Friday, August 2, 2013

A Day in London

Design - "Old Glory"
Designer - Sam Sarah
Fabric - 32 count white linen
Fibers - Crescent Colours - 2 strands over 2 threads
Started - 20 July 2013
Completed - 21 July 2013

This stitch benefited from a couple of long train journeys.  As you can see by the start and completion dates it was fast and easy!

I've added a post about our day in Carlisle.  If you are interested, you can read about it here.

Today was a 'Quiet Day'.  
We spent the morning running errands so that when my sister arrives on Sunday, we'll be ready to Go Go Go!

File:Russel Square stn tiling.JPG
We did take a small trip via the Russell Square Underground station.

The building is a Grade II listed building (historic).

 I quite like the style of the station's directional signs.

We walked across Brunswick Square Gardens...

...and over to the Foundling Museum.
  
After years of petitioning, in 1739 Captain Coram received a Royal Charter to establish a Foundling Hospital for the care and education of abandoned young children.

The hospital provided for thousands of children, and had several famous patrons including William Hogarth and George Fredrick Handel.

The mothers who left children with the Foundling Hospital often left a small identifying token of some sort with the baby.  A scrap of fabric, a coin, a charm, a thimble or the like. The idea was that should conditions ever improve they could prove their relationship and be reunited with their child.  Heartbreaking. 

The hospital was extremely progressive for its day.  The board of govenors understood the importance of good nutrition and health. The children were well fed, immunized, and had access to a hospital ward should they become ill. The hospital helped to educate the children for a trade so that they would be economically independent adults.  For girls, as you can see from above, that included needlework.

The Foundling Museum is currently hosting an exhibition called "Exchange" by Clare Twomey.
She created 1,550 cups and saucers.

On the base of each saucer and the indent of the cup there is a printed 'positive action' or good deed.

While the cups rest on the saucers, the good deeds are hidden from view.  Each day ten people are chosen to pick a cup and fulfil the newly exposed action.  They can either take the cup home with them and work toward making the request a reality, or turn the cup back onto the saucer if they do not feel up to the task.

My Mom was chosen, and the above photo shows the cup she chose.  Her good deed is to raise £50 for the charity Tearfund. Tearfund is a UK-based Christian charity that works with local churches worldwide to help end poverty.  If that resonates with you, we'd love to have you make a small £5 donation.  We figure that if even one or two blog readers do so, we'll have made a good start in honoring our "Exchange" commitment.  You are welcome to let me know via email offline if you chose to donate.  Let me be clear there is no onus to do so.

A new month means a new blog header, and also new Trail Camera photos to share.  My Dad emailed me several from July. They are all in black and white as they are infra-red night time shots. 


On the 4th just after midnight, a Bobcat strolled by.

And again on the 17th, this time closer to dawn's light.

It must be Bear Time once again.
Here's one on the 9th at 2:17am.  My brother reported he'd seen a bear close to our house on the 13th.


And yet another sighting on the 30th at 11:00pm.  
There has been no rain in western Oregon for over 33 days now.  There is a seasonal creek nearby and I would imagine the animals are searching for any small pools of moisture they can find.

12 comments:

Vickie said...

The cups and saucers are very dramatic and wonderful aren't they?

Ann at Beadlework. said...

Russell Square underground brings back memories of a theatre trip to London. I didn't like coming back at night on the tube as we had to get out at Russell Square and it was a bit creepy late at night. There was no escalator and waiting for the long ride up in the lift with no one else around made me feel uncomfortable.

hazel c UK said...

I found the foundling museum so interesting when I visited several years ago when they had an exhibition of original scraps and notes that some mothers had left.

Like the idea of the cups and saucers and pleased your mum was chosen.

We support tear fund at our church and are in the process of adopting a child so we can ffurther their education.

Did not know that Russell square station was listed it is not a station tht I use but must go and look so e time.

Enjoy
Hazel

Bianca said...

Old Glory looks great! I haven't had much time to comment, but I've enjoyed seeing all the lovely pictures of your summer in Europe. Thanks not only for pics, but all of the information as well.

cucki said...

So beautiful..I love looking at the sweet place.
Hugs x

Margaret said...

So exciting that your sister is coming soon! Love the Russell Square station -- those tiles are so cool! The teacup and saucer thing is really neat too!

Barb said...

Any thing to do with children touches my heart. I will be e-mailing you.

Annette-California said...

How exciting that your sister is coming!!! Lovely idea to use cups and saucers to be part of the exhibition. love Annette

Melanie said...

I would love to help out with a donation. That is the place I mentioned in a (long forgotten, I'm sure) comment about a book I had read a couple months ago. It's a real treat to see your photos of the place. The book only had a few of the outside. (It's called How to Create the Perfect Wife. Sounds like fiction, but it's not.) I was fascinated that so many of those intake records survived all this time. I mean, it's heartbreaking too, of course. Most of the children HAD parents, they just couldn't care for them for one reason or another.

Yikes. A bear. That would scare me a little.

Margaret said...

I will willingly make a donation to Tearfund but it will be in New Zealand as I live here! I am so enjoying your travel blog and dreaming of my own retirement trip in 6 or 7 years time. Thanks for all the inspiration. I will be donating $200 NZ - I think that's around £75 but I'm not too good on international finance!

Chris said...

Love, the Foundling exhibit and sampler. I need to get to the exhibit in Williamsburg.
Go,go,go when your sister arrives?? I can't imagine how much more go that can be after what you have already been doing :)

Maggee said...

Love the cup and saucer idea... pretty neat! I remember reading about Orphan Trains here in the US...too many kids were in turmoil throughout history! Hugs!