Since there are so many sources of tea towels these days, everything from supermarkets to Pound Stores, tourist agencies to Post Offices, people often ask how I decide on who is invited to join In Conversation With….  For me, it has to be someone whose tea towels I love: for their beauty, for their quirkiness, for their originality, for their art work, for their colour or any other manner of things.  It will always be someone whose art work is not boring, ordinary and unimaginative.  It may be someone I discovered through buying one of their tea towels or someone I’ve come across through my adventures on Twitter or Instagram (I don’t use any other forms of social media).

I saw Morag Lloyds’ work on Instagram.  She produces fascinating and quirky work but she also announced that she had just started designing tea towels, as part of her collection; when ‘Lockdown’ came upon us so they weren’t all printed.  I was interested in what inspired her work as an artist and why she wanted to include tea towels.  Let me introduce you to Morag.  I always start by asking how people describe themselves:

“I am an artist and designer.  I started off life as a designer in London, in the early 80s, mostly with Rand and Alfred Marks.  (For those of us from London, you will remember Alfred Marks and Rand advertising on the tube.  They were employment agencies).  I had a spell doing in-house training on display for shop windows in London during this time.  Several years later, I moved to the Medway Towns and spent some time training at Kent College.  I tried a bit of fine art, ceramics and design.  I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to go in, because I loved everything!

In the late 80s, I moved back up to my homeland, Scotland, and worked as a freelancer.  It wasn’t until later that I went to college full-time, and trained in Illustration and Graphic Design, and went on to a Post-Diploma in Fine Art.  (It was then I realised that computers were not my thing!).  Painting was my first love and I had work accepted for both the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour and Royal Scottish Academy.  I am now a member of Glasgow Society of Women Artists.  I have a handful of galleries I show with, both in England and Scotland. I have been represented by some at the Affordable Art Fair in London, Glasgow and, once, in New York which was very exciting”. 

I’m always interested in what artists dreamed of doing as a child, and what they ended up doing:

“An artist!  My mother was very creative.  She was a potter and she was a big influence on me.  My parents had a business, so in my younger years I spent time helping with that.  I had a brief spell travelling and doing lots of different jobs: as a  waitress, in cinemas, in shops, in care homes and hospitals etc.  I have worked a lot in health care.  Combining art with health care was very hard but rewarding.  I was an Art Lecturer at College and I taught Art in Community Education which I loved.  I also had a brief three-year life in Scottish Tourism and have researched, and had published, two local history books”.  (Morag is obviously well equipped for Lockdown).

I was interested to know how Lockdown has affected Morag’s business.  “In one way it has been awful because all my outlets have closed for the moment.  I’m worried about them and hope they can get through this, especially the outlets on the Western Islands, as I imagine the ferries will take a while to be running again, and not a lot of people will be keen on cruises.

BUT there is another side.  It has given me space and time to focus, instead of the normal running around from here to there, with no time to just sit and paint for a long period.  Right now, I am producing a lot of new designs; I have all my paperwork up to date; my Folksy Shop is filling up nicely so that’s all GOOD!  I miss meeting art friends and sharing ideas but we chat online.  Some of my galleries are very proactive, thinking of ways of being seen online which gives me hope.  Now, more than ever, we need people to put real thought about how they spend their money and to focus on ‘local and handmade’ to keep us all going”.

I was interested to know how Morag got her inspiration:

“I am inspired by lots of things: nature, the sea, history, buildings, landscape.  For many years I have painted, put my work in frames, and sold with galleries around UK.  However, some years ago I decided to get some art work produced on to cards and prints.  I attended some bigger shows such as the Edinburgh Festival to sell directly to the end customers and got some feedback too.  It was fun and I was inspired…… and ready to take the next step.  Unfortunately, just as I decided to pursue this road, I became rather ill.  It has been a long road to recovery, not complete recovery, but enough to work more hours, at what I love.  Though a complicated time for my business, I am back on track five years later.

Last summer, whilst in Argyll and travelling around the Islands, I created a collection of work for products.  I decided to start with some tea towels because these can be used for a practical use or for display on a kitchen wall.  I loved the idea that my designs could have a sort of message in them.

The first collection is about ‘Life under the Harbour Wall’: just because we can’t always see it, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there, and it’s so beautiful.  The sea really must be protected, respected and loved.  I have two designs printed and two waiting for print when things open up again.  I am working on lots more that are going to be full colour.  One tea towel has gone to America and another to Australia.  

I also have a real soft spot for the Western Isles and my work sells on Mull.  These are the small island communities I would like to sell with more and more, and my tea towels have found their way to several Island shops”.

Finally, I was interested to know how Morag’s business works and what she hopes for the future:

“My business is small.  I am a sole trader.  I sell my work online in my Folksy shop.  Sometimes I attend fairs at Christmas but mostly I now supply shops and galleries by attending Trade Fairs.  (The photograph at the top is of Morag at the Glasgow Trade Fair in January, before Lockdown!).  I sell small, or mini, originals often through my Instagram page (Moraglloyds_Art).

I would love to be able just to keep doing what I am doing, but better.

Love the feet in the photo!  Thank you Morag for a great story and beautiful tea towels.  I can see these would be very popular in the Western Isles, once we are allowed to go there.  Can’t wait to see how your tea towel range develops.  Keep Safe

All photographs copyright Morag Lloyds.

For any article in “We’re all in this together” I said I would find an appropriate tea towel from my collection.  The pressure is on: crosswords? Staying in bed? Clocks? Inspector Frost? What about Pasta Sauce? Or Afternoon Tea?  Afternoon Tea it will be!!

“Good weekend.  Amanda arrived at 8am on Saturday and we walked in ‘tandem formation’ to get a newspaper.  I stood in a corner, Amanda queued.  She got me a paper, fruit juice, wine, eggs and two lots of washing up.  Crossword difficult this week; Barbara is good at words that require 9 letters or more.  Amanda walked with me to post my letters so I had more time with her, makes a difference.

Sunday, I had a visit from Jennie.  Stood for an hour outside, talked about everything.  We wanted to give each other a hug but, of course, we can’t.  Then Lindy came with the Sunday Mail and M&S Victoria Sponge Cakes (miniature ones I should point out); I only had two left.

