I had selected a LANVIN of Paris scarf for today with the thought I would write about Parisian memories after I returned from a short car journey. The Salisbury Plain constantly holds surprises and yesterday was no exception. You know about my sight of the elusive bustard from a previous blog.....maybe I should mention the odd sight of Stonehenge without a single visitor on my ‘kidnapped’ journey here, something I had not seen for sixty odd years when I held a small child on one of the gigantic fallen stones, the day after her first birthday. Nowadays, that is until Covid, there were always visitors, no matter the weather, time of day, solstice or season. Back then in 1959 our small family was completely alone, no restrictive barriers, no visitor centre, no coaches. That little girl has just celebrated her 62nd birthday. Because of social distancing and strict observance of small gatherings outdoors, the birthday was to be celebrated in my granddaughter’s garden. On our journey over the Plain, we saw a strange cloud ahead, not one descending from the skies, but rising in a column from the earth. Some kind of explosion. I wondered what might be forecast for the day ahead.
But first let me tell you about Madame Jeanne LANVIN, one of the oldest fashion houses in France which she started two centuries ago. She had a daughter Marguerite who would be her inspiration and muse, influencing her choice of logo, a mother and daughter, which is retained today. She started as a milliner, then designer of children’s clothing, later dressing a clientele of elegant women, launching her famous perfume Arpege and becoming the world famous name still known today. In the 70’s the fashion changed and the square scarf was replaced by a long slim model, my vintage LANVIN being very bold with an unusual palette of large spots in white, magenta, salmon pink, navy blue, purple and, thrown in for good measure, chestnut brown. Quite an explosion of colour! It is silk, of course, and naturally has hand rolled edges. I am wearing it with blue denim jeans. I don’t know what Madame Lanvin would think of the latter!
By the time we arrived at our destination, the white column had dissipated .....probably an Army explosion as part of an exercise. It would be nothing compared to the bombshell about to come. The rain came on and our celebration was moved from garden to an empty, newly built garage. Another unscheduled first for me. A garage party! Prosecco, homemade cheese straws, followed by birthday cake and happiness for my daughter as I watched her open her own daughter’s gifts to her, with my great grandson of 11 months and 23 days chuckling in his high chair. She finally opened her birthday card which read ‘What do you get for a Granny who has everything?’ The card had a big gold heart in the middle with the instruction Scratch Here. Scratch cards get bigger everyday! She was expecting a cute photo of her grandson. Oh, no! Scratching done, the message read......Another Grandchild expected January 2021.
What a birthday gift! I think Madame Jeanne Lanvin would thoroughly approve of the maternal emotion experienced and not mind my decision change on writing a blog on Paris today. I have many other fine French scarves and the Parisian memories are still in my head for another day.
Ps. I actually wrote this blog a few weeks ago, but had to hold off publishing until after the first scan done on my late husband’s birthday. Yes, a happy birthday memory all round!
Busy Bee, Scarf Face!
Blog 98.