I don’t remember getting this mug, but I do remember my parents telling me the potter didn’t have a ‘Mary’ and had to make one. ‘Mary’ was already waning in popularity when I was born, whereas Sarah – the most popular girl’s name in New Zealand between 1954 and 2017 – was on the rise …
I’ve had this little cat since the 1970s. I think it came from the Van Helden Gallery in Days Bay, across the harbour from Wellington. I remember going to the gallery on family holidays, and again when I was visiting Wellington while I was at university in Palmerston North. I’m amazed the gallery is still …
Most years there’s a yarn festival at Farnham Maltings, called Unravel. I went in 2018 and 2019, and in 2020 it was pretty much the last thing I did before lockdown made it impossible to do things. It’s fun to go to Farnham on the train, because the carriages are full of people in handmade …