Yesterday was a hard day and I enjoyed it not at all. We went to town on a dreich and drizzly morning. When we arrived in Kirkwall we were subject to that deceptive kind of rain that appears to be but a light drizzle but all too soon seeps right through to the bone.
It was an odd day all around. Being the school holidays still, there were many children in evidence and sadly we were subjected to far too many examples of poor parenting skills. Children shrieking, children climbing on table,s children cheeking their parent, children deafening all and sundry with personal electronic devices with volume turned up to the max… Wearing in the extreme.
Unfortunately I kind of lost my wits, and my rag, in the supermarket. Have you ever had one of those moments where your mouth opens of its own accord and simply tips out what is in your head but without your volition? I had to apologise to Mr L for the embarrassment.
Picture this: a small child is screaming. Your head swivels. You note the miscreant, it has an older sibling. The sibling is holding in both its hands a large cookie from the bakery department. The mother says, no, you can’t have it, put it back. The child does just that… returning the unwrapped cookie to the bin of items for sale.
What do you do?
Well, apparently, what I do, is to cross the floor and ask the mother “Do you not think that you should buy that?”
Oh, dear.
The mother replies, dully “What?”
It seems that I cannot just stop there.
“That biscuit that your child has just mauled and put back, do you not think that you should buy it?”
Apparently this makes me rude. Well, she can be as defensive as she likes, it does not make her right.
As Mr L says, I might have been rude (I wasn’t, it was just a question, when all be said and done) but not as rude as putting back an unwrapped item for somebody else to come along and buy unwittingly. He’s right. I was wondering however, if the mother had not taught the child better than to pick up things in a shop and demand them, then she might well have failed to have taught it to wash its hands. I was shuddering at this thought.
In the interests of Karmic balance, I will add the comment that I did warmly congratulate one set of parents and their beautifully behaved family when I met them. It was such a relief and a pleasure to see things done properly. Not abdicating to an electronic device but mother quietly engaged in play with her daughter, who sat still and quiet in her chair and was the picture of proper behaviour, the brother intent on his own amusement and bothering nobody. A delight to see.
I felt better after a nice fried lunch. The Happy Haddock furnished us with a fish supper (yes, it was lunchtime – this is Scotland and a fish supper is defined by the chips and not by the time of day) that well exceeded expectations and was the best, we agreed, that we have had in a long time.
Kirkness & Gorie furnished us with cheese for tea (Amber Mist, Pecorino Chilli, Pecorino Truffle and Dorset Red) and some of their wonderful hand-made Parmesan Crackers. Also the news that my favourite shop in town, RA Finn’s (Body Shop, Yarn, Clothing and Homebrew supplies), is closing down. K&G are taking on the homebrew side of Finn’s business.
In Tesco I picked up a stone-baked Corn Bread loaf. Not Cornbread as in the USA, not made with Maize meal, but a wheat loaf with corn added. It was actually excellent with the cheese for tea and I shall certainly buy again. I don’t normally enjoy the Tesco bakery goods and prefer Lidl’s but after the cookie incident I could not bring myself to buy any bread in Lidl. At least Tesco bag theirs before placing it ion the shelf.
Among the veg supplies that I stocked upon was a large head of Broccoli – I was thinking ahead to using up the Dorset Red.
Today was the Sanday Show. I made no entries and of this I was glad, when I saw that Norma had entered a hooded scar made from the same pattern as the one that I might have entered, had I got around to it. I should hate to go head to head with Norma, or any otehr islander, on the same pattern. That said, I have often thought that the best test of a knitter’s mettle would be a class where everybody has to knit the same pattern.
The weather was not the best we have had for Show day but not bad at all and it stayed dry and warm, with almost no wind, even if cloudy. Outside, the field was a little bare this year. I did have much fun photographing dogs.
And of course, the cattle. I picked out this beauty early in the afternoon and ultimately it took Champion of the Yard. I’ve not lost my touch! 🙂
In fact I really rather enjoyed it all round, being free to play. I should take more years out from entering.
There was a dog rescue organisation in attendance and I tried in vain to persuade Mr L that we need a new dog. I was torn between a brain-damaged dog that obviously needed lots of love and understanding and a young Staffie cross that I thought would love our new life in Dumfresshire, with daily runs in the forest.
Indoors, the show benches looked a little thin too. I’m not allowed to grumble as I might have helped to pad them out a bit. I received a mild chastising over this matter but was also treated to the very great compliment of being named Sanday’s best knitter! Well, I don’t think so – but to be named such by a knitter whose talents I greatly admire was entirely flattering.
We were both feeling worn out and under par after the rigours of Kirkwall yesterday and as I had no entries to collect at 4:30 pm we were able to leave a little earlier than usual. We came home to Broccoli and Smoked Cheese Soup, that we had with the remainder of the Corn Bread. Jolly fine it was too.
In Knitting News – I “won” an eBay auction lot of 6 balls of sock yarn yesterday. That should keep me occupied and entertained over the winter. Unfortunately I also bid on a lot of 8 balls from the same vendor. If I am successful with that bid… that’s a lot of socks. I may have to see if I can sell a few balls on.
Also in Knitting News – I began the swatch for Firth o’ Forth on Thursday but set it aside when I realised that Addis are no use at all for purling 5 stitches together. Gill dropped me off a pair of Karbonz whilst I was out yesterday and I expect to make better progress with those. Overall I am liking the way that the yarn is knitting up and feel that I got very lucky, to say it was so very cheap.
Finally in Knitting News: Mr L’s sweater saw forward progress on the ferry yesterday and I reached the end of the increases on the first sleeve. Unfortunately I left the Dreamz DPN that I was using as a cable needle behind me on the boat. I feel this to be a very great loss.
Also left on the boat: three Bookcrossing items. Another three were left in the ferry terminal waiting room at Loth.
I asked Mr L if he would like to go dancing tonight. No. We’re off to bed shortly. *sigh*
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