Right, beginning to blob, now! Not good. Sitting around writing for much of the day is not condusive to non-blobbing. I do go to the beach every evening and power-walk along the sand – my version – but I am distracted by the view and my thoughts. Last night, however, for the first time, the atmosphere was very different as though the sea and its surrounds were angry. Strange but there was a coldness in the air and the colour palette reflected it. The sand was a dark grey and the sky, too, hues of the same. I found myself alone excepting my golfer man – the one I ‘stalked’ – at one end and one dot of a person, miles away, at the other. I love it when there is nobody else there but somehow, on this occasion, I felt an urgency to walk and return to the car. I suppose one becomes very in-tune with a certain place if one visits, daily, and I have noticed that I am very susceptible to Nature’s mood, reflected vibrantly in the sea and sky, on my beloved West Sands.
Still sunny, although deceptively cold, the weather has been positively glorious throughout our enforced imprisonment but, as one walks, a little way, in the shoes of a caged animal – hopefully, opening one’s eyes to the misery of zoos – one fast begins to resemble one which, were it not mythical, would definitely have been claimed as an exhibit: the Yeti! I’ll admit, I was very casual about the prospect of an existence without hairdressers for a few weeks – at first – but, as time passes and the sun continues to shine, I must don a hat for my own sanity! As my mop continues to grow and I am re-acquainted with my, erstwhile, natural colour (enhanced by grey!), I am reminded just how important the state of one’s hair is to one’s overall mood or frame of mind. Note to self: add hairdresser to list of must-have friends along with doctor, vet, lawyer, accountant, mechanic, IT expert, general handyman and Simon Cowell! Well, not actually Simon Cowell but just a lovely friend who happens to own a lovely holiday home in a lovely location which he insists his lovely friends frequent! Now, why have I not got one of those?! Do have a hairdresser, though, and, I can assure you, I will be her first appointment on re-opening – and never take her for granted again. There is a distinct possibility, however, that she may not recognise me by then!
Now, what of the burning question – did I write any more of my future bestseller over the weekend? Affirmative. I seem to do it in spurts of 500 words, which is not great, but I have written well over 2000, now, and my enthusiasm for it increases daily. A cathartic process, it was Stephen Moss – naturalist, writer and broadcaster – who alerted me to a Wordsworth quote (albeit about poetry) which expresses it perfectly: ‘emotion recollected in tranquility’. Writing is just that, particularly when it is autobiographical. Stephen Moss was a guest of Chris Packham on his daily Live broadcast on Facebook, last Friday, and what a lovely man! He spoke of writing not as a job but as a vocation; something which comes from within; something one has to do. He spoke of the importance of choosing a subject about which one knows and cares as that will, automatically, come across to the reader. In the end, though, whilst one is supposedly writing for the reader, one is really writing for oneself! There we have it. The reason for my ramblings!
On the subject of readers, Google Analytics tells me that, of late, my demographics have included Sweden, France, Canada, China, United Arab Emirates, the US and Australia. Speechless! Not a clue but not complaining – and, actually, quite exciting. I can identify those in some countries – Benni in Sweden, Eleanor and Yvonne (and, perhaps, Campbell) in Australia, Harry and Meghan in Canada … Silly me! They’ve moved to the celeb hub of LA. Oh, well, swallowed up by my US readership, now, along with my old friend, Janet.
Harry and Meghan. Just when you thought they had departed these shores, they are in the news again, today, with their statement declaring they will no longer co-operate with the British tabloids. Quite frankly, at this point, do we care? Was it necessary to release such a statement? Couldn’t they just not co-operate? Apropos, the Sussex pair, I made a note, at the weekend, to mention their volunteering to deliver food to the vulnerable and needy courtesy of Project Angel Food, a charity supported by Meghan’s mother, Doria. A very worthy thing to do but it, somehow, doesn’t sit so well when one reads how one appreciative recipient guessed there was something afoot when he spotted two blacked-out Porsche SUVs on the street! The latest report states that, the following day, they downgraded to a Cadillac X5. Forgive me but I am struggling here. I love Harry but I do question where he finds himself now. Celebrity over duty? It does seem that way. The quiet life? More like into the lions’ den! Smacks of the paper socialist scenario to me. They want to live a ‘normal’ life? Here’s a suggestion: ditch the blacked-out cars, the expensive Cadillac, if only when volunteering to help the needy.
What else of note over the weekend? Did anyone turn on One World: Together at Home, last night? On BBC 1, it was supposedly organised by the Global Citizen movement and the World Health Organisation to unite the world and celebrate workers on the frontline of COVID-19. Various artists performing from their homes, it was fronted, here, by three presenters in the studio. Now, while the furore continues regarding the fact that there was more than one presenter in a studio in these times of social-distancing, I would prefer to mention said studio! Am I right in that this event was supposed to be uplifting? Why then were Claudia and Dermot dressed in black, from head to toe, sitting on hideous yellow and orange chairs in front of several stacks of blue filing cabinets interspersed with pumpkins? Just me?! In the spirit of Trace Adkins – famous American country singer who won the US version of The Apprentice in 2013 – after he’d spent time with the Backstreet Boys, that is two hours of my life I shall never get back!
I need to mention Ecover laundry liquid and its effect on my life but I’ll save that for tomorrow. Meantime, a quote from the late Honor Blackman, the inimitable Bond girl, who passed away earlier this month aged 94.
‘Most of the Bond girls have been bimbos. I’ve never been a bimbo. Pussy Galore was a feminist role.’
That has to make you smile!
This is Trish, signing off.
