Topic 206: My Sleeves

Carol:

The Sleeve

 I started planning my daily theme essay in my head yesterday evening, taking mental inventory of the different kinds of sleeves in my wardrobe.  Suddenly, my memory did one of those unpredictable backward somersaults that took me to a name I learned 40 years,  La Manche. The Sleeve.
 

La Manche is the French name for the “arm” of the Atlantic Ocean most of us call the English Channel.  Known for being “country-prideful,” the French would never refer to The Channel as English.   Imagine La Manche as being shaped somewhat like a sleeve, in fact one of those mutton sleeves that women wore in the 19th century. The “buttons” on the wrist of the sleeve are Dover, England and Calais, France. The wristband is the Strait of Dover. The broad end of the sleeve is marked by Penzance at the tip of south-west England and Brest in northern France.
 

The Channel also gave its French name to an area of the Normandy Coast that includes the beautiful Mont St Michel. La Manche is technically a “department,” or civil administrative region. Mont St Michel is an island of sorts where the Couesnon River meets the waters of The Channel. At one time a natural bridge connected Mont St Michel to the main land, revealed at low tide. This little islet is one of numerous islands of varying size “decorating” The Sleeve, including the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands.  

The shorelines on both sides of the Channel have a rich history and strategic importance. But, today they constitute major ports and tourist locales with a combined population of over 3.5 million people (source: “English Channel”).

Le Havre beach

The friendly rivalry shown by Channel swimmers and boaters  goes back to the  1800’s.

No contending hostile shipping meet in the waters of La Manche, as our neighbours term what we call the English Channel. Far more glorious, far more agreeable… are the friendly contests of the friendly fleets of England and France in doings of mutual regard, esteem and friendship. We have indeed laid aside the sword for an olive branch, and long may this be held for the enjoyment, the benefit, and the gratification of the world, our countries and ourselves (“Naval Doings” 427)
 

Evacuation of Dunkirk

Eighty years later, the true test of that “mutual regard, esteem and friendship” came when the Battle of Dunkirk stranded hundreds of thousands of British, French and Belgian troops on the beaches of Normandy. On May 26, 1940 Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons to garner support for a massive evacuation of the troops. During the ensuing nine days, a flotilla of boats ranging from navy ships to fishing trawls and lifeboats to family pleasure boats evacuated almost 340,00 soldiers across The Channel, including about 140,000 French soldiers (source: “Dunkirk Evacuation ”).
 

Today the quickest way to traverse the Channel is not by ship or boat but by car or train. Since 1993 “The Chunnel,” a 31 mile railway tunnel under the Strait of Dover, has been providing service to increasingly speedy trains. Tourists and business travelers can now journey from London to Paris in 2 hours and 15 minutes (source “Channel Tunnel”).
 

I haven’t crossed La Manche by Chunnel or Channel although I have flown across it several times. Speed may be great, but I prefer my Sleeve a beautiful deep ocean blue.

Sources:
“Channel Tunnel.” Wikipedia.
“Dunkirk Evacuation.” Wikipedia.
“English Channel.” Wikipedia.
Image of Le Havre beach and the Channel. Wikipedia.
“Naval Doings.” Nautical Magazine. Vol 34 1865, p. 427.
   

Megan:

We’ve had some silly topics before but I’m pretty sure this is the worst. Topics that would be better than this one (but still about clothes): My Shoes, My Buttons, My Pockets. I like the last one. I could write a whole essay about what I find in my pockets. Actually I couldn’t. I only ever find used Kleenex and movie tickets. Sometimes a dog treat.

What can I possibly say about my sleeves? Have you ever noticed that in most of the cartoons I am wearing a tank top? That is because in real life, most of my shirts and dresses are sleeveless. This is not due to any sort of bias against sleeves, although I do find that most long sleeve shirts are too long for my short arms. In 100+ degree heat, sleeveless is better than sleeved.

I suppose there is a fashion to sleeves – by which I mean, sleeve design changes with the fashion. I base this entirely on the part of Anne of Green Gables where Anne asked Marilla to make her a dress with puffed sleeves. That book had some influence on me and for probably the only time in my life, I had a preference about sleeves (aside from now, where my preference is none). When my grandmother made my First Communion dress (even though she was not Catholic), at my request she gave the dress puffed sleeves.

First Communion dresses, by the way and in case you didn’t know, look like mini-wedding dresses. They are miniature because they are worn by children, but also they don’t have trains. It is also tradition to wear a veil, or at least it was when I was a kid. I haven’t been a First Communion service since my brother had his (little boys wear suits and ties). I wonder what my grandmother thought about the Catholic ritual. I once asked her what was the difference between her religion, which was Methodist, and mine. She answered, “Methodists don’t worship the Pope.” Oooh, my mother was angry.

Anyway, I was really happy with my dress, and according to my mother, it’s packed away for me. I’m sort of sorry that we were the only Catholics in the family, because it would have been neat for one of my little cousins to wear a dress made by their great-grandmother. For a second just now I had a thought about finding the dress and giving it to one of the girls, but I don’t think that’s a good idea after all. The last time I saw the 3 year old wear her princess dress, she spilled an entire milkshake down the front. Of course, I was 8 when I had my First Communion, so she’s got about 5 years to grow before she’ll fit in it, and maybe that’s plenty of time for her to stop being so clumsy. OR, if I ever get married, she could be the flower girl and wear the dress then. That might be nice. I’ll have to time it pretty carefully though.