On this day in 2019 I was at a garden show somewhere near Rutland Water. In my culture August (Lunasa) is the season of mellow fruitfulness.  It is the time of harvest, of getting the spuds, in storing the food which will sustain us through an geimhreadh. The last of the raspberries, the main crop of blackberries, the coming of the apples, respite from sunsets ag dul anoir. Visitors to the Inishowen are sometimes let in on the secret of sunsets going east. I am not going to spoil my own brother's experiences of sunsets going east but I can let you in on the fact that he has a bothán at Dunree looking out on Fanad head and I stay there when I am in Inishowen

TOURIST IN OWN COUNTRY
How do you explain to an outsider who either cannot or will not understand that an autistic  child has significant communication problems when it is well hidden or hard to observe?   People hear a high-functioning AS use good articulation, speak in sentences and engage in comments without noticing that the topics are highly selective

 “How can there be a communication problem?”  Trying to explain a child's 'oddnesses' presents a dilemma.  Should one say “lacks comprehension of the subtleties of daily communication discourse”?  Probably not.

Such specialist terminology will not explain to people how best to interact with someone blessed with Asperger Syndrome.  

We want others to feel comfortable about communicating or interacting with our child and want to make the experience mutually satisfying.  We reckon that outsiders might better understand if information is presented within a familiar frame of reference. 

Suppose you were to make an analogy between your child's perception of life with that of a visitor from another country which speaks the same language and on the surface seems to share the same values? Dig deep into experiences of dealing with an apparently similar culture, say the similarities and differences between three English speaking countries Ireland, UK and USA.  Think of your own experiences as you toured one or the other of these from the third which we will take as your own.  It can happen right at passport control where you are jolted by the imperious manner of the immigration officer.  You get through and emerge into Arrivals, free to come and go as you please.  You are probably not going to stand out from the crowd.  Something about your clothes may be subtly 'different'.  Hairstyle, glasses, suitcase are noticeable to an acute observer.  This would be "social interaction" already at work even before anyone speaks. 

The Irish used to claim they could tell the difference between a 'Yank' and a 'Brit' even before they spoke.  They still can in ways! The Yank usually has louder clothes.  Those were the days when the ONLY visitors to Ireland were English or American.  Since the huge influx of white people from the Baltic States, Poland, other formerly communist countries, the Irish now have to at least wait til a person SAYS something or gestures before using 'social communication'.    

Once the 'social communication' begins, all sorts of pre-conceived notions arise and stereotyping commences.  One looks for differences and finds them, even differences that are not there. This is 'social communication' in action or even in reverse.  We prepare to do business with the visitor on their terms, but in reality it won't happen. The visitor will [generally] do business our way.  Having seen things from the obverse let's consider the reverse.      

Upon arrival , a tourist finds that even though he may speak the same language, he does NOT understand cultural and linguistic aspects of our daily lives.  He may not understand the colourful slang used by teenagers.  He could be confused, for instance, by words such as “awesome.”  He might want to talk about subjects on which he is knowledgeable but finds 'they' want to talk about topics he does not understand or about which he has no point of reference. 

Watch an Irishman or American trying to get his head around cricket.  Watch an Englishman or an American trying to make sense of hurling.  And can anyone in the Old World make any sense out of American Football? 

Conversing about football, reality shows on TV, issues around the most recent election are difficult for a visitor from any of our countries to either of the others and we would find these topics of limited interest.  Until one has a better command of the local language and various topics of conversation, one might avoid situations which require  engaging in chit-chat or small talk.   We could be uncomfortable or dis-orientated if not able to avoid such situations.

In many many ways, the high functioning articulate scholar on the Autistic Spectrum is just like the tourist.  He does not quite understand the various subtleties of his native language. He is unaware of some or many of the social, cultural and  informational signals implicit in our daily communication and subversively built into spoken language and body language.  But, unlike the tourist, the AS scholar usually or frequently does not know that he does not understand even when he does know, he will not realize to what extent he is missing essential signals of social communication. 

The tourist may ask questions or develop hypotheses about what he thinks people are talking about. He may check his hunches with a familiar communication partner or even with strangers.  He will figure a work-around and generally succeed.  The more time he spends doing this, the more he will integrate.  It is almost certain that the AS scholar will not do these things.  His brain is 'differently wired' and it is unlikely he would engage in confirmation or clarification activities.  What is your own experience of Aspergers Syndrome?  How many people do you know who have it?  How many people do you KNOW?  

