Dunkirk, Dover Castle and the miracle of the little ships

This being the fourth of June - at least according to the calendar as it feels much more like Autumn - we remember Dunkirk and the evacuation of its beaches 70 years ago.
I noticed more than one vessel in Ramsgate's harbour bearing the little sign it was part of that long ago memorable rescue and I am sorry we were no longer there for the eventual celebration!

WW2 veterans set sail from Dover on the 27th of May 2010 to cross the English Channel to Dunkirk for a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the evacuation.

The former troops and their families were given a rousing send-off, with a performance from the Parachute Regimental Band and a chorus of Jerusalem (my favourite) from a Royal Choral Society choir. A Spitfire and a Hurricane aircraft performed a military fly-past above the ferry as it made its way to northern France.

A flotilla of “little ships” involved in the evacuation set sail from Ramsgate in Kent to join Norfolk Line’s Maersk Dover on the French coast. Many private fishing or pleasure boats, were drafted in to help evacuate the troops from the beaches of Northern France in 1940.

Operation Dynamo was the codename for the Dunkirk evacuation of British, French and Belgian troops between the 27th of May to the 4th of June 1940. Thousands of soldiers were rescued by the famous "little ships of Dunkirk", including 700 merchant marine boats, fishing boats, pleasure craft and lifeboats, the smallest of which was 15-foot fishing boat now displayed in the Imperial War Museum.

Operation Dynamo was named for the dynamo room in the Naval HQ below Dover Castle which in fact contained the dynamo that provided the building with electricity during WW2.

I visited the Naval HQ below the Castle two years ago and it was a visit I will never forget. I would not have wanted to miss it! There is so much history betwixst these walls you feel it as you wander through the corridors!

Always remembered, never forgotten...

Rainy days, gold finch spotting and the meaning of flowers

Rain, rain, when will you stop?... We do see a sun break from time to time but how we would love to see some dry weather! Just enough to pull a few weeds, slow down the slug damage and enjoy our garden!

Our Corgi MacIntosh hates the rain and he looks so depressed when once again, we must pull his raincoat for his walk! No chance for doggie exploration either when it is so wet! Or for Frisbee catching... How sad!

Whilst sharing a cup of tea with a dear friend, we noticed (during a quick sun break) a small yellow bird which we believe to be an American Gold Finch. Lovely colours! Perhaps it is his nest we found in the clematis!

Since knitting is a perfect way to keep busy on such days, I found yet another site for "serious" knitter:
http://www.paviyarns.co.uk
Amazing yarn! This site is perhaps not so much for the occasional knitter though but certainly worth a visit (or two... just to dream!)

I love to see a small posy on our table be it just a small bloom nested in some greenery and I have always wonder about the meaning of flowers.

It is said that tussie-mussies during Victorian times were a way to communicate special feelings. Mostly forgotten in our busy times I daresay, but red roses still imply passionate, romantic love and pink roses a lesser affection; white roses suggest virtue and chastity and yellow roses still stand for friendship or devotion, while sunflowers indicate either haughtiness or respect.
Pansies signifies thoughtfulness, daffodils regards and ivy means fidelity.
Daisies means innocence or purity. Named for the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology, Irises still represents the sending of a message.

I also learned that although very few species are mentioned in the Bible, flowers abounded in Palestine, Israel and Western Syria. It has been documented that two thousand to two thousand five hundred plants are found in the region of which about five hundred probably are similar to British wild-flowers!
There has to be a message there...

Friends, Memorial Day and old time celebration

Memorial weekend is for most people the beginning of the Summer time, picnics and barbecue (weather allowing) and old fashion celebration, fairs, garage sale, outdoor concerts and my old time favourite...

Memorial Day was in fact called originally Decoration Day and a quick search engine offered much I did not know!

"Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).

It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.

Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms.Michael and when she returned to France, made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries.

In 1921, the Franco-American Children's League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help. Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans' organization to nationally sell poppies.

Two years later their "Buddy" Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it. "

The veterans have a saying: "Remember the living, never forget the dead".
Let's remember each and everyone of them!


This weekend I celebrated my birthday with friends and family. No chance for a picnic though as it continues to rain! The menu : Potato salad, baked beans, hot dogs, brownies and tall glasses of lemonade!
And I will even share my favourite lemonade recipe:

Items to have on hand:

• 6 lemons
• 1 cup white sugar
• 6 cups cold water

To prepare:

1. Juice the lemons to make 1 cup of juice. To make your labour easier, FIRMLY roll the lemons between your hand and counter top before cutting in half and juicing.
2. In a large pitcher combine 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, and 6 cups cold water. Stir. Adjust water to taste. Chill and serve in chilled glasses.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!

South America, children of the world and knitting

I came across this fantastic photo and wanted to share it with family and friends. Children eyes, an open door to the world! There is nothing like it!

As sponsors of a little girl through Child Fund (http://www.childfund.org/) we love to talk about Lina, wondering what she is doing with her family right now, what are her hopes for the future...She is only 9 and we would like to think the world is hers to grab but she lives in a very poor country, the family earns only $15 a month yet are very lucky as they own their own home.

We wonder if she is in good health, has enough to eat and we hope our small contribution indeed makes a tiny difference. We are writing our first letter to her and there are so many things we would love to share with her. We cannot wait to hear what she will write back!

