Yesterdays dawn was quite spectacular in the Tamar Valley. As Omicron cancels or compromises so many peoples festive plans it is necessary to reflect on the serendipity of life. Sometimes we just need to leap out of bed and grab the moment.
I was pondering early this morning, on my dog walk, the sort of pondering that can only end badly. Pandemically and politically Britain is a bit f**ked. We are a week away from Christmas and none of us really know if it will be possible to do what we usually do to mark this time of year with our friends and families. The dogs, of course, played no part in my actual, dismal, pondering. Too busy following their noses to a street food van who was prepping something tasty.
Just like that I was catapulted out of my morose frame of mind by these amazing colours of the pre prepped veg. The dogs were there for the sizzling chicken.
The vivid veg quite cheered me up and gave me a direction for this blog. It was then easy enough to trawl through my archive of photographs taken in past Decembers. The best match for this veg was this tinsel, also found at a street market, in East Dulwich, 4 years ago.
This tinsel is one of lifes regrets. I didn’t buy it at the time I saw it. I probably thought it was too garish and not easy to integrate with my existing Christmas decorations. But this mornings colour jolt, when bright pinks and oranges, greens and purples spiked me out of pondering grumpiness, has made me re-evaluate its charms. As soon as I can freely visit East Dulwich and the glorious North Cross Road Market I will buy myself a swag or two of vibrant, unorthodox tinsel and make a little shrine to happiness in difficult times, and a reminder that when life doesn’t take the route I would choose it is still possible to find something bright and memorable.
This Christmas Decoration represents blog perfection. Just after midnight there should be a blog ready to be automatically dropped into inboxes around the world. I”m not saying it never happens but it is mostly an aspiration rather than an actuality.
72 days ago when the blog changed its title, while I was on a blogging course. The course leader suggested being a little kinder to myself and give myself more freedom to deliver blogs less often. While not, as yet, feeling the need to abandon whole days I do, on occasion cut myself a bit of slack and a later blog goes out.
Yesterday I thought laying about would give me time to be on time with the blog, in fact all I did really is be a bit unfocused.
Yesterday not much happened following a bout of food poisoning. Me and the Christmas tree were together a bit as I dozed between bouts of activity which is when I noticed the time on the Christmas decoration. In truth I was just a bit less of myself, low energy and a bit achy after my digestive tsunami.
24 hours of abstinence, apart from two bowls of rice crispies with oat milk, has created a fine dining monster in me but at low cost. The first cups of real tea were revelatory.
All the flavours of the Asia, blended in Yorkshire, dancing around my mouth like there was a post pandemic party going on. Who knew tea could taste quite so good!
The afore mentioned rice crispies embellished by oat milk were a comfort food, tweaked by my newly over sensitive taste buds they have become fine dining. Their vanilla notes enrobed in oaty richness.
Goodness knows what gustatory delights await me this morning. Toast perhaps masquerading as something far more significant. Today I will be more focussed.
Oh these silky waters were a fabulous swim on Friday morning. Miss Spearmint, the seal, was away swimming near the Hoe so there were no sudden departures,from the sea, required of swimmers to give her space. Today was a birthday swim so there was cake and conversations to follow once we were dressed. The richness of the aquatic wildlife in Plymouth Sound was one such conversation.I managed to find this picture of a specimen jar to illustrate the conversation in a festive way.
And then later in the day we found some more underwater creatures all gussied up ready for the festive season.
I wish this was the last thing I could discuss about wildlife but sadly a bout of food poisoning has wracked my body and mind. The physical aspects do not need to be elaborated on but the mental ones were quite daunting. I must stress that, beyond food, only tap water and tea was ingested all day. After my personal eruption and once I was well enough to return to my bed I was straight off to sleep only to be dumped into a hideous nightmare. Large birds that under normal circumstances adorn our wallpaper started to fly off the wall and wrap themselves wetly around my body. They were warm and wet, as if freshly dipped in hot wallpaper paste and alive but as flat as any wallpaper bird would be. Try as I might I could not stick them back on the wall in the right places. Waking up was the only way to save the situation. A lurid way to welcome the weekend. Of course this morning they are all perched calmly in the right places, catching the first of the morning light.
Sunday evening found us going out, out! Just like the backdrop on the stage, going out, out is a tortuous path of Covid regulations now we have entered the age of Omicron.
Two pieces of Covid data.
Gave us access to the auditorium and bar. The bar had no seats but in these hygienic times there is no problem sitting on the floor as everything is cleaned to perfection.
