Day 16, Saturday 28th March, 2020, Covid, school closure, Ireland

The day looked like another lovely day, the sun was bright and the sky was blue; however, the wind had changed, coming from the NorthEast today and boy was it cold. The various outdoor jobs I had been thinking of doing got left to one side, that wind was biting.
My husband went to town to Aldi to do the shopping early, before 9am. When he came back later ,he said that they had a queuing system in place, which is good to hear. The queue wasn't too long, he said and he got what he went for, so that was good to hear.
I went for a walk, took the newspaper to my parents and a reel of purple thread for my mum; in return, I got a packet of dried yeast sachets from mum.
Home I came and started getting the flour etc ready for baking brown bread in the bread maker. Only to discover when I turn it on, that the breadmaker had a problem: it wouldn't turn/knead. It turned on, and made a small noise, but no kneading was happening. I had to turn the mixture into a bowl and knead by hand and I had to find a warm spot in the kitchen for the bowl to stand while the dough had a chance to rise.
Later I realised with help from the internet that the belt was probably gone. So with almost all the hardware shops in Ireland and UK shut for the next 2 weeks or longer, it is unlikely that I will be able to get the part any time soon. Sigh...
Then I cheered up when I remembered that I have a beautiful Kenwood Chef mixer in the press which I used to use when I lived in Sweden to mix yeast dough with, so now I will have the chance to get that out and use it.
In the afternoon, I listened to a podcast of a radio programme on RTE1 about Helen Lilias Mitchell, the woman who started the Irish Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers. That was very interesting. Even more so was the piece of music chosen to go with the article: it starts "Mellow the Moon light to shine is beginning, " it is about a girl at her spinning wheel in the evening time. If you demonstrate spinning in Ireland, you will have this song sung at you several times. So it is as well to learn it all and be ready to sing longer than the singers!

Mellow the moonlight to shine is beginning

Close by the window young Eileen is spinning

Bent o'er the fire her blind grandmother sitting

Crooning and moaning and drowsily knitting.

Chorus:
Merrily cheerily noiselessly whirring

Spins the wheel, rings the wheel while the foot's stirring

Sprightly and lightly and merrily ringing

Sounds the sweet voice of the young maiden singing.

Eileen, a chara, I hear someone tapping

'Tis the ivy dear mother against the glass flapping

Eileen, I surely hear somebody sighing

'Tis the sound mother dear of the autumn winds dying.

What's the noise I hear at the window I wonder?

'Tis the little birds chirping, the holly-bush under

What makes you shoving and moving your stool on

And singing all wrong the old song of the "Coolin"?

There's a form at the casement, the form of her true love

And he whispers with face bent, I'm waiting for you love

Get up from the stool, through the lattice step lightly

And we'll rove in the grove while the moon's shining brightly.

The maid shakes her head, on her lips lays her fingers

Steps up from the stool, longs to go and yet lingers

A frightened glance turns to her drowsy grandmother

Puts her foot on the stool spins the wheel with the other

Lazily, easily, now swings the wheel round

Slowly and lowly is heard now the reel's sound

Noiseless and light to the lattice above her

The maid steps, then leaps to the arms of her lover.

Slower... and slower... and slower the wheel swings

Lower... and lower... and lower the reel rings

Ere the reel and the wheel stop their ringing and moving

Through the grove the young lovers by moonlight are roving.

Here is one of my favourite spinning wheels, made by the good men of the Shiels family in Carndonagh, Co Donegal. I have this photo as the background on my phone.

I had my walk and got to 10,000 steps again.
Then back in home to check the dough and to bake the small brown bread rolls, eat supper and get set up for a Zoom meeting with my very good friends, A, B, D and W.
I decamped with spinning wheel to hubby's office and had a lovely natter with my friends about how we are all dealing with the current situation.
 Now it is time to go to bed, as the clocks will be going forward tonight and if is 23:29 now, well that is the same as 00:29. So time for some shut eye.
Good night everyone and sleep as well as can be expected in these days.