Monday, 30 September 2019

Getting behind by having fun but stressing.

I am getting all behind with the news both personal and societal partly because so many things are going on.  Boris being declared unlawful for example in a landmark decision by the Supreme Court. Luckily I turned over the TV just as the decision was being declared so that their thinking was clear.  Ironically the lack of back up documentation seems to have been part of the problem, an incredibly naive, sort of we shut down parliament because we did, rather than any justification for their action so that the judges almost had no choice but to find him illegal once they had decided that their could judge the shut down.

You would have thought that Boris would have been chastened a tad, but no he and his side kicks came out swinging in what was such a vicious attack especially on women MPs that I thought his partner should have walked on him in disgust.  Same day impeachment proceedings started against Trump.

Meanwhile in Japan brother Nic, and his wife, were winging pictures from the Australia V Wales/ Wales v Georgia match back home, much to my delight.  But I have spent more and more sleepless nights since getting an offer on my home trying to work out the right thing to do.  I have asked them to increase the offer as that will make what I am trying to do more feasible but no word. Meanwhile it has been rather nice to be home.  In art we had a wonderful inks use workshop and today the garden group have been making a scarecrow for the local church festival.

Prior to that I had a lovely week away in WAles in the full heat of the sun was just wonderful and I finally found a place I wanted to live, got to the theatre in Brecon and saw the Chekhov shorts, which had me guffawing into my hands by the end,  but the house was not in Machynlleth and I think as a town that is a place that really suits me.    All around town there are veg growing tubs with help your self on them and they just look lovely. I also managed to find the town growing scheme.  So whilst in some ways I am much clearer than I was on what I want to do, all the options are still on the table.  One of the good things about Mac though was staying in the very old school hotel,  a great excuse each day to try another of their cooked breakfasts,  then through out the town there are good cafes and I got to chat to lots of people and be shown around the Owain Glyndwr centre, so all in all a very successful trip.             

Sandwiched in between the trip to France and Wales, I paid Old London town a visit - a bit fairly near the South Bank University in Bermondsey where there is a textile museum,  I had not really heard of it until recently but there was a lovely if small exhibition of Peruvian costumes, which reminded me a bit of those seen in Ecuador.   Then this week, I delivered my application for the trip to China and got out sufficiently early to head to Wilton's Music Hall for the Old Stock A Refugee Love Story.   I had seen the main singer at Cambridge and he had mentioned he had this piece on,  it consisted of the tunes I had already heard and a very effecting stark story of escape to Canada from the Romanian pogroms.  Both this production and the Chekhov, showed the great versatility of actors who are musicians too.  Interesting and unexpected Q and A after with the production team and representatives  of refugee groups.  


Last but not least, posted a poem on the Places project https://www.placesofpoetry.org.uk/

Compared to many of my friends I do not have a busy life, but this seems fairly busy to me. 
Oh and also time to say farewell to my best friend in this area.  Someone who has made the lonely times disappear,  just simple walks and chats, by the river can make the whole world better. 


Sunday, 15 September 2019

Regrets

My Grandma sort of went mad. I sometimes wonder if it is because of the regrets she had over the decisions she had made during her lifetime.    Anyone who reads this blog - i.e. me - will realise one of the stupidest things I did was get together with Bex Banjo - if I have pursued him for the money he owes me perhaps it is because I am kicking myself for my stupidity. I was on target to buying a place in Portugal and being able to live nearer my son, I did not have to be distracted by his plans - the challenges he set me were things I had dreamt about e.g. an interesting job - a very interesting job, and trying to buy a property through auctions - but I had just about got to the point in my life where the last thing I needed or wanted was an interesting job.  I did not even really need property in the UK if I was going to Portugal, but I could see that the beauty of the job being offered was that I could do it anywhere and that having a small property in which to keep things in the UK might be useful.  So it was easy for him to talk me into making a deal with him - because I in effect rationalised myself into doing something that I had not planned on doing and I have regretted it so much since. I am lucky I did not hand my notice in, which might have been really serious in terms of the situation at HRC at the time, I did not give him any of my savings, I gave him new money that I never expected to have - but I totally messed up buying in Portugal as that sale was immediately put on holdand then never went through. If I had not been stupid enough to listen to Bex Banjo I might have been living in Portugal for the last few years. Probably would have drive my son up the wall but .......  so many things might have been differnt. So perhaps that is why I have pursued "justice" as a way of dealing with some of the demons about myself since he came into my life. 

