How are you feeling? Sometimes we use our hobbies to take ourselves away from the thick of it – it’s a distraction. We can lose ourselves for a wee while as we knit one, purl one…but do we then ignore where we are at that moment? My Mum used to have a counter on the end of the knitting needle to tel her how many rows she had done. Mandy has a piece of paper and a pen: it looks like some scrawl from Roman days – but it works!
So how do we make a note how we are feeling?
In the past we have used Blobby trees. No, not an invention from Noel Edmonds and his Saturday Roadshow, but some wonderfully drawn characters in a variety of scenes by Pip Wilson and Ian Long. The concept is that we can look at the picture and try to identify which character is us…at this moment in time. It may well change over time, and we’d hope it might.
Our Sharing
It’s important to share, we feel. We can share how we are feeling.
When we express our innermost feelings perhaps it is the first time we have actually heard them expressed for ourselves
Anecdotal, paraphrased, from Revd Trey Hall, Queen’s Theological College lecture, 2016
Our Discussions
These were lively and varied.
It was interesting that we were creating a hat for someone who is suffering from Cancer: something beautiful, practical and caring. Also some interesting discussion about the Scottish words for children’s clothing – totally beyond my capabilities. Do you know of any good websites that might help? One website which was found to be beneficial for making clothes was Two Stitches, which provides a myriad of patterns.
Some reflected that they remember when the price was 1s6d.
We had a question about …well was it chard or rhubarb. The jury seemed convinced it was rhubarb – a concern as the owner has a Dog and Rhubarb is toxic to them. Giant Rhubarb can be found near to Glasgow.
There was a heated discussion about manure. Was the ‘Hotter Rotter’ was the best way of making compost? – reminiscent it was felt akin to Resurrection (?) – although there was a point made that it might need a hot water bottle in colder weather… Hot composting is a way of really speeding up the process of decomposition and making plant feed cheaply ‘in house’. Another method discussed was using Comfrey. There is a guide here from Gardener’s World. Putting a lid on it was also advised… What might be grown with the results was like creating paradise…
Paradise?
Talking of paradise, if you were born under the lights of Paradise where might you be?
“
In 1892, following the redevelopment of a disused brickyard at Janefield Street. Celtic’s committee members made the decision to move from the original Celtic Park location, situated to the east of the cemetery (the team’s home since 1888) after the then landlord significantly increased the rent on the old property. For six months, scores of supporters volunteered their backbreaking labour as cartload after cartload of rubble and earth was dug up and moved away from the six-acre site that would be the new Celtic Park. Upon moving, a local journalist remarked: “it was like leaving the graveyard to enter Paradise”, this led to the new Celtic Park being nicknamed ‘Paradise’“.
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LGBTQ
Conversation then moved on to discussing societies changing perspective to those whom identify as LGBTQ. Many schools were encouraging children now to express themselves in terms of gender expression, which may be different to the gender originally identified at birth.
Here’s a blog post from Dignity & Worth written back in 2017 about some parents who came to a greater understanding of love when their child said that they were transgender.
There are a number of groups which seek to help parents of LGBTQ children:
- Diverse Church Parents – an online inclusive support group
- FFLAG: Friends and Families of LGBT children which supports the full human and civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.
As you can see , a varied and diverse conversation, about things which matter and which link us together – from wherever we come from, whatever our circumstances.