Local Milliner Hospitalized After Attempting to Block a Fascinator

A veteran milliner in Bath was admitted to hospital on Tuesday after what colleagues are calling 'an aggressive blocking incident' left her with repetitive strain injuries in both wrists and what her physiotherapist described as 'hat elbow.' Clara Brimsworth, 54, had been commissioned to produce a fascinator for a client attending Royal Ascot, with specifications that included 'something architectural but whimsical, structured but effortless, and ideally defying at least two laws of physics.' Brimsworth attempted to block the piece using a custom balsa wood form she had carved to resemble what she called 'a swooping parabola with emotional resonance.' The sinamay, a material made from abaca fibers, reportedly resisted all attempts at cooperation. 'The stiffener wasn't taking,' Brimsworth said from her hospital bed, her hands wrapped in therapeutic putty. 'I tried steam, I tried sizing, I tried reasoning with it. At hour seven, I was just holding it against the block and whispering threats.' Her workshop assistant, who discovered Brimsworth slumped over her blocking table at midnight, said the fascinator had achieved approximately forty percent of the desired shape and one hundred percent of the desired whimsy, 'though not in the way the client intended.' The Worshipful Company of Hatters has issued a statement reminding members that blocking sessions should not exceed four hours without a rest period, and that 'no fascinator, however important the wedding, is worth a repetitive strain injury.' Brimsworth expects to return to work within a fortnight and has already begun sketching alternative designs, using her left hand.