Thursday 4 March 2010
Stop to think...
There are several times in life when I stops to think; when a warm but uncomfortable feeling resonates in my heart, when I have watched a film that has hit home, or read a book that opens up another compartment in my brain, or I fall upon a precious moment shared between two people quite by mistake, or I let myself dream about what could be. At these times when I stop to think; I am sad because I know who I could be, sad because I wish I had done differently, sad to know what will never be.
Wednesday 3 March 2010
My Canterbury Tales
A week or so ago, I escaped during my break from caring onto Canterbury High Street, walking to nowhere in particular. As I strolled along the cobbled lanes, I could hear music growing louder and louder. I followed the sound from the Cathedral entrance and through the crowds of eager Saturday shoppers. It sounded like live music. Now I was getting a little excited. And there they were; Tom Farrer & The Pharaohs. I had stumbled upon a magical musical experience. Tom and the gang playing music that instantly brought a smile to my forlorn face. I promptly parted with a fiver and bought their album. I am so happy I did, it brings me great joy.
There is something uniquely special about music in the street - anywhere. And it is something that I really enjoy about London and now, Canterbury. There are buskers singing and playing every day on the High Street. It adds such atmosphere to an otherwise ordinary shopping experience for Madeira cake, milk and pork sausages. And it makes me think often of whether I would have the guts to do it myself. I want to pop over to the guy with the guitar, Marks&Spencer bag thrown over my shoulder, and join him in his rendition of John Mayer's latest commercial offering. I envy him, doing what he loves, influencing the day of a passer by or two.
I visited the Norman Castle, Canterbury Museum and walked around the city centre on a brief exploration mission. I have not much to report I am afraid as it was a little disappointing. It is the general atmosphere of this city that makes it feel like you are part of something special, perhaps special is not the right word. There is a tradition here going back centuries and that is what makes Canterbury extraordinary; the Cathedral in the centre and normal everyday life carrying on around it.
After nearly three weeks of care work without a break, I had a well-deserved weekend off. I sped off briefly to London for a farewell party on the Friday night. My friend's boss had hired a boat for the evening and all us lucky invited ones went for a cruise on the Thames. Sadly, my first Thames on-water experience was in the dark. It must be wonderful to cruise along the river in the day and pick up all the sights. It was lots and lots of fun, however, and I happened to be on top form. It took me a while to realise that I was, in fact, off duty. Once my brain had woken up to the realisation, my borrowed cowgirl hat and I had a very good party. The dress-up theme (not my favourite) was "something beginning with a C" (Carmen). I went for the easiest option of Cowgirl.
On Saturday morning, I took the train, feeling rather fragile, to Didcot in Oxfordshire. A dear friend of both my sets of grandparents lives in Orchard House in Didcot, a beautiful home in the countryside, with a stud farm next door and huge grounds. I slept for a good part of the weekend. My body had fallen into shock at not waking up at 6am and sleeping at 11pm or later. My host and I laughed and discussed life's problems over good home-cooked food and piping hot cups of English tea. Desperately needed the break and it hardly hurt being in such a wonderful place.
The political race is on in this country - in a BIG way. The two main political parties, the Tories (Conservatives - Maggie's party) and Labour (party in power presently), are jumping on absolutely anything they can find and hyping it out of proportion in order to damage the image of the opposition. Each day, the news channels and mainstream papers are full of a new political scandal; Gordon Brown is a bully, David Cameron is playing stupid, the polls show Tories are up, the gap is narrowing, will Labour win again even after...blah blah blah, while the rest of the world is ravaged by poverty, war, drought, floods, earthquakes...David Cameron was spotted on a jog this morning, he must have been trying to relieve stress after the last couple of days and the latest revelations that Lord Ashcroft has not been paying all his owed tax...
Fra
There is something uniquely special about music in the street - anywhere. And it is something that I really enjoy about London and now, Canterbury. There are buskers singing and playing every day on the High Street. It adds such atmosphere to an otherwise ordinary shopping experience for Madeira cake, milk and pork sausages. And it makes me think often of whether I would have the guts to do it myself. I want to pop over to the guy with the guitar, Marks&Spencer bag thrown over my shoulder, and join him in his rendition of John Mayer's latest commercial offering. I envy him, doing what he loves, influencing the day of a passer by or two.
I visited the Norman Castle, Canterbury Museum and walked around the city centre on a brief exploration mission. I have not much to report I am afraid as it was a little disappointing. It is the general atmosphere of this city that makes it feel like you are part of something special, perhaps special is not the right word. There is a tradition here going back centuries and that is what makes Canterbury extraordinary; the Cathedral in the centre and normal everyday life carrying on around it.
After nearly three weeks of care work without a break, I had a well-deserved weekend off. I sped off briefly to London for a farewell party on the Friday night. My friend's boss had hired a boat for the evening and all us lucky invited ones went for a cruise on the Thames. Sadly, my first Thames on-water experience was in the dark. It must be wonderful to cruise along the river in the day and pick up all the sights. It was lots and lots of fun, however, and I happened to be on top form. It took me a while to realise that I was, in fact, off duty. Once my brain had woken up to the realisation, my borrowed cowgirl hat and I had a very good party. The dress-up theme (not my favourite) was "something beginning with a C" (Carmen). I went for the easiest option of Cowgirl.
On Saturday morning, I took the train, feeling rather fragile, to Didcot in Oxfordshire. A dear friend of both my sets of grandparents lives in Orchard House in Didcot, a beautiful home in the countryside, with a stud farm next door and huge grounds. I slept for a good part of the weekend. My body had fallen into shock at not waking up at 6am and sleeping at 11pm or later. My host and I laughed and discussed life's problems over good home-cooked food and piping hot cups of English tea. Desperately needed the break and it hardly hurt being in such a wonderful place.
The political race is on in this country - in a BIG way. The two main political parties, the Tories (Conservatives - Maggie's party) and Labour (party in power presently), are jumping on absolutely anything they can find and hyping it out of proportion in order to damage the image of the opposition. Each day, the news channels and mainstream papers are full of a new political scandal; Gordon Brown is a bully, David Cameron is playing stupid, the polls show Tories are up, the gap is narrowing, will Labour win again even after...blah blah blah, while the rest of the world is ravaged by poverty, war, drought, floods, earthquakes...David Cameron was spotted on a jog this morning, he must have been trying to relieve stress after the last couple of days and the latest revelations that Lord Ashcroft has not been paying all his owed tax...
Fra
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