Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Making the best of things


Sometimes when I talk to the family in Colorado on Facetime I get an injection of joy, and sometimes - like last Sunday - as soon as the call is ended, I ache. I know that being able to have a video call with just one person is an amazing privilege, but it sometimes serves to emphasize the geographical distance between us. 

It was lovely but also slightly weird when my big sister Kath came to lunch yesterday. She lives 50 miles away and we haven't seen each other for months, and although I got a comforting feeling when she got out of her car in the drive, I really, really wanted to give her a hug. We went for a walk and then had lunch in the garden, and because it was so fantastic to have her here, and yet I could not touch her, I had a weird urge to take her photograph. Maybe you do that all the time, but I don't.

Anyway, here she is:




At 11.30 a.m. every Sunday Bakewell Quakers have a Meeting Zoom call when we share reflections and news. At the beginning of the lockdown I loved to see everyone's faces, to remind myself of the terrific community I'm part of. Now, after so many weeks, I often feel dissatisfied and sad. I don't want to speak to the group. I want to talk to Friends after Meeting one at a time, face to face, in the same space.

My younger daughter-in-law, the lovely Jaine, 





introduced me to a saying this week which I liked:

'It'll be all right in the end, and if it isn't all right, it's not the end.'

It's very comforting.

And how lucky am I to be able to get on my bike and cycle to quiet places, to sit under the trees and soak up whatever it is that they give off that makes me feel calm and settled and happy.





This morning I went out very early to beat the heat. I cycled to the end of the Trail and walked down the hill to the river and took a video for you. The rushing sound is the river.





A few years ago Dave carved a post with a quote from Martial, and placed it in the lawn within sight of the kitchen window so when he came down in the morning for his first yoghurt, he would see it.

This morning he moved it to just inside the front gate, so people could see it from the road. 

The first side of the post says sera nimis, the second reads vita est, the third crastina and the fourth viva hodie.


The translation is:
Living tomorrow is too late: live today



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The quote 'It'll be all right in the end, and if it isn't all right, it's not the end.” comes from the Film Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Love it. This weeks quote in our household comes from Frozen 2 “Keep on doing the next right thing”
You are oh so lucky to have the trail - thank you for sharing it with us.
Jenetta

Kristine Hammond said...

Thank you for continuing to share your sights and sounds of the Trail with us.
We have had such a lovely autumn here in my area and the countryside is lovely and green and it has kept me sane too over these last few months, just being able to be a part of it.

I particularly enjoyed "Spitalfields Life" today (and comments) - I think you will too.
https://spitalfieldslife.com/2020/06/21/the-gentle-authors-coronavirus-diary/#comments

Kind regards,
Kristine

Sue Hepworth said...

Thank you for telling us where the quote comes from, Jenetta, and for the Frozen2 one. I like it.

And thank you, Kristine, for that link to the Gentle Author’s blog which I have not come across before. I’ll be returning there.

Kristine Hammond said...

Hi again Sue,
I'm glad you enjoyed the article I linked. It was "The Gentle Author's Coronavirus Diary' that I was referring to in particular and also his description of having the virus in, "On Recovering From the Coronavirus". This should be required reading for all those who don't think they need to take this virus seriously.
He is such a beautiful, insightful writer, and observer of life - his blog is one that I have enjoyed for many years.
Regards,
Kristine.

Sue Hepworth said...

Yes, I read that post, Kristine. The Gentle Author does write well. But how do you know it is a man?

Kristine Hammond said...

Hi Sue,
You know I have always just assumed the Gentle Author is male and I don't really know why. Maybe it's because his access to the life in his area seems more available to a man than a woman, the topics are those that would more interest a man, the freedom to engage in conversations with anyone so readily..... nothing that I can really pinpoint.
I have looked through his book "Spitalfields Life" and nowhere does it give his name or gender. I googled it too and apparently this 'not-knowing' is part of the charm of his blog, though an article by Christine Preisig says that the GA is male.
My gut feeling is that the GA is male, but it doesn't really matter.
Cheers,
Kristine