new year reflections: december 2021…

I’ve been scribbling New Year reflections on my blog for a number of years now (as always – just a reminder for ME… because I forget stuff so easily!). This now all seems a little tedious and repetitive, so I’ll keep it much shorter than usual! Given the continuing fall-out from the pandemic, this year has been another year of huge uncertainty… and, for some, pain and devastation. In my reflections of a year ago, I referred to “more than 70,000 deaths and some 2.3million cases of Covid-19”; in the past 12 months (and despite the vaccines), these figures have more than doubled.
This year’s reflections are somewhat curtailed compared with previous years…
WONDERFUL BOOKS:
The Storysmith Book Group (run by our lovely local bookshop) has continued to be brilliant - interesting books, lovely people and good fun too (albeit that we had to ‘meet’ via zoom in the early part of the year)… and I’ve also been part of the ‘Blokes Books’ bookgroup involving some great mates – but it seems to take ages to read each book/organise a meet-up! Here are 15 of my favourites (in no particular order): 
Still Life (Sarah Winman), Hamnet (Maggie O’Farrell), English Pastoral (James Rebanks), The Shepherd’s Life (James Rebanks), The Manningtree Witches (AK Blakemore), We’ll Always Have Paris (Emma Beddington), Shuggie Bain (Douglas Stewart), Many Different Kinds Of Love (Michael Rosen), Tales From Lindford (Catherine Fox), Broken Greek (Pete Paphides), Wintering (Katherine May), Homesick (Catrina Davies), Motherwell (Deborah Orr), The Man Who Died Twice (Richard Osman) and And Away (Bob Mortimer).
 
GREAT FILMS:
I’ve continued to watch lots of films via BBC iPlayer (and also, more recently, via Netflix) but, in the circumstances, it seems pointless to list my favourites. I’ve only been to the ‘actual’ cinema twice this year (the beginning of October was the first time since March 2020!)… the two films I saw were ‘Anthropcene: the Human Epoch’ and the wonderful Wes Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch’.
 
LOVELY LIVE PERFORMANCES/EXHIBITIONS:
It’s been SO sad not to have been able to go to the theatre, concerts and see exhibitions this year. We’ve really missed it. Here are the few that we did get to experience (hardly any!):
THEATRE:
Nil.
CONCERTS:
Karine Polwart (St George’s)(wonderful).
Three Cane Whale (St George’s).
EXHIBITIONS:
Moonlit (Ruth Broadway)(Devon Guild, Bovey Tracey)(brilliant exhibition!!)
Netsuke: Miniature Masterpieces from Japan (Bristol Museum+Art Gallery)
Grayson’s Art Club (Bristol Museum+Art Gallery).
SPORTING MOMENTS:
I haven’t watched ANY first-class sport in the past year. I didn’t renew my season ticket for the Bristol Bears (rugby) due to my reluctance to gather in large crowds. Sadly, I also didn’t get to watch a single first-class cricket game (that’s two years running!)… I went to Bedminster Cricket Club perhaps three or four times (on their beautiful, scenic ground overlooking the suspension bridge), but that was all. Despite my initial reservations, I DID end up watching the cricket ‘Hundred’ competition whenever it was on terrestrial telly – and ended up enjoying it.
  
ART STUFF:
Despite Covid, it’s been another enjoyable, busy year, including:
1. I’ve still very much enjoyed continuing to post a drawing or photograph every day as part of my “One Day Like This” blog (just over 3,400 consecutive days – that’s some 1,700 drawings and 1,700 photographs - since I started in September 2012, more than 9 years ago). Circumstances have limited the number of times I’ve been able to draw ‘on location’, but ‘being adaptable’ has seemed to be the key requirement this year and it’s been fine.
2. The brilliant Drawing Group I joined in 2017 – organised by the lovely, talented artists Charlotte and Alice Pain – has been probably come to an end. Hopefully, we might organise the occasional get-together over the coming months.
3. Sadly, there was no ‘live’ South Bristol Arts Trail again this year (we’d previously participated for 15 consecutive years). Following our house move (and no studio space etc), I’m pretty sure we’ve now done our share of arts trails.
4. Urban Sketchers, Bristol: I’ve continued to really enjoy this wonderful group (which I joined in March 2018)… it’s a worldwide organisation and, here in Bristol, in ‘normal times’, we’d meet up every month and regularly get more than 20 people coming along. This year has again proved difficult(!), but we’ve adapted wonderfully well (again, thanks to technology)… and have continued to ‘meet’ together in various locations around the world via Google/Streetview. Happily, over some of the summer and autumn months, we’ve also been able to meet up ‘on location’ – and it’s been great to be able to meet up with lovely friends again. It’s a real highlight and joy.
5. Blurb book (‘The Winter’s Tale’): I put together another self-published book of photographs (plus a few sketches) – this time covering the second six months of the pandemic (September 20-March 21).
 