General Knowledge Crossword took three hours, with some breaks.  Barbara in top form.  I wish I had her expertise.  The Prize Money is still going for Afternoon Tea and a ‘posh phone’ for me.  A phone that does automatic punctuation, spaces words, texts as fast as I can talk and tells me if I am going to press the ‘Off’ button by mistake and erase what I have written.  Another feature would be a ‘Zoom’ button.  I started a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle last Wednesday, done the outside but only put in 8 pieces, so the ‘Zoom’ button would tell Amanda what piece I need from the box, and then where to put it.

Talking about punctuation, I used to read Amanda’s school essays to see if they made sense.  One day she asks why I was reading it so fast.  I said ‘No fullstop or commas and I’m getting out of breath’!!

It’s a sunny day here.  This morning I sheared the front lawn, just needs a rake over it now.  I apologised to the daisies when I lopped their heads off.  They are so pretty, not so bothered about the dandelions though they are colourful next to the Bluebells.  So this morning, I got my vitamins C and D but with all that fresh air I fell asleep through Inspector Frost.

Just made a batch of meat sauce for pasta; not sure how I am going to get it in the freezer.  The frozen veg isn’t going down very fast; I have to eat the fresh veg first!  Is there such a thing as a Brussel Sprout Club?  I want to join!!

21 April 2020

Feeling a lot better today.  Yesterday I had bad indigestion, put down to cauliflower, broccoli, onion and cheese.  I took four glasses of tonic water (minus the gin, ice and lemon) to no avail.  Then about 8pm I had the shivers, muscle ache and felt sick.  I was in bed by 9.30, unheard of so having a slow day today.

Amanda mentioned she has got me a ‘Face mask’.  This afternoon I was lying on the bed thinking about the ‘Face Mask’.  Suddenly, I had a fit of the giggles, trying to imagine us at Claridges for Afternoon Tea, sitting two metres apart in our best bib and tucker, with a face mask on.  I laughed so much I ended up crying, realising I had no one to share this with.

Talking about clocks, which I wasn’t, they are the bane of my life.  Bruce had four clocks, all key winders.  The one in front of me is a pendulum.  When its going, its the only one that dongs the right time.  I think I have overwound the one in the bedroom.  The one on the stairs has stopped completely, the mantelpiece one is doing ok.  Where are you Bruce when I need you?  I need you for my duvet cover to get rid of the lumps and make my cover smooth!”

Thank you Catherine for another great diary!

Catherine lives on her own in Harlow with three cats.  Being alone is a new thing for her; her husband, Bruce, died last October.  Adjusting to widowhood and Lockdown is a Big Ask.  Her daughter plays a huge part in her life, as do longstanding friends and those she has met more recently in a couple of clubs she has joined since Bruce’s death.  Catherine knows how to keep in touch with people and she does this with enthusiasm.  Her diary, here, is written by hand and posted to me because she doesn’t haven’t the technology to send it online.  She is looking forward to a ‘Flash Phone’ when Lockdown is over; the ability to send and receive photographs would be a real bonus although I’m not sure the world would want to see the cobwebs under her kitchen units………….

The tea towel I have chosen picks up the theme of Catherine’s Blog1

14 April 2020

Last night I attempted to cut my toenails as I can’t get to the chiropodist.  I tried with the kitchen scissors but the nails are so hard hard so tried to file them instead!

Also can’t get to the hairdresser.  My hair is starting to ‘fray’ round the ears and neck.  It will be sticking up soon.  I will probably do what I did years ago and resort to cellotaping it, though painful to remove it does work. 

Up early this morning to post two letters to Barbara and two competitions to Norwich; the prize money we are going to win will be for Afternoon Tea at Claridges, arriving in a huge limo.

I am helping Christine with the crossword questions out of the Daily Telegraph.  It’s quite funny having three-way calls between Christine and Barbara.  I once asked Beatrice (Barbara’s mother, Catherine’s sister) if we could play Scrabble by telephone; she said “Yes, why not?”.  It didn’t materialise but I can’t look back (that has to have been more than 30 years ago).

I found a Nutrabullet in my cupboard and have revived it; it took more than half an hour to remember how to use it!  Now I have healthy fruit drinks.  The ‘Mandolin’ I found only manages to slice onions so I am sending it to ‘Mandolin’ Heaven.

17 April 2020

Oh please, oh please someone help me!!  I thought I could see a light at the end of my freezer drawer.  Of course, I am talking about Brussel Sprouts, thinking there was one small bag left.  My daughter informed me this morning that she had popped another bag of frozen sprouts in my vegetable delivery.  I think my skin is getting a greenish tinge!  How many sprouts can one eat?

I have ordered my thyroid medication from Boots; they were very helpful (more than I can say about the Doctors).  It will take 7 to 10 days but I am happy I managed to do it.

Everything now is routine under Lockdown: get up, feed everyone (the cats), wash up, shower, dress, combing Tilly and Tinker, do cat trays.  I try to get up later now, then the day is not so long.  Every day do something different: dusting, hoovering, washing.  Highlights of the day: phone calls from Amanda, Sue, Christine, sometimes Wendy and Vivienne.  Anna calls every week; she is making bags to put scrubs in for the NHS.

The biggest part of my day is deciding on meals.  My fridge and freezer are well-stocked thanks to Amanda and her deliveries.  So well fed am I!  Bruce would have laughed at the fruit I’ve got (I’m not good at eating fruit); that is why I put it in the Nutrabullet.  Bruce loved fruit.

I seem to be getting through a lot of Fairy Liquid with all this washing up I’m doing.

P.S: At the end of this Lockdown, I shall be obese!!

It’s funny, so many people I have spoken to are worried about (a) their hair, their grey hairs and their roots (b) the biggest problem of the day being what to eat, not because they haven’t got enough food but because it’s boring always having this as the centre of the day and (c) how many more fruits and veg they have been eating.  All I want is a big bar of Fruit and Nut!

