Photo: The Friend Publications Ltd.
Eye - 14 February 2025
Eye dives into a mailbag with colour connections, a bouncy rhyme, as well as a Fat Cat from the archive
On this day
Putting pen to paper doesn’t just mean writing articles. In the 14 February 1992 edition of the Friend, Eye spied a friendly feline.
‘Fat Cat’ cartoons by David Barnes appeared in the magazine for many years, resulting in various pieces of merchandise. During a post-pandemic tidy-up in the office we discovered a t-shirt featuring this furry face, to join the much-loved teatowel in regular use where we make our tea!
What do you think, trusty readers? Shall Eye coax this charming moggie out of the archive in more sunshine pages this year?
Quaker connections and colour
Eye enjoys receiving extra insights from readers, so was pleased to get a footnote to the recent story about John Dalton (31 January) from John Lynes, of Hastings Meeting.
He writes: ‘Thank you for the celebration of John Dalton and his colour blindness.
‘Francis Galton (1822-1911) grew up in a prominent Quaker family. He was aware that an unusually large proportion of birthright Friends were colour blind, and he used this knowledge, and his Quaker contacts, to investigate the genetics of colour blindness, and hence genetics generally.
‘Galton pioneered the mathematics of statistics and the scientific study of heredity. Unfortunately he also originated the doctrine of eugenics – long after abandoning Quakerism.’
A bouncy rhyme
Alexandra Claire, of Broadstairs Meeting, shared some lyrics to a ditty that Eye suspects will become an ear worm!
She writes: ‘This little ditty is how I passed my own time yesterday. I frequent a Chocolate Café for my daily treat and I persuaded myself to take biro to napkin.’
Can you stop yourself from singing it in your head? We’ve failed miserably at Eye!
In a room
Ten quiet Quakers, sitting in a room
Ten quiet Quakers, sitting in a room
And if one new Zoom-er should accidentally call…
They’ll be eleven in a Meeting, sitting in a room
Eleven in a Meeting, sitting in a room
Eleven in a Meeting, sitting in a room
And if one old Friend should accidentally call…
They’ll be twelve silent Quakers, sitting in a room
Twelve silent Quakers, sitting in a room
Twelve silent Quakers, sitting in a room
And if one peaceful hour should accidentally fall…They’ll be twelve who have worshipped,
Worshipped in a room
Invitation
Eye would love to get to know the trusty readers of our pages better. How did you come to Quakerism? Do you have a story you would like to share? Is there a question you would like to pose?
