost gave up but in 1977 the Times Literary Supplement had a list, written by writers and academics, of the most underrated authors from the last 75 years and Pym was mentioned twice. Interest in her was revived and Quartet in Autumn was published and nominated for The Booker Prize.

She died in 1980,  when cancer returned seven years after treatment, she was aged just 66.

Back Soon

Sue

 

New Floor + Painting Diary Day 1

 When I painted the big living room at Clay Cottage during July 2017 I charted my progress on the blog (very boring for readers but kept me on track!) - so here we go again - you'll love hearing about it all!!

 So I've  now started the living /dining room here at the bungalow - been wanting to get rid of the grey for 3 years but no way to do it while I still had carpet and couldn't move the furniture. 

I bought some felt 'slider' mat things to go under the furniture so that I can move things on the new hardwood flooring which was done Tuesday by two cheerful blokes who were happy that I'd emptied everything so they could do half the room at the time. They put the felt mats under the furniture for me.

My lovely new flooring and the cupboard with the felt sliders

Sanding, hoovering washing down, settee covered and  everything in the middle of the room

Started by sanding down the short wall with the door to the hall, using sand paper round a block of wood, hoovered up the dust and washed down the wall. Then I had to rest for an hour! 

So I went and found the electric sander- and looked at the old tatty sanding sheet on it, cut some sandpaper to fit  and did ¾ of the long wall right up to the wood-burner, had lunch and then finished that wall. The electric sander has a thing that is supposed to collect the dust but with my cut down sandpaper it didn't - never mind -it's still easier on the shoulder - although just as hard on the wrist. Hoovered up again and washed down and didn't feel so exhausted. Decided that was enough for one day.

Today I'm going to get some proper sanding sheets for the sander and then I have to work out how to get the curtains off the curtain rail - it was blinkin' hard work getting the rail fixed and curtains up when I moved in - will be the same in reverse I reckon, at least there's hardly any painting to be done on the window wall and wall #4 has the patio doors in it but heavens knows how I paint behind the weird radiator......when I get to it.

Back Soon

Sue

A Picture For the Art Wall, Books and Birthday Cards

 Found this little print at the Stonham Barns car boot sale on Bank Holiday Sunday.  

It was disgustingly dusty and dirty with thunder flies under the glass but as I seem to have two or three duck/geese/swan pictures on the wall it will make a nice addition. I took it apart and gave the glass a good clean. The signature says Penny Cox and the title is 'Coming Out To Play George'. I looked on line and there are several pictures of her other work - and more of George, but mostly for sale in the US. I'm not sure that this is a genuine print from the artist as the 'George' looks to have been added later. But no matter - it fits in well. £2 spent.

Haven't got it on the wall yet - painting to do first.

Picked up 4 more greetings cards for future for 10p each - handy.

I then went a mile or so down the road to Crowfield Church where they have a Flower Festival and fundraising stalls every August BH weekend. It's something I usually visit because of the good second-hand book stall. It's had a mention on the blog every year.

There was a service in the church so I didn't take photos of the flower festival this year but I found 3 books for 50p each that looked interesting, one might be a bit too cosy crime but Apple Tree Cottage was the name we gave the house we completely renovated back in the early 1980's so I had to buy it!

Back Soon 

Sue

Library Book Photo etc.

 The Isle of Wight holiday clashed with the library van's August visit - a bit of bad planning there!

To fill in the gap I redirected a few books to pick up  in Stowmarket but the rest will be there for me when the van comes later this month.

I've already finished them! Coffin Island by Kate Ellis - it's another in her DI Wesley Peterson series set in Dartmouth Devon which she calls Tradmouth. Have to say it is very similar to all the others in the series. Always using a 'discovered' journal from the past mixed in with murders in the present. 

'Four French Holidays' is non-fiction, I borrowed it because of the link to  "Greengage Summer" by Rumer Godden which I read last month. It is also about three other authors and their books written about French holidays - Daphne Du Maurier, Stella Gibbons and Margery Sharp. The part about the background to Greengage summer was interesting but the rest wasn't so much because I'd not read the other three books . It didn't make me want to read them - not at the moment anyway.

On the top is another British Library Crime Classic - 'Tour De Force' by Christianna Brand - a popular author in BLCC's reprints and another good story- also set in a holiday destination.

Last week I also picked up this from Stowmarket, haven't had a good look at it yet but it's about people who live in places around the world that have diets that help long life and happiness.

The mobile library with my other reservations isn't due for nearly two weeks so I'll be reading from my shelves until then. Really I should say "reading from the spare bed!" as all my books are now off the living room shelves and laying on the double bed (and piled on the floor) in the spare room, ready for the flooring in the living/dining room being done tomorrow.

With the Paralympics finishing Summer of Sport 2024 is over - don't know what I shall do now. It's a long wait until the 31st January when Six Nations Rugby starts!

I suppose I'd better get on with painting the living room.

