on the12 Days of Christmas

Another Christmas over, and all the crazy activity, panic gift buying, mind blowing decorations, and far too much food has been gobbled up and choked down. Sadly, the lovely songs, hymns and carols from Christmas will be packed away too and that is a shame. There is no reason we can't sing them all year.

I recently had an email about the song, The 12 days of Christmas - someone knows I am interested in origins, and so I had a look at the song and the known history.  I always thought of it as a folk song and as children we used it as a counting back song, having fun getting the gifts in correct order, especially at the end. Technically it is a cumulative song, that is each verse builds on top of the previous verses. 

The actual 12 Days of Christmas is the annual festive period on the Catholic calendar (and maybe Anglican) beginning on December 25 and going until January 6th - which is Twelfth Night or the Feast of the Epiphany.  Other importance was attached to the Twelve Days as the weather on each day was carefully observed to predict what it would be in the corresponding month of the coming year.

Each of the 12 verses describe a gift given by 'my true love' on one of the 12 days of Christmas.

Gift giving at Christmas time, during the middle ages, was not within the family, but wealthy people gave money to the poor on St Steven's Day/ Boxing Day. Servants, who had worked Christmas Eve and Christmas Day often had a holiday on the day after Christmas and were given Christmas Boxes of leftover food and gifts or money, to take home and share with their families.

Over hundreds of years, and with improvements in living standards, different groups developed various gift giving traditions with some giving gifts on Twelfth Night, some on Christmas Day and some on various days in between. If it were possible to give the gifts mentioned in the song, you might not get much change from $60,000 in today's money.

The oldest English version if the song was printed in children's book called Mirth without Mischief, in 1780. The rhyme, then called The Twelve Days of Christmas sung at King Pepin's Ball, was suggested as a Twelfth Night  memories-and-forfeits  game. This is what children did before television. A leader recited a verse, each of the players repeated the verse, the leader added another verse, and so on until one of the players made a mistake.  That player had to pay a penalty, such as offering up a kiss, for the teens, or a sweet, for the little children.  One hundred years later, a collector of folktales and rhymes, described how it was played every Twelfth Day night before eating mince pies and twelfth cake.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the 1st day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

A Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

2 Turtle Doves, And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves, And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves,

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

5 Gold Rings, 4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,6 Geese-a-Laying, 5 Gold Rings, 4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens,

2 Turtle Doves, And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 7th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

7 swans a swimming, 6 geese a laying, 5 Gold Rings, 4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves, And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 8th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

8 Maids-a-Milking, 7 swans a swimming, 6 geese a laying, 5 Gold Rings

4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves, And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 9th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

9 Ladies Dancing, 8 Maids-a-Milking, 7 swans a swimming6 geese a laying, 5 Gold Rings, 4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves, And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 10th Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

10 Lords-a-Leaping, 9 Ladies Dancing, 8 Maids-a-Milking

7 swans a swimming, 6 geese a laying, 5 Gold Rings

4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

11 Pipers Piping, 10 Lords-a-Leaping, 9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids-a-Milking, 7 swans a swimming, 6 geese a laying

5 Gold Rings, 4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves, And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

12 Drummers Drumming, 11 Pipers Piping, 10 Lords-a-Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing, 8 Maids-a-Milking, 7 swans a swimming

6 geese a laying, 5 Gold Rings, 4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

The lyrics have varied over the years, as happens with folk songs that travel. In early versions the gifts were 'sent to me' and later 'my true love gave to me'.   The 1780 version mentions 4 colly birds, a regional name for black birds.  This has changed through the years to canary birds, coloured birds and now calling birds in the popular version.  I was taught to put the partridge IN a pear tree, but some sing a partridge AND a pear tree. There is a suggestion that all the gifts were originally birds, the five gold rings being the markings on the ringed pheasant or five goldspinks (goldfinches) and those five gold rings have become five golden rings, possibly to fit the music.

In the north of England there were only 10 gifts and 10 verses, in others the last four gifts were changed around so the order of the Lords and Ladies were swapped with the musicians. As the song spread the gifts changed, this changed the song and some versions became alliterative tongue-twisters. That sounds interesting.

