A Fancy Sock Monkey

I'd imagined my write up about Sock Monkey Night at Fancy to be very different from this. It was a group effort held to raise money for St. John's Hospice in Moggerhanger, where our friend Caroline had been staying. She passed away peacefully last Tuesday morning.

Life is bitterly unfair at times. All those who knew Caroline will remember her fondly, and miss her dearly.

Here's a verse sent to me by another friend - I can imagine Caroline saying the words herself:

If I should go before the rest of you
Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone
Nor, when I am gone, speak in a Sunday voice
But be the usual selves that I have known
Weep if you must, parting is hell
But life still goes on, so sing as well

(Joyce Grenfell)

Echoing that sentiment, here are some photos of some fabulous sock monkeys. Sock Monkey Night was good fun - thanks to everyone who came and supported and helped raise money for a valuable cause. I know it's the kind of night Caroline herself would have loved - not least because of the consumption of plenty of excellent cake involved, as people chatted and had a nice time together.

We'll almost certainly be holding another Sock Monkey Night soon, so watch this space for dates. In the meantime, enjoy these lovely little creations...

By Siobhan, Sara and Tracey

By Amy

By Jo

By Jo

By Lucy

By Shelley

By Marissa

By Sarah

The gorgeous baby Anthony keeping a watchful eye on things

By Pamela

Towards the end of the evening, as the need to sew up other people's sock monkey limbs subsided, my friends who'd been volunteer machinists for the night felt inspired to make a pink monkey with some added bling for Caroline - she thought it was utterly fabulous, and it made us all laugh when we gave it to her.

For Caroline, with love. X