Seahouses (Mrs Laidlaw): Week 16 – 18 December

I went for a walk up the riverside path on Saturday, as I often do. As I sat on the stones at the end of the path, I thought of Gordon. Well, I’d been thinking of him during the walk too. I remembered the snowdrops we’d seen at a pottery in Devon. We’d gone there during one of my visits when we were courting. They covered most of the ground outside the pottery, a sight I’d not seen before – hundreds of small, white, pendant blooms amid the green sward. And I also thought of how the snowdrops are beginning to poke through the earth here, and how they bloom in the grass of the back garden in mid-late January. I hadn’t linked the memories before, or even thought of it for ages. I look forward with both joy and trepidation to their blooming next year.

By the Harbour

Which set me to thinking, where does the word ‘court’ come from? Fortunately we now have the internet. Unfortunately, it isn’t that interesting. It came into English via French and post-classical Latin in the 10th C with the sense of a group of people attached to a more powerful one, or a place where the group were. For instance, the king’s entourage or the king’s court, or a law court. As well, there was the idea of paying homage or being polite to a powerful person. Over the centuries it became a catch-all for similar concepts, with shifting senses. English started using it as a verb in the mid-16th C, including courtship and courting, where one is aiming to gain the affections of another. But ‘courtship’ and ‘courting’ are both outmoded now.

Budding Willow

More white flowers – roses, chrysanthemums, freesia, Queen Anne’s lace-type flowers, a stem of rhododendron, a lily – awaited on the doorstep when I got home. There was no card attached. This is the second bouquet of flowers, but at least the first had a card. I put it down to the kindness of strangers.

Fuzzy Sunset

In knitting news, it’s been steady but not massive progress. It’s been another busy week, with phone calls from friends and relatives, and Gordon’s employers, and meetings with celebrant and funeral director. Between this and regular walks, there hasn’t been much time to sit down and knit. But now that the Service is mostly in place, I hope to have a bit more time to progress the sleeve.

I’ll have a break next week, as it’s Christmas. Have a happy or merry Christmas, whichever you prefer, and I’ll be back in the New Year.

Nitty Gritty Details

The details for Gordon’s Celebration of Life Service have been chosen. The venue will be Nucleus: The Caithness and Nuclear Archive in Wick, where Gordon worked. The date and time are: 5 January 2024, 11 AM. Additionally, the service will be live-streamed via Zoom, and there will also be a recording for those who can’t make it ‘live’. I apologise to US readers, I know this is really early for you. When I have the link, I will update the blog, and post it on Facebook and Ravelry.