Sandie Shaw

I read a post on Pop Molecule which made me dig out a bit of Sandie Shaw.

Back in 1984 (as the fashion proclaims) Sandie Shaw release 'Hand in Glove', a track originally written and recorded by The Smiths.



Morrissey and Marr were huge Sandie fans - even using her track 'Heaven Knows I'm Missing Him Now' as the title inspiration for one of their biggest hits:



Of course, everyone knows Sandie reached her fame by helping the UK win the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time with 'Puppet on a String'. But, like Sandie, I'm not a big fan of that song. Here is the far superior 'Long Live Love':

Hometown memories: Castleton, Rochdale.

I mostly grew up in Castleton, Rochdale.



(c) Gene Hunt

I lived at the top end of that picture until I was about 9, then moved to the bottom end of the picture until I was around 17. My mum and dad moved there because the town was 'up-and-coming'; full of friends, a vibrant social life and the central point for visiting extended families. But the town didn't come up, it went down. Most pubs are closed now, there's more bookies - you know the drill. This is where the Woolworths head office was based until the company dissolved in 2008. My mum suddenly lost her job of 30 years.

I drove through again at Christmas and was thrilled to see the local independent bakers (Smiths) is still there. My mum would give us a pound a day in the school holidays to buy a cheese'n'onion pie and an apple slice.

Just behind the right row of shops is the Rochdale canal and several disused mills. The canal regeneration sadly seemed to skip Castleton, however this is where my rose-tinted childhood memories come from. Summers exploring canal paths and finding winding lanes... you'd enter the lane with trepidation - never knowing where you'd come out (although all lanes seemed to lead to Springfield Park). Walking home from school in the summer, instead of catching the bus. Tying our white shirts to the midrif with a knot and picking flowers. Yet the place looks so desolate when I return now.

We moved up in the world when I was 17 and moved to my mum's hometown, Littleborough, on the Pennine/ Yorkshire border. Again, it was all canals but this time there were sandstone terraces instead of redbrick. We even had a huge lake round the corner. I took this picture of Hollingworth Lake when I went back at Christmas:



At 18 I left for uni and I'm now approaching the point where half of my life has been spent away from Lancashire. Yet my family still ask me when I'm moving home. I do sometimes feel homesick pangs when I see a canal or a row of sandstone terraces on a hillside, but I feel like I 'belong' to SE London a lot more.

Read and Shout: a save Lambeth libraries event

***UPDATE: The event sold out in 40 SECONDS!

Read and Shout, March 19th, West Norwood Library.

Read and Shout is a special event, a live music event, a mini-festival, an evening of sublime indiepop held in the lovely Nettlefold Hall above West Norwood Library. But most of all Read and Shout is a protest against the widespread closure of libraries, here in London, and across the Nation. Local Authorties accross the country are making plans to close hundreds of libraries.

We can’t sit back and let this happen. Libraries are one of the most valuable assets of a community. I teach in a school where families can barely afford to buy their own books; how are we expected to improve literacy rates without the support of free, local reading facilities? What’s more, people love their libraries, and this has been highlighted by protests against closures up and down the country.

We are holding this event to help raise awareness of the cuts facing libraries. Not only will there be live music, but also speeches and campaigning…making a noise, rather than a ssshhh…letting those responsible know that people still care about their libraries, more than ever.

Line-up: JENS LEKMAN, DARREN HAYMAN, LEAF LIBRARY, HOROWITZ, A FINE DAY FOR SAILING, A LITTLE ORCHESTRA, THE SWEET NOTHINGS, THE GIVE-IT UPS, THE SUNBATHERS, & SPECIAL GUESTS TO BE ANNOUNCED.

DJ’S: SCARED TO DANCE / BIG PINK CAKE / LIBRARIANS WANTED & GUESTS

Christmas in Littleborough, 2010

I usually find Christmas quite stressful - who to spend it with, Rochdale or Windsor, Thom or family... This year we spent it with my mum and it was a breeze - why can't every Christmas be like this?!

A highlight was a Christmas Eve walk with my mum, sister and brother-in-law. You might remember the crazy snow. It was so bloody brassic up north that even the waterways were frozen over.



Poor little duckies and geese.

We started by the canal in Littleborough and followed the Ealees brook route up to Hollingworth Lake. The sparkle of the snow was dying for some hipstamatic action, playing with reflected light...



