tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12056322423992711772024-03-13T13:21:16.733+00:00silencing the bellmartinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.comBlogger1565125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-72204996628344376802024-02-27T19:12:00.004+00:002024-02-27T19:16:18.943+00:00Poems and Pomposity<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDZn3eJpFHb6_eS5fxJXZ2bu0ThE4j7JobfuuyO4xxxnl4BVyHWKGMy1TZTM6kH_g51GQcyZm13R1EJqVjnLKmL0WSeKFsQ_mVEMaAS8lwOMzHG_nj_foCtDYNkgngsL9QFquJhqT4mEI1vzqWUmuviBBRxEBittiZ5nuaI-56k1tRXuK9ls7MKCwFlrV/s1280/books%20do%20furnish%20a%20life.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="951" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDZn3eJpFHb6_eS5fxJXZ2bu0ThE4j7JobfuuyO4xxxnl4BVyHWKGMy1TZTM6kH_g51GQcyZm13R1EJqVjnLKmL0WSeKFsQ_mVEMaAS8lwOMzHG_nj_foCtDYNkgngsL9QFquJhqT4mEI1vzqWUmuviBBRxEBittiZ5nuaI-56k1tRXuK9ls7MKCwFlrV/s320/books%20do%20furnish%20a%20life.jpeg" width="238" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have been reading 'Books Do Furnish a Life', a selection of writings by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins" target="_blank">Richard Dawkins</a> but they were mostly introductions and reviews of other people's books, so you are not getting ideas but his opinions about people's ideas. There are lots of ideas for interesting books to read but I decided to take it back to the library. </span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Liked this:<br />"From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties<br />And things that go bump in the night<br />Good Lord deliver us.<br />Some say it is Scottish, not Cornish, but wherever it comes from the sentiments are shared worldwide. People are afraid off the dark. Science, as <a href="https://carlsagan.com" target="_blank">Sagan</a> argued and personally exemplified, has the power to reduce ignorance and dispel fear. We should all read science and learn to think like scientists, not because science is useful (though it is), but because the light of knowledge is wonderful and banishes the debilitating and time-wasting fear of the dark." </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx75ti0iIySCWHcPeC51Wp6IdBecE_qXvGowKGGz7eDjngUwEtDoJiNfFcu_f0DxvT7MvprcxVhUHdCIUYKmfAWgvm31XOUmUDvqW3v74Imob0_IyAvJ5mzzrXicnkqppFqk1CtVGgTfepaJLEddIuBruWWDIJffRynnIrizMcJlnyw3Zc-UAUnIWUOCP5/s1280/men%20who%20feed%20pigeons.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx75ti0iIySCWHcPeC51Wp6IdBecE_qXvGowKGGz7eDjngUwEtDoJiNfFcu_f0DxvT7MvprcxVhUHdCIUYKmfAWgvm31XOUmUDvqW3v74Imob0_IyAvJ5mzzrXicnkqppFqk1CtVGgTfepaJLEddIuBruWWDIJffRynnIrizMcJlnyw3Zc-UAUnIWUOCP5/s320/men%20who%20feed%20pigeons.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Men Who Feed Pigeons' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selima_Hill" target="_blank">Selima Hill</a> was utterly surreal, juxtaposing the most mundane of situations with the weirdest of images, articulating random thoughts that might flit across the brain unnoticed for anyone else but that she somehow manages to pin down. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sometimes lovely cosy images:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>Piglets</u><br />His head is like a barn full of straw<br />where piglets go to sleep in warm heaps.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sometime very disturbing ones:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>Everyone is Watching</u><br />Everyone is watching me and wondering<br />if somebody sitting on her own,<br />even though she's clean, and a woman,<br />is in fact a <i>serial killer</i>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sometimes just plain weird:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>Honey</u></span><br><span style="font-family: verdana;">I do confide in him, but only rarely,</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">and when I do I always regret it:</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">he acts as if I'm smearing him with honey</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">in the dark with my bare hands.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. Don't be afraid of the dark.</span></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-15620611828081760082024-02-24T14:10:00.003+00:002024-02-24T14:11:01.513+00:00Meanwhile in Japan ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi16nPc0dyhu0Jz1-mFD6axDPx-b5-USk7mrvNP9eUcRK97vUHZqzcxo3OAUhISxSohLDQ90GU12G-PLSatLff4rFGUeyRzEimRdgieA_Eok2zKAjJJ3NZcZqByT1jntvlhCKNeWyZwmeKbdKiaZzBpZTWKKHdFcs3_1CHPEdpT0BqwSHceGimJIeaQBZY/s1280/bedtime%20selfie.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi16nPc0dyhu0Jz1-mFD6axDPx-b5-USk7mrvNP9eUcRK97vUHZqzcxo3OAUhISxSohLDQ90GU12G-PLSatLff4rFGUeyRzEimRdgieA_Eok2zKAjJJ3NZcZqByT1jntvlhCKNeWyZwmeKbdKiaZzBpZTWKKHdFcs3_1CHPEdpT0BqwSHceGimJIeaQBZY/s320/bedtime%20selfie.jpeg" width="180" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Monkey sensei had a long weekend and so took herself off to visit <a href="https://fujisan.ne.jp/en/" target="_blank">Mount Fuji</a>. In Japan the hotel will provide you with pyjamas and a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukata" target="_blank">yukata</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">She did some random exploring:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAu-gULbnQAqxVDErqOGbcP7AKOG3p7HjIh28MSOMYq1hJFpaBzEBze6QW8Tl3-b7tnyNPN0IdEe5SnQgihCCsGaPbkTkcsA7t7523C7OPrCHsJAoELHUVp-sw8EZ8kjxPPDXHGERQdsWkKygJ7r1XrIeeDBcN7Gwgud1W9OalDpD-0vVXJHw7xdfrM6ye/s1280/rocky%20pool.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAu-gULbnQAqxVDErqOGbcP7AKOG3p7HjIh28MSOMYq1hJFpaBzEBze6QW8Tl3-b7tnyNPN0IdEe5SnQgihCCsGaPbkTkcsA7t7523C7OPrCHsJAoELHUVp-sw8EZ8kjxPPDXHGERQdsWkKygJ7r1XrIeeDBcN7Gwgud1W9OalDpD-0vVXJHw7xdfrM6ye/s320/rocky%20pool.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Went to a weird museum:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIp5PX8e67WQDCELmkBo3TWGorJFvIem3dvovMwv1p9nCooBDLriGVQflnKiZwrxWtm8-cnkZh-KLSwMWudVXd77JX1cIvfWXtQ5pe3MgIHHyVIcsx96C89o3mPcsiUMvgzrF10owm9vqir5M0TVFVuwXCoxezolCUJ3d7dthadeiiCqpoua_dSUD2MS8D/s1280/creepy%20cat.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="961" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIp5PX8e67WQDCELmkBo3TWGorJFvIem3dvovMwv1p9nCooBDLriGVQflnKiZwrxWtm8-cnkZh-KLSwMWudVXd77JX1cIvfWXtQ5pe3MgIHHyVIcsx96C89o3mPcsiUMvgzrF10owm9vqir5M0TVFVuwXCoxezolCUJ3d7dthadeiiCqpoua_dSUD2MS8D/s320/creepy%20cat.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Admired random statues:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgiAwVvSLNXXExwbba9Kj8bSE5rDyjaDsKXydXO69AwM1AYKQfG3gQCUGwsX-eNREqIJ0KWB3djwlxeXI3gI5A41iRwIyuq-I6urWQlAeCsY6Hbe6iGAodTiB2pdGcSdCO8RLdopvcWQd36Xhy_LV35WXCVXr4EiA4aYgSkbrMVtUWFj-Z2QW6WXkt02K/s1280/giant%20rhino.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgiAwVvSLNXXExwbba9Kj8bSE5rDyjaDsKXydXO69AwM1AYKQfG3gQCUGwsX-eNREqIJ0KWB3djwlxeXI3gI5A41iRwIyuq-I6urWQlAeCsY6Hbe6iGAodTiB2pdGcSdCO8RLdopvcWQd36Xhy_LV35WXCVXr4EiA4aYgSkbrMVtUWFj-Z2QW6WXkt02K/s320/giant%20rhino.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And finally got to see the beautiful snow-topped mountain itself (it was really cloudy on Friday) (and the last time she visited in 2022):</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2C3bD5QqgzMAXZydzkLhZyk4o9LUtzted9HP6tieOaDE54Ijf5gWdXcpKeARqA7IVmFVQZt8dTjp4R7CUdSVUdl97k6mUAS29q08O2UBFPLR_UOYTBWzy8LNFaO04vwnLZeW0OZEP8V3jdnUK4QAn2h8e0LU1XRenxyWkF0qu3cRIPzzwShjlM3KxMeF/s1280/fuji%20mirinda.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2C3bD5QqgzMAXZydzkLhZyk4o9LUtzted9HP6tieOaDE54Ijf5gWdXcpKeARqA7IVmFVQZt8dTjp4R7CUdSVUdl97k6mUAS29q08O2UBFPLR_UOYTBWzy8LNFaO04vwnLZeW0OZEP8V3jdnUK4QAn2h8e0LU1XRenxyWkF0qu3cRIPzzwShjlM3KxMeF/s320/fuji%20mirinda.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Meanwhile back on this side of the world, I had my brother Giles to stay. We went out for dinner and then on for a cocktail at <a href="https://www.manchestersfinest.com/places/corbieres/" target="_blank">Corbiere's</a> and then on Wednesday </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">went to see '</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holdovers" style="font-family: verdana;" target="_blank">The Holdovers</a><span style="font-family: verdana;">' at the </span><a href="https://www.everymancinema.com/venues-list/x11np-everyman-manchester-st-johns/" style="font-family: verdana;" target="_blank">Everyman Cinema</a><span style="font-family: verdana;">:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJVA7pRfPov13VBkxenO_9q34Wz_z7xK_1xz_i4Vla65pF1ujEi2sKXt7TceGycn3aHk2Dbpkas_dWNczos6PPU6PYyvcJUtWq2t3A_APQGg1CLujWYIZpUA313QnruqeB0DGWAkqlVWjP3O-McX_-ukNnT1lKeB_kb0Z3BusOKDBgyV5RoebwcFfixfc/s1280/me%20and%20Giles.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1280" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJVA7pRfPov13VBkxenO_9q34Wz_z7xK_1xz_i4Vla65pF1ujEi2sKXt7TceGycn3aHk2Dbpkas_dWNczos6PPU6PYyvcJUtWq2t3A_APQGg1CLujWYIZpUA313QnruqeB0DGWAkqlVWjP3O-McX_-ukNnT1lKeB_kb0Z3BusOKDBgyV5RoebwcFfixfc/s320/me%20and%20Giles.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tish and Jun had their two year anniversary and went out for waffles ... </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpAhJJi9LXEjs3R05byKc5gFrawilD6xjg8Twq0WXyJ7LOQmemvDjhpTarWFqXEUVTiJaGebtvxieX6Rs9ywg8skMskDLSYcJIx9mYlVACWK4fwXrrHO1T-Z0gBHwKhvBBhJ_e3eBz6ebFSmgk4aV4mjzC0oA-3OgCPtXmkF3U13zCrJ4XO2lRRXF4LT1/s1280/waffles.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpAhJJi9LXEjs3R05byKc5gFrawilD6xjg8Twq0WXyJ7LOQmemvDjhpTarWFqXEUVTiJaGebtvxieX6Rs9ywg8skMskDLSYcJIx9mYlVACWK4fwXrrHO1T-Z0gBHwKhvBBhJ_e3eBz6ebFSmgk4aV4mjzC0oA-3OgCPtXmkF3U13zCrJ4XO2lRRXF4LT1/s320/waffles.jpeg" width="144" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And dad, recovering well from his operation, made his annual batch of marmalade:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yI7eBom_8q-6v1bbxzUZmXKMwBMEe3JahGiSpHmI8rGR3QdRDM-ewkyGMEU7-JeeTXCp-waLfeKSVYeDGJK8_NBzihgfUWp88ULl6Y-8W7avsOMdQ0gEMiiXti99xotQmwuZDiCoLUel7ja0bKE8c4bjQD-0STQ-sFJ4nIqxxIne1lBMLbNSz3Q0B7P3/s1280/marmalade%202024.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yI7eBom_8q-6v1bbxzUZmXKMwBMEe3JahGiSpHmI8rGR3QdRDM-ewkyGMEU7-JeeTXCp-waLfeKSVYeDGJK8_NBzihgfUWp88ULl6Y-8W7avsOMdQ0gEMiiXti99xotQmwuZDiCoLUel7ja0bKE8c4bjQD-0STQ-sFJ4nIqxxIne1lBMLbNSz3Q0B7P3/s320/marmalade%202024.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. Make yourself some toast.</span></div></div><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-26191216356512782572024-02-16T19:57:00.004+00:002024-03-09T07:19:46.104+00:00Sleepless in Manhatten<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgVrcmWvPc7PFLgwJJDva8lGacpbewcfPyZ4MYEDtCeyF3Dl5aynBKcXuc0C9Vwr2a36AOcivUZ-1KVent0-vAPCIoBCpjlVVOylJeFsbHUuMdvD5UZ_89cbF0E-0dI45rcmpM0zmjM0ZM5OXpxBFSlYZJX9zOo3AyheCQ4tqE06RWe_Tm5iOLyBTtq1n/s490/my-year-of-rest-and-relaxation-2771009290.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgVrcmWvPc7PFLgwJJDva8lGacpbewcfPyZ4MYEDtCeyF3Dl5aynBKcXuc0C9Vwr2a36AOcivUZ-1KVent0-vAPCIoBCpjlVVOylJeFsbHUuMdvD5UZ_89cbF0E-0dI45rcmpM0zmjM0ZM5OXpxBFSlYZJX9zOo3AyheCQ4tqE06RWe_Tm5iOLyBTtq1n/s320/my-year-of-rest-and-relaxation-2771009290.jpg" width="229" /></span></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I arrived at Claire's and she handed me 'My Year of Rest and Relaxation' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottessa_Moshfegh" target="_blank">Ottessa Moshfegh</a>. I had bought her for her birthday and she was sure I would enjoy it. And then I realised how I had come across '<a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-girl-who-turns-heads.html" target="_blank">Eileen</a>', because I had bought this, sent it to Claire, and then just search in the library for anything else she had written. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A privileged young woman seems to have so many (unspecified) 'issues' that she decides to sedate herself for a year in the hope of resetting her brain. She finds an amenable doctor, to whom she describes a variety of sleep issues, and they prescribe a steady stream of medication that keeps her insensible. She allows herself to wake up every few days to eat and clean herself. The book became a bit of an endless list drug doses and self pity and I am not sure that I found myself caring about her much. This was how she functioned before deciding to retire from normal life:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"At work, I took hour-long naps in the supply closet under the stairs during my lunch breaks. 'Napping' is such a childish word, but that was what I was doing. The tonality of my night sleep was more variable, generally unpredictable, but every time I lay down in that supply closet I went straight into black emptiness, an infinite space of nothingness. I was neither scared nor elated in that space. I had no visions. I had no ideas. If I had a distinct thought, I would hear it, and the sound of it would echo and echo until it got absorbed by the darkness and disappeared. There was no response necessary. No inane conversation withy myself. It was peaceful. A vent in the closet released a steady flow of fresh air that picked up the scent of laundry from the hotel next door. There was no work to do, and nothing I had to counteract or compensate for because there was nothing at all, period. and yet I was aware of the nothingness. I was awake in the sleep, somehow. I felt good. Almost happy." (p.39-40)</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcCozeh3umJ9w32K5fYuc2kszfu4PzTj8LmDLV_N7s_yScXfiwwxbez3Y1MOJmj1pDkrsRSRfnbSRghZAVmYVr_wueX9piRhqKk3L-OgwroHlon6JQaXxoStsLghFg-y-_pAKEp7TXya_aAi7Lz32slUNoOeAV0QHYy2vp8v7qlw-v3jwE4V4hqh7W0KW/s1280/library%20of%20heartbeats.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="807" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcCozeh3umJ9w32K5fYuc2kszfu4PzTj8LmDLV_N7s_yScXfiwwxbez3Y1MOJmj1pDkrsRSRfnbSRghZAVmYVr_wueX9piRhqKk3L-OgwroHlon6JQaXxoStsLghFg-y-_pAKEp7TXya_aAi7Lz32slUNoOeAV0QHYy2vp8v7qlw-v3jwE4V4hqh7W0KW/s320/library%20of%20heartbeats.jpeg" width="202" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">At the utter other end of the spectrum we have 'The Library of Heartbeats' by <a href="https://www.lauraimaimessina.com" target="_blank">Laura Imai Messina</a>. In it Shuichi, who is starting to clear out his childhood home, finds himself drawn into a friendship with Kenta, a neighbouring child and a young woman, Sakaya, and their growing bond helps him grieve his mother, his childhood and his young son who drowned a couple of years previously. These three people tiptoe around each other but eventually come to trust and care for each other, and in return you care for them. Shuichi struggles with his loss and loneliness but together they find connection and take a visit to the library of heartbeats (which is a real thing).