Monday 18 August 2014

Who he?

'I have nothing to say and I am saying it.   And that's Poetry'.   Who said it?   I really can't remember.   It might have been John Cage, the Composer who wrote '4 minutes 33 seconds' which was total silence, when one listened to the sounds all around.  However, whoever it was, I feel a little like that this morning.   After two enjoyable but rather busy days I switch  and go to my post page and wonder what to write about today.
 Saturday the farmer and I had a purge on the kitchen windows.   Not exciting I'm afraid, but Secondary Glazing is heavy and quite unmanageable for me - so he did the hard work and I washed, dried, ironed and rehung the curtains.   Now we keep admiring our handiwork and also feel ashamed about how dirty they looked before we tackled the job.

Yesterday was a walking day for the farmer and so friend W and I went out for lunch and, as usual, ate too much.   My starter was three cheese fritters on a bed of salad and her's was black pudding fritters.   Then we both tucked into roast lamb - delicious.  (but not conducive to encouraging thinking too hard).

Today we visit our University Hospital forty miles away to see the Consultant about the problem with the farmer's balance and are due to leave home in about an hour.

All this activity makes the problems in the Middle East go to the back of my mind.   Is that a good thing or a bad thing?   I don't know.   I just know that seeing all these displaced people - in particular the children - traumatised, bewildered, hungry, thirsty, often having lost their parents and, above all, terrified, and all because of their religion, makes me despair.   And as I can do so little about it, perhaps it is best to ignore it.   I do feel that the BBC tend to go where the 'drama' is and then move on.
Please don't think I am trying to trivialise things - but is there still fighting in Aleppo?   If so the cameras seem to have moved on to where it is more 'sensational'.   Even our local news on the BBC has a catalogue of car accidents, murders, assaults, burglaries and the like - and only very rarely something pleasant and uplifting.  What is the world coming to ?

I see that I have asked four questions in my post today.  Answers on a Post Card please.

UPDATE   The farmer has seen the Consultant and the problem is not serious - he has an inner ear fluid imbalance which is making one ear do all the work - exercises are to be done in order to try and help it.  The scan showed nothing out of the ordinary - great relief all round.

13 comments:

Elizabeth said...

I must say that being able to admire clean windows and curtains is a very happy position to be in!
As to the news - yes, I think the world has gone quite mad and the news media only brings us very edited, sensationalized and biased views - even the BBC which is a great deal less biassed than the US TV.
Yes, they do not report on the day to day distresses to children and families - preferring to show bombs and expensive weapons. Sold them by the US -and to a lesser extent - Britain. (WE manage to arm both sides....)
However there is little you or I can do about it today.
Hope specialist has useful things to say about your husband's condition.
Off to see the grandchildren, feeling very fortunate.....

Heather said...

We are helpless to do anything effective to relieve the world's suffering. It is all brought into our homes with relish by the media day after day, and can we believe everything we are told? Eventually we shall become immune to all the horrors.
Our windows could do with your attention. Heavy rain showers outside and visits from flies inside have left their mark.
Hope the Farmer gets some effective treatment soon.

George said...

Yes, there is much in the world to cause despair, and you're absolutely right, the media swarms over the worst of it and then moves on the the next dramatic story. Here in the U.S., the media motto is: "If it bleeds, it leads." As Milosz says in the poem, however, we can continue to be dazzled by beauty and wonder, even among the pain and suffering that seems to be the inheritance of our species.

Cro Magnon said...

I think we all feel the same. I would write of my disgust for these terrorists every day, but (like the BBC) I know how tedious it becomes. Meanwhile, Hamas are killing children in Egypt, ISIS are slaughtering by the thousand and kidnapping women, and others are dying of Eboli. What times!

Pondside said...

When the world seems to have erupted in gunfire and disease, cleaning one's windows is probably a very good thing to do - the physical labour and satisfying results must be calming.
I believe we are becoming numb - the daily bombardment of horrifying images (can you remember when it would have been unheard-of to publish TV footage of the recent-dead? It would have been seen as disrespectful - now these photos are everywhere and the whole western world will be as inured to the horror as if we'd been in battle.
Aleppo? I have no idea. CBC hasn't mentionned it in weeks. No idea, either, of who said the words with which you led........
A very thought-provoking post.

mrsnesbitt said...

Hope all goes well at the hospital Pat. Dxx

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

1. Yes, it was John Cage.
2. Probably a good thing if you want to stay sane.
3. Yes, a dozen towns and villages in Aleppo were overrun by jihadists in the last week.
4. I don't know but I intend to stick around for a while longer out of curiosity.

MorningAJ said...

John Cage - as you suspect.
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Cage

Terra said...

I hope your farmer's balance problem gets cured re his doctor visit.
I enjoy lunch with gal friends too.
So many problems in this world; I pray for help for the suffering, every day. Especially for the persecuted and killed Christians in Muslim countries.

angryparsnip said...

So happy to hear the Farmers problem can be fixed.
Yes. the world has going mad and for some of it I am in the middle and I don't even understand it.
Cleaning windows sound very good to me.

cheers, parsnip

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Oh, Pat! SO happy to hear the doctor's report was not a bad one for the Farmer.

And re: the trauma of so many. My brother was diagnosed with cancer last week. It was caught early, and didn't seem as bad as it could be, and we were all very brave and upbeat. Until, out of the blue, I started sobbing a few hours later. And I couldn't stop. And then I realized I was crying about everything that's wrong in the whole world.

My brother went to a Cyber Knife specialist at Georgetown University today. One of maybe a dozen in the country. He said Rudy is a very good candidate for this very high dose, very targeted radiation, and he expects a good outcome.

And, this afternoon my school bus driving husband found out he has work for another year! Hooray!

I have a slight headache now, so I am going to bed.

Amy said...

It saddens me to hear through the media how things around the world are going from bad to worse, i do feel helpless about it, seems to be a sign of the times.
Glad the specialist was able to help the farmer though...

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for all your kind comments - they have been passed on to the farmer. Thanks also for calling in.