Notes from the North

I t was while I was sewing buttons onto the cardigan I had just finished knitting that I found myself thinking about basic mending jobs I learnt as a child. I was taught the ‘correct’ way to sew on buttons while a Brownie. It was a task you had to perform satisfactorily to earn one of those badges that went on the sleeve of your uniform. I don’t suppose there’s a badge for button-sewing in today’s Brownie world or that you have to swear to ‘ do your duty to God and the Queen and help other people every day, especially those at home ’, the pledge I parroted out quite happily - like the daily recitation of ‘ our Father which art in Heaven ’ in school assembly - without ever wondering what doing my duty to God or the Queen might require of me. There’s no difficulty finding buttons in charity shops. All you need is the patience and time to sift through the boxes, but when I asked at the Salvation Army shop if they had any knitting needles for sale I was told they do but they don’t put them...