One of the interesting things about In Conversation With…. is the chance to be able to talk to small, independent artists, sole traders and to look at their style, inspiration and ethos.  Quite often, tea towels are one of a range of goods produced by artists with small businesses, along side mugs, cushions, coasters, table mats, key rings, fridge magnets…….

Small providers often do not have the people power, or promotional facilities, to be able to widely advertise their goods.  Forums like FaceBook, Instagram and Twitter, along with eBay and Etsy, are often used rather than having big flashy websites.  It is through  Instagram that I was first introduced to the work of Heather McLennan.  I saw one of her tea towels and thought ‘There’s someone who would be good for In Conversation With…, unique, out of the ordinary and I am delighted that she agreed to be interviewed.  Heather’s website describes her as a Scottish Artist, even better!  Here is her story:

“Ok here goes, a little bit about myself….. I am an Artist, who paints mostly in Acrylic; however water colour is my first love, and pastels.  I have drawn and painted for fun pretty much all of my life… I am totally self taught, and learning all the time.  Having been in travel all my life, in my middle 50’s I contacted Visit Scotland with my coasters and card designs, asking if they would consider me for gifts in some of their Tourist Information Centres.  Delighted, they said yes and I have been with them for 3 years now.  My range of goods are now, Coasters, Cards, Clocks, Chopping Boards, Placemats, Tea Towels, Tote Bags, Cushions, Mugs, Key Rings, Note Pads. 

I started printing tea towels, as tourists love them as a keepsake; they are lightweight and easy to take back as gifts from their travels.  I am working on my first children’s book at present and hope to have this adding to my range in 2020.”  

But did Heather always want to be a tea towel designer, I ask with a smile on my face?  “When I was a child I dreamed of becoming  Zookeeper with the BIG CATS… I helped in the Children’s Zoo area in Edinburgh Zoo in the mid 70’s.  

How do you see the future?  “I do not wish to become a big brand name, I want to keep small and be able to manage my very small modest hobby/business myself.  I have a small online shop (closed just now, because of Coronavirus lockdown).   A wonderful little shop called Purdie’s of Argyll sell some of my range, along with 8 Visit Scotland Shops and The Biggar Gallery in Biggar.  I have had 3 Art Exhibitions, and been overwhelmed with selling pretty much all my paintings; they are affordable and not over priced.  

I would love to see myself in 5 years time, still happily creating art which people love and hang in their homes.  I love painting for Charity.  Very proud to say my last large Canvas sold for £2750.00 in November 2019, for a wonderful Charity called ‘Its good to give’ for children fighting cancer.  

My favourite design is Brodie Highland.  He is the lead character for my children’s book; tea towel wise Heather Honey and Hudson are my favourites.  All my cows are named by lovely followers on my Face Book page.  I did not always paint cows, this just evolved….

What do you like to do in your spare time?  “My hobbies are, yes you have guessed, drawing and painting, riding my horse which I sadly lost the end of last year at the grand old age of 32, walking my Labrador with Malcolm, my husband, having my son home from University to cook for and spending quality time with my girlfriends.   Oh, and I eat far to much chocolate.  I received my bus pass last year, that pretty much sums me up.  

P.S. I painted live in the Scottish Parliament to celebrate 50 years of Visit Scotland, there is Heather Honey and Hudson tea towel hanging in full view. (January 2019)

Thank you Heather for taking part in In Conversation With….. It’s been really interesting seeing life from the point of view of a very small business.  I’ll keep watching out for any new tea towel designs.

http://www.heathermclennanartist.co.uk

@HeatherMcLArt8

This is the third part of Anne’s Story about Lockdown; the rush back from France, how to occupy yourself during Lockdown and now: Food.  I’ve not been able to get a supermarket delivery for nine days but I hadn’t thought about cannibalism: sounds like a good idea.  But Anne’s right, Lockdown does make you think about things in a different way.  I’ve certainly rethought my priorities.  My garden has taken on a whole new meaning.

Today’s choice of tea towel has been tricky once again.  Maybe, it just has to be about food, Baked Beans as a last resort!

“But I think one of the real shared joys has been the sitting in the sunshine in the garden together, having a BBQ in the evening.  Yes, even at the end March and beginning of April.  The true outdoor people we are, Caravaners too; in Steve’s case, ex-Boy Scouter, with fond memories sleeping under a blanket under the stars on summer camps.  I do, at times, think he thinks he’s Jesus, who was born in a stable.  Often I get back into the house of a winter’s day and all the windows are flung open wide, it’s freezing.  Meanwhile he’s sitting in a T-shirt, as he’s been working outside with a fleece on and once he’s inside he’s too hot.

We’ve sat, even on cold night, fleeces on, with the Chiminea burning brightly with dried twigs pruned from the garden.  Of course, after washing lines are empty, no breeze  and far enough down our long  garden not to waft over people hedges to add to breathing  problems.  My Steve’s a real stickler for abiding to the rules of fire making, (not like one of our neighbours, who are burning their rubbish and plastic, midday near the house). Maybe they’ve heard Steve slamming the bedroom windows, and heard his loud tutting as he walks down the garden, or perhaps they’ve burnt all the rubbish, because it appears to have stopped now thankfully.   Although, so have we,  with the Chiminea since hubby heard this mentioned on the virus updates.

 Well, back to the BBQ evenings, during our self isolation, and with leaving France so quickly, we realised the problem was I’d tried to be efficient, (this is not the norm) and ran the freezer down and cleared the fridge, before we went.  It dawned on me, on the way back, we’d really not got much more food than that we hadn’t eaten in France and that I’d brought back with us.  So now we had to be really frugal.  The three sausages and two burgers became an issue.  The third sausage  needed to be divided equally into two,  and not my husband’s idea of half.  We’d just have to fill up on bake-in-the-oven bread, like we did when we were kids.  That night it was obviously bothering me, how little food  we had.  I’d be positively saying “Oh, don’t worry.  You can live for 3 weeks without food but only 3 days without water” I’d once heard it said.  I’d recalled the story our Infant Teacher had told us, about a family whose plane had crashed in the jungle and had survived on toothpaste until they were found.  Mind you ,we hadn’t got that much toothpaste either.

