Month: Jul 2023

#650 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn WordsLeave a comment
Spoiler Alert the answer to Friday’s Wordle is included in this blog.

My wordle guesses today made a 4 word poem that inspired two related reminiscences. Perfect ingredients for a ponder.

A long time ago I was at a work Christmas party in a Private Members Club in Poland Street in London.

The club was in a basement and I needed to leave to get a phone signal. On returning I entered the wrong door and ended up in a Bear Bar, the sort of place burly gay men, dressed in plaid go to meet other burly gay men or cubs, who are diminutive or much younger men who are attracted to burly men in plaid. I had a perfectly pleasant half an hour or so talking to an Australian Army Captain who was there to hook up but had no problem entertaining a woman who found herself in the wrong club.

At one of my workplaces I worked with a predatory male colleague. He was a constant pain and often harassed or proposition many of the women he worked with. One Monday at work he was in quite a flap, he had been away in a strange town and had made the exact same mistake as I had done in London. He also favoured the plaid shirt look but when he stepped into a Bear bar in a strange town suddenly the predator became the prey. Karma I feel.

#649 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn choresLeave a comment

Yesterday we were on top of the chores. There was only a mental list so no exquisite pleasure of ticking items off a paper list, and then the ultimate climactic scrumple of paper with an exaggerated toss into the rubbish bin.

The penultimate chore was some plant buying and a summer treat of two garden chairs to sit in our yard.

This was the inspiration.

I’m not sure when I first fell in Love with Adirondack chairs. They were invented and patented as The Westport Plank Chair in 1904. Our Canadian relations call them the Muskoka Chair. Read the link below for the full history and more names.

https://panamajack.com/blogs/from-panama-jack/6-things-to-know-about-the-adirondack-chair#:~:text=It%20was%20originally%20dubbed%20the,Ontarians%20flock%20to%20every%20summer.

New favourite tea and book spot.

My first ‘ bum on seat’ experience was at the age of 3 or 4. My entrepreneurial Nana had them in the small orchard of Walnut trees behind her rural pub. These would almost certainly have come from one of the local American Air Force bases that she ran a limousine taxi service for. Her 17th century home was an eclectic mix of antiques and pub stuff with Contemporary Mid- Century North American furniture. Lucille Ball *meets The Leaky Cauldron**

* American Comedian with family themed comedy in the 60’s

** Pub in Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter novels.

My Nana always rocked the Lucille Ball look. Once turning up wearing Chuck Taylor Converse and jeans to a school sports day with brilliant red lips. Her pub was absolutely the country version of the Leaky Cauldron. Customers included.

Anyway when USAF staff and their families returned to the U.S or were redeployed elsewhere in Europe they would often leave a fair bit of domestic stuff behind. Often gifting it to local people with whom they had built up relationships. My Nan was a happy and stylish recipient.

In complete contrast on the other side of my family there were many men who were talented amateur woodworkers. My other grandparents were the proud owners or Steamer versions of the Adirondack. All painstakingly crafted from the instructions provided by Woodworker magazine by my Uncle who was really very clever and ultimately did cabinet making in Number 10 Downing Street. A fact I only discovered when I read his obituary.

Contemporary version of a Steamer Chair

A day of chores glossed over with natter about chairs. We were very busy bees though.

#648 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn blogging, SerendipityLeave a comment

Which activities make you lose track of time?

Pretty much anything can make me lose track of time. My most popular time to lose track of time is between 10 am and 3pm.

There is a standard list of things that are usually completed by 10 am, including writing this daily blog. Then I can lose myself in a task for a solid 5 hours until the need for a cup of tea and a snack pulls me out of concentrating, sometime between 2pm and 3:30pm. After the snack I clear up whatever the task was and begin my regular late afternoon plans. A dog walk tends to book-end my productive phase. What puzzles me about the productive period of the day is how variable my output is. There are days when I am shocked at the level of my achievement and others where I wonder what an earth I achieved in those 5 hours. One of life’s mysteries I suppose.

Another place to lose track is cold water swimming, or bobbing as our group of friends call it. There was nothing glam about last night’s bob but three of us bobbed about in this grey and misty environment for more than half an hour last night. The clocks of mind and body were stopped, recalibrated and refreshed by effortless chatter and some swimming. Dressing was particularly challenging as it was raining. Skin that is coated with seawater just gets really sticky when touched by rainwater. Before I realised I had been out of the house more than a hour and a half. The beach is only a five minute walk away.

In conclusion losing track of time seems to be something I am very good at.

