Category: Serendipity

#422 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Advent+2022, Home, Hugo and Lola, SerendipityLeave a comment

The sunset on my evening dog walk.

For someone born 60 miles inland, I have spent an extraordinary amount of time living on the coast. Yesterday I had a great day by the sea. In the morning I went to a post-Covid, reunion,social gathering of women in the majestic buildings of the Royal William Yard. Quite cheeky really as the word reunion did not apply to me. I had never met many of these people before. The cafe we met in has several massive sofas that can fairly comfortably sit ten people. I was not the only cheeky one. Lola and Hugo came with me because there is nothing they love more than a walk that terminates in a cafe. Lola is always a sociable soul, Hugo more reticent. By the time I left Lola had cuddled and been cuddled by everyone on the large sofa. I realise that makes non dog lovers recoil but there was no recoiling from her warm curly cuddles yesterday. Hugo noticed the attention she was getting and made slower progress along the row of laps. After a brief interlude of domestic admin* I was back for a small afternoon gathering of friends, mulled wine and rats.

We met in old Stonehouse pub that has recently reopened. A bar that also sells coffee and cake, a game changer for me. I am fairly certain I have never paired coffee cake with mulled wine before. It works. Hidden in the pub are four small rats. I plan to only ever find three, that way there is always a reason to return.

Did you say Quiche?
Do you have any Coffee Cake?
Yes, I am the Bass player, who’s asking?
Toilet paper that builds toilets

* Who gives a crap about my domestic admin? There was a small order error when I ordered the festive toilet rolls. The error was quickly rectified, rather generously, by the company. Yesterday’s most pressing domestic admin task was to find homes for 100 toilet rolls.

42 rolls on each shelf.

Suddenly I have become the sort of person who over-caters for Christmas.

#420 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home, SerendipityLeave a comment

This joyful scene of snowy hospitality from Monday makes me smile because I am not contemplating trying to get to work with slippery roads and an unreliable train service. In the spirit of Advent+2022 it also gives me the chance to share a photograph that has never made it into a previous ponder. This snowy view or even the same view without snow is immediately outside Gipsy Hill Station in London. Gipsy Hill Station is the home of a very famous London cat.

Fanny has her own Twitter account.

I follow Fanny on her Twitter page and was pleased to see she approves of this year’s Gipsy Hill Christmas Tree.

© The Gipsy Hill Cat

Not that she was neglecting her normal duties.

© The Gipsy Hill Cat

When I returned home to Gipsy Hill Station and Fanny was on duty I would get a warmer welcome from her than the aloof and reserved cat I shared my home with. In fact even after the aloof cat and I moved to the West Country I would still get a more joyful sense of recognition from Fanny when I returned to my London home than ever I got from my own black and white cat.

Fanny has a loyal following both locally- https://gipsyhillfriends.org/2017/11/05/the-gipsy-hill-cat/

Nationally and internationally. In 2022 she has her own calendar.

And the local brewery has a beer with a name that probably isn’t accidental.

Happy hump day and here is my own picture of Fanny making sure I swiped my Oyster card.

#418 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Advent+2022, Cornwall, SerendipityLeave a comment

Sunday morning started in a very misty icy way. I was crossing the Tamar to learn the art of Christmas Wreath making.

The sun only appeared as I approached the border between Devon and Cornwall.

Wreath making is a very fragrant occupation with Yew, Eucalyptus and Spruce as the basis for our creations.

Embellishment in the form of ivy, cones and oranges was the organic way we chose to create our wreaths.

A quick Google gives the explanation for Christmas Wreaths.

History of the Christmas Wreath by Gerry Wilson from Wilson, Michigan. Is everyone in Wilson called Wilson? https://www.wilsonevergreens.com/history-of-the-christmas-wreath/

Wreaths are more than just decorations. If you’re driving through town during the Holiday Season, you may see a Christmas wreath on almost every front door. Most people don’t think of the rich history attached to these beautiful Christmas decorations.

The word wreath comes from the word “writhen” that was an old English word meaning “to writhe” or “to twist.” The art of hanging Christmas wreaths originated from the Romans who hung wreaths on their doors as a sign of victory and of their status in society. Women usually wore them as headdresses as a symbol of pride, and also donned them during special occasions such as weddings. Additionally, the victors of sporting events in ancient Greece were given laurel wreaths; This tradition still being used to this day during the Olympic games in which the medals are engraved with sprigs of laurel.

