Charming...

... for Knots in the String.

Does anyone believe in good-luck charms anymore? Or have we all lost that fantasy element in our lives? That belief in a little bit of magic that can help us fight dragons and win.

‘…a physical object believed to bring good fortune, happiness, or protection from harm… Often, these charms are believed to bring positive energy or ward off negative influences… Wikipedia AI

I can only remember one charm from when I was younger – it was the tiniest doll from inside a Japanese Kokeshi. Fat, beaming and if I remember, in a green kimono. I can’t recall where I found her as I’ve not been to Japan. Perhaps she deliberately crossed my path in Hong Kong where one could find all sorts of things in the alleys and markets back in the day. There was something about her Zen smile and black painted hair – she radiated bonhomie and good fortune. She lived in handbags for years as she helped me negotiate the swings and roundabouts.

Once I had children, I didn’t have time to worry about where my good-luck charm was. It was more a question of whether the nappy bag was filled with everything we needed for a day out. And so she disappeared, never to be seen again. Just like Mary Poppins… spit-spot!

When my father became terminally ill and was admitted to a palliative care hospital, I was in the little hospital café one day and saw a shelf of tiny porcelain ‘guardian angels’. I immediately bought one for Dad and one for myself. Dad kept his with him until the end. Mine is still with me, always sequestered in a corner of the handbag of the day. It’s a funny little thing – sweet, a corny little cherub who has done its bit through thick and thin to bring me to safety and peace. As well, there’s always my Sovereign heart – it has its own value. With a motto of ‘Strength and Stay’, I have only to hold it to feel that a challenge is not so monumental. I embroidered it the evening of the announcement that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had passed away.

Her ancestor, Queen Victoria, was not immune to the power of charms. There was always Scottish heather for good luck and protection, of course. But she was also well known for giving gold charms to those for whom she had affection – often with the hair or portrait of a loved one or even gemstones embedded in the piece. Was it then supposed to bring good fortune to its wearer? Perhaps. It certainly set off a trend – the gold charm bracelet, which is still fashionable today.

I purchased a gold charm in each of the cities I’ve visited around the world. Some need another bracelet on which to hang them. Some I wear on a long gold chain round my neck. Do they symbolise good fortune? I’m not sure beyond the fact that I travelled and lived to tell the tale. But they certainly press memory-buttons and it’s perhaps good fortune that I still have a memory.

Doing stuff besides:

Re-reading David Macallister’s Ballet Confidential to refresh behind-the-scenes info for Act III. Still waiting for medical info to return from the Sports Medicine doctor. I think I can write around it though, for the moment.

Listening to Peter Boland’s Death of A Wild Swimmer (I do love the Charity Shop Detective Agency and bravo, Fiona!) and wonder if I’m disobeying the rules of winter swimming by venturing in without a partner. None of my friends are game anymore which is a shame, and the original group has moved to a surf beach which is no good for my balance. Still, I do wear a wetsuit, boots and gloves and the endorphin rush is still phenomenal…

I’ve just finished reading Margaretta Magnussen’s The Swedish Art of Living Exuberantly. Much as I like the spirit of a woman in her 80’s, the book was more memories than anything. She lives her life to the full for sure – she’s immensely positive, but I felt the text didn’t live up to the title. That said, if I can be as lucid, humorous, active and engaged in my 80’s, I will be content.

My reading tastes have changed massively in the last couple of years. I once read nothing, absolutely nothing but hist.fict and hist.fantasy. Now I read cosy crime and contemporary fiction set in places I like, and the occasional memoir of those I respect. I wondered why the change and decided it’s all to do with the state of the world currently. There’s nothing edgy or depressing in what I now read – not even the cosy crime, and it all serves to smooth ruffled feathers. I know I will read hist fict and fantasy of my favourite authors as they publish new titles but I suspect the other genres will outweigh them. As long as the world is led by buffoons, anyway.

I’ve begun a new stitchery from What Florence Did Next – just to see how I go. It’s part one of the three part series of crowns used in the Coronation. I’m using some antique Irish linen from a tray cloth of my mother’s (saved the stunning lace edging). I always get very excited with a new piece although sometimes I pick things way beyond my paygrade. We’ll see…

The Womble and I have been busy being out and about this week. When we’re at the cottage, he and I lead a very hermit-like existence. That said, apparently he needs 18 hours sleep a day (still!) so a return to cottage life might be good for him. Possibly for this old introvert too!

And today, with husband overseas and we two having walked in the rain, whilst I had a cup of tea with a piece of fresh coffee cake (Mum’s recipe), Pupsie had a chew-stick. Indulgence for us both.

Perhaps he’s my little good-luck charm. Certainly the Late Terrier was and this chap has a way of looking at me with extraordinarily piercing amber, cinnamon and nutmeg-coloured eyes, as if he’s seeing into my mind and soul and sending me a sweet message: I’m here for you, Mum…

Music for this week? Despite that I’m not an Elvis fan, I couldn’t really go past this…