Wednesday 27 January 2010

These past few days


Not much to inspire of late. Grey skies, flat light, a daylight that never seems to brighten beyond murky.

But there was visiting a good friend from university in Worcester, where he recently moved for work (how is it that we are all so scattered now? Lots of us in London, sure, but, also, some of us, who used to be just along the corridor, down the stairs, across the courtyard, in other towns, building other lives, working or studying, but we are no longer all together, and I miss that). Catching up, pretending it was all still cups of tea and slices of toast and hours spent trawling videos on Youtube (this is brilliant, gives me a lurch in the stomach that I will never be a student again - see above - but brilliant all the same).

There was the moss on the stones at Worcester Cathedral, and a good morning spent rifling round charity shops.

There was helping another friend build flat pack furniture for her new home, feeling useful and productive to the sound of Sunday morning radio, until I hammered with my left hand ("NEVER hammer with your left hand" M scolds me later) and hit my right index finger, causing a blossoming of blood beneath unbroken skin and sudden dizziness.

There was Sunday afternoon at the cinema with M, the biggest screen in Britain, daft glasses, crackling bags of salted popcorn, blue, six-foot aliens.

There has been the new Vampire Weekend album on my iPod whilst on the treadmill ("It struck me that the two of us could run...") and the first snowdrops from the garden, brought down from Norfolk for me on Monday night by a mum who understands that sometimes it is the smallest things that make these days not quite so bleak....

10 comments:

  1. love the snowdrops.
    I'm left handed, am I still not allowed to hammer thus?

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  2. Such pretty snowdrops in that lovely little vase. Maybe they will persuade spring to come a little bit sooner...

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  3. Hey! I saw Avatar on Sunday afternoon, myself! With spiffy glasses, no less.

    Now, tell me, randomly: How do you, being British, pronounce Worcester? Because my boyfriend is from Massachusetts, where there is also a Worcester. And while driving past the sign when we were there, I (silly, ignorant American!) pronounced it "Wore-chester". Which he's still laughing about today, and says it's pronounced "Wister". Which completely boggles my mind as to how so many letters have gone missing. And being the town was [most likely] called Worcester after YOUR Worcester, I am curious as to how it's officially pronounced...?

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  4. This is my first visit to your blog - it's lovely, I love it's vintage feel. Gorgeous snowdrops, they always make me feel like we are the road to spring, it can't come quick enough for me this year! :) Lucie x

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  5. considering you thought that there wasn't much to inspire, you managed to write a very beautiful post!

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  6. @ Rebecca: I'm sure that you're allowed to hammer with your left hand if you actually are left handed, but woe betide you if you try to hammer with your right (or at least I think that's what M would say :p )

    @ Melina: M and I discussed at great length how best to write down how we Brits pronounce Worcester, as you may not pronounce what I write in the same way we do (complicated!), but think it's probably best described a 'Wuss-ter'. Think you're boyfriend's 'Wister' is probably closest to that though! (Though if it helps you win an argument you can say we said you're way was correct!)

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  7. I used to live in Worcester. It's so beautiful, isn't it? One of my favourite places was by the cathedral and alongside the river.

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  8. I have a feeling he's right :)

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