My Corner of The Internet
Things To Make Me Smile (and a few things that annoy me)
-
Ok, so you know how we’re all just one click away from going down a rabbit hole? Well I’ve just been on google maps looking at the grave of Richard Burton and obviously that lead to the grave of Dylan Thomas. They are so simple, and with that simplicity was beauty and peacefulness. My rabbit hole began with the trailer for the upcoming film Mr Burton – very moving!
-
I’ve gone from an almost hermit like existence to being less of a hermit. I can’t really say social butterfly because that would really give the wrong impression. On the other hand compared to normal it could be used…
Anyway – this year I decided to go to things and do things. The last few weeks have been busy – busy for me that is (I don’t know why i always feel the need to put in qualifier🤷♀️). One event a week is busy for me. It started when I went to see Jenny Eclair on a Friday night – I did agree with her sentiment that an 8pm start really was late but that’s ’cause we ain’t the spring chickens we like to think we are. On the whole she really was funny – now on occasion one or two of her references didn’t exactly hit the mark (possibly just for me) – referencing a shop in the UK, yes I recognise the name and have a vague notion of the point you’re making but as we’re not in the uk it didn’t have quite the impact it should have – that kind of thing. To be honest, that didn’t really matter because it was a great night. This was slightly overshadowed by looking at the phone afterwards to read of a shouting match in the White House between Trump&Co and President Zelenskyy – like WTAF?!?!
The following week on a Thursday, I went to see James Blunt in concert – this time it was indoors and my word there is such a big sound difference and on this occasion I wasn’t dancing in the rain – so that alone was a big thumbs up. While we were waiting for the concert to start there was a video on the screens to advertise merchandise – completely brilliant – There was King Charles – unnoticed, Trump – booed, Musk – less booed, Putin – tittering, Starmer – unnoticed, a random woman in the house of commons – confusion for me (I now think it might have been Kemi Badenoch but I’m not 100% confident…) then Zelenskyy – massive cheering. So whoever came up with this really hit the nail on the head – especially after last weeks fiasco/”art of the deal”
Jump another week and it’s a Friday – myself and my Mam went to see Michael Harding. It was brilliant! Mams generation in the audience thought it was hilarious as well – I just thought it was funny in places. On the other hand I could listen to that man read a shopping list and I’d think it was brilliant. I have to admit that I haven’t read his books but I do read his pieces in the newspapaer The lesson of the talk was that you don’t have to understand people – you don’t have to work them out, know what makes the tick – you just have to love them. Accept them as they are and love them.
This week, I flew solo. I went to a matinee in the theatre – it always astounds me how they remember the words. It’s an absolute pure feat! It’s magic! Anyway – yesterday’s excursion was to see Shakespeare! King Lear to be precise. Now it seems that most people I know of varying generations have all done it for their Leaving Cert. – myself included, when I repeated mine. When you think of the play you did in school, the general feeling (or possibly personal feeling) is that it’s dry – it was lines and quotes remembered for an exam, the story line was only a thin surface. The novel you study is all about the story – dialogue, descriptions, narration – it’s all wrapped up to convey the story. The play however is pure dialogue and to read it on a page for an exam – this can be very barren. Yesterday however, to see it played out – to see facial expressions, to hear intonation and delivery – this made it – this changed it – this was outstanding. I think that whatever the play that’s being studied for exams – go and see it being performed – whether it’s via the big screen, the little screen, on youtube or live on stage – see it performed – see what becomes of a script – because essentially that’s what it is – it’s a script for a visual production. And yesterday’s production delivered on the visuals too! Gloucesters ordeal took place on stage with the makeup (?) for each infliction being put into place – I don’t go to the theatre much – so this is possibly something many of you were acquainted with, for me it was better than any CGI in the cinema – it was real – it was credible. The cast was a cast full of luminaries – 4 of whom I recognised immediately and the rest I’ll be watching out for.
I have 2 weeks of nothing ahead of me – I’m looking forward to them! However after that it gets busy again with another concert and a trip or two. I’m going to need a long lie down after all of this is done!
