Bartimaeus

When we left the Bosworth marina, I was wanting to thank the staff member and tell her all and gone well. I wondered if the lady who had noted our blog address down, really did look to see their photo? Someone did wave to us as we went to the town but no-one saw us drive out, except perhaps John Lennon next to us who we had to drive round (and Laurel and Hardy were across the marina too).

We had discussed the possibility of going to Cosby, as recommended by one of the knitters, yesterday. We would be nearer it if we travelled by boat for another Day. It was 30 minutes away by car but much longer away by bike and was further than we had gone ridden for a while. We made progress yesterday and revisited the prospect today. The weather forecast was a bit iffy, but had been improving a bit, so we decided to set off promptly and hope we wouldn’t get too wet.

I told myself as we went along not to think “are we nearly there yet?” I just enjoyed the fine sunshine and not be too worried about traffic ( so much faster than the boats, even the nippy canoes) or roadworks. We were directed politely by the workers to the best way around the roadworks taking place. Shane paused to adjust his saddle which was a little squint and later to check the navigation at a “peace bench”.

Before I knew it we had arrived at Cosby and it was obvious the Yarn Bombing exhibits were a big draw and very popular. It is now an annual event with different themes each year. This year’s topic was “Make a Splash”. The sea was heavily represented.

Many were sponsored by local businesses and some related to them. Many were very much children themed but not all. The Rainbow Fish was opposite the Rainbow of Fish, on the Butcher Shop.

We had a bit of a break for a coffee and cake/ scone. We noticed tote bags and teatowels on the yarn theme for sale. I remembered it was the birthday of a keen knitted friend of mine and was choosing between a bag with “Knit Wit” on it or a teatowel with ALL YOU KNIT IS LOVE ❤️ on it. I asked at the counter and she went to look but unfortunately they had run out of them. Still we enjoyed our morning coffee and we did need energy for cycling back.

There was lots still to see and some things had been very well placed to add to their display. Flying birds and Ratty, Mole and Badger under the an actual Willow tree with Toad in a nearby stream. Some were amusing extras like post box or bin toppers or the shark photo booth.

I couldn’t believe the effort in the scale and cooperation but also the details included in it, like the knitted reeds the lettuce in a sandwich, the navel on the mermaid, the glistening teeth of the crocodile, the bubbles on the beer. Many were tempting for children to touch and one woman was making running repairs with a needle and thread to a little picnic scene. Most had a sign saying to not touch and some were too high to reach and I don’t know how they got them there at all.

Some people had done small displays by their houses and some were huge elaborate displays with lots to look at. What a massive community effort and signs were up to say this was a supportive way to bring the community together and how good crafting was for mental health Some also had a wider theme of environmental topics.

Some very large animals must have been hard to create but some are reused from other years with new clothes. The churches got in on the act with Biblical quotes beside their displays but some were very much based on humour and fun. Even the Queen was their relaxing with her corgis after a hectic jubilee!

I thinnk we saw most of it though it is not all here. I was glad we fitted it in. And it was fine weather throughout. We cycled back a less busy route, good for Shane finding it and as a bonus that route took us past an alpaca field to top off the wool theme.

We were back in time for lunch on the boat and had time to drive on in the afternoon so our legs can’t be doing too badly. The forecast rain did come but Shane didn’t seem to mind too much. It brightened up later and I joined him outside with my knitting.

We got moored up in a suitable place for a short drive tomorrow and watched some swallows swooping under the bridge. I’m grateful to Shane for his planning and navigating and being prepared to indulge my wool fixation and to the knitter in the marina for telling me about it.