I couldn't believe it when we reached the lake - completely frozen! I saw some rather precarious footprints walking out away from the shore... I'm not sure I would've quite risked it.



What a wonderful walk, not to mention a welcome break from the soap-and-brew-a-thon that usually constitutes a bank holiday!

Horrible Histories

Well done to Horrible Histories; the first ever children's programme to win a British Comedy Award. Best Sketch Show - and not surprising! The kids in my class love the programme. One kid even gave me a DVD so I could play it during golden time. But not only is it funny - it's educational. I love this clip which, as a teacher, I think promotes historical enquiry skills. ;)

Sock yarn glove knitting pattern

This weekend I made a slouch hat and was trying to find a pattern so I could make matching gloves. A free glove knitting pattern seemed rather elusive, so I designed my own simple sock yarn glove pattern! If you knit this pattern and find any problems, let me know. :)

Errata updated 4/1/11



Sock yarn gloves

This pattern is for a small/ medium pair of gloves.

Main colour (MC): 1/2 skein Regia Crazy 4-ply
Contrast colour (CC): 1/2 skein Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock
2.5 mm DPNs.

Using CC, CO 56 sts. Split sts across 3 DPNs and join in the round.

k2, p2 for 3.5 inches or desired length.

Break CC yarn. Join MC and knit for 10 rounds.

Increase rounds
Round 11: k27, m1, pm, k1, pm, m1, k28 sts. (58 sts)
Round 12: k1 round.

Round 13: k to 1st marker, m1, k1, m1, k rem. (60 sts)
Round 14: k

Repeat rounds 13 and 14 until you have 72 sts.

Place thumb
k27 sts, place 16 sts on waste yarn, k to end of round. 54 sts rem.

k hand until you reaches your the base of your little finger.

Place little finger
k1 round and place last 6 sts on waste yarn.
Next round: Place first 6 sts on waste yarn and k 1 round, closing join (little finger is now on waste yarn).

Place ring finger
k1 round and place last 7 sts on waste yarn.
Next round: Place first 7 sts on waste yarn and k 1 round, closing join (ring finger is now on waste yarn).

Place middle finger
k1 round and place last 7 sts on waste yarn.
Next round: Place first 7 sts on waste yarn and k 1 round, closing join (middle finger is now on waste yarn).

Rem 16sts will be the index finger. At start of round, make 1st using backwards loop method, then k index finger until desired length.
*k2tog. Rep from * to end of round. Cut yarn leaving tail, through remaining and tighten. Weave in ends.

Middle finger: k14 sts to end of round. PU 2 gusset sts at end of round. Join in the round and knit until desired length.
*k2tog. Rep from * to end of round. Cut yarn leaving tail, through remaining and tighten. Weave in ends.

Ring finger: k14 sts to end of round. PU 2 gusset sts at end of round. Join in the round and knit until desired length.
*k2tog. Rep from * to end of round. Cut yarn leaving tail, through remaining and tighten. Weave in ends.

Little finger: k14 sts to end of round. PU 2 gusset sts at end of round. Join in the round and knit until desired length.
*k2tog. Rep from * to end of round. Cut yarn leaving tail, through remaining and tighten. Weave in ends.

Thumb: k16 sts to end of round. PU 2 gusset sts at end of round. Join in the round and knit until desired length.
*k2tog. Rep from * to end of round. Cut yarn leaving tail, through remaining and tighten. Weave in ends.

There's no day like Snow Day!

The things we do for ravelry

Forgive the lack of appropriate attire, but its the start of the school holidays and I'm buggered if I'm going to get dressed today.

I'm currently climbing the windowsills to take some well-lit pictures of my new finished knit: Edwardian Boating Socks by Emma Haigh. The clambering was worth it. :)

Sewing 4 kidz

In Design Technology we're making 'money containers' (that's a non gender-specific purse, to you and me). Who knew that children these days don't know how to sew? Just 3 out of 20 kids could thread a needle, nevermind attempt a running stitch. When I was their age I was glued to my embroidery and tapestry sets...

Still, the lessons were a lot of fun, even if my thumb and I were unimpressed at being turned into a needle-threading machine. I couldn't bear to miss out on all the fun so I whipped up a purse at home to show the kids what they could potentially do.

"Aw man, Miss is a professional."

Yes. My purse is well sik. Not bad for a half hour job.

