Month: Sep 2024

#1060 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Daft QuestionsLeave a comment

What details of your life could you pay more attention to?

Sometimes these prompts from my blog hosts are useful and other times not at all. I am a life long gatherer of random knowledge. There is so much in my personal hippocampus/ temporal lobe archive, an archive that is not the tidiest,that it seems to be getting harder to retrieve my idiosyncratic collection of useless trivia. A question like the one above has me flummoxed. I have no idea what details of my life I could pay more attention to. Which of my details is not fully fleshed out   or completely explored and understood. Who is the judge of personal details that have been given proper attention to and those that need a little more work?

Flummoxed I maybe but I rather like the thinking process that makes my mind tingle with trying to create an answer. Right now I am trying to work out if this  is a good or bad prompt. I know it is not fully bad or of no interest because I scroll right past those. It is also not fully good because I don’t have an immediate response to blog about in a negative or positive way.

In conclusion I don’t know which aspect of my life needs closer attention, but I have given the matter some thought.

I have spent a few weeks with an old school friend digging out memories that we have both archived for more than fifty years. I am hugely surprised how quickly we could recall all that old data.  Even more impressive is the way other forgotten trivia continues to surface in my mind. All a bit pointless now as we are once again half a world apart.

#1059 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Van Life2 Comments

Saturday arrived with a nasty twist in its tail. Hannah has Covid

She felt rotten but the sun was out. We do still take Covid seriously in this house and choose not to mingle with people.  But a campervan to lurk in is a perfect plan . A bed on wheels that can be parked anywhere is a great solution. 

Wembury was our destination of choice and by 4pm we were the only people about. A nearly monotone walk occurred.

 

Hiding out in a van with limited phone signal gave me the chance to read a whole print edition Saturday Newspaper. So complete is my reading that I can fully justify buying a Sunday one. Happiness gleaned from adversity.

#1058 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Daft Questions1 Comment

In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?

Hard work in itself does not make me fulfilled. Hard work with a positive outcome is very fulfilling. But hard work  that fails to bring a good outcome is not fulfilling in any way. My hard work of the summer, painting an already white, heavily textured wall continues to reward me. I had no idea that a refresh of white paint would make such a difference. Especially now we have lost summer light, the optical brightness of the walls really enhances the more flimsy light of autumn. Hard work seems much harder to recover from when it does not bring the desired positive or pleasing result. I cannot imagine enjoying it for its own sake. I know plenty of people do. Thank goodness I am an optimist or I would never get out of bed without a guarantee of success.

There is a world of hard work for hard work sake that I rarely experience. The Gym for instance, great for physical recovery but once the recovery is achieved I have little interest. Is there any hope for me?

Absolutely, optimism is a superpower that trumps my aversion to pointless hard work.

#1057 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Family, Serendipity2 Comments

27th September 2024, one year since the Sycamore of the Sycamore Gap was cut down by a criminal act and 90 years since my mother was born. The two things are both related and not related. I can’t claim to have a huge relationship with this tree, as others do, but somewhere in the photo albums of my parents there are a few pictures of me at varying heights and ages standing under this tree.  The photos would be horribly aged in the way that mass market photo development from the late sixties and seventies are.  Bleached out colours with a brown tinge. There may be a black and white image of me at age 5 standing under the tree.

Regardless I made the image at the top of this blog of a lone woman under the tree from images I found in a magazine.

Sycamore Gap is the red marker.

Every year we would make the journey from North East Essex, close to Cambridge on this map, to Glasgow to visit my paternal grandfather. Sycamore Gap was where we would stop and have a few hours out of the journey and a late breakfast. My Dad always liked to leave home at 2 a.m for these adventures. The journeys stopped when my Grandfather died and I last visited the tree at about age 15 on a school trip to Hadrian’s wall. That aspect of my family is entirely lost to me apart from their names on my family tree. One stands out.

Why did me and my mum never discuss what a cool name her Grandfather had?

A tree and a family tree are the flimsiest of connections for this blog. Underneath the canopy of both trees is the thought that I never talked enough to my parents while I had them. Do any of us?

theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Words1 Comment

What’s the trait you value most about yourself?

I don’t know that I value so much, as rely on my ability to stick to a commitment once I am commited even if the task or project seems a little beyond what other people might need or expect of me. Until recently I would describe this ability as ‘goat-like’ meaning that no matter what the job, it would be completed. Maybe not elegantly or with style but with confidence and determination. With the diligence that goats show when taking difficult paths.    In recent times Goat has come to mean something entirely different. Greatest Of All Time.

Now that, may I say is not how I would describe myself.

The nuance of my interactions with people changes outrageously with this new Goatish accolade.

” Would you like help with that shopping”

” No , don’t worry, I am a goat”

Meaning ‘I am fine the bags are balanced and are not too heavy’

Or

“Leave me, I am the Greatest of all time at carrying shopping without a scintilla of modesty”

Language is an evolving and perplexing creature.

However I think the world would be a better place if Goat stood for, Gets Onwith A Task.

Greatest of All time is overated.

