I drove really slowly behind a tractor and trailer laden with huge straw bales. We ambled along with bits of yellow straw flying around, particularly as the tall wobbly load brushed past trees. Then we were slowed down even more: there was a horse and rider ambling along! I tried to look at the expressions on the faces of the drivers coming past the other way. Surely they'd be smiling in a sympathetic way.
It was a lovely moment. That phrase 'trailing clouds of glory' came to mind as that was exactly what was happening. No one hooted or got cross.
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Book ruffles peaceful afternoon
I'm reading A Casual Vacancy after my mother in law enthused about it and lent me her copy. I had a few moments thinking about the books I really wanted to be reading: suburban life of Harry Potter jumped over in first book, home life of the Weasleys, the parents of Harry Potter. It is an odd feeling being convinced that if she wished to, J K Rowling could just bring these out from the ether where the stories are waiting. I can't be the only one.
My mother in law and I have already had some heated discussions about the book. I was appalled by a character slapping her mother in the face. That is a total no-no to me. She hadn't noticed it as such. It is amazing how different people have such different sensitive points.
When she had given me a rough outline of the story I was convinced that a pregnant 16 year old girl being taken in by a middle aged couple would require the wife stopping work immediately. I would want to ensure a caring environment for the 16 year old and lots of practical and emotional care. She saw it completely differently and regarded the young character as grown up. We come from entirely opposite view points. I would imagine a middle aged woman wanting to ensure it was a safe household, ensuring more childhood and maturing time for a young woman.
Anyway, it is interesting chatting about it as I read through it. We had a peaceful time on the front lawn in the sunshine chewing it over. I might ask to be a guest visitor to her book group when they discuss it next Monday night.
My mother in law and I have already had some heated discussions about the book. I was appalled by a character slapping her mother in the face. That is a total no-no to me. She hadn't noticed it as such. It is amazing how different people have such different sensitive points.
When she had given me a rough outline of the story I was convinced that a pregnant 16 year old girl being taken in by a middle aged couple would require the wife stopping work immediately. I would want to ensure a caring environment for the 16 year old and lots of practical and emotional care. She saw it completely differently and regarded the young character as grown up. We come from entirely opposite view points. I would imagine a middle aged woman wanting to ensure it was a safe household, ensuring more childhood and maturing time for a young woman.
Anyway, it is interesting chatting about it as I read through it. We had a peaceful time on the front lawn in the sunshine chewing it over. I might ask to be a guest visitor to her book group when they discuss it next Monday night.
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
Full house and lots of parenting articles
We have said good bye to the family who came to stay with us from Sunday afternoon. The house is so empty and silent now. We played most of the time and the rest of the time was eating and sleeping.
They went to Oxford and learnt how to punt; played croquet; went on a zip wire; threw boules and bounced on our trampoline.
The pool table I haven't been able to get rid of was a favourite. The 3 children chatted and played, played and chatted. The cue splits in two so the separate pieces were short enough not to accidentally break a window or a picture.
We played squeaky chairs at the table and I passed round little squares of paper and the biro so we could collectively create fantasy beasts starting with a trunk portion and adding all sorts of legs as it went round the table.
The last good game was a simplified I-spy.....I-spy with my little eye, something yellow/round/eckig (lots of corners). I wonder whether that has taken them over the Channel, across France and down the Autobahn?
Today I have found a number of articles on parenting in different countries, seen by outsiders:
Mexico
Norway
Northern Ireland
Japan
France
Denmark
Congo
They went to Oxford and learnt how to punt; played croquet; went on a zip wire; threw boules and bounced on our trampoline.
The pool table I haven't been able to get rid of was a favourite. The 3 children chatted and played, played and chatted. The cue splits in two so the separate pieces were short enough not to accidentally break a window or a picture.
We played squeaky chairs at the table and I passed round little squares of paper and the biro so we could collectively create fantasy beasts starting with a trunk portion and adding all sorts of legs as it went round the table.
The last good game was a simplified I-spy.....I-spy with my little eye, something yellow/round/eckig (lots of corners). I wonder whether that has taken them over the Channel, across France and down the Autobahn?
Today I have found a number of articles on parenting in different countries, seen by outsiders:
Mexico
Norway
Northern Ireland
Japan
France
Denmark
Congo
Saturday, 17 August 2013
August new blog finds (fins!)
http://m.vice.com/read/it-dont-gitmo-better-than-this-0001000-v20n8?Contentpage=-1 Molly Crabapple writes here, I know of her from Twitter.
http://cleycontemporaryart.blogspot.co.uk/ This church in Norfolk holds art exhibitions while carrying on as a parish church with weddings, funerals etc. Our house could do with an artist in residence and an pianist in residence as a monthly festival every so often.
http://harryfergusonk17.wordpress.com/ He is fasting for a week in support for Shaker Aamer and the other prisoners at Guantanamo, cleared for release but still held. It is a rolling hunger strike, different people taking over as one striker finishes.
http://www.gsheller.com/page/2 Also titled "Small Things".
http://bluegateanthology2013.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/kathy-greethurst.html Well, I know the poet and was part of the group she read this poem to. I keep on encouraging her to do some YouTube films of each poem because seeing and hearing the writer present their work is such a favourite thing of mine!
