Tuesday 11 April 2017

girls in the bluebells! Gardening, Poems published, second edition

 Hello dear friends!

What a great weekend. Crissie, Liam and the girls came out, and we spent it in a frenzy of gardening. I'd spent most of Thursday and Friday planting...anomones, phlox, veronica gentianoides, asters, agapanthus (blue and white), acanthus spinosa....the list goes on and on.  Crissie's designed a border in front of the house, and it looks beautiful.  As does she. (Sorry--can't help it.  My daughter really is uncommonly gorgeous).  Here's a shot of her in gardening mode:






And here are the girls looking out at the future vineyard.


Liam is the Veg Supremo.  Here he is tying up his broad beans.  His new specs look great!

And here are some more with Crissie and the girls.










On Sunday we went to the pub for lunch.  Here I am with Mariana.  That child has a smile that lights up the skies.



I'd brought both girls aprons from Italy, with their names embroidered on the front, Isabella's in pink, Mariana's in orange (their respective favourite colours).  Underneath, it says 'Aiuto Nonna.'  (Granny's helper, roughly translated).    I am such a soppy old thing.  On Sunday afternoon, while Mariana had her nap, Isabella and I made snickerdoodles, which are a kind of American cookie.  She loves baking, and particularly enjoys licking the beaters.



So it was great.  And then there was some lovely poetry news:  first, I had five poems featured in the Sweet Spot, on  Fat Damsel, edited by the wonderful Jane Burn.  It's one of the most exciting new magazines around.  Here's a link.


And then I heard from Kate Garrett-Nield that my pamphlet Constellations is now going into its second edition!  Kate is the fantastic editor of Three Drops Press, and this was great news indeed.  It's yours for a fiver!  Here's a link:


So all in all it was such a very wonderful weekend.  I finished it off, after the kids left, and again yesterday, by planting lettuces and listening to Tchaikovsky.

God how lucky I am, and how blessed.  I am so incredibly grateful, in this jagged burning world, for all this warmth and beauty.

Have a great week, dear friends!

love, Susan x

Saturday 25 March 2017

Marching!


Good evening dear friends!

I've just returned from the March for Europe, and wanted to blog while the impressions were fresh in my mind.  This morning I rose early, donned my EU pussy hat, and set out for the railway station.  On arriving there, when I went to buy my ticket, I realised to my horror that my debit card was missing.  I'd gone to the Post Office in a nearby village to get money out, so almost certainly left it there.  I rang them from the station platform, but was told that any cards handed in were in the safe, and that they'd be closing at 12:30.  This, since I'm off for Sicily tomorrow, was NOT good news.  I wavered for a moment, but then concluded that I absolutely was not going to miss the march, so rang the bank and cancelled my card.  Fortunately I do have another, so all is not lost!

It was an absolutely beautiful sunny spring day,  I went to Waterstone's in Trafalgar Square for a coffee, and waited for a friend there.


 I won't name her here, because her current employers don't encourage a social media presence.  All I'll say is that she was one of my PhD students, and is an incredibly impressive young woman...I was reflecting this morning on how incredibly lucky I am: in my professional life, I have come into contact with the most brilliant young people.  Several  have gone on to stellar academic careers; one works for a major media company;  another is doing interesting work on the European continent; another, after a stint of lecturing, is now a full-time mother.  I am equally proud of them all.  So it was an absolute delight to see my friend and catch up.

One thing I loved was that most of the signs were homemade.  These weren't slick professional protesters, just ordinary people who felt it was important to be there.  Since we were very very early, the Square had only begun to fill up.


But more and more people began pouring in to the Square, and we marched down Whitehall toward the Houses of Parliament.  There was an underlying melancholy, given the events of day before yesterday, when a good brave man was stabbed to death yards from where we were standing, and where not far away pedestrians were mowed down by a fanatic.  Some American media outlets have characterised London as cowering in fear.  This is complete and utter rubbish, and is absolutely untrue.  Whoever believes that sort of nonsense doesn't know London:  it is the most resilient and brave and undaunted of cities, and it will take a lot more than what happened recently to make us afraid.  There were people of all ages, elderly, middle-aged, young people, teenagers, children, babies, and it was all incredibly positive and benign.


 Here are some shots of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament:

I loved the signs these children were carrying, particularly the one that says 'My Cat is EU'.  Good kids! Someone is definitely bringing them up right.


My favourite sign.


 Here's the statue of Winston Churchill, on which someone had put an EU flag.  Churchill was a staunch European, and must be spinning in his grave.





The mood was really quite extraordinary.  Londoners normally don't talk to strangers on the street, or on the Tube, but today was different: everyone was smiling, even chatty.  One very loquacious photographer took my picture, and I looked him in the eye and told him that if he posted a picture of me with three chins, he would be KILLED.  (The camera is not my friend).  I'd hoped to meet up with yet another friend, C.,  a lovely woman I met in St. Lucia when I went there after my husband died and who's become a close friend, but given the crowds it just wasn't possible.  Eventually my former supervisee and I absconded to a nearby watering hole, and it was lovely to catch up over a drink.  Quality time indeed, with a wonderful friend.

So: next week Article 50 will be invoked, setting off the train of events that will remove Britain from Europe.  At this moment, it feels to me as though we are about to step into a very dark abyss.  I hope with all my heart that I am wrong, that Britain will prosper outside the EU, but on that score I have the gravest doubts.  Today was about an ending, and endings are always sad.  But when I looked around, and saw all the wonderfully diverse crowd and felt the positivity and tolerance and refusal to give in to fear, it was such a healing experience, and it gave me heart.  There are so many good people here, and there is so much to love about this country.

I'm aware, of course, that the March won't make a blind bit of difference.  My children and I, and my granddaughters, are here as EU citizens, though what will happen regarding our residential status, who is to know.  One thing for sure: it was very important for me to be in London today and to take part.  One day, if my granddaughters ask me what I did to avert this disaster, I will be able to say that I stood up for what I thought was right, and that to me means more than just about anything.

Now I must go pack for Sicily!  and collapse in a heap.  Take care, dear friends.  I may be able to post sporadically while I'm away, but will plan to blog at greater length when I get back a week from tomorrow.

love, wearily, Susan x