</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This little moment when he makes a snack for Kenta:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"'If you're going to do something, you have to do it properly.'</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The echo of those words, uttered with the exact intonation of his mother, filled the kitchen, then fell, like a glass of water slipped from a hand." (p.61)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">And later thinking about incidents from his childhood that his mother tried to pretend had not happened:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Shuichi thought about it while he looked in the fridge. For example, the trip to Nagano when he was ten, shredded memories that had been visiting him in his dreams recently: the snow three metres high that made every road into a bastion; the red-faced monkeys floating in the hot springs; the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyaki" target="_blank">oyaki</a> dumplings that were so delicious he insisted on having them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But in Nagano he also rode a horse and was maybe thrown off: he landed on his back and his mother screamed - he physically remembered the sound. And if, as a child, Shuichi ever asked about Nagano, his mother would change the subject so determinedly that at a certain point he started to wonder if any of it was real: the compact walls of snow, the monkeys, the spring rolls filled with <i>adzuki </i>beans, the horse's tense body as it suddenly arched its back." (p.110-11)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JwclDpJn6nvRr9BJJ2_BolI4UMctqt-qoBo2a3OWtT7N2wTRaYBy5TNsNZuBSX0KzgXT4EhfBgTIxd2Tom1IdTmYOPg_wpYnTUmiTKqhxDk2qC-fKrRvYUuVbXVDKGP3M2sA0Poo7sckLGfsKoBzxPT1vvHc8GOOYd4MuLzwTWuyLlA-laYkEDutGmjC/s1280/little%20prince.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JwclDpJn6nvRr9BJJ2_BolI4UMctqt-qoBo2a3OWtT7N2wTRaYBy5TNsNZuBSX0KzgXT4EhfBgTIxd2Tom1IdTmYOPg_wpYnTUmiTKqhxDk2qC-fKrRvYUuVbXVDKGP3M2sA0Poo7sckLGfsKoBzxPT1vvHc8GOOYd4MuLzwTWuyLlA-laYkEDutGmjC/s320/little%20prince.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I found 'The Little Prince by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint-Exupéry" target="_blank">Antoine De Saint Exupery</a> on a random bookcase in the spare room at mum and dad's. I had never read it to my children. Bemused as to what all the fuss is about 😕.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. </span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p><br /></p></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-23165457663875315212024-02-16T17:19:00.003+00:002024-02-16T17:19:37.827+00:00Bloom Day for February<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgm-xVo_qOEGzxTJYm8KmgBUa2KkObZ63CuCwPPocUyte8dM_1e4Ttq8ctu4I4z6IMlnJRjvCd4xxi5tUlcrjrRMX4rOcMQcmuoBjbwqR0TaQ5KoGC-vwF3SjuiKBm1iJn6eQdLednelHQD6fSDdOv9Io9FavUIrdIt9CaxdEkzdSRENsLL2aw_HaB6C7/s1280/77f99633-252a-4ab1-8e68-a2b65fc5a656.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgm-xVo_qOEGzxTJYm8KmgBUa2KkObZ63CuCwPPocUyte8dM_1e4Ttq8ctu4I4z6IMlnJRjvCd4xxi5tUlcrjrRMX4rOcMQcmuoBjbwqR0TaQ5KoGC-vwF3SjuiKBm1iJn6eQdLednelHQD6fSDdOv9Io9FavUIrdIt9CaxdEkzdSRENsLL2aw_HaB6C7/s320/77f99633-252a-4ab1-8e68-a2b65fc5a656.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Too much working, not enough blooming for <a href="https://caroljmichel.com/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-february-2024/" target="_blank">Garden Bloggers Bloom Day</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nothing much happening this far north (though I have only been out as far as the worm house) but my sister's garden had some lovely blooms (and the broad bean seedlings are going strong too), and we stood for several minutes listening to a robin perched on the pergola, singing just for the joy of it. She did tell me what they were but I've forgotten now ...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJG16oCnbli1XnCrzFe6dhHq-YGqGFLy7SNz6DgqPpSG0KC-QljTXOKYztxmIavmdEu6A9F0bcIfCfn9YvVD-6ftP8XEqKMrptR0IkwTAel9pSE3FNa8XDDccnEssgmWl5ODJtOVJmfaTMvNwmfVpSuyW5Aj-0a7lNyyp1i_RxLtOof91J8QhZaEMszJxk/s1280/256e1083-28f3-447d-a036-4d595fbed8e0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJG16oCnbli1XnCrzFe6dhHq-YGqGFLy7SNz6DgqPpSG0KC-QljTXOKYztxmIavmdEu6A9F0bcIfCfn9YvVD-6ftP8XEqKMrptR0IkwTAel9pSE3FNa8XDDccnEssgmWl5ODJtOVJmfaTMvNwmfVpSuyW5Aj-0a7lNyyp1i_RxLtOof91J8QhZaEMszJxk/s320/256e1083-28f3-447d-a036-4d595fbed8e0.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWyCM5nBxB_w4gClrciGitcvmAVlWBvbxKpbEg3kA6rPgzhyphenhyphenSPgcmVj54qFKM4VrR3F-4hEVyIPoWiyudqQT3TWhijXa88seCGD8SW3-mBqjjvlCX-ybORN6xC82X0Ygz9cASaVwkIlrobOAgLvR13VUud3Vec2FEZ2hIL-Uond300CC2DUeOlkYURG2yc/s1280/d095002d-3c87-4483-98f3-6aa2e83814f1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWyCM5nBxB_w4gClrciGitcvmAVlWBvbxKpbEg3kA6rPgzhyphenhyphenSPgcmVj54qFKM4VrR3F-4hEVyIPoWiyudqQT3TWhijXa88seCGD8SW3-mBqjjvlCX-ybORN6xC82X0Ygz9cASaVwkIlrobOAgLvR13VUud3Vec2FEZ2hIL-Uond300CC2DUeOlkYURG2yc/s320/d095002d-3c87-4483-98f3-6aa2e83814f1.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Anticipate the spring.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-65042307501965459842024-02-07T14:38:00.000+00:002024-02-07T14:38:03.194+00:00Singing and Dancing<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Four and twenty blackbirds broke the silence down Hart Road in the early morning today, and then I enjoyed mat dancing to 'You Can Call Me Al' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Simon">Paul Simon</a> at the gym after work...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/naGZvVVSynM" width="320" youtube-src-id="naGZvVVSynM"></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Get your fun where you can in 2024.</span></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-64809042355601000822024-02-01T22:49:00.003+00:002024-02-01T22:49:59.533+00:00North and South<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lovely things this week.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Delicious Wyatt:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2c9aUYt1SUR-HAEQ1bLDrZqewXVAkv3bUKX3fqd2VsyCs_iNSt2mhHprWxf3k3FJjUaSFKz3YCoBzJ_jF021C4MmVGaU7I2pYPMd_LRwqLif6XVuC-LDq2c_b8kdLx3IjD1VjFeICHtn6yTbe6N3pcdAzZmwUVRMt2oUm_TptvV_69fDxiwPDAhSMukPN/s1280/smiley%20wyatt.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2c9aUYt1SUR-HAEQ1bLDrZqewXVAkv3bUKX3fqd2VsyCs_iNSt2mhHprWxf3k3FJjUaSFKz3YCoBzJ_jF021C4MmVGaU7I2pYPMd_LRwqLif6XVuC-LDq2c_b8kdLx3IjD1VjFeICHtn6yTbe6N3pcdAzZmwUVRMt2oUm_TptvV_69fDxiwPDAhSMukPN/w225-h400/smiley%20wyatt.jpeg" width="225" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The NHS that provided my dad with his bionic knee:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKEd-2Ye91nCsfU3bc4IiPejtHE7_RC9YiqSw6Gl3SBIfekUGSRgeCUItDiz_Vqh4ACx7-n2qxXYGoKamR8WnreMROIGyAV8aR8PJE5bznkAOnHtWalVbgWw4LuD6tFt31qDVLoIPo2bvUFcsk-bgK3lDB-jCpd4rq6K7Z5R4IWTSjz-cCWAZcGWdU7XC/s1280/new%20knee.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKEd-2Ye91nCsfU3bc4IiPejtHE7_RC9YiqSw6Gl3SBIfekUGSRgeCUItDiz_Vqh4ACx7-n2qxXYGoKamR8WnreMROIGyAV8aR8PJE5bznkAOnHtWalVbgWw4LuD6tFt31qDVLoIPo2bvUFcsk-bgK3lDB-jCpd4rq6K7Z5R4IWTSjz-cCWAZcGWdU7XC/s320/new%20knee.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Blackbird visitors at breakfast time:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2d2NIL0ly7OkCH8oP0awNZJmfPZ7dJumpz7D9723vHnJEGEAheOXJU20jfOZbhNNk9zrB__fPn2bOokpY-xIpz41uv3M2_G_4iyqETvRik7kSu5Q0oAy7bciUZ27YI_A2dQs7run8pSJm2D6GJL-5T_xFxDjo7cNmUubhEij6xNdnW0sfIPxmwBs9kq4/s1280/breakfast%20blackbird.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2d2NIL0ly7OkCH8oP0awNZJmfPZ7dJumpz7D9723vHnJEGEAheOXJU20jfOZbhNNk9zrB__fPn2bOokpY-xIpz41uv3M2_G_4iyqETvRik7kSu5Q0oAy7bciUZ27YI_A2dQs7run8pSJm2D6GJL-5T_xFxDjo7cNmUubhEij6xNdnW0sfIPxmwBs9kq4/s320/breakfast%20blackbird.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk/things-to-do/decoy-country-park-p192973" target="_blank">Decoy Country Park</a>:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWM-59BtHAw1T8wJz2MZR2WxgyWsYv-wFOTafXQ7xpg31-hHkE7UHwEl1qwg4Sgx_8zEUucqzPlNjFokTCPdh7nOjlTcTsuuOamgQXui_M3BB5cMs24obaFJqVvOU-kl84gCD57m_h-OKOGpGrwawabPlsHzt7FPppdmrELgOsZLnHLFFp8lg9vNIE8Bo/s1280/decoy%20park.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWM-59BtHAw1T8wJz2MZR2WxgyWsYv-wFOTafXQ7xpg31-hHkE7UHwEl1qwg4Sgx_8zEUucqzPlNjFokTCPdh7nOjlTcTsuuOamgQXui_M3BB5cMs24obaFJqVvOU-kl84gCD57m_h-OKOGpGrwawabPlsHzt7FPppdmrELgOsZLnHLFFp8lg9vNIE8Bo/s320/decoy%20park.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dad and Bart taking a turn part way around the lake (he has a new knee, he's supposed to be taking things gently):</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAH-UpSv16IBWtTN_vEqifMEhqBMXVKUmlcEH0n6g6qmhvaCzn_6MR7yygavWMRZ0SJD9oSzRLOVJ7mrpviJY1AZ7cNLvtPnI7a4c2wrQxWTRRFwIHv4YYwZ39X5cV8WOHR1S6-i-H85vVMJ8PfG5OXCU8h369RJ_a-wV8HMr-OBEFyJ1xrac4IYQtKAQ/s1280/dad%20and%20bart.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAH-UpSv16IBWtTN_vEqifMEhqBMXVKUmlcEH0n6g6qmhvaCzn_6MR7yygavWMRZ0SJD9oSzRLOVJ7mrpviJY1AZ7cNLvtPnI7a4c2wrQxWTRRFwIHv4YYwZ39X5cV8WOHR1S6-i-H85vVMJ8PfG5OXCU8h369RJ_a-wV8HMr-OBEFyJ1xrac4IYQtKAQ/s320/dad%20and%20bart.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And 'Delay Repay' on <a href="https://www.gwr.com/help-and-support/refunds-and-compensation/delay-repay" target="_blank">the GWR</a> that means I'll get my train fare back from last week's visit.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's been nice to spend some time with mum and dad, but nice to go home too.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-25897766273103149612024-01-23T14:21:00.002+00:002024-01-23T14:21:48.417+00:00Devon Delights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2dxujx-sC8IHwKeCFpsuPtDFsWC-a04MJ7mNhyphenhyphenXWllY6aGh8aSCQCzMmCDqQ1kLt-lHIv8g7dkg6yqhan_65EVBQ23FICSza7GaBYdokUuaPNXCv782tldIX-hAGRGY6BOLGGnwGsjdxyqQ7tciV_BuSYRqf6UdrxDwiubYQStQ8C6JO69Bj0iSKGaZQ/s1280/torquay%20yew.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2dxujx-sC8IHwKeCFpsuPtDFsWC-a04MJ7mNhyphenhyphenXWllY6aGh8aSCQCzMmCDqQ1kLt-lHIv8g7dkg6yqhan_65EVBQ23FICSza7GaBYdokUuaPNXCv782tldIX-hAGRGY6BOLGGnwGsjdxyqQ7tciV_BuSYRqf6UdrxDwiubYQStQ8C6JO69Bj0iSKGaZQ/s320/torquay%20yew.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So much disruption to well laid plans yesterday. Shepton Mallet hospital had a cancellation so dad's knee replacement operation is happening on Thursday. Claire went off back to Newport so I took the number <a href="https://bustimes.org/services/12-newton-abbot-torquay-paignton-brixham" target="_blank">12 bus</a> over to Newton Abbot. Mum tells me it is considered one of the best bus services in the country. It runs Newton Abbot to Brixham about every 10 minutes all day; exactly what you need, regular and reliable. It was busy when I got the one about ten past nine on a wet Tuesday in January. I walked across a little park with the fabulous yew tree (above), a few minutes from Claire's house, to pick it up and it stops outside Sainsbury at the bottom of the hill from where mum and dad live.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz79CIYxx7oD66uTOunlbyY-NycVjG8Kk8VGTPNCLwaYnMleUdsCB7AeDN_PWo2ChpmcLNpALyz7vVbeUsz_q67xUcAgmfKZvmHxI7IxiOmiFV35mbVAbNpGPbU3lLLQw4-A8oPaTifY-B7MPg6lb4O1YA8Z60Rohx9k5c9rzgf6qg_Mibj_JIoalYisBb/s1280/number%2012%20bus.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="614" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz79CIYxx7oD66uTOunlbyY-NycVjG8Kk8VGTPNCLwaYnMleUdsCB7AeDN_PWo2ChpmcLNpALyz7vVbeUsz_q67xUcAgmfKZvmHxI7IxiOmiFV35mbVAbNpGPbU3lLLQw4-A8oPaTifY-B7MPg6lb4O1YA8Z60Rohx9k5c9rzgf6qg_Mibj_JIoalYisBb/s320/number%2012%20bus.jpeg" width="154" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We went for a damp and slow perambulation around <a href="https://www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk/things-to-do/decoy-country-park-p192973" target="_blank">Decoy Park</a>. As we came back to the house I was struck by the tangle of bare limbs of the magnolia,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagS33SlOq1S1a-q5ApyJl6gcUPiyDeR8XnY2oEuewjGxefG6Uk7z4rqavT-MQ7Wop_SlMBV7U3OYYMvbcU6eP21ENBoTiaQ0OTX-U4vBdqib1PpIhJggoJzD2XGiv3FhJhAqep-5jYoDcD-yFvG3U3YFIclE8XYT7HHQPAvw8FB9mXXD1DS2G9fKYzeKl/s1280/collepardo%20magnolia.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagS33SlOq1S1a-q5ApyJl6gcUPiyDeR8XnY2oEuewjGxefG6Uk7z4rqavT-MQ7Wop_SlMBV7U3OYYMvbcU6eP21ENBoTiaQ0OTX-U4vBdqib1PpIhJggoJzD2XGiv3FhJhAqep-5jYoDcD-yFvG3U3YFIclE8XYT7HHQPAvw8FB9mXXD1DS2G9fKYzeKl/s320/collepardo%20magnolia.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">and dad pointed out the lovely cluster of snowdrops and the first few camellia flowers:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBrJV21CPg0ydC1dhUe8yBi1txVwMdpXtGS568Pg8xnbk-m75rwfH1cUj6t0gNyMqvwFhCAl4Z6y6qS8Y4y6vbLXMHzYUnIPk5rsMjhMD8uuk5MSUCvWu6BLuf6Rw-0ZjpMtLI7nUN_zkYimE5nwk2z1ZlxN9PQd7MBNx_y1v8ruYvP3-TohamLjGKEXu/s1280/snowdrops%20and%20camelia.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBrJV21CPg0ydC1dhUe8yBi1txVwMdpXtGS568Pg8xnbk-m75rwfH1cUj6t0gNyMqvwFhCAl4Z6y6qS8Y4y6vbLXMHzYUnIPk5rsMjhMD8uuk5MSUCvWu6BLuf6Rw-0ZjpMtLI7nUN_zkYimE5nwk2z1ZlxN9PQd7MBNx_y1v8ruYvP3-TohamLjGKEXu/s320/snowdrops%20and%20camelia.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Just happy to be here, quiet and away from normal life.</span></div></div><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-69748009251932794712024-01-22T15:34:00.001+00:002024-01-22T18:40:41.845+00:00A girl who turns heads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWAJYbD_5xIFaEA7qWI9hy4VZwMq1D2mKOQ9T6Ug8WEYbBCM8zCqF77kRdZPnPrI6rGkYXVKEHul7n8YpLBb_0Q65eAwVLtBGEep9ZYI6GpMK2M_40l555ecAvIw4ieqahJi7WdNToEMed8hc-3mtltAj-a3oFfz7RY9tncrCuGU8bmC47cenEZDQ4jIO/s1280/eileen.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWAJYbD_5xIFaEA7qWI9hy4VZwMq1D2mKOQ9T6Ug8WEYbBCM8zCqF77kRdZPnPrI6rGkYXVKEHul7n8YpLBb_0Q65eAwVLtBGEep9ZYI6GpMK2M_40l555ecAvIw4ieqahJi7WdNToEMed8hc-3mtltAj-a3oFfz7RY9tncrCuGU8bmC47cenEZDQ4jIO/s320/eileen.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm really sorry to the people in the queue for this book (all 11 of them) but I had not finished and now it's with me in Torquay and will not be back in Manchester until Thursday. On the up side Claire is getting to read it too as I did finish reading it on the train.