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This cushion cover is a good example of the use of counted thread, surface darning to create a design incorporating the negative space of the ground fabric. An elaborate grid of diagonals and squares, created by negative patterning and strategic touches of colour, combine to give a layered effect to the surface. The long, floating surface-darning stitch is a key element in the exploitation of the reflective qualities of the glossy silk floss.

A Tale of Two Rifles

The Queen's Own Corps of Guides, formed in 1846 by Lieutenant Harry Lumsden in Peshawar, were the first military force to adopt khaki as a service dress. The Guides consisted of a unique combination of infantry companies and cavalry squadrons. The North West Frontier of British India where they operated was rarely quiet and although many other cavalry and infantry regiments served there, none was engaged more frequently than the elite Guides. The Guides were one of the most famous regiments in the British Empire. Since 1947 after the partition of India and Pakistan the Guides regiment was absorbed into the Pakistan Army. In time they became the (10th) Guides Cavalry and the 2nd (Guides) Frontier Force (Infantry) in the Pakistan Army.

A few months before the Second Afghan War the Guides were placed on guard at the mouth of the Khyber Pass, awaiting orders to advance into the Pass. A young Afridi soldier of the corps found himself in a painful dilemma becuase his home village lay in the path of the Guides and he would be expected to treat friends and family as hostiles. He was standing guard one night with a soldier from the Gurkha company who asked him to hold his rifle while he fetched something from his nearby tent. The Afridi now had two rifles and a dark night to cover his disappearance. When the Gurkha returned and found his fellow guard gone along with his rifle, he had to report it to Colonel F H Jenkins. Furious, Jenkins demanded to know how many more Afridis there were in the corps. When he was told that there were 17 he ordered them all to parade in front of him. They were orded to take off every item of Guides uniform and equipment there and then. The astonished soldiers obeyed. "Now," said Jenkins, "you can go, and don't let me see your faces again till you bring back those two rifles."

Unidentified Swat Valley mosque, June 1990