Thoughts of a Soo

Singing as the darkness lifts, 25 09 2023:      This morning the air carries the aroma of an empty vanilla ice-cream tub. For a moment I doubt my senses and wonder if I am remembering last night’s dessert – a trio of sorbet and ice-cream, and yet those flavours were sour cherry, cinnamon and orange. A delicious treat to accompany conversation and time in the company of friends to just be.      On the drive home the waxing moon revealed itself from behind thick cloud as a glowing pringle lamp.      Looking back on my week I see that it was composed of seized moments: A trip to Kent, a day sharing my art, dinner out on a Sunday. Conversations, listening, thinking time and laughter all mingling together and swirling now in my head like marbling inks on water.   An apple from my mum beside an apple for my mum   An Apple for My Mum   I need to tell you exactly what colour it was. Did you ever suck an American boiled sweet – a blue one –

Singing as the darkness lifts, 18 09 2023: A vague hint of horse chestnut on the air this morning, but the rosemary has faded. Birds sing and call from different corners and I sense a slowness in me as I listen. Last week I was feeling e xcited and nervous about engaging with my new learning on the coaching course with ‘In Good Company’ . By Thursday I was enjoying feeling satisfaction and pride in having successfully completed the first part. It was good for me to remember how tiring learning new things is for me and how I love the way that this is balanced with a wonderful sense of achievement. Note taking along the way is helping me to reflect on my development and being reflective is something I really enjoy. I had some in-depth internal conversations with myself at the end of Wednesday and love the way coaching allows this to bring clarity to thoughts and feelings. I am glad to be in the cohort. I also had a meeting with Annick Yerem from Sidhe Press along with member

Singing as the darkness lifts, 11 09 2023: The air is warm and is scented with a tinge of pink tea rose. A crow on an aerial has the silhouette of the robin from the cake decoration box. Inside there is gentle comfort in the scent of home sleep.  I am noticing Autumn... garden spiders are making large webs from bush to car wing mirror and large spiders have been spotted in the house as well as on pavements during evening walks. A conker placed inside the front door pleased me because I consider the year that I put them in many corners of the house to be the year that very few spiders entered. And then, just after admiring it and its possible positive impact I hoovered it up by accident. I may revisit my conker hunting experience this week. The week is full as I begin my coaching course. Last week I had my orientation meeting and engaged in pre-reading and this week I will engage with Part 1. I am feeling excited and a little nervous about my new learning and deve

Singing as the darkness lifts, 04 09 2023: I am building a new relationship with Mondays this September.  I made this decision ahead of last Monday, but sort of forgot to take action. Prior to this I had decided that I would like to see what Monday mornings smelt like. My inspiration? A change of direction for me careerwise which means I won't be driving to work each morning and the fact that whilst walking in the rain the other day the air smelt of raw meringue. I did laugh when I put the bins out last Monday and forgot to smell the morning, but I hadn't actually started on my new journey so perhaps it was too early to begin anyway. This morning the air smelt of warm hotel carpet and someone else's perfume. The waning moon greeted me in a cloudless blue sky and it was twenty-one degrees by nine am. That moon stayed with me all the way to my late morning stop at Corley Service Station. At times it appeared to be the only thing in the sky and then it mimicked a national spee