Books

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

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It’s been a while. I jotted some notes down on finishing reading Far From the Madding Crowd a few weeks ago, and am only now transferring these thoughts to our blog …

This is a spontaneous reaction captured the moment I finished reading …

I have just read Far From the Madding Crowd. It transported me into a reverie of contemplation conjured by the magical spell of Hardy’s writing.

The story of beautiful Bathsheba and the angelic farmer Gabriel Oak is just so romantic. The sumptuous descriptions of the countryside and what a ‘studious’ essay might refer to as the very affecting use of pathetic fallacy (use of nature to highlight human feelings etc) is simply mesmeric.

Hardy relays such a compassion for human imperfections. There are religious overtones but to me, they come across as non-judgemental. Gabriel may be meant to be ‘God-like’ (yes yes symbolic name etc) in his altruistic loving, humble and steadfast attitude. But there is such a fantastic, warming thread of non-judgement. And Gabriel is very human too in his mortal suffering for the love for Bathsheba. His selflessness, his tolerance, his straightforward honesty, and his forebearance seemingly devoid of resentment, make us – or made me – the reader, love him. Took Bathsheba a while, but she got there in the end! I didn’t think he was a goody, goody, just a good, strong, honest, open, straightforward, caring loving man (Am I in love??). With a potential for fun too …? I thought so, but I know some of my book club companions thought he was potentially a bit boring …

But we (or I) also feel compassion for the human flaws displayed by Bathsheba, Boldwood, Troy and the gossiping, often drunk villagers. If ever there was an example of warmth and acceptance it is one manifested so well in this story.

I have come to love Bristol having lived here now for nearly five years. This may be why I am now re- drawn to Hardy’s Wessex. I want to know more of his Wessex, the backdrop to and inspiration for his novels. Apparently he wasn’t actually very nice, which is disappointing. I will have to look into that …

He apparently died on my birthday, 11th January, 1928 – 43 years before I was born. In my current state of mind, having been so moved by his writing … I am feeling this to be significant … Always one to find ‘meaning’ in everything! Much teased about this but the inclination never deserts me … coincidences and serendipity intrigue and inspire me.

One thing – there are a few, what I interpreted as rather patronising allusions to women’s fickle whims, which I found a little bit off-putting … and am keen to explore further. I really don’t want to see Hardy as a mysoginist but the signs are there … However, his portrayal of Bathsheba is, I think, sympathetic (even empathetic?) overall. He wrote in very different times to now, and the overall sense is of a writer sensitive to human frailties manifest in men and women, but his depiction of women, to me (being one!), does appear to be a little less enlightened than of men in this novel …

But, I am moved. Bathsheba has a happy ending, And Gabriel is the angel of the piece …

Plus, there is much comedy in this novel. I love the villagers’ dramas in the Malthouse; their relationships and perspectives. They are a bit like the ‘mechanicals’ in Shakespeare. And although we laugh at them we all laugh with them. Hardy presents them with the warmth and compassion consistent with his attitude towards the main protagonists of the story.

The real victim of the novel, to me, is poor Fanny Robin. And this reminds me of the poor, young, female and dead victim in An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley. Powerless and innocent in every way, ignored and treated badly by everyone … ends up dead, and no-one really cares or sees her as significant, and until the Inspector turns up has any feeling of responsibility for her untimely and tragic demise.

I think it is fitting that it is Bathsheba and Gabriel who tend to Fanny’s grave in the end. It is tragic that Troy can’t even do that with any success … he is just incapable of looking after anybody or anything apart from himself. And in the end, he doesn’t do that very well in the end. Handsome, charming and fun though, to be sure …

I am writing much more than I imagined … the book has clearly made me think in all sorts of ways. Which is not surprising since this is Hardy, author with a secure place in the traditional cannon of English Literature … Not that that is a sure fire indication that his writing will be enjoyable and stimulating … but it is, to me, thankfully …

Anyway, enough now. Enough triggers for book club chats. I am interested in anyone else’s thoughts on what I have rediscovered as such an engaging, moving read. Issues of old still relevant today. Same as Madame Bovary by Flaubert which I have also just read and seen performed at the Old Vic … but that is another blog post!

Once into the groove of the more old fashioned style of writing, Far from the Madding Crowd was a page-turner for me. And in fact, the more charming because of the careful turn of phrase, the attention to detail, the exquisite descriptions of nature etc etc … they really did know how to paint a picture in words in those days unaquainted as they were with film or television.

