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Sunday 14 December 2014

Hand me down...



“Time does nothing but hand you down shabbier and older things.”
Cabbages & Kings NY
It was forest green, covered in tiny flowers with an attached, white lace pinny. The skirt of the pinny had worn away or was removed because it was worn. It was made from 100% polyester. There is a photo sitting at home, in the farmhouse, of me at a family function wearing the remarkable dress that seemed to have lasted through the war and maybe still is doing the rounds. As a child, I guess, I didn’t have a voice on what I should be wearing. Those were the days when polyester was hailed for its washability and durability.

So, yesterday, quite by chance, I came across this gorgeous retail website, specialising in luxury kids knitwear. Alpaca appears to be the yarn of choice and all knitting is done by hand through a fair trade initiative, in South America. Ethics aside, its the asthetics that caught my attention. Cabbages and Kings NY is a modern, cool, re-invention of kids knits that didn’t exsist when I was growing up. We had to make do with itching powder infused Arans from Auntie Nodie or oversized, geometirc knits from Mum. I had one of those moments, where you find yourself checking out kids clothes and wishing they made them in adults sizes. This clobber is beautiful! The colour range, the style, design and workmanship is all exquisite.  The site committed me to full on retrospective envy, on behalf of my younger self, who, alas, made do with hand me downs, from the far side of  sibling number six. 

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Let it Snow...




Make your mistakes, take your chances, look silly, but keep on going. Don’t freeze up.
Last Sunday, I was attending and annual Christmas fair in my local town. It was great, it always is. Everything you would want and expect from a good Christmas event: tasty food, hot drinks, crafts and the airy fairy, flighty atmosphere of a good sunny Sunday when there is nothing better to do than go for a wander and see what other folk are doing.
Another day in Killarney...
And stuck in the middle of all of this magical and calming mayhem are the food and craft sellers. The same faces keep popping up and the same old chats and catch ups that you look forward to and remember why you keep doing this. My friend and I, who had met up the night previous and jokingly decided we should concoct a book of clichéd sayings that riddle every craft fair across the country. But it was all done in good taste and with our tongues somewhere skewed firmly into our cheeks. 
We met for another glass of wine, in the gorgeous Malton Hotel Bar, after the goings on and mulled over ‘what another fine day’ we had done. We laughed and jibed at the same clichéd sayings that were respun across the fair and our same pulled faces looking on willing things would never change. Whatever the draw of the fair is, both the sellers and buyers enjoy, if not for very different reasons. It’s like going home for Christmas….we all fall into our roles and somehow manage to make an annual habit (secretly loving it) but nonetheless, kicking and screaming all the way.
Keep Smiling!