Far away in the Faroe Islands, which are between Norway and Iceland but belong to the Kingdom of Denmark, the gifts have changed to; one feather, two geese, three sides of meat, four sheep, five cows, six oxen, seven dishes, eight ponies, nine banners, ten barrels, eleven goats, twelve men, thirteen hides, fourteen rounds of cheese and fifteen deer.  In the late 1990's these appeared on a series of just two stamps. (Now that's fascinating trivia)

A novel published in 1862 gives us, my true love sent me five hares running, four ducks quacking, three fat hens, two turtle doves. a partridge and a pear-tree.  And a Scottish version includes an Arabian baboon and three stalks o'merry corn. Of course in modern times we like variety and there are versions that include Australian animals and whatever else you can think up.

There were several melodies for the song but the one we know
 today was added to the lyrics in 1909 by Frederic Austin. It was an
 arrangement of a traditional tune, to which he added his own 2 bar motif for five gold rings. He also added the four calling birds. Those who understand the history of music say the song's folk origin is obvious by inconsistencies such as - the introductory lines are made up of two 4/4 bars, while the lines of gifts have one 3/4 bar changing again on the Partridge. This is not an area I understand though it is vaguely familiar from music lessons I had at school.  The melody of the second to fourth verses is different in the fifth to twelfth verses .... which is understandable as there are more words. I think this is the beauty of folk music - no rules because the lyrics and the melody has been added to and embroidered like a crazy patchwork quilt, until we were able to record it and insist that it never changes again.

So, the email I was sent stated that the song in fact was a coded message for Catholic children. During the English Reformation of the 16 century the Roman Catholics in England were persecuted and driven underground. The story goes that this 'carol' was written as a catechism song for children. The gifts are codes for points of Catholic belief.

The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ. Some say the tree represents the cross.

2  turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments

3  French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

4   calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

5   golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

6   geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

7  swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit - Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,   Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

8  maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

9  Ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit-Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

10 Lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

11 pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

12 drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So, is this a secret, hidden for centruries, or is it a fun folk song that doubles as a counting lesson?

I don't give references with my research because anyone can find the same information on the net and if I give all the references it would fill up my page, and that's my job. Also, if someone else decided to check what I've said through google, they might find even better information than I have found.

This theory of an underground catechism song for oppressed Catholics was not mentioned anywhere until a Canadian English teacher, and part-time hymnologist published an article in 1979. A Catholic priest picked up the idea and wrote an article in 1982, claiming that there were old letters from priests and interviews with elderly Canadian Catholics to support it .... but in the end the evidence he offered was, "I can at most report what this song's symbols have suggested to me in the course of four decades".  Fair enough I think, in fact I rather like that as evidence.

But, historians, who know their stuff, dispute the interpretation and the underlying premise making comments such as;

"This was not originally a Catholic song, no matter what you hear on the Internet, neutral reference books say this is nonsense",

"Every religious song, every religious carol has at least depth in it, something that has some spirituality in it. This is frothy, light and frothy.""If you think of all the things being presented, you realize they're all gifts from a lover to a woman. Some of them are rather impossible to give, like eight maids a milking and nine ladies dancing. All those ladies and dancing and pipers and drums imply this is a wedding."

"There are the decidedly un-biblical fertility symbols — the partridge in a pear tree, for example. The pear is equivalent to the heart and the partridge is a famous aphrodisiac. And how about those six geese a-laying! Seven of the song's 12 verses feature birds of various kinds, all of them symbols of fertility. The whole song seems to me to point to a festival of joy and love more appropriate to a secular holiday like Valentine's Day or May Day than a religious holiday"

"The validity of the song’s second verse has always been questionable for the simple reason turtle doves leave English shores and begin migrating south from the end of September".

There is the French connection; 
"At least three similar New Years' or spring French carols feature a partridge, perfriz or perdriole, as the first gift.  The pear tree appears only in the English version, but the 'pear-tree' could be perdrix (Old French pertriz) carried into English as pear tree. There is a French red-legged partridge that frequently perches in trees.  A juniper trees apprears in some English versions and that may have come from the French 'joli perdrix' meaning pretty partridge.  The adjective 'French' in 'three French hens', probably simply means foreign.