#647 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity, Street Art1 Comment

I was in a very normal park today. Imaginatively called Peacock Meadow but squeezed between large industrial estates and some housing. The rain took me by surprise and I took refuge in this bandstand style shelter. It featured entirely teenage style graffiti and some of the comments and images were both timeless and entirely up to date. There was a good selection of cartoon penises and some statements that made me laugh out loud. I was a bit surprised by the amount of homophobia and racism expressed. I would have hoped younger people had greater tolerance and more open minds. But street art wherever I find it fascinates me.

The colours were fabulous, even if the opinions expressed lacked imagination or ambition beyond having sex with other peoples mothers, putting phone numbers out in the public domain, or commenting on school friends erogenous zones. All the same old stuff I experienced in the bus station of the town where I went to school. But one statement was so of it’s time no one would have understood it 20 years ago.

There was also a good bit of peeling paint.

I think I have managed to avoid the more controversial or unpleasant elements. Unfortunately the examples of clever wit that made me laugh came into that category but here are some of the colours and patterns.

I realised that my little village of Gosfield in North East Essex must have been very well behaved. There were loads of teenagers kicking around with not too much to do. I can’t think of anywhere that was given the Graffiti treatment. The only exception was the pews in the church. The back ones were habitually used by boys from a fairly low-grade Independent school, there were a lot of penises and expletives in that church. The funny thing is that history gives graffiti gravitas. If those words and illustrations, either in the church of my home village or the fake bandstand yesterday had been carved by medieval youth the etchings and carvings would be preserved as a tourist hot spot. The subject matter would be virtually the same.

And why the name Peacock Meadow. Google is a wonderful thing.

In 1719 Sidney Strode produced an “Account of the Strode Family” in which he makes reference to duel fought between Richard Strode and Sir Philip Courteney of Loughtor. The duel was fought on the green at the lower end of what was marshmeadow, Colebrook. And what were they fighting over, a family feud, an issue of honour, or a young lady? No, they were arguing over a peacock killed by a servant.

#646 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn pondering, Serendipity1 Comment

Waking up on a sunny morning in a blue bedroom is always a bit ‘other-worldly’. Soon enough the sun will cast fish shadows all over the floor. This blog was always going to be about blue because I discovered yesterday that Blue Monday by New Order was first released 40 years ago. Ever an optimist my Monday’s have never been particularly ‘blue’. My job was a seven day a week habit so the dreaded returning to work feeling could hit on any day.

In keeping with my usual lyric remembering failure I only ever remember the first two lines.

How does it feel, to treat me how you do?

I’ve worked with a few people where that has been a great puzzlement. People who clearly get up every morning determined to make other people’s lives a misery by their words or actions.

Anyway those sort of people are not welcome in this blog, which is really about where on earth those 40 years went…

Two lovely blue pictures from yesterday to accompany the blog. We sat under the Flagpole in our local dockyard to watch the Wimbledon Tennis Final on a big outdoor screen. I took this multi exposure shot to capture the flag in the breeze.

And as we left the Agapanthas were showing off a bit.

Have a positively Blue Monday with a catchy earworm…

And then, just like that, the blog was written and finished.But Facebook time- hop had other plans and I needed to extend the blog.Time-Hop showed me three paintings, all sea related. They are long gone to their forever homes but were painted at this time of year. I must have a thing about blue in mid- July.

#645 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity, SwimmingLeave a comment
Chestnut Swim 2023

For the past 3 years Hannah and her friend Emily have taken part in a charity swim to raise money for the Chestnut Appeal.

Although anatomically completely incorrect, Prostate health is close to the heart.

This year was made a little bit special by two grandchildren, there to support their Nona in her swimming adventure.

Cousins meet for the first time.

All the more special as the cousins live half a world apart.

Nona gets a first hug from a little person who lives a long way away.

Family reunions apart, a big swim was the main event.

Less than an hour after they set off. They were back.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/hannah-cornell-1689512599868?checkoutMode=Headless&reference=whatsap

#644 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity, SwimmingLeave a comment
English Summer observed through a pub window.

Saturday evening,Hannah and her friend Emily have arrived in Kingsand ready for their sea swim to raise money for the Chestnut Appeal.

They have done this for the last three years. This year they are doing the Cawsand Swim.

An early evening gathering in a pub was required to check out the course.

Not particularly obvious but there are buoys out there marking the course which is horizontal to the beaches of Kingsand and Cawsand.

It is all looking pretty good after a stormy few days.