I’d gone to bed and dreamt of cannibalism, waking in a fright, would this be the future if we couldn’t get food?  I shocked myself into thinking ‘Well I’d be ok for a while, but I didn’t fancy my husband’s chances with the recent weight loss I’d had’.  Fortunately, we didn’t need to resort to that.   I found a standard letter from our new next door neighbours posted through the door, saying if you are vunerable or self isolating to ring them.  Ah, we were very touched by their kindness.  I remember saying, ‘they must think we look more elderly than we are’.  But my gosh, after five days, and food dwindling fast and people reporting  supermarket shelves were empty, I felt very vulnerable.  Finally,  I found the letter, sank my pride and asked meekly if they possibly could, and if they had a chance, could they get us some bread or milk or meat or fruit, even if only one thing, as I realised products were limited to how many you could have and I didn’t want them to deny themselves.  They were great about it; they said they worked next door to a big supermarket.  They rang the door bell and scurried to the end of the drive, leaving a bag of food.  Inside the bag were all the items.

I think all the emotions of the last few weeks, and the act of kindness, made me cry, with happiness, but maybe also the sort of feeling Robinsin Crusoe probably had when the ship came to rescue him from his island.  I never expected to feel so overjoyed at the prospect of fresh bread and fresh milk after such a short time.  Poor lad, he stood there aghast, he asked if he had got the right things; after all, they were new neighbours so he was unaware of my  slightly ‘nutty’ nature.  I just said “Thank you so much.  You have made me a very happy woman and I will toss a bottle of  wine and some money over the hedge” (gently on the grass of course). 

Yesterday, Anne wrote about her nightmare journey, back from France, to get to Nottingham by time time ‘Lockdown’ began.  She continues her journey into ‘Lockdown’ with how you cope with all that spare time.  The choice of tea towel was tricky today: would it be the ‘Gardening’ one but she talked about gardening yesterday.  Then, I was inspired; since she talked about ‘Choir by Zoom’, I would use the one from my favourite choir: Only Men Aloud.  Here’s Part 2 of Anne’s Story:

“Nowadays, being as my husband took early retirement, I only work part time.  It’s a labour of love, doing Reflexology.  Oh!  you may say, shocked!  Yes, if you had told me too, years ago, when I worked as a clerk at Midland Bank or worked in the hospital pharmacy, I’d be a Reflexologist I’d have laughed.    I’d had a highly sceptical  upbringing, even though not in Yorkshire, a spade was a spade, so this certainly was not what I had planned.  But a long story and a chain of unusual events, my life’s journey led me to training as a Reflexologist and I’ve been doing it for 13 years.  A very rewarding job and I’ve met  some wonderful people, who many I would like to think of as dear friends now .               Obviously now in isolation,  my itchy fingers have not been able to massage tenderly, or pummel to cause extreme pain (as Barbara would hasten to add), but as I like to say, it can’t be too bad as she comes back for more week by week.  I said to her maybe she should take up nail-bed walking until I’m back in practice again.  But during our isolation, I’ve duped my husband into giving me a treatment, whereby we sit in chairs opposite one another, one foot resting on each others leg, (gazing lovingly), well maybe more in my case of ‘bear with me please’ and in my husband’s case ‘do I have to do your feet? just do mine instead’.  Then I give him step by step instructions on how to do a treatment, as I do his feet, and he sort of does mine.  I’m not sure I’d pay him, but after the initial persuasion battle, it’s relaxing and makes a change to have my feet massaged.

Catherine has been writing a diary about Life Under Lockdown since Lockdown began.  She lives on her own, doesn’t have a computer, Broadband or a ‘fancy’ phone, owns three cats, has one daughter and a son-in-law (Amanda and Wade) and stays within the confines of her house and garden most of the time during Lockdown; has an active social life when we are not in Lockdown. But, she doesn’t feel sorry for herself and has an amazing group of friends and family with whom she keeps in touch.  She has developed numerous, imaginative ways to keep in touch with people: her diary is just another way her friends and family know how she’s doing.  Her diary is a recording of life as it is, in the moment, the things she misses, the things she appreciates, those things she finds difficult and those that are funny:

7 April 2020

It’s a beautiful sunny day, bit of a chill.  Where I posted my letter today are some bushes.  On them were three sparrows.  What a lovely sight.  I can’t remember when I last saw sparrows.  In my garden, I mostly get pigeons, the odd dove and blackbird.  Seeing the sparrows made me happy.  My first tulip appeared this morning, a red one, and the clematis on the front fence has started to flower.  I can’t stand the herb Rosemary but my bush is full of lilac blooms.  Bluebells are starting to appear.

Today, I had a food delivery, loads of vegetables and fruit which included a pomegranate.  I had to ask Liz what to do with a pomegranate; she told me the story of giving her daughter (aged 4) a pomegranate and getting her to remove all the pips with a pin.  Took her ages and I can understand why, nightmare.  Got my plug hole cleaner, bottle of wine and tonic water for indigestion – can’t beat it.  Best of all, the most divine, luscious, posh, Brownies, not very big though.  22 of them.  they are supposed to last one to two weeks but I have had 7 in two days.  Once in a ‘blue moon’ treat.  I’ve also been shearing more lawn, lopped a bush, prickly branches, orange berries in winter, starts with a ‘p’.

Had a fall in the kitchen: I went one way, my slippers went the other, fell sideways and bumped my head.  Next time I have a fall I will take a cloth with me, as the skirting board under the units needs a good clean.  Thrown away the slippers.  Amanda said “Did you pick your feet up?”  I said yes but she probably thinks I’m fibbing, Bruce would have said the same thing.

8 April 2020

Fed the ‘Gang’, washed the cat trays and refreshed with fresh litter, hoovered the kitchen, hallway and lounge.  Looks nice again.  Nothing like having a bit of stray litter in your slippers.  Painful.