 And  ... the argument was still going on in 2000,

"This is a genuine urban myth. There are a number of clues that give it away as a tall tale but most important is the fact that none of the supposedly secret meanings is distinctly Catholic. None of the twelve codes would have been considered anything but normal Christian orthodoxy by the Protestants which ruled England at the time, so it would not need to have been imparted clandestinely. If any of the meanings had been about the special status for Catholics accorded by Mary during her brief rule (1553-1558) or the theology of the Mass or papal monarchy, etc. then the story might be more believable. In fact "the 12 Days" is just one of a number of similar counting songs found in almost every European language."

So, it seems there is no evidence that underground catechism songs for Catholics were common, or even existed during or after the English Reformation.  There are a few examples of accumulative catechism songs, "Green grow the rushes, O," and "Go where I send thee", and there are "coded" nursery rhymes, Sing a song of sixpence and Rock-a-by, baby, but none of them qualify in terms of having hidden meanings  and also Catholic meanings.

Could it be that the "The Twelve Days of Christmas" originated as a religious song and was kept so secret or had such a covert meaning, that it was simply forgotten by the mid-1800s?  What do you think? 

for all the TEA in China

In my grandmother's day everyone drank tea - there was very little else to drink and in some places drinking tea was actually better than drinking plain water because the water in the tea had been boiled.  The whole family drank tea for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in between.  It was relatively cheap,  refreshing in hot and cold weather and gave people something to do when socialising.  The process of boiling the water, brewing the tea, pouring and sipping helped to solve all problems, calm the spirit and to heal all wounds.

Tea is a hot drink made by infusing dried crushed tea leaves in boiling water.  We often refer to the infusion of other leaves, plants or flowers as tea, or herbal teas, but that is not real tea.

Real tea is made from the leaf of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, which is native to southern and eastern Asia and has been grown as a cash crop for hundreds of years. The plant is a close relative of the camellia.  In Mandarin it was called ch'a, which is the origin of the char and chai words for tea, and in the Amoy dialect it was T'e.

The tea drinking habit came to Australia, from the United Kingdom, with the first settlers. For middle class England tea was served with a light afternoon meal  of sandwiches and cake.  I think the main meal was in the middle of the day and they had supper of buttered toast and cocoa late at night.  For the working people tea was the evening meal and both these concepts became part of the early Australian culture.

High Tea was a tradition from around the mid 1700s as a late afternoon meal for working men. They were usually grubby and smelly after work, so had their tea standing up, or sitting on tall stools at a high bench and it became a 'high' tea of scones, toast and fruit cake, served with tea.

Later, this evolved into an early meal for 'well to do' people, before a night out at the theatre or playing cards so High Tea was a light but nourishing meal. Later in the evening they returned home for supper, which was often cold meat and veg as the servants had gone to bed.  Around this time the Fourth Earl of Sandwich had the idea of holding a slice of meat between two slices of bread - so he could eat while playing cards - and the High Tea sandwich came into being.

My grandmother, who was born into a large family and grew up in a one room shack on a dairy farm, liked to feel that as she had trained as a nurse and made something of herself she could put on a few airs and graces. 'We' never referred to the evening meal as tea. That was for working class people.  In our house 'we' had dinner in the evening.  I was never quite sure about meals because on Sunday, when the lamb roast was served in the middle of the day it was also called dinner and on Sunday night we had early tea of toasted sandwiches and later on a supper with hot chocolate. So, if you had lunch you could have dinner, but if you had dinner at lunch time, then after tea you got supper.  I'm glad elevenses remained in England.  It all depends on who your grandmother was.

Until the 1960's tea, in Australia, was made in a pot and the left over tea leaves were disposed of by the back door, usually into a vegetable patch where they acted as fertiliser and mulch, or into a pile of maiden hair ferns that seemed to grow where people tipped tea leaves.  People who didn't have a back door often emptied the tea pot into the loo and at one family gathering I remember a small cousin came back from a visit to the toilet to announce to the room of relatives that 'someone in this house has a very sick tummy'.  Apparently Great Aunty had emptied the teapot and not flushed.

In the Aussie bush tea was brewed in
 tin billy-can over an open fire

An Australian tradition is billy tea - still make in camping grounds all over the country, it just takes a fire, a tin can of boiling water, a handful of tea and a gum leaf.  Tea and rum were the drinks, and at times currency, of early settlement days but real tea was not always available to people in the bush. The Leptospermum tree, from the family Myrtaceae, is commonly known as Teatree, from the practice of early settlers soaking the leaves in boiling water to make a tea substitute. I can't imagine what that tasted like.  I live near the town of Nambour which gets it's name from the local Aboriginal name for the tea tree.  

