My headmistress had no suggestions to offer me for my future
apart from occupational therapy.
I looked it up in the dusty Careers Room and saw that it meant basket making.
This may be why it has taken me 47 years
to get around to making a basket.
I went on a one day course at Charleston Farmhouse
and came out with a willow basket that now has pride of place
on the table, but I don't think I'll be making another one.
A visit to Eastbourne,
the first place in the country to have an average age of over 70,
has persuaded me to buck up my ideas about the rest of my future.
Meanwhile gardens continue to delight.
My day lilies
and Sissinghurst's -
only a tower and a flagpole missing from mine.
Seeking shade I lingered between high yew hedges
and sheltered in the gazebo,
away from those pesky strolling tourists.
I leave you with this three year old's depiction
of a sad fox howling at the moon.
Time to get the crayons out again I think.
Great photographs and commentary. And I think the three year old is a pretty good artist.
ReplyDeleteFantastic art there, I love it. And beautiful photos and words, the basket is excellent. CJ xx
ReplyDeleteThat basket is gorgeous Lucille! Useful and beautiful... I've always wanted to try basket making, what was it that put you off making another?
ReplyDeleteSo much visual joy in this post - I love the metal arches framing the wild vegetation, and the sad fox howling at the moon is fabulous!
Well there are so many other things to try out and so little time to do it. I am nearing completion of a crocheted blanket. It will be displayed for general acclaim in due course and then I will move on.
DeleteThat’s a lovely basket. And thank you for the garden images. Such a beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent basket! You'd have inspired recovery immediately.
ReplyDeleteWe are from the generation advised to become almoners/speech therapists/occupational ditto/nurses and nuns... carers one and all. I kept on saying I wanted to be an actress , more to annoy than out of any vocation.
Did you get your way?
DeleteNo, I would have been hopeless but it was contrary and outrageous therefore felt perfect. I ended up working with contrary and outrageous children instead.
Deletewe do like, to be beside the seaside.
ReplyDeleteI imagine basket-making is hard on the hands. Especially on creaky after hiking / gardening days.
It wasn't too bad while the willow was still damp and pliant but it was a hot day, and despite being covered with sacking, it dried and stiffened making the last few weaves a bit tight. It was a rush to get a basket finished in one day but I kept my head down and didn't really treat it like a social occasion even though the other women all seemed very nice.
DeleteI enjoy sitting on the sidelines and listening to you talk to your friends. I miss the banter between you and Mise. In this space where opinions are invited, my opinion is this: if the fox were my sad fox I'd frame it. He's pleasingly piquant.
ReplyDeleteI miss Brid too.
DeleteI love your basket! And Sissinghurst which I am hoping to visit next summer.
ReplyDelete