Outbreak of Smug

Two consecutive weekends when special things have happened.

Firstly: in Cornwall there are local societies in many of the towns, dedicated to preserving the history, lore and traditions that are especially Cornish. Fifty years ago the one in my hometown began, and this year their annual exhibition was opened by the last five remaining founder members - one of them was me. ( I was the youngest member back then) So I had a lovely weekend, staying with my oldest friend, and seeing lots of people whose faces were familiar, but whose names had escaped. I even had to make a little speech! It was lovely to be fussed over.

This most recent weekend was the local Village Show - reckoned to be the biggest one in England. So large that it lasts two days. This year I was organised enough to put three entries in the handicraft competition.

Two firsts and a second!!!!!

Eunny's Print o' the Wave stole got a first.
The "Oxo" jumper - a toddler size jumper in DK with a coloured pattern on the yoke - got a second.
A cross stitch runner adapted from the Dover book of patterns from the Danube got a first, and a silver cup for the most outstanding item in the handicraft section. I think I swung that one by placing it over a perspex bookrest, so that the judges could see the back - I am extremely proud of that back. Because it is a geometric design, I was able to get a rhythm into the stitching, and keep the elements the same every time, making the back as regular as possible.

There is only one problem with this success. What am I going to do to knock 'em sideways next year?

Kitchenmistry

Roast chicken for dinner today. With it, the first picking of french beans from the garden. This year he has grown a variety which is purple. They turn green in the saucepan so they are not too disconcerting on the plate.

I drained the beans into a measuring jug, to use the water to help the gravy flavour. It was Blue! Next manoeuvre was to take the chicken out of my white enamel roasting tin, and put it to rest. I then wanted to retrieve any of the brown bits for flavour, so poured my vegetable water into the roasting tin. The blue water turned red. Instantly.

If that isn't magic, there is no magic.