Flights of fancy ....

We slept late this morning, mainly because we did not get  home until after midnight after a wonderful meal last night.  The meal comprised of canapes (pea mouse in filo pasty, caviar on toast and tapenades), smoked eel risotto, duck breast and roasted vegetables, a trio of cheeses and ecclefechan tart with marmalade ice-cream, each paired with carefully selected wines plus great company. 

Once up, I spent part of today making more "owls" or perhaps more accurately "abstractions of owls" - in any event it has been interesting trying different techniques.  As you may have gathered I am finding needle felting somewhat addictive. 

However I did tear myself away and spent  the latter part of the day was spent researching and writing up the sad tale of two first cousins three times removed aged 11 and 7  who appeared in court in Dundee having been found begging. It was acknowledged that their father had neglected them following the death of their mother -  they were half-starved and poorly-housed but nothing was done until their father was found guilty of assaulting the daughter of the one person who had tried to help them.  Officials had argued that the father should be capable of looking after them and therefore the boys  were not the responsibility of the city.  Once it was accepted that the city should look after them,  a further argument broke out as they were Catholics and the church objected to them being sent the  Industrial School in Dundee as they would  not receive the catechism there. This was ignoring the fact that  the Catholic Industrial school in Glasgow (which appears to be the nearest one) was full up and so couldn't take them). A resolution was found which involved separating the brothers.  A sorry tale but not, sadly, an usual one as other accounts in the Dundee Courier show.