</span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Eileen' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottessa_Moshfegh" target="_blank">Ottessa Moshfegh</a> was one of those books that you read in horrid fascination, willing someone to help, or for Eileen snap out of her self-obsession and look at what is happening. It is told by elderly Eileen, almost as if she is talking about someone else, she is so far removed from the events that she relates. Young Eileen lives with her alcoholic father in a dump of a house, neglected beyond reprieve since her mother died, and works in a children's detention centre, dealing with the daily realities of young boys who have fallen between every crack. She is consumed by self hatred, deprives herself of nourishment and is horrified by sex and the notion of being an adult woman, physically scrubbing herself clean of any sexual urges. Into her life arrives Rebecca, beautiful and elegant, and somehow out of place, and throughout the story we are told to anticipate her necessary and imminent departure from her home town because of the relationship with Rebecca. It is a book that is all build up, the tension ramped up over the chapters, while she draws a detailed picture of the sad, cold, empty life that Eileen leads, until the fateful denouement. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"And back then - this was fifty years ago - I was a prude. Just look at me. I wore heavy wool skirts that fell past my knees, thick stockings. I always buttoned my jackets and blouses as high as they would go. I wasn't a girl who turned heads. But there was nothing really so wrong or terrible about my appearance. I was young and fine, average, I guess. But at the time I thought I was the worst - ugly, disgusting, unfit for the world. In such a state it seemed ridiculous to call attention to myself. I rarely wore jewellery, never perfume, and I didn't paint my nails. For a while I did wear a ring with a little ruby in it. It had been my mother's." (p.2)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the story it is the end of days for young Eileen. Old Eileen knows that things will never be the same again, and you feel that, even though we are given only hints of the future, the events that Rebecca brings about transformed young Eileen's sense of herself and old Eileen lived a better and more meaningful life because if it. I don't want to give any spoilers, so there you are. I leave you with Eileen and the dead dog:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"One day I went out back to hang the laundry and found the dog belly-up in the uncut grass, tall and dried and dead in the bleaching sun. Perhaps God took the wrong soul, I thought in a freak moment of sentimentality, and I cried quietly, back pressed up against the house. I left the wet laundry in the basket, but draped a sopping pillowcase over Mona's body. It took a day for me to muster the courage to go back out there. By then the laundry had congealed and dried, and the sight of the dead dog when I lifted the pillowcase made me gag and spill the contents of my stomach - chicken, vermouth - into the dry dirt. It took me several hours to dig a sufficient hole with a trowel, push Mona in with my foot - I couldn't bring myself to touch her with my hands - and cover the body with the brittle earth. A week later, when my father kicked over the dog's dish of stale and smelly kibble, he simply said, 'Damn dog,' and so I threw the whole thing out, and told no one. A few days later my mother was dead, and I let the tears flow openly at last. It's a romantic story and it may not be accurate at this point since I've gone over it again and again for years whenever I've felt it necessary or useful to cry." (p.85-6)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0T3jcEo_eUp9UEZLQ37_kfA505zqnPSeNF99DfNAw8VA9ZIjE2tMU2SrOU_Eoa6rA3Ld39xoSVb-azbz5vxmI-TQtpuBeN1ZvzD-j_knJri0BhFFF_31AAN6r2nxZavz8QprzQGctQSIierPEOkkabhPD7p1Qnf7LYIGTLE6uXna9nthLg394RnfdKOgs/s1280/devon%20sea%20jan24.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="1280" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0T3jcEo_eUp9UEZLQ37_kfA505zqnPSeNF99DfNAw8VA9ZIjE2tMU2SrOU_Eoa6rA3Ld39xoSVb-azbz5vxmI-TQtpuBeN1ZvzD-j_knJri0BhFFF_31AAN6r2nxZavz8QprzQGctQSIierPEOkkabhPD7p1Qnf7LYIGTLE6uXna9nthLg394RnfdKOgs/w400-h318/devon%20sea%20jan24.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. Enjoy the view.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><br /></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-59737538541096814072024-01-19T08:00:00.086+00:002024-01-19T08:00:00.130+00:00Blogiversary Joy 2024<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4OnYOVHX-k6kYPIrTP_En9962n5rTh2gbyJFSfBJNiFJNxFFz2LcyCxWodiAjzWhN4ClxyTxynPCJV39fGVFRHzyyqqxBBPYiDk6uAWTsbo0iQjJsy-DFerzyPYT7VmaEFuizXi2h3DkDtYhvRt71KI1-Iqxf0gu7wkbJjoSziPuHAV8imzQGTM7Bb2L/s1280/tree%20march2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="837" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4OnYOVHX-k6kYPIrTP_En9962n5rTh2gbyJFSfBJNiFJNxFFz2LcyCxWodiAjzWhN4ClxyTxynPCJV39fGVFRHzyyqqxBBPYiDk6uAWTsbo0iQjJsy-DFerzyPYT7VmaEFuizXi2h3DkDtYhvRt71KI1-Iqxf0gu7wkbJjoSziPuHAV8imzQGTM7Bb2L/s320/tree%20march2023.jpg" width="209" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2009/01/who-what-where-when-and-why.html" target="_blank">way back in 2009</a> and we lived in a little corner of the Cotswolds when I started this blog. Fifteen years later I find myself still here, though we are no longer there. When someone at the gym asked the Tish where she lived he described it as <a href="https://fluentslang.com/hood-meaning/" target="_blank">'the hood'</a>, but as far as I'm concerned this is my cosy corner off the world and I am glad of it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, statistics: all time views, over half a million. In internet terms that's nothing, some people get that many views in an hour. I stopped worrying years ago about whether my blog was read by anyone, I have come to think of it much more as a diary that just happens to be available to other people. 1556 posts, mostly about books. Most visited posts remain the <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2010/04/margaret-atwood-poetry.html" target="_blank">Margaret Atwood Poetry from 2010</a> and <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2012/03/lizard-cake-tutorial.html" target="_blank">how to make a lizard cake</a> from 2012, but also <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2021/04/briefly-gorgeous.html" target="_blank">Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong from 2021</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The world is currently rubbish so I am grateful to have a life full of people to love. Here they are:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My family in 2010</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ9oB1idhXC-ZylHfg7fRCPHX-PwZKA-GXZE9hLP0TOCp8hnarwCKyoxpRw0_69cD_OY1wOQBYnpD8AzSRrUu7yxiGuUAHglAjhOCyvAO1SZS7LNg2JlXGWiq0BLHLg3RRP_WffwS4usozWG3ByqtHKc2cuG5zY4VTXb8DQcxIi3YjB8YpoIKXj0F38Vs/s537/family%202010.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="537" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ9oB1idhXC-ZylHfg7fRCPHX-PwZKA-GXZE9hLP0TOCp8hnarwCKyoxpRw0_69cD_OY1wOQBYnpD8AzSRrUu7yxiGuUAHglAjhOCyvAO1SZS7LNg2JlXGWiq0BLHLg3RRP_WffwS4usozWG3ByqtHKc2cuG5zY4VTXb8DQcxIi3YjB8YpoIKXj0F38Vs/s320/family%202010.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My original nuclear family 2012<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KECcpSvOIH1z-3k_985OBmmDqHebpjDvZDAk4i8L-ODouwYmxmGnnqTohs0d0dEtgbTHW4XjDD67ogXsaJ4M5CAGqsOsicAQRD5UdzuuTmCe0BF-QYgGJcOjR86RHYZLEZjR_ZHimWkvTY046wRywq5Jj_riuD3VWITftD4CcXupAmRX4MjXXga5UNYR/s1280/framptons%202012.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1280" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KECcpSvOIH1z-3k_985OBmmDqHebpjDvZDAk4i8L-ODouwYmxmGnnqTohs0d0dEtgbTHW4XjDD67ogXsaJ4M5CAGqsOsicAQRD5UdzuuTmCe0BF-QYgGJcOjR86RHYZLEZjR_ZHimWkvTY046wRywq5Jj_riuD3VWITftD4CcXupAmRX4MjXXga5UNYR/s320/framptons%202012.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dunk 2013</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3u1SbAxCuTcP2modGQkFTSS1JAvxoa7oS5T7kzl_MZaB4skx6EL6ZQlaZKxj6lj69c0U1SmQKGw5QOAfX8Fq_iqqMbKj2LuQtzVDYu3H4afpIV-FdolVfwIsrJxjtzAVhh7ZJl2ojhlQ82YkaO525THZhfiMQ9DFai8AFirU-PtISbPJO3guv3DpGSjzS/s1280/dunk%202013.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3u1SbAxCuTcP2modGQkFTSS1JAvxoa7oS5T7kzl_MZaB4skx6EL6ZQlaZKxj6lj69c0U1SmQKGw5QOAfX8Fq_iqqMbKj2LuQtzVDYu3H4afpIV-FdolVfwIsrJxjtzAVhh7ZJl2ojhlQ82YkaO525THZhfiMQ9DFai8AFirU-PtISbPJO3guv3DpGSjzS/s320/dunk%202013.jpeg" width="180" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">New Year 2015</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1tIEJWdsOQfXBZpt7PsDNzjwQ5Joqiqz5o5ytwrG-rZsFdsYB_zA6heBzDTLkncLxQYPshc2Tn7YbHlprztJWXfPalO6PjfaSfayaMffmLmAvnAbIO0znuArp6r4Mn05D4uTjos53oUai7Q9TTP-5wTXBpnnExCatZ6emoYxaZ4MGZZw75D1Qx1KBJXT/s1280/new%20year's%20eve%202015.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1tIEJWdsOQfXBZpt7PsDNzjwQ5Joqiqz5o5ytwrG-rZsFdsYB_zA6heBzDTLkncLxQYPshc2Tn7YbHlprztJWXfPalO6PjfaSfayaMffmLmAvnAbIO0znuArp6r4Mn05D4uTjos53oUai7Q9TTP-5wTXBpnnExCatZ6emoYxaZ4MGZZw75D1Qx1KBJXT/s320/new%20year's%20eve%202015.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Work people 2018</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAYGcmk03hMxs9-wCoOa1Fd-PQs_wkjtIjgE3BpMMltbNXVW5-flywSf_bw5yY_mC_MjOOWFzQvsSIUmooyNwZ9Lnt5vn3srGVS0H1kkOPvh41RX2-wfsKXwHj5XCMxxwS_m1f-knahrfnSpIaYUrEwdIrLqBu6AAjn2glCKPImPLQdOiMrJQc6BubUeC/s960/work%20people%202018.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAYGcmk03hMxs9-wCoOa1Fd-PQs_wkjtIjgE3BpMMltbNXVW5-flywSf_bw5yY_mC_MjOOWFzQvsSIUmooyNwZ9Lnt5vn3srGVS0H1kkOPvh41RX2-wfsKXwHj5XCMxxwS_m1f-knahrfnSpIaYUrEwdIrLqBu6AAjn2glCKPImPLQdOiMrJQc6BubUeC/s320/work%20people%202018.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lyra, best kitten ever</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AANHxkcWge36n3PaRV-pRrPCdvnOXhETeHq-Pht8q2gnMThcwdMUyhbWkPxA4EbvmDVEGrTHwR6_EB6sh6WypeBYas1-O-aJ8oyOerpSAsbULq58-_Ij49GoG1466ml5vf1mGI2i4NZBAmMY5XzLTCPPbuY4xVK-FTxYA6mbt6kWKWRVCqIQGsFZG_O_/s1280/cat%202020.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AANHxkcWge36n3PaRV-pRrPCdvnOXhETeHq-Pht8q2gnMThcwdMUyhbWkPxA4EbvmDVEGrTHwR6_EB6sh6WypeBYas1-O-aJ8oyOerpSAsbULq58-_Ij49GoG1466ml5vf1mGI2i4NZBAmMY5XzLTCPPbuY4xVK-FTxYA6mbt6kWKWRVCqIQGsFZG_O_/s320/cat%202020.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jacob, Kerri and Aisla 2022</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMn4Zy5-dl4oMKC2sgzBvQlVg-y9eBWwY4TSbwOYwUr0veEIeu-AEBOk1sarpBiO70zfbJrMucZHZN-1eP8l5tVSBsTl61CIxWEy6wM3-rfM7_e89LJixwpVtbxwVhjWZeWpFibCreP6pbm682mbLuquZF5zT_GBupN0c8s3fHNxHTMrCY9PAcfzTKEn0/s1280/jacob%20kerri%20and%20Aisla%2026-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="965" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMn4Zy5-dl4oMKC2sgzBvQlVg-y9eBWwY4TSbwOYwUr0veEIeu-AEBOk1sarpBiO70zfbJrMucZHZN-1eP8l5tVSBsTl61CIxWEy6wM3-rfM7_e89LJixwpVtbxwVhjWZeWpFibCreP6pbm682mbLuquZF5zT_GBupN0c8s3fHNxHTMrCY9PAcfzTKEn0/s320/jacob%20kerri%20and%20Aisla%2026-7.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lewis and Rachel's Wedding 2023</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGP3_blwMT3993KXqbcpe02cYwiQfWvCcHpqfe-ERXhOChyPfAqlHdIhgD9FdndssOiD1L8iC00lQpwP5XlmoHxHBAq3hU2esraE2Fk7E7TH4k10ez9gIri2XC-9VpynuInmwH-IJXa5hCmlWhwuqbMfLfN3cAIlOiteCQ59s9dm3rrx93AYsdw8_JSSiy/s1126/wedding%20siblings.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1126" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGP3_blwMT3993KXqbcpe02cYwiQfWvCcHpqfe-ERXhOChyPfAqlHdIhgD9FdndssOiD1L8iC00lQpwP5XlmoHxHBAq3hU2esraE2Fk7E7TH4k10ez9gIri2XC-9VpynuInmwH-IJXa5hCmlWhwuqbMfLfN3cAIlOiteCQ59s9dm3rrx93AYsdw8_JSSiy/s320/wedding%20siblings.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Adylaide 2023</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Hotlhb_oOZrNiHhvqp6pubHTGyZXmlpbQAn-2ltn71_xg-CwuRk818US7rUtkx9S12eMKYZQNQA-kSaCr7yKj_W887jbqKYEaQrGjo2VsJtvmIK0g7SHY_MMoK6iFw39xcpT8cnUnN50MZqW9PAVixUB5C6qUGB0EC40bOeegl0-SqZbm9XZ7YK1LvY4/s1111/Ady%20%202%201-5.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="923" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Hotlhb_oOZrNiHhvqp6pubHTGyZXmlpbQAn-2ltn71_xg-CwuRk818US7rUtkx9S12eMKYZQNQA-kSaCr7yKj_W887jbqKYEaQrGjo2VsJtvmIK0g7SHY_MMoK6iFw39xcpT8cnUnN50MZqW9PAVixUB5C6qUGB0EC40bOeegl0-SqZbm9XZ7YK1LvY4/s320/Ady%20%202%201-5.jpeg" width="266" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Wyatt 2024</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwWOEMCW7Q09rk-sFAdmIoBJETKJxaKb_hRr-GR2blf2H5a83mruyeV1YiZIRzIuCAHgJMBwvgv9uXkGHar2A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-29223490840285289192024-01-18T14:59:00.008+00:002024-01-18T18:30:26.290+00:00Lost for Words<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_3gic2_nChRe-3QISwpl4W_s1W4Zd1ksdw5pvpaqW2-UJlCm5wJsaAlbPqPmg_Ua-9weVSK4NR1Nj82z9qFb6fXaMYML4QVBvYHwE9m-SSyBGH8RF0F4-0xToQRk1izBLDpx4TGViXan72Yd6uuDZKQY18UybHzsWvklRmunKR_Y6I5YILhaqz2UspMb/s1280/casy%202008.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_3gic2_nChRe-3QISwpl4W_s1W4Zd1ksdw5pvpaqW2-UJlCm5wJsaAlbPqPmg_Ua-9weVSK4NR1Nj82z9qFb6fXaMYML4QVBvYHwE9m-SSyBGH8RF0F4-0xToQRk1izBLDpx4TGViXan72Yd6uuDZKQY18UybHzsWvklRmunKR_Y6I5YILhaqz2UspMb/s320/casy%202008.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is Casey Birks. I first met him when he was a couple of months old. It's lovely to have people in your life whose presence makes the world a better place. When he was young his mum Julie and I used to wonder how he would ever go out into the world. One of the joys of home education is that children can do such things at exactly their own pace. Nobody made him go out into the world before he was good and ready. And some children take longer than others. He started learning the piano, I think that was first. And it was as if he found his niche, and he blossomed. And last week he launched his album at the <a href="https://www.carltonclub.org.uk" target="_blank">Carlton Club</a> in Whalley Range. Over 100 people gathered, most of whom were his friends. It is called <a href="https://caseybirks.bandcamp.com/album/lost-for-words" target="_blank">Lost For Words</a>, available from Bandcamp. Also listenable on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4APWgvsw_Us" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. And it was a delight to watch them play with so much joy together and to have watched him grow and develop as a musician. My heart bursts with pride to see the amazing young man he has become.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDYOT8ZqMus2aOeIFSF6pNhbtzAtTSlgehL26iFkacM2iItbrvtTGMuCLdpeY0ttb0W5C3nwQo-cVt3L8m4gSn2DCmLnvmv_2Xdn6LYOZ1JGL3iShKMiMWgWg-VZaRN4ia2isg5WV7SAyqee54EKtHh-4oSKhsuonDBb5BXKVERtQZizoVcGcxKrXejmK/s1280/casey%20and%20band%202024.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDYOT8ZqMus2aOeIFSF6pNhbtzAtTSlgehL26iFkacM2iItbrvtTGMuCLdpeY0ttb0W5C3nwQo-cVt3L8m4gSn2DCmLnvmv_2Xdn6LYOZ1JGL3iShKMiMWgWg-VZaRN4ia2isg5WV7SAyqee54EKtHh-4oSKhsuonDBb5BXKVERtQZizoVcGcxKrXejmK/w400-h225/casey%20and%20band%202024.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OLiFaOHoCE8ZunR8VTuX6SI5YJA8WCEOyDObr4yWYtZitd9tsUnUY5npR3N5EhtzUzapsivKbHvCK-UjpW841kZF9Jg3T9QHhqd_D20zPiuj5wXkQeWrTsdsELIn0uezMIn5QpBZaWm0Fm5xpe-Ec-tt2jeCmTlBAsj_5mK8mQtB5ytOMZlFdWxHS3hN/s1280/casey%20solo%202024.