Tomorrow’s blog will be all about the beach action but this evening our biggest concern was how to get our dogs across the carpark without burning a single kilojoule of energy.

#643 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?

I have an outfit that goes everywhere with me. Under any unusual or unplanned circumstances I can appear perfectly prepared. My failsafe garment is a long, black,  linen dress. At more than ten years old it is a little grey with wear but it still fits the category of little black dress. It can easily be dyed, again, to be a Bible-black dress worthy of her original beauty . Most importantly the dress has two side pockets. I will never again buy a dress without side pockets. Whenever I travel it travels with me. Even on the most minuscule of trips.

Last week it went to Wales with me. On its own it could have been a beach dress but blinged up with some massive beads it could easily have taken me to a posh restaurant or an evening of live music.

The beads come from an old broken necklace and some beaded curtain tie backs from the eighties. The beads travel with the dress. They are the basic kit, but if packing space allows two other items squeeze in next to the little black dress.

A pair of Moccasin mules from Canada and a long length silk coat in the style of a Gentlemans Smoking Jacket from Hong Kong.

While we were in Abersoch I admired the hat our host Tricia was wearing. Then randomly in my favourite Charity shop I found one with a very similar vibe.

With just this one additional item my go anywhere kit could go anywhere. The hat is by an internationally renowned Milliner Sandra Phillips. Posh Wedding, The Royal Enclosure or a Buckingham Palace Garden Party. I have the full kit and caboodle.

The beauty of this capsule, get me looking fab outfit is the cost.

Dress £100 Flax from Dulwich Trader 10 years ago.

Beads approx £5 made from a broken necklace and curtain tiebacks from a Charity shop. Recreated 5 years ago.

Moccasin mules, £20 Zara Sale, Toronto. Last year

Silk Smoking Jacket, £20, Zara Ultra reduced Sale, Hong Kong Airport. 7 years ago.

Silk and straw hat. £10. Sandra Phillips at the local Hospice Charity Shop today.

£135 spent over the past 10 years on this capsule wardrobe. The dress may well have been worn 500 times, could easily be more.

Money well spent, Lola loves to rest on silk so even more useful.

Nothing phases this ensemble. I have even slept in the dress and babies love the beads, they are indestructible.

#641 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn blogging, pondering, Serendipity1 Comment
Dandelion at dawn

What do you think gets better with age?

Before deciding to use this prompt I read a few other blogs that had also chosen to go with this particular flow. Wisdom, Sex, God(s) and Acceptance all get a good going over by bloggers with mixed results, in my opinion.

I have no such certainty, in the few hours I have pondered this thought I have been going round in so many ponderous mental circles that I feel even more uncertain as to my definitive answer.

Dandelion at noon

Right now at 08:13 I have settled on being both less conscious and more conscious of being my genuine self. Society moulds us in many ways. Always an introvert I have moved through life being self-effacing* hiding behind so many self-created masks.

* Someone who’s self-effacing is shy and likes to stay out of the spotlight, shunning attention and praise. To efface something is to erase it, so to be self-effacing is to try to remove yourself from various situations, especially ones that draw attention.

David Bowie with his multiple stage personnas or Drag Queens seem to me to have the perfect way of being.

Dandelion at night.

A lovely, big, public personality that can take praise and adoration easily and humbly. A personality that can be slipped off at the end of the show, leaving the real person to slip out of the stage door anonymously without the need for dark glasses and an upturned collar.

Much as I would have liked to go through life in the style of Ziggy Stardust or Lily Savage that was never appropriate. So my characters looked exactly like me but with more Chutzpah*

*The positive aspect of chutzpah, which is more likely to lead to positive outcomes, revolves primarily around being confident, daring, and brazen.

I realise now, with age that self-effacing is a fairly daft way to go about life. But even as I write this I realise that being a brash ‘ out-there’ person was an impossible lifestyle choice for me. I so dislike the aura around Alpha Humans.

What has got better with age is knowing my own worth and finding somewhere in the middle ground. Not so self-effacing, more sequins and twinkle.

Less Dandelion; more Firework, occasionally!

#640 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Friends, SerendipityLeave a comment

I am always drawn to the potential of an empty bench or a couple of empty chairs placed together. The art of fine conversation settles and thrives in this sort of location. We have spent the last few days engaged in fabulous conversations with friends old and new in Abersoch in North Wales.

Chatting is just the most enjoyable thing when it has no agenda or expectation. Sometimes so many conversations are had that the context or content get confused, but the important thing is that we had them.