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ENTERING MY BLACK AND WHITE PHASE (Episode 91)

ENTERING MY BLACK AND WHITE PHASE

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This morning the air holds a hint of holly.

 

Alt text says this week’s photo is a person leaning against a brick wall. It is me and I am indeed leaning against a wall with the aim of getting used to having my photo taken. It is time for me to update some pics and my lovely wife has been offering to capture some images for me. There will be more to follow, but for now here I am leaning against a brick wall.

 

Do you ever hear an echo from the past when you are doing something in the present? This happens to me sometimes when I am having my photograph taken, and I remember being told I looked very serious once at an interview years ago and needed to smile more. Aaargh, that would be my serious, nervous face! It sometimes makes me think that this is what I am going to see when a photo is taken. It is good to face this head on (or indeed looking into the middle distance) and see how much I can move away from this. If you find me leaning on things and staring into the middle distance in the next week or so then please know I am working on building up my confidence in having my photo taken.

 

The past week had a bit of a National Trust theme. We had arranged to meet our lovely friends Sarah and Craig at a property that happened to be halfway between our two homes for a day trip. The night before, I checked I had my membership card only to find it was dated February. I then imagined a story in my head that we had been told there were no more membership cards as it was a waste of paper only to find out that we had indeed not renewed. We signed up again on the day and made use of the cards again at the end of the week to be able to spend time with my brother and his wife. There was even a poem about National Trust membership at the Crafty Crows poetry event I attended on Wednesday which made me laugh.

 

I love a walled garden to accompany a catching up with people and also enjoy asking the odd question as we go round the houses to find out a little more about the bits that intrigue or interest me. I am not really one for historical facts and dates, but I do like things! In one of the properties I saw a painting which seemed rather out of context with all the others because it was not a portrait. It featured a woman breastfeeding a man and by asking about the picture I was introduced to an ancient story that I had not previously encountered. Asking about a rather impressive lectern in a different property led to me setting a goal to find the raw materials to create something unique for poetry readings. I have set myself a year to find the right kind of stuff and can envisage a few trips to salvage yards or similar. I will enjoy sharing a photo or two when it is in existence.

 

Photos from our days out were colourful reminders of the time and space we shared and I was even able to invite my brother to tea at my house because he was staying nearby. I have been wanting to have a beer with my brother for quite some time and having expressed that wish to a friend recently it was wonderful to have that wish come true. It’s more about the time and space than the beer, but it was a delicious treat!


Here's to all the ways of finding time and space to share with others that bring pure joy.

 

Here’s a poem that was written for the joy of walking near a river and noticing how it changes according to the amount of water it carries. 

 

At Loggerheads

For The River Alyn as it flows through Loggerheads Country Park

 

Sometimes you lie dry.

Exposed furrows offer your mud

for footprints,

mosquitoes create whirlpools in the air. 

 

When you are full

your burble and flow

are in the folds of my brain

filtering my thoughts.

 

I lean over your bridge

for shadow photos.

 

You are dark. You are sparkling.

You are an almost mirror,

a depth, an ebb,

an onward.

 

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