Generation game

My gran and I had a bit of quality knitting time together on Friday, when I went to meet up with her and my parents who were staying in Southwold in Suffolk. It rained most the day (what's new?!) and although we did get out for a walk, we also did a bit of sitting around and knitting.

My gran is in her nineties and although she finds it difficult to get around now, her mind is still sharper than many people I know who are half her age. She puts it down to the crosswords that she does every day - whatever it is, it seems to work wonders! She knits squares for blankets that are used by the Red Cross for refugees or people who find themselves temporarily homeless for whatever reason. She knits prolifically, mostly while she's watching the tele, but even so her stitches are extremely neat and even.

Here we are, demonstrating our generation gap - granny with her straight needles and acrylic yarn, me with my Addi turbo circulars and some extremely pink 100% wool, making a swatch ("a what?" was my gran's reaction when I told her...!). It's the cursed handbag - finally gave in to the nagging suspicion that the best thing to do would be to felt it, so had to go out and purchase some feltable yarn.

We do have something in common - neither of us can remember who taught us to knit. Even my mum couldn't shed light on who taught me - although she did remember my first major project, an extremely difficult fair-isle jumper that came out looking fabulous! One day I will dig out a photo for the blog..I've always liked a challenge.

Slight change of subject, look at these two charmers!

They are part of the Southwold Pier water clock, which was designed by Tim Hunkin. On the hour and half past, various comical things happen - two chaps in a bath rise up and spit water out at the spectators, these guys pee (totally missing the toilet, what a surprise!) and a row of tulips grow up out of a trough at the bottom.

Tim also designed a lot of funny coin-operated machines for the 'Under the Pier Show' which is in a little building on the pier. Some of the machines used to be at the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre when it was in Covent Garden in London (way back when I was a student!) but he's added a lot more new ones, designed specially for their new location. If you find yourself in Southwold, make sure you take a look at it - much more fun than the traditional slot machines!