As easy as abc

I'm watching ABC at the royal albert hall. Restricted view tickets so I brought my seafoam scarf. Yarnovers are a bitch in the dark!

February Lady Sweater

No matter what rubbish life has been throwing at me, this cute little spring cardigan was waiting patiently on the needles.

"Come back," she would feebly cry, "not long left until you can wear me. Then you'll be happy."

And she was right. Last night I cast off and be-buttoned this little beauty and she's already clinging to my shoulders, ready to brazenly reveal herself to the world. If it's not her teasing red flourishes, it's her dangerous hint of primary colours speckling the lace. The minx.

Full details on ravelry.

The joy of NX

Someone's brought uncovered raw meat onto the coach. I can see the fatty bone hanging over the luggage rack.

Snow Day!

"Severe Weather Event..." read the 6.10am text from the Head this morning. "As a result of the severe weather I will be closing the school."

Cue cheers across Southwark and Lewisham.

Today I have been mostly reorganising my yarn stash. "Does this mean you won't buy anymore?", Thom asked naively. I guffawed. Then we went to Stave Hill park to take photos of my newly-knit-just-in-the-nick-of-time striped jumper.

Mr. Snowman

There's an inch of snow out there. In London! Even Canary Wharf is covered.

To do

EXTERMIKNIT!



(Photo from entropyhouse)

A meeting of minds

I'm having a knitting/ you tube Sunday morning and I found this stroke of genius. Ladies and gentlemen: Mike Nesmith and Frank Zappa together at last.

Ex-jumper

Last week I had to frog the body of my jumper. I buggered up the waist decreases and there was loads of puckering at the back. But it's ok, this jumper is going to be perfect. I knit the body again. 10 inches later, it's a perfect fit along the waist and back.

But wait...

What's this?

This, my friends, is what can only be described as a flap of the highest order. Several inches of knitted wasteland determined to make me look like I have wings. It's unflattering, it's ugly, it's there and no amount of pretending it isn't will make it go away.

Let me tell you something.

I DIDN'T CHECK GAUGE.

I have to knit the jumper again. For the third time. I have to change my needles completely. Only now, after 2 weeks and 2 attempts, have I swatched and worked out my gauge. I'm a bloody idiot.

It'll be worth it, right?

So for now, this jumper is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet its maker. This is a late jumper. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. It's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-jumper.

Phase 1

So there I was, at the O2, waiting for Stevie Wonder to come on. A legend. And I'm angry. I'm angry because T and I planned to grab a bit o' scran before the show, but so did the rest of London so we couldn't get in anywhere. I ended up paying £6.50 for some chips and a weird veggie burger with black hairs in it. I was pissed off because I bought a prepatory bottle of water - knowing my throat would be dry from singing like buggery - and they wouldn't let me have the bottle top (the justification being they "didn't know what I was going to do with it"). Screams of "I'm a teacher, what do you think I'm going to do with it?!" met with nonchalance.

So we arrived early and waited in our don't-book-if-you-suffer-from-vertigo seats. And the brightness of the animated billboards is blinding. I close my eyes to see neon stripes burned into my eyelid. We're at a gig that people who don't go to gigs go to, we mused. And then we realised our gig before that was REM at Twickenham Stadium. Bugger. We are that person.

My NY resolution this year is to go to more gigs. To not become a stadium person. I've come home (tipsy) and found myself booked into 2 gigs already! Bridget St John at a vegetarian cafe in Camden and The Right Honourable Richard Thompson at the not-so-small-but-nowhere-near-stadium Barbican.

Does it still count if it's folk music?

Overheard

Overhead in a Catford pound shop earlier today:

"Ovaltine's a morning drink. When I was in prison, it'd keep me awake if I drank it at night."

Th'Ealey Dell

While uploading my Christmas photos I loved looking back to when I visited my dad. We took a beautiful walk through Healey Dell, a nature reserve which my dad lives on the cusp of, and we were bowled over by the vivid natural colours and magnificent viaducts. I do love a good viaduct.

This urgent and deafening waterfall, otherwise known as Fairies Chapel, helped to power Th'Owd Mill I'th Thrutch (an early Industrial Revolution wool mill).
The Healey Dell viaduct which used to serve mill workers between Rochdale and Bacup. Alas no longer used due to that Doctor Beeching bugger, but no less impressive.

Rusty trees lining the now-defunct viaduct.