Month: December 2024

All the things that I could have been

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Now I am retired from my 35 years of teaching, I often think back on why I choose that particular career path, and all the other things that I could have done with my life. There have been many moments where I have stopped and thought about other careers, some I have even attempted to pursue.

I remember at one of my first re-enactment events thinking that I should have done more with my love of live music. I did a lot of volunteering when I was a teenager and at college, and loved the thrill of being involved in gigs. I was dancing to the band, an amazing group called Schelmish, from Germany, thinking, ‘I should have got more tattoos, and become a drummer!’.

At one of the last academic conferences I did, where I was presenting a paper based on my doctoral research, I met so many people with fascinating careers as medieval historians, and wondered why I had never followed my love of history at school. I have so enjoyed being an amateur historian as an adult, from involvement in re-enactment to all the textile history that I love.

I have also wondered about becoming a professional textile artist, that was the one that nearly happened, but sadly life got in the way. I was planning to retrain in my mid forties, and set up Stitches of Time as a business, but that wasn’t meant to be.

Being who I am now, a traveller, is definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me, career wise. Not that I make any money at all from it, though I suppose I could try through all the other channels that people use. Ultimately though I just want to enjoy myself, and spend time in the company of like minded people.

The Adventure Overland Show, that I went to in Stratford this September, was amazing for that. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the weekend, in the company of people who love doing the same things that I do. OK, I’ve only driven Katy to and from Spain so far, rather than circumnavigated the globe in my Landrover, as some of the others had, but it’s a start 😉

Even just wandering round the camping field was fantastic, so many different types of vehicles, from the cuteness of the vintage VW, to the inventiveness of the R2D2 inspired ventilation hub, with so many varieties of vehicle in between.

The lit up vans were also brilliant, complete with discos.

People were very kind about Katy, I bought her a new flag at the show, as I have been looking for one for a while. She looked splendid with all her crafting on show.

A friend recently shared this photo saying it reminded her of me in Katy, I think it sums it up perfectly!

She was definitely one of the smallest vans there, especially compared to the mega trucks in the Overland field. Look at all these amazing homes on wheels, just right for driving along the Karakoram Highway!

It was also so inspiring to hear all of the talks, one of my favourites was from the three people who converted a school bus, and with some others drove the entire length of the Pan-American Highway. The group called Global Convoy, are documenting their journey here on You Tube, and they also have all their other adventures there as well, so interesting!

I don’t know if I will ever get to do anything like that, but I did get to meet some people in whose footsteps I have been following just a little bit. I first came across Marianne and Chris from Tread the Globe before they went full-time in their van, and attempted to drive around the world at the start of 2020.

Needless to say that was a very interesting journey, including 93 days in a car park in Istanbul, but they made it home this summer, and were at the show. I was so overjoyed to meet them, and their van Trudy, and hear more about their adventures. They are even more lovely in real life, and I still remember them replying to me after I emailed them told them about passing my test and buying Katy, they were so supportive.

It was an amazing weekend, at the end of an amazing summer. I still can’t believe all of the things that I’ve done in 2024, and all of the places that I have been to. It really has been a dream come true. I was trying to pick some of my favourite pictures from this year for Instagram, and it was so hard, everything has been incredible, even the tail end of the hurricane in Skye, when the 40 mph winds rocked the van all day! I have chosen another set for here, as it feels fitting to end the year with a bit of a review.

So on to 2025, which looks set to be my most exciting year yet. Things are still in the planning stages, but there are going to be some big changes ahead, which will hopefully lead to me being able to fulfil a few more long held dreams. I will of course let you know more as things happen, the first step is a few weeks back in the UK from next week, house sitting for some cute cats, and firming up the winter plans.

I hope that you all have a great start to 2025, and enjoy your celebrations of 2024 this evening. I hope that the year has treated you kindly, and that you look forward with joy to the next one. I am so grateful for my continuing health and happiness in my new role as a full-time happy person!

Have fun, take care, stay safe, and thanks for visiting.

Stepping back in time

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One of the things that I spend a lot of time doing when visiting historic houses is to imagine how it must have actually been to live there, without the National Trust interpretation, the carefully staged rooms, and the guided routes around the house. Occasionally there are glimpses of the reality of living in a house that is too big, and too costly to heat properly, or be comfortable, as there was at Chastleton, where I visited in May.

It is more difficult to envisage how ordinary people lived though. The social history museums, such as those that I visited in the Cairngorms this summer, and in Norwich last year. Books help as well, and I love reading biography, and social history research. However these sources only give a selection of what has been kept or remembered.

One of the reasons that I wanted to go back to Northumberland on my trip this summer was to do some more research for my novel. I am so enjoying the process of writing this, along with bits of the others, and I love being able to research things. It is nice to know that those eight years of work on the doctorate have not gone to waste! I am writing my historical character’s timeline now, and am trying to spend a lot of time thinking about how her life would have been, and how she would feel.

Even though I have been to Alnwick before, it was a few years ago, and was more of a tourist trip, so this time I went as a researcher. I went first to the local library, and although they have no archives, they were able to give me access to the British Newspaper Archives, a source I have used briefly before. It was a really productive hour there, and I have managed to get a lot of factual detail that I needed. Later in the summer I also had another brilliant research trip, but that is for another post!

A wander round the town was also useful, thinking about how Dora, my character would have experienced the town in 1947. Would the horse trough and water fountain still be in use? Would there be the same traffic signs outside the town gate? What would she have thought of the street names, Bondgate Within, and Bondgate Without? I know I don’t have to go into too much detail in the book, however the amateur historian and ex-academic in me wants to get all of the details right. Also I am very much enjoying the process.

I stayed at Dunstan Hill campsite, only a short walk from the coastal path, and was lucky enough to have amazing weather. This is such a beautiful part of the country, with so many castles and remnants of early history, such as the development of Christianity, and the invasion of the Vikings. It is definitely an area I want to spend more time in.

On the way back down south I stopped in at Wallington, which has a gorgeous rural setting.

The interior decoration was very impressive as well. This is the unfinished painted central hall, with panels that tell the story of the local area, from the early kings of Northumbria to the industrial boom. The paintings were truly stunning in their detail.

There was also one of the largest pieces of personal needlework that I have ever come across. This panel is embroidery, not woven, and was done over 23 years by Mary Trevelyan, for her husband. It is an amazing piece of work, and I would love to know more about it. 23 years is such a long time to stitch a piece, and I wonder if she worked on it every day, or set it aside at times?

Life here in Spain continues to be very busy and fun. I have been doing a lot of planning for next year, and hope that everything that I want to do comes to fruition. I only have a month left here before my return to the UK, and am frantically trying to get all my sewing projects completed!

I am still very much enjoying making couture for my Barbies, but have other practical things that need to be made for next year’s camping season as well. I hope that you are all busy and happy, and looking forward to the festive season if you celebrate. I have two more stitched ornaments to go, and then on to the ones for 2025!

I missed my blogaversary again this year, but it has been 17 years, (and one week!) of writing here at Stitches of Time. This is my 996th post, so I will have to do something special for the 1000th, which should happen in the new year. I currently have 449 subscribers, and about 200 people visit every week. So huge thanks to all of you for following along, however long you have been here. Whatever you are doing have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.