Forgotten Whimsies

The past few years, I have become notoriously absent-minded. I remember certain things - just not others. I stare out the window while doing dishes and think, not about the dishes, but about third century burial practices of small Christian communities in northern Africa, for instance. "Woolgathering" is what it used to be called.

"Oh!" is often my phrase of choice. Usually - it must be said - with a smack of the palm to the forehead. "Oh! That's right - that IS today, isn't it?" and so on.

So when mom mentioned Cath Kidston, I looked at her as though she had lobsters crawling out of her ears. I was supposed to know who Cath Kidston was, but I looked as blank as a fresh chalkboard. It felt like a Gandalf moment, in the mines of Moria - "I have no memory of this place."

And how lucky I was to be reminded, because it turns out that if I did ever know of Cath Kidston, I would have loved her designs. Mom swears it was I who introduced her to the website, though once again my memory of having done so is completely absent. Be that as it may, I now have the double joy of enjoying something again that I may have already enjoyed at some forgotten point in the past.

I actually suspect that it's my job to blame. I rove over dozens of websites regularly, being in publishing, to keep up with news, trends, etc; and inevitably, I come across websites that friends and family would enjoy, and often just copy and paste them in a ten-second email. It is likely that is what happened.

In any event, I hope you enjoy these forgotten whimsies as much as I have - and that you do not forget them soon!

CATH KIDSTON