Hydrangeas

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July, in West Cornwall, is the month of the hydrangea which grows in almost every back garden. For me it is a reminded of a time past, when St Just used to have an annual carnival and we would decorate the floats for whatever themes would be represented during that year. This was at a time when my son was in nursery school and I would help to decorate the float for their various presentations. We often used hydrangeas in combination with other decorations to arrange a colourful display.

Concert on St Michael's Mount

Image by zawtowers via Flickr

On Sunday one of the choirs I sing with had a concert on St Michael's Mount as part of their Day of Music. This is a day when local musicians of all kinds are invited to the Mount to give concerts all through the day and has been going for about 3 years. There are dancers, bands and choirs from all over West Penwith. Usually this is a really lovely day out in warm sunshine. Weather-wise, however, this year, our luck gave out and we had pouring rain for most of our performance. Fortunately we were in a marquee. It was just wet going to and from the Mount along the causeway. Despite the weather, though, everybody seemed to enjoy the concert.

Identity Protection

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I personally feel that there is something quite scary about the fact that some unscrupulous people can steal your identity and use your money and cards for their own benefit. When everything is so digital and computerised it doesn't take much for someone to be able to hack into your information and to pretend to be you or me. A week ago I took out identity theft protection and have now finished registering once the welcome pack arrived. I feel more confident even though this service is relatively expensive, knowing that it'll be easier to sort out any problems if some should occur because of identity theft. Perhaps it is a statement on our culture that the concept of identity should be so important now and theft possible.

Self-Assembly

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Do you remember those days when you could buy something finished without having to need to do any further assembly on it. I'm beginning to think that this is an experience of the past which is unlikely to be recreated in the future. We ended up having to assemble most of our furniture after we moved house and required additional and yesterday I found myself assembling the new vacuum cleaner I'd just bought. Sometimes you're lucky with the instruction sheet so it's clear as to what to do to which item but often there's information missing and then it's a case of trial and error to get the item constructed correctly and also very frustrating.

Summer Sunshine

The difference in people's attitudes is almost palpable, the relaxed attitude now as opposed to the tense, depressed expressions and body postures earlier in the week when it was cold and wet. There's a sense of relaxation, fun and freedom now, especially after the schools have broken up and optimism about it being a pleasant summer for everyone after all.

Depression

Image by Thai Jasmine via Flickr

Probably everyone experiences depression at some point during their life in response to some kind of life situation. Whilst it is being experienced it's something that is pretty terrible, taking the colour totally out of life. But today I read on a BBC News site that terrible as depression is when it is occurring there is a positive side to it which often allows the person involved to reassess their life and change the situation. The important point is to be able to recognise the cause of the depression and then to be able to work through it with help if required. Sometimes it's necessary to remove yourself from the situation while working through the problem. Doing this often allows the person experiencing the depression to emerge stronger, more empathic towards others and also often more creative afterwards.

Wind

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Sighing and soughing through the branches
Of the trees and round the house
Grey skies gathered overhead
A Cornish summer day.

Lafrowda Day

This is a special day in St Just which used to be when, years ago, the carnival happened. Now there is a two week music festival which culminates in Lafrowda Day where people from all over West Penwith come to celebrate, have fun and listen to the music. There are three processions at, variously, about 1100, 1530 and the night-time one at around 2200. This picture was taken at the 1530 procession today. Despite the grey clouds and threat of rain it was well attended with many stalls and lots of people.

Awaiting Inspiration (1)

Image by Thai Jasmine via Flickr

When the brain feels foggy and won't work;
What can I do?
Staring at the computer did not help
Nor the stunning view
But from my window, bright with sunlight.
I got a poem through!

Summer Rain

Image by matze_ott via Flickr

As I sit here typing this, I can hear the rain outside the window. It's hard to believe that not too long ago it was so hot in West Penwith that everyone was complaining and the gardens were in a great need of water. For the last two weeks it seems to have rained on alternate days. Still it keeps the pollen down but I don't imagine it's doing much for the harvest. I've seen a lot of tractors on the road recently hauling their loads and have wondered how they manage with all this rain going on.

