Rodinsky's Room

I am reading this book Rodinsky's Room at present. It is written by two authors Rachel Lichtenstein and Iain Sinclair and it is published by Granta. They write every other chapter and very much from another perspective than the other. It is a fascinating book. I am treasuring my reading time. Iain Sinclair uses a large vocabulary and I am learning new words too.
This book is about so many things but I can say that it is an autumnal book for those early dark evenings. Slow down and take this journey with these two people.

Autumn

Every year in autumn I feel melancholy. Just like every year in spring I feel filled with hope.
This melancholy makes me look backwards and not forwards like I do in spring.
I don't mind the feeling at all. In fact melancholy is very much a part of me.
Looking back I want to re-connect with old friends. People I liked when I lived in London in the UK and went to art school here. I have found a few and it feels good because I have also re-found some of the self I was then. Parts of our personality can get buried in life and for years even! This happened with me through moving, leaving language behind, culture, common reference points, and history. I wanted that very much at the time. Feeling like an outsider is okay and was okay. I needed distance from my personal life then.
Now I like to re-connect with the parts that have been dormant.
When you are in a relationship and become a parent your priorities have to change, there just is not enough time to keep up. So now is a good time to balance that and re-prioritize.
I welcome the melancholy that helps me look inward and find what I have neglected. Thank you autumn.

Total Immersion

Mama Afrika

Miriam Makeba died on Sunday Nov 9th 2008 near Naples, Italy. She died singing just as she had wished. She was 76.
She was/is amazing, one of the first African singers I listened to as a child. I started listening to female vocalists when I was very young on my fathers old stackable gramophone!
Melina Mercouri, Violeta Parra and she, Mama Afrika, lead me on to many others.
Thank you wonderful heart and soul woman and thank you Nelson Mandela for your beautiful words celebrating her life.

CONGRATULATIONS!

VOTE BABY VOTE!

First Frost

This morning we awoke to the first heavy frost. The fields all around were white and the garden too. Glistening in the sun. This day is beautiful. Bright sunlight, blue sky and the country alive. Birdsong, activity all around as small animals and birds eat seeds, mushrooms and rosehips. There are plenty here. More and more light reaches through as the trees shed their leaves. Last night the sky was clear and full of stars. It reminds me of a clear night in Canada or the Northeast of the States.
The cottage is full of light and beckons me to go out. I will soon since I want to go filming in the valley for my Tarset project.
I have several on the go. Editing a couple of dvd films on poets, filming for two artist biopics and continual personal art work. It seems to be the way to go living rurally like this to have several projects going on simultaneously.
I shall also plant some bulbs while the weather obliges. I have some gorgeous tulips white and "black", Queen of the Night.
Holding my breath as the US election day comes closer and closer. I am sending prayers at this point across the ocean. The last US election shifted the course of my personal life as it changed the life of many. I decided that if Bush won I would not return to the US to live and naturally I never thought he could possibly win! He did so I stayed in the UK.
This time I have decided something else. Am I gambling? Of course not. Of course I am.
It really matters where you live. I have found that more and more in my life. Especially how important it is to actually have that choice.