Tired again

I made a mistake last night and decided to watch the Presidential debate. It started at 2am and I went to bed at 4.30am totally dejected by the whole thing.

What they talked about has no doubt been reported across the world. But as a person interested in politics it was in turn worrying and unbelievable! It was like two boys squabbling, one a big bully and the other a child with illnesses that made him weak. I’d hate to be their parents. Two moderators tried to keep control, but never chastised the bully or called out the constant lies. In fact I’d call one of the speakers a spoilt brat!

Why run politics this way? Too much power and pressure in the hands of one man. There must be other ways to do it. I know of one country that chooses a random citizen once a year in a type of raffle? You have to be a decent, healthy person, but then your job is to work hard for your country. There must be some guidelines but no one gets absolute power. Is that a good idea?

Stuck

Not My house.

Six months after he died and I’m still stuck. It’s hard to move things, clear them away. I feel like I’m walking through treacle. I’ve got too much stuff, mine and his. I’m still holding tight to things.

Can I donate to charity? Or sell things? Or bin things? But I’m still attached. I can’t do anything but look at things, I rarely move any of it. My mind is fused into a lump of static thoughts, unable to move on.

Maybe I’m overdramaticising the situation? I don’t know, but I think it might take years to get sorted out. I’ve done a lot of the legal stuff and paperwork, but forty years of belongings, especially when you have been with someone for so long, are hard to organise.

Esther’s prompt Home

Esther Chiltons weekly prompt was Home.

I’ve posted this to her blog page:

Home
I hear the accent of a fellow midlander and I’m home again. There’s a twang, a sound that I recognise. I tentatively ask them if they will say where they are from. Usually I get a friendly response. Then we discuss where we come from. Either the same town or close by. Memories of town centres, historic areas, parks and zoos. So many things have changed. But hearing a friendly voice takes me back over 40 years to when I left. I can’t go back, my family has all left, homes sold. Only a couple of relatives and friends left and I can’t drive far so it’s out of the question to go. But I’d like to drive down on a nostalgic trip. Some negotiation with friends required as I couldn’t get on a train on my own I don’t think. Anxiety is not a good friend.

Hot

The weather is set to be hot for the next few days, 30°C or 86°F. And the temperature will stay hot at night.

To some countries that is not bad, but here in the UK it’s unusual. We generally have humid weather, so it feels hotter than a dry atmosphere would..

We have a yellow warning covering most of England to say that elderly people or those with lots of co-morbidities should be careful. The weather is due to break down mid week and we can expect thunderstorms.

Internet back on!

Internet fixed so thought I’d post a picture of the back yard. Thanks to my sister for collecting the baskets and hanging them for me. I have filled a few pots for the wall but the understory on the ground is overgrown with perennial geraniums and Welsh poppies. I’m trying to build up a bit of colour. I have a mad variegated hosta and some lilies that hubby planted last year. Memory is a funny thing.

Wales and Scotland

What countries do you want to visit?

Not tropical,

I would like to visit Wales again one day. Particularly around Tenby. It’s a beautiful and interesting place. There is a lot of history and beautiful scenery, plus what’s better than an amazing dragon on your flag?

Scotland is my other choice, mountainous and mysterious, with a possible monster in Loch Ness! I have never been, I went to Carlisle once which is on the border. It’s always felt too far away.

I won’t fly, so unless I travel by boat or train I’m never going to go much further. I think my carbon footprint is quite small and I’d like to keep it that way! Plus I don’t really do heat, and when I hear of places already getting up to 40°C or more this year it worries me. I don’t think I could cope with it. I’ve always felt I can watch TV I’d I want to see a place. I can’t afford the reality. And there’s still plenty of England to explore too!

Mystery Plays

Eight years ago my friend Kate who was the main maker and creative director of Penkhull mystery plays, was in the process of painting this ‘ head of Trent’ for our Mystery Play about the river Trent. This just came up on my Facebook memories.

I’m really hoping the twentieth anniversary production happens next year. We did all sorts of mystery plays, one about Sampson and Delilah, about James Brindley who designed and built the Trent and Mersey canal, and this one about the river Trent from its source to where it runs into the North Sea at Hull, that was fun, we had a spirit of the river character, cricketers at Nottingham, Vikings invading, and I painted a large lighthouse for the final scene. I hope we get to do something again and that I can still paint without too much shaking.