As long as I can remember, if you’d have mentioned sewing, knitting or crafts to me I probably would have vomited. My poor Mother went to her grave disappointed that I’d never shown an interest in those pursuits that she enjoyed so much. And yet a couple of years ago contentedly putting our feet up at Nambucca Heads for a month of relaxation and tired of electronic devices it suddenly came to me Macrame!

In our yachting years I loved fiddling with knots, I was the one charged with mooring and putting out the fenders while Woody was on the helm. Of course, Macrame is all about knots and knotting.

On a wander about Bellingen I bailed out of the car and raced into a craft shop breathlessly asking for a few metres of ‘that stuff they do macramé with’. Woody and our mate VeeWee thought I’d totally lost my marbles. Armed with a book of instructions from a Byron Bay bookstore I lurched into making bookmarks. With gusto.

But how many bookmarks does one need, especially when, as Woody pointed out, everyone reads on kindles these days? I’d always wondered how people plait garlic on those long strings and with a bit of Googling, Pinterest and just dagging around here’s a caravan version. Though I doubt that I’ve made any two the same.

Footnote: They’re tremendously relaxing to make and you can leave it hanging in the van as you travel. The garlic seems to keep longer.