We left Wednesday night for London, and met up with Thomas' family at the Stanstead airport. There were so many of us, we had to rent two cars to fit us all in, and then drove (I didn't drive, I don't do left-side traffic) almost the entire night to get to Worksop, which is located just at the edges of the Sherwood Forest (you know, where Robin Hood lived). It was a good flight, with no turbulence whatsoever, and it took us less than two hours from Nyköping (where we flew from) to London. I have to warn you about this fairly long post: I forgot my camera, so there will be no photos from England this time!
On Thursday we just walked around the center of Worksop, doing some window shopping and just spending time with the family. They all live in Borås (where both me and Thomas grew up), so we don't see them very often. Thomas has four brothers, so we had a really nice time. I found two knitting magazines that managed to come home with me too:
Then on Wednesday evening it was time for me to meet the english side of the family for the first time. I've only ever met Thomas' grandmother before, so there were LOTS of new faces for me! I have to say though that they were incredibly welcoming, and treated me like one in the family from the beginning. And despite this being a very sad occasion, they were all so nice and happy to meet me too. We had dinner at a local pub, and then went back to Nanna's favourite pub to have a few drinks and just chat some together.
And blogger insists on turning this photo around! The magazines are The knitter, issue 23 and Yarn Forward, Issue 29
Then on Friday we went to the funeral service, which was really beautiful, and afterwards we all went back to Nanna's pub to have a proper, english wake. Now, here in Sweden when you go to a funeral, you are often invited back to the family's place for some coffee and a bit of quiet get-together. In England, all the family and friends get together to celebrate the life of the deceased, with a proper sending-off. There were lots of good finger-food, and lots and lots of beer and laughter. I think this version of mourning was so much nicer, I could practically see Nanna sitting in one corner and just enjoying the whole thing. Sure the laughter was intersperced with some tears as well, but that's just to be expected. It was just a blast, and I even ended up singing some Karaoke ( sang Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow)! I only felt sorry that I had to meet all of these incredibly nice people under these sad circumstances. We swapped e-mail adresses with all of Thomas' cousins, and we'll definitely not wait another ten years until we go back again. Hopefully we can afford to visit a few days next summer!
Yesterday we flew back to Sweden, I think we were home at about 22.30 after a whole day of travelling. It's good to be back home with Hobbe! My sister has been taking care of him, and she's done a good job, but I think he hates being alone for so long a period (my sister is working during the days, and has two cats of her own to take care of, so she didn't live here with him). He seemed very happy to see us yesterday, and spoke to us all night (I think he was telling us about his weekend :).
And are you wondering about the knitting needles and the plane? It was a complete success! When we arrived at the security check-in at Skavsta (the swedish airport we flew from) I pulled up my knitting bag and asked if I could take my knitting with me. The security guy (who was a big, muscular guy of about 40 years or so) then asked me if the needles where thinner than size 12 (mm)? So he had obviously gotten that question before, and knew enough about knitting to know the needle sizes! My needles were 3 mmm, so they were fine! I've knitted a lot during the weekend, at the pub and so (although not on Friday, somehow it seemed inappropriate to bring knitting to a wake), and I've already finished a whole sock!
I cast on on Tuesday night, before we left, and finally decided on the St Hyacinthe socks. They are part of a set of ten sock patterns that I bought a while ago, and they are great! I learned the pattern by heart really fast, but the patterning is still tricky enough to keep me interested. The yarn I've used is Drops Fabel, from Garnstudio, and even though it's really cheap sock yarn, I really really enjoy knitting with it. I like the striping, and some time in about two weeks they are coming out with solid colours of this yarn as well. Yay! I won't buy any until after the USA trip this Spring (unless I find some cheap at the Sewing Festival in Borås on the 25th of September), but it's nice to know that it's there.
Oh, and I have to tell you about all the gluten free food I found in England! Apparently it's becoming more and more common over there too, and on Thursday we went to the supermarket (Sainsbury's) since the younger brothers wanted to buy some crisps. They had so many different cakes and cookies! I ended up buying a few kinds, in the hopes that I would be allowed to bring it on the plane with me (we didn't bring any check-in luggage, only carry-on). And it was ok! So I've spent today on the couch, knitting on my sock and eating jam tarts. I think I'll have to find a connection in England who'd be willing to send me some by mail!
Now me and Thomas are going to watch the last episode of Pillars of the Earth, a british mini series based on the book by Ken Follet. If you like history, and you haven't seen this one, I really recommend it! It follows the book pretty well, and there are some great, unknown (to me) actors in it.
Good night until next time!
/ Jenny
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