Sammy Morris Dancers, Hobbits and Bed Rest
Well, we forgot the blog.
In fairness, it’s been a slightly odd week at Pippin’s Potions, involving Morris dancers, hobbits, an eclipse, a hospital visit, and me being put on bed rest.
So I’m claiming extenuating circumstances.
Monday: There Were Bells and Dancing.
We started the week rather splendidly with Rutland Morris at the Old Smithy on Monday evening.
And it was a lovely evening.
There is something particularly wonderful about having Morris dancers outside the Smithy. The building is old, wonky, and full of beams, and suddenly you add bells, music, and dancing outside, and the whole thing just feels right.
We had a lovely crowd come along to watch, the shop was open, and it was one of those evenings where Burley felt particularly lovely.
I sometimes have moments where I stand outside and look back at the Smithy and think, how on earth did this become my life?
Monday was one of those.
Although there were considerably more bells than usual.
Wednesday: Things Took a Turn
Wednesday was supposed to be our Lammas Eclipse Hobbit Party.
I had plans. There was food. There was cake. I had a dress picked out.
There were going to be teapots everywhere.
Unfortunately, Wednesday morning also involved me going to hospital.
Not exactly the Lammas activity I’d had in mind. But the show did go on, after all, it was a clear sky, and there was the little matter of the best solar eclipse since 1999. And the small matter of approximately 35 people expecting a Hobbit Party that evening.
Enter Lisa, Rachel, and Cerys. They took over. And honestly, they were brilliant.
They got everything ready, welcomed everyone, kept the tea flowing, and somehow managed the whole evening without me hovering around interfering.
So a massive thank you to all three of them for all their hard work. ❤️
The reports and photographs started coming in while I was at home
There were lots of familiar faces and, wonderfully, far more new people than I’d realised were coming. People had brought friends along with them, and about 35 people ended up propped up and leaning with cardboard glasses on.
They even ran out of Pippinslaw.
Clearly, nobody had explained portion control to the hobbits.
Several of the people who hadn’t visited us before said what a magical place the Old Smithy was. And that made me very happy indeed. Because that’s always been the point. Yes, Pippin’s sells things.
But the Smithy was always meant to be somewhere people could come together too. And that happened brilliantly even without me.
There Was One Consolation…
Being back at home did mean I got something I wouldn’t otherwise have had. I got to watch the eclipse with Will.
We lay outside on the sofa in the garden together and watched it happen above us.
If I’d been at the Hobbit Party, I’d almost certainly have spent the eclipse making tea, moving chairs, talking to people, and wondering where all the Pippinslaw had gone.
Instead, I got to lie there with my boy and watch the sky.
So although Wednesday didn’t go remotely according to plan, I wouldn’t swap that bit of it.
And Then Came Bed Rest.
I’ve been in bed ever since. Now, there is something everyone should probably know about me. I am dangerous when I’m bored.
Bed rest is supposed to involve resting.
Apparently, my interpretation of bed rest involves staring at photographs of the shop and deciding I could improve things.
It started innocently enough. A new wholesale enquiry. Then somehow we were discussing packaging. Then labels.
Then jars.
And before anyone could intervene, I’d decided some of the ranges needed a bit of a makeover.
I really shouldn’t be left unsupervised for this long.
So while the doors of the physical shop are temporarily closed, there is still quite a lot happening behind the scenes.
Some familiar things may look a little different when we reopen. Bottles may be changing.
There are definitely ideas brewing. It’s Yule soon don’t you know…
In my defence, you all knew what I was like.
Thank You
Finally, I want to say a huge thank you for all the love I’ve received this week.
There have been so many messages, comments, offers of help and people checking in to see how I’m doing. I’ve read them all, even if I haven’t managed to reply to everyone.
It has genuinely meant a lot.
Thank you to everyone who came to see the Morris dancers on Monday.
Thank you to everyone who came along to our slightly bonkers Lammas Eclipse Hobbit Party.
And another enormous thank you to Lisa, Rachel and Cerys, because without them Wednesday simply couldn’t have happened.
For now, I’m behaving myself.
Mostly.
The physical shop will stay closed while I recover, the website is still open, and Ask A Witch is going ahead on Friday.
In the meantime, someone should probably confiscate the internet and my packaging wholesaler.
Sammy x