Having a bit of a nostalgic moment.  When Liz mentioned it took her daughter hours to remove the seeds of a pomegranate, I remembered when Aunty Dora came for a holiday, when I lived at home.  She was asked to slice some runner beans, not only did she do that but proceeded to take every bean out as well which took her over two hours!  On another occasion, Christopher (brother)  and I were on holiday in Oswaldtwistle (where Aunty Dora lived), he stayed with Uncle Tom and Aunty Edith and I with Aunty Dora.  She didn’t have any sheets; I slept between two itchy blankets!  For pudding she did Tapioca (Frog’s Spawn).  When she wasn’t in the room Christopher and I used to scoop it out of our bowls into hers.  In later years she said she knew what we had been up to.

Easter Sunday (12 April 2020)

A bit of an emotional day for me.  It’s so quiet, quieter than normal, almost as if something was going to happen.  I went upstairs and brought my Teddy Bear down; I needed some company.  His name is Rupert Moses; he has blue eyes and half a nose.  He is wearing thin but still has a familiar homely smell.  Rupert has faired well for 66 years.  I took him round the garden to see my lovely bluebells.  No one else will see them, only us.  I even brought my Bible out; they had forecast storms and I’m scared of them.  If I hold it, it helps.  Inside of it I have loads of message cards sent with flowers, with lovely words on them, photos of pets passed: Sooty, Sweep, Blossom.  There was also one of Bruce asleep in bed next to Rupert, two pictures of Amanda, one she is looking like ‘a nice grandma’ and the other with curly hair that fills the whole photo.

Today I am testing out the new oven, doing a roast dinner.  As I can’t see if it’s cooking, I’m shining a torch through the glass to check!!  It was delicious: roast potatoes and parsnips, breast of chicken, took the frozen brussel sprouts out for a spin, not had them for ages.  Cooked 9, only managed 8.

Barbara answered 32 General Knowledge questions.  When we win the £1500 we’re going in a big limo to Claridges for Afternoon Tea.  I am really looking forward to seeing Liz and Barbara again but instead of giving them flowers or chocolate I will be giving them plain flour and toilet rolls.

Nigel Slater is eating a peanut butter and jam sandwich; Bruce’s favourite was peanut butter and cheese.  Yuk, I hate peanut butter but I’ve still got his jar, not been able to grow it away yet” 

The tea towel was a present from Amanda, arriving soon after she heard about our long discussion about the pomegranates.  It’s beautiful, vibrant and now certainly has a lot of memories.

What ‘Lockdown’ has done for me is to avoid anything on Twitter that is political or controversial, angry or full of swearing.  I think there is enough to contend with at the moment.  I am a big fan of the work of photographers, whose work can transport me out of my back garden into another world.  It got me thinking: if your love is photography, travelling the countryside for that elusive shot, exploring new areas, what does ‘Lockdown’ mean to you.  Why not ask someone?  Which is exactly what I have done.

David Oxtaby (@Dave3072 if you’re on Twitter or discovering light.co.uk if you are interested in his website) posts his photos on Twitter; his main area of work is Yorkshire (hence the tea towels), Wales and the Isle of Wight.  This is his story:

Covid-19 and Photography

“With the recent restrictions on travel due to Covid-19 and, of course, the Lockdown, it has a big effect on all our ability to travel. As a photographer I’m used to traveling all over Yorkshire, and beyond, at early and late hours, to capture images. However now, with having to stay local, I have had to reconsider my photography and how it fits in with the restrictions in place.

With this I have been forced to stay in the immediate local area to capture my images. Firstly, I bought myself an Ordnance Survey map so I could see all the footpaths around my area and plan circular routes to explore them. With camera in hand, and walking these routes, I’ve been able to see so many wonders of nature from my own doorstep. It’s also forced me to photograph different subjects, not just the landscape ones I normally take but also nature such as animals I’ve seen on my travels: like sheep with their lambs, squirrels, rabbits, birds, ducks and herons. I’ve been also able to take photos of some of the beautiful houses and buildings in the area (in relation to the law, if you are in a public space you are allowed to photograph anything, though discretion is certainly needed! For example, take a photo of someone’s house but avoid shooting their into their house and, of course, not trespassing on their property).

My photography has changed as a result. No longer do I take for granted what is in my local area. I post images, daily, of my walks and those sights I took for granted. I realised that so many aren’t as fortunate, whether they are unable to get out at all for health reasons, or live in a very heavily populated area, or in tower block. So many people have been appreciative of what I considered humble little photos of my walks and actually, they have helped others at this time.  So, not only am I still able to enjoy my passion, and love of capturing the world through my lens, but able to use photography to help others see the world.

I’ve seen my area differently and from different angles, been able to enjoy new sights and new challenges in photography. I would recommend to you, wander around your area, walk slow, look around, explore the footpath you may have walked past and never been down, you will be very surprised at what you find you never knew you had!

Finally, take a camera with you when you go out. It doesn’t have to be an expensive one, the camera on your phone will take very good photos and a phone photo is much better than no photo. The person behind the lens makes the photo, not the expense of the equipment. Don’t fear taking too many photos, you can easily delete the ones you don’t want. If you get home and find the photos haven’t come out quite right, use it as an excuse to go back again and try again, you may find something different you didn’t see the first time. Go back to the same places at different times of the day as the light has a huge bearing on the imageAs for me? I am heading out now on a local series of footpaths and, with camera in hand, I will see what I find to capture!”  

Thank you David for a very reflective piece, with practical suggestions and some inspirational ideas.  The world will be a very different place for us all when we come out of Lockdown but let’s hope we learn something from it.  Thank you also for sharing some photos.

“We’re all in this together” offered an opportunity to anyone who wanted to take up the challenge and put their thoughts on ‘paper’.  People have done this in many different ways: diaries, poems, ongoing commentary, one-off observational pieces, often comedic.  There are some very talented writers around, of all ages.  There is something quite therapeutic about putting your thoughts down, concretising them.  If you write the piece, I will provide the tea towel, was the deal on offer.  I should be able to find something appropriate from my collection of 1250.  If you read Helen’s story, you can see there are many links I could make: starting with Prunes (no tea towel), supermarkets (no tea towels), OXO (no tea towels), tinned fruit (no tea towel) but I came to the last sentence and there is KitKat.  That’s my tea towel.

I met Helen at Creative Writing.  She has been published in magazines; I just blog away.  I love her comedic style and I hope you do too.

