Global Times Special Correspondent in the UK: Due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the UK is now undergoing a third blockade across the country, and the people who were forced to stay at home this time generally did not feel anxious when the city was closed for the first time last spring. One of the reasons is that the British people, especially women, have recently become fascinated by various cultures more than two hundred years ago, such as embroidery, sewing, and playing the piano. The British return to these traditional lifestyles with basically the same purpose-to relax in the epidemic.
The epidemic has hit many British retailers, but some companies engaged in knitwear sales have recently laughed from ear to ear. According to statistics from the British handmade goods store "Hobby Crafts", compared with the same period last year, the recent sales of various types of knitting goods in the UK have increased by 545%. Sales of various watercolor paints increased by more than three times, and canvas products rose by 207%.
Most of these goods are bought home by female consumers, because British women are now popular in various pastimes of the Georgian era (the time of the Hanoverian dynasty from the reign of George I to IV, from 1714 to 1837). Hand-sew clothes for yourself and your family, and embroider while chatting online. It is not advisable to go out during the blockade, and many British women use these methods to pass the time.
The rise of large-scale industrial production by machines and the prevalence of fast-moving lifestyles have made many British people forget that they can still thread needles and threads, thinking that all these have stayed in the era of Jane Austen (1775-1817). At that time, these handicrafts were a measure of whether a woman could be called a lady, or even a celebrity. Compared with the previous historical stages in Britain, the costumes of the Georgian era tend to be more French-style, elegant and sweet. Women's daily clothing is mainly cotton and linen. The corset became longer and harder. The multi-layer lace cuffs and the one-line low-cut large neckline were very popular at the time, and lace, spun yarn, ruffles, bows, and other decorations were the same. At that time, British women reflected their social status through clothing. Women of middle and high class also need to show their paintings and piano skills from time to time to reflect their artistic accomplishments. This is one of the important means for them to find future husbands.
Some people say that British women have become keen on embroidery and sewing again, which has something to do with the popularity of "Bridgetton Family". This life scene is set in a British "costume drama" in the early 19th century. It not only reminds the audience of knitting embroidery, but also reminds themselves: Why not use the current home time to practice piano and study gardening?
The 1920s and 1930s were the most popular period for pianos in the UK. People were proud of putting a piano in the living room. Some people say that there were more pianos in the UK than cars on the road; there is a more exaggerated saying that "there are more pianos than bathtubs." Now the interest of young British people in piano is greatly diminished. In recent years, the average annual sales of pianos in the UK have been less than 4,000, and most of the pianos in the home are elderly people.
However, Cavendish Piano Company, the only piano manufacturer in the UK that produces exclusively locally, found that in January this year alone, piano sales increased by 50%. Cox, 53, and his wife Shelly live in Yorkshire, England, and they run the company together. He said with emotion that he did not expect that the longer the British city was closed down, the better his business would be. In fact, this is not difficult to understand, because the closure of the city allows everyone to have more leisure time. He himself has recently become fascinated by watercolor painting, which in the past was regarded as an artistic life that only old-school people would be interested in.
To liberate one's life from the endless epidemic topic, for many British people, it is not necessary to buy a piano. In January of this year, the supermarket chain giant Waitrose, whose main consumer group is the middle class, increased its sales of a traditional jam by more than 10 times compared with the same period last year. Many people bought this jam and went back to make traditional British desserts for themselves and their families.
During the epidemic, the reading volume of British people who love to read has further increased. According to statistics from Waterstone, the largest bookstore chain in the UK, the sales of romantic novels in January this year increased by 900% year-on-year, and the sales of detective novels increased by 10 times. Some Britons believe that the increase in reading volume during the epidemic is due to the need to pass the time on the one hand, and on the other hand because everyone hopes to escape the spiritual world that has been shrouded by the new crown virus for a long time by reading these novels.