BOGUK Culture Vulture - Theatre

This is the specific theatre one, bizarrely it has ended up being easier to complete than the Musical Theatre one, but I’m sure that will follow soon…

Still, onto the Theatre.

Contrasting Styles

Show 1: The Spitfire Patrol

This was a performance by a young company, The Garrett Theatre. It was to a select audience at the Foxlease Heritage Week, performed in Devon. So a very informal location but a brilliant production. It had been written by a company member, who is a leader in Girlguiding, and used the archives at Foxlease to write this show. I hope to see the company in theatres one day, they have the talent, skill, and capability.

Show 2: The Box of Delights

This was a production by the RSC at their theatre in Stratford-on-Avon. This show surprised me in good ways. The used the thrust stage, and especially the pathways through the audience. The set was almost minimal, but they made good use of what there is. There was quite a bit of projection used for backdrops. There was section I had expected to be projected, which actually turned out to be some amazing puppetry. In fact all the puppetry they used was wonderful, and I was pleased with the approach.

Focus

Whilst I was visiting the Stratford-On-Avon RSC theatres, I took the chance to visit “The Play’s The Thing” exhibition of costumes. I could easily see the influence of the curating team in the choices made of costumes to display. I enjoyed following it through both the history aspects, and the use of different materials for effects, and how different companies followed through with different designs.

Go Deeper

This was the harder part of this challenge, and I found myself focussing on the Box of Delights. I grew up watching the BBC adaptation regularly, so know a version of the story very well. But, I had never read the book. So I did. I actually started by reading the Midnight Folk, which comes first. That was a weird read. But, it set the scene nicely, and cleared up some of the items that made no sense in the sequel. I went on to read the Box of Delights and found it a lovely read. The adaptation I knew so well was an excellent one. What I loved in it was finding a carol, or more likely a poem that reads like one, and I so want to hear it sung with a tune. I went on to read the play text for the stage adaptation, which was slightly different to the version I saw, but the only way that stuck out to me was the use of Welsh in one place. It also included a copy of an article that Piers Torday had written in The Guardian when he first adapted it for Wilton’s Music Hall (https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2017/nov/30/long-before-harry-potter-the-box-of-delights-remade-childrens-fantasy). So I’ve gone deeper by reading around and learning more, including a bit more about John Masefield. I may even try to read more of his poetry.

BOGUK Challenge 2023

Personal Challenge

I’ve undertaken a few personal challenges this year and some are ongoing. My aim was to improve my pacing, for various reasons it has turned out. I’m still working on that, but I’m getting better at setting suitable boundaries. I’m not going into details on a page like this, but I have conquered a good number of challenges, and if you know me, you know that this has been done.

Personal Achievement

I’ve completed a couple of  BOGUK badges this year, Gets Needled and Web Designer.

Develop in Guiding

I feel that I did a few things for this, but as I attended it in the end, I’m actually going to count attending the Developing You training at Foxlease in November. 

Optional Clauses

Session with the WAGGGS Thinking Day 2023 materiel

I ran a session for my Guides using this.

Complete the Trefoil 80th Challenge

I undertook this via a mix of things with my Guides, the Guild I’m in, and a few bits on my own. 

Visit a TAC or World Centre

In the end I visited Waddow, and spent more time at Foxlease than I had intended. But then, it turns out I’m going to have fewer chances in 2024 than I had originally planned. I did visit Pax Lodge as well.

Visit a museum/gallery/exhibition

I made a specific effort to visit both the real life and virtual art galleries related to Eastercon this year. These had a mixture of items for sale and just for show, made by professionals and amateurs. There was sculpture, jewellery, textiles, art in various media… it was interesting to see a different kind of exhibition to the ones I usually visit.

Make Something useful out of items that would otherwise be thrown away

I intend to make some more, but I made a coaster using a quilt-as-you-go technique and some fabric that might not get thrown away by folks trying to be green, but was barely large enough for most people to want to keep.

BOGUK the Web Designer

In my usual mode, I'm writing up my BOGUK badge in a blog post, this blog is not the website for this badge.

Clause 1

I have dutifully followed that link, and feel it falls readily into best practice. For the other licenses I kept it to Google, using https://creativecommons.org/ to ensure I was up to date in my attempts to keep this in place. Generally the images used on the site are applicable to the organisation in question, either directly or indirectly, or have licenses that allow free use. Should I be made aware of any infringements, I will remove the item as soon as possible. One specific item that I trued to be sure of was the tartan, the information on https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/copyright implied that it is usable.

