Last year I wrote a post about how the Christmas season made sense to me when I thought of it as the old festival of Yule and all that entails. About nature, renewal and hope. Of course, I also wrote about my own hopes for the coming year, and the less said about that, the better! But I also wrote a post a couple of weeks ago – Winter 4 – the last in a series, discussing how I thought the Solstice might have been marked in prehistoric times. Although here in the UK we are now in yet another Lockdown, the solstice is tomorrow – marking the turning of the year – and I cannot help but see that as a reason for hope; the days begin to lengthen, the darkness slowly retreats, and whether you view that as merely symbolic, or connect that with longer, warmer, days and the pleasure they bring, as well as conditions less covid-friendly, yes, it is a reason for hope.
I finished reading H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald. I’ve been very poor at writing reviews this last year, and I must make a start again. This would be a great one to begin with; so much to write about it, and a definite five star recommendation. Superb.
I then read The Girl Who Forgets How To Walk, a poetry collection by Kate Davis, published by Penned in the Margins.
As the site describes it: ‘In this remarkable first collection, tarns, limekilns and abandoned pits become portals into a dark, interior world. A woman levitates above a building site; earth slips and fault-lines open up beneath the town; the sea hides ‘a gob of virus’. The moving title sequence tells the story of a young girl with polio who struggles to find her feet — and her voice — in an unforgiving landscape where ‘the ground cannot be trusted’.’ Again, thoroughly recommended and enjoyable. I finished it last night and am wavering between a couple of books, deciding what to read next. But, at the same time, I am working my way through a couple of excellent magazines:
An Antidote To Indifference is the perfect title for a magazine that showcases the best of the writing published on the Caught by the River website. It describes itself as: ‘an arts/nature/culture clash… It began as an idea, a vision and a daydream shared between friends one languid bankside spring afternoon. Conceived as an online meeting place for pursuits of a distinctly non-digital variety — walking, fishing, looking, thinking, birdsong and beer, adventure and poetry; life’s small pleasures, in all their many flavours — it was, and still is, about stepping out of daily routines to re-engage with nature. Finding new rhythms. Being.’ The website is updated daily and the magazine is published, on average, twice a year. I bought a couple of back issues as a bit of an experiment and, again, I highly recommend them to anyone who enjoys nature in any form.
My writing has taken a bit of a hit, though, this past week. I’ve felt utterly uninspired and fed up with the novel I’ve been editing, so I’ve tossed them aside for the moment and have been doing a little work on a short story – a folk horror / ghost story – and a little artwork. Amongst my daubings was this derivative painting which I intended to do for practice, but then thought would make a good birthday card for Sabina’s birthday last week. So that’s how it ended up.
I think your “daubing” is excellent! I love the tree silhouettes with what looks like a winter sun shining through. I hope the Solstice provides a flash of inspiration for your novel, but a good ghost story is always welcome too, for the long winter nights
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Thanks, Robert. Just going with the flow for now, I think.
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Yuletide Greetings Mick. May the holly on your tree never wither and die..Your painting is really nice, the tres distinctive and beautifully done. I think the card will be Cherished.
Hugs
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Many thanks, David, on both counts. And all the season’s best to you, too.
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I think your painting is absolutely beautiful, Mick! A man of many talents … I have absolutely zero artistic talent, but my granddaughter is quite the artist, so at least someone in the family has talent! 😉 Happy Holidays, my friend, and I’m with you on the solstice … longer days, warmer temps, more sunshine, and hopefully a significant reduction in the pandemic.
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Thanks Jill, and Happy Holidays to you, too. We have to hope 2021 will be an improvement on this year.
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Absolutely! Have to have hope, don’t we, else we give up. And I’m not giving up … not yet, anyway.
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Sometimes, we want a change especially when we are so engrossed in something. I’m sure inspiration will return soon.
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Definitely need a bit of a change, Arv. I feel I’ve got a bit stale, recently.
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I love your painting, it has a lot of atmosphere.
However you want to celebrate this time of year, I hope you have a good one. Let’s hope 2021 is better.
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Thanks, Val. Have a good one yourself.
2021 has to be better…doesn’t it?
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Sorry, Geoff, I’ve not really been here for a couple of weeks. Planning to stay off a while longer, too. But thanks for thinking of me; normally this would be right up my street.
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