HOLIDAYS/LEISURE: 
No proper holidays at all this year (for the second year running) – although we did have two days in Lytham in late October… which, very happily, we were able to combine with a visit to Alice+Dave+co (the first time we’d actually seen the grandchildren for two years!).

SPIRITUAL LIFE: 
We continue to be part of the Community of Saint Stephens in the heart of the city, but I have to admit that, rather like the previous 12 months, I’ve struggled faith-wise over the past year (not helped that our brilliant leader, Lee Barnes, moved on to pastures new in September). We’ve been alternating services with our sister church community at Holy Trinity Hotwells. Church services have continued to be affected by Covid restrictions and, sadly, I’ve missed the intimacy and informality that I felt we used to have (certainly at Saint Stephen’s). Six or so of us ‘meet up’ most Wednesday mornings at 7.30am at the Society Café on the harbourside (or via zoom) for “Bloke’s Prayer”… and it’s something which has proved to be hugely rewarding. Regular Tuesday night ‘Resonate’ meetings have also proved interesting (although, again, reduced in regularity due to Covid).
 
HEALTH:
My health has been pretty good this year… apart from the normal ageing process. My teeth continue to fall out; my back feels ‘delicate’ most mornings when I first wake (but settles down); my hearing is deteriorating (I have hearing aids, but don’t use them!); I take tablets for my atrial fibrillation plus blood thinners and statins; I take eye drops to deter my glaucoma; and I’m pretty sure that my left hip will need replacing over the next few years!!
OTHER STUFF:
We continue to be a no-car household… and use a local car club very occasionally (but only once this year, I think!). We've continued to be rather Bristol-bound - and have only used buses and trains very occasionally.

I love reflecting back on the things that have happened over the previous twelve months and, each year, it’s a reminder that there WILL be some very special things that they will happen in the coming year (setting aside pandemics!) – even though, at this moment, I don’t know what the coming year will bring. Clearly, I’m also aware that there will inevitably be some sad stuff too… and perhaps challenges we feel ill-equipped to face. In such times, families and friendships will, once again, see us through.  

For us as a family, it’s been another good year… and we continue to count our blessings.
I wish you (and all yours) a very happy, healthy and peaceful 2022… and perhaps a return to some kind of normality would be a huge bonus!
Photo: Moira and me on the balcony just after our ‘move’.

2021 (moving) reflections…

Despite the continuing pandemic issues, it’s been a pretty special year for us, so I thought I’d scribble some reflections (for posterity, you understand!). We moved house to a two-bed apartment in the heart of Bristol (the Central Library and Cathedral are our new neighbours). As you might imagine - after living in a three-storey house in Southville for the past 18 years – the adjustment has been quite significant.

It was Moira who was keen for us to make the move… she felt that we needed to have a home that was relatively straightforward to maintain in our dotage (not something that could be said of our 175 year-old Southville house!). We’d talked about a possible move for some time but, frankly, I wasn’t that keen and would have been very happy (or perhaps simply too lazy or stubborn?) to have remained at Mount Pleasant Terrace (MPT) for the rest of our lives. But we were also conscious of the cost implications of maintaining an old house and so that, in the end, was the driving force for our move (despite my own reservations).Inevitably (thank goodness!), it was also Moira who did all the homework (what might be available; size; location; costs etc). I rather opted out of the process – almost on the basis that if I didn’t think about it, we’d stay in our old house!In the event, after perhaps 2 or 3 months of ‘trawling’ by Moira, we began the ‘serious’ process of seeing what was available in April. 