“I realised today that I had used the term ‘social isolation’ incorrectly in that you can’t go shopping if you are ‘social isolating’.  Could you change it for ‘Lockdown’?  I haven’t quite got the hang of definitions yet”  Helen emailed me, so I did just that and changed the word in the first line.  But Helen raises an important point: there will be a raft of new words that appear in the dictionary next year that relate to Coronavirus, maybe we need to start creating them.

                                                                    PRUNES

“As we fight off the boredom of ‘Lockdown’, a trip to the supermarket becomes an exciting event. ‘Which one shall we try today?’ Tesco is reliable although the queues are daunting. Asda is less reliable but you get round much quicker. Usually this means you haven’t bought much.

In these days of ‘make do and stop moaning’, I’ll shop anywhere. The real surprise is Farm Foods. Nobody I knew shopped there so I didn’t. I admit it, I was a supermarket snob. Farm Foods doesn’t have queues but it does have freezer cabinets full of food. I was never a fan of frozen meat but Covid 19 changes your priorities. I’ll eat anything now.

I was always suspicious of the latest foodie fad, like grinding your own spices, but it didn’t stop me from buying Jamie Oliver’s pestle and mortar. It was not a success and I soon reverted to ready-made sauces. Scarcity rather than common sense means the rest of the world is catching up with me. The BBC Food website reassures readers that if they’re struggling to get the ingredients to make home-made pesto, there’s no shame in buying a jar and you only need a spoonful or two. Furthermore, they must not fret over using shop bought bouillon powder when they can’t make their own chicken stock. They’ve evidently never heard of OXO cubes.

Many foods vanished from the shelves when panic buying began. Bread, flour, eggs but mostly these have returned. I can’t find dried yeast anywhere but who am I kidding? Even with all the time in the world, I’m not going to bake my own bread when I can get a loaf of Hovis.

Tinned fruit disappeared for a while but not prunes. Whichever supermarket you went into, tinned prunes were always available. With peaches and fruit cocktail missing from the shelf, prunes had only each other for company. If there were twenty tins there one week, the same twenty were there the next. Perhaps they weren’t the same twenty. Perhaps they all vanished in one bulk buy and were replaced with another batch.

You would think this would be the ideal time to sort out one’s delicate nether region problems. Social isolation, home-working and the close vicinity of the shower lend themselves to an unexpected opportunity to purge.

Evidently, the BBC hasn’t considered the possibility so I offer this advice. There’s absolutely no shame in buying a tin of prunes. Serve with crème fraiche and a few chopped walnuts if you have them. Alternatively, a tin of evaporated milk and crumbled Kit Kat will do the job.”

Helen Baron​

Thank you Helen, you’ve made my day!!

For any reader of the articles in ‘We’re all in this together’, you will know that Catherine has been regularly contributing.  The theme, throughout her pieces, is the sense of isolation, the importance of a routine in our daily lives, the importance of things like meals and food, the people we miss, pets and those glimmers of joy from the most unexpected of things.  A brief glimpse over a four day period confirms all this (and we know we face several more weeks of it).  Cats play a significant role in giving structure to Catherine’s day, hence this is the tea towel I chose for today:

“2 April 2020: 2 pm

Really out of sorts today and I had the shakes.  I had got up at 6.10 a.m to re-put the food bin out for collection; I decided to feed the cats as they were hovering.  Made a cup of tea, then I went back to bed for two hours: Big Mistake.  My ‘system’ had gone haywire.  Breakfast late, I did the cat trays late and washed the the shower mat.  That is all I’ve done.

2 April 2020: 4.30 pm

Still not done much, had a sandwich, fed Tilly, Tinker and Blackie.  I can’t think what to have for dinner with everything being late.  Barbara texted me: I had gone ‘viral’ again.  That certainly bucked me up no end.

I went up market with my dinner tonight.  I did cauliflower rice, trial and error but very nice.  My stomach wouldn’t be able to stand it every week, it was churning all evening.  At 8 pm, I did my clapping and ringing a bell: shouting for NHS, Amanda, dustbin and food bin men, post people and Fedex.  Back to my nightly ritual, combing Tilly next to Bruce so he can see I’m doing it properly.  Early night tonight!

3 April 2020: 2.55 pm

Life back to normal, up at 7 am, fed all cats, breakfast, shower.  Amanda called, already working on her computer.  I’m back to the ‘Tilly Ritual’ of combing and doing Tinker as well, posted my letter, came home, phoned Brian (brother-in-law).  I made him laugh so he was happy.  I told Tilly and Tinker I was going to hoover, so they scattered to the corners of the living room, looking fearful.  Did upstairs, I found a cobweb that was knitted from the window to the wall!  Doing downstairs tomorrow.  My lawn is overtaking my feet and ankles.  My mower broke but I have some long handled shears and I’ve started cutting it, taking my time, as the ground is very uneven.  Will give me something to do over the weekend.

4 April 2020: 7.45 am

Phone call from Amanda, saying she’s on her way with a food box, cat food and garden rake.  Different vegetables this time: patty pans, aubergines, peppers, fruit, orange juice, lager, cider, fizzy lemonade and steak for Sunday dinner.  Aren’t I lucky?  In all this excitement, instead of putting milk on my cereal, I poured it down the sink.  Had to start again.  I do miss the Saturday Mail for my favourite crosswords and I know Barbara misses my texts asking for some of the answers!   Today Amanda mentioned the hair I have on my chin, how long will it be before Amanda is able to get the tweezers on it; she’s dangerous with them.  I said I will get Bruce’s razor, do it myself!  

5 April 2020: 10 am

Today was superb.  I went for a ‘walk’ with Amanda.  Well, she walked and I chatted to her on the phone from home.  I managed to talk non-stop for 40 minutes.  Is that a record?  I had a lovely steak dinner and two glasses of wine.  I was going to carry on cutting my lawn with my long-handled shears but I thought better of it, as I was probably under the influence of alcohol.  I was about to go for a nap when Lindy phoned to say she was outside.  She had bought the Sunday Mail with a general knowledge quiz.  She left it on my doorstep; she is a breath of fresh air.  Barbara and I managed to complete the crossword for the second week.  We are so clever!  Though I expect Liz helps too.  This was the best weekend so far.