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1023" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OLiFaOHoCE8ZunR8VTuX6SI5YJA8WCEOyDObr4yWYtZitd9tsUnUY5npR3N5EhtzUzapsivKbHvCK-UjpW841kZF9Jg3T9QHhqd_D20zPiuj5wXkQeWrTsdsELIn0uezMIn5QpBZaWm0Fm5xpe-Ec-tt2jeCmTlBAsj_5mK8mQtB5ytOMZlFdWxHS3hN/w320-h400/casey%20solo%202024.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And because the Ridley Birks family has been part of my life for such a long time I came across this, which to me somehow encapsulates everything about the life we lived for so many years, and freedom and opportunities it offered us, and I try not to mourn its end. In the tree: Casey, Max, Sadie, Monkey, Rhiannon, Tom, Althea and Al.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxhA3pcJW-3I2iJDTAAgv3rn95LC2ESbiKyJrJEboo3zhPukBkPkg6hOCeRpwo8z_VkurvR1E511C8pfOYZng' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><br /><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-84423570784518767652024-01-16T15:35:00.001+00:002024-01-16T15:35:17.053+00:00Snow and other Delights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPzWd2MHtsaLxieo66LOD7Dh58Ni2MSXwejY3BVT4CH3jevspqEY14c4DDhYbhlWYRZcvIUvho7Tq7HyR6HiCK57AReOT9yZrKvvjAH-WvSgdObTMtjGAdSctKzH2L8KWdhT-VMVKAdg3G8vUbfQBJ4KbB427B1mDEfDJapOkfpS8FchDBYokVKzrese5s/s1280/snow%20lyra.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPzWd2MHtsaLxieo66LOD7Dh58Ni2MSXwejY3BVT4CH3jevspqEY14c4DDhYbhlWYRZcvIUvho7Tq7HyR6HiCK57AReOT9yZrKvvjAH-WvSgdObTMtjGAdSctKzH2L8KWdhT-VMVKAdg3G8vUbfQBJ4KbB427B1mDEfDJapOkfpS8FchDBYokVKzrese5s/w300-h400/snow%20lyra.jpeg" width="300" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Despite all the weather warnings I was surprised by the snow when I stepped out of the door in the early hours this morning. Lyra didn't know what to make of it either. I love the soft muted feel the world has with a fresh covering of snow. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mid morning a man turned up in the office with two new computers. Lee had reported ours as running very slow in the hope that someone would come and clean up the hard drives, so this was a huge bonus. The old ones were at least 12 years old; the new ones are tiny and have wireless keyboards and mouses</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbasPgWYmXWQJ7TjXIQMJMH-paWSSXfUSp5mjfEm6Qlac2rz0S7kOdQgMxbwAcKbfntVJm2T1CY85plLrA6iY6uq41kM1we0yEMnPw8k__qHOpE-KRrOgIBGiA0QgMwQwIGaUAjIopmw43xmdCzpGGxNwIq1Tl_LfNIOKVm-CkJx5CiKanM_Z_5B9aukG2/s1099/new%20computer.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1099" data-original-width="895" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbasPgWYmXWQJ7TjXIQMJMH-paWSSXfUSp5mjfEm6Qlac2rz0S7kOdQgMxbwAcKbfntVJm2T1CY85plLrA6iY6uq41kM1we0yEMnPw8k__qHOpE-KRrOgIBGiA0QgMwQwIGaUAjIopmw43xmdCzpGGxNwIq1Tl_LfNIOKVm-CkJx5CiKanM_Z_5B9aukG2/s320/new%20computer.jpeg" width="261" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had to push my bike home from work again, but I found the culprit and hopefully can manage another uneventful biking year ahead:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLds8IX-t3vBZUaEIFYHlK8Eo8FG9DeFOYDNRfkRd1VIGkwesWhS-Gqz3Fz5cfW1ezHHv6YpCN-14uprV1IjbpBupA42X4niJT0GUN5rrivabJhy0MM8gOASQdX9Nlo7Z5r27M7xOLjIZcwTdHEJE6ktt5o4XTDklnsd2cXpxu8gTIuMg1XFJM8i70JVhC/s1280/glass.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLds8IX-t3vBZUaEIFYHlK8Eo8FG9DeFOYDNRfkRd1VIGkwesWhS-Gqz3Fz5cfW1ezHHv6YpCN-14uprV1IjbpBupA42X4niJT0GUN5rrivabJhy0MM8gOASQdX9Nlo7Z5r27M7xOLjIZcwTdHEJE6ktt5o4XTDklnsd2cXpxu8gTIuMg1XFJM8i70JVhC/w188-h200/glass.jpeg" width="188" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also delightful ... the Gardener's World mag, honey roasted peanuts and a trip to Devon at the end of the week.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-54818252884038375622024-01-12T16:39:00.002+00:002024-01-12T16:39:46.242+00:00Nonsense<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYf6NNALu28s6axxOXlH8u3zUr1WEpfFtiwMLB3tAzDKGPozC7bRuS-YUJU1ikeFRUo1vf-CpYY4e5iFx0JHHYCgfXmwcHAbEX-5Q5cmto1YXwypIaDeYCwiTiQsNoEgnnDNSzIl4YIBrrtR33G5NMlQ6vDaqRUTD9ltZmPuV6A-TEr8v9uz5dj6brcrXw/s1280/japanese1%2024.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="876" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYf6NNALu28s6axxOXlH8u3zUr1WEpfFtiwMLB3tAzDKGPozC7bRuS-YUJU1ikeFRUo1vf-CpYY4e5iFx0JHHYCgfXmwcHAbEX-5Q5cmto1YXwypIaDeYCwiTiQsNoEgnnDNSzIl4YIBrrtR33G5NMlQ6vDaqRUTD9ltZmPuV6A-TEr8v9uz5dj6brcrXw/s320/japanese1%2024.jpeg" width="219" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Monkey Sensei will have a job in Japan for at least another 19 months, so I am definitely going to get to visit next year, consequently I have redownloaded Human Japanese and started again from chapter 1. I had hoped it would all come rushing back, having learned all the hiragana two years ago ... but no, it's more like starting from scratch. Learning a new script is quite a challenge but in other ways Japanese is not a complicated language to learn. I like the chatty style of the programme and when discussing the complex vowel pronunciation rules in English the author comments that Japanese has none of this nonsense, each of the 5 vowels makes one sound, and it is not changed by the presence of other vowels or consonants combinations, so at least, though I struggle to remember which hiragana I am looking at, it's not hard to pronounce. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">After a very hectic December I am taking things easier now at work, taking time for the Japanese, going back to the gym, getting on with another crochet blanket and looking for some new interesting reading for 2024. As advised by many many mental wellbeing articles I am trying to focus more on the present moment as I go through my day so thought I would try taking photos of random stuff when I am out doing my delivery. Here, some lovely fungus on a fallen tree branch:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4r_mBljA1lzKo8LqMTKj3JPZByYhCFuxEGIj6GpASBhEmY7_P345NQfZQoP2g7lQ10U-it04siJUIKXhRpHkZDWS6brjhn32gfPoX2LX3BVJx-w-5E3RvAtCWlbMjjy3TKu0u_1xDHWbOjPkD6M8wRqbZasspFkgXhjsu7vgnG_9Nh4C1Ac-QJSsJSj8/s1280/fungus24.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4r_mBljA1lzKo8LqMTKj3JPZByYhCFuxEGIj6GpASBhEmY7_P345NQfZQoP2g7lQ10U-it04siJUIKXhRpHkZDWS6brjhn32gfPoX2LX3BVJx-w-5E3RvAtCWlbMjjy3TKu0u_1xDHWbOjPkD6M8wRqbZasspFkgXhjsu7vgnG_9Nh4C1Ac-QJSsJSj8/s320/fungus24.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p><br /></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-47015457691932960432024-01-01T17:47:00.001+00:002024-01-02T14:40:20.654+00:002024 May things be the same and different<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xBkzJR7rb59yds_cILS63iYtfiot3VdpYnjiK3nwoptYe12SVdOWeNBF0l_L-3Ro5KUq2M2w4I5Phc5Xg1QfaFAFM3I5PPW-D2PZUfEhNfW5mvlvN0Ny2BjedKEfuNkH7YzBM1IbQ_hy8XHgmt-qpyPKEkXjwffG7UK3naiANVytywSadYPpORLNT746/s1280/mindy%20new%20year.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xBkzJR7rb59yds_cILS63iYtfiot3VdpYnjiK3nwoptYe12SVdOWeNBF0l_L-3Ro5KUq2M2w4I5Phc5Xg1QfaFAFM3I5PPW-D2PZUfEhNfW5mvlvN0Ny2BjedKEfuNkH7YzBM1IbQ_hy8XHgmt-qpyPKEkXjwffG7UK3naiANVytywSadYPpORLNT746/s320/mindy%20new%20year.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Monkey sent new year messages mid afternoon yesterday, having stayed up for the celebration fireworks and then, as is tradition, for the sunrise on New Year's Day, and then for her first shrine visit of the year. After an hour's sleep she was woken by Japan's emergency earthquake alarm system and waited in her bed, aware only of her lamp wobbling, and not sure if she should risk climbing down the ladder from her bed. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The shock was centred on the Noto peninsula on the other side of Honshu island from where she lives, several hundred miles away. She translated the instructions on the telly report very loosely as 'run away', as the initial tsunami warning was quite serious. Fortunately the worst of that threat seems not to have materialised. I have not thought too hard about the fact that Japan is quite an earthquakey part of the world, though as a country they are well prepared and take the threat seriously.<br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYjPbTajblcCGeIRt1qaBmS59oiwNITQ07VQyYvgtuqJSOwriB2CDQ7ud4olnAN1lul-6EPpT2jrrg8tPtdm1m3lKiFGQ-UbIXlxNmKo0h1hr_URcci0oJ4Aohk64IvekhyphenhyphenLUOfgrQi4uBre_HqUNdtd0fUl-d3aKyYMLFJv-8f-rxeyvg2hhIzpAfDAS/s1280/tsunami%20news.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYjPbTajblcCGeIRt1qaBmS59oiwNITQ07VQyYvgtuqJSOwriB2CDQ7ud4olnAN1lul-6EPpT2jrrg8tPtdm1m3lKiFGQ-UbIXlxNmKo0h1hr_URcci0oJ4Aohk64IvekhyphenhyphenLUOfgrQi4uBre_HqUNdtd0fUl-d3aKyYMLFJv-8f-rxeyvg2hhIzpAfDAS/s320/tsunami%20news.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have enjoyed reading lots of 'tiny things to improve your life' lists over the last couple of days, and mostly feel quite like my life does not need much tweaking. My new year's resolution to not beat myself up about stuff continues to be very successful, though this year I plan to return to learning Japanese. I will be visiting Monkey in March next year and it would be nice to at least be able to greet people and say please and thank you. I <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2021/03/think-im-turning-japanese.html" target="_blank">mastered my Hiragana</a> two years ago and then gave up when I reached the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katakana" target="_blank">Katakana</a> as my brain was just overloaded. I am hoping that second time around it will all come flooding back to me.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I turn 60 this year and am looking forward to a small amount of pension and enjoying being an even more crochety old lady ... it's a great excuse for doing or not doing whatever the hell you like.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tish came back from a trip to the Chinese supermarket with a belated Christmas gift for me ... a cumquat tree ...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yxoVYqQL1fRRw5ku6m-IA6onXv4QmbCbV5RhwD5wrdNyqMLJBG-bDw55KKNMw70XvftU3VNwAMS5Oo3slTFml8hslNsJhoqXkXZS87y96xGU4Ztq5fuvwMXRtDaiIwCX0D-dxI6S-96rEFE-zwmV3jRrna3d9btOEF-IJKoo7oOkVh6CnvReGUe_DTNL/s1280/cumquat%20tree.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yxoVYqQL1fRRw5ku6m-IA6onXv4QmbCbV5RhwD5wrdNyqMLJBG-bDw55KKNMw70XvftU3VNwAMS5Oo3slTFml8hslNsJhoqXkXZS87y96xGU4Ztq5fuvwMXRtDaiIwCX0D-dxI6S-96rEFE-zwmV3jRrna3d9btOEF-IJKoo7oOkVh6CnvReGUe_DTNL/s320/cumquat%20tree.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><br /></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-25830859165569524712023-12-27T17:53:00.001+00:002023-12-27T17:53:39.328+00:00Being Dead?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4iPkLmavR6bMpjsjJw0_S-mQ2fgo2SewcCxJhL-l7Cz8crarCF6vi9oXxGq1WMlIJfTU1EK1JIqZCRFTRACPedGUCCRn1VRnDiMlL77BCBq4O98nsATDbfTkFIbQe1SuH5c1nzUvvCMK9A10JM9bvG8_2eRJ0mHoLO-owoQVAzaZ1S1ys_6othyphenhyphenJdYtdT/s1280/being%20dead.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="925" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4iPkLmavR6bMpjsjJw0_S-mQ2fgo2SewcCxJhL-l7Cz8crarCF6vi9oXxGq1WMlIJfTU1EK1JIqZCRFTRACPedGUCCRn1VRnDiMlL77BCBq4O98nsATDbfTkFIbQe1SuH5c1nzUvvCMK9A10JM9bvG8_2eRJ0mHoLO-owoQVAzaZ1S1ys_6othyphenhyphenJdYtdT/s320/being%20dead.jpeg" width="231" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I just searched Jim Crace because <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2018/06/harvest.html" target="_blank">I knew I had read him before</a>; Harvest was such a different book, and yet I can sense similarities in the atmosphere and the way he writes and what he observes about human beings. Not a very cheery subject for the festive time of year, but this is what I found myself reading.</span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 'Being Dead' Celice and Joseph are dead, but in echos of <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/p/more-reviews.html" target="_blank">Chronicle of a Death Foretold</a> we learn the history of the beginning of their relationship, the fateful week when they met at Baritone Bay as students, and the story of their last day, told in reverse from the moment of death, and how they came to be in that place again where they died. They are zoologists on a study trip, and on the beach in the early morning he enchants her with a sprayhopper and his singing voice, and the romance of their meeting becomes, later in life, something he yearns to recreate, and on that sunny day he coaxes her back, to her death. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In between we have also a zoologists eye view of what happens to the bodies of Celice and Joseph, as the creatures of the beach approach and begin the process of returning their atoms to the universe. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our omniscient narrator begins the story somewhat cynical and pitiless:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Jospeh and Celice were irretrievable. Do not be fooled. There was no beauty for them in the dunes, no painterly tranquility in death framed by the sky, the ocean and the land, that pious trinity, in which their two bodies, supine, prone, were posed as lifeless waxworks of themselves, sweetly unperturbed and ruffled only by the wind. This was an ugly scene. They had been shamed. They were undignified. They were dishonoured by the sudden vileness of their deaths. Only their faces were expressionless. No one could tell what kind of a man he was, what type of a woman she had been. Their characters had bled out on the grass. The universe could not care less." (p.11)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">But by the end, I felt that they had come to care about Celice and Joseph, and softened their harsh view of death, had come to realise that it both matters and doesn't matter, a view that I also mostly find myself subscribing to:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"And still, today and every day, the dunes are lifted, stacked and undermined. Their crests migrate and reassemble with the wind. They do their best to raise their backs against the weather and the sea and block the wind-borne sorrows of the world. All along the shores of Baritone Bay and all the coast beyond, tide after tide, time after time, the corpses and the broken, thinned remains of fish and birds, of barnacles and rats, of molluscs, mammals, mussels, crabs are lifted, washed and sorted by the waves. And Joseph and Celice enjoy a loving and unconscious end, beyond experience.