24th January
I have spent the weekend scouring the various charity shops for possibilities to make a Tudor outfit for Violet-Elizabeth’s upcoming Tudor Banquet. I am quite pleased with the results so far. I have completed the skirt part and now need to get on with the blouse and jacket as well as a head-dress I suppose. It is amazing what you can make out of bits of curtains and an old velvet skirt! Don’t run away with the idea that I am any good at all at sewing, because I am not. I think that I have said in this column before that, at school I was the only girl in the needlework class to have her A-line skirt in the same four pieces at the end of the term as at the beginning. The pieces had been sewn together and unpicked numerous times during the lessons and in the end I had to smuggle it home for Mother’s maid to complete the job or risk getting a detention.
25th January
Finished the “bat-wing” sleeves on the Tudor costume and felt very pleased with myself. Sewed some decorative gold braid around the skirt and bodice. Even sat up till 11pm to finish it.
26th January
Whilst watching Violet-Elizabeth in a school netball match this
afternoon, I thought I would take the opportunity to ascertain from other
parents just how well their Tudor costumes were coming along, and perhaps
offer some tips of my own. Imagine my discomfort then, when everybody
else at the match denied all knowledge of a Tudor Banquet.
Got home to find a phone message inviting me to a Burn’s evening at The
Crown in the Village. Spencer looked a bit envious when I told him,
but as I reminded him, it is no good joining the Basing Singers and then
missing their rehearsals every time a better offer comes up!
27th January
Did some more investigating. It seems that there definitely is a
Tudor Banquet taking place at school, and Violet-Elizabeth’s name is on the
list for it. However, the details are sketchy as to the appropriate apparel
to be worn.
Went to The Crown for a very enjoyable Burn’s evening with friends whilst
Spencer went to the Basing Singers. With the kilted piper addressing
the Haggis, it reminded me of my younger days at the family ancestral home
in the Highlands, when Burn’s night used to be quite an event.
28th January
Eventually found a parent at school who knows something about the Tudor Banquet because she has a child in the year above who did it last year. When I enquired about whether a Farthingale and Kirtle were required, I was met with a blank look, and the reply that everybody hired their outfits last year and surely I wasn’t thinking of making one?