Here is the sign of a hard spring – the deer are constantly foraging around the house, and they are still coming into the garden. Misty is very funny, she growls and rumbles low in her throat and quivers with excitement. And if we are not paying attention she continues this behaviour running round my legs.
A week ago today I was talking about A New Start in blogland. I asked for comments about what people thought of the blog and what they would like to see on the blog. The answers were varied and interesting. For a start Lydia wanted (amongst other things) some more pictures of Dalamory. This one below is from an entirely new angle. A neighbour in the village had been clearing some of his garden ground, and it is amazing the view that has been opened up. Quite a metaphor for how I feel.
In this past week I have been encountering new people on the net: kindred spirits, people with illness, an amazing number of people in the church – some training and some in parishes or other work. One thing that has delighted me has been the growth in the number of Church of Scotland people who are joining in the blogging world. (Incidentally, how come CofS seem more reluctant to embrace change and technology? – By the way congrats to all those who are already blogging and sharing their lives.) I also read blogs from older people and retirees – as I said before – Ageing is fascinating once it starts to happen, and of course it comes to us all if we are lucky. I have found poets with amazing talents and photographers who take breathtaking photographs. And of course with the way the election is going, it has been enlightening to read the views of others and to find blogs from politicians and pundits. I strayed into the area of medical matters – after all who isn’t interested in their health?
In fact, it is like the start of a whole new journey and a new world – one in which I can join, even though rushing around physically is beyond me. I have noticed that most people have an active and fascinating blogroll, so I intend to work on mine – if it is worth reading it is worth sharing. This brings me back to what I should share. My inclination sometimes is to keep quiet about personal health matters – particularly an ongoing struggle with my weight. Would anyone be interested in updates? Or is that just a step too far? I talk a lot about Misty, the cairn terrier – she wonders if anyone would like her to write an occasional guest entry.
OK – that is enough blurbing and questions. I now launch forth this missive into cyberspace, trusting that direction will come in response.
Have just finished reading Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier. I can’t remember whether I found it whilst browsing somewhere or read a review online, either way, I am delighted that the book found its way into my “to read” shelf. It is written by the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring which will be added to the shelf asap. Falling Angels is a historical novel with a difference – the narrative being driven forwards by a series of voices. The innovation is that the segments for each voice are shorter than is the norm. (two or three pages, or occasionally a single sentence.) Thus the dramatic effect is heightened and the tension increases as the story progresses. Essentially it is a story about two girls in Edwardian England. Their friendship often has the background of the local cemetery, indeed the whole ethos of the legacy of Victorian customs is a central motif in the plot. The unfolding drama concerns the suffragette movement and at the end, I just couldn’t put the book down. A real celebration of the historical novel.
I learnt much, thought a lot and determined to read some of Chevalier’s other books. A treasure to discover a new author – the only pity being that she has only written a few books.
Yesterday was VE Day. I was 15 months old at the time. The funny thing is that somehow it has affected who I am today. In fact if you take a long hard look, it has affected all of us. Once upon a time, it seems in another life, I had to write an essay about “The Just War Theory.” The only problem was that it probably muddled my thinking more than ever. Along with my contemporaries I grew up in bleak and austere post-war Britain. Our thinking was coloured by recent anniversaries of things like Auschwitz, the Blitz and rationing. Growing up, there was a diet of war films – not the gritty realism of The Pacific or Schindler’s List, but near-propaganda to bolster up a sense of right that was a total anathema to the generations following. Nonetheless, I want to cry when I see the shrinking ranks of veterans at the Cenotaph. Don’t ask me to explain it. It just is.
Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the WWII generation I helped to bury; saying the words at funerals is not the same as feeling their sense of bewilderment and pain. Today, I can’t help feeling that we need to think seriously about the values of our near ancestors, as well as trying to correct the wrongs and right the injustices.
So – as a tribute and as hope for the future…….. a photo of the blossom that never fails to make me smile each year.
A few years ago we visited Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland. In the guide book it was billed as the largest secondhand bookshop in Europe. I’m not sure if that is true, but for someone who adores books, reading and especially secondhand books, it was a special treat. Bookshelves beyond counting and all sorts of memorobilia and types of reading material. So when I saw the shop on a magazine programme on TV my ears pricked up. Apparently, they initiated the marketing of a wartime poster, and it has spread out into all sorts of products. The slogan was on a poster never actually used during World War II – it had been planned for the dreaded prospect of a possible invasion of Britain by the Germans.
It is absolutely spot on for the times we live in, on all sorts of levels. What do you think?
Just back from voting. That meant a pleasant meander, through the village to the local school. Funny how you can walk a route frequently with the dog, but when it is to vote it all takes on a different meaning. The sun shines, the cherry blossom pulses softly on the breeze – everything is heightened. You wonder who has voted, what the percentage turnout is like and if other people feel more alive and more blessed in the process. The officials on duty are relaxed and smiling and there is no sense of hurry or fear. Not only am I grateful to be living in such a comfortable place but I am deeply thankful to live in a democracy – even with all its flaws.
This is not a new idea, but this website gives a snapshot of what I’m blogging about. It will be interesting to do another one in a few months’ time and see whether there will be any change.
Apparently there is plenty of information “out there” or in hard copy about how to blog. Thus far, ie since November 2003, I have not really researched the subject. Perhaps now is the time to take things more seriously. After all, who am I writing for? Who are these cyberspace readers I seek? My suspicion is that I write more for myself than others, and certainly things in my life have changed a lot from when I started – all fresh eyed and a bit shy, wondering why I was joining in this blogging phenomenon. Most people who journal, keep diaries or write, know that writing is cathartic and helps us to understand the world and ourselves. In a sense it doesn’t matter whether anyone reads it or not. And this is contrary to the general communication ethic. For it seeks to spread its net far and wide.
Readers who have come back regularly over the years will have sensed the change in my pace of life. As a retiree, and someone whose health is often a bit iffy, I have had to seek a gentler way to interact with family, friends, community and indeed the world. Getting older has absorbed my attention and fascinated me. And it is one of my primary concerns to help myself and others live well and live wisely. If this sounds boring, I am sorry, but it is the truth nonetheless.
So over the next few days or weeks the plan is to tease out these ideas. To try to seek readers who are interested in life’s journey, in the way we relate (or don’t relate) to God/the Divine/ the Other / the Ground of our Being. To explore what it means to live at peace with the earth. And above all, to share the wonderful thought that in some wonderful, annoying, imponderable way we are each important, valued and loved.
Oh – and by the way – I want to enjoy life, share humour and generally help myself and others to feel better. The danger side is that I may stop hiding.
Hope you share the journey and your thoughts with me and others on this blog. I would be interested to hear what kinds of things you would like me to blog about.
Cuckoo heard on 1st May, sand martins spotted on 3rd May.
Where are the swallows?