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">These are the ever ending days of being dead." (p.21)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. </span></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-84436041665095828132023-12-24T14:56:00.065+00:002023-12-27T17:55:45.653+00:00Crimbo Time<span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGBcOZdJVz1vIypdTMKnE7N2ffIZ4juMcj8WnPYnmNVU-oHpuReL8M7BlwMm1ptVgGZaeMy_wh_PqgahXFePrRKCCsQteZwNYoDII3sFakNqrQU-_8EhXEHra3Zw_ZLzs7U-82z5bjKhQ2TKkHRRbfDn85VY-cvDTrrki4zD4eNOaIxzDaS2uRT0LMrbw/s1223/christmas%20specials.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1223" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGBcOZdJVz1vIypdTMKnE7N2ffIZ4juMcj8WnPYnmNVU-oHpuReL8M7BlwMm1ptVgGZaeMy_wh_PqgahXFePrRKCCsQteZwNYoDII3sFakNqrQU-_8EhXEHra3Zw_ZLzs7U-82z5bjKhQ2TKkHRRbfDn85VY-cvDTrrki4zD4eNOaIxzDaS2uRT0LMrbw/s320/christmas%20specials.jpeg" width="235" /></a></div>Last Christmas we were striking and the whole thing was very stressful, so in comparison this year has been a breeze; cards and parcels have been delivered on time, there is no backlog in the office and the mood has been pretty positive. The manager informed us that our office had successfully handled over 66,000 tracked packets this December. That's a lot of packets. But look how tidy and organised my cage is. I have done lots of overtime, to keep things running smoothly and to help everyone else do their jobs. I tend to feel quite ambivalent this time of year, I do it because it matters to people, but I am mostly glad when it's all over. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMJHSPR-ThKFt5p7xnZRqK_kCC2T5zqMhmQ-RfsKr9qgC70nmF24sZ9XS28Jjqo6P6w6Ru66D98mF0flqUV8gb5dq-PL313zjbVhs8_OlY9X1BcVokSvQT6TowEvjXwgXlhTwWLmBTEFbOrsau3011ellskgqesPr2PZrclhZb4NopHVTf_029BmFUTI8/s1210/crimbo%20cards.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMJHSPR-ThKFt5p7xnZRqK_kCC2T5zqMhmQ-RfsKr9qgC70nmF24sZ9XS28Jjqo6P6w6Ru66D98mF0flqUV8gb5dq-PL313zjbVhs8_OlY9X1BcVokSvQT6TowEvjXwgXlhTwWLmBTEFbOrsau3011ellskgqesPr2PZrclhZb4NopHVTf_029BmFUTI8/s320/crimbo%20cards.jpeg" width="238" /></a></div><div>My favourite job in December is making sure people's Christmas cards get where they are supposed to go, so I spend time every day with a pile of badly addressed cards finding their intended destination.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5t6XGQ49jsVX6ZuEFaqqcspuugjqTqMZ7rGLyhyphenhyphenQc812a_Kon5my2xMQRbA8wGKIXej-wvr2wV7V1AXn9OI3y41oDAbovEoX5es-pi2CGxwiGP1qKd1CZT0wwlUxvvhBbX5oQYfqYwOrBvnhZHO3dYZPiA9iCJqyKq0152IHB7qLp6xgMa41TubsTtyyp/s1280/crimbo%20tree%202023.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5t6XGQ49jsVX6ZuEFaqqcspuugjqTqMZ7rGLyhyphenhyphenQc812a_Kon5my2xMQRbA8wGKIXej-wvr2wV7V1AXn9OI3y41oDAbovEoX5es-pi2CGxwiGP1qKd1CZT0wwlUxvvhBbX5oQYfqYwOrBvnhZHO3dYZPiA9iCJqyKq0152IHB7qLp6xgMa41TubsTtyyp/s320/crimbo%20tree%202023.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div><div>Our <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2016/12/books-of-2016-because-rest-was-too-awful.html" target="_blank">home made Crimbo tree</a> is still going strong since 2016. It gives me joy not to add to our carbon footprint to have some glittery decoration.</div></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am not sure how much I have read this year ... so lets see ...<br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/01/first-book-post.html" target="_blank">Must I Go by Yiyun Li</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/01/small-things-like-these.html" target="_blank">Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/01/weird-norgegian-drama.html" target="_blank">Long Live the Post Horn by Vigdis Hjorth</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/01/diary-of-void.html" target="_blank">Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/03/walking-on-icebergs.html" target="_blank">Otherlands by Thomas Halliday</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/04/p-is-for-pachinko-not-a-to-z-post.html" target="_blank">Pachinko by Min Jin Lee</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/04/a-tidy-ending-not-a-to-z-post.html" target="_blank">A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/04/disapperance-not-a-to-z-post.html" target="_blank">If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/06/forget-me-not.html" target="_blank">Forget Me Not by Sophie Pavelle</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/06/some-weeks-of-reading.html" target="_blank">Chorus by Rebecca Kauffman</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/06/some-weeks-of-reading.html" target="_blank">The Last Resort by Jan Carson</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/06/some-weeks-of-reading.html" target="_blank">The Reservoir Tapes by John Mcgregor</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/06/some-weeks-of-reading.html" target="_blank">Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/06/some-weeks-of-reading.html" target="_blank">A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ni Ghriofa</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/08/fox-and-goose.html" target="_blank">How to be Human by Paula Cocozza</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/08/fox-and-goose.html" target="_blank">The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/08/much-poetry.html" target="_blank">Various Poetry</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/08/were-all-related-to-charlemagne.html" target="_blank">A Brief History of Everyone who ever Lived by Adam Rutherford</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/08/friendship.html" target="_blank">My Friend Anne Frank by Hannah Pick-Goslar</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-guest-is-gift-from-god.html" target="_blank">Elena Knows by Claudia Pineiro</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-guest-is-gift-from-god.html" target="_blank">Resistance by Anita Shreve</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-guest-is-gift-from-god.html" target="_blank">Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-guest-is-gift-from-god.html" target="_blank">Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-guest-is-gift-from-god.html" target="_blank">Wild Things by Laura Kay</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-guest-is-gift-from-god.html" target="_blank">A Lost Lady by Willa Cather</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-hero-of-this-book.html" target="_blank">The Hero of this Book by Elizabeth McCracken</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/11/library-books-and-not-library-books.html" target="_blank">Quilt by Nicholas Royle</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/11/library-books-and-not-library-books.html" target="_blank">A Widow for One Year by John Irving</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/11/library-books-and-not-library-books.html" target="_blank">The Zoo of the New</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-power.html" target="_blank">The Power by Naomi Alderman</a><br /><a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-future.html" target="_blank">The Future by Naomi Alderman</a><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">That is not a lot of books ... but you know what, I don't beat myself up about how I have spent that last year. I am not sure that I have a favourite from this year's reading, lots of things I enjoyed but nothing stands out for me looking down the list. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Wishing regular readers and random visitors Merry Christmas.</span></p><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-29233436658803831812023-12-10T19:52:00.001+00:002023-12-10T19:52:43.582+00:00The Future<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9Gaoh0mkEiEVVo78-zzNo7JGVkYiikWCmt0PVh3ftUjDd7HWJPVgTzPEnuBs4ZFzk2fWhJo5gIbzTPJ9DcAjqTTATcbYNF7rJYMOY4ATP7ZHoxBtsyqnbHsH3kjWNy_2bPmyDHqcukZQNRz8Kp57Tls9dRdhcZ2HexH8icGEpL72qbR956XDXCiyU3At/s1280/animals%20in%20theat%20country.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9Gaoh0mkEiEVVo78-zzNo7JGVkYiikWCmt0PVh3ftUjDd7HWJPVgTzPEnuBs4ZFzk2fWhJo5gIbzTPJ9DcAjqTTATcbYNF7rJYMOY4ATP7ZHoxBtsyqnbHsH3kjWNy_2bPmyDHqcukZQNRz8Kp57Tls9dRdhcZ2HexH8icGEpL72qbR956XDXCiyU3At/s320/animals%20in%20theat%20country.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had to take 'The Animals in That Country' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Jean_McKay" target="_blank">Laura Jean McKay</a> back to the library because 'The Future' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Alderman" target="_blank">Naomi Alderman</a> arrived ... and there are only so many hours in the day when I'm not at work. It's a pandemic story with a disease that makes people able to understand animals. While I like a good disaster movie as much as the next person I was not finding the story very engaging and the nonsense that the animals were talking was just meaningless and I was impatient with it. And anyway, The Future arrived.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9CKdJNki55XfmbwXaWM_LkJPDj0PMCyUHNCJvx5Kh-GXEEScSNbD6UNctFbARVtihdm0-ikr4iTfAa7Dksazvvmsf3vQwnod9JK8FPTmcnvR0Ir4OlOJStpNu18hfquzSle4OFFP_pEjwl_DCg7xXN8yoEfJRyLBHKlQHI6o_SjzW5NnclAWQ0DY9qGJ/s1280/the%20future.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="842" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9CKdJNki55XfmbwXaWM_LkJPDj0PMCyUHNCJvx5Kh-GXEEScSNbD6UNctFbARVtihdm0-ikr4iTfAa7Dksazvvmsf3vQwnod9JK8FPTmcnvR0Ir4OlOJStpNu18hfquzSle4OFFP_pEjwl_DCg7xXN8yoEfJRyLBHKlQHI6o_SjzW5NnclAWQ0DY9qGJ/s320/the%20future.jpeg" width="211" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So now I have to try and write a review without giving *anything* away about this book. Like <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-martian-not-a-to-z-post.html" target="_blank">'The Martian'</a> (that I read nearly a decade ago!) it feels like a book that will make an excellent film ... the end of the world is nigh, how would you behave, what would you need to survive, will technology save the day ...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is a portrait of the power of wealth, and of inequality, and of how the super rich do seem to live on a different planet from the rest of us.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's all I can say, anything else would step into spoilers.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. Be prepared.</span></div></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-30941838493665954192023-12-05T16:31:00.003+00:002023-12-05T16:32:31.184+00:00Winter Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgJ92Smq8ksnNylBwSHMzoRs4Kcww-dVDVeZNcFu7MoDlFfVpq1SFu8vseUQdRz_kqYvDkuKGYNi0SPQeOe5ZBBbnDHV_WzvdHIAEJwxLGhYmQiBi6e0veOK5Ur9RJkDdg1fOhnwTvxUw961QavndiKFOCsUe_6SEY1m3nmKyCL19Phgp7BdTlDqDV5hO/s1280/winter%20garden.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgJ92Smq8ksnNylBwSHMzoRs4Kcww-dVDVeZNcFu7MoDlFfVpq1SFu8vseUQdRz_kqYvDkuKGYNi0SPQeOe5ZBBbnDHV_WzvdHIAEJwxLGhYmQiBi6e0veOK5Ur9RJkDdg1fOhnwTvxUw961QavndiKFOCsUe_6SEY1m3nmKyCL19Phgp7BdTlDqDV5hO/w400-h300/winter%20garden.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have not been out in the garden hardly at all since June. The rain arrived in July and it seems to have been raining ever since. I have pushed past the overgrowth a few times but not sat and enjoyed, <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/06/saving-bees-for-30-days-wild.html" target="_blank">nor watched the bees</a>. It is very straggly and scruffy this time of year anyway but I knew the worms really needed sorting out ... so instead of the gym today I spent an hour chopping stuff back and just taking a look around.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To my delight <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2023/04/j-is-for-julian.html" target="_blank">the worms are still alive</a> ... and having been left so long the bottom layer of the worm bin was full of the most beautiful dark magical plant food, with not a trace of tomato skins or undigested random lumps. I literally just scooped it out into an empty compost bag ready to be used in the spring. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also delightful was the small selection of blooms that I found.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Most delightfully, a rosebud:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxy7Er5zScUxAMQHQWRrDT_9qefRwJ0O4kxVytFLGi0roqmWeDduVepQS7V9oXyZ03yfq2v__2Bf-NnZjy6e8NOMs5RR5n315nzL2NvGe8gauhJyvdDSWeZu3IAOH7cCDXp1HHvuT6ApxbBAnqOOtG3GMlzC4W9W7lzTiZJqCSb3fnsxIevNVTDJ2PwR5r/s1280/december%20rosebud.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxy7Er5zScUxAMQHQWRrDT_9qefRwJ0O4kxVytFLGi0roqmWeDduVepQS7V9oXyZ03yfq2v__2Bf-NnZjy6e8NOMs5RR5n315nzL2NvGe8gauhJyvdDSWeZu3IAOH7cCDXp1HHvuT6ApxbBAnqOOtG3GMlzC4W9W7lzTiZJqCSb3fnsxIevNVTDJ2PwR5r/s320/december%20rosebud.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To be expected, the ubiquitous self-seeded <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pelargonium" target="_blank">pelargoniums</a>:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTvZTfKKoxDIQfCEQRrcOrXFqLXjV84Tq-lHhqP8NuZSCNbQILzgw0zrcurt5YEdZCYFHAGhO7BzYsU_NtV6IeVr_-R7OJjZ-NJPJKuSHaKoTqFBvtWehBiF_ytDMGuQN1pCGz7lmZhtoGcpjglxeAh3wXaF7nOPJaoMC9to3R-DmO23L_YgA43MD93nd/s1280/december%20pelargoniums.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTvZTfKKoxDIQfCEQRrcOrXFqLXjV84Tq-lHhqP8NuZSCNbQILzgw0zrcurt5YEdZCYFHAGhO7BzYsU_NtV6IeVr_-R7OJjZ-NJPJKuSHaKoTqFBvtWehBiF_ytDMGuQN1pCGz7lmZhtoGcpjglxeAh3wXaF7nOPJaoMC9to3R-DmO23L_YgA43MD93nd/s320/december%20pelargoniums.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And on the kitchen windowsill, some <a href="https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-alyssum/" target="_blank">alyssum</a>:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgFzdKjNl7OKp5jgq7GChKfqWq6NIcL9qHGDm53zQ3KlU-zwpW7hASfK-ZvQfh_VTGwOI9JO3dJHq2XLbZq2IiXkAIDtNBt3JDvdMNKHUVRBTA2EnVjpySNJ235K_aRxfXbUQiIdikYaODNgv4UTFaZGGq-YxyUehk3X4P-cbxN6JB75g2gRkzPtBd1BO/s1280/decmber%20allison.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgFzdKjNl7OKp5jgq7GChKfqWq6NIcL9qHGDm53zQ3KlU-zwpW7hASfK-ZvQfh_VTGwOI9JO3dJHq2XLbZq2IiXkAIDtNBt3JDvdMNKHUVRBTA2EnVjpySNJ235K_aRxfXbUQiIdikYaODNgv4UTFaZGGq-YxyUehk3X4P-cbxN6JB75g2gRkzPtBd1BO/s320/decmber%20allison.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. Hurry back inside where it's warm.