We put our house on the market at the end of April and were very fortunate to have the sale agreed within a matter of a few days. Somewhat ridiculously, you might think, we ourselves only actually viewed one other property before seeing the property that ended up becoming our home. That was at the beginning of May and, again, things went ahead without a hitch and our offer was quickly accepted (and so we were in the fortunate position of having no chain in either selling or purchase!). We ended up ‘moving in’ on 24 August.
Everything has gone remarkable well (so far!) and, even though there were no serious glitches in the whole process (and neither of us had jobs to maintain or childcare to manage!), we did find it all pretty stressful. It certainly made us appreciate the fact that we’d moved at the ‘right’ time… the thought of us moving in, say, 10 years’ time made us realise that, by then, we’d have become incredibly dependent on our children to help us move. The business of ‘downsizing’ has obviously been quite tough at times (especially given all the stuff we used to store in the basement at MPT and ALL of our books – well over 2,000 of them)(we gave away some 600 others to charity), but we seem to have managed the changes remarkably well. Much of our old furniture has been sold or given away and we’ve managed to purchase more practical replacements. Thanks, in part, to the wonderful help from son-in-law Dave, we now have shelves, worktops and storage units in place (I did produce some shelves myself, but not in the same class!). Thanks to Mary+Amy (Painting in Plaits), we’ve redecorated the living/dining area. We’ve installed a new carpet, changed light fittings. In short, within four months of moving, we’ve basically managed to ‘sort out’ the apartment to our satisfaction… and, as an added bonus, we didn’t put the heating on until the start of December!!

So, coming towards the end of the year, we look back and feel very ‘good’ about our move. We love the apartment’s location – within a stone’s throw of College Green – with easy access to a multitude of bus routes (including to Ru+Stu’s and Han+Fee’s, as necessary), train station, theatre, cinema, concert halls, galleries, harbour, church and the like. I particularly love the fact that the Watershed cinema – somewhere I would frequent on almost a weekly basis pre-Covid - is now only a 5-minute walk away… so I’m hoping to get back into cinema-going again in 2022 (albeit still cautiously). We’ve also been pleasantly surprised that supermarket (and other) deliveries have been very straightforward and efficient. There are some downsides, of course. The main one is the lack of small, independent stores nearby… we have the fortnightly farmers’ market at St Nick’s (and, of course, Hugo’s fruit+veg and Storysmith bookshop is still only a 30 minute walk away). I love walking through College Green in the early morning (especially with the sunlit breaking through the trees)… and having Brandon Hill on our doorstep (literally) is a huge bonus.

Obviously, moving away from MPT has also meant that we no longer have the studio in the basement… and, of course (and very sadly), Ru has had to find herself alternative studio space. We hugely miss having Ru with us on a regular basis for morning coffees and snack lunches. In the same way, we miss having Iris+Rosa round for supper a couple of times a week after school. Obviously, our apartment is no longer on the school route, so things would have changed anyway but, after 18 months of ‘lockdown’, they’re both 20 months older and far more independent are into very different routines these days.

Our apartment is two floors up from the street frontage (four floors up on the south side)(and with a decent lift!). We love our south-facing balcony – which runs the full width of our living/dining area and allows in plenty of sunlight. Living on an upper floor level, we’ve also discovered the added bonus (given the fully-glazed ‘wall’ between our living/dining area and balcony) of being even more aware of the sky… and, strangely, of the birdlife. Perhaps because I’m more aware of observing early mornings from our balcony, I haven’t been on as many ‘dawn walks’ as I used to… but I’m also aware that the Broken Dock/Millennium Promenade might have become my ‘Marina substitute place’ (although it’s more impressive at dusk than dawn).

