Guardian article on how people cope with lockdown

[ThrelfallYorky]

I understand what you mean Greensleeves, about the happy and engrossing activity taking you away from the Coronavirus situation for a little. I've taken two strategies :
a) I no longer watch the 10.00 news - it stops me sleeping.
b) I draw about anything that frets or catches my mind concerning the coronavirus situation - no, not for publication or circulation any longer, not even on here, but just for my own therapy, interest and private spite nowadays ( my "Trump" would probably get me described as a "Fake person", at least!) although I may leave the spiral-bound sketchbook I'm filling quite rapidly, to "The Nation" if I live past 2050 (Ha ha!)
TY

[Marmalady]

How exciting Greensleeves! (both the dig and the mention in the press) 

I would love to find something exciting in my garden, but no chance of that.

Not connected to the current situation -- but in the mid-80's we moved into a house with a long-neglected garden that needed digging over. I had two young children to keep occupied so one fine day i equipped them with their seaside spades and said we were going to dig for buried treasure.
I was as surprised as they were when after a couple of minutes digging our spades went "clang" on something a few inches below the surface. After carefull excavating we unearthed a complete undamaged stone sink -- obviously discarded at some time when the original kitchen was "modernised" Treasure indeed!
It still sits by my backdoor -- some years full of weeds, other years I actually get round to planting some flowers in it!

[Roobarb]

Greensleeves, I did laugh when I read what you'd found, I thought it was going to say you'd discovered part of a henge.    Something that makes you happy and relaxed is worth more than any buried treasure.

[Greensleeves]

I'd love to see your drawings TY - now they would make an interesting historical document for future generations.  Make sure you keep them safe and ensure they're looked after for posterity!

How nice to find that sink Marmalady.  A friend of mine was digging in his garden a couple of weeks ago and found buried there an entire Edwardian  cast iron roll-top bath.  He finally got it out with the aid of a tractor.  Not sure if he'll find another use for it though.  Might be a bit big as a garden ornament.

In between looking after my daughter, and sitting in my trench, I've been working on my latest painting, which I decided needed to be something nice since everything else is so horrible.  So it's based on a photo my late husband took of our daughter when she was about two.  She was ready for bed, and sitting looking out of the window with our cat, Tora.  I've always loved the photo, so now I've based this painting on it.

[Treetotal]

Oh I really like that, it would make a great greetings card Chris. Did you use acrylics?  I keep promising myself that I will get my paints out and dust off the easel and start painting again. The only 🎨 I have done over the last few years is digital painting of people's photos 
Carol

[Caw1]

How wonderful GS to be mentioned in the paper... pity you've not found anything very significant yet.... there's still time and we've certainly got plenty of that at the moment....
Love the painting...

The need for distractions are most definitely needed... mine are always in crafting, knitting or sewing... currently I've joined local group on FB making scrubs from duvets and sheeting for local hospitals and other establishments... just waiting for pattern to arrive then I'll get started... for me I find it's good to do something useful ...

Talking if digging in the garden, when we moved here 33+ yrs ago OH was digging a trench for extension he found lots bits of pottery which I was keeping... I came home one day and he'd thrown it all out 😱😱😱

He also dug up some animal bones when laying the patio... turned out they were cattle bones as our garden used to be parkland for large house at top of the village!
Final digging was when we bought two trees an acre pulmartum and a robinnia ( excuse spellings not my strong point!) and when digging hole for first tree he dug up a whole bag of cement!

Some of those online courses are great... tend to do them in the winter when stuck indoors... not enough hours in the day to fit everything in ithe summer usually.


Caroline

[mare]

My true reason for digging my trench though is so that I can escape to the Antipodes; so get the kettle on Mare!     (What was your bit of fame yesterday?)

I'll not only get the kettle on, I'll help you dig from this end  ... and ? = no fame or shame, just something and nothing on a current and local topic and familiar faces.

Crafting and art also a great escape and something to show for your efforts is satisfying, same in the kitchen too with food preparation but very often soon demolished , creating a painting out of a favourite photo as you've shown is wonderful.

Love the description of other garden finds, Marmalady, Caroline and friend of GS    We had one in our garden about 20 years ago, had been here nearly 10 years then and asked husband to help me dig a hole for a tree in a bit of a gully area in corner of our property. The spade hit something which we were worried was going to be a pipe but turned out to be a diecast toy vehicle of the 1950s, locally made and have become quite collectable ... sandpit sized toy, cleaned up, fetched a nice price  ... just his reward for giving me a hand 

Our gully area down the back of childhood home was a bit of a tip over the years for household items, we had a rope swing from a tree over it and when it wasn't my turn I would fossick for pieces of broken china with a bit of flower or gold decoration on and had a nice little collection. Mum of course was not impressed, with the swing placement or the rubbish I brought home  Would have made a nice mosaic if I'd known of such a thing then!

[Greensleeves]

I will be having the painting made into greetings cards, Carol.  We sell them in our craft shop (currently closed because of cv); mostly I paint local views and cute animals so this is a different subject for me.  I painted it for me really, but you are right - it would make a good card.  I use acrylics, which I find easy to use.  I spent years using watercolours then did an acrylics course at a local college and was hooked.

I love the stories of the things you've all dug up in your gardens.  My trench is in an area where I've tried to grow veggies but they've never thrived.  Judging but the amount of coal, ash and charcoal I've been lifting out, it's not surprising.

Great that you're getting involved with making PPE stuff Caroline.  I'm afraid my sewing skills are rubbish nowadays; I don't really know why.  I used to design and make all my own clothes (I made theatrical costumes at one point in my career), but nowadays I seem to have lost the thread totally when it comes to sewing machines, pins and suchlike. 

I would love to have had a place to play like yours, Mare - sounds like a paradise for kids.  There always seemed to be magical places like that for us to play when I was a child.  Not sure if they exist nowadays.

[Roobarb]

I bought my house when it was just built, the builders turfed the front garden and turned over the back garden. However, I was doing a very demanding job at the time and had very little time initially to do anything to the back garden. It was months before I got round to it, by which time it had grown over with weeds. A friend came round to help me dig it over, her children's guinea pig was well fed with all the chickweed we pulled out. What we also found as we were digging were:
Parts of house bricks, bits of pipe, lengths of wire, cigarette ends, crisp packets. What treasures! 

I also favour acrylics for my paintings Greensleeves, much more forgiving than watercolours.