Thank you Catherine.

In the weirdness of self-isolation and social distancing, where any places to meet up have been closed, people are using many different means to communicate, to keep in touch.  While Catherine has been writing her diary, published here, today something a little different happened.  Catherine doesn’t have a fancy, SmartPhone, something that she can WhatsApp with or take photographs on but she has the means to text:

7 April 2020: 14.01

“I’ve just been given a pomegranate.  Does Liz know what to do with a pomegranate?  Can it be blitzed in my Nutrabullet?”  Catherine texted.  At least she knew better than to ask me what to do with a pomegranate!

I replied “Liz’s response was ‘I’ve not had a pomegranate since my daughter was 4 (34 years ago).  I can’t remember why I got it.  But I sat Jai down and got her to pick the pips out with a pin.  It kept her occupied for hours.  I hate pomegranates and have no idea what to do with them'”

“Not had one either, new experience for me, will let you know how I get on” Catherine says.  Strange how ‘Lockdown’ has introduced us to a whole load of new things.

I thought I might join in this ‘conversation’: “You can add a pomegranate to a Smoothie as long as it has something like bananas and berries, but not on its own.  (That’s what Google tells me).  “You could make a Greek yoghurt with pomegranate, cinnamon and some honey.  Tempt you?”

“I will try a Smoothie.  Amanda sent me three bananas”

16.32 pm: I’ve no idea what happened in the kitchen in Harlow, how that story ended.  But a couple of hours later I texted Catherine:

“At your suggestion, we found Inspector Frost on the television and started watching it”

“It passes a couple of hours and there is some humour in it.  But did you like it?” Catherine asked.

“Loved it.  It is ages since I watched them the first time.  David Jason is a brilliant actor”

Unexpectedly, she replied  “I feel we are starting to ‘bond’, Barbara, meeting again all these years later: diary writing, crosswords (Catherine texts me with crossword clues she gets stuck on, often forgetting to tell me how many letters the answer should be; she starts early in the morning but it gives me a routine and stops me lying in bed in the morning) and Inspector Frost.  It’s a nice feeling”

“Yes, I know what you mean” (and I really do) “Shame we can’t meet up for lunch again.  Bloody Coronavirus”

“The wait will be worth it, we will get there Barbara”

“But no halloumi” (standing joke, Catherine and her daughter love halloumi and I hate it) I say.

“…or pomegranate.  I’d best praise Amanda.  If it wasn’t for her, we would never have met again…..”

I pondered Catherine’s last statement; she’s right but it is also one of the good things that have come out of the Coronavirus, keeping in touch, appreciating what you have.  This stream of consciousness was interrupted by a delivery from Waterstones.  I had ordered, as a surprise for Liz, John Partridge’s cookbook “There’s No Taste Like Home” and there, on pages 175-6, is Chocolate and Pomegranate Tart which he describes “This really is the Queen of Tarts and one of my favourites”.  Catherine could have done this recipe (because she likes chocolate) except for the fact that her oven is broken.  I’ll let her have the recipe for when ‘Lockdown’ is over and the oven is working!

The choice of tea towel has been very difficult; I have no tea towel with a pomegranate on it, or halloumi, or chocolate, or Inspector Frost, or a Nutrabullet.  But I do have one with jai, that will have to do.

I have invited people, via Twitter, to contribute to the section of the Virtual Tea Towel Museum called ‘We’re all this together’.  Some have written a daily diary, some just one-off pieces.  Liz, as someone who writes a lot of poetry, gave me this today; today was her first day out of the house since ‘Lockdown’ in order to collect medication.  The chemist was shut.

“I had been mulling over some parts of this poem since coronavirus hit. I was very moved by the stark image from Barbara’s cousin in Italy, where he described his street looking like a still life painting. Later, he sent an image of a dog who was being offered, for a price, as an opportunity to take a walk.

Today we drove to Boots to collect our medication. As Barbara went to check why it wasn’t open, I was transfixed by the winding queue running from the local post office. And my poem came together …

                                                                COVID-19

The street a study of still life
Only dead leaves murmur as
Flies forage frantic for fodder
Unique in its elusiveness.

A weary dog sits relieved
Between walks priced 20 Euros
Snapped up by the desperate,
A sad sign hung to his neck.

I watch the polite, 2 metres apart
Queue of people posting parcels
No one speaks, shares the story
Of forbidden family and friends.

There is applause on the street
On Thursday evenings, Lloyd
Webber’s Shows Must Go On,
Quizzes with folks I’ve never met.

Sadness, grief, anger, desolation
Pattern my mind and my soul
As I wonder if she’s right, the
Queen who says “we’ll meet again”.

©️ Liz MacKenzie”

Thank you Liz for an insightful poem and for the fact that you have been reading ‘We’re all in this together’.  The tea towel is in recognition of the Queen’s Address to the Nation last night which you have referred to, a Diamond Jubilee Tea Towel.

This is the continuation of Catherine’s Diary about ‘Life Under Lockdown’.  I think reading the ongoing diaries of several people, from around the world, of different ages gives a fascinating insight into this terrible time.  During the Second World War, Anne Franck wrote a diary and the world has learnt from that epic piece of work of a 13 year old.  I hope we will learn from the Diaries of this time.  Catherine’s story is poignant because she lives alone and it is only a few months since her husband, Bruce, died very suddenly.

In deference to her sense of withdrawal symptoms from having no cake, today’s tea towel is ”Great British Tea Time Treats’.  Her diary continues:

“Great excitement this morning.  Barbara (me) texted me to say that I had ‘gone viral’ again!  I told Tilly and Tinker (the cats); they just gave me a blank look.

The oven packed up; I can still use the hob and grill.  I could get it repaired but I don’t want anyone in the house yet.  I love cake; I am getting withdrawal symptoms for not being able to bake a cake.  I texted Barbara to find out if Liz had a recipe for a cake that could be made in a microwave.  But then, as luck would have it, Lindy left a bag on my doorstep.  Inside was Mr Kipling Angel Slices  and Co-op Lemon Bakewell Tarts.  Lindy was at the end of the footpath so it was nice to see someone ‘live’.  What a lifesaver she is!