Some people will no doubt see our move as something of a concluding chapter as we enter our ‘declining years’(!)… but, perhaps somewhat strangely, we see it simply as the next chapter in our ‘life adventure’ together. We don’t quite know what the future will bring, but it feels like an exciting time - with fresh challenges and new things to discovery and enjoy. 
We feel very fortunate people. X
Photo: balcony skies. 

december 2021 books…

The Migrant (Paul Alkazraji): This is our next Bloke’s Books book. The novel is set in the Balkan Peninsula at a time when Greece was struggling with the aftermath of its debt crisis and austerity and in a world featuring “fascist populists, callous sex-traffickers and violent anti-austerity riots” - in which an English pastor, based in Albania, sets out to “rescue” a “vulnerable 19-year old from the Athenian underworld”. I’m afraid I really didn’t like this book at all. I thought it was poorly written and I frequently found the writing style laughably appalling. I thought the plot was flawed (or, at the very least, made me question why so many people were unreasonably put in danger in order to ‘justify’ the plot); I found it exasperating when characters paused and prayed at various stages (I should have realised that “Instant Apostle” is a pioneering publishing house “seeking to bring new and existing authors to the market” and that they publish books “written from a Christian perspective”)(much too ‘evangelical for my liking!). I thought it was poorly edited (if at all) and it seemed that the writer was desperate to impress his readers that he’d put in his research – to the extent that descriptions were frequently far too detailed (and massively unnecessary). I was SO pleased when I finished the book.
The Honjin Murders (Seishi Yokomizo): First published in serial form in 1946, this murder mystery novel, set in a Japanese village in 1937, is the first Yokomizo book I’ve read. It features a young, somewhat scruffy-looking, amateur detective by the name of Kosuke Kindaichi (now regarded as Japan’s most famous fictional detectives) who arrives on the scene to solve a seemingly impossible crime. The book takes the form of the classic crimes novels of the 1920s-40s – with meticulous detail, blind turns, red herrings, dubious alibis and an ingenious (if rather ridiculously-complicated) plot. Enjoyable and entertaining nevertheless.
Carry On, Jeeves (PG Wodehouse): I succumbed to the prospect of (yet) another Jeeves+Wooster book… this one (first published in 1925) is a series of short(ish) stories and observations supposedly from the hand of Wooster (except for the final one – penned in the words of his gentleman’s gentleman). They’re all very predictable… about the hallowed world of the moneyed aristocracy and privilege (which, naturally, includes an Oxbridge education despite the apparent lack of intellect). It’s all painfully familiar – with Jeeves coming to the rescue whenever Wooster or his friends require an excuse to break an engagement (of the impending marriage kind); or salvaging honour from an ill-advised business venture; or avoiding the wrath of an ancient aunt (always aunts!) or whatever. It all makes for light, hilarious, entertaining reading (Wodehouse has an absolute gift for dialogue and descriptions) – a very welcome relief from today’s world of political sleaze and disease.
111 Places in Bristol (Martin Booth): This guidebook takes you off the beaten track and identifies 111 quirky, strange and beautiful places to visit in Bristol. I was probably familiar with (or at least aware of) perhaps 90 of those included. A rather lovely reminder of places I need to re-visit or re-discover in our lovely city.

Like last year, the number of books I read in 2021 was somewhat less than in recent years (64… compared with 74 and 94 in 2020 and 2019). Probably something to do with different routines and, of course, time being swallowed by our house move.

