Tag: dailyprompt

#1106 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn London, Serendipity1 Comment

The coolest thing I ever found was knowledge and love of our capital city, London. My parents who lived 50 miles away always made sure I visited several times a year. Times were different but I was encouraged to confidently travel there alone and navigate public transport from about the age of 15.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?

November was always a favourite time to visit and as I write I am sitting in a hotel room in my former home town of Crystal Palace overlooking the city where I lived and worked for 12 years.

The dogs have already done one of their favourite walks in Dulwich Village where we lived when we first moved to London.

Next one up is a circuit of Crystal Palace Triangle. Another home town we loved living in.

Tomorrow Borough Market for breakfast. But to finish an arty farty image from our London flat. It feels a little odd not to be there, but the new owners might not need two women and two dogs being all nostalgic in their home.

#1098 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity, Words1 Comment

What was your favorite subject in school?

English was my favourite subject by a long way. I went to a very normal State school with an excellent English department. The staff there encouraged my natural love of creativity and communication using language.

In this week of a puzzling, to many, decision by nearly 51% of the American electorate to give Donald Trump a second crack at being U.S President, I was sent a copy of a letter by an old school friend. He is equally obsessed by English. Below is his letter to The Age, an Australian Newspaper.

To: letters@theage.com.au

In the Charles Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit, (1843), one of the characters asks,: “f I was called upon to paint the American Eagle, how should I do it?” His companion replies,” Paint it like an eagle, I  suppose.”

“No that wouldn’t do for me. I should want to draw it like a bat for its short-sightedness,, like a bantam for its bragging, like an ostrich  for its putting its head in the mud. And like a phoenix for its power  of springing anew from the ashes of its faults and vices and soaring up into the sky.”

While the American electorate were acting like bats and ostriches, Donald Trump somehow managed to transform himself from a bantam into a phoenix. Except as everyone but the American people know, the phoenix isn’t real it’s a myth. Meanwhile the American Eagle’s future is more uncertain than ever.

David Pullen

Martin Chuzzlewitt, fictional character created by Charles Dickens could have made  this observation yesterday. From abroad it feels like a cousin ( The U.S) has entered into a relationship that outsiders can see is not healthy.

#1090 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

What’s something you believe everyone should know.

Spending time doing unexpected tasks can be enjoyable.

  This morning I did not expect to be making knitted bunting. But an experiment at 8am  worked out rather well. I picked out autumnal colours from some donated knitted triangles that had been given to a tennis club I help to run. At 11am myself and a friend were sat overlooking the sea,sewing bunting that could be used in the clubhouse during the late autumn. By midday we had had great quality nattering and had produced 3 strings of colourful bunting. Neither of us had planned to do this but the fruits of our unexpected task looks rather lovely in situ.

#1089 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

What does it mean to be a kid at heart?

I have always struggled with the statement above. How can anyone pass through puberty and genuinely remain a kid at heart. Once we are adults everything is viewed or expressed through the experience of metamorphosing from child to adult in the years of adolescence. Wishing or pretending to be ‘a kid at heart’ is just magical thinking, presumably just cherry picking the wonderful things about being a child. I realise this comes over as a little grumpy so here is a chocolate croissant heart to lighten the mood.

#1081 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Yardening1 Comment

What’s the biggest risk you’d like to take — but haven’t been able to?

I am absolutely a risk-averse, risk taker. I would never plan a big risk but am happy to allow risk to happen. I believe that creativity absolutely grows in an environment of risk and that firmly held planning is the antithesis of  a creative mind. My science, child rearing ,or health and safety head is a much less risk taking beast but even those worlds benefit sometimes from happy accidents.

To answer the question, I have no idea how big a risk I would like to take, maybe I already did it or maybe that choice is in the future.

On an illustrative note the photos accompanying this blog were taken in a friend/ bobbers/ neighbours garden. I have learned to my cost that taking a risk with planting in our yard does not work. What is needed is acute observation of what survives in close-by gardens as our locality is very much a micro climate. I spotted this rose while doing a tour of my friend’s garden.

Her yard is east-facing and mine is west but for a rose this beautiful in October I feel the risk is worth it.

One last little risk, throw the rose picture into a photo editing app that has a random algorithm and see what happens.

#1080 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Firestone BayLeave a comment

What are you most proud of in your life?

I think pride is a very hard thing to define and also quite transitory. Sometimes a cup of tea is so perfect  that there is a moment of self-congratulation. Is that pride?

If I had clambered onto these rocks yesterday as these men did I would have been very proud. These rocks are covered in razor-sharp barnacles, climbing up is likely to have been very perilous for them and yet it looks almost effortless.

Pride in myself is not really in my skillset. Like most parents I am proud of my children, of course, they are wonderful people. But I can be proud of the most random of things, an observed kindness, wonderful acting, a beautiful garden.

I like my version of pride, it is easy to manage. The simple things that make life more gorgeous are worthy of gentle, transitory pride and I have loads of it to spare.

#1074 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity, Words1 Comment

What could you try for the first time?

Maybe reading poetry regularly.

‘And that made all the difference’

Is the last line of a poem that has shaped my thinking ever since I first read it.

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost.

I have always known that any decision taken, sets me on a certain path. There is always an alternative.

Poetry resides in Autumn for me, possibly because of this poem. A Yellow Wood speaks to me of Autumnal colour changes.

This poem suggests that free will and decision making go hand in hand. That is not always my experience. Pragmatism is often the path of choice. No matter how verdant the alternative seems. Regardless , right now I have chosen the path of more poetry. Two books, quickly reserved on my Library App.

A poem or two before bed will be my new Autumnal habit.

#1072 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

What have you been putting off doing? Why?

Everything.

I am a great procrastinator and very easily sidetracked. Over my many years I have developed strategies and excuses for this behaviour and believe I have turned them to be positive attributes. Others may disagree. Doing things at the right time is a much better use of energy than doing them too early when things may change and the task needs to be modified or even abandoned. Being sidetracked is just a different phrase, from the more accurate one of doing research on future projects. Today I fully plan on both procrastination and being sidetracked. We are on a jaunt with no firm plans. Since adopting the habit of daily blogging  I have learned to fully embrace the serendipity of procrastination and sidetracking. Allowing  Ispace in my life for unexpected things to happen enriches daily life and in turn the blog. Sometimes I procrastinate on writing the blog and it changes direction completely if I am gainfully sidetracked.

#1071 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

Grown-up-edness arrived at a cricket match when I was in my mid-twenties.

My father-in-law had been diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer. The cricket team we were with, was formed of young medical people. The talk was about how hopeless his case was.  It dawned on me that this was us being propelled into true adulthood. His diagnosis was the end of youthful free will. We were both only children, and the buck, at that moment, very clearly stopped with my husband. 16 years later 3 parents had endured terminal illness and death. But we had two gorgeous young children whose arrival had kept us sane in rather difficult times. Sometimes in life, you just have to play the ball that is bowled to you, not the one you imagined.

A cricket quote to end.