Sometimes surprising things happen.
On the 2nd of July I was watching a telecast of the local football code. It was a cold Melbourne winter night around 8 degrees Celsius. This was set to be a great game as the two teams had met at the highest level of the competition in recent years. One had continued to triumph while the other was reascending to their former glory.
Our local code like most modern sports is dominated by the opinions of statisticians and former heroes called upon for their expert and insightful comments to add depth and colour to our understanding of the game.
On this particular evening a former player who possesses an approachable rapport with the public and professionals alike rugged himself up against the cold chill of winter. Prior to leaving home he went to his wardrobe and selected a scarf purchased a year before from a retailer in one of Melbourne’s cultural precincts. He was not schooled in design, none the less he saw himself as open minded and a little avante guarde in his approach to personal style.
The thoughts that possessed his mind and directed him to choose this garment we can only guess at. Was it the sturdy functional nature of the piece or the fetching, slightly lairy colour combination?
Whatever the logic the results of his decision are now the stuff of urban mythology.
He left home with his trusty Grandpa scarf rolled up in his stylish satchel and headed for the large downtown sports arena. By the time he arrived the retractable roof had been closed cutting out some of the chill effect. This arena like many multi-purpose venues built in the manner of the Colosseum has large openings let into the sides to facilitate the movement of large numbers of people. When the harsh winter wind in Melbourne blows in off the snowfields to it’s north they funnel themselves through these fenestrations increasing the chill factor. It was into this arena that our brave ambassador went about his work that evening as the likable ‘boundary rider’.
The boundary rider’s job is to trot out onto the playing surface to seek up to the minute observations from the mouths coaches and their confidants and players at the cessation of the game. Our man, we’ll call him ‘Tim’, was to be found in various locations on this playing field resplendent in his Grandpa scarf, amiably chatting to a coach here and later a player there.
During this time, whilst he was on camera one of his co-commentators well know for his acerbic wit and his thesaurisian grasp of the English language noted that the scarf he was wearing owed a strong resemblance to table clothes in kitsch Italian restaurants. His actual words were, “We know where Tim ate dinner tonight, he’s stollen the table cloth from an Italian restaurant”.
From the time these words left his mouth a legend began to engulf our humble scarf. Did Tim’s patronage of our Grandpa scarf signal a fashion statement or the acceptance of ethically made local craft in a new arena?
Tim Watson's Grandpa scarf
These questions may never be answered.
If you’d like to find out more about this tale I suggest you click on this link.
Tags: accessories, Australia, Brunswick East, craft, ethical clothing, Grandpa, knitting, Melbourne, scarves, wool