Tea tree oil distilled from Melaleuca alternifolia is popular for it's amazing antiseptic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties.  

But, back to real tea, a visit to a Chinese tea shop will cause confusion because hundreds of different types and blends of tea are on offer, but there are only a few basic categories of tea and they all come from leaves of the same Camellia Sinensis plant. The processing of the newly picked leaves is what determines the tea's colour and taste.

Black tea is exposed to air until the oxidation of the leaf brings on its dark colour.  

Green tea comes from quickly heating the leaves to prevent further fermentation, and this gives the green colour and milder flavour.

White, yellow and the oolong teas are in-between, with different grades of fermentation.

Picking tea in India

History tells that tea travelled to Europe around 1590 when a Portuguese priest visited China and got permission to take some tea plants home, but until the 19th century nearly all tea was grown in China and most of it was exported to Great Britain.  

When political and business problems made trade difficult the British managed to get hold of (make off with), enough tea bushes to start tea plantations in Assam and Darjeeling in India, and Kenya in Africa, where it is still produced.  And, though China is still the biggest producer of tea, India comes a close second.

Apparently, for 300 years, at the London Tea Auction, tea was sold ‘by the candle’ system; bidding for lots went on until an inch of a candle had burnt away.

Water is still the most consumed beverage in the world today, but tea is a close second as we drink more than 3 billion cups of tea a year. The biggest consumers - and this may be a surprise - are the people of United Arab Emirates, followed by Morocco and then Ireland! 

Elkhorns

My grandmother, and her sisters, treasured their tea pots - one for every day, one for special occasions and one for decoration but today most people don't own a tea pot because teabags have replaced brewing in the pot. But, tea post are still included in children's toys and cartoons. Gone are the tea pots and knitted tea cosies, tea caddies and spoons, and the tradition of one for each person and one for the pot. Even the ferns miss out as tea drinkers who don't want to waste the used tea bags 'feed' them to elkhorns in their garden.

Some healthy things people say about tea: 

Green tea and white tea especially are praised for many health benefits, including antibiotic effects, anti-cancer properties, boosting of the immune system, lowering of cholesterol levels and improvement of cardiovascular health.
Tea contains vitamins B2, B1 and B6 and is also rich in potassium, manganese, folic acid and calcium.
Tea contains half the amount of caffeine found in coffee.
One cup of white tea contains the same amount of antioxidants as 10 cups of apple juice.
Tea can help soothe a sore throat, black, green and oolong tea have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may help alleviate symptoms.

Times to avoid tea:
Black tea can block iron absorption from foods and supplements so it's best to avoid tea when taking vitamins or eating foods that are rich in iron.
Green tea is a significant source of vitamin K, which can interfere with the effects of blood thinners such as warfarin.

A few other uses for tea: 

The used tea leaves can be beneficial as fertilizer for the garden.
Used tea leaves can absorb odours in the refrigerator.
Tea in a foot bath can eliminate some foot odours.

Interesting things said about tea:
The water source, temperature and brewing time effect the taste of the tea.

Half a kilo of loose tea can make about 200 cups of tea.
An experienced picker can collect over 30 kg of tea a day!
Until the 19th century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia.
Tea breaks are a tradition that have been with us for approximately 200 years.
Drinking 4 cups of tea a day is recommended for health.
Tea is a natural source of fluoride that could protect against tooth decay and gum disease.
The first book about tea was written by Lu Yu in 800 A.D.
Apart from tourism, tea is the biggest industrial activity in India.
98% of people have milk in their tea, but only 30% have sugar.
Tea bags were invented in America in the early 1800s. 
Tea bags were originally made of silk and were used to hold tea samples from India.

Slightly damp tea leaves can repel insects.

And I don't know if any of these things are true.

'Women are like tea bags. They don't know how strong they are 

until they get into hot water.'   Eleanor Roosevelt.

ICE TEA FACE TREAT

2 cups water

1 green tea bag, or loose green tea (for antioxidants)

2 teaspoons turmeric powder (antibacterial, exfolient)

1 tablespoon honey (moisturiser and softens)

2 -3 teaspoons rose water (smells nice)

Prepare:

Steep the tea in boiling water until you have a brew of very strong tea.