Clause 2

The site in question was an overhaul of https://www.foxleasesingingcircle.org.uk/index.html, and whilst it was only announced obviously in April, it had gone live prior to that. I had been maintain the previous site as best I could fir about a year. I had limited options for host etc. as this was an update. But, as it is now in HTML and a tiny bit of JavaScript I was able to have enough control to keep me happy. When I resurrected a Web space for the BOGUK badges, I used WordPress for ease. Given that I do maintain sites, I know that updates can be infrequent. I'm hoping that that experience will provide a little understanding for the three months maintenance aspect, and that I have proven my consistency at this well enough. Otherwise, it will just mean I consider this done in 3 months.

Optional Clauses

Clause 4

Being a programmer using HTML is an obvious option for me. Most of the site is in simple HTML, however I also use it heavily on the BOGUK badge site. The HTML there allows for the lists to behave in a way the WordPress interface doesn't let me. 

Clause 5

A page of links was kind of a given for that kind of site. Whilst adding links isn't necessarily hard for me, choosing which to retain, which to add, and which to remove was a challenge. The links for email addresses are all appropriate as well. Possibly of greater challenge to me was the use of links for items such as CSS (content style sheets) and java libraries. This improved the options immensely for making the site behave as I wanted. The font site used for the icons was also a wonderful find.

Clause 12

I'm keen on at least trying to ensure accessibility at least somewhat. Using https://wave.webaim.org/ it is easy to check individual pages for certain levels of accessibility. It told me that I was missing a language tag, which is considered an error. I went through and added that tag to each page. All images have alternative text tags. A slightly more subtle consideration is the background colour, which isn't white, but just off it towards Blue, which ensures a reasonable contrast, making it easier for neuro-diverse individuals to read it. 

Clause 13

This kind of extra item is exactly where I thrive. Using external JavaScript libraries I was able to not only use some fancy icons, I was able to create the dropdown menus. Less direct for me was the desire to embed aspects of html in various pages, and the use if JavaScript, meant I could not build pages and test them simply, as those behaviours just don't work. A little on-line research and I realised that I could use the web server in Python to serve them locally and view and test things that way. 

Clause 14

I'm aware that this is almost an extra clause, but the links and programming are both somewhat intertwined, and so adding this in shows at least some extra consideration. I've used the WordPress interface to create Web pages, and find myself fighting it more than anything else. I had a look at some other tools that may help, especially in relation to things like the use of CSS, notably I looked Canva and nicepage. I did not get on with either. In the case of all of these the user interface which would be of benefit to those with limited skills were hampering me in creating what I wanted to do. I quickly ended up in Notepad++, it's a simple text editor in some ways, but having told it that the files are html, it will then offer at least limited auto-completion giving me just enough focus to create the pages easily.

BOGUK gets Needled

I started this badge a few times, but have finally done enough to call it finished, I think. It's slightly heavy on the Christmas theme, but I hope that doesn't matter. I did the following clauses:

Clause 4 - Embroidered a sampler, card, picture or similar using counted cross stitch.

This little bear was a kit on a magazine, and it isn't obvious but the snow flakes and parts of the scarf use a metallic thread. It was an interesting challenge getting it situated to the cut out, but I'm quite pleased that I managed it.

Clause 5 - Embroider a sampler, card, picture or similar using blackwork embroidery.

This is about 8x8 inches, and I do love the art deco effect that it has. It's one of my favourite things about blackwork, that particular aesthetic is a common one for this style of embroidery.

Clause 6 - Embroider a sampler, card, picture or similar using Hardanger embroidery.

This was new to me, and I found it quite hard to do the cutting, and it has ended up looking a little tatty on the edges. I don't think I'll be taking this up as a style of embroidery, but I enjoyed this taster.

Clause 7 - Embroider a sampler, card, picture or similar that incorporates beadwork.

Whilst I've done things with beadwork before, I did get to try something new with the perforated paper this is worked on. Although the tiniest beads which have a full cross stitch through them were a bit of a pain, and not all of them could fit the needle through twice. Luckily the kit came with plenty of beads.

Clause ? - Embroider a sampler, card, picture or similar using Sashiko embroidery.

This Japanese embroidery technique was new to me, and whilst it isn't an existing clause, I'm sure this should count, as this is a completely different style to anything else I had done. The fabric is folded onto the needle and then it is stretched out to give the running stitch. I've fallen in love with this technique from the portability point of view, as the traditional fabric for this is so forgiving of being folded, screwed up and generally treated badly, and it turns out good at the end. Expect to see more of this from me in the future.

