She Kept Her Money In Her Bra

James Timpson will be an excellent Minister for Prisons, due in part (very large part) to his incredible mother, Alex.

After reading Alex Timpson’s obituary in 2016, I felt compelled to stitch something because she was bloody amazing. Said stitching (‘Alex Timpson’ and ‘She kept her money in her bra’) remained in a box for six years, until it became part of ‘Exile Textile 3’

This is an extract from my social media post at the time of sewing - ‘Mother of five and foster parent to more than ninety children. Along with her husband, John, she hired young offenders (IN A KEY CUTTING BUSINESS!) and employed people based on their personality. Staff got a day off on their birthday and a free seaside family holiday. Hardly surprising that more than a thousand people came to her funeral’.

In the obituary, one of her family members (94% certain it was James of the new Cabinet) tells a story about how she hated handbags (check) and kept her money in her bra (double check), ‘cash in the left cup, credit cards in the right’.

When I was trying to find the original obituary to confirm the bra story (no luck) I stumbled upon an excellent podcast in which James recalls waiting in the car whilst Alex took babies into prisons to visit their mothers. It’s a great listen. The bit where he talks about including the shop-floor workers in management decisions particularly resonates with me. This absolutely did not happen when I was employed by a large London gallery, and it was totally crap as a consequence. The sign of a good boss is one who listens, actually listens, to the people on the shop floor.

Full Disclosure with James O’Brien, S2 E181.

The fabric is stitched from two of Mr. S’s shirts, which you will recognise from other places.

You can buy a print here.

Better Than Nobody

I support Brentford Football Club by mistake.

Several years back, at the dinner table, my husband and son were dominating the conversation with their beloved Reds. For a laugh, my daughter and I offered our bullshit opinions on tactics, and the like. We told them we loved football, they had just assumed we didn’t. Sexist bastards.

When asked who we support, I glanced at a pile of freshly laundered sheets and said ‘Brentford’ (out of date reference) and that we were off to watch a match that very afternoon.

And so we became football supporters, as much as two people who are totally uninterested in football can.

Due to ongoing random questioning about Griffin Park, we have been forced to follow the Bees for real. Turns out we are lucky charms. I kid you not. Since the day we gave them our magical blessing, Brentford FC have risen through the ranks to the Premier League. It’s uncanny.

Or it could be that they are a ruddy excellent team, with brilliant management and a great work ethic.

In the words of Steven Bartlett, ‘Brentford are special. Very, very special. Based on their resources, they are objectively overachieving’.

Steven goes on to ask Ivan Toney, who has played for many teams so can ‘compare and contrast’, what makes Brentford different?

“Everybody just mixes together. You just get your lunch, you just sit down here, and you talk with whoever. Nobody at the club thinks they’re better than nobody. That comes from the manager and his philosophy at the club”.

I recommend listening to the full interview. Especially if you are my old boss.

Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO. Interview with Ivan Toney, 19th August 2023.