My first newsletter from the Knitbox arrived (http://www.theknitbox.com/) in my email and I could not resist their beautiful Turkish cotton yarn and placed an order.
I just had to see the quality for myself and knitting for little ones often sick, I select carefully all the yarn I use!

Customer service was so nice! Oh yes, and they ship to the US as well (Note: shipping cost is fixed worldwide thus cost to the US is the same than the UK, fantastic!)
And knitters, check out also their patterns when you have a chance!
Dream, dream, dream...

ARC, knitting and favourite colour

Rain, rain, rain...and more rain. Me thinks there is no better time than to knit! It is something I love and relax with.
I picked up yet another knitting magazine whilst in the UK, (http://www.letsknit.co.uk/)
and could not resist the beautiful acrylic aqua/clear crochet which came with it!
I hear they are giving away needles for June... dreaming...

One of the many sites you have heard me saying I enjoy to visit whilst knitting for their Neonatal Division (who does not love knitting layette?) is http://heavenlyangelsinneed.com/. I cannot praise enough this group dedication to helping families in need!

I am always asked why I knit... I just know it makes me feel good. I should add I never knit for myself and thus this is a small way in which I contribute to charities. My way of doing something to help out our economy and those in (greater) need!

I came across the ARC ad for knitting in the 1940's and loved the memories! The Armed Forces still need folks willing to knit for a good cause to this day!

A favourite: http://www.theshipsproject.com/Home.htm

Knit one, purl one,...click, click... Let's not forget a little piece of dark chocolate for strength...

By the way, I just signed up for newsletters at the following:
http://www.theknitbox.com/

http://wendyknits.net/


Rain, rain, click, click, and guess what my favourite colour is?
Oops, dinner time! That is as soon as I have prepared it...

Tea times, hops and memories

Rain, rain, rain... Four more days we are told... sigh... Perhaps it will change with Memorial weekend...
This is the kind of weather we sit around with a nice cuppa tea (let's not forget a little sweet or two...) and we talk of anything that comes to mind, most often than not the past. Oops! Perhaps we are getting older...

One of the many memories my husband has is of summer time spent helping to harvest hops. Many city people in England hired themselves to work in the fields. Each year vast numbers of men, women together with their children would travel by train from the Black Country (Note: The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton) to spend a month or so "hop-picking".

It made a pleasant break from the grimy industrial towns where they lived and gave the children a much-needed holiday. Each family would bring its possessions in a large tin trunk or hamper, and the trains would be met at local stations by horse-drawn wagons. On their return the wagons would again convey them to the station.

And so it seems Mum and Dad engage their family to help out, thus enabling them to save a few pounds for a real vacation and everyone had to pitch in, even the little ones. It meant long days in the fields, sandwiches and hot thermos of tea shared in the sun...

That particular summer after a long day's work, Dad hanged his jacket on the back of the door next to the bed. In his pocket was their only cash.
Afraid of the dark, my husband's youngest brother had a candle on the night table and yes, it was lit. A short time later, he reached out and opened the door still feeling insecure thus exposing the jacket to the flame...

Now, when you are 6 years old and you see flames where you should not and just know you are guilty, you do not say anything at first. However soon after Dad smelled smoke and looked to inquire as to the source and found his jacket aflame. The fire was quickly extinguished but part of the money had burned...

After applying his hand to his youngest son's backside Dad resolved to check with the bank to see if they would honour the monetary value. Luckily for him, the serial numbers had not been damaged thus enabling him to replace the money.

This story always seems to come up. It is a most memorable one for sure, not the least for the youngest one in the family!

Old fashion roses, reading and dreaming

Cold rainy days are still upon us and it really hardly seems Spring will soon be replaced by Summer! Rain and more rain...and slugs! We tried everything in the book but they are persistent!

Gardens are blooming little by little everywhere. Irises, rhododendrons, calla lilies and now roses. The nights however are still so cool the vegetable patch is having a slow start! Perhaps Memorial weekend will bring better weather!

Last night saw us seeing the last installment of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.
Anyone who is not familiar with this talented writer will appreciate this introduction to her work through the fantastic BBC presentation of the miniseries.

The story revolves around Margaret Hale, a young woman in the 1850's who moves to the Northern industrial part of England and discovers the shocking inequalities between the rich and the working class.
John Thornton is the mill owner, a man who triumphs over poverty and seeks to constantly better himself. Someone with high standards, yet none higher than he holds himself to and Margaret is his match in every possible way.
Nicholas Higgins is the mill worker, a union man who seeks fair working condition for himself and the others workers peacefully.

This is a tale of love and pride but it is also a social novel which describes the many changes industrialization brought to Victorian England.

Elizabeth Gaskell balances her sympathy for the workers in the factories with the dilemmas posed to the mill owners by new machinery, strikes and competition from abroad.

I was amazed at the extent to which the producers went to represent the industrial revolution of the 1850's in England including the 1851 Great Exhibition of London .

The cotton mills in particular and the reenactment of the living condition of the times were so accurate in their details you could see the cotton floating in the air and feel the squalor.
The actors are to be praised for their flair in drawing us to each character.

This is a story that will let you dream.
This is a story you will never forget.