Category: Serendipity

#1389 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment
Central Park

This photo landed in my lap yesterday. It was a freezing cold day and cloudless, until it wasn’t. Out of nowhere, two black labradors, brushed past me, off their leads and owners nowhere to be seen. In that moment the clouds gathered around the sun and all colour drained from the scene.  Smaller dogs and their owners scattered, alarmed and protective. Moments later the dogs were gone and the bright day was back. As if the two things were linked.

And as if I had imagined the whole thing. Spooky things don’t generally happen in broad daylight. Digitally I popped a full moon behind the trees. It creates a haunting image much more in keeping with the sensation of the day.

Is an ownerless dog as other worldly than a riderless horse?

The dogs were like creatures from another realm. Fast and fleeting.  Bearing down on me, lLola and other wary smaller dogs. Black Labs overbearing one minute and gone the next.

Their owners insouciance irritating. Their languid body language, indifferent to the unfolding chaos. 

When the sun came out again the men and their dogs were nowhere to be seen. As if the clouds, men and dogs had been a wrinkle in reality, ghost dogs and their masters from a different realm.

Just as I reread this blog before posting I noticed the silhouette of a ghost dog on his hind legs in the first picture. I knew there was something strange going on!

#1388 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn history, Holidays, Serendipity, TravelsLeave a comment
7th December 2025, 22 degrees. Mount Eliza

Yesterday was a day of really bright sunlight and  a temperature of about 2 degrees Centigrade.

It was a day of dog walking, admin and another painting of Coogee Beach, more sunshine.

Coogee Beach, 27 degrees.

Beyond my day’s domestic plans, there was also some Tennis Club admin that needed to be done with a friend.

Beyond Tennis chat, we talked about Christmas, Grief, an erotic novel, kitchen plans, and our holidays. Mine in the past and hers upcoming. She is heading to Bergen and beyond in Norway. She is expecting to experience sunshine and temperatures of about -30.

The whole conversation blew my mind a little bit. Mostly because travel blows my mind a lot. The ease with which we discuss such things as women in the 21st Century is a delight unknown to most women in the past.

The kitchen that we sat in, nattering away, was built about 175 years ago. A home suitable for professional men and their families . The men would have worked either in a nearby Military base or Dockyard or been involved in the Maritime or Fishing industries. Plymouth was linked to London by train in 1848, making Plymouth an International Travel hub.  Travel would not have been an unfamiliar subject even when my kitchen was new.

Travel would have been much more complex. Timescales would be significantly different. Climate adjustment slower and riskier

Sailing to Australia would have taken three to four months, one way. Sailing to Bergen took about two weeks.

Luggage of only 23 kg is more than adequate for either of us to have the right clothing for hugely different climates.

I cannot imagine how much luggage we would have needed to make such journeys 150 years ago. English women of all classes were wearing Bustles.

Just one dress would weigh more than 23kg!

Very few women travelled for pleasure or exploration in 1850. For the most part British women were shipped around the world to service the sexual and dynastic needs of British men abroad who were busy doing British things like Colonisation.

British men being the powerful people. Taking political, economic, and cultural control over other territories and populations. Exploiting resources, labour, people and land for the benefit of Britain.

How lucky are we in 2026 to be able to travel quickly to anywhere in the world and to any temperature with just 23k of luggage. Know with almost 100% certainty that we will return, to natter, at the kitchen table after our travels. Safe in the knowledge that travel will expand our minds and not require us to search for a husband or create children.

Big changes at the kitchen table.

#1387 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Anecdotes, Serendipity1 Comment

My car is iced up. There is frost on the grass . One month ago this was my reality. If the day was not, in itself, hot enough the hot colours of two of these beach huts raises the temperature a little more. ( I am not so sure about the lilac one/)

Just looking at this makes me feel instantly warmer.

Being in hot places in the run up to Christmas presented some delicious conundrums. Images of snow where it could never possibly fall and images of roaring fires in a home that requires near-constant air conditioning.

Returning home to the Northern Hemisphere just on the cusp of Peak Christmas has given me a very casual approach to post-Christmas. Can I be bothered with denuding my house of the festive gaiety I only finished putting up on Christmas Eve.

12th night purists, or Boxing Day, early tree strippers will look on in horror as twinkling lights continue to twinkle in our house well into January.

Christmas is a delightfully social time,  there have been several holiday anecdotes to share over a mulled cider and mince pie.

Naked swimming with a StingRay went down well with a Canapé.

Not only the actual and accidental naked swimming with a Sting Ray but also the Origin Story of my small habit of swimming naked on occasions. Just Because.

When I was 17/18/19 and on the cusp of leaving home for college in London, a new hotel was built in Brentwood, Essex that featured an outdoor swimming pool. It had the gloss and pzazz of California and the weather of Essex. People posed around it in long dresses and Dinner suits. The hotel was very popular with Ford executives from nearby Dagenham for parties and dalliances. I had a friend who was regularly booked to DJ at corporate events there. Brentwood was between London home and home home. So if he was doing a gig there I could catch up with him from either direction as an assistant who enjoyed a free to me party for dancing, I also lugged numerous boxes of vinyl as my part of the bargain. Dancing and lugging vinyl was hot work, even in December. Why not have a quick swim in a barely used pool before catching the last train home in whichever direction I was travelling. Long before security cameras I doubt anyone ever knew.

