Nobody has to wear a poppy yet something like 40 million are made by ex-servicemen in the Poppy Factory in England and they are all sold to raise money for their colleagues and their families to help them through hard times. The flower has a gentle and poignant history. During the First World War much of the action was seen in Western Europe where the countryside was devastated with the fighting. I have travelled the road from Lille to Ypres and, in parts especially in the area where the two armies played football on Christmas Eve, it’s like a blasted landscape no trees, no grass but still it’s hard to visualise men and horses drowning in the mud during an exceptionally wet time. Previously beautiful fields and woodland were turned to mud, a bleak place where little or nothing could grow. But in Flanders there was a field where this wasn’t the case instead there were thousands upon thousands of bright red poppies flourishing, defying the conditions and giving hope to those who saw them. `I wear my poppy for an uncle who died as a result of the Second World War and for my Dad who did survive and for that I am grateful and I want to remember them both on a day that is special to so many people.
THE POWER OF MEMORY
I came on this photograph of Smithfield as I knew it in my younger days and it brought back such memories. Memory can fade with time or even disappear so I’m grateful to retain mine so far. When I was at school my Dad would bring me down to Hugh Greer Bookseller complete with the list of school books required for the new term. He always had a copy be it arithmetic, algebra or English and one glorious year all the answers were written in the problem pages of the maths book. I did well that year! Not well enough, the headmaster advised my Dad I’d do better getting out of school, doing a secretarial course and getting a job. That is exactly what I did and that year at Miss Elliotts Institute of Shorthand and Typing was fantastic. I learned all the required skills, shorthand and typing and how to run an office but a great deal of my time was spent in Smithfield with my dear friend Marlyn Mackie Todd. We also ducked into the Regent picture house next door to Miss Isobel Elliott in Royal Avenue, we were very adapt at mitching! Our friendship lasted years and she was my best friend, even when she emigrated to Australia we would phone each other and just carry on the conversation we might have started four weeks earlier. When we were at Miss Elliott’s we had an imaginary horse called Hamish and he came with us everywhere; getting him onto the trolly bus was a problem, she would push and I would pull and the conductor would scratch his head but he never charged for the donkey. I had to leave him at home one morning and when I got back from school my Mum apologised to me that she had given Hamish away to a man who came to the door selling coal! To be honest it was a bit of a relief, it was getting difficult bringing him to the pictures. It was a terribly sad day when Smithfield burned to the ground, it devastated so many people who loved to rummage and find treasures in the little shops and meet and talk to the characters there. This photo brought many happy memories, how fortunate to have pictures and memories.
Have Fun and Do Your Christmas Shopping at a Warm and Wonderful Craft Fair In Fabulous Donegal. Guaranteed a day to rejoice and remember
These days where two or three are gathered together the talk usually turns to the cost of living and the price hike and some of the suggestions to cope with this are worth noting. I have been asking people for their tips on saving each important penny and the results have been most imaginative.
“We have an open fire so when toilet rolls are finished, I save the cardboard tubes to use as fire lighters.” Good idea. My own saving habits include – instead of using expensive butter *(Golden Cow 250 g. £2.65 up to £5 for 1 kg of Golden Cow Easy Spread) I spread Hellmans mayonnaise on my toast (£2.40 100g) . And on cold nights I wear bedsocks and hug a hot water bottle in bed rather than turning on an electric blanket, saves on chilblains as well as money. Incidentally, I’ve been told Snow Fire ointment is good for this condition so I’ll give it a go and visit the chemist who advises that, when buying over the counter medicine ask is there a cheaper version rather than automatically taking the brand name. Another tip passed on to me during the week is breaking down a loaf of bread into two or four pieces and freezing them in such a way you can take out what you want when you want, “This has the added bonus that frozen bread toasts better.” Mr. Marshall adds, “We use oiled parchment sandwich wraps and Ikea food storage bags which you can wash and reuse.
There has been such growth in the garden it’s a good idea to tidy up before the winter and one reader sent this suggestion; he puts salt on weeds rather than spending money on weedkiller and getting a sore back stooping to dig them out. If you’re using a bottle of cleaner or even makeup or shampoo with a spray or pump mechanism, don’t forget to unscrew the top when you think it’s finished and you’ll find there will be quite a few additional applications. Same with toothpaste, cut the end off and you’ll be able to have three or four extra brushes.
Little Things Mean A Lot
Joan advises; “I keep putting £30 worth of petrol into the car once or twice a week rather than letting the tank empty and having to pay a hundred pounds.” “Plan your journeys,” suggests Catherine. “Talk to friends in case you can arrange to share a trip to the shops or the school run. Take it in turns and this will cut car use by half.” Also cutting something by half is when it comes to tea bags! (example Tetley 240 bags £3.95) “I always used a tea bag for each mug of tea, now because my husband like it strong and I like it paler I just use one, longer in his mug and then into mine.” Ann adds: “Tea is getting so expensive, now I don’t have to buy so often.” Some people are turning to Economy 7 heating to cut bills and others just turn on the electric fire but the flickering light only in order to fool themselves into thinking the room is warmer than it is! Then the elements are turned on when it gets really chilly. When I heard that smoking causes nearly one in five cancer cases and more than one in four cancer deaths I was horrified. I mentioned this to a smoking woman friend who had her own solution. “I‘ve been trying to cut back not only for my health but from the cost as well so when I crave a cigarette I paint my nails. Makes it impossible to open the packet let alone use a lighter and it’s surprising how the mood for a cigarette passes – for a while anyway.”
In this hitherto throwaway society we’re going to have to think again, can it be restored or is it ready for the scrap yard? What to do is the question? But there is an answer – a Repair Cafe. If like me you’re a devotee of the Repair Shop on BBC you’ll welcome this non profit innovation. There are Cafes all round the world almost 2500, from Honolulu to Alaska Thailand to Capetown, Belfast and coming up there will be a red dot on the map for Bangor Co. Down where there’s great excitement setting up for the big opening after Christmas.
Tea And Sympathy
Then volunteer experts in textiles, electrical appliances even computers and all sorts of wooden items will be on hand with advice and practical work with the aim of fixing for future use; as well as a workshop there’s an actual cafe with tea, coffee and home made cake. At a recent ‘dry run’ fashioned on the Belfast Cafe operation, Tom repaired a clock, Marion nursed a teddy, even electric bagpipes are not beyond the help of a sympathetic fixer. A great place for children to learn the importance of maintenance, to watch the experts and use the tools, so much better than languishing behind a smart phone or an Xbox.
Julie Corbett Riddick is one of the organisers and she told me how excited they were about their ’soft’ launch on Saturday 19th November in the Ards and North Down Community Hub in Bangor; “Just a low key event until we see the public reaction so now we plan to have a proper launch in January. We don’t guarantee total success in every case but our experts are very experienced, many retired professionals just wanting to pass on their skills. There’s no charge but there is a donation box if anyone wants to contribute and help us with expenses.” She added that they are grateful to the Belfast Cafe who have helped them set up and have shared their knowledge. These cafes are another way of cutting costs, saving waste, even Co2 emissions when you think that replacing items requires expensive energy to drives the engines in the workshops.
I wonder do we have a local Jay Blades! Be still my beating heart.
More information on Repair Cafes throughout Northern Ireland on Facebook.
*I have taken these prices from Asda supermarket twelve days ago. They may well have increased since then.
