Jubilee Swap Results

Tags: Friends, happy things, Blogging Friends

Date: 19 June 2012 18:48:07

Yesterday I got home and found a parcel from the distant shores of Australia waiting for me - my Jubilee Swap Parcel had arrived! This was organised by Faith, Hope & Charity Shopping and came from Pauleen, over in the North of Australia. Her blog hangs out at Tropical Territory and she has some beautiful photography on there.

I'd not had a brilliant day so wasn't in the mood to open presents as soon as I got home. However, later on that evening I found a quiet time and gave myself a treat. What a bundle of goodies I received:

Here are all the little packages, wrapped up in white tissue paper (which Bib loves playing with) and beautiful red and blue sparkly ribbons and sequins. I will be able to use them for card making later on. There's a post card of a splendidly patriotic Rosella parrot, all red and blue, a vinyl cut print by an emerging Australian artist, Tess Barker. If you scroll down on this site you can see some of her work...it is very striking.

So I opened my packages, one by one. First there was this brooch

This was made by somebody who had opened her garden to the public, and Pauleen had taken some beautiful photographs of this "open garden in the bush". I think the brooch will go well on my Ghanaian hat which Rose, my globetrotting niece, gave me after her trip to Ghana with Operation Raleigh.

Next I opened another flat package, which contained this sweet little embroidery of a Koala, peering over an Australian flag and clutching what I presume is a wattle:

This is the wattle, The emblem of our land; You can stick it in a bottle. Or hold it on your hand.

(See the Monty Python "Bruce" sketch here if you would like to see where that came from...it's not particularly offensive...but it does take the p*ss out of Australians a little...so don't watch it if you're easily offended! And I hope I don't offend anyone by linking to it - it's only for the poem - honest!)

I've just found out that wattle is another name for Mimosa - which is abundant in the south of France too.

Paullen embroidered this dinky little picture herself:

Then came a floppy little package which contained a beautiful silk scarf, with the most colourful and cheerful cats on it. The colour combinations are so vibrant they evoke what I imagine to be the tropical colours that Pauleen sees every day. Look! Isn't it gorgeous:

Then, I was intruiged by a rather knobbly parcel. When I opened it there was a crocodile cookie cutter! Apparently, crocodiles are one of the reasons people can't swim in the sea off Darwin...I didn't imagine that crocs would be a danger in the ocean as well as in the rivers. Tourists apparently love the crocs, but I guess the residents aren't so enamoured! Here is a picture of a salt water crocodile - he looks a distinctly fearsome beast!

My cookie cutter crocodile looks much jollier!

And then, finally, there was a handy bag for carrying stuff. This had a distinct Jubilee theme, with a picture of Her Maj when she visited Papua New Guinea in 1974 - but not any photo. No, this was one Pauleen had taken herself!

The text translates from Pidgin as " the Queen came to Goroko, Papua New Guinea, February 1974. She saw many warriors" ( "Misis Quinn" being the name given to Her Maj - Mrs Queen!)

There was also a very smart pen slipped in the envelope, with Pauleen's blogsite address (there's posh!) on it, and a beautiful card with one of her photographs. I have been very lucky to receive such a brilliant parcel from a generous lady. Thank you so much, Pauleen! Thank you to F,H&CS too, for organising the swap. I hope other people had as lovely a time as I did.

I took photos of what I sent to Pauleen, but I won't post them yet - I don't want to spoil the surprise...though I can't help feeling I did better out of the deal than she did!