a southern gal in the north

Petherbridge’s Weekly Post: CRY ‘GOD FOR HARRY! ENGLAND AND SAINT GEORGE!’

“This week, the first of three ‘Bard Blogs’. And, after all last Sunday’s talk of
England, my inaugural Shakespearean post takes it cue, literally, from a speech I made nearly two years ago on St George’s Day:

Madam Mayor, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, such is the honour of being asked to speak at this the final fundraising event of the mayoral year in Reigate and Banstead, on the august occasion of the double celebration of St George’s Day and William Shakespeare’s birthday, that you will sympathize with me, I am sure, when I tell you I’ve been rather exercised by the weight of the responsibility – the duty to hit an appropriate tone. In fact, I have gone so far as to take advice. That is to say, I wrote a letter of advice – to myself. ….”

the above is the beginning of the latest posting to a new blog by Edward Petherbridge, a British actor of whom I am a big fan.  he was Lord Peter Wimsey in the excellent tv series adaptation of the first three of Dorothy Sayers’ Harriet Vane novels also with Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane.  of course Ian Carmichael had done many of the LPWs earlier on but none of the HV story… HW and EP are perfect for them.  luckily i had read the entire oeuvre prior to seeing any of the adaptations – in long nights working as evening legal secretary during music school… but the EP/HW were almost perfection – except for having to cut out several subplots in Gaudy Night due to length i imagine and a few other changes – the final scene worked even if it was not as in the book.

EP is one of those actors on my “must meet” list – yet as i have never been to England (only the Highlands and Ireland – i seem to go around about the UK) and finances currently prohibit any travel beyond the grocery store – now and for the foreseeable future – i am resigned that i may never get there. 

however reading the blog is a small recompense for yet another dream deferred.

do go and have a good wallow  (and praise the internets for such a gift)

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i love reading THE SHETLAND NEWS.   Here is one of the big stories this week.

Shetland can’t escape sheep tags

ELECTRONIC identification (EID) is coming to Shetland, despite an appeal for a derogation for the isles.

The news came in a letter from rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead to Shetland MSP Tavish Scott, who warned that the move could be the death knell for sheep farming in the isles.

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Interview with Hannah Kearney — Hannah Kearney Knitting Olympian

Hannah Kearney is a 2006 and 2010 Olympian for Team USA in the freestyle skiing – moguls competition. She’s also a knitter who loves to knit quick, useful projects.

She took a little time off from preparing for the 2010 Winter Games to talk about how she got started knitting, what she likes to knit and what she’s planning to take to Vancouver.

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from Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind
Dick Francis, the former champion jockey who found fame and fortune as the author of scores of horse racing novels, died at his Caribbean home in Grand Cayman, according to a statement released by his publicist. He was 89 years old. According to the Telegraph obit, a small funeral is planned in Grand Cayman with a memorial service to follow in London at a later point. Francis was previously deceased by Mary, his wife of 53 years (and regular collaborator on his books) in 2000, and is survived by his sons Merrick and Felix, the latter whom was credited on Francis’s novels these last few years, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

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being released to instant watch thru the month on Netflix (via Streaming Soon)

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Knitters are amazing… here are a bunch of patterns commemorating the 2010 Olympics – including the USA hat (moose? reindeer?  you decide) designed from the photos by an intrepid knitter.

[these were gathered by the prolific color designer at KNITTING IN COLOR]

HERE is the striking Nordic hat the athletes from Andorra were wearing during the Parade of Nations in last night’s Opening Ceremony. Check the photo for the navy, white, and red one – also someone on Ravelry had a screen shot of one athlete wearing the white/blue/black version. Apparently HERE is the  sweater they were wearing.

If you have an extra $425 burning a hole in your pocket, HERE is the Ralph Lauren Aran sweater worn by the US athletes in the Opening Ceremony.

If you want to knit a hat like the ones the US athletes were wearing, HERE is a free pattern that should get you started.

HERE is a free pattern for some Olympic mittens to coordinate with the official gear worn by the Canadian athletes.

ETA: HERE is a free pattern for red mittens with a maple leaf like the Canadian athletes were wearing. Also, HERE is a free pattern for the red and white O Canada Mittens complete with maple leaves and Olympic rings.

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just think how much you could get done on the subway or metro north!

Wi-Fi Turns Arizona Bus Ride Into a Rolling Study Hall – NYTimes.com

VAIL, Ariz. — Students endure hundreds of hours on yellow buses each year getting to and from school in this desert exurb of Tucson, and stir-crazy teenagers break the monotony by teasing, texting, flirting, shouting, climbing (over seats) and sometimes punching (seats or seatmates).

But on this chilly morning, as bus No. 92 rolls down a mountain highway just before dawn, high school students are quiet, typing on laptops.

Morning routines have been like this since the fall, when school officials mounted a mobile Internet router to bus No. 92’s sheet-metal frame, enabling students to surf the Web. The students call it the Internet Bus, and what began as a high-tech experiment has had an old-fashioned — and unexpected — result. Wi-Fi access has transformed what was often a boisterous bus ride into a rolling study hall, and behavioral problems have virtually disappeared.

“It’s made a big difference,” said J. J. Johnson, the bus’s driver. “Boys aren’t hitting each other, girls are busy, and there’s not so much jumping around.”

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TheRecord.com – Local – Cambridge knitter wants to blanket Main Street bridge

Cambridge knitter wants to blanket Main Street bridge

Peter Lee, Record staff
Sue Sturdy wants to cosy up Cambridge’s Main Street bridge by blanketing the structure.
By Kevin Swayze, Record staff

CAMBRIDGE — Bridge cosy? Arch warmer?

Whatever you might call a big blanket draped across the sides of the Main Street bridge over the Grand River, Sue Sturdy is determined to make it happen this summer. All she needs is knitters across the city – and a few around the world – to pick up their needles and any spare rolls of yarn they have around the house.

“It’s not insurmountable,” says Cambridge’s artist in residence for 2010.

“It’s something that can be done. It’s something you want people to help be a piece of art, on something they can see.”

City councillors approved Sturdy’s appointment Monday. She’ll be paid $3,500 to run her knitting programs at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts on Dickson Street, the giant blanket artwork, and creating a book of knitting stories compiled from residents of a city that once had a huge textile industry.

Sturdy plans monthly “knitting circles” with guest speakers. On “world wide knit in public days” June 19 and 20, she’s planning to take over civic square in front of Cambridge City Hall for a yarn party.

Knitting in the News: Knit Bridge a Go, Knitting in the Snow and Crochet News

Last week I told you about the plan to cover a bridge in knitting in Cambridge, Ontario. Now the woman behind the plan, Sue Sturdy, has gotten the insurance she needs to make the project a reality. The plan is to cover the bridge with knit panels throughout the month of September.

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