it's all mark making

It's been, for me, a heavy week of moving around among the tribes. People every where, I am an only child after all.

Had to go to the Car tribe on Monday and get the car MOTd, I have finally found a place where I do the talking in an office and am treated just as a customer, rather than a mad old lady who knows zilch and should really have a minder.

Didn't stop them informing me I had been driving on three wheels. Those what know me will remember that i did indeed drive a Robin Reliant 3wheeler for years, on my motor bike licence. Too chicken to take the Test and too broke to buy a grown up car.

However I am now properly authenticated to drive 4 wheels and I put it to the mechanic that perhaps he was exaggerating. He admitted he probably meant the brake pad was sticking on one wheel, but regained supremacy by charging me £455 for all the bits for Ronnie Renault to continue to maraud the streets.

Wednesday I went to hand stitch class for the last of the series and lo.......I have joined another group. We decided to continue to meet and so are now called Stitched Up!

Trailing clouds of glory I drove Ronnie to the Guild meeting where two stout [in every meaning] British ladies explained how they took a two knicker suitcase to Romania [to leave space for fabrics] and bully the Roma women in a pit of a village into making things for the ladies to come back and sell for them [the village].

They do this a dozen times a year [as unpaid volunteers] and told many merry stories of bucket and chuckit loos etc.

The Romanians are amazed the reviled Roma can walk straight what about learn to read, write and make things, so have celebrated by giving the village wheelie bins [as opposed to the trash pile they used to endure].

Friday I had my stitching group and we did printing and Saturday i went to a "conference" of another group to explore Concept and Meaning.

We had three speakers, the first "the galloping major" was billed as a story teller, which is always the knell of doom for me. He talked about himself and sang to his guitar, but he was saying there is a thread of creativity which goes thru all our lives which was an interesting concept to examine further.

The woman had a swell piece of work based on Ben Britten's piece 4 sea interludes and discussed crossover of interpretation. I was amazed at her confidence and delivery, good to see in the female of the species embroderer.

Finally we had a bloke [very] he talked of the concept "book" which he widened and widened until it could encompass a brick wall........linked sections, beginning and end, a time span etc.

I was high as a kite with tiredness by then so I did stand up and shout a bit. Expect there is one at every lecture he gives.

C pointed out later that perhaps he was talking about construction and I was yelling for the intrinsic communication..................he did make some lovely tree books with hand made paper, and wooden seats which had the line of a poem on each as you walked thru the village.

It was challenging, and I challenged. Maybe not sensibly but there you are, a tired woman is a dangerous species too.

PS Who is Marcia?