Skip to main content

Singing as the Darkness Lifts 29/01/2024 (#SingingAsTheDarknessLifts 21)

 

 Singing as the Darkness Lifts 29/01/2024

Podbean Link for those who like to listen

Ronnie is a little blurred outside the venue for the yarn show, but taking another photo was not an option because after this photo he landed in a pigeon poo and had to hibernate for a while until it was bubble bath time. Or as Alt Text puts it: 'A stuffed animal flying in the air'.

This morning it is raining and there is a comforting smell of woodsmoke riding the air.

At the weekend we returned from eight days in Welwyn Garden City and our time at the ‘Wool in Garden City’ yarn show. During those days and on arrival back home I felt as though I had been transported into a completely different life of meeting people and talking about Kath’s design work. It felt like I was being extended, exercising a different side of me. I liked this.

The cottage we stayed in whilst we were away, was nicely remote (although I don’t really miss the drive down the bumpy old track to get to it – as my grandad would have said, “it’s a good miss!”) and it kept us entertained as we explored its quirks. The underfloor heating was delightful after a cold day’s travel to get there, but we never really felt it working again and a tap that dripped on the floor meant I only ran one big bubbly bath.

We saw black squirrels, very large rabbits and seemingly well-fed deer in the garden and were also there under a full moon. Seeing the moon led me to re-read my wolf moon poem and I loved the fact that it captured a set of feelings in time from when it was written in 2022. It is the first poem in ‘Vortex Over Wave’ and I remember my resolution to stand under every full moon of 2022, and write a poem for it the evening of the day it was full. At that time it felt like a big thing to commit to something for a year.

I am so proud to have found the energy within me to be doing new things. There were some moments when it was cold and my legs ached during the yarn show, but so many laughs, and so much delight in seeing Kath in her own environment sharing her design work with others that this really didn’t matter. And there was a lot of love knitted into the orange cowl that Kath knitted for me on one of our days off so that I could have a cosier neck.

We enjoyed sampling the doughnuts from the bakery which was conveniently next door to the venue, and I can report that ‘Wenzels’ have a very good ratio of jam to dough should you ever find yourself in the vicinity of one.

I have come a long way from the person who might just be able to accompany their wife to a wool based event for a day to the person who is interested in the designs, the people, the conversations that happen in such places, and the me that I can be in all of this.

I won’t forget the person who came to talk to me because they were killing time whilst waiting for their toe-nail clipping appointment or the conversation we went on to have about events in life that bring deep feelings of sadness. Or the hilarity of impressing other vendors by maintaining a straight face when people ask for things that are highly unlikely to feature in a wool-based event.

I continue to increase my knowledge of knitting techniques, and my ability to explain patterns and kits when Kath is otherwise engaged delivering workshops or giving talks, and I'm celebrating the joy of meeting new people and enjoying new conversation and shared laughter. Some people who had never really considered it before are now looking for discarded elastic bands, and I am a better person for having met them.

Here's that Wolf Moon poem marking its moment from back then...

 

I am Howling to January’s Wolf Moon

 

by this I mean I have no words

by this I mean I am too tired to speak

by this I mean I think if I started, I wouldn’t stop

by this I mean there is too much I am holding in

by this I mean I am struggling

by this I mean I need to ask for help

by this I mean I need you to help me

by this I mean please howl at the moon with me

by this I mean I need you not to be scared

 

by this I mean I am terrified.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MY YEAR IN REVIEW (#SingingAsTheDarknessLifts 114)

 MY YEAR IN REVIEW   Listening Link This morning it is raining and the almost unchilled air carries strong hints of green.   Alt text says this week’s photo is a collage of a group of people. It is indeed a collage and it is made from the photos that accompanied each blog post this year. I do like to take a look back before I look forward and I thought this would be one way of doing it for 2025.   When I was little I loved an annual. To me it was a book of delightful snippets collected together to be enjoyed in a period of time that involved a break from routine. I can picture myself reading in my pyjamas, the seemingly bottomless sweet tin, and the advent calendar that left its glitter on our fingers with all its doors open telling me that it was indeed Christmas Day. This week’s photo is like the cover of my 2025 annual.   This blog has been my way of building a good relationship with Mondays, and the fact there have been 114 episodes since Sept...
2 comments
Read more

LIFTED (#SingingAsTheDarknessLifts 108)

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

EVENING SUN (#SingingAsTheDarknessLifts 96)

EVENING SUN Listening Link    This morning, at ‘The Angel of the North’ the air smells of heather and lavender. Alt text isn’t offering a suggestion for this week’s photo, but I say it is Kath and me capturing a photo during a stroll by the river after the first day of the yarn show we attended at the weekend. After a full on day it was nice to walk in someone else’s city, and I love the way the evening sun makes the white on my hair glow and puts an extra shine on Kath’s blue. A moment of quiet in a busy world. I know that it relaxed me because I then became curious to look on a map to find out whereabouts in the country we were. When we drove up I was solely focused on being helpful with yarn type things and although I knew we were in Newcastle I didn’t have a clear idea geographically of what that meant. My phone map was super helpful and I realised how different it feels from turning the pages in a road atlas. Very helpful for putting it all in context especially for someo...
Post a Comment
Read more