</span></div><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-70508774902465054122023-12-03T17:29:00.002+00:002023-12-04T04:45:12.125+00:00Meanwhile, in Japan ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSNeE8V9IfRe58phyfaZ60jvULNCXnNQdxsaB-Fq9-EJNFW-EIj-fxRywcQ06n3AMrplcMU8CkIIkUWN0Stjo54XNdeI4WoO_b6ON6WANb4OvQhKb37Iee8DwAyLNmbZiThaZRbhiMt7uyWU9bHMQWjp9U-BAWzcp9X2lBGhK73miiK2O0aroeDv6E8fzZ/s1280/airport%20selfie%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSNeE8V9IfRe58phyfaZ60jvULNCXnNQdxsaB-Fq9-EJNFW-EIj-fxRywcQ06n3AMrplcMU8CkIIkUWN0Stjo54XNdeI4WoO_b6ON6WANb4OvQhKb37Iee8DwAyLNmbZiThaZRbhiMt7uyWU9bHMQWjp9U-BAWzcp9X2lBGhK73miiK2O0aroeDv6E8fzZ/s320/airport%20selfie%20(1).jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Two weeks ago we took the daughter formerly known as Monkey, now known as Monkey sensei, to Terminal 3 at Heathrow and she officially went to live on the other side of the world. She has just finished her first week as a <a href="https://www.jet-uk.org" target="_blank">JET teaching assistant</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawagoe%2C_Saitama" target="_blank">Kawagoe</a>. Like the process of <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2019/09/how-to-get-into-manchester-university.html" target="_blank">getting into Manchester University</a> it has been long and torturous. Having applied over a year ago she was told back in March that she was on the reserve list, but that if she didn't heard by July she would be unlikely to get a placement this year. Then back in October she got a message telling her she had been 'upgraded' and to expect to travel in November. A huge flurry of activity ensued: many random purchases were made, another trip to London for her visa, much yen was acquired, copious forms were filled in. And the next thing we knew she was gone. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Look, there's a shrine, just to prove she's really there.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOscAjVW3Z3Y2TLHv4YZy683P34QchErbxzmw9Yrfrj8ByQkil7AnpzVKdrk0axsnMozH-nIACTWdoR3VTIPCQKhlfmLXz3l6bdd99q8rekyhGopPMsZWq9zCOD-Twxo6ZmlRiRzhyphenhyphens8leyN3WYa71sVim-6INhyphenhyphenYovnJI39RsdC4G5xyfXtbu9ypAy3Uv/s1280/shrine%20ish.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOscAjVW3Z3Y2TLHv4YZy683P34QchErbxzmw9Yrfrj8ByQkil7AnpzVKdrk0axsnMozH-nIACTWdoR3VTIPCQKhlfmLXz3l6bdd99q8rekyhGopPMsZWq9zCOD-Twxo6ZmlRiRzhyphenhyphens8leyN3WYa71sVim-6INhyphenhyphenYovnJI39RsdC4G5xyfXtbu9ypAy3Uv/s320/shrine%20ish.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And she eats Japanese food (but they just call it food), and even school dinners too:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8iGTHIoj11LEoSqi8Ql1LP0HtHBa0Ho0Lbag_sGqpiu2L-qkbOJGgus8MYxn3zAB1nccwjCEhck-0yhkEnvi5o0rU1aCyyqAac0na5p939aZePtraDOpgZTTBAPDhDDku0jMUZJhPplYgAOsegNYXVefRE1fHBggMdmX502dxxx7D2AH-zxT6loS-nXw/s1280/japanese%20food.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8iGTHIoj11LEoSqi8Ql1LP0HtHBa0Ho0Lbag_sGqpiu2L-qkbOJGgus8MYxn3zAB1nccwjCEhck-0yhkEnvi5o0rU1aCyyqAac0na5p939aZePtraDOpgZTTBAPDhDDku0jMUZJhPplYgAOsegNYXVefRE1fHBggMdmX502dxxx7D2AH-zxT6loS-nXw/s320/japanese%20food.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And watches Japanese telly (but they just call it telly):</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdarXM-h2F6FqNkhHgCfqLhEvPXZrKpxG-0vEdX0Hi1LlCQFrFlA8f0U4Q3PDEDg4bV73YZbVRcWu7uE4uwElQQ8irVc7y_mKnA6ZQr47mz5KfgGxyLIbE_MIxSZ-vPSYnm8MZLcZFO25sR0o_xn7NatyRJtXL9tukx-1sw2vskhYUk-1UGI2Z1SNY1TAb/s1280/japanese%20telly.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdarXM-h2F6FqNkhHgCfqLhEvPXZrKpxG-0vEdX0Hi1LlCQFrFlA8f0U4Q3PDEDg4bV73YZbVRcWu7uE4uwElQQ8irVc7y_mKnA6ZQr47mz5KfgGxyLIbE_MIxSZ-vPSYnm8MZLcZFO25sR0o_xn7NatyRJtXL9tukx-1sw2vskhYUk-1UGI2Z1SNY1TAb/s320/japanese%20telly.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">She has a tiny apartment, with a tiny kitchen, tiny bathroom, tiny living space ... and this fab cosy sleeping mezzanine:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIriknSq65oGu8-EX84bls8lSDO6z6LQ63Yhgri1g_DQ3u1upq7sGKsy1uMrUlrj4xcYuuByQR2JkO6ZlUxWz5cHde4TGAYUMsJ8yHQcfrxXsbL1A1QF-sa5iPpiyn2LLz4-EYtkzfjj-l5pc9KgwnsVz3iKQxkuOqfSmF0vMFopkNaCWpNFaWhV7dhYkU/s1280/cosy%20bedroom.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIriknSq65oGu8-EX84bls8lSDO6z6LQ63Yhgri1g_DQ3u1upq7sGKsy1uMrUlrj4xcYuuByQR2JkO6ZlUxWz5cHde4TGAYUMsJ8yHQcfrxXsbL1A1QF-sa5iPpiyn2LLz4-EYtkzfjj-l5pc9KgwnsVz3iKQxkuOqfSmF0vMFopkNaCWpNFaWhV7dhYkU/s320/cosy%20bedroom.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, there will be many updates about life in Japan in the coming months ... and years. She might stay. Who's to say how long. I am planning a visit in spring 2025, she gets a holiday in the break at the end of the school year.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. Try not to miss your daughter too much.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mount Fuji (from the plane)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoSb1krUNsgqScO57RpROpScczFH5WRNa5_Cn5_Vvt6os5TTG_wTcq74W3J5Xcep9_07u9SzL558XV2p96l-vvwBwRhwGfZPHg-IgvtedskE-fQ78ZW7mL69V1uyQvvMHoGVffN0BB-UrZzaM7lHVkeCq3dum8I7o0rdU8sorThAqeIB7L-PLQ_Ie_jca/s1280/mount%20fuji.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="961" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoSb1krUNsgqScO57RpROpScczFH5WRNa5_Cn5_Vvt6os5TTG_wTcq74W3J5Xcep9_07u9SzL558XV2p96l-vvwBwRhwGfZPHg-IgvtedskE-fQ78ZW7mL69V1uyQvvMHoGVffN0BB-UrZzaM7lHVkeCq3dum8I7o0rdU8sorThAqeIB7L-PLQ_Ie_jca/w300-h400/mount%20fuji.jpeg" width="300" /></span></a></div><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-15457925213307550902023-11-25T15:36:00.007+00:002023-11-26T17:05:46.968+00:00The Power<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXg7XsJEucxioMZINTepxl05lkMYp3TVXIVClnT7QcXGixZMgxhOSmaiuoFwO48_2wiyBdefvPq_6XWmnyZ-9DEKkfxpo73m7hgYRckNwgkC1tbXoyxIbzdZ5FTt8ALpuJ1KkLAnSqUcR4ci6Os0UNuNp2b79VBkc2-eTCmaPhP9po95AddRa1SkpfZ1X7/s1280/the%20power.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="826" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXg7XsJEucxioMZINTepxl05lkMYp3TVXIVClnT7QcXGixZMgxhOSmaiuoFwO48_2wiyBdefvPq_6XWmnyZ-9DEKkfxpo73m7hgYRckNwgkC1tbXoyxIbzdZ5FTt8ALpuJ1KkLAnSqUcR4ci6Os0UNuNp2b79VBkc2-eTCmaPhP9po95AddRa1SkpfZ1X7/s320/the%20power.jpeg" width="207" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'The Power' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Alderman" target="_blank">Naomi Alderman</a> won the <a href="https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/reading-women" target="_blank">Women's Fiction Prize</a> in 2017. At one point I did a challenge to read all the winners but I have not kept it up in recent years and there are four that I have not read (but probably still will at some point). The Power is a pretty scary book. What might happen if women suddenly find they have the power to inflict pain on others ... will they behave just like men do? It turns out that power does corrupt. A young woman finds she can produce electricity from a mysterious skein organ across her collarbone, and with practice can target and control it. Soon more women can, and younger women can awaken the power in older women. There ensues a fight for control of the human race. Men try to cling to their millennia old position but you can see where it is all going to end. A new religion is born and wars begin. Some women just go mad with their new found freedom. The tale is told in retrospect ... somewhat I suddenly realise, like <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2017/06/nolite-te-bastardes-carborundorum.html" target="_blank">Handmaid's Tale</a>, but by a man, who has researched and written a book about the period of transformation. His editor suggests he might want to use a woman's name, to add credibility to his narrative. That's all really. So much going on in the story, lots of strong women characters of course, but not lacking in men, and utterly gripping. Fantastical but also utterly believable.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here Margot is a politician, and has had to pretend that she doesn't have the power. I love the notion of 'constant ease', the idea that having this new strength makes her feel safe.<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Late at night in a part of town that she knows has no surveillance cameras, Margot parks her car, gets out, puts her palm to a lamp post and gives it everything she's got. She just needs to know what she's got under the hood here; she wants to feel what it <i>is</i>. It feels as natural as anything she's ever done, as known and understood as the first time she had sex, as her body saying, Hey, I got this.<br />All the lights in the road go out: pop, pop, pop. Margot laughs out loud, there in the silent street. She'd be impeached if anyone found out, but then she'd be impeached anyway if anyone knew she could do it at all, so what's the margin? She guns the gas and drives off before the sirens start. She wondered what she'd have done if they'd caught her, and in the asking she knows she has enough left in her skein to stun a man, at least, maybe more - can feel the power sloshing across her collarbone and up and down her arms. The thought makes her laugh again. She finds she's doing that more often now, just laughing. There's a sort of constant ease, as if it's high summer all the time inside her." (p.64)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. Don't let the bastards grind you down.</span></p></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-6995443360531651952023-11-18T18:05:00.005+00:002023-11-19T17:33:23.501+00:00Library books and not-library books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqzXogxzaGZOkYUC-m972tN3nKz410BlvxLXVVbNszx7aUXu-P0KefudjKrWhoDqpOwrUYUwvTJPZXScfe4dVzc00SiJbd01hURtKaPwGUEYDMTZCEsw4g9RpG0hHyKfnMqkriU6WpN04xVBnijMDVSPLqEQH3gT7WRmo6GWFtnGNyMS6tCXNM4LbkIce/s1280/library%20books.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1280" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqzXogxzaGZOkYUC-m972tN3nKz410BlvxLXVVbNszx7aUXu-P0KefudjKrWhoDqpOwrUYUwvTJPZXScfe4dVzc00SiJbd01hURtKaPwGUEYDMTZCEsw4g9RpG0hHyKfnMqkriU6WpN04xVBnijMDVSPLqEQH3gT7WRmo6GWFtnGNyMS6tCXNM4LbkIce/w400-h263/library%20books.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Like number 17 buses the library books always arrive all at once, so I will have to check out which ones have a reserve queue and read them first. I was handed a sample chapter of <a href="https://naomialderman.com" target="_blank">Naomi Alderman</a>'s new book 'The Future' when I was in <a href="https://chorltonbookshop.co.uk" target="_blank">Chorlton Bookshop</a> the other week, so I ordered it along with 'The Power', that won the <a href="https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk" target="_blank">Women's Fiction Prize</a> in 2017.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eaALjW2ZnJh5QaLETUd7l_RkwLCKQ7kE9uoXMHik0YZEruG0CAy4vxckE8r_GvBOhGSAWdO5ke1qZvj8qAl73jTRXDt3edrXAb77DqoVI1eJaVU-jNg5W5G6xSMmZeP_iG5S8Anqt9kVMDyJbXHU_3HviZTO966yq_sytVSWJMF5EmdmAmyL8kffG40M/s1280/quilt.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eaALjW2ZnJh5QaLETUd7l_RkwLCKQ7kE9uoXMHik0YZEruG0CAy4vxckE8r_GvBOhGSAWdO5ke1qZvj8qAl73jTRXDt3edrXAb77DqoVI1eJaVU-jNg5W5G6xSMmZeP_iG5S8Anqt9kVMDyJbXHU_3HviZTO966yq_sytVSWJMF5EmdmAmyL8kffG40M/s320/quilt.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Quilt' by <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/profiles/36446" target="_blank">Nicholas Royle</a> (who is not the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Royle" target="_blank">Nicholas Royle</a> who has written several other novels) was bought because I thought from the ambiguous blurb that it might have something to do with quilts. It doesn't. A man coming to terms with the death of his father goes quietly crazy and builds a huge aquarium in the downstairs of the father's now empty house ... to house rays. They require a very specialist environment and he goes to a great deal of trouble and expense. Weird and disconcerting as he behaves as if it were all totally normal for the people at the wake to have to move around this huge tank in the middle of the dining room. Not quite sure how I felt about it. Just a very unusual story.</span><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6cTear5tz9jC3iX6J-J-YsK8kyS9bMgrWzz4malV_SWLiHjryNNyEidbpB5FStT9yVwWn5Itt1wdSkqelu8gJfmrdQj8wDj5_GdL_o-1zBqJ2IeYknOX5tWd79vpQw_I8SXONDV91vDbeiH48OMIqkEO5I9bc-QeFHBk3dLitNlBafJj_b7sb_Vg1e6o/s1280/widow%20for%20one%20year.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6cTear5tz9jC3iX6J-J-YsK8kyS9bMgrWzz4malV_SWLiHjryNNyEidbpB5FStT9yVwWn5Itt1wdSkqelu8gJfmrdQj8wDj5_GdL_o-1zBqJ2IeYknOX5tWd79vpQw_I8SXONDV91vDbeiH48OMIqkEO5I9bc-QeFHBk3dLitNlBafJj_b7sb_Vg1e6o/s320/widow%20for%20one%20year.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'A Widow for a Year' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Irving" target="_blank">John Irving</a> again suffered from the fact that it was not <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2016/08/brilliant-but-preposterous.html" target="_blank">Owen Meany</a>, which I loved so much and nothing else I have read by him has quite measured up to it. What I did like very much about it is that it is not about one person. All the characters in it seem equally significant to the story and the relationships between them and their own individual story arcs combine to create something very engaging. Eddie spends his life pining for Marion. Ruth spends her life pretending that she is not pining for Marion. Ted is an arsehole. I loved Harry and I sympathised with Marion's decision. And the whole book is somehow overshadowed by the lingering legacy of death of the two sons. The empty spaces where the photographs had been are this huge glaring symbol of the sense of loss that people struggle to cope with. A book very much about the human condition. And who the hell would publish children's stories that are so fucking scary. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEmtCEpZmUFP3nGNaD3MC70jbjn-R2oUY-PL6ktAElMVeNus6TDJluZsvdAuHgFa9sYgPoAJ-3QgPkC4ql7TJQVWmDPJ-hUMs6MtB3jII-Jr-5JQnUSYW3lmExX9Et6ApITfukrVB8wQF4f7hQvTjvvFBxZ-CbCXS2X4GdFnnsG7jhNhO2BWXUrI_-Dus/s1280/zoo%20of%20the%20new.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEmtCEpZmUFP3nGNaD3MC70jbjn-R2oUY-PL6ktAElMVeNus6TDJluZsvdAuHgFa9sYgPoAJ-3QgPkC4ql7TJQVWmDPJ-hUMs6MtB3jII-Jr-5JQnUSYW3lmExX9Et6ApITfukrVB8wQF4f7hQvTjvvFBxZ-CbCXS2X4GdFnnsG7jhNhO2BWXUrI_-Dus/s320/zoo%20of%20the%20new.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'The Zoo of the New' has been a lovely large anthology of poems edited by Nick Laird and Don Paterson. It covers a few hundred years (so a lot of poetry) and mixes up old favourites with undiscovered gems. I stated off reading them all, as I often do and then began to flick through and pick and choose. I still managed to pick out lots that I enjoyed so now I'll have to find just one ...</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Field Guide by </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hoagland" style="font-family: verdana;" target="_blank">Tony Hoagland</a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Once, in the cool blue middle of a lake,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">up to my neck in that most precious element of all,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I found a pale-grey, curled-upwards pigeon feather</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">floating on the tension of the water</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">at the very instant when a dragonfly,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">like a blue-green iridescent bobby pin,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">hovered over it, then lit, and rested.