Back Soon

Sue

WI and the Rest of The Week

 I hadn't been to WI for months, since April in fact, not sure why really, but July was the Garden Party - and I'm not a fan and August when I'd lost my voice after talking too much at the Bacton Fayre a couple of days earlier!

But as I was down on the rota for cakes and kitchen I thought I'd better turn up for the September meeting and anyway the speaker was talking about Scouting. Then the President rang and asked me to give the vote of thanks as she knew I'd been very involved in Scouting in the past so I really had  to be there.

The speaker was Stuart - a local man - he is one of the few people paid to work in Scouting. He is based at Scout HQ - Gilwell Park, North of London in Epping Forest, where he is in charge of risk assessment. He told us all about his involvement in the 25th World Scout Jamboree (WSJ) which was held in South Korea in 2023.

Postcards that the Scouts were given for sending home and to people who had sponsored them. It costs £4,000 each for people to attend - Leaders fund themselves, Scouts have to raise money from sponsors and holding fund raising events and are often aided by their group or District.

About 43,000 young people and their leaders attended from 158 countries. He told us how his group of 36 Scouts - aged 14 - 17 and 4 leaders were chosen from Essex Scout Groups and the preparations they made in the 16 months up to August 2023. 

The WSJ got some very bad publicity, as after just a few days flooding on site then a heatwave, poor preparation, lack of sanitation facilities, lack of drinking water and the approaching Typhoon forced the participants to be moved off site to Hotels in Seoul. The UK contingent were the first to evacuate followed by the US and then many other countries. But thanks to the Korean officials who worked to organise different events and visits, Korean people who had heard about the problems,  Leaders and the Be Prepared motto everyone had a brilliant time.

Stuart was also involved in organising Scouts to help with the Laying in State for the late Queen and again for the Coronation for Charles.

It was a very interesting talk and slides.

And later in the week it was so good to hear who is the new Chief Scout. There's never a shortage of boys but always a shortage of leaders, perhaps he will inspire more adults from different backgrounds to get involved.

I've really enjoyed watching the Paralympics all week - it's been amazing to see all the medal winners. Sarah Storey getting an 19th Gold - incredible! The 19th won by an inch! So pleased to see Alfie Hewitt and Gordon Reid get the Gold in the wheelchair tennis, they've won many, many grand slams but this was their third try at winning at the Paralympics. The wheelchair basketball was really good to watch too, the men's team in the finals today after beating Germany 71/43 on Thursday and so many medals won in the pool and on the track.

 Encouraged me to look and see if there were any suitable times for swimming and I found a session that will later be used for schools but wasn't this week due to them only just being back. Hadn't forgotten how to swim despite it being months since I went and it might be a while before I go again as the other pool in the area at Diss is still closed for refurbishment until at least December so making Stradbroke extra busy and schools use the pool a lot this term and next. The few lane swimming sessions are really busy and public swimming sessions are very early or very late - neither are any good for my tired old body!

 

Tomorrow would have been our 46th wedding anniversary, we only made it to 38. 

Goodness me, how I miss that man.

Have a good weekend whatever you are doing - I'm planning a church visit and a Macmillan Coffee morning and perhaps a car boot sale.

Back Monday

Sue

Following A Tree 2024

 My walk up the lane to take photos of the Oaks happened right at the end of August, a beautiful sunny morning, blue skies all round. Things were starting to look Autumnal with acorns now a good size and the barley and  wheat all harvested.

Leaves were beginning to looks old, spotted with brown and some with mildew

In the hedgerow a few blackberries beginning to ripen and the red comes from the poisonous Woody Nightshade. Rose Hips are still mostly orange and very oddly I didn't notice any Hawthorn berries.

A few blackberries - my least favourite fruit so I leave them for the birds

Rose Hips

Pretty but Deadly!

The barley field is just stubble, probably to be ploughed later. Further up the lane the wheat field had been disc harrowed so maybe it's been sown straight in with something as there were bird scarer guns  set up on the other side of the field.

That green field in front of the houses, which is bigger than it looks in this photo,  will have houses  built on it very soon - a 'consultation' evening is being held for villagers to go and look at the plans. Complaints and comments won't make any difference as it's already been agreed by the Council!

Stubble field

The Sugar Beet field is looking well, several more months of growing still to come before it's harvested

I've never seen so many of these Robin's Pincushions on the Dog Roses before, there were so many. It must be a very good year for the gall wasp.

 "The Robin's pincushion is a red, round, hairy growth that can be seen on wild roses. It is caused by the larvae of a tiny gall wasp that feeds on the host plant, but causes little damage."

It really will be proper Autumn next time I go up the lane for photos

Back Soon

Sue

Garden And Meals Since Returning from Holiday

 Came home from holiday on the 23rd August to a very overgrown garden -in just a week - with lots of things finished. I cleared off 8 small aubergines - the biggest about 3 inches long and the last of the runner beans. Just a few tomatoes left now but cucumbers all finished  The aubergines sliced and fried plus cooked pasta and a sauce made simply with tomato puree, boiling water and minced garlic from a jar and then all layered up with grated cheese made me two meals.

