The Age of Reason

Tennis ball decorations! Not soggy

 As I am retired do I need a reason for watching Pride and Prejudice once again? Of course not. The 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's masterpiece has been my go-to as a cure for almost everything. The six-hour series is brilliant and as I have watched it so manty times already, I can almost quote every word. This time, there really was no good reason apart from it being the 250th anniversary of Austen's birth. Over the week, her works were torn apart and re-inspected from a 21st century point of view on both TV and radio and she still shines. Personally, I fell in love with the language. It is so quotable. If only nowadays we could argue in the same frame as Lady Catherine De Bourgh and Lizzie Bennett... I take no leave of you, slap, Nor do I wish you any compliments, slap... if only we could get away with these masterful put downs...How different our world would be. I am preparing to watch all her books adapted on BBC - my short cut to getting through them all and have time for a little tennis and other reading. What joy.

At my age I should be proud that I got yet another medal to mark the passing of another swimming challenge. My youngest grandchild wore it around the house with pride and now the medal has disappeared. I have a drawer in my house full of trophies and medals so I shouldn't mourn the loss of one more. The trouble with these little little gongs from my sporting past is I can't throw them away and I can't give them away. It was funny that at seventeen months of age she knew how to wear it. There are a few more left she can play with!!!

I got the t-shirt

Something I am a little less proud of her for is her unravelling a large ball of wool that I am crocheting a jumper with. I wanted this jumper finished in time for Christmas but it won't be. On Saturday, Mattaya picked up the ball and pulled it apart. Then she trailed it across the room, tripped over it, dragged it in the kitchen. It was not a dangerous pursuit, and heaven knows my house is not child-proof, so I left her to it. Even Shadow got entangled. I spent five hours after she left until well after midnight trying to untangle the tangles. It is still a mess and now I have resolved to cut it just so I can get on and finish the front and back. 

Tangled wool. Argh

I would like to think that I have finished all my Christmas shopping. I went to the supermarket and bought enough food to last until the end of January. Crazy!!! Getting it home is good for weight training!! I can't think of any other way to reframe the efforts I put into spending far too long getting around an overcrowded shop and feeling frustrated. I don't like shopping at the best of times and these were not the best of times. At least I am "almost" ready for Christmas and as Sunday is the shortest day, I also look forward to the world waking up to Spring in the not too distant future.... and I will have no need to do food shopping until February, hopefully.

The tennis club celebrates Christmas in style, a morning of tennis with soggy balls, mulled wine and lots of festive cheer. The weather is bound to improve as the days get longer and before too long it will be warm enough to wear a skirt again! 

Until that time in 2026, let's celebrate, be merry, and indulge. 

Reflections

 

The idea for my writing came to me while walking along the towpath at sunrise. The air was still. As I walked towards Wolverton, the mist slowly lifted to reveal the low sun ahead. It was almost perfect. I almost felt at one with the world.  The only spoiler was the constant growl of vehicles on the nearby dual carriageway. Ironically, this road had been in existence for a long time before the canal was dug. The road - The Watling Street - was first built by the Romans and runs from Dover in the South-east to Anglesey to the north of Wales. It cut through hills and was relatively straight way back then - quite a feat of engineering, as was the canal in the 1700s.

I expect the clatter of chariots was every bit as loud as the cars of now. As a child, my father often told me that this road had been built by The Romans and in my young stupidity, I thought the road surface had lasted remarkably well. Even since my childhood, the road has evolved. It has taken new routes, has been widened in places, has traffic lights and roundabouts - these weren't around in Roman times. This only goes to show that things are in constant flux and we don't really notice how much change has happened - even in my life time. 

I have also been thinking how lucky I am as the holder of a British passport. Most places in the world are happy to let holders of this passport in, even if we have to pay a little for a visa. Even if Trump decides that he is going to rummage through my social media before granting me the chance to travel to the USA, I am sure that being British will still hold sway so I could still visit without issues. However, I am not sure that I actually would like to pop across the pond these days. The glitz and glamour of America has faded. There is so much more to delight on my doorstep. 

We all look at the past through rose-tinted specs. Christmas was always bigger, better, cheerier... So do we try to recreate the past or do we re-invent it like we do with our transport systems. Are all the extra goodies in the shops there to recreate previous Christmases or are we persuaded to go one step further and buy even more things and adapt to new Christmas norms? I just think that these days I want to create memories and habits for my grand daughters  - not just commercial ones. Danielle is working hard on that too. She made an angel for the Lantern Festival and even though we didn't get to walk the route with it, it is a beautiful addition to the season! It even spent a short while at my place. Just maybe it will come back and visit me next year. 

Knee Jerk Reactions

 We are speeding towards Christmas and I have started buying in extra food as if I were preparing for a siege. I wouldn't want to be caught on the hop should anyone pop round to visit me. That would be terrible. In addition to all the extras I have bought, I am also writing lists for the BIG shop that will provide for Christmas dinner. This is an inbuilt reaction to the festive season and it comes upon me every year in early December. For me it has nothing to do with the adverts that encourage prolific spending. I don't even think it is a knee jerk reaction to seeing lots of red stuff in shops. I think it goes back to my pagan roots. After all, the Romans had the Saturnalia celebration at this time while the Vikings did their Yule celebrations. I cannot deny that I look forward to Christmas. It is especially special because there is still a big kid inside me. 

Beyond those all important lists and the party season, life goes on. I have got particularly annoyed with politicians having a negative knee jerk reaction to anything another party proposes. David Lammy wants to reform the courts. Not sure I totally agree with what he is trying to do but I do feel the sound bites that come out in response aren't considered and they certainly aren't helpful. Nor are the knee jerk reactions to the budget. It wouldn't have mattered what the budget consisted of, no one would say they liked any of it whatever. If a politician truly wanted to make the country a better place, surely they would think of providing other ideas to solve the problem rather than gunning down something said by an opposition party. Tis the season for reconciliation and giving. This should apply to democracy. 

While I'm on my soap box, I suggest we provide a benchmark for good behaviour between countries. Russia was initially banned from participating in international sports events because of its unwarranted aggression to Ukraine and Europe. This stance has since softened for Russia and now Israel has been granted a place in the Eurovision Song Contest. We flip flop and make the rules up as we go along. It does make me angry. Nobody in any position of power wants to proverbially call out bad behaviour and slap wrists. If there was anyone, Trump would be in the firing line! This is particularly so since he has received the first FIFA Peace Prize - Ultimate Arse-licking!

My book is being reprinted. This time the red stars that divide sections will be  printed black to keep the price down. My original thoughts were to put three red stars to represent the new Syrian flag. Maybe one day the first edition with the red stars will be a collectors item - I'm joking! 

I am actually feeling a little sorry for myself at the moment. I have a bone growth in my left wrist on the radius just like the bone growth on my right heel last year. Apparently bones developing lumps happens as a result of previous injuries. This one is about the size of a chickpea and it now hurts when I cycle. err. With all my previous bumps and hurts, I could have little lumps on lots of bits of my body. It doesn't bear thinking about. This is the stuff of nightmares!