I pretty much gave up naked swimming in my responsible years but since becoming a year round sea swimmer the occasional urge to be at one with cold water and nature in just my skin comes upon me.

Nothing untoward has ever happened until my StingRay moment last month.

I had positioned a large swim towel for fairly instant modesty. A towel which I completely ignored once I realised I was  at one with nature that could quite possibly do me harm.

I scampered up this boardwalk butt naked with one name ringing in my mind. Steve Irwin.

A complete over-reaction I am sure, but my early years in the cold water of Brentwood, Essex had only prepared me for grumpy hotel staff. Not creatures with stinging, life harming bits.

#1384 theoldmortuaryponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Beach Life, Serendipity1 Comment
Sunrise over the pool at Coogee Beach

About 18 months ago  Google offered me the chance to have AI assistance with writing my blog. It was a brief research piece for Google

” Replicating your own unique voice”

I suppose I tried it for about a week, the results were dreadful, they never saw the light of day, and if my voice were unique in their AI way there would be no regular readers.

In art and photography there is a place for AI and digital skills. I use both for image manipulation but then I use tried and trusted analogue skills to replicate my own unique style.

I suppose the previous paragraph was written to reassure myself and all my loyal blog readers that I am not a flat earth dinosaur, AI luddite. But oh how I love the analogue skills I learnt in regular photography dark rooms and medical imaging dark rooms and the print rooms of art colleges. The joy of just writing down my whimsical ponderings is also a much loved skill. I know my haphazard punctuation and grammar slippages can be infuriating. I am analogue through and through wearing a voluminous cape of digital skills.

My two images for this blog are sunrise at Coogee near Sydney and Sunset at Portwrinkle in Cornwall. One month apart.

I asked AI what the connection was between the two and was rather charmed by the answers.

I suppose my connection was somewhat conceptual. I particularly love sunset because just over the horizon somewhere else is getting a sunrise. Conversely sunrise makes me a little guilty almost responsible for stealing someone else’s sun.

AI would never be able to replicate that convoluted  thought process.

The conundrum of giving and receiving. One is more virtuous. I strive to be virtuous. But also love gifts. The joy of a paper wrapped surprise is a life affirming activity!

#1380 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn pondering, Serendipity1 Comment
Winter Sunshine, Fowey.

One outing, two blogs. Sometimes a day can be experienced on several levels.

#1378 theoldmortuary ponders.

Blog #1378 wallowed in nostalgia and some dog extra sensory perception. I am comforted by nostalgia and a little sadness is easily softened by the reliving of many happy moments in the same place. But familiar places are never dull. Especially on a day when the sunshine quota was high.

Early visits to Fowey in the 70’s and 80’s, were to a seaside town still functioning as a place where normal people lived, and tourism and locals co-existed. Butchers, Bakers, a Fishmongers and Pharmacy all filled Fore Street  The physical buildings remain more or less the same but their form and function have changed to service the hoardes of wealthy Airbnbers and luxury hotel visitors who flock to Cornwall every year.

As a visitor myself I am as much a part of the problem as anyone who has travelled further to enjoy the beauty and texture of the place.

In this old Fishing and Pirating Port , tourists have become the catch of the day and buccaneers treasure chest all rolled into one.

Shops and businesses change hands and function almost overnight. We have become loyal customers to specific buildings not so much the business operating within it.

Hot Chocolate @SaltSociety
Fowey.

Three generations of family and friends have shared the joy of Fowey on day trips and weekend breaks. The Boom years of tourism. But what comes next.

The tin merchants of 4,000 years ago could not have imagined the Piracy of 400 years ago. Just as I struggle with the changes of 40 years of tourism. Casting forward 40, 400 or even 4,000 years what will be the niche business of Fowey?

Pondering the future during Twixtmas.  Round and round , mind meandering at its best.

P.S  A glorious shop window viewed from inside. Giant Quality Street Sweets.

This picture is a good representation of how my mind feels pondering all that future Fowey…

#1378 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment
Outside seating at Bufala, Fowey.

I always think the portal between worlds feels a little more open at Christmas time. Occluded only by a gossamer thin pellicule that love passes through and is more tangible . I don’t just mean between those we loved who have passed over but also with those who cannot be with us in person. Divided by miles or circumstance.

I was reminded of this yesterday during our visit to Fowey.

The Tamar Valley has been my practically placed home base for 37 years. Fowey has been where my fantasy heart resides for far longer.

Everyone we hold dear has been with us to Fowey. I went with my parents when we were on Cornish Holidays and it was the first place I drove to when I moved to the Tamar Valley in 1988.

I always think the outdoor seating area at Bufala, and as it was previously known Toll Bar is like a location for some personal Magical Realism. It would need to be much bigger because I have probably sat out there with 40 to fifty friends and family at different times in my life. Sunburn and windchill being seasonal risks. And now mass tourism has squeezed us out to visits only in the quieter months. My apologies to all F&F who have not been there. Your time will come.