I’ve started phoning friends more often, even if it’s only for a 10 minute chat; it helps break up the day.  I’ve rang Wendy, Sue (Club) and Vivienne; they have all been extremely supportive since Bruce passed away.  But, of course, Christine is top of the list.  We phone every day.  I didn’t realise how much I would miss my daughter Amanda; we talk several times a day.  Last night, she spoke ‘live’ from her car, as I got another food parcel.  Trouble is I can’t talk much, as I’m crying at see her.  She shouts “Stop crying, Catherine!” (Probably because she too is crying).  In my food parcel was more chicken, sausages.  I will be clucking and squealing soon!  Butter, cheese, broccoli, mushrooms, bottle of wine and three beers.  

Last night I had a gin and tonic and one of the bottles of beer.  I wanted a good sleep, which I had!  But before that I had to feed Blackie and do his hot water bottle for his bed.  I don’t know how I got to the greenhouse: grit and determination.  That beer was really strong.  I can’t drink that too often!

I put notes on my food bin and wheelie bin thanking the men for picking up the stuff.  They deserve a ‘clap’ on Thursday.  What would happen if they stopped?  We would be alive with vermin.

A clap for Post People, getting my letters to Barbara.  And I’m clapping again for Amanda!”

Today, there is this growing sense of isolation, of having to structure your day, of getting excited by seeing people at a distance, just to say a passing hello to.

When the schools were ‘Lockdowned’ (is that a word?), I asked , via Twitter, whether there were any school children who would like to write a 7 Day Diary about ‘Life under Lockdown’, which I would publish in the Virtual Tea Towel Museum in a section called ‘We’re all in this together’.  As in any other Museum, a ‘real’ Museum, there are often Special Collections.  It seemed to me that it was important to record how people are feeling, what they are doing during this strange period.  If you post your thoughts on Twitter, it is a fleeting comment but in the Museum, it will be there for evermore.

Maggie was one of the first people to volunteer.  She is the granddaughter of @thebakingnanna1, for Twitter fans.  I was expecting a lot about baking online but this was a very thoughtful, and reflective, piece.

I always said that each diary would be ‘linked’ to a tea towel (and that I would provide the tea towel); I chose these two because of Maggie’s reference to a proposed trip to China later in the year and The fact that some of her family live there.  The tea towel of the Great Wall of China was a Calendar Tea Towel that I bought when I was there in 1987; the second, scary, tea towel is of Mao Zedong.  It was brought back from China, last year, as a present for me.  It is strange wiping up with Mao Zedong looking up at me.

Here is Maggie’s Diary:

Monday 23 March 2020

It’s only been one week since I started  staying at home, but, it feels unreal.  Nothing like this has really happened in life before and when something new hits you (and you haven’t experienced it) and have got to deal with it, it puts you under stress:(.  I keep seeing updates on the news…….”COVID-19 this……COVID-19 that…..) and we (family) are finding it hard to shop as people aren’t thinking twice about what they are doing and panic-buying lots of supplies like toilet rolls, eggs and pasta.  It’s like an apocalypse!!!   Anyway, I have hardly got a reason to worry as only 1 or 2 people have it in my area…..but should I be worried?  

Tuesday 24 March 2020

Nothing very good has happened yet…we’re still waiting for the news:/. You can’t run away from it (if you know what I mean), it’s always grabbing you back and pulling you away from doing anything fun.  One thing that really annoys me is that a lot of people that I know have suddenly turned into Expert Scientists and think they know everything about COVID-19……I was in a panic because we were planning to go to China later this year and a lot of my family live over there, where it started and has been so bad.  I just still can’t believe how big it’s gotten.

Wednesday 25 March 2020

I woke up today feeling a little brighter.  I’d finally gotten used to this whole situation and just accepted that it was happening.  I have to HomeSchool/online work now and it’s weird not seeing my classmates every day, but just speaking to them on Class Apps.  They’ve also said they’re feeling the same way as most people in quarantine: bored.  When you stay home for a long period of time you realise that it’s….boring.  I thought it’d be a good thing to get away from school and the outside world, but now, not so much.

Thursday 26 March 2020

Today, I finished my week’s worth of work and it was tricky as there was no teacher;  the only help I had was my Mum but she’s working from home too so she can’t provide me with help all of the time.  I’ve just found out that tonight at 8pm people all across the UK are clapping outside their houses to say thank you to NHS for helping us through this hard time.  It’s a very nice thing to do and I wonder who came up with it?

Friday 27 March 2020

Last night people in our area (and lots of them) actually did clap!  It makes me happy that a lot of people had respect for them.  We’re also officially on lockdown which just shows how serious this is getting for the UK.  It’s night time now and we’re having a ‘Movie Night’ where we all sit together and watch a movie:).  we’re watching the new ‘Lady and the Tramp’ which is one of mine and Mum’s favourites.

Saturday 28 March 2020

Today some unsurprising news was released.  Boris Johnson has tested positive for COVID-19.  It was ALL OVER the news and now he’s working from his home.  Though, the worrying thing is that he shook hands with people, before he was diagnosed, or so I’ve heard.  I’ve been talking to my classmates and keeping up with them, it’s quite fun and is one of the things I do when I’m bored now :).  I miss them.

Sunday 29 March 2020

It’s annoying how nice the weather is when we can’t go out and enjoy it.  The only place to go is the back garden (if you have one).  It’s supposed to be nice and warm soon which will be better than cold and rain :).  I’ve been talking to my relatives today but we can only talk to them through a phone call or FaceTime due to the Social Distancing Policy.  I had no more work to do today which was quite relaxing.  It’s been fun keeping a diary of my thoughts and feelings.  we don’t know how long this is going to go on for and it’s been a rollercoaster so far.  Who knows what the future will bring.  Stay safe everyone.  Maggie 

Thank you so much, Maggie, for sharing your thoughts and feelings.  There will be lots of other people who will be feeling the same as you: bewildered, bored, uncertain.  Thank you for also making me learn how to do 🙂 and :(, although I’m not sure ill ever use them again.