It is hard to believe or maybe not, but it is about a year since all this Covid business began plaguing our lives. I am still amazed that during February last year I visited my daughter in London who had just returned from the French Alps! We travelled around on the buses and Tube, and then spent nearly three hours sat amongst a tightly packed, full-house to see Cyrano de Bergerac in a traditionally ‘cosy’ West End theatre. I am going hot and cold just writing about it.
A year on, another February and another Valentine’s Day, but this time it will be a first. It will be the first Valentine’s Day in the middle of a lockdown. Over 10 million folk in the UK have already been jabbed with one kind of vaccine or another and some lucky people have even had the two required doses. Even so, it won’t be a Valentine’s Day of restaurant visits or theatre treats. And, despite my father being fully vaccinated, there will be no birthday trips (he’s a Valentine’s baby) to the opera or even up the road for a concert at Snape Maltings. All closed.
As an alternative to those standard treats, I expect some people will turn to the Internet looking for a special gift. I have read in the British press and heard on the radio and television that the pandemic has accelerated the decline of many High Street stores as more and more of us have become familiar and comfortable shopping online. What is bad news for some is inevitable good news for others and I have definitely benefited with more visits and sales from my online business.
In fact this week I have just sent one of my scarves to Canada. I think receiving the gift of a silk scarf is a romantic gesture, but I am not sure how I’d feel about being given a silk face mask for Valentine’s though! Is that a maybe or a definite no? I am not sure.
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Agnes Ashe 
Great scarves. I feel like you I had a big family birthday party on March 8th in a London restaurant. Family came from all over, weren’t we lucky to get away with it!
Absolutely. Lucky indeed. As we now know it was already in circulation and spreading.
Oh, I’d happily receive one of your face masks as a gift! Someone who loves me enough to want to protect others from my possible noxiousness while having some protection myself? What’s not to like?
Oh that’s a great way of seeing it. Positive and caring as opposed to purely functional. I really must work on my lockdown attitude – too much time spent in my own world.
Love your long scarves, I must visit your website again
Thank you. 😁 open all hours and all visitors welcome.
😊
You sum the year up Agnes, some win, some lose and everyone has had to accept change. The Australian Open tennis is about to begin here in Melbourne and a security guard at the players hotel has tested positive. People are edgy and no-one is talking about Valentine unfortunately.
Yes, it’s been all over the sports pages here in the UK and I guess the Tokyo Olympics people are keeping a close watch on how it’s all being handled as well. All very worrying for Victorians. It would be awful if it gets out into the wider community again. Keep safe.
If I got one of your masks I would think it a real Valentine. Love shows itself in many ways!
That’s a positive and kind way of looking at the life we’re leading at present. I do know that a few of my sales, especially leading up to Christmas, were people buying masks for gifts. You’ve made me pause and think, it is a version of sharing the love isn’t it.
Yes. Because taking care of the persons you love is …love!
I concur with all the above comments. It’s me who keeps checking your shop and I expect to use my “code” before the end of March 🙂
😊 thank you. As this is the first time I’ve done the code thing my daughter insisted on testing it out to see it all worked correctly. I knew it was probably her as I could see on my analytics that somebody in London had something in their basket. I messaged her and she said yes just checking. 🙄 From that you can probably guess I am a multimillion pounds business.😉
Ha ha! I will cheekily enquire if there are any more large squares in the pipeline …?
Mmm there isn’t anything imminent although I have just finished a long ‘vine scroll’ design as yet not steamed. I don’t have enough larger pieces ready to run my big steamer at the moment. My next scarf will be a 90 x 90, I do have a design idea, but not a colour combination as yet. I await my or any muse!!