Christmas wreaths are made by twisting or bending evergreen branches into a large circle which are then decorated with pinecones and a red bow. The circle shape of the wreath is made to represent Christ’s eternal love, his strength, and the creation of new life. Evergreens are commonly used in the construction of the wreath due to their heartiness throughout harsh winters and that they denote strength as well as immortality. Christmas wreaths in the Catholic tradition had four candles – Three of purple, symbolizing penance, and expectation, and one of pink to represent the coming joy. The four Sundays preceding Christmas day are embodied by the four candles that were lit each Friday of Advent at dinner along with a prayer. Similarly to Catholic customs, traditional Pagan wreaths were also evergreen circles consisting of four candles. These candles represented the elements of Earth, wind, fire, and water. Their wreaths were typically used in rituals that would ensure the continuance of the circle of life.

Christmas wreaths are a beautiful decoration for your home or office that can really show off your true holiday cheer. Spread that holiday spirit and buy a Christmas wreath for yourself or someone you love! 

– Gerry Wilson

So now you know. About Wreaths and also where to find the Wilsons of Wilson. Advent+22 just keeps giving. It Our first wreath is up but I need to see how it looks in daylight.

#414 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Advent+2022, Serendipity1 Comment

This morning is sharply cold and crisp -1 outside as I write this, under a winter weight duvet and with the first cup of caffeinated tea working it’s warming magic. The picture above was a jumble of Christmas decorations waiting to go up in a shop last year. I love the crisp cleanness of them which is my excuse to use the image in Advent+2022. The big excitement with a -1 temperature is that my Elephants Garlic needs some really cold weather to give it the best possible start in it’s growing life. Good news for the garlic is almost certainly bad news for the tomato plants which are still producing red tomatoes. From the perspective of a warm duvet a morning spent clearing out the frosted tomato plants does not excite me too much especially as I need to do it as soon as some daylight appears because the rest of the day is busy.

Duvet shrugged off and the cold embraced. Sunrise was spectacular.Nothing more needs to be said. Tomatoes gone Advent+ 2022

#413 theoldmortuary ponders

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This year Christmas feels squishy. For the first time in a couple of years it feels normal for me to hug people when we meet at festive events. I realise that not everyone feels like that, but I am, by nature, a hugger and now I feel free to go about my hugging business. Maybe with a more watchful eye to be sure I am not being inappropriate with someone who remains fearful, or who never liked hugs in the first place. Some people found Covid restrictions to be some sort of personal space Nirvana. Yesterday I met a friend at a musical event, our hug was warm fragrant and comfortable. The music was fabulous too.

In other news, that very conveniently leads me to the Advent+22 image, one of my granddaughters was in a school nativity play as one of the seven Kings. Possibly Snow Christ and the Seven Kings, who could begin to guess.

Thankfully being a woman of Essex heritage from the East I know that 7 Kings is not implausible. A picture that would never in any other circumstance appear in a pondering.

Seven Kings Station, Ilford, Essex

#411 theoldmortuary ponders

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Having stumbled on a theme for Advent+2022 ( I am sharing random photographs that have never found their place in a pondering before) I find them easy to weave into the action or inaction of a ponder. The image above is the title of one of the chapters in the Book of Kells at Trinity College Dublin. If only Mulling was a verb, and not the name of the saint who is reputed to be responsible for this gospel pocket book, I could have written something witty about a book of pondering.

As it is I have to say that the Alexa moment mentioned in pondering #409 was just a day too early.

#409 theoldmortuary ponders

I had thought that being woken up with House music was not quite my early morning vibe, but I was wrong.

