One-off Challenge 26: Make A Banner For Processions
This post is being written a couple of days early (Thursday), as we're away up to visit my mum (she of the thank you cards challenge) for the weekend. Thus, any long term updates are as of Thursday the 7th.
Challenge accepted.
Now, it should be noted that I'm not the most crafty person in the world. Even given my new found enjoyment of drawing, I'd still rather describe something than make it. Plus, I might have forgotten exactly when the Processions march was (I thought it was July), so this challenge is both outside my comfort zone AND time pressured! Woo.
Firstly, rough design. Due to laziness, I went for the easiest option, a pennant. (A triangular flag longer than it is tall.) I also opted for a fairly simple design of green background, purple edging and white lettering. Because I forgot to order my materials in time, though, I ended up with what was available from Amazon Prime, resulting in a green-with-white-dots background coupled with what was left over in our craft cupboard, resulting in a purple felt edging made of scraps. My lettering was made of white card. The entire thing is held together with about half a ton of hot glue. (All craft projects in our house must involve copious quantities of hot glue. It's the law.)
The biggest question, for me at least, though, was what to write on the pennant. The Processions website suggests a single word, either with political (e.g. "Votes") or personal meaning (such as a woman's name). I went for "*&$%^$£!".
What's that? That's not a word? You're right. It's not. I did pick a word, but I picked a political word. Of national political importance. Which, as a civil servant, matters.
Digression time. The civil service in the UK is politically neutral. We're a professional civil service. When governments change, we don't. This prevents some of the paralysis you see in systems with a partisan civil service after elections (cf. the USA.). It does mean that British civil servants of a certain grade are expected to be circumspect in their politics. It might be hard to command the confidence of ministers if you've just been trashing them on Facebook. Thus I'm pretty careful about what I post these days. (If you've ever wondered why my feed is so apolitical when I'm not, that's why. We're allowed to have opinions, just not to go on about them in a public forum.) I dout anyone would ever actually care, but I make it a rule in life not to give my employer a cast iron reason to fire me if they choose to do so.
The upshot of all this is that I'm not actually posting what I put on the pennant. If you really care, you can ask me next time we meet.
Challenge complete.
Long-term updates
This challenge is courtesy of...
Lindsay Law, who provided a lot of suggestions, although not quite as many as Andy. Expect to see her name here again, too.The challenge
It is 100 years since (some) women won the right to vote in the UK. To mark the centenary, a host of events, commemorations and programmes are going on across the year. One of these is a co-ordinated, women only series of marches called Processions. The Processions marches are happening on 10 June (hence the early blog post), with one in Edinburgh. While men aren't allowed at the march, Lindsay suggested I make a banner to be carried by someone more female than I.Challenge accepted.
Now, it should be noted that I'm not the most crafty person in the world. Even given my new found enjoyment of drawing, I'd still rather describe something than make it. Plus, I might have forgotten exactly when the Processions march was (I thought it was July), so this challenge is both outside my comfort zone AND time pressured! Woo.
Firstly, rough design. Due to laziness, I went for the easiest option, a pennant. (A triangular flag longer than it is tall.) I also opted for a fairly simple design of green background, purple edging and white lettering. Because I forgot to order my materials in time, though, I ended up with what was available from Amazon Prime, resulting in a green-with-white-dots background coupled with what was left over in our craft cupboard, resulting in a purple felt edging made of scraps. My lettering was made of white card. The entire thing is held together with about half a ton of hot glue. (All craft projects in our house must involve copious quantities of hot glue. It's the law.)
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| 20% cloth, 10% paper, 70% hot glue. |
What's that? That's not a word? You're right. It's not. I did pick a word, but I picked a political word. Of national political importance. Which, as a civil servant, matters.
Digression time. The civil service in the UK is politically neutral. We're a professional civil service. When governments change, we don't. This prevents some of the paralysis you see in systems with a partisan civil service after elections (cf. the USA.). It does mean that British civil servants of a certain grade are expected to be circumspect in their politics. It might be hard to command the confidence of ministers if you've just been trashing them on Facebook. Thus I'm pretty careful about what I post these days. (If you've ever wondered why my feed is so apolitical when I'm not, that's why. We're allowed to have opinions, just not to go on about them in a public forum.) I dout anyone would ever actually care, but I make it a rule in life not to give my employer a cast iron reason to fire me if they choose to do so.
The upshot of all this is that I'm not actually posting what I put on the pennant. If you really care, you can ask me next time we meet.
 |
| Yes, I actually went to the trouble of blurring it out in the photo. Tragic, isn't it? |
Challenge complete.
Will I be doing it again?
It seems unlikely, but I guess if I make it to 2118 (hey, that's only 139 years old) I'll do another pennant. Maybe I'll even reveal what's on it next time...
Long-term updates
French words "learned" (according to the memrise app):328
Daily photos taken? Yes.
Swordfighting learnt: How dagger work ties into wielding a longsword, plus how one might end up blocking with your arm. I now have bruises on my wrists.
I am currently reading: The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman.
"Cheat" days on food since last week: None.
"Cheat" days on exercise: I don't even know why I'm tracking this any more...
Favourite drawing:The view from the train near Garelochhead.
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| Choo-choo! |
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