http://cleycontemporaryart.blogspot.co.uk/ This church in Norfolk holds art exhibitions while carrying on as a parish church with weddings, funerals etc. Our house could do with an artist in residence and an pianist in residence as a monthly festival every so often.
http://harryfergusonk17.wordpress.com/ He is fasting for a week in support for Shaker Aamer and the other prisoners at Guantanamo, cleared for release but still held. It is a rolling hunger strike, different people taking over as one striker finishes.
http://www.gsheller.com/page/2 Also titled "Small Things".
http://bluegateanthology2013.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/kathy-greethurst.html Well, I know the poet and was part of the group she read this poem to. I keep on encouraging her to do some YouTube films of each poem because seeing and hearing the writer present their work is such a favourite thing of mine!
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Just listening to someone's voice
I am preparing for the online poetry course by coursera which starts in September. It is called ModPo and not surprisingly is all about Modern American Poetry.
My ears are very unattune to American accents. I thought I had lived my whole life with all the different varieties of American language, Nixon on the radio to Obama and Jay Carney.
I find I really need to see the words in front of me, but they are not there. All I can do is shut my eyes so that all of my brain is trying to follow the words. When it is unfamiliar poetry the result is that I'm simply experiencing the sound of the poet's voice as he or she speaks her soul to a room in a live performance. I miss so many words that I can't get the meaning at all!
John Ashbery audio clips on PennSound
My ears are very unattune to American accents. I thought I had lived my whole life with all the different varieties of American language, Nixon on the radio to Obama and Jay Carney.
I find I really need to see the words in front of me, but they are not there. All I can do is shut my eyes so that all of my brain is trying to follow the words. When it is unfamiliar poetry the result is that I'm simply experiencing the sound of the poet's voice as he or she speaks her soul to a room in a live performance. I miss so many words that I can't get the meaning at all!
John Ashbery audio clips on PennSound
Thursday, 8 August 2013
Firm enemies
As man and wife they were rarely troubled
by the surge of raging scattergun hormones
and, in time, they became firm enemies,
probing each other's weaknesses on a daily basis,
like two animals not of the same species:
her deep growls, his nervous inopportune
laughter. He was her jumpy, half-starved hyena
and she was his ill-tempered lioness,
roaring for the children they could never have.
They lived and died in their council flat.
But they had their moments. He kept goldfish
and she gave food to the neighbours' cats.
Poem called "Coupled"
By Jim Alderson
In issue no 62 of Obsessed with Pipework
by the surge of raging scattergun hormones
and, in time, they became firm enemies,
probing each other's weaknesses on a daily basis,
like two animals not of the same species:
her deep growls, his nervous inopportune
laughter. He was her jumpy, half-starved hyena
and she was his ill-tempered lioness,
roaring for the children they could never have.
They lived and died in their council flat.
But they had their moments. He kept goldfish
and she gave food to the neighbours' cats.
Poem called "Coupled"
By Jim Alderson
In issue no 62 of Obsessed with Pipework
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Day without Twitter & Shaker Aamer
I found out about #TwitterSilence last night after midnight because people were tweeting about it and linking to blog posts. So I read them and then joined in.
That's wierd because I haven't been back yet to see what is going on with the Great Silence. I do feel as if I can't go into one of the rooms in my house. There's a tussle between my wish to retweet useful things to support Bahrain etc, and the knowledge that acting with many others is a one off chance.
The best thing about this was that the most important tweet from yesterday kept on ringing around in my mind. I told several people about it today at coffee after Meeting and it was surprisingly powerful and encouraging:
Clive Stafford-Smith had written that Shaker Aamer in Guantanamo has been turning to singing as part of his repertoire of actions as a prisoner. The best part of this is that he has been singing "Get Up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley and "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics. What great songs!
When I told the other people they got that worried, serious look as they brought Shaker Aamer to mind. Then as I mentioned the song titles they just smiled and relaxed. It was a big gift of happiness from Guantanamo.
Really the situation is very grave, but any glimmer of cheerfulness is a bonus. Molly Crabapple did a written piece with drawings on Guantanamo Bay a few days ago.
That's wierd because I haven't been back yet to see what is going on with the Great Silence. I do feel as if I can't go into one of the rooms in my house. There's a tussle between my wish to retweet useful things to support Bahrain etc, and the knowledge that acting with many others is a one off chance.
The best thing about this was that the most important tweet from yesterday kept on ringing around in my mind. I told several people about it today at coffee after Meeting and it was surprisingly powerful and encouraging:
Clive Stafford-Smith had written that Shaker Aamer in Guantanamo has been turning to singing as part of his repertoire of actions as a prisoner. The best part of this is that he has been singing "Get Up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley and "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics. What great songs!
When I told the other people they got that worried, serious look as they brought Shaker Aamer to mind. Then as I mentioned the song titles they just smiled and relaxed. It was a big gift of happiness from Guantanamo.
Really the situation is very grave, but any glimmer of cheerfulness is a bonus. Molly Crabapple did a written piece with drawings on Guantanamo Bay a few days ago.
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