A quiet Wednesday. Walls of one kind and another. Skills ancient and modern. Pomp and circumstance.

It was very quiet in Uppermill this morning when I cycled to the market, despite the day being remarkably clement - not really remarkable for the average July but remarkable for this July which has us all switching from thick wooly jumpers to light weight teeshirts from one day to the next. One of the stall holders declared that everyone must be shopping on the internet instead of face to face. Another theory is that those who can have flown off to somewhere warmer in search of some sunshine.

It was, however, quite pleasant cycling this morning: not too hot and no rain! Always a bonus!

Here’s an odd fact: in Britain, we sometimes see wavy brick walls, called crin­kle-cran­kle walls. Apparently they require fewer bricks compared to a straight wall of the same length. Who knew? I can’t say I have ever seen them. 

Around here we mostly have dry stone walls, which are pleasingly asymmetrical and require a good deal of skill to construct them.  

Yesterday I mentioned the fact that Kirsty Wark has darning as one of her skills. Coincidentally the Guardian featured an article about how to darn socks, with a photo of the equipment you need to darn efficiently. I have a darning mushroom similar to the one in the photo. 

Mine originally belonged to my grandmother and is still used on occasion, rarely for darning socks but for mending tears and holes in other items of clothing. I didn’t know you could still buy them. Some of the darning I do is for other members of the family. Skills such as darning seem to be dying out, although I hear that knitting has made a big come-back. 

I recently read an article about the 17th century art of paper-cutting as a decorative art form. They were found amid debris at a historic house in east London that was part of what was known as “the ladies’ university” and are to go on display. Eight examples of the art form have been identified, including a hen embellished with coloured silk and a tiny folded star. They were assumed to have fallen between the floorboards about 350 years ago.

Experts believe that girls attending a school based at Sutton House in Hackney were taught the art of intricate paper-cutting and folding along with other crafts such as embroidery and needlework.

Designs were cut from books using tiny scissors, knives and pins, and then hand-coloured to use as decorations on boxes, bowls and other items.

“It’s an art form that is discussed in 17th-century domestic manuals, but there is very little material survival – only three examples from 17th-century England of which this is one,” said Isabella Rosner, an expert in modern material culture.

The girls were taught decorative arts alongside reading, writing, arithmetic, French, housekeeping, music and dancing - skills a lady might need, of course!  “They were learning to create something beautiful, and it required patience, dexterity and artistry,” Rosner said. Not a bad education on the whole, although perhaps lacking in studies of history and philosophy and such like skills that maybe were considered too taxing for female brains!

The cuttings will go on display at Sutton House until December, when they will be returned to storage as experts believe they have kept their vivid colours through not being exposed to light for so long. 

As a person who darns, enjoys painting and drawing on an amateur scale, does embroidery and has a collection of pressed flowers, souvenirs of family walks, I think I could have been a 17th century lady. Oh, and I also speak French!

The king has opened parliament today with a lot of ancient ceremony and robes. Zarah Sultana MP has tabled an amendment to the king’s speech calling on colleagues to uphold international law and suspend arms sales to Israel, but it doesn’t seem to have changed things. 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!