#1056 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Greece, Serendipity1 Comment
©George Hassanakos

A funny thing happened on the way to the airport a couple of weeks ago. Breakfast, before we left on the last leg of our Greek road trip, was had on Gythio waterfront. A shop selling prints and C.D’s caught our beady tourist eyes. Popping into the shop I immediately bought these 4 postcards. A beardy chap invited us to follow him to another location. He was artist and photographer George Hassanakos, our destination was his workshop, showroom and studio.

https://www.hassanakos.gr/

Without a care for our bulging suitcases we bought more A3 prints of his photography.  His workplace was fascinating, as all creative spaces are. Needing to start the journey to Athens we left him, reluctantly. In an effort to keep us he offered to call the airport and delay our flight. We demurred from his vivid suggestions, the ideas of a wildly creative mind and set off.

The large prints survived our journey to the U.K, just a quick hop to Australia for some of them now. We are all the proud owners of prints signed and annotated by the artist. Funny the unplanned things that happen on the way. Unplanned but never unwelcome.

#1055 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home and AwayLeave a comment
Storm in Arcadia 2 weeks ago.

The rain has set in, in Stonehouse, not as beautifully as it did in Arcadia . In truth we may have returned to the days of greige.

Full colour image! Stonehouse

I had promised myself to the ironing board when the weather turned. Somehow it feels like I am ironing myself into autumn. Lightweight clothes are ironed and put away, more firmly than before. If there is such a thing as a summer table cloth then that is ironed and may not see the light of day until 2024. I’ve always turned ironing into a learning experience, documentaries or podcasts. Today I ironed in the company of an Octopus called Scarlet, courtesy of the National Geographic Channel. Several levels of improvement from the mostly black and white magazine that popped through the postbox of my childhood home. What luxury to be able to absorb other worlds whilst ironing. I am so intrigued by the Octopus programme, I almost want more ironing, but I also know that an Octopus life has drawbacks, so I am happy that my pile is done with just as Scarlet meets her beau. He touches her with his ‘special’ breeding arm just as the last shirt is ironed. I am released from the responsibility of knowing that she will die as soon as she gives birth and that her babies will feast on her carcass as their first meal. For two reasons I am glad the ironing is over. I am also glad to not be an octopus. I am a loving mother but I know my limits.

#1054 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment
September 2014 Fougaro, Nafplion

Flashbacks, 10 years ago we were on a roadtrip in mainland Greece. Two Weddings and a Baptism.

2 Weeks ago we were on a roadtrip in mainland Greece.

Fougaro Artt Centre featured in both trips. Weddings too.

10 years ago I took one of my all time favourite photographs at an exhibition at Fougaru.

Ornate wedding jewellery

I also took this photo, of a photo, of a wedding tradition, bride and groom dancing in the streets of a home village.

Despite attending Greek weddings We had never witnessed this.

But then in our first moments in Stemnitsa, 2024, this happened.

What are the chances!

Fougaro is one of my favourite small Arts Centres ever but even Fougaru had a little surprise for me.

I had never noticed this ornamental rill on previous visits. The rill took its revenge for being ignored. I failed to notice it again, until I was in it.  No photographic evidence, just wet dungarees and a lot of laughter.

September 2024,  Fougaro,Nafplion 2024

Website below.

https://fougaro.gr/el

#1053 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity2 Comments
Cat on a chair in Monomvasia

What could you do more of?

Travelling, off the beaten track. I will freely admit that often the ‘off the beaten track’ is an error of my navigation or a misfiring memory. But ‘the road less travelled’ has always been fascinating to me. As for todays blog I have decided to go with some alliteration.

If it is Monday it must be Monomvasia, although, in truth we visited on a Tuesday. Images from Monomvasia 2 weeks ago will illustrate this blog.

Perfect Pomegranates in Monomvasia

First my aversion to alliteration, like swearing I believe alliteration should be used sparingly. Too many people on Social Media use it as a reliable tagline.

I once protested, by swearing, when someone running a Social Media account gave me a list of alliterations to use for the month when I was taking the account over. Despite me explaining gently that I was alliteration averse. Not my finest hour.

Greek Urn Geek, Monomvasia

By nattering on about alliteration I have ably demonstrated how easy it is for me to go off the beaten track. But I needed to explain myself as I delve into ‘Its Monday, it must be Monomvasia’

Steep steps, Monomvasia

Monomvasia was a misfiring memory. When it was suggested as a destination on our road trip my head thought Mount Athos. A monastery destination near Thessaloniki which is closed to women.

Colourful cottages, Monomvasia

Both places played a part in my vivid imagination as a child with access to the National Geographical magazine.

Best bar, bar none. Monomvasia

The adult me never thought to question why women would be admitted, I suppose I imagined some form of orthodox emancipation had occurred. Regardless Monomvasia was  everything I had hoped and welcomed women. Which is always a good thing. The unexpected road less travelled did not disappoint and off the beaten track is always thought provoking. Plus  Alliteration can be useful in small doses but it can be taken too far.

Oleaginous Olive Tree, Monomvasia

The End.

Warm water, Monomvasia