BOGUK in Stitches

 This is going to be a hard one to write up, especially as I know I don’t have the photos to show some of it.

Clause 1

I have just finished adding my 2019 badges to my blanket, and I need to sort out my next one now. I’ve added plenty of badges, with different styles of adding. From my usual behaviour for badges, to blanket stitching on shaped ones, and just some stitches to hold on ones that were sticky backed. I was really annoyed by one sticky badge, it gunked the needle so quickly I could only do about 2 stitches before needing to clean it off. Luckily, the hand gel I used cleaned the needle quickly and easily. Although the photos are a mix of 2019 and 2018.

It’s been a while since I’ve sewn on any buttons to anything, but then, I had a habit of sewing 4-hole ones on so well that the button went instead of the thread. Eventually I learned to be looser in the stitching, and in my wrapping behind the button. Usually I go for about three or five iterations of going though holes and then wrapping, depending on he number of holes, quality of thread, position of the button etc. It’s been so long since I’ve seen or needed to sew on a button, I have no photos.

Clause 2

I now have two sewing machines, one decent singer, and one light and easily carried which will even run off batteries. Both are similar, but different, and similar to the ones I knew best in the past.

Both have the ability to wind a bobbin with a simple switch. For the decent one, the bobbin threaded into a holder and put under the foot from the front. The other loads down rather than from the front.

Needles are replaced by undoing the appropriate screw and changing it over, I’ve done this on the decent one, I’ve not used the portable one enough yet to need to do so. Feet these days are all generally easy change, and you just clip them in and out. It’s even more fun figuring out which foot to use for what…

Both have pedals to control the speed, and so I use the pedals (the portable one doesn’t have to use the pedal), and reversing is done at a touch of the appropriate button.

Tension and thread length are easily altered on both, by moving dials to the appropriate places. The available variations are far more limited on the portable one.

The one thing that is true for any sewing machine, is to read the manual, all this information is usually there.

Clause 3

The main difference is simply the source of the fibre, and the types of fibres available now are so varied. If you want something for warmth then wool is a good bet, with some natural wools being softer than others, and some synthetic wools being easier to work. Natural fibres tend to be woven, and less stretchy in the basic weave. Where weaves are looser, then heat (either for the water or drying temperature) can shrink an article, which is why you should prewash items such as cottons before using them. Synthetics are often stretchier. However, laundering is at least slightly nuanced based on the material and the weave, however, in a simple approach, natural fibres should be washed cool and dried in air, whilst manmade items can be washed hot and dried mechanically.

Theoretically you can use whatever you like to make anything, but that often isn’t a wise approach for practicality. Underwear made from Welsh wool would not strike me as a good idea, it was itchy enough as a school tie. However, a woven polyamide may be smooth and comfy against the skin, but it would make an awful coat. If making a dance costume, something with a lot of elastane is usually a good choice, especially if it stretches in both directions. Choosing the right fabric will always depend on the garment usage, as well as wether it needs to be waterproof, how it needs to drape or flow. It can also be useful to consider the needs of the person wearing it, as some people can react to some fabrics.

Thread and findings usually need to match in specific ways. It’s always good to match colours, but it is also important to match elasticity. Using a rigid thread with elastic fabric will lose the benefit of the elasticity to some extent, and the fabric will pull away from it potentially. An elastic thread will not hold a rigid fabric well enough, and again the seams will not behave correctly.

Optional Clauses

Clause 4

I used a pattern to make my campfire robe. I’ve started adding badges, but having cut it and sewn it (with arms, hood, and yoke), I then blanket stitched the edges, and added a clasp, and some ties that would allow me to keep the sleeves away from my hands if I need to.

Clause 10

I made a set of Christmas decorations and gave them to friends and family using English Paper Piecing patchwork techniques, the only thing I didn’t do was remove the ‘paper’ in the middle, in fact I used card to create something rigid as they were meant to be tree decorations. I did some ‘fussy’ cutting to get one patch as I wanted it, and got some definite compliments for the quality of my stitching from some folks.

Clause 12

I hope it counts, but I did make a number of masks in various patterns, which were very useful over the last few years, and a little more complicated than a cushion cover.

If anyone has any doubts about any of the optional clauses, then maybe the bunting I made for the Foxlease Centenary makes up for it. This was hand sewn, as that seemed the best bet with the electronics!