-
Why did I let my neighbour erode my joy? Ok – scene – my apartment faces out to a carpark – that’s a spot of exaggeration – my apartment is built behind a row of houses and all the houses have their parking spaces at the back – so the view from one side of the apartment is all cars. So headlights going on can blind you if you look the wrong way at the wrong time. By now I’m used to it. Anyway – last year I said to a neighbour, if she sees me taking a photo of her car, I’m not really – I just like the way the headlights catch the light on the road after the rain. If she thinks I’m being weird, don’t worry. Now between the light changing and the weather not being what I’d like, curtains being pulled and not having a camera at the ready, I simply haven’t taken the photo – despite looking out the window several times and thinking oh that would have been nice. YESTERDAY! Yesterday I spotted that she had come back and then went out – which meant that she’d be coming back and it had been raining. So I ran to get my camera – couldn’t get it to do what I wanted so decided the phone was probably the handiest, and all I had to do was wait for her to come back! She came back and I grabbed my chance. As I finished she beeped, and I went out to her. She asked what was I doing? Of course me taking the photo means something to me – me telling her, I’ll take a photo of something, it’s not going to stay in her memory because it’s of no consequence. So she insisted on me showing her the photo and looked at me as if I was making problems and told me I was crazy and repeated that as she walked away with an annoyed demeanour. I felt at a loss, to be told you’re crazy as in wacky fun etc is ok but to be told you’re crazy like it’s a bad thing, is not nice- it bothered me for the entire evening. To make matters worse – it was also a rubbish photo – even by my standards. It’s encounters like this that tend to make me go into myself, to hide away, to hide my interests, to hide who I am, to hide what I like. So my next challenge to try and not let it upset me too much (- I won’t kid myself and say at all) I don’t take many photos for various reasons but I do love it, I wish I was better at it, in so many different ways – so the trick will be to continue to try to do the thing that I love. I know it’s just a misunderstanding – her of me and most likely me of her. This is the best I could do, out of sorts and just not feeling the love –
-
It’s been a relaxing morning I woke up had a look at the weather forecast and decided that comfort was going to be the order of the day. I eventually got out of the bed and went to the kitchen and blended stuff to make a smoothie type thing. I’d previously bought a smoothie thing from Lidl and had a fight with it every time I tried it – so I went back and bought the nutribullet thing. This morning was my first time giving it a go and it worked without any fuss or persuasion. While I was drinking my yogurt, blueberry & banana, I put a coffee on to brew and a pain au chocolat into the airfryer. I love the treat of it all. I took the coffee and pastry back to bed, put on some jazz to plink away in the background and decided to read the Good Housekeeping on the iPad – it’s pure decadence! Outside I can hear a bit of wind (it’s actually the trees rustling) and the rain is hitting the window, so I have a feeling that the rest of the day is going to continue in this vein -
I want to blog or write or whatever this is – but I don’t do anything – I’m not joking – I really don’t do anything at all! It’s like I’m still living in lockdown.
I occasionally have an opinion on things but it’s never fully formed enough to even try to coax into words – I have been known to answer the questions “what do you think?” or “Did you like it?” with a simple yes or no. I’m not great on expanding my thoughts internally or externally.
I do journal – but it’s very stream of consciousness – planning what i might do in the day, what will I eat etc – or trying to figure out what is causing a particular bout of emotions that are being inconvenient. I rarely go back and do a what i did today – I write forward rather than backward. And you wouldn’t want to be looking for world events ’cause in the journal they don’t happen.
Previously I said this was going to be a bit of a mirror for my social media – that didn’t happen but I think I might have to pull up my socks and start filling this with little bits and pieces – just snippets.
So my big news is – I bought a skipping rope, gave it a try and now my left leg feels like it’s been tortured. I’m going to try and persist with it, as it was recommended when I went for a Lymphatic Drainage massage.
However if we know anything about me – it’s persistent and consistent aren’t always within my nature…
Must Try Harder
-
For the last few days it’s been a bit cold – not as cold as it could be in fairness.
There is something so delicate about frost, everything looks blasted and could snap if you touch it.
This was taken this morning
-
Yes I’m sat on the sofa watching the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s New Years Day Concert and I’ve dug out the crochet that I told my Mam I’d do.
It really doesn’t get better than this!
-
Firstly a slight back story – When I was in London earlier this year, I picked up a gift for my Dad for his Birthday/Christmas. They are both in December and the second gift would dictate whether this was going to be for his birthday or for Christmas. Anyway – I came home and dutifully put it away (Can you see where this might be going??)
Fast forward 5 months and I was in the local shopping centre, spotted a shop that reminded me I had already made a purchase, but where did I put it? No, not a clue! it’s not in the places I thought it was – and I’m not going to lie, I am panicking! The up-side is that I still have slightly over 2 months to find it – so that’s ok.
Last night I had a dream that I’d found the gift and it was exactly where I thought it was – how lucky is that??? I’ve gone through most of the day with a sense of relief knowing that I’ve found the item in question. Until now that is, when I’ve just realised it was only a dream and I still have to pull the place apart to find out where it is.
I was going to make a Bobby Ewing/Patrick Duffy reference but after a conversation last week in work, I’ve realised that it’s waaaay out of date. But if you get the reference than I thank you!