Open the teabag if using one, the leaves act as an exfolient.

Stir in turmeric, honey and rose water. 

Pour into a standard ice cube tray and into the freezer.

Use:

Wash your face with warm water to open the pores.

Rub a tea ice cube all over your face for several minutes, paying attention to the forehead, nose and chin.

With your fingers, gently massage the turmeric/tea leaf residue over your face to exfoliate.

Rinse off with cold water.

Finish with a splash of witch hazel or other toner, and moisturise.

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serving real HEROES

I am very proud to be working with a group known as Aussie Hero Quilts and Laundry bags, supporting our men and women deployed overseas. Between January 2012 and August 2013 AHQ  sent 1868 quilts and 3005 laundry bags to Aussies serving overseas.

It began in October 2011 as an activity for one Sydney quilting group who made and posted 15 laundry bags and 24 quilts to a group of soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. The response was so heart warming that the group were inspired to sew for deployed relatives and friends of friends and by the 1st of January 2012 the blog was launched and the group was becoming an Australia wide organisation with ALL our Aussie men and women serving overseas on their list.   

It is not possible to count the people involved because it's purely voluntary and people contribute when and how they are able. Even the core group has changed over time, except for the original co-ordinator and founder Jan-Maree, former RAAF herself, who receives requests, assigns missions and keeps track of the projects.  And, she also sews.  We all sew in one way or another, many sew laundry bags, some make patchwork blocks, some sew the blocks together to make quilts, some appliqué, some just quilt and many are able to combine all those talents and turn out full quilts.

The age of AHQers ranges from 7 years up to 101 and we include several men in the ranks. There are people sewing for Aussie Heroes in every state and territory of Australia and even a few from overseas. Those who sew are married, single, mothers, grandmas, wives or children of service men and women, ex-serving members, wives of veterans, and people who just care a lot.

Applique blocks and laundry bags

Laundry bags and quilts are sent in response to requests received from serving members - for themselves, the men serving under them or their mates. Other requests come from wives, girlfriends or mothers. Sometimes a box of laundry bags will be sent to a chaplain to be handed out to men and women, who do not receive other mail. Our parcels go to Army, Air Force and Navy personnel, in several different countries and at sea. To keep track of so many items and so many recipients, all orders go through Jan-Maree.

So the next question is why? 

Don't our armed services supply the needs of serving members?

The answer is yes, they do - but in bulk, and everything looks alike. Laundry bags for example are issued in plain white or green or sometimes pale blue. You write your initials on the outside with a marker pen and take the bag, filled with your dirty uniform, to the laundry. Some laundries are huge and are run by local people. You drop off your bag and come back a few days later to find hundreds of laundry bags waiting, all look exactly the same. It is common for soldiers to lose their laundry in this situation and much time is wasted looking for belongings that have been taken by mistake. 

Colourful laundry bags

Other posts have a small DIY laundry. You put your dirty uniform into a washing machine and leave your laundry bag on top. There is no time to stand around waiting, you might only be on base for two days and have other things to catch up with like eating and sleeping, so the machine is left to do the job. When the load is finished the next person pulls out the wet contents and loads them into a dryer with the laundry bag hanging on the door. When that dryer is needed by someone else your clothes are removed and stuffed into your laundry bag. You return to find your laundry, hopefully washed, dried and bagged, waiting. BUT some of these bags are mesh and hard to name, some are plastic shopping bags or clones of standard issue and easily mixed up so, once again, you have the frustrating task of searching for a clean uniform or going without.

AHQ laundry bags are made of bright fabrics with patches for initials or even the actual initials stitched on the outside. The most important thing is THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT.  Just imagine how red and orange stripes or big pictures of daffy duck would stand out in a pile of lookalike bags.

Laundry bag (hanging) and quilt made for a RAAF fireman

And quilts. Aren't most of our deployed service men and women in hot deserts?  Well many of them are, but it can get pretty cold in the desert at night and did you know that it snows in Afghanistan in winter?  But our washable cotton quilts are not just for warmth, they are for colour and caring and to bring something from home into a harsh environment. They brighten up a dreary sleeping area or wrap around the shoulders of lonely men, like a big hug.  In fact the size we use, length and width is designed to do exactly that.

