Potters

There is a time warp in Buxton, Derbyshire. There is a small space up a street in that town where everything is happy and good and all right with the world. The place is called Potters and it's one of those old fashioned miniature department stores from the 1950s. It sells women's clothes, men's clothes, makes curtains and cushions for you and sells bedding and a whole lot more which I haven't discovered yet down one of its corridors.

On the face of it it looks very old fashioned. But if you linger and peer in at its floor to ceiling windows displays, they do have some lovely, modern gems as well as more olde worlde fashioned items. It's a treasure trove of wonders.

I can't resist entering to be greeted by 10 million shop assistants because that's another wonderful thing about Potters: it is full of knowledgeable ladies waiting to help. And when you pay for your item you get a hand-written receipt and the money is secreted away in an old fashioned wooden till drawer. And apparently they have been serving the good people of Buxton since the middle of the 19th century.

There used to be a similar shop called Addy's in my local village when I was a girl. It had glass counters with drawers visible beneath full of gloves, handkerchiefs and other miscellaneous items. There was a lady called Betty in the ladies section whom my mum knew and I remember one Christmas my Mum gave her some money and Betty guided me through the wonders of the shop giving me ideas of what to buy my mum, dad and brothers for Christmas.

Potters is like that so next time you are in Buxton, don't be put off by the slightly archaic appearance of the shop windows but venture in, you'll find something to your liking.

Beetrootgate

Oh dear I had a nightmare last night. I dreamt that I spilled beetroot on my auntie's brilliant white table cloth and then just sat and watched the deep purple juice stain away.

Oh dear I had a nightmare experience last night. I actually did spill beetroot onto my auntie's nice clean tablecloth. I had been so strict with my children, serving them the beetroot and instilling in them the need to be careful that a slice did not slip slowly off their plate onto the tablecloth. And what did I do.......forked too many beetroot slices at one time and they splurged quickly and deliberately onto the white cloth.

A gosh, an uncontrollable giggle, a swear word and we all stared at the purple splodge on the cloth. Up we all got spontaneously and took all the plates, cutlery and etceteras off the table while my auntie whipped the cloth off and into soak.

Then we reset the table, sat down and laughed a lot about the beetroot incident.

Food hatch

Let us talk hatches.....food hatches to be precise. Now that's a bit of a blast from the past. The children and I have just been to visit my auntie. She has a food hatch between her kitchen and dining room and the children love it. It's about 45cm wide by 30cm high with a narrow ledge and two little doors. It is for handing food through to the table from the kitchen instead of taking it round on foot and for popping the empties back through but it is really so much more.

You can play peep-po; you can play shops; you can play restaurants; you can play knocking and then running; you can simply open and shut it; you can chat; you can even try to get your entire nine year old body through from one side to the next.

Believe me we had to stay for an extra few hours to get another lunch in so it was fair that both children had had the equal number of opportunities to sit by the hatch.

My brother used to have a hatch in his old house but it was very big and had no doors and thus lost it's appeal somehow. You need it smallish and it has to have miniature doors with little knobs on so that again the nine year old can pull them to and fling them open.

Now I was thinking that I had missed the opportunity to construct a walk-in wardrobe as part of our extension last year but my children probably think otherwise.

Ice cream boat

Had a long weekend in Poole visiting my niece. They have ice cream boats down there, you know, which play a tune to announce their approach. Mega expensive ice creams but I needed no persuasion to paddle out and partake.

Ice creams just leaving

2014 vintage update

I know you have been worried, my few faithful readers! I know you've been on tenterhooks about it. I know you were concerned for my fermenting sanity. But I can report that the 2014 elderflower fizz is a huge success.

A new and slightly different recipe but the fizz is effervescent and the taste superb. If I could I'd invite you all round (believe me you would all fit in) for a slurp and a toast.

Now where did I put that recipe..........

Gifts for the teacher

Last day of school today. The number of parents who were weighed down with their gifts for their child's teacher was quite noticeable and believe me some of those gift bags looked rather big.

My children took a bunch of sweet peas from the garden in last week in a jam jar that said 'Thank you' on. It's green, cheap (I'll admit but lovingly nurtured - see there the teaching parallel!) and even if the teacher doesn't like beautiful, perfumed, delicate flowers they can always compost them. We sent it with sincere and happy thanks for another productive and incident-free academic year.

A whole industry has grown up around the last day of school with gifts and cards to buy for your child's teacher. It seems we are absolute suckers for it. There is the prom event nowadays and also apparently the nursery graduation ceremony, complete with miniature caps and gowns to buy for our little darlings. And parents fall for it. Any possible excuse and the shops will make it and we will purchase it.

I know that we trust teachers with our children and they play a huge role in their and our lives but I think that we now go over the top with the present for the teacher. Although many may be given with sincerity, I suspect some are modern cases of 'keeping up with the Jones'. And to give credit to the teachers I am sure they would be more than touched and contented with a card, holding heart-felt and genuine messages of thanks within.

I'd also like to mention all those backroom staff that play crucial roles too in the lives of our children: all the admin staff, the dinner time staff, the caretakers, the people who delivery extra-curricula activities. They are crucial in allowing the school to run as smoothly as possible. Shouldn't we buy for them too? Don't they feel they've missed out?

I thought my friend solved the dilemma of whether to buy or not to buy very well last year. She has three children. She is grateful that they are happy and learning well in school. She bought a shiny red apple for the each of her child's teachers and gave it with humour and much gratitude.

Crafting no more

I did my final craft fair last week. My two fellow crafters and I embarked on a great craft adventure about two years ago. Sonya sewing, Joy knitting and crocheting and myself jewellery making. If we didn't exactly building a crafting empire, we certainly have built sound and wonderful friendships between us. It was always a hobby for us if we are honest.

We've sold some stuff so it's quite comforting to think that our products are out there being worn and displayed and who knows perhaps a 'Virginia Blakeley' will be a much sought after item in a thousand years but I think not.

The craft fair market is saturated now. Lots of people have jumped on the bandwagon, got their glue out and made some dubious 'crafts'. It seems to have come full circle. Whereas 20 years ago I wouldn't go to a local craft fair for fear of running into a crocheted toilet roll cover, I am less willing to go now for fear of bumping into run-of-the-mill tat. There is fabulous workmanship out there but you have to go to the big craft shows to find craftsmanship par excellence. There are some gems in the smaller craft markets but it's harder and harder to find something of quality and something  unique.

So I have opened my box of necklaces and am wearing them all now. I'll dabble now and then. I will leave the craft fairs to the professionals.