There were no more peppers to cut as I'd sliced and frozen all that were there before my holiday but a bowl of small tomatoes were brought indoors before I cleared all but one of the plants out.

Then I popped over to BiL's for some beetroot - I'd given him a packet of beetroot seeds so he could grow a few extra for me - and he gave me a sweetcorn cob (mine are a few weeks behind although I have had one now) and a cucumber as his greenhouse did far better than mine - so I'm blaming the compost.

 I used one large beet for roasting, it was peeled and cut into chunks and went in the oven with potatoes and carrots and  with one sausage made into a toad in the hole. I'd saved and frozen a rolled out  scrap of pastry left from making a quiche a few weeks ago, this was turned into sausage rolls, with another sausage and eaten with the rest of the roast veg. the next day.

Other meals have been my home made batch cooked from the freezer - Thai red fish curry, spinach and ricotta lasagne, aubergine and tomato sauce over pasta and another day I had a warm mackerel pasta salad. 

As a couple of the leeks had run to seed already although still small I thought I'd better start eating them and used two as fritters. Plenty more for later which had recovered from next-door-neighbour's cat trying to dig them up earlier.

Lurking among the courgette leaves were 6 marrows so I put 5 of them out the front with a 'help yourself note' and they soon went. One remaining came into the kitchen to make Marrow, Apricot and Ginger jam. I was going to do the jam last Thursday but forgot to put the apricots in to soak on Wednesday night, so I left them out right ready to soak overnight to use on Friday but forgot again -Duh! Finally got them soaking Friday night and the jam made on Saturday. Six jars made, this jam is a good replacement for marmalade.

Despite being covered and completely protected from birds and butterflies, I came home to find the three kale plants were just skeletons - and I'd put slug pellets inside the cage too. The slugs must have feasted on the kale before dying!

 This is the third year winter 'greens' have been a complete fail - I've learned my lesson - not trying again. At least I have more than one small butternut squash this year. They got going late so I hope we don't get early frosts and have plenty more sun. I'm watering them a lot now to try and fatten up the few small ones. Fingers crossed for fine weather for them to ripen for storage.

There are a few  this size and smaller

Just one proper sized butternut

The raspberries that were here when I moved in are doing their thing - appearing at an odd time of year - late for summer but early for Autumn. They've given me 3 bowls full to eat since I came home.

I was down to just half a loaf of bread in the freezer so the bread maker has been on a few times since returning from holiday for a 50/50 white and wholemeal, a 50/50 white and granary and an all white loaf. They are cut in half and frozen, so I'm re-stocked. Also made a Focaccia loaf which I cut into chunks before freezing.

There are lots of the big plum tomatoes in the freezer - ready skinned -  to make my Red Hot Relish sometime and that will be all I'll do this year. I'm not doing Christmas Hampers for anyone this year so no need to make other things.

I don't seem to have much to write about at the moment so have dropped down to 4 posts a week rather than 6 - so apologies if you look for me everyday!  I'll see how it goes.

Back Soon

Sue

September Days

 The 1st of the month.... I'm a day late............. marks the start of meteorological autumn, astronomically Autumn doesn't begin until Mabon or the  Autumn Equinox which is on the 22nd this year................... So you choose.

There are old traditions about the most frequent weather patterns for September which tell of three periods of "Old-wives Summer", each are followed by stormy days. The dry spells were said to occur about the 7th - 10th, 16th to 21st and around the 30th as anti-cyclones move east across the UK. The most common time for gales was around the 24th. I wonder if things are still the same in 2024?

The Golden Rod is yellow

The Corn is turning brown

The trees in apple orchards

With fruit are bending down

The gentian's bluest fringes

Are curling in the sun

In dusty pods the milkweed

It's hidden silk has spun

The sedges flaunt their harvest

In every meadow nook

And asters by the brook-side

Make asters in the brook

From dewy lanes at morning

The grapes sweet odours rise

At noon the roads all flutter 

With yellow butterflies

By all these lovely tokens

September days are here

With summer's best of weather

And autumns best of cheer

But none of all this beauty

Which floods the earth and air

Is unto me the secret

Which makes September fair.

T'is a thing which I remember

To name it thrills me yet

One day of one September

I never can forget.

Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885)

September dries up wells or breaks down bridges

                                             

 September rain is much liked by  the farmer

Many haws and many sloes make many cold toes.

September 2nd 1666 was the day the the Great Fire of London started . It burned for 3 days and nights, destroying the Cathedral, the Royal Exchange, about 100 parish churches, many public buildings and more than 10,000  homes. Yet the death toll was much lower than the 75,000 that died during the Great Plague of the previous two years.

When the city was rebuilt roads were straightened, timber homes were replaced with brick and Sir Christopher Wren's designs were used for St Paul's Cathedral, 50 churches and the Monument - to remember those that died.

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 

Monument to the Great Fire of London story 2 of 4

Back Soon

Sue