In the bleak mid winter.

It is so long since I last wrote my blog. I tried and tried when I was away in Germany last week, but sister J`s Apple Mac just would not let me in. I have been flying about and driving long distances up and down mororways in the most appalling weather for the past two weeks and I am very surprised that I am still alive. The plane from Stansted went at 7am so I had to leave in the middle of the night, and at 4am the place was packed, I had to sit on the stone cold floor and had great difficulty standing up again. Anyway I had a wonderful time, sister J and I never run out of things to talk about and when we were not talking I was reading, watching films, or eating delicious meals cooked by her. Then I went to Newcastle, through a blizzard and waited for my great grandchild to be born, but he has still not appeared and I have now driven home through another blizzard. Since then it has been a sea of wrapping paper (though this has now become newspaper which I have discovered looks quite nice) making mince pies, and writing lists.
I went to an amazing concert at The Sage in N`castle with Evelyn Glennie, the stone deaf percussionist playing some totally incomprehensible music by James Mcmillan, but her energy and personality just moved me to tears.
I am off to Brighton tomorrow for Christmas, another risky journey I expect, but I can`t wait.

marching along

I have just done a new small book of poems to give to friends and family for Christmas, and now I am worried that people may think it is a slightly mad thing to do. it is just that I have all these bits of paper in folders and on my computer and I feel I want to communicate something. The poems are mostly about old age and life in the Meeting House.
I continually make lists of all the things I must do before Christmas and the cards I must send, but do not actually do any of these things. I meant to do a lot last night, but there was a whole evening of Alan Bennett plays and monologues on TV which were so good. How I love that man, he is so honest and funny.
Yesterday it was The Wave, a demo in London about the Climate Change conference in Copenhagen next week. We had a rally here at the Meeting House, about 130 people, and we marched through the streets of Winchester with blue balloons and scarves, banners,and there was a splendid band. Most went on to London, but my demo days are sadly over with my arthritic feet to contend with, but it was a heartening occasion.