Singing as the Darkness Lifts

A HEADSHOT IN A CHRISTMAS WREATH Listening Link This morning, under a waning moon and a bright planet, the swirling wind stirs up the scent of mud and brick dust.   Alt text says this week’s photo is a person smiling in a wreath. I say it is me twelve years ago taking my turn to have a photo taken. A group of us were finding much merriment in posing for our festive pictures and there was plenty of laughter. I picture this moment in my head each time the Christmas season comes around, and I hold it with a special kind of nostalgia because one of the lovely people who made the best photo that night is no longer with us.   This week I visited a DIY store to purchase a cardboard box (!) and the aisle it was in wasn’t easy to locate. Whilst leaning into the fact that I was probably getting some of my steps in on a rainy day I spotted a pink wreath. It was the perfect opportunity to create another wreath photo, and it brought me joy whilst wondering where aisle 61 was. ...

SOCK MONKEY     Listening Link   This morning the sky is grey. Drizzle and low cloud are holding onto the fumes from the cars and I am longing for the scent of evergreens and incense.   Alt text says this week’s photo is a stuffed animal on a tree. I say it is sock monkey. He was a ‘makey-makey gift’ that I made one Christmas – I followed all the instructions in the kit, but he didn’t quite come out like the one in the promotional pictures.   I was thinking this week about things we do as part of a group and things we do on our own. I like doing things on my own, but I can see that perhaps had I been part of a group when making my sock monkey he might have been a little more refined. He does however have a definite personality of his own and I always look forward to him making an appearance as we lift the lid on the Christmas decorations box. He isn’t a Christmas tree decoration, but I thought he would lik...

MY SOUL AS A METAL SPINNING TOP     Listening Link    This morning herring gulls sound in the distance, and the sky is clouded. The air is gently cold, not biting, and carries a hint of woodiness.   Alt text says this week’s photo is two women standing together smiling. I like that description. And I love this photo and that I was able to say hello in real life to Tanita Tikaram after the excellent concert at Stoller Hall. I enjoyed it all – it made my heart sing. And I felt my soul shining extra brightly on hearing such a beautiful performance of ‘Valentine Heart’ from Tanita Tikaram and Helen O’Hara.   I had been enjoying the anticipation of going to the concert for quite some time having safely stored the tickets away when I bought them back in May. On the actual day of the event, I had factored in the journey and made peanut butter and blackcurrant jam rolls for tea so that when we got there we didn’t have to ...

ON HAVING AN UNSTABLE CONNECTION     Listening Link This morning a chorus of herring gulls and a crescent moon in a pale blue sky. And the air is simply cold.   Alt text tells me this week’s photo is a stuffed animal in the air. I say it is Ronnie jumping for joy at Weedon Bec. Although this is an older photo, we were there at the weekend for a celebration of yarn at a Riverknits event. Stollen and Wolle is the name of the event, and it features both those things (cake and wool) and also has lovely live music towards the end which gives a wonderful uplifting feel to the closing of the show and our subsequent journey home.   This week my internet became unstable. No great drama you might think, but this is me and I was at an event where I was reading! It has taken me some time to develop my reading confidence, and to have the right kind of self-talk when things seem to be going wrong.   And now I take a bow because I did not panic! Not only that, I ...

THE WATER TOWER Listening Link   This morning a blackbird sounds an incessant alarm call after I have hit the snooze button twice. I take this as a sign to get up and see the day. The air smells of bare branches and the crows are conversing from chimney pots.   Alt text says this week’s photo is a person jumping off a water tower. I say I am rather glad it isn’t and that instead it is Herne Bay Water Tower in the late afternoon sun with Ronnie jumping for joy.   There is something reassuring about seeing the Water Tower each time I visit my hometown, and I love that this stark, concrete building can warm my heart. Taking a moment to notice it and feel the wave of nostalgia always feels comforting. It’s like a friendly, “ welcome back” .   My brother was very good at building a replica of this tower with Lego when we were little, and along with Herne Windmill, it is a much-loved landmark from my childhood. Both these structures were most...

LIFTED Listening Link  This morning, the cool air brings the smell of hash browns as the traffic builds its familiar rush.   Alt text offers no suggestion for this week’s photo. I say it is my sister, me and my mum in the lift after coffee and before a little shopping spree. I love this moment in time from our lovely, shared day, and the fact I remembered to take a photo.   This week I learned that I am a competent pumpkin carver. Good company, a simple design idea, a whiteboard marker pen and a last-minute pumpkin purchase resulted in a Trick or Treat worthy exhibit which made me smile.   It has been like adopting a mini half-term this week... catching up with a good friend, time with family, carving that pumpkin, having a toffee apple, going to a big firework display, landing on the settee of lovely people and having a photograph taken... and perhaps there will always be echoes of school holidays even though I no longer have these as ...