So what can parents tell people to help them understand their child with ASD (autism spectrum disorder} and to help them be more successful in daily interactions with him/her?  Parents can simply advise them to do what they would do with tourists but with some customization for their particular child;

* Provide practical advance information for friends, neighbours and relatives. Tell them the child with ASD may only take one turn in a conversation or may only be responsive to yes-no or one-word response questions.  He or she may eventually learn to do more. 

* Share information about the child’s favourite topics or interests; he or she will be less interested in the neighbour/friend’s topics and more receptive to their overtures if it is on his/her terms. 

(Mention how to manage a monologue, however, in case one occurs). 

* Suggest that the friend/neighbour say the child’s name and pause before beginning to talk. The act of calling the child’s name is to alert him or her that someone will be directing a message his/her way. The pause provides potential time to shift his/her attention. 

* Since typical adults tend to talk fast and often in a disjointed fashion, tell the neighbours/friends/relatives to talk more slowly than one would to a child of your child's age or like they might talk with an adult tourist from another country. 

* Remind neighbour/friends that the child will not have the background/cultural/social knowledge of his age-mates. 

* Advise them to explain things in short 4-7 word concrete sentences rather than use long, complex utterances, slang, figurative language, double meaning or ambiguous/humorous comments. 

* Suggest that, when possible, they might use pictures, objects, or gestures to add clarification to a verbal message. 

* Alert them to watch for body language, physical signs of anxiety, and conversational content that may suggest the child has difficulty processing the messages. 

* Encourage the friend/neighbour to allow the individual with ASD sufficient time to process the message and formulate a response before expecting an answer or changing topics.

The challenge for 'outsiders' will be to remember to use some or all of the suggestions and at the same time engage in a natural interaction.  Parents, through their own interactions with their sons and daughters, may need to discretely model appropriate interactions so that outsiders can more easily understand what he or she needs to do.  Many individuals who are high-functioning desire interaction but they need adaptations by their communication partners to be successful.  Parents want their children to be successful at communicating with others.  The latter may just need some general information to make it happen.  So, give them a copy of this article.

Read more: http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/high-functioning-person-autism-spectrum-disorder-tourist-his-native-country-3899943#ixzz1BL1yPLrs

FOR FUTURE USE 

FOR FUTURE STORAGE

This is possibly the first day of the rest of my life or perhaps the first week is more appropriate. 
Mon.10th 1220 Homenene

I have had the mirror turned on me and I may need to see why I do not have someone to visit the flat for cups of tea and discussions

On Bridge Street there is sometimes a stall which specialises in Polish Bread. Made in Worksop.

   Jam is made from sugar, water and fruit.
Friars Farm Marmalade is made from
grapefruits, oranges, sugar and water.
Friar's Farm is a real food concept
which I am trying to track down.

THE BACK STORY
I was walking across Northampton Market Square trying to get my bearings.  The square has been a bombsite for years and I believe before that it was a scruffy market full of tat and it was felt it could benefit from an upgrade.  The council decided to clean it up
and took its council time about it. 

They put up tasty pitches,
signed for that unified look.
I found the butcher some time ago
and  I liked his wares.
I ignored the 'artists collective' beside it.

Today I looked at the sign more carefully,
t actually said "Artisan's Collective NN"
and there was no 'arty' stuff to be seen. 
The stall was full of shelves of jars with jam,
chutneys, pickles, marmalades, relishes. 

On closer inspection cheeses, charcuterie
and BREAD were noted and the display in front was crammed with all sorts of my goodies.

Suffice to say I walked away with a sourdough loaf, a jar of Relish, a bit of cheese and returned to the boat to unload
and slaver over my spoils before realizing my wallet was missing.  The last time I remembered seeing it was in Market Square.

So with heart lodged beside my front teeth I went for a bus hoping against hope the wallet would be found and saved.   Just as I sat down my phone rang, unknown number "Are you the sailor on the Canal Project"  The bus floated to Northampton on air and I floated alongside on cloud nine.

Steve had found the wallet on a ledge with my phone number in it and became my best friend for life. 

It was quiet hour at the market so we talked awhile and I found Steve was more than just a good Samaritan. 

