I’ve been (and I feel) fairly inert, but I got around the garden with Helen this morning. We often meet friends there, as today, and stand and talk at a safe social distance, and it’s rather nice, in these isolated times, to talk to people.
I am planning
a solitary Christmas for myself, and rather looking forward to it. I think I
would be “allowed” to spend it with Helen and her family. The poor USA, apart
from other difficulties – the virus raging, and Thanksgiving as well as
Christmas to spread it further! I’m glad to hear that the Oxford vaccine is
almost ready to join the other two.
I’ve knit a bit
more of the Evandoon ribbing. (It was a comfort, Mary Lou, to learn that even
you sometimes forget what size you’re knitting.) Friday is the day when the podcast column
appears in the Times. Today’s revelation was Part One of a new series about
Ghislaine Maxwell, called “Hunting Ghislaine”. Very interesting. Today’s episode
was mostly about her father Robert.
Friday is also
Reveal Day for the new Kate Davies pattern in the current club. Again, a good ‘un.
A big almost-coat with a broad Fair Isle band around the bottom, and deep
pockets.
I was sorry to
learn that Jan Morris has died – she was Britain’s most famous transsexual. It’s
a remarkable story. She started life as James, happily married, father of five,
a successful journalist. James was on the slopes of Mount Everest, and his was the
scoop, that Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing had climbed Everest, which was
announced to the world on the day of the Queen’s coronation. I don’t know what,
in law, happens to a marriage when one partner changes sex, but whatever it is,
Jan Morris and her former wife formed a civil partnership and continued to live
happily ever after. She continued to write.
We are planning a low key Christmas, money is tight this year and family far away. But the little potted tree will come in, lights will go up, cheerful radio shows go on and I'll cook a good meal after we've taken the dog on a favourite walk. Christmas is what you make it after all.
ReplyDeleteSarah.
I'm so sorry to hear about Jan Morris. I read "In My Mind's Eye" in 2018 and enjoyed her writing & reflections very much.
ReplyDeleteI'm about to start knitting a sweater for my husband which will be different sizes at the lower body than the shoulders...I'm sure remembering which size I'm knitting at any given point will be confusing.
Jean, given you interest in art, you might enjoy a podcast of several episodes called 'Last Seen,' about Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum thefts. It's a few years old, but I only discovered it not long ago. And to help you feel better, I just cast on for a hat three times because I did the wrong size...
ReplyDeleteOh, I hadn't heard about Jan Morris. A big loss. Have enjoyed her writing and from her books and interviews, always felt she'd be a lovely person to meet. She did a good book, commissioned I think, on her impressions of several Canadian cities.
ReplyDeleteWhen you refer to being/feeling feeble, what does that mean?
ReplyDeleteI’ve also been known to change sizes unintentionally within a project. Now I circle the size in pencil throughout the project.
I am so grateful to Jan Morris, Christine Jorgensen, Renee Richards, Chaz Bono, Nicole Maine and so many others for paving the way. I am an attorney and represent children in child welfare cases. Thanks to the courage, of people like Ms. Morris, Ms. Jorgensen, Dr. Richards, Ms. Maine, and Mr. Bono, my (relatively few) young clients who are transgender have judges and magistrates who are better informed and not only know how to help, but want to do so. I cannot imagine the suffering and derision they went through, but I am so grateful to them for having the courage to do so.
ReplyDelete