Shall We Dance? (Before May is Over)

 

Before the month of May is over, I have to just tell you a few things that I have learned recently....

The St Bernard Waltz!  I saw this from one of my blogging friends from Yorkshire. She and her husband danced this at one of the dances that they go to, and I would gladly link you to her post, but I can't seem to find it! (Welcome to my world these days, folks.) Anyway, I found a video to show you the steps!

Are you familiar with those flat woolen caps that men wear? To my eyes, they are very flattering. I got Richard one to wear this winter! I just learned the background behind them. In 1571, there was an Act of Parliament which supposedly was to stimulate domestic wool consumption. For every male over 6 years of age, they had to wear the flat woolen cap on Sundays and all holidays. If not, they had to pay a fine.  The Act was repealed in 1597 but by then, the cap had become attached to the working-class man.

Are you worried about robots taking over everything? I was so pleased to learn this: robots CANNOT crochet! I jotted this down in my little notebook...." Unlike knitting, crochet cannot be fully automated. No machine can replicate the way a hook moves through loops. EVERY crochet piece was made by human hands, stitch by stitch.".

Do you know that I crochet? I do! I love to make things! I write so many patterns down and then, can't understand my writing and end up with something a bit wonky but hey, sometimes it works out. I make hats, scarves, blankets, phone cases, coasters, baby things, and I even like to crochet edgings on small towels! 

"You, You, You" was a song that was used on a TV show that I watch from England. It was used as a couple's favorite song during a wedding.  I could recognize that it was from Gerry & The Pacemakers but was not familiar with it. After some research, I found that it was on the B side of "Ferry Cross the Mersey"!  (Will future generations understand the term "B side"? We will have to educate them!) Anyway, Gerry Marsden was not only the singer but also the songwriter behind both of those songs! Isn't that wonderful to know? You know I think so! 

Here, you know I had to give you both songs! Sadly, Gerry Marsden died in 2021, and you all know I love songwriters in general, but I truly love them when they are such nice guys. Look him up, see if you don't agree. His "Ferry Cross the Mersey" was a number one hit in 1989 when it was released as a charity single for the Hillsborough Disaster Fund. 

June is almost upon us now and many couples get married in June (as Richard and I did!)   Did you know that in Germany the married couples tend to wear their wedding rings on their right hands, rather than the left hands? I think I read that this is also in the custom in Turkey and Russia. Is that right? Hey, don't quote me, I can't keep up with all that I research.

There is a lake in Africa and is called the "calendar lake". It is Lake Malawi and is about 350 miles long and about 52 miles wide. Now, this was an answer on Jeopardy, but when I looked it up, I found that it is also called something else, something that David Livingstone said when he saw all the lighted fishing boats on the water.... he said it was a "lake of stars".  There, isn't that nice to know. Numbers are interesting but give me a nice turn of phrase every time!

Now, shall we dance? Go back and see if you can do that dance!