Almost perfection, ordering at the bar had its humorous Omicron twist. You can buy bottled drinks but they can only be served with the lid removed. Nothing says hygiene more than a busy bartender twisting off the hygienically sealed lid with their hands and passing it to you to drink directly from the bottle.
Enough of Omicron, we were out, out to see National Treasure and multi talented musician, actor and comedian Bill Bailey.
We had a fabulously entertaining evening out, how wonderful to laugh with hundreds of others rather than at home.
Nothing in my blogging life is predictable. Some days I struggle to find some words and pictures. Other days several little stories knock on my brain anxious to be let in, cogitated and then set free into the blogsphere. Today the typewriter story won the day but the others will get their moment in the sun.
I have long wanted a manual typewriter to type titles and my name on watercolours. I was quite specific on my needs, a hard type that might also slightly emboss and fairly rudimental. By a happy coincidence I met a blogging typewriter fanatic at the blogging course in Spitalfields. Michelle Geffken writes Paper Blogging.
https://www.paperblogging.com/
She was generous with her time and knowledge and after reading her blog I felt ready to dip my toe into actually buying a small typewriter. Ebay furnished me with an Olympic Splendid 99.It arrived yesterday, it is very cute. But hidden in its original leather carrying case was a whole little adventure. The original owners Margery H Butterworth and W H Butterworth had typed their address on the Final Test and Inspection Report. My little typewriter was delivered to them in 1960 in Singapore. The power of Google can show me the house it was delivered to.
28 Chiltern Drive, Braddell Heights, Singapore 13
Googling Margery H Butterworth and W H Butterworth also dug out a little gem. It turns out that in 1965 they wrote a paper on Green Elephant Grass in Tropical Foraging.
Is it too bigger leap of my imagination to think that it would have been typed on my new acquisition in the early sixties. My efforts with this typewriter had better be equally interesting. For now I’ve just dusted it and cleared out some very dry tropical leaves!
First typing, and a question, does anyone know of a typewriter servicing engineer. Those I’ve found on line are very fully booked.
Have a fabulous Saturday, I may be spending some moments typing.
P. S I tried a quick sketch of baubles with added typing. With a little practice this is going to work.
Good morning Miss Spearmint. We had a long walk this morning which ended up near to our swimming beach. Miss Spearmint had taken up residence to digest her fishy breakfast so there were very few swimmers and everyone was advised not to swim or interact with her. Recently a marine mammal charity has set up a swimmers/walkers whatsapp group for the whole of Plymouth Sound which pinpoints where she is swimming,or hauled out so that people can avoid interacting with her. On the whole it seems to be working.Unfotunately though Miss Spearmint does still crave the company of humans which is not good for her.
Before Miss Spearmint hijacked this blog I was going to natter on about retail counters. Not the sort that are so busy in the general run up to Christmas but one that no longer exists.
I found this sign this morning on the earlier part of my walk as I explored an undeveloped area of the Royal William Yard. This picture has everything that I love. Rust, peeling paint and mystery. A mystery that could be revealed if only we had the ledger that holds the codes for 15.SI.
Really close to this beautiful door is some very contemporary deliberate graffiti which brings a little colour to the blog which Miss Spearmint and a faded door have failed to do. I will end on a bright note!
Storm Barra delivered a Sea Heart this morning.
An unusually high tide made these liquid hearts on the rocks that litter our swimming beach. The steps further along also got a little magical drenching.
And for now the sun is out. On days like this, wrapped up in lovely warm clothes I wonder why I choose to whip my everythings off and swim in this exact location. But when I’m in it it is the best feeling in the world.
The calm before the storm. There is another named storm on its way. This is todays weather forecast. Last nights dog walk was a very peaceful affair.
Nativity and resin cows peacefully twinkling in a landscape with no wind.
Overnight the mood of the weather has switched from benign to malign and there was just a small window of opportunity to walk the dogs today. Serendipity and the forecast sent me out to the beach at the exact same time as some friends. So todays blog has four doggy companions enjoying Tranquility Bay before they are confined to the house by Storm Barra
So far so tranquil, lets see how peaceful tomorrow looks.
Evening dog walks are getting a lot more twinkly. I love this completely contemporary festive home. Nothing tacky about this house
This festive property takes a more traditional approach, and diligence to lightbulb placement. At home we have gone for something a little less ostentatious.
Our home window is a work in progress, the next stage is baubles in every shade of garish. Lime green and pink anyone?
theoldmortuary.design 