Not the normal routine

This week has seen a couple of events that were different from the usual pattern of life here.
The first was an Open day at the exhibition of the local Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers. Guild members brought spinning and weaving equipment to the exhibition venue, and demonstrated the various activities to visitors. This was totally new for me; I have never actually spun in company before, let alone in public, so I was rather more than a trifle nervous about it. But it was OK - I managed to pretend I was an expert, and none of the visitors knew the difference.

It turned out to be quite fun - one of the spinners went out to get a sandwich, and bumped into a coach-load of tourists coming out of the Bishop's palace, and told them they really shouldn't miss this wonderful and exciting exhibition. They all crowded in, providing the busiest twenty minutes of the day. Some spinners from Yorkshire called in, on a visit to a local friend, and lots of people who came into the library saw what was going on, and dropped in to have a look.

While there, I noticed a poster advertising a gig by Vin Garbutt the following night, so DH and I went along to hear him. The last time I heard him sing live was probably about 1980, so it was really good to hear him again - especially in the light of his health problems of last year. Mind you, his heart operation and subsequent complications gave him a wonderful amount of material for his patter between songs - particularly good were the bits about his conversations with the doctors.

Vin isn't a singer who gets airplay on the BBC - he says it's because his songs are too long, but it just might be that anyone from further South than Doncaster probably wouldn't be able to understand his Teesside accent. Excellent songs, though, and a really entertaining performance.