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's all.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I mention this in the same way</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">that I fold the corner of a page</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">in certain library books,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">so that the next reader will know</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">where to look for the good parts.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. Look for the good parts.</span></div><div><p></p></div></div></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-68008263763348748782023-11-07T17:04:00.000+00:002023-11-07T17:04:55.767+00:00Pre-Christmas post - postage and scams<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGi9n5xJLl3sKLPBwKQ2NYTTk_DY3oGdOujggfZg4mDZNSuSav8tSXXs7AnLisLXo-DEWmmFGOspcS4QnHpOKmV_c2l6v-4fWyyoJaBVxvzPkZaBq6dqC1q-kQlrHmysUwdRvNBRCHyD5iOv6xWFRTgb_ScOQTF_WRCB0q3GuU5uTyfdfslONntVZgBUA/s612/old%20stamp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="538" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGi9n5xJLl3sKLPBwKQ2NYTTk_DY3oGdOujggfZg4mDZNSuSav8tSXXs7AnLisLXo-DEWmmFGOspcS4QnHpOKmV_c2l6v-4fWyyoJaBVxvzPkZaBq6dqC1q-kQlrHmysUwdRvNBRCHyD5iOv6xWFRTgb_ScOQTF_WRCB0q3GuU5uTyfdfslONntVZgBUA/w176-h200/old%20stamp.jpeg" width="176" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">These old postage stamps are now no longer any good for posting letters. If you use them your item will be surcharged. <a href="https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps" target="_blank">If you have some they can be swapped for the new bar-coded stamps</a>. If you buy postage on the website or app please don't guess how much your item weighs or measures, if you underestimate your item will possibly be surcharged. <a href="https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/14308/kw/fake%20postage" target="_blank">Be aware there are lots of fake stamps out there</a> ... the main clue is the price, you are not getting a bargain to send your Christmas cards, you are getting worthless bits of sticky paper.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Beware. It's nearly Crimbo time so the scammers are going to be out in force. I have had several people in recently with messages about missed deliveries. Beware of any message that does not include a tracking number. If you are expecting a package check with any dispatch confirmation you might have been sent that will provide tracking information. Messages might refer to a specific delivery company or might be vague. Some messages include a delivery driver's name in order to seem more authentic. Any message that asks for money outright is a scam. I don't know about other companies but Royal Mail never asks for payment for redelivery. Some ask for a very nominal sum, this is because it is your bank details they are after. If you click any link or supply details to any scam website, contact your bank immediately. The Royal Mail website has <a href="https://www.royalmail.com/help/scam-examples" target="_blank">lots of examples</a> of scam texts and emails:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmc4KGBTjTQNW1LSJwiCoRMUJ6wu9cJ8aRWeXqa57XJZzh3HBYcl6L6TvzUpc23LLQcJbPLjuE6BY-mwNqwqeFgj24AnRYzD_fD21S3WBB8TmfE8JajexXmSPijadvwA7krrQQ-aQf_YJ7EXgvOlp5FegRg61XH5wrkIcApvFi3jH5Zb5zANrZ4-ulaHm/s540/scam-text-nov-2020-540x303.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="540" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmc4KGBTjTQNW1LSJwiCoRMUJ6wu9cJ8aRWeXqa57XJZzh3HBYcl6L6TvzUpc23LLQcJbPLjuE6BY-mwNqwqeFgj24AnRYzD_fD21S3WBB8TmfE8JajexXmSPijadvwA7krrQQ-aQf_YJ7EXgvOlp5FegRg61XH5wrkIcApvFi3jH5Zb5zANrZ4-ulaHm/s320/scam-text-nov-2020-540x303.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVW9zgTLz_wtEFlvxukaQWaiLVljlunmf7Z4GLAJUF_38UpuczUHncv763I-hafCFcjireKeoKGVanuklyOLOg32ZidWN-ZVDtStxBBc9oS-kT5u5iY0a6vJO3kD0HzzqOiYmVxnZCYzHQmdvFcnDBbxmKxfBn7ZMsOeBvZWtuawWgQxW3yY49QSx5NSo/s606/unsuccessful-delivery-attempt-scam-email-540x606.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVW9zgTLz_wtEFlvxukaQWaiLVljlunmf7Z4GLAJUF_38UpuczUHncv763I-hafCFcjireKeoKGVanuklyOLOg32ZidWN-ZVDtStxBBc9oS-kT5u5iY0a6vJO3kD0HzzqOiYmVxnZCYzHQmdvFcnDBbxmKxfBn7ZMsOeBvZWtuawWgQxW3yY49QSx5NSo/s320/unsuccessful-delivery-attempt-scam-email-540x606.png" width="285" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Enjoy your Christmas preparations, I'll be back in a few weeks with my annual posting advice.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay informed. Be cautious. Delete that scam message.</span></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-67979551116215937232023-10-26T17:14:00.001+01:002023-10-26T20:43:33.939+01:00The Hero of this Book<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCeiA8ri3yXcuqYuNi5JM4evGZKmvL_OCo609XRXtTJ1DGfw5sWmSc8IFZ4nDn24c8zaWCGgVimyZC_X2o9vM9pCvSS3MByALjcaQCRPnHQ7vcdKafnIZZMYtur81dhxwkFYgOyjkM8oolgujKlXqqEehCznTYnZvauD6k-8cJi4SbmO-mzQPJN5FcpAy/s1280/the%20hero%20of%20this%20book.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCeiA8ri3yXcuqYuNi5JM4evGZKmvL_OCo609XRXtTJ1DGfw5sWmSc8IFZ4nDn24c8zaWCGgVimyZC_X2o9vM9pCvSS3MByALjcaQCRPnHQ7vcdKafnIZZMYtur81dhxwkFYgOyjkM8oolgujKlXqqEehCznTYnZvauD6k-8cJi4SbmO-mzQPJN5FcpAy/s320/the%20hero%20of%20this%20book.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://elizabethmccracken.com" target="_blank">Elizabeth McCracken</a> is a novelist, not a memoirist, but I found her firstly in <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2014/08/figment-of-imagination.html" target="_blank">'An Exact Replica ...'</a> nearly a decade ago, swiftly followed by <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-small-hesitant-thing.html" target="_blank">'The Giant's House'</a>. 'The Hero of This Book' is a novelisation of her relationship with her extraordinary mother. In the story the narrator retraces some of her final times spent with her mother, and navigates the grief of losing a much loved parent. There was so much to love about this book, so here come a bunch of quotes, because the story reflects thoughtfully on loss, parents and life in general. This first one I liked, because it makes a distinction about different kinds of loss:</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Condoling friends used the words <i>grief</i> and <i>mourning</i>. But neither was what I felt. All my life I'd heard people use those words to discuss the ordinary deaths of elderly people - or, worse, elderly animals - and (I am hard-hearted) I found them melodramatic. Those old people and dogs were never going to be immortal. Grief, as I understood it - grief and I were acquainted - is the kind of loss that sets you on fire as your struggle to put it out. My mother's death hadn't changed my mind. I just missed her. I hated to see her go. But she's had a sweet end, or so I kept telling people, though who was I to speak for my mother? She'd hate that, my opinion about her experience. It was sweet for her family, at home with hospice nurses and cats, and friends around the bed, at the time - 2018 - when you couldn't count on a sweet end but it wasn't impossible." (p.5)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What her mother didn't approve of:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I took her hand. I did this without permission. My mother was not a hand-holder. I sat by her bed. I said, 'I'm sorry this happened to you.' Without permission. I found her dear in her reduced state. I called her <i>honey</i>. I kissed her hello and goodbye. I can't imagine she approved of any of it.<br />Not this, either: typing sentences about her, calling her only <i>my mother</i>, as though that were her most important identity. 'I don't approve,' she said, of Barbie dolls, and certain flavors of bagels, and all bagels cut in half, and eating anything but the traditional pies on Thanksgiving; she disapproved of fiction written specifically for young adults (she believed they should be reading <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Saroyan" target="_blank">William Saroyan</a>) and tutus on small girls. She enjoyed being a crank." (p.62-3)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This lovely interaction in a corner shop:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I thought about buying cigarettes - I smoke sometimes when I travel - but they were kept behind doors, so you couldn't look at brands and then say casually 'Silk cut, please.' You had to be a serious smoker with a plan, and I wasn't. Years before I'd been a devotee of the English ten-pack; a lovely thing, to be able to buy just ten cigarettes at a time. Like my father before me, I fooled myself when it came to bad behaviour. I worried that the young woman behind the store counter wouldn't like me if I asked. For anything large, I don't worry about judgement. Only for the cigarettes, the 10:30am prosecco. Only going on a Ferris wheel by myself, alone and middle-aged. She had a pretty, lupine face.<br />I pretended I didn't speak the language, put my sandwich and brownie on the counter, and paid in coins, which I counted out as though I were unfamiliar with the notion of money. I tried to look worthy of kindness." (p.92)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And the trials of old age, to be resisted at all costs:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"But her and my mother knew: When you're old, safety is overrated. Safety is the bossy Irish lady, who is, after all, your employee, taking away your wineglass, saying, 'That's enough, that's enough now, that's enough now, darlin'.' Safety puts you in a nursing home and turns you over regularly so that you do not die in your sleep. You could be kept for years if you weren't careful , like a roped-off chair in a museum that nobody is allowed to sit in, which makes it only something shaped like a chair. Watch out for safety. It will make you no longer yourself, only an object shaped that way." (128-9)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The narrator has a lovely visit to London, relishing doing things alone. Relishing things she might not have done with her mother. Missing her mother, but enjoying her activities while thinking how she had loved doing them with her mother, recalling her mother's exuberant enjoyment of life.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's a story, it's not a memoire about Elizabeth's mother, but I hope it nearly is. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. Mum's are the best.</span></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-27578573634891618762023-10-03T18:10:00.000+01:002023-10-03T18:10:24.476+01:00October Flowers<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgob4t1fsCTLV0bAEPfpg_c3poAVmqq1WrENLHSXKcU25nteK0JBg07fhS7PLJjSjf7d2RSmNTkrh057hOp_Wjiloozi67npj6wghEKLQTUaxc2ElxHB_W2u5IWqx1QCMNoaNKnxW81FRTFTwn4c2XVCNWrLnBKyrI8Vtg4cxFDuB6V92YoqggGJ2gt8YkY/s1280/october%20sunflower.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgob4t1fsCTLV0bAEPfpg_c3poAVmqq1WrENLHSXKcU25nteK0JBg07fhS7PLJjSjf7d2RSmNTkrh057hOp_Wjiloozi67npj6wghEKLQTUaxc2ElxHB_W2u5IWqx1QCMNoaNKnxW81FRTFTwn4c2XVCNWrLnBKyrI8Vtg4cxFDuB6V92YoqggGJ2gt8YkY/s320/october%20sunflower.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I chopped down a load of stuff in the garden a week or so ago, and just left it in a huge heap hoping it might dry off or something. It is all still a mess. But I popped outside just now to see what has been going on and found all sorts of delights. Above, a sunflower in with the plum tree.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Below, the miniature rose decided it was warm enough to put out some fresh blooms:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdRKQcJ-jR9rK8jwxbubfHPGUX0bUWXShGb6o5gDGfm98FBaCUmofWZNEalAtGWECj2usv7Ah7QPwcTISCuwZPS4ToAaXiecwbcRyELqVBsYvGm61wNdc7qWF3-fsUgRuOzNnNRmZ0Mmm-5uB2rSIt8JWoRwlMbdw4WP-hWUL4ao0k0jX3L1SwDy2gUjU/s1280/october%20roses.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1039" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdRKQcJ-jR9rK8jwxbubfHPGUX0bUWXShGb6o5gDGfm98FBaCUmofWZNEalAtGWECj2usv7Ah7QPwcTISCuwZPS4ToAaXiecwbcRyELqVBsYvGm61wNdc7qWF3-fsUgRuOzNnNRmZ0Mmm-5uB2rSIt8JWoRwlMbdw4WP-hWUL4ao0k0jX3L1SwDy2gUjU/s320/october%20roses.jpeg" width="260" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <a href="https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/persicaria-affinis/" target="_blank">persicara</a> flowers on and on since July:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqgT0E3wvNLHDjG2EButiYPF7gaONT1oamC1F5U8VIL3W9zsWkiMx0j9bY7QHXnCFwZPt49AhPWOn3L7rHNj_F38Q0E2FjW2PU-X_KK-AUF-159cKd-9rlwGvNWx3SmIuded_GWBVsn_t-nd594C4oCC_289eHlXcyUBsuEqIKcU_Y3ptEiD-zWTCm16x/s1280/october%20periscara.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqgT0E3wvNLHDjG2EButiYPF7gaONT1oamC1F5U8VIL3W9zsWkiMx0j9bY7QHXnCFwZPt49AhPWOn3L7rHNj_F38Q0E2FjW2PU-X_KK-AUF-159cKd-9rlwGvNWx3SmIuded_GWBVsn_t-nd594C4oCC_289eHlXcyUBsuEqIKcU_Y3ptEiD-zWTCm16x/s320/october%20periscara.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <a href="https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-morning-glory-ipomoea/" target="_blank">morning glory</a> was a disappointment all summer, growing huge and attaching itself to the honeysuckle but no flowers ... and then suddenly a few weeks ago a fabulous display of bright blue ... delightful:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrk6frnAt5gu4Y6k58czMl50R67Th0dztS7ktLtbhLsU_px-45x6eQGKZ-Ar9Y8uODibTWge-nSZE3-McytikdkTj0BjYzuh7UCy2n34HB2us51P0LIn85pJd3tmEW6aoaLMOzE1P1G0lqyxWGSmRH6yLmS_4NWtUCBRjoSRENl3O79yOBHa22epyKsfw/s1280/october%20glory.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrk6frnAt5gu4Y6k58czMl50R67Th0dztS7ktLtbhLsU_px-45x6eQGKZ-Ar9Y8uODibTWge-nSZE3-McytikdkTj0BjYzuh7UCy2n34HB2us51P0LIn85pJd3tmEW6aoaLMOzE1P1G0lqyxWGSmRH6yLmS_4NWtUCBRjoSRENl3O79yOBHa22epyKsfw/s320/october%20glory.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some random borage self seeded in one of the pots, it remains one of my favourites:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66jLITXbqijvci9ikIfMH_doK2KHYSx6dbV_sWK_RAeZ3blLvS8SbzxcyUWG5QvEl0FjOA4u6BSdmKScvEWxLdMVJNeDY3E2-i93p3u63Wf-x_H3L7ERHfe9wGTLjqDGvnd8TiQH4wB23iWvksJ0DifLAzhFQIzJZU5jwMJIF69XfkEpPugvI3atfM7g1/s1280/october%20borage.