Sadly the CPS has yet again said that they will not prosecute him.  For reasons I do not understand they do not seem to have the evidence that they should have - they do not seem to know for example that he gave me a false addres or that I have asked him and various family members for his address so that I can prosecute him myself through the civil courts, but he refuses and when I try to talk to his family he threatens me with libel - but the CPS just say I should prosecute him myself. I feel like I have come to the end of what I can do as I have no control over what evidence is submitted to them by the police.  But whatever happens, I will never have that house in Portugal back or those years with my son. 

Friday, 13 September 2019

Two nations united way back in time - a poignant trip to Poitiers.

Many moons ago I was really into the art of the hours as captured in the Duke de Berry's Book of Hours; my mother was equally captured by the ideas of Courtly Love and the history of Eleanor of Aquitaine -so my recent visit to Poitiers was a delightful remind of these past pastimes as Poitiers was where the French court met.    Eleanor was Queen of England and of France, she rode with the second crusade so travelled to places as far afield as modern day Syria,  she was by all measures an extra-ordinary woman.   The main tourist sight from this period is currently closed, but just walking around Poitiers lovely honey coloured buildings somehow the medieval past is present.  From the streets bearing Eleanor's name to the wonderful Notre Dame in the market with its colourful columns the royal connection is there, but other historical figures have a connection with Poitiers too.  Joan of Arc was I guess one could argue a kind of Frenchixter in that she wanted to wrestle France back from the English and part of her campaign was fought in the area.




A more recent connection with Poitiers is Camille Claudel - I only know about her as a former colleague from HRC, someone who used to put on vignettes of music and story, put on a piece about her and her relationship with Rodin.  A talented sculptor in her own right, but his art and her role as muse dominate their history, so it was very nice to be able to see some of her work at the local museum including the only too well named Old Helen!




Apart from the streets and the range of shops with independent artisans, I especially enjoyed having bio supermarkets just around the corner where one could help oneself to what was needed - the food was excellent. I also found a place that just served coffee and tea, no food and each day in the market a different street food vendor would set up, but my favourite was the restaurant in the park. I had wondered into the Blossac and was thinking this place really needs a cafe, but there was no reference to anything like that on the park map and I almost headed out after conversing with a friendly duck, but then realised that if people were hiring bike type things then maybe there would be a cafe and what a cafe - lovely vegetables cooking out in the open, fish or meat to go with them, so despite not being realy really really hungry, I felt it incumbent on me to sit in the sun and enjoy myself.




I also often was equally happy to make food in the little kitchen provided where I was staying and sit out in the sun on the patio and just enjoy being still. Poitiers is very quiet compared to living next to the main Cambridge to Liverpool Train line, and just being in the sun and taking stock was brilliant.



Whilst I was away all hell was breaking out with rebellions in Parliament and Johnson calling for an election,  BBC News was really helpful as they were showing a live feed from parliament.  I could not decide if it was great to be away and looking at property in France or motivation to stay on and fight in Britain.  It was really interesting to visit property in France, one place seen in Montmorrillon had a wonderfully bonkers array of wall paper but no bathroom, whilst another had a door from the internal house that opened onto a staircase up into the loft - like a whole secret space. With more money and energy I think I would have been happy to live in any of them, but worry I have left it too late, with worries that health provision will cost a lot if one goes to Europe escape seems more complicated than originally imagined, however, I was very pleased to be able to use my French and navigate the train system and see beyond Poitiers and if I can make it work would happily return for longer and on a more consolidated basis.