I went to a technical school - I don't think they exist anymore. They were for the ones who weren't quite bright enough to get through to a grammar school - they had a secretarial stream and nursing stream and usually took 'O'levels in the lower sixth and 'A'levels in one year in the upper sixth.
We all had a general education for the first three years and specialised in the fourth and fifth years. I took both Maths and English 'O'levels in the fifth year - but failed English. So took it again at Christmas along with cookery. Having got three exams out of the way the rest of my sixth form was more manageable for me. But my most difficult 'O'level was embroidery - it consisted of three exams - one where we had to make a design, another on the history (which meant visits to the London museums) and the theory, and the third to test our actual skills of doing it!
I still love it! but it is so time consuming! I find I am attracted to books of it and pre-packaged packs of it - and have a chest full, some I inherited from my Mum who had the same compulsion!
Thirty one years ago, having been widowed a few years before, she met up again with my Dad's best friend from their teenage years, they fell in love and married. And I decided that I would make them a cushion cover that I had seen in one of my many books. The wedding came and went and I had only completed a fraction of the embroidery. The following year we adopted Mandie and the little spare time I had vanished. So the embroidery was taken off the frame and put in the chest.
Thirty years later, Mandie having married and after many, many moves of house, I decided to see if I could complete the cushion cover. Then there was the problem of which would happen first - finish the cover or run out of wool! It was the latter - I think some wool got lost in one of the moves. Unfortunately - they don't make that embroidery wool any longer, so I had to buy a different make to get the right colour, and that wool was very slightly thicker, but fortunately unless you know you can't see the join! Unfortunately neither Mum or my step-Dad are a round to see the finished article.
My favourite part of the embroidery is what they call velvet stitch, a cross stitch with a loop in the middle which is then cut, giving a carpet like effect.
Most people's Easters last for a long weekend, but mine lasted a whole week!
It started last Thursday evening when the folk from our Chapel were invited up the road to join in the Maundy Thursday supper at the local Anglican Church. We have been doing this for several years now and have got to know the folk at Church really well.
We have a simple meal of home-made soup, home-made bread rolls, cheese and grapes and our time together concludes with Holy Communion. The father-in-law of the Anglican Deacon who was leading the service was a Baptist minister and the service was taken from the small red book known by many Baptist ministers.
On Friday we had a service at our Chapel at 3pm which was well attended.
Saturday morning saw many of us back in the Chapel decorating it ready for Sunday morning.
And on Easter Sunday we were joined by several visitors who were staying at the local caravan site.
Monday was a day off, but Tuesday was our monthly bible study, where over lunch the vicar said that one of his favourite passages is the story of Jesus meeting the two disciples travelling on the road to Emmaus - little did he know but that was our passage for the day! We had a new face to the bible study - one of our longest serving members at Chapel.
And yesterday instead of our regular coffee morning at the village hall we had an Easter Tea.
Each week we pay £1 for our coffee and biscuits, but the money is saved and every few months we go out for lunch at the local hotel or pub and once a year we have an amazing tea. I knew what to expect, so this year I took along my camera. There were about 25 of us to eat this tea and many took sandwiched and cakes home as well!
