Our electricity was off for three and a half days, leaving us bumbling around the house by the light of battery-powered fairy lights and candles. Luckily we are quite used to losing power in bad weather here in the countryside, and we have a log burner and an open fire so we are warm and cosy (if we can get near the fires for cats..).
The garden fruit in the freezer was starting to defrost after three days though, so I ended up making gallons of jam by candlelight. Happily the hob is powered by calor gas! Blackout jam (blackcurrant, raspberry and blackberry) turns out to be delicious, and we have plenty to give away to friends.
We were with friends on Christmas day, and on boxing day we visited the Weald and Downland Museum, where the historic buildings were all decorated in period festive style. Very atmospheric, with the candlelight, the holly and ivy and the tables set for the feast... not so very different from chez Molebags (apart from the stuffed pigs head)..
Living by candlelight, even for just a few days, made me think of all the (mostly) women who made beautiful patchwork or lace, or even just darned their husband's woolly underwear in very low light, and probably after a day spent in the fields or bashing the washing on a rock. How spoilt we are, with our modern conveniences. Mr P was as happy as a dog with two tails, pedalling away on his pole lathe in the gloom, and chopping the logs in the rain- he says he was born into the wrong century, and I wouldn't mind going back a few hundred years too, although I'd like to take modern medical advances with me to the dark ages!
So as I'm not used to medieval light levels there was not as much time for creativity as I would have liked, although I am still slightly obsessed with making fabric beads. You can see some of them, and some of my zipped purses too, in the lovely shop 'Handmade Happiness' in Petersfield:
http://jenny-handmadehappiness.blogspot.co.uk/
Having spent several years of my childhood without electricity or even mains water in the house I know which bits of the dark ages I would and wouldn't want to revisit! However I do feel that like Mr P I was born in the wrong age and to go back a bit might be good though I would want to take my washing machine with me! Love the beads and your jam sounds really delicious. Glad the fruit didn't go to waste and I heard about you making it by candle light from our mutual friend!
ReplyDeleteI wonder what your jam is like in a lovely soft yummy sponge cake..........................:)
ReplyDeletemmm I think its our duty to find out...... C x
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