A pretty good day. I got around the garden, and embarked on the underarm decreases of wee Hamish's Calcutta Cup vest, next to the steeks. I thought perhaps what I might do this evening is the arithmetic: how wide do I want the shoulders to be at the end, allowing for ribbing at both neck and sleeve-hole? How many stitches on each side does that amount to? When do I start the neck steek, and how fast do I decrease thereafter? But I�ve just discovered that a new Americast is up, and it�s about Prince Andrew. So perhaps I�ll actually knit this evening, while I listen to it. One more round couldn�t hurt. One of the Americast regulars is Emily Maitlis who conducted the infamous interview with Prince Andrew.

 

What a delicious start to the year, to have Boris and Prince Andrew and Novak Djokovic all providing us gossip-lovers with cliff-hangers, all at once!

 

I kept getting into trouble with the stitch pattern this morning, and having to frog a few stitches. Maybe I�ve lost my touch � maybe Alexander�s Calcutta Cup vest will be my last great Fair Isle.

 I can�t even read the year on this photograph (we�ve won so often lately!) but could no doubt work it out. 2018, perhaps? 2019 was a draw � that was a scarf for Thomas Miles. I�m sort of sorry I didn�t see the cup on the Antiques Roadshow, Shandy. But I have seen the real thing, when I went on a tour of Murrayfield (the Scottish rugby ground) with C. and her son-in-law Manaba (Hamish�s father, a keen rugby player and follower). And it�s worth seeing.

 

I�ve promised leg warmers for 2021, as well as Hamish�s vest. I�ve bought the kit from Jamieson & Smith, and at present writing have lost the pattern. However, I�m sure that�s not serious. The recipient � we�ll call her J. � is full-grown so there�s not such a hurry. Hamish has to have his vest in time for this year�s match, in about three weeks from now.