J & J Cash and Serendipity

On the day Lizzie and I ventured out to Coventry, we were somehow funnelled into the market. Being new to Coventry I have yet to get my bearings, but was pleased to show off the exotic fruit and veg available. Before we could get to that part of the market, Lizzie was drawn to a Vintage bric a brac shop. After less than 5 minutes, we both were drawn to a picture of a Cardinal by J & J Cash. I had already shown Lizzie my Cash pictures back home and one of the purposes of our visit to Coventry was to go and see the ribbons and pictures at the Herbert Museum.

Lizzie is an excellent shopper and she soon picked out the best of the two similar Cardinal silk pictures. The amazing thing was that the last picture she had taken in Mauritius in Aunty Phyllis's garden was of a cardinal, which she called up on her camera to show me there in the market. In the Cash woven silk picture, the cardinal is shown perched on a branch of honey suckle, and we wondered whether honeysuckle exists in any of the normal Cardinal habitats, or whether the juxtaposition is a figment of some English designer's imagination.

Using her excellent talent for bartering, a reduced price of £8.00 was agreed. Lizzie was triumphant and we could not think of a better present for her to take back to Aunty Phyllis. Our mother had had some lovely very large woven Chinese silk pictures which granny Teckkam had given her many years ago, which we returned so that Aunty Phyllis's two daughters can enjoy their heritage. Maybe it is because of those beautiful Chinese silk pictures which hung on my mother's walls, that I am now drawn to these. However I think my enjoyment is based on the appreciation of the skill of the designers and craftsmen and women who made these. When in Italy I have often noted how they are so proud of their silk weavers.....its about time we do the same for the Coventry Silk Weavers.

Hearing from a well loved friend

This friend I feel I have known fore ever. It is an honour to call her Aunty.

Like my mother and a number of English Women, Aunty P left England to settle in a very far off land, with her Mauritian husband in the early fifties. This was before the days of easy or affordable plane flights, and after Suez was closed, the sea passage via South Africa took several weeks, there were no emails and cheap phone calls.

I received an email from Aunty P containing a 'blessing' . It originated in the form of a round Robin . What I liked was that it started with:
Remember to make a wish before you read this.

The bit about sending it on to x number of people did not really appeal to me. I'm one of these people where many of these pyramid type things grinds to a halt! Having thought what a lovely blessing this was, I have decided to write this out here, and many more people than x may read this , but they will not necessarily feel that they have to do anything further.


Remember to make a wish before you read this:

May today be there peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.
May you use the gifts you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content with yourself just the way you are.
Let this knowledge settle in your bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and everyone of us.


Aunty P, and many other women like her and my mum, had met up with their husbands and then went out to settle, and bring up their families in Mauritius. These Mauritian men, many of them having volunteered and fought alongside the British Army during WW II, afterwards studied in fields of their choice. Younger men than my father had to wait until after the war to start on the foreign studies.

Afterwards, many of them wanted to return home and contribute to their home land. They returned with their British Wives, yes I remember English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh and  Channel Island 'Aunties'. Like my father, many of these young men were the cream of the students for their years, having won scholarships to study at overseas Universities. Mauritians really value education, and today Mauritius has an excellent University, but still parents sends their children to study abroad, making great sacrifices to pay for their children's education.