I could go on about Fowey but as this is about people and love here are 3❤️ snippets from the day.

Kylie and Dan 2016. Fowey.U.K
Me and Kylie 3 weeks ago. Mount Eliza Australia

Sometimes if we are very lucky work friends become heart-fit-to-burst friends.

The same goes for neighbours.

Seagull perches on Crow, yesterday
Keith, our London neighbour in Fowey Dec 2016. A crow perched on his shoulder.

The last little heart snippet is very hard to explain.

Lola

Regular readers will know that our much loved dog Hugo crossed to another realm two weeks ago. We are navigating the experience of canine mourning. Lola has become a very sleepy and restful woman until we take her to places filled with humans and dogs. Fowey is such a place.  Yesterday she was in full love-a-stranger mode. In particular she overwhelmed two men who absolutely gave her the best tickles and hugs and then sadly told us they were mourning dog loss of their own.  We had not nentioned our loss until after they did.

Then the same happened with a woman in an interiors shop. Visibly upset from the moment of Lolas love bombing she explained that her heart was so broken from losing her dog she could never consider getting another. We were fine with her tears but her adult children, not so much. They ushered her out of the shop. Thankfully Fowey is a confined ribbon of a main street. Lola caught up with her in another shop and created smiles with her new stranger friend.

Lola seems to have developed some sort of doggy empathy. The Season of goodwill in canine form.

#1374 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Advent, Serendipity2 Comments
Exeter City Centre

I found this temporary sculpture yesterday. Doubtless commissioned as a photo opportunity. But beautiful in its own way without humans  posing against it. I love the ambiguity of it. Are they Angels wings or Fairy?

Christmas has become for many of us the most delightful mash up of Sacred and Secular. Consumerist and cozy. Family and friends. Memories and Magic.

I nearly always overthink Christmas. Preparing for the present yet nostalgic for the past.

Studying Fine Art as a mature student, gave me a new mentor as I found the writing of Robert Hughes as an excellent guide to Art Theory. But his famous quote about Christmas baffled me when I first read it. I had completely forgotten my bafflement until I was standing near his plaque in Sydney two weeks ago.

Friends and their feet at a plaque to commemorate a favourite writer and thinker. Robert Hughes

So here I am having given myself renewed bafflement fresh from the sunshine of Sydney. Bafflement caused by a man who had rejected Catholicism for deeply personal reasons and yet mentions God in one of his often quoted quotes.

I suppose my circular counter argument would be that a deep winter celebration was much needed by early humans in the Northern Hemisphere.Short cold days can be relentless. Early Christians saw an opportunity and popped God into the mix by a convenient Birth of Christ Story to coincide with Winter festivals.

Bob is your Uncle and Christianity gets a popularity boost. Whose heart did it start in?

Actually Bob probably becomes your drunk Uncle who always appears with his slightly grumpy partner Sylvia whose family Christmas traditions do not involve being pleasant to anyone.

So wherever Christmas sits in your heart currently. Seasons Greetings.

Fairy or Angel? Whichever is right for you xx

#1368 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

Describe a man who has positively impacted your life.

The obvious answer would be my Dad. A quiet, clever man who avoided conflict and worked hard. He was dependable and wise, a man ahead of his time in many ways and out of step with the masculinity of his generation.

The bar was set quite high, but having a gentle father gave me a natural resistance to toxic masculinity in my inner circle.  Such men are unavoidable in the real world, but I am lucky that the significant men that I have as friends and family are of the same calibre as my Dad.

#1367 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Hugo and Lola, Serendipity2 Comments

I took this photo last week. I was intrigued by the twist on the normal message of  Merry Christmas. Taking Christ out of the salutation and replacing him with love. Millions of people with no Christian faith at all celebrate Christmas, and for them Christmas is all about being with the people you love, sharing food and gifts and most importantly sharing oodles of love widely. I never expected to use this photo, but the sudden death of a much loved dog has plunged us into a Love-mas. Not merry but a Love-mas never the less.

#1366 theoldmortuary ponders

Messages of sympathy and love have flooded in from all over the world. Along with photos of Hugo that we have never seen before and stories of his antics that have made us smile.

Hugo was an Interventionist Flâneur, from the day he arrived.

Having observed, he intervened, fixing people with his eyes, limpid, black pools of love and interest. He looked into souls, searching for a reason to give one of his specialist dominating cuddles.

One hour after a friends Dad and Pops had died.

A dog who knew all about the human need for comfort. He felt the pain of bereavement, heartbreak, hangovers, period pains and sorted things out with long moments of eye to eye contact.

Before collapsing into the cuddle position which was always his unstated intention. If he had been a human therapist he would have been struck off every list that exists.

The therapist struck off for inappropriate behaviour.

For the first time in 13 years he is not around to resolve my sorrow and sadness. But because he was so good at what he did, our family has been flooded with love from all corners of the world. We have loved getting the photographs and anecdotes. They make us smile and they make our eyes leak, but we find ourselves in a Lovemas all of his making.