november-december 2021 books…

Mystery Mile (Margery Allingham): First published in 1930, this is my third Allingham novel (and third ‘Campion Mystery’). I have to admit that I’m not a great lover of the Albert Campion character… Google(!) describes him as: “affable, inoffensive and bland, with a deceptively blank and unintelligent expression”. This book tells the story of an American judge who has found evidence pointing to the identity of a criminal mastermind behind a sinister gang. After four attempts on his life, he seeks the help of Campion. Predictably, it was very much a crime novel of its time – with an intricate plot, middle-class leanings and, of course, came with its own “Map of Mystery Mile” (a Suffolk village joined to the mainland by a narrow road of ‘hard land’ and surrounded by impassable mud flats)! I thought it was fine, but nothing exceptional… a welcome break from the political frustrations and the continuing pandemic concerns.
The Manningtree Witches (AK Blakemore): This is our latest Storysmith bookgroup book (theme: ‘2021 paperback’). The book is a fictional account of the Essex witch trials of the 1640s – a time when puritanical fervour had gripped the nation and when places were depleted of men due to the Civil War. A self-appointed ‘Witch-finder General’ (and his assistant) was active across East Anglia and the Home Counties during this time and was estimated to ‘have had a hand’ in the execution (for witchcraft) of some 100-300 women (and some men). In the past, I’ve frequently expressed a dislike for ‘fictionalised history’ (with all its invented conversations)… but I’ve since been won over by the likes of Hilary Mantel and Maggie O’Farrell! Well, I found this book absolutely compelling – wonderfully written (Blakemore is a prize-winner poet) and extensively researched. It’s a deeply-moving account of the appalling witch-hunts (based on trial accounts) and provides a powerful insight into the fears, lives and deaths of the many voiceless victims. A brilliant book.
Think Like A Mountain (Aldo Leopold): This is a series of beautiful, lyrical essays on America’s wildlands. They were all written before I was born (Leopold died in 1948) and provide a fascinating insight on wildlife ecology and sowed the seeds of contemporary environmental thinking. Leopold recognises and celebrates the interdependence between humanity and the natural world. He was clearly way ahead of his time and was hugely critical of what he saw as the insensitivity and greed of people who were out to change landscapes and habitat for short-term financial gains and long-term environmental catastrophe. A really impressive, thought-provoking and challenging set of essays.
The Man Who Died Twice (Richard Osman): Well, I have to admit that I feel a certain resentment when celebrities already earning a small fortune on television turn their hand to writing books and are quite brilliant at it! You’ve probably read Osman’s amazingly-successful first ‘Thursday Murder Club’ book. If you did, then you have another treat in store with this second one (and, if you didn’t, start dropping massive hints for it to be added to your Christmas stocking). It’s another crime novel set in an affluent retirement village where, every Thursday, four of the over-60s inmates/amateur sleuths gather to investigate stuff that the local police force have failed to solve. This time the plot involves a local teenage thug; a tough-nut female drug dealer who has a ‘soft spot’ (understatement) for the retirement village’s Polish handyman… there are stolen diamonds; high-level dealers and fixers; the mafia; and a somewhat disreputable ex-husband of one of club members. Quite brilliant - very easy, humorous reading, great plot – and with lovely, lovely characters. I didn’t want it to end.  
Essex Girls (Sarah Perry): The book is based on a 2018 Harriet Martineau lecture by Perry as part of the Norfolk+Norwich Festival; the book’s cover boldly states: “For Profane and Opinionated Women Everywhere”. Perry (who was born and raised in Chelmsford) mounts an exhilarating feminist defence of the Essex girl and re-examines her relationship with her much maligned home county. Perry’s publisher sums things up rather well: “In this brilliantly wide-ranging and fiercely feminist essay, she embraces her native county with both arms, celebrating the many Essex girls past and present who have refused to be quiet or know their place, and helping us to see why we should all allow our inner Essex girls out with pride”. A fascinating read – even for blokes! 

three cane whale at st george’s…

Last night, I went to the Three Cane Whale concert at St George’s, Bristol. I think this was something like the seventh time I’ve seen them perform (but who’s counting?). They’re an extraordinary, ridiculously-talented group of musicians (Alex Vann, Pete Judge and Paul Bradley) … last night, they played some 14 different musical instruments between them!
After missing out on their regular pre-Christmas concert at St George’s last year, due to the pandemic, it was lovely to have them ‘back’ last night. A lot of their music is associated with ‘place’; they’ve recorded a number of their pieces ‘on location’ – in barns and old chapels… but also on hillsides – which seemed to fit in perfectly with many people’s pandemic experiences and the need to reconnect with nature.
It proved to be a wonderful, mesmerising, uplifting evening in a perfect venue… joyous, intricate, poignant and magical music. 
An occasion to gladden the hearts and to remind us about some of the ‘good stuff’ out there in these difficult times of continuing uncertainty, political sleaze, selfishness, greed, climate crisis and the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots.
PS: The support ‘band’ was pretty amazing too! ‘Eleven Magpies’ – a perfect foil to the ‘main act’!
Photo: ‘Three Cane Whale’ plus ‘Eleven Magpies’ at last night’s concert.