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66jLITXbqijvci9ikIfMH_doK2KHYSx6dbV_sWK_RAeZ3blLvS8SbzxcyUWG5QvEl0FjOA4u6BSdmKScvEWxLdMVJNeDY3E2-i93p3u63Wf-x_H3L7ERHfe9wGTLjqDGvnd8TiQH4wB23iWvksJ0DifLAzhFQIzJZU5jwMJIF69XfkEpPugvI3atfM7g1/s320/october%20borage.jpeg" width="239" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Indoors: I had left a couple of basil plants on the outside kitchen window sill (just to see how they would do) and I had bought one inside to use recently and now it's decided to flower too:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbe-mKHpwODv7wb7dDD94c8yVaORftA35mOJAZl-zV7qAzkXDXc4zjI5ZoT_O2Wu8-7GQ2Rw3RnUSx1PVp2TMXKvpseSCqg7X5wOzDlot-nl1kRqSPofUfPrWXRqxOA0c9RWskDtIpRSiJCp8ZTiLy8knWhXYVSEJyKd5EQ8wZTgM2CLjbfXvWfnHE7BZ/s1280/october%20basil.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbe-mKHpwODv7wb7dDD94c8yVaORftA35mOJAZl-zV7qAzkXDXc4zjI5ZoT_O2Wu8-7GQ2Rw3RnUSx1PVp2TMXKvpseSCqg7X5wOzDlot-nl1kRqSPofUfPrWXRqxOA0c9RWskDtIpRSiJCp8ZTiLy8knWhXYVSEJyKd5EQ8wZTgM2CLjbfXvWfnHE7BZ/s320/october%20basil.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And the lemon pips that Dunk saved for me have all sprouted and now I have 3 tiny lemon trees:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsgq0IQ-V4r2CWgUazAPK0Ve_wO4G46h0cbFnXXHAmjZ7Ag9Pj_Jzne5Vh-a4hi1rwO2INvjv5QrCSevNIgRh1_fNTJUzIGsyZDBTR4NREPMZ6JFRCTArOmZfMfX61tdnLCOuUHh29b8R7sXgmb4T7PrJQ2ILsEHZsG3KlRy5B-7l9mWZURRhKfsHu3JS/s1280/lemon%20seedlings.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1053" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsgq0IQ-V4r2CWgUazAPK0Ve_wO4G46h0cbFnXXHAmjZ7Ag9Pj_Jzne5Vh-a4hi1rwO2INvjv5QrCSevNIgRh1_fNTJUzIGsyZDBTR4NREPMZ6JFRCTArOmZfMfX61tdnLCOuUHh29b8R7sXgmb4T7PrJQ2ILsEHZsG3KlRy5B-7l9mWZURRhKfsHu3JS/s320/lemon%20seedlings.jpeg" width="263" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And I totally forgot to mention that when I chopped down the *outside* cucamelon plant I was astonished to find it had fruited ... a dozen cucamelons ... I call that a win.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ugn8LpbeZoIv6RShbuz0CviXsT9k50g0kp7GYp2pCiqgY0HOlzulZTkbVeMJeUtFOXRd5fsU2x7-NU0N9jQm4gxZ8rJyrNyDVGKNqtcTV60Pq4aCpEp0Cu18e2pIncFG6nN0LJwoG8EY9TsqqQijIESE6yNzl_v3RlKLbyUdD9bL2pBznrT-NKh1MciR/s1280/cucamelon%202023.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="928" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ugn8LpbeZoIv6RShbuz0CviXsT9k50g0kp7GYp2pCiqgY0HOlzulZTkbVeMJeUtFOXRd5fsU2x7-NU0N9jQm4gxZ8rJyrNyDVGKNqtcTV60Pq4aCpEp0Cu18e2pIncFG6nN0LJwoG8EY9TsqqQijIESE6yNzl_v3RlKLbyUdD9bL2pBznrT-NKh1MciR/s320/cucamelon%202023.jpeg" width="232" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stay safe. Be kind. Get another compost bin because it's amazing how much waste 20 square metres of concrete can produce.</span></div><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-72605329000807809102023-10-01T17:51:00.009+01:002023-10-02T13:51:05.053+01:00A Guest is a Gift from God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNPRBoWC9aUp3FdwuAeNtVZg6XJqUIM9cNFfHFT2myB-En9dtbN7U9e4BZm52QdUfScJ2cmMHLARtjdVbBcZ2qVBn5vx0dMAhrPhAeElBZJXZXre-brpwJbTOiNUKWCEHwV0umV_lseNNrQX_8euZWHz2iinZFCksEe2bQN8uXStzLUZuVyY9fnxvKDeU/s543/elena%20knows.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNPRBoWC9aUp3FdwuAeNtVZg6XJqUIM9cNFfHFT2myB-En9dtbN7U9e4BZm52QdUfScJ2cmMHLARtjdVbBcZ2qVBn5vx0dMAhrPhAeElBZJXZXre-brpwJbTOiNUKWCEHwV0umV_lseNNrQX_8euZWHz2iinZFCksEe2bQN8uXStzLUZuVyY9fnxvKDeU/s320/elena%20knows.jpeg" width="212" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is a month long enough to have a half written blog post waiting around? Probably. So I will also tag on the end a list of the others that have also been read in the last month since I went to Devon.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Elena Knows' by <a href="Claudia Piñeiro" target="_blank">Claudia Piñeiro</a> is not a detective novel. I keep reading that she is known for this genre, and while a death occurs and police are involved that is not what this book is about at all. Unless, I suppose, it is an investigation into a mother/daughter relationship. It was <a href="https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/claudia-pineiro" target="_blank">shortlisted for the International Booker Prize</a> last year, probably how it appeared on my radar. Elena and her daughter Rita seem to have developed ones of those bickery but can't imagine life without you kind of relationships. We jump into their lives in the moments after Rita is found hanging in the church belfry and Elena insists that she did not commit suicide. She can't get the police to take her seriously, despite her repeated pestering, though the local detective placates the grieving mother by continuing to meet her and listen to her growing list of suspects. The main problem is that Elena has Parkinson's disease, and is incapacitated to a significant extent, and so realises she is going to need help with her investigation. There is only one person she can ask, who she feels owes Rita something, and the book follows her struggle to get to this person.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"<i>Mum, enough</i>, she said and she stood up, walked over to the stove, turned the flame to maximum, and set the pamphlets on fire. When the flame was about to burn her hand she let them fall, the charred pages fluttered to the green tile floor, landing beside the uncooked pieces of pasta that her mother had spilled.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rita stood motionless watching the paper as it blazed, cracked, and danced until it changed colour, melted away, turned to ashes, and finally, went to the place that fire goes when it burns out." </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">She despises Roberto, Rita's boyfriend, and his mother Mimi; here she is, under protest, having some beauty treatment, because Rita is disgusted by her hairy chin.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Mimi said, <i>your feet are a disaster, how do you even wear sandals with those heels? I just put them on, </i>she answered<i>, or Rita does it for me when I can't. At least put some lotion on them at night, Elena, that helps with the roughness</i>. And even though Elena showed no concern for the roughness of her heels, Mimi said, <i>I'm going to send you some calendula cream with Roberto</i>. It'll just go to waste, Elena thought, because she wasn't willing to add any more chores to the unending list of daily challenges: walking, eating, going to the bathroom, lying down, standing up, sitting in a chair, getting up from a chair, taking a pill that won't go down her throat because her head can't tip back, drinking from a straw, breathing. No, she definitely wasn't going to put calendula cream on her heels." (p.98-99)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The pain and struggle she goes through to find out what really happened tells you more about her relationship with Rita than all the bickering. I liked her, she was so lacking in self-pity.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgxalTpD4-Ql_7r43drKCdlXMYzOLd7ptlYCHrZsj1E53h_tQBQit1E6HkpzNvxyQautT3DLdYS2s3Ha4vZ3GBW_7wIHVCW5La0hxmVM6hpQ7oEGak8JFcw1Dt0i9GeL9PJxUqJsZsrTudAEm6Q7V8OMvF_GfP86B28pDosGW8nlLIBcuB93D-40hXZ4a/s1280/resistance.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgxalTpD4-Ql_7r43drKCdlXMYzOLd7ptlYCHrZsj1E53h_tQBQit1E6HkpzNvxyQautT3DLdYS2s3Ha4vZ3GBW_7wIHVCW5La0hxmVM6hpQ7oEGak8JFcw1Dt0i9GeL9PJxUqJsZsrTudAEm6Q7V8OMvF_GfP86B28pDosGW8nlLIBcuB93D-40hXZ4a/s320/resistance.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Resistance' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Shreve" target="_blank">Anita Shreve</a> was a typical Anita Shreve picked up at Claire's house. I went through a bit of an Anita Shreve phase some years ago and loved her small town america stories. This one is set during World War Two however and concerns a shot down airman rescued by the French resistance. Lovely, atmospheric, and without the predictable ending, which was nice.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEing3Xxv_GeWGD-2tJSVyk0ec0-6sD2wMHe05Umy-_Ibz_Pv4458T5CUtrgK5Yf_n1YZVGyuvYT7RpPj6BbH4bwttsOfBtQbnHBI1LcOQSxYVGBYW9yp5X0as5NuXWHJuNEsERv-xn6FpYziHD0FUiHMxIuFMdPCWBaGagSrkvUby8_73H7by8GrkEHgMGZ/s1280/hard%20by%20a%20great%20forest.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEing3Xxv_GeWGD-2tJSVyk0ec0-6sD2wMHe05Umy-_Ibz_Pv4458T5CUtrgK5Yf_n1YZVGyuvYT7RpPj6BbH4bwttsOfBtQbnHBI1LcOQSxYVGBYW9yp5X0as5NuXWHJuNEsERv-xn6FpYziHD0FUiHMxIuFMdPCWBaGagSrkvUby8_73H7by8GrkEHgMGZ/s320/hard%20by%20a%20great%20forest.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Hard by a Great Forest' by Leo Vardiashvili, was won in a <a href="https://caboodle.nationalbooktokens.com" target="_blank">Caboodle</a> competition and is not actually published until next year. Written by a Georgian writer about the war that followed the breakup of the Soviet Union and the subsequent exodus of the family concerned. It is a part of the world that I know little about and it was a real eye-opener. Forced to make hard choices and haunted by the people they left behind, many years after their departure Irakli returns to Tbilisi on unfinished business. When he vanishes both his sons follow in a desperate search to find the truth. Well worth looking out for.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Quote from near the end:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"But then I remember one night from my childhood. I was in a bed, all alone in an unfamiliar bedroom. We must have been visiting someone. Pools of darkness filled the corners of the room - perfect hiding places for some other family's monsters. I kept my eyes open owl-wide. There was no way I'd sleep.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Irakli appeared in the doorway, haloed by cigarette smoke and lamplight from the other room. He came and sat down, shifting the bed with his weight. He didn't say much, and what he did say I can't recall. Vague words of comfort. Faint smell of tobacco and wine on his breath.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">He put a hand on my chest. And finally, I slept.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Laid out on the lumpy wet forest floor, I try to feel the weight of my father's hand on my chest." (p.216)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HlAUpWut2O0ZCcK6YjU3bRItzGR6C6gxnINh_l5_dgf_7mRm7xsx7iFS_b8RDsioo6w798ugKoBe4u7JQFs5MiP-ufJb2pXgGKJSawl6EqcDJG0ko5EglZbXPxpxUZs77YtHOgKVnH2aQrnOr67csPQScTHPrSTeVppYmtV9uKW13-R_AeM0nPyaQmPj/s1280/lonely%20castle.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1012" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HlAUpWut2O0ZCcK6YjU3bRItzGR6C6gxnINh_l5_dgf_7mRm7xsx7iFS_b8RDsioo6w798ugKoBe4u7JQFs5MiP-ufJb2pXgGKJSawl6EqcDJG0ko5EglZbXPxpxUZs77YtHOgKVnH2aQrnOr67csPQScTHPrSTeVppYmtV9uKW13-R_AeM0nPyaQmPj/s320/lonely%20castle.jpeg" width="253" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Lonely Castle in the Mirror' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuki_Tsujimura" target="_blank">Mizuki Tsujimura</a>, translated from Japanese by Philip Gabriel, was pressed on my by Monkey because she wanted someone to discuss it with. I was confused, because I thought it was going to have more fantasy element, but it turned out to be a bunch of lonely teenagers learning about real friendship via a magical mirror world. Not my usual kind of thing but we had some interesting chats about it anyway.</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zyLjbU5C6_ouhUZoPYDcPm77a9e5LrMJzZNzjQwWy6TiVa3-yTWwLSsH20MDIhNGLoTrL5l48bUXAzNu4qx4rdMjX1I8XMl2lvuL0dFWUN-6R_xQGCrIRnTb-HcVz_ZOkHYM2Fkyjz17mlZtuJ4dfNF_ylyjaADLf-js-E6I8zY7T6ez4dXKNJgvQwuW/s1280/WILD%20THINGS.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zyLjbU5C6_ouhUZoPYDcPm77a9e5LrMJzZNzjQwWy6TiVa3-yTWwLSsH20MDIhNGLoTrL5l48bUXAzNu4qx4rdMjX1I8XMl2lvuL0dFWUN-6R_xQGCrIRnTb-HcVz_ZOkHYM2Fkyjz17mlZtuJ4dfNF_ylyjaADLf-js-E6I8zY7T6ez4dXKNJgvQwuW/s320/WILD%20THINGS.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Wild Things' by <a href="https://www.laurakayauthor.co.uk" target="_blank">Laura Kay</a> was a lovely comfort read for me. El decides to have a year of doing scary things. But then suddenly she and a bunch of friends buy a house together when one of them breaks up with a girlfriend and is going to abandon their plans. It's all very cosy about them getting to know the locals and making their house and garden into a home. The main character faces her fears and has some personal growth, that kind of sentimental stuff. Sappy and heartfelt. I like one of these occasionally.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Currently reading 'A Widow for a Year' by John Irving, and not sure how I feel about it. Life a little in flux at the moment and struggling to hold it together. Stay safe. Be kind.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6eBNVml4HMgZA74fpAaBDU0s4jAMGjtTGXVq0_2TXqq5g971aq-7JmXzIlJxuKNF9SxM-9R_NkGXFGe2D-PkxBRFR3XXINKqJ34cu1PNgrIlxV2P8fTS4FWOY_B-G-LJR9WtIJ4MflXobL8RHylJY_hVJo0UJM_PyYS9JR0W2zzbVE3LpxJOUswQqGVJ5/s1280/a%20lost%20lady.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="874" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6eBNVml4HMgZA74fpAaBDU0s4jAMGjtTGXVq0_2TXqq5g971aq-7JmXzIlJxuKNF9SxM-9R_NkGXFGe2D-PkxBRFR3XXINKqJ34cu1PNgrIlxV2P8fTS4FWOY_B-G-LJR9WtIJ4MflXobL8RHylJY_hVJo0UJM_PyYS9JR0W2zzbVE3LpxJOUswQqGVJ5/s320/a%20lost%20lady.jpeg" width="219" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Post script: </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">'A Lost Lady' by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willa_Cather" target="_blank">Willa Cather</a>, picked up in the charity shop on the basis of having enjoyed <a href="https://silencingthebell.blogspot.com/2016/07/my-antonia.html" target="_blank">My Antonia</a>, was a small story of a woman's vulnerability. A young boy watches and idolises a local beauty, watching as her life's fortunes change, feeling both protective and often angry at her poor choices. While it was interesting it was mostly as a study of patronising misogyny: Marian fails to live up to to Niel's idea of what a woman should be and how she should behave.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205632242399271177.post-44568921225281021712023-09-25T16:44:00.005+01:002023-09-25T16:45:43.857+01:00Mantis Shrimp<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F5FEj9U-CJM" width="320" youtube-src-id="F5FEj9U-CJM"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We have found a new puzzle game to add to the daily list, called <a href="https://metazooa.com" target="_blank">Metazooa</a>. You have to try and figure out the animal, based on some pretty obscure clues with lots of long latin words. It's fun anyway.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The other day the answer was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp" target="_blank">Mantis Shrimp</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What's not to love.</span></div><br /><p></p>martinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14260048849955077472noreply@blogger.com1