Rachel’s younger son Joe – the Grandson, of the Grandson Sweater -- embarks on life’s third decade today. It’s the only birthday-ending-in-zero for which there is no specific card on sale, at least at John Lewis. Happy Birthday, Joe, anyhow.



Well. Franklin. Dawn’s comment yesterday says it all, a good deal more neatly than I am about to.

How could this be? He has been promised as a star turn to Knit Campers for the last seven months or so – plenty of time for a double-booking to come to light. Even Franklin doesn’t have that many overseas gigs. Passports and travel plans would have to be in hand before now. He must be in touch with lots of people – including the camp organisers themselves – who would occasionally say, See you in Stirling. Dawn’s hypothesis is the only possible explanation.

If the double-booking was made this year, surely he would honour the earlier commitment?

The substitution, Mary Jane Mucklestone, is brilliant. The organisers did well to get such a big name, and such an appropriate one, at short notice. If I were interested in learning how to photograph fabric, everything would be fine. But since I am interested in being taught how to photograph fabric by Franklin Habit, I’m out of luck and out of pocket. Similarly, Dawn, who I am sure can knit a tomten with one hand tied behind her.

Which day is your cable class, Dawn? Can we meet when I’m there for Japanese knitting on the Thursday? It will be easier for me in many ways to take only one day away from domestic responsibilities. That’s a plus.

Life

I continue to wrestle with my new broadband connection. Specifically, to try to find my email. I tried your suggestion, Judith, but soon ran up against the now-familiar stone wall. I tried sending a message to myself as drump at btinternet dot com from Googlemail. It bounced back with the message that there is no such address at btinternet.com.

Maybe things will settle down after a few days. I have emailed the BT help desk. Eventually I may have to phone them.

Yesterday’s event, lunch with a friend, was very pleasant. Today’s is an unusual one – a young woman with a recording machine is coming to interview my husband about his memories of the founding of the Association of Art Historians in which he was closely involved. We’ll have to offer lunch, although we hope she’ll go away. Piperade, I think, into which extra eggs can be incorporated if need be at the last moment.

Knitting

What with one thing and another, I am still a couple of rows short of the top of the first rank of Green Granite Blocks on the right front.