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Hibernating through another lockdown? - Published 20 Jan 2021

Our regular newsletter for customers and subscribers

Hibernating through another lockdown.
How is it where you are?

If you're in the UK, you will know that we have gone into a full no nonsense lockdown again and all unnecessary retail has closed. If you're not living here, no doubt you will have your own version going on!
So although we can't open our shop, we can keep our mail order business going. As our home and our shop are the same place we can emerge from hibernation, pop into our office and find our daily orders, package up your order and then walk down to the local post office or order a courier to send it off.
We often emerge for long walks in the surrounding countryside too. What about you?

We know from the orders we've been getting that many of you are getting creative with lots of new fabrics, printing blocks, batik equipment and sets for patchworking and quilting being ordered.
And if you're in need of a post Christmas treat, I'll just let you know that we have some new designs in our very popular silver hilltribe earrings which have just arrived from northern Thailand. They're HERE!

One thing I've found about lockdown is that you end up getting round to some pretty odd jobs! I decided ages ago that I would sort out our attic and chuck out all the stuff that had been sitting up there forgotten for 20 years or so.
I unearthed a big pile of Javanese shadow puppets and spent the afternoon reminiscing about various times I've watched a shadow show in Java.
If you want to know more... read on

A shadow puppet show in Java.
The shadow show (or Wayang) may be performed in a village with all and sundry invited to celebrate a wedding, a birth, a new house or promotion, or it could be held within the walls of the Sultan's Palace. Wherever it is, it will begin at 9pm. and go on till 6 am. You may turn up at any time and leave when you're ready. Once every 35 days (the old Javanese calendar month) is Selasa Wagi - special Tuesday. If you are lucky enough to coincide a visit to Jogyakarta with this date (which we carefully used to do) you will be able to watch a show performed by a well known puppeteer in the Palace.
The star - the puppeteer and the leader of this marathon of a show is called the dalang. He will probably come from a family of dalangs and has learned from an early age the numerous stories, songs and characters of the dozens (sometimes as many as 150) of puppets which he will use. He will also have learned the ancient Javanese language which is used to tell these sacred stories of the Mahabarata.
The best of the dalangs are treated like royalty in Java and if a famous one is in town, the building will be packed. Our friend Tono (who loved the wayang shows too) would usually take us in his becak (bicycle cab) Almost everyone can afford to go as the tickets cost buggarall. On one memorable night, the ticket price included a pack of 6 Gudang Garam clove cigarettes (they were sponsoring the performance which was televised throughout Indonesia) Back in the 90s, no-one minded about indoor smoking and the air was thick with smoke.
The dalang sits cross legged facing his brightly lit screen, with two long banana trunks on either side. The sticks of the leather shadow puppets are stuck into the fibrous trunks and ranged in size - all within easy reach of the puppeteer.
Behind the dalang, in front of the audience, is the full gamelan orchestra with rows of huge gongs, brass kettle gongs, xylophones, and drums for 25 or so cross legged musicians. To one side sit a row of women all dressed up to the nines in gorgeous matching lace jackets, batik sarongs and big beautiful hair pieces.
The musicians and singers slowly settle into place, are served their big glasses of tea, and maybe light up a kretek cigarette, have a look at their phones or put on some lipstick. The gamelan music begins its slow and hypnotic swing and groove and the show begins.
There are long stretches of old and poetic Javanese dialogue (something like Shakespearean verse) but these are interspersed with spectacular fights and battles or brash and hilarious interludes where characters can make fun of local or national politics. And all around people chat, get up and stretch, walk around, find a food stall, slip off to snooze in a quiet corner or take themselves around to the other side of the screen to watch the shadows. This is where you can really lose yourself in the magic of the wayang.
So what if you don't understand a word of it, the gamelan swings slowly along, the dalang intones his verse, the chorus sings its other worldly songs, the shadows come and go and when you've had enough, you can make your way out into the starry night and be whisked safely home in your becak through the quiet streets of Jogya.

I've put some of the shadow puppets on the website HERE

News from Thailand and Indonesia.
My Thai friends have all found themselves new jobs as things have settled down there. I find it incredible that Thailand has reported less than 70 deaths from Covid but on the other hand to get into Thailand everyone needs to do a strictly monitored 14 day quarantine (in a hotel)
Indonesia has also had a policy of letting no-one in to the country apart from residents. With their huge and diverse population spread out over thousands of islands, they insist that anyone travelling by train, ferry or plane domestically must have a positive test first, and this is controlling the spread of Covid to manageable levels. My Indonesian friends are finding various ways to make their communities more resilient and self sufficient.
I also notice that Thais and Indonesians were already well used to wearing face masks (which they do whenever they have a cough or cold) and of course they have a climate where being outdoors is no hardship!
As it is we're not making any plans for going back this year... but fingers are crossed that it won't be too long until we can.

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