682: Ch 4 — Cranford

Ep. 682: Cranford | Chapter 4

Book talk begins at 10:00

A mysterious stranger stirs up gossip, secrets slip out over tea, and Miss Matty’s world gets just a little more complicated.

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00:00 Episode start

01:56 MAY RAFFLE - Sir Walter Scott Cross stitch from Rebecca S (Of Book it with Becca, who wrote the wonderful post: “What do you do with a problem like Emma?”

2:42 The dimensions of the cross-stitch are 9”x11” (23cmx30cm)

Also, Plum Deluxe’s CraftLit tea collection is here: https://bit.ly/craftlit-pdtea

03:55 - Gardening Olla DIY video 1 and a plastic bottle version and gardening video with fake drip irrigation

06:12 Send us your crafty videos!

07:18 - Thin Man Movie Watch Party, May 24, 2025. If you need to level-up to join us we’ve made it easy!

09:54 - Re- hash Chapter 3: A Love Affair of Long Ago - Miss Matty Jenkyns reminisces about her past romance with Mr. Holbrook, which was thwarted by her family’s disapproval. 

• Miss J couldn’t SUCK an orange (then by ch 3 she was gone from us)

• Martha, the new girl of all work trying to learn how to do her job and nudging Major Jenkyns when he didn’t serve himself fast enough

11:00 Miss Matilda SATE bolt upright (not a typo)

11:16 Poetry today from George Herbert—selections from will be featured at the end of the episodes, Euan Bartlett is the reader

12:00 “Pudding before meat” and “no broth no ball; no ball, no beef”

Suet Pudding:

Spotted Dick pudding:

Steak and Kidney pudding:

Yorkshire Pudding

14:00 Yorkshire Pudding, a Humble History

15:32 Old fashioned forks - like 16th Century/1500s - were two-tine forks.

16:44 “Aminé at her grains of rice after her previous feast with the Ghoul” - from “The Story of Sidi-Nouman” from One Thousand and One Nights (1765-8) Aminé is wife of Sidi Nouman who notices she only eats rice with a bodkin. He figures out she’s a Ghoul who goes to cemeteries at night to feast on the newly-buried dead so rice was pretty ‘meh’ for her. 

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<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/arabiannightsent00rich" width="560" height="384" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

17:48 “Unbecoming calashes to put on over their caps” - threw me b/c of the Caleche’s in Dracula - turns out they’re related! Retractable hood to put over a cap!

19:34 Tennyson - a line about cedars from 1842’s “The Gardiner’s Daughter” and in the original text It’s missing from the published version so a conversation turn would have been less of an utter non-sequiter in the OG version.

20:30 Headsup for the crocheters in our midst.

20:48 “Locksley Hall” by Tennyson - not included accidentally.

21:04 Visiting rules - more

49:40 ‘“My cousin might make a drive, I think,” said Miss Pole, who was afraid of ear-ache, and had only her cap on. ’— spectacular set of non-sequiters (p41)

53:30 I saw, I imitated, I survived - Mary Smith as Cæsar - using rounded knife tip as a spoon-ish food delivery device

Don’t forget! SEND US YOUR CRAFTY VIDEOS

George Herbert’s poetry often draws on the natural world, gardens, and quiet reflection:

1. “The Flower”

Theme: Renewal, the seasons of the soul, joy in growth Perfect for July because: It celebrates the resurgence of beauty and hope—after cold or darkness, flowers bloom again.

“Grief melts away

Like snow in May, As if there were no such cold thing.”

“Who would have thought my shriveled heart

Could have recovered greenness? It was gone Quite underground; as flowers depart To see their mother-root, when they have blown.”

“Thy garden is not bare;

And I shall find once more The sweet communion with thy saints.”

2. “Easter”

Yes, it’s tied to the holiday, but it also celebrates light and blooming.

“Rise heart; thy Lord is risen. Sing his praise

Without delays, Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise With him mayst rise.”

Pair this with literal rising things—morning sun, lilies, tall foxgloves.

3. “The Pulley”

Theme: Why God withholds perfect rest—so we seek Him. This works well in summer, when life feels abundant, but still leaves a twinge of longing.

“When God at first made man,

Having a glass of blessings standing by…” (and yet withheld rest, to draw man’s soul back to God)

A beautiful idea for a reflective pause among too-perfect blooms.

4. “Love (III)”

Theme: Divine love, human unworthiness, and acceptance It’s more theological, but gentle and moving—great for a quiet bench moment in a shady corner.

“Love bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back…”

“You must sit down,” says Love, “and taste my meat.” So I did sit and eat.”

It pairs beautifully with the hum of bees and the hospitality of a garden.

If you want a very short quote for your garden journal or bench-musing: • “Thou hast given me this herb of grace to smell and taste.” — from “Grace” • “Sweet rose, whose hue angry and brave…” — from “Virtue” • “He that in mirth and youthful jollity keeps measure, is more temperate than he that lets his sorrow flow out without check.” — from his prose The Country Parson

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