Kate, I’m a long-time fan, and feel honoured that you should stop by here. I’ve now got the Warriston pattern and the first issue of Textisles. Nor was it difficult, once I applied myself.

And you’re right about Warriston-the-place – it’s a delightful walk. We don’t get down there any more because my husband isn’t spry enough. We used to enjoy it, and if there were solitary gents lurking in the bushes (as there occasionally were) they were doing no harm and weren’t interested in us anyway. I shop on Broughton Street every day, the Rainbow Centre of Edinburgh.

But the double association with death remains, crematorium and cemetery.

Knitting

Little Thomas’s sleeve progresses well. The place where the new skein of yarn begins can be detected, but you have to know what you’re looking for. The colour-match is extraordinarily good. I’m not going to worry. Little Thomas is the youngest grandchild, and almost certain to remain so, so there’s no one for him to hand the sweater on to. I’m not knitting for posterity.

The only possible conclusion is that “Tosh DK (formerly known as tosh worsted)” and “Tosh Merino DK” are two different yarns, although both consist entirely of superwash merino wool. Confusing. I wonder which I’ll be getting next week for my Effortless, when my sister delivers the Jimmy Bean order I had sent to her. I hope (and expect) that I’m getting the plyed version, Tosh DK.

Life

I’m sorry to hear about your flu, Angel. That’s thoroughly bad news. We have an appointment for our shots next week, on Wednesday the 16^th. I was in Boots the other day, picking up a prescription as so often, and looked to see whether I could just have the shot there and then for a modest payment, as you did, Jean. But the leaflets made it clear that it has to be done through one’s doctor around here.

I at last got a look at Rowan’s lace book that day. Hesitated, but didn’t buy it. The accompanying yarn, “Fine Lace”, is awfully nice – alpaca and merino wool in a small range of gentle colours. I may go back.

We have the prospect of a nice calm week ahead, the only external event being the briefest of visits from Greek Helen on Friday. She’ll hardly be here long enough to fill us in on news from Athens. Then all sorts of excitements next week. A new one has been added in the last few days, in the form of a man from the Tate who is going to sit down with my husband’s magnum opus and consider how it can be reduced to a scale that the Y*le University Press can cope with. We’ve been waiting for him for nearly two years.