Saturday, October 24, 2020

dreamspun sherpa my oldest friend

Yesterday I travelled to Clifton Hill to pick up a 1950s teach yourself Finnish book which an old friend/colleague had advertised as a veranda throwaway on fb. I thought it might complement my use of the suomi app to get me a little more comprehending of this difficult language (you should see the first three pages of vocab in the book - christ! - which comes after 24 pages of basic explanation). Anyway we talked about how she was slowly chucking out her late father's accumulated books - he was a polymath I guess or a dabbler - and we then discussed the ins and outs of post-divorce or post-mortem stuff dispersal. Of course I'm torn between the luxury of surrounding myself with stuff, and the uselessness of it. But you know in recent weeks I've come to think about one item which has been a constant daily element in my life for probably close to fifty years, certainly more than 40. It's my lurid orange Dreamspun Sherpa blanket, '100% Vonnel Acrylic Fleece'. 

Sorry the bed is messy I think I must have thrown back some blankets around 4am possibly a high pressure system before the rain. Then cat anchors kept it in disarray. I just wanted to show how much my Dreamspun Sherpa stays close (of course, in Summer it goes into the cupboard and has a rest for a few months). These blankets first came on the market in '71.
Age 25/3/71

SMH 14/3/71

I texted my mother to ask if she remembered buying these for her family (my memory is, it was a bit of a heralded event and we all got one) and she responded 'Why' then 'No' but also the valid question, 'were they singles', because no this is a double and I always had a single bed when I lived at home. 

The lurid orangeness of the blanket is one of its best features and it has indeed accepted and held this bright colour. Christ knows when I last washed it. Never? I also wonder whether the wool  industry came down on 'acrylic fleece' the way dairy opposes non-dairy 'milk'. 

Right now the blanket is recording in its diary how Helmi is really shitty with Nancy for being on me and on the bed. I imagine she (H) is ready to retire for the day. She just sniffed Nancy then swiped her. Nancy = no shits given seemingly.

2 comments:

Caz said...

Just made the bed with my bright red Sherpa, single number 515. My sister and I got these as kids (i'm now 56) and yes i agree...i consider my blanket an old friend. Mine red, sisters was aqua blue. The silken ends have long gone though.

David Nichols said...

Bright red is a treat! I wouldn't trade my orange for anything though

...and one more bit

This picture is from April this year, a bit of old 50s campus left lying around presumably with some ultimate destination in someone's m...