Quilts in the desert

We also make WWQs (wounded warrior quits) and some are kept on hand to be transported to hospital with the wounded. Sadly, there is the occasional need for a Fallen Warriors Quilt.  You can read more about this on the blog.

WWQ always have an Aussie theme

And the rewards? We get many rewards in the form of messages that are received every week and shared at - http://aussieheroquilts.blogspot.com.au 

Thank you so very much for my laundry bag! I absolutely love the colours and patterns. I really appreciate the effort and time you have taken to create this for me.  Receiving this gift has completely made my day and it will be something that will make me smile every time I look at it on our continuing patrols in the Middle East. It is easy to forget that other people apart from family appreciate what we are doing and it is very heart warming on these open lonely seas so far from home to be reminded of others back at home thinking of us.

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I am currently serving in the Middle east on deployment and would be honoured to receive an Aussie quilt.   Thank you so much for your kind thoughts it means a lot to us over here as we miss home terribly and to know we are thought of by many back home keeps us going stronger every day.

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Having a network like yours sending these gifts over here not only brings colour to our life, but reinforces the fact that we are not alone.  It is nice to have a constant visual reminder that the folks back home care enough to go to all this effort for us. These quilts and laundry bags are special to us not just for what they are, but also for what they represent.

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Afghanistan is a very bleak place, so it's really nice to have something girlie in a place like that. I have to honestly say that although I have never met you, every time I do my laundry I think of your kindness. I do believe that what goes around comes around, and you have a lot of good coming your way! 

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I am touched by your generosity, kindness and supportiveness to all the troops that are putting their life on the line for our country. It is people like you and your helpers in this project, that make us feel that what we are doing here, and being away from our family and friends for such a long period of time, is worth it.

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Thank you very much for the Quilt and Laundry bag which arrived in country around on the 2nd of June. However, I didn't receive it until the 8th because I've been very busy over the last few weeks.

I would like you to know that I now have a laundry bag that is envied by all who see it.  It is very distinct and has bought many comments. It is also extremely easy to find amongst the piles of washing.

The quilt is awesome. I have it in my room and took it out with me one time, however, I don't think I will be doing that again as it got filthy.  I had to wash it twice.  I felt terrible as I was wondering when I washed it if Sue would be unhappy with me. She did say this is the only Quilt like it in the world. However, it kept me warm and I didn't need to carry around a giant sleeping bag. I hope you are well and all is well with Aussie Hero Quilts. Thank you once again. 

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I am so pleased to hear about a quilt group sewing for such a worthy cause. I am a quilter who is deployed (separated from my machine - oh the injustice),  I started quilting many, many moons ago.  This email is because I would love a quilt.  I  have never had one made for me and it would give me great pleasure to receive one.  I have actually been going around camp admiring those who have chosen to put theirs on display and I try to view as many as possible.  I really am experiencing my own private quilt show - what fun.

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Hi Ladies,  Just a quick note to say how awesome the quilt and laundry bags are that XXX received from you.  I had a look at your blog and I think it is a fantastic thing that you are doing. What a great bunch of ladies! I love the kangaroo on XXX's quilt. I think you ladies are the Aussie Hero's - it is always great when people appreciate us.

I have a bright doona cover over here, so do not need a quilt but would really love a bright, loud laundry bag if someone has the time.

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The impact your group is having is just incredible.  I have made it my mission to ask everyone I meet if they have a quilt.  It is just amazing seeing grown men melt as they talk about "their" quilt.  The disbelief they have of a group of caring people actually taking the time and making the effort to put so much work into an item blows them away and they cannot believe that you ask for nothing for in return.  I met a guy only  a couple of days ago who said that he only had a laundry bag now, I asked him why?  He told me that he received a Star Wars quilt and it was just brilliant.  He was showing it off, when his mate begged to have it as he was such a big star wars fan.  He did not have the heart to say no and passed it over.  He found great pleasure in giving too.  The impact on morale is just beautiful. The laundry bags are all being used and it seems to be a fashion statement for some.  It's nice to see them sitting on top of the washing machines to mark which tub has their items. 

Laundry in Kandahar

You can find AHQ on facebook

or see the blog here 

http://aussieheroquilts.blogspot.com.au  

A group quilt, blocks made by different people and others putting it together

                "We care about the people, not the politics or the mission."