Mobile Phones

Image by KhE 龙 via Flickr

When mobiles first arrived I couldn't understand the fascination with them. Who needs to be in touch that much anyway? And aren't they rather an intrustion into your private life? Now, many years on, I have a mobile myself and usually have it on my person. I probably connect more often, initially, with my son who's in Plymouth using my mobile than making calls using the land line. Text is so useful. You can send someone a message and they can decide when they want to contact you back - so it fills the gap between emails and landline calls. And my mobile can take pictures as well and there are a number of games on it. It also serves as a secondary address book. So my answer to my earlier question is now that I do need a mobile and, yes, it can be an intrusion but that's why there's a silent mode. And you can always choose who you want to communicate with.

Crystals

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I was drawn to crystals quite a few years ago and have, since then, become very fond of them. There is something so special in the colours and hues that they possess as well as the sparkle; and they are very good when used for healing. My favourite crystal is Amethyst as I love the purple colour and it is a very soothing stone. It has helped me get through some pretty dark times. Rose Quartz is also a very gentle stone that is very loving and soothing as well.

Hamster Wheel

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Round and round he goes, never stopping, seemingly happy in his present space running nowhere fast. It's a good form of exercise and perhaps it doesn't have to have a purpose beyond that; much like swimming in a pool with just the feeling of the movement and water, going back and forth, surprisingly fulfilling and meditative. Perhaps getting somewhere isn't everything after all.

Childhood Memories

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I'm currently reading Rosamunde Pilcher's 'Coming Home', which I'm thoroughly enjoying. Early on she mentions a game called 'Kick the Can'. I can remember playing this at my preparatory boarding school and thorougly enjoying it. It's a version of hide-and-seek where everyone hides except for one person who stands by a can. The aim is for the person beside the can to spot any of the people who are hiding and once she calls their name they have to come out as 'prisoners'. The object of the hidden people is to kick the can without being spotted and free all the prisoners. It was wonderful fun, especially if you have an environment where you can really hide. This game and roller skating are two of my favourite childhood memories.

Taking Things for Granted

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We do it all the time. Assume that the water and plumbing will work as well as the electricity in our houses and offices. Assuming that the car will start when you need to use it. And when things don't work we're usually somewhat dismayed by its inoperation. The reason that I'm writing about this is that we were without electricity yesterday because of maintenance work being conducted on the trees in the area. We were without electricity for 5 hours. OK, so we could plan for this and I did to a certain extent by making sure that enough hot water was available for coffee in the morning by preparing a thermos. (The idea of 5 hours, or more, without caffeine simply couldn't be contemplated!) Then I had to rearrange my whole morning schedule so that I was finished with everything electric by the time that the power went off. Then I went out for a swim elsewhere.

On the plus side of the equation however was the quiet; no fridge noises, for example. It was also a good excuse to relax as I couldn't do my keyboard practice as I didn't have any batteries and computer work was obviously out of the question.

I was still very grateful when the power came back on again and celebrated by watching some TV after my keyboard practice. Of course as an all-electric household, prolonged power cuts could be troublesome when it comes to cooking meals although we do have an emergency camping gas stove if all else fails. Doesn't do roasts though.

Art and Music

Image via Wikipedia

I read recently that whereas a canvas (or presumably paper depending on the medium) is the background on which artists work, musicians work against the background of silence. This made me think for a while. Stretching the analogy a little wider, I thought that a song with one voice or one instrument would be like a pencil drawing, and harmonies between instruments and/or voices would be the colours. Also whereas artists tend to use a static medium (unless they are into performance art) usually in the past, the performance of music uses the dimension of time on which to paint it's picture.

Butterflies

Image by Annies Pics via Flickr

Had to take the car down to the garage to have routine maintenance done on it and walked back home. It was a lovely morning although a bit humid and delicious to be outside in nature, to hear the birds sing and to see the butterflies all around as I walked along the footpath. I managed to identify a Large White and Small Tortoiseshell butterfly as well as a Large Wall Brown. Also think that I spotted a Scarlet Tiger Moth as well. It's so good to see so many butterflies around.

Thunderstorm

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I was woken early this morning by a loud thunderstorm. The lighting was quite piercing and the thunder loud. It reminded me a bit of the first time we went to Canada to visit relatives near Toronto. There the thunderstorm was quite awesome with different coloured fork lightning streaking the sky. That was also pretty loud and quite something to watch. Down here often the lightning is hidden by cloud but we can still have some spectacular thunder and lightning on occasions. Watching it from a cliff by the sea is certainly an experience!