I picture in my mind’s eye your mum’s fen runners hanging on a wall in your cottage.
Canadian children still learn to skate at an early age by pushing a chair and shinny is still played by my husband, at an indoor rink mostly, also known as Pick- Up hockey, because it’s an informal game usually without goalies.
That’s interesting, Elizabeth, that the game is known over there. My mum always asserted that it was invented close to her fenland village so perhaps it was emigrants from that area that introduced it originally? Who knows. As for the fen runners, it’s a nice idea to hang them on the wall when I get a bit more organised (whenever THAT may happen!) but meanwhile I pulled them out of a Victorian pine blanket box in the bathroom of all places 😆
Minus 20, wow, I can hardly imagine Elizabeth! The lowest I have known this year was when the van temperature gauge touched -4, but that was only for a moment. I actually have full central heating but I usually only use it in the mornings, relying on the wood stove in the evenings.
I picture in my mind’s eye your mum’s fen runners hanging on a wall in your cottage.
Canadian children still learn to skate at an early age by pushing a chair and shinny is still played by my husband, at an indoor rink mostly, also known as Pick- Up hockey, because it’s an informal game usually without goalies.
That’s interesting, Elizabeth, that the game is known over there. My mum always asserted that it was invented close to her fenland village so perhaps it was emigrants from that area that introduced it originally? Who knows. As for the fen runners, it’s a nice idea to hang them on the wall when I get a bit more organised (whenever THAT may happen!) but meanwhile I pulled them out of a Victorian pine blanket box in the bathroom of all places 😆
I looked up the term and found this :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinny
Under Origin of the name the article sites Scottish roots and the Cdn reference of thick catalogues tied around shins for shin pads as protection!
I meant to add, is the wood stove your only means of heat? I lit our pellet stove today first thing as it was -20°c this morning!
Minus 20, wow, I can hardly imagine Elizabeth! The lowest I have known this year was when the van temperature gauge touched -4, but that was only for a moment. I actually have full central heating but I usually only use it in the mornings, relying on the wood stove in the evenings.
Yes -20° is challenging. It catches in your lungs when you take a breathe outside and freezes the hair in your nose! Good times 🥶