We have been sharing the care of our nine week old granddaughter. At 8-9 weeks she has added a new behaviour to her limited repertoire. Boredom! So when all the usual measures to make her happy and compliant failed, yesterday morning, Alexa stepped in and played House music at 8am. It worked an absolute dream. Swirling around the kitchen as if in the middle of summer in a Dance tent was exactly what a small person needed. Dublin again comes up with a picture to illustrate the exact scene in our kitchen. A stained glass window at Bewleys Oriental Cafe, a place that certainly deserves it own ponder one day. But for now in Advent+2022 the stained glass window exactly illustrates how I was feeling yesterday morning while loading the dishwasher with a small person happily gurgling on one shoulder and the Ministry of Sound remixing Iggy Pop on Alexa

#410 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Advent+2022, Serendipity, YardeningLeave a comment

Today is almost certainly the last day I will be able to harvest a red tomato 🍅 grown outside in the backyard. This is hugely significant for two reasons, I have never before achieved growing even one red tomato outdoors in any garden during my lifetime. This year our new location and probably the warmest year on record are the factors that have made this possible. Not newly sprouted green fingers on my own fair hands. The warm year had made our yard positively Mediterranean until late October. Since then the yard has grown a velvety carpet of mould. Like the set of Tolkiens’ ‘Middle Earth’ in the Lord of the Rings film franchise, everything is cloaked in green flock. The spring clear-up is almost certainly going to involve a pressure washer but maybe nature or the predicted cold snap will remove the green tinge in the next month or two. Today’s tomato is not a thing of beauty, I already know that, but in the spirit of Advent+2022 I can share a very pretty tomato from November, never before the subject of a pondering.

#409 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Advent+2022, Serendipity1 Comment

This picture was shared to me by a friend yesterday. By one of life great coincidences, I received someone else parcel yesterday. I don’t need to open it to know what is inside. A wrought iron garden ornament depicting a cat climbing into the garden. Whatever was the purchaser thinking. No one wants strange cats in their garden. I suppose the only possible positive to be taken from this surprise package, is that wrought iron cats do not shit in other peoples borders. Trying to get this wrong parcel out of my house is going to involve some thought. The address is correct but the name is completely unfamiliar.

In another coincidence my Alexa device had a funny five minutes this morning. Instead of the usual early morning list of things I might need to buy. She suggested that maybe tomorrow she would wake me up with Dance Anthems. That is certainly not my usual Sunday vibe. It does however allow me to share a never before-seen image of Plymouths’ Tinside. Taken through a 1930’s glass brick and gives quite a trippy image.

Advent +2022 images never pondered before.

#408 theoldmortuary ponders

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Context is everything and without context this is just a rather lovely goat picture. Last night, in my dreams I had a rather out of context experience. Not unusual for a dream to be out of context, of course, but this one was unusual for me. My parents were in my kitchen waiting to see their great-grandchild. I hugged them and they were insubstantial and anxious to be on their way. They have been dead nearly 30 years and I have moved home 4 times since then. They have never before appeared, out of context, in my dreams, always appearing somewhere that they would have been familiar with. The subconscious mind is a glorious thing.

The context of the very lucky goat in the top picture is that he lives above one of the worlds most beautiful beaches. These two photographs were taken within moments of each other without me moving more than a couple of steps.

Myrtos Beach, Kephalonia

Advent +2022. Sharing pictures that have never before made it to the pondering a.

#407, theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Advent+2022, Serendipity1 Comment

It was a shock, this morning, to look at a December calendar and realise how the days actually fall. I have been putting in our commitments without looking at the names of the days they fall on. Christmas day falls on a Saturday which means there are only three effective weekends in December and one of them is in two days time. I am not a festive catastrophist, nor a perfectionist, so this is not a worry, more an observation. Those of us, who can, will gather together and have a good time. I think this feeling of unease is just about the sensation. A month of normal, mundane weekend activities must be squeezed into three rather than the usual four. Months that give me five weekends equally give me concern. May is a good one to give me the jitters of over-commitment when it provides 5 weekends. That is usually 5 weekends of visits or visitors that are planned and never go wrong but nonetheless give me waking nights of cold chills when I imagine that I have overbooked myself. I think it is safe to say I am a four weekends to the month kind of person. You know where you are with four weekends. Three is definitely too few and five just makes me giddy .

Welcome December, here is some sea glass and fishing net picked off our local beach, and with that a theme for Advent+2022. A bit of a daily pondering including photographs that have never made it into the blog before. A sort of Advent+ Calendar of surprises.

Sea glass and fishing net from Stonehouse beaches.