He had run a small-holding in Towcester where he had produced food for sale including veg. and bacon and built up a trusting clientele.  But he wanted to expand a dream of selling high quality local produce on a market.  He started with a successful pop-up in Milton Keynes (and I suspect his Towcester clients followed him). He was waiting for the Northampton market to open which of course it now was.

Steve sources local produce to augment his own kitchens just yards away in Foundery Lane  where he makes jams and chutneys and cheeses and gathers produce from other local sources.  All his stuff has provenance. The bread is made in the kitchens of Northampton Hope Centre less than 500m away in Campbell Street and is pure "Chleb Bubuni", the finest and purest sourdough you can eat, introduced during this century by Polish immigrant bakers.

Jeyes Relish intrigued me. Steve told me that Jeyes Fluid was invented and developed by a Northampton pharmacist
which still trades in a neighbouring village as Jeyes of Earls Barton and had developed a unique relish to compliment and compete with Worcester Sauce Hoisin Sauce Yorkshire Relish
and he had a story for just about everything on display. I would later meet his cheesemaker who had retired from

Thurs 28thNov24.  I meet Judith Jacobs.  This is a resume of my visit to  Moor Farm  written over a bottle of Watergull Mulled Apple Juice (from Moor Farm Shop of course).   I recently watched Adam Henson on Countryfile imbibing Watergull juice from his own apples on live television. Mulled juice should be sipped from a  tulip glass to retain the aroma and allow the terroir to come through as you sip ...  I said sip. ...  Gulping is for the proletariat ... You can get Watergull at Waitrose but not at that other proletarian  supernarket which wants to squeeze farmers and real food producers til their pips squeak ...

This proto-article is destined for Pentargon's galley. But first let Judith speak for herself ...   "Average day I get up at 6.45am, get a cup of tea in my flask and go around the farm to check on all the cows and sheep to ensure they are alright.  I [will] do some office work ... we keep [records] on all the animals and various health plans ... and there is also admin work ... for our farm shop.  We check ...the animals throughout the day ensuring they have everything they need. Some days we do have to ... intervene to assure the well-being of the animals ...  whether... illness; complications associated with breeding; or sometimes they just feel like being awkward.  Farming is different every day, so we’re always prepared for what the day brings ... "  This is 'average-day' farming in action. You don't even want to know what a non average day is like, but the march on Whitehall would not be 'average' also lambing is never average or getting a cow through a breech birth. Up and at it then before dawn, taking a flasked cuppa out into the fields to see the livestock is safe and well,  then into the books before ensuring the shop opens for 9oc and the kitchen is on full go. 

Judith's children all engage with Moor farm. Rosie manages the shop and cafe full time  while her three siblings attend on request.  During my short visit the cafe was heaving and the animated  hum of conversation was a pleasure to absorb.   A rural community hub in full swing is an atmosphere with which I am well acquainted ...  My purpose was to locate Moor Farm Shop to ensure I could get a bus there there from Peterborough.  62 runs from Queensgate to Maxey. It is also accessible from Werrington when you know where the stops are.  I had been in touch with Judith before my visit and was able to promise her that I would research all the bus opportunities.    I arrived at 13.15 on Friday with a 35 minute window to grab some farm food.  I did a 'quick' shop and located noisette of lamb, sausages and Jamaican jerk chicken.  The shop has a carousel check out system where you come in one door, glide via the butchers, pass various specialty sections and finish at check-out to pay and exit. 

Check-out is where conversations occur and friendships are instantly made or cemented because at the tills are Judith and Rosie and between them they seem to know everyone.  Having checked out and emerged into the open,  I realized there was plenty of time before my 62 would return from Maxey, so  I dived in for a second lap, adding mulled apple juice, blue Leicester, some naughty Eccles cakes and a beautiful plum loaf to my haul.  I had read of Lincolnshire plum bread but this was my first meeting.  Irish will know that plum bread is like a damp and spongy barm brack.  It is I suppose the nearest England comes to our barm brack or in my language báirin breac.  It uses different flour which gives it a spongier mouth feel and is quite damp. I make báirin breac with soaked mixed fruit to make it less dry than the barm brack.  The unique feature of a báirin breac is that the fruit is damp and lush but the bread is crisp and dry.

With the bus sorted and the following day being a Saturday I was able to get up early and catch the 8.26 arriving at Moor Farm at 9.14 with 30 minutes to neck a small breakfast.  I would so much have liked to be able to dally but the next bus back would be 13.50 and I had other business to attend.