Reliving the Past

Day 234 - 7:58am, 23 August 2019

I used lunchtime as an excuse to wander around the West End craft fair. I leave it without purchasing anything, but with my spirit lifted nonetheless. My favourite stall is that of the textile artist Jennie Loudon. Her pointed-face dolls remind me of the drawings in a book of Scottish fairy-tales from my childhood. One day when I am feeling more flush, I will commission her to make a doll for me and it will sit on my desk and inspire me to reconnect with the myths and stories of my childhood, which first introduced me to the wonders of storytelling. 

In Charge

Day 233 - 5:12pm, 22 August 2019

I have been going to the gym, or at least some of the exercise classes at the leisure centre, for two or three years now. Over time, you get to know the faces of the regulars and exchange pleasantries with them. Someone asked me tonight what year class I was teaching this year - there are a number of teachers that attend that class, but I am not one of them. This amused me. Do I give out a teacher vibe? If indeed there is such a thing? Turns out, one day she'd seen me on a school trip and assumed that I was a teacher, rather than a parent helper. I must just have been giving out authoritarian vibes that day, if only my own children would also see this in me.

The Back to School Curse

Day 232 - 5:22pm, 21 August 2019

I love how when the school calls you, the conversation generally starts with a "Don't worry!" And so it was today. My aunt and I had just set off in search of our Wednesday coffee when I get a phone call to say Little Miss has nits and is very upset by this, so do I want to speak to her as she is there in the office? I resist the urge to say, "No!!!" - but needless to say not the knee-jerk reaction to scratch my own head - and dutifully tell her we will deal with the critters later, so to go back to class, keep her hair in a ponytail in the meantime and all will be well. 

Oh well, I might have known we wouldn't navigate the back to school without having little visitors to greet us. Pass the greasy liquid, it's going to be a long night of fevered combing!

Sparking the Imagination

Day 230 - 6:33pm, 19 August 2019

My new favourite past-time is writing creative prompts on lollipop sticks. I'm setting up a workshop for work and so decided to create some d-i-y prompt sticks for the brainstorming sessions. 

Having previously used Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies box of cards at a training session, I thought it might be a fun idea to create my own. The idea behind them is that when you get stuck in a rut and can't come up with a fresh solution, the randomness of the aphorism on the card gives a new angle to help generate new ideas. 

My prompt making has got a little out of hand, however! Given that there were only eight of us going to be there, there is little chance of us needing more than 100 sticks (and that was pushing it!), but I stopped around 300. Everywhere I went today, random phrases have leapt out at me. I love finding the tiny details that others miss and connecting them in odd ways. So many thoughts, so many poems waiting to be written, all from tiny sparks.

A River Roars By

Day 229 - 18 August 2019

My lazy weekend continues, only interrupted by a failed trip to the Water of Leith to take my photo - as I take my iPhone out of my coat pocket, I discover it is out of juice! And, as it is after tea, I feel this excuses me from making a second attempt. So, for today I'm afraid, you will have to settle for a photo taken earlier this month and imagine the river at its height, with me gliding peacefully along beside it.

Read Through

Day 228 - 10:37am, 17 August 2019

Summer holidays are well and truly over as all the kids' clubs start up again. But, in the house, we are otherwise doing our best to do as little as possible. It gives me the opportunity to read Nine Pints straight through. It's been ages since I've found the time to do this and I realise how much I've missed having the space to take things slowly, to idle lazily on the battered leather-sofa and be transported further than I have ever physically travelled. From now on, self care suggests I should be making time for a read-a-book-in-one weekend at least once each month. It'll never happen, but it's a nice thought to hang on to.

Blood Red

Day 227 - 5:27pm, 16 August 2019

Rose George was at the Edinburgh Book Festival today discussing and reading from her latest book, Nine Pints. As is often the case with these sort of things, there was time left at the end for the audience to ask questions. It's funny the things people want to focus on during these times - especially when you have all the questions in the world open to you, and a huge topic like blood that you can take in so many directions, what insightful, searching question do you ask? (And always, with double the number of words that it should require.) Of course, you query whether the author  is wearing red trousers because they are talking about blood? Part of me wonders if this was asked because she was a woman. As she pointed out, the male host was also wearing red too, just darker. Something that the audience member had completely failed to observe. 

The Best Medicine

Day 226 - 5:15pm, 15 August 2019

I saw the comedian Harriet Dyer perform today. She was exploring mental health issues through her stand up comedy. She reminded me of Robin Williams, with her exuberance, and her ability to scrunch and rescrunch her face in service of her comedy. I could not help wondering if retelling her less-than-happy experiences over and over sets her free or means she never really moves on from them?  I am sure in giving voice to mental health issues she will help others to speak and to laugh too, maybe that is enough to give her meaning. And, after all, is that not what we are all looking for.