Will our children be able to exert enough effort to ‘get into’ this kind of writing and to be able to appreciate its beauty and its relevance – its potential to affect their understanding of LIFE? Who knows …

Much food for thought … do share yours if you feel so inclined …

Kate x

PS Looking forward to watching the DVD with Carey Mulligan

Kate's Compositions

Granny – Funeral words – November 2004

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Granny has died peacefully at the fantastic age of 90, leaving two children, three grandchildren and seven great grandchildren behind to carry on her legacy. I am very sad that she has gone but I know it was her time to go. I loved her very much, as I know everybody here did too. Thank you for sending me your thoughts, feelings and stories over the last week, which have helped me to say the following in memory of granny today, and in celebration of her life.

What comes over so strongly in all the conversations and messages I have had about granny was her incredible selflessness. She always put other people before herself and was simply a very very caring person. Both Dad and Philippa have told me what a wonderful mum she was, always there for them, always concerned that they were ok. Everybody I have spoken to talks about granny’s genuine modesty and her caring nature. She cared for many people during her life including her mother-in-law for many years, which by all accounts was not the easiest of jobs, but she was loyal and devoted all the same.

She looked after grandpa so lovingly in his last years, and later on, after grandpa had died, she went to stay with mum’s father to help him convalesce after his hip operation. I went to visit during that time and grandpa was obviously being very well looked after and very happy. I remember thinking in my romantic young mind how brilliant and perfect it would be if they married!?

So, granny was a great carer of people. She was sweet, she was gentle, she was kind and she was an easy person to be with. But she was also fun – Nic, my husband, said that during the short time he knew her he found her to be ‘kind and selfless and often had a sparkle and a grin’. I always had a good laugh with granny. She had huge empathy but she also had a great sense of humour, and never took herself too seriously. Originally from from Liverpool there were definite glimmers of Liverpudlian spirit in her make-up. Despite what she may have said about herself she was sharp, shrewd and clever. Much more than she ever gave herself credit for.

In fact, on talking to the family about her younger years it transpires that she was known as the ‘clever one in the family’. She did well at school and went on to have various jobs in Liverpool before moving to Criccieth in Wales where she lived with Nina and Gill, during the war .There she worked for Barclays Bank and later for a firm called Super Marine Craft which was building Air Sea Rescue craft. Grandpa was stationed there teaching the RAF to drive, and so the story goes, he walked her home with the help of his pen torch one particular evening in the blackout! And so began granny’s life as a devoted and loving wife and mother.

From what I have been told, granny was a lively-minded, energetic young mother and wife, interested in current affairs and politics and literature and music as well as the wellbeing of her family. Gill remembers her being very interested in healthy eating and inspiring

her to bake her own wholemeal bread. I’m very glad that she didn’t become too evangelical about healthy eating as the years went on or we grandchildren may never have enjoyed her delicious and unrivalled rice puddings!

I loved going to stay with granny when I was little. She always made you the centre of attention, was so interested in everything you had to say, put you on a pedestal, and made you feel so good about yourself. All her many friends would flock round to say hello. She would make sure your bed was toasty warm and comfortable and generally made life cosy. I used to love the ritual of walking down to the seafront in order to ‘take the sea air’, rewarded of tea and cake when we got home. Lucy and Joanna remember

loving her cups of tea though they wouldn’t drink tea anywhere else! She just made things nice in the way only a granny can.

There is lots more I could say about granny. She was friendly and popular, quiet and wise, devoted and loyal, genuinely interested in the world and in people. She led a straight forward life and only ever gave out love and happiness.

 

Kate, November 2004

 

KEATS

Can death be sleep, when life is but a dream,

And scenes of bliss pass as a phantom by?

The transient pleasures as a vision seem,

And yet we think the greatest pain’s to die.

 

How strange it is that man on earth should roam,

And lead a life of woe, but not forsake

His rugged path;  nor dare he view alone

His future doom which is but to awake.

Kate's Compositions

Miranda and Enzo – Wedding Poem

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Pretty in Pisa she first caught his eye,

Entranced back in Edinburgh it was hard to say bye,

A distance romance they sustained for her MA,

Until love dictated he come to the UK.

They were in the same country at last – oh what bliss!

Yet still there were  journeys to make for a kiss.

Guildford and Liverpool threw them asunder,

But their love was so strong that it’s really no wonder,

That later in Godalming, they made their first nest,

And then searched around for the place they’d go next.

Happy in Hampstead they blossomed together.

Life was so great, it could not have been better.

‘Til devoted in Dulwich he asked for her hand,

And nuptials in Lucca were lavishly planned!

 

We’re over the moon you have married today,

But we really are sorry to miss your big day.

So please clink your glasses – that’s it loud and clear!

And let’s all shout out a congratulat’ry cheer:

“You are Mr and Mrs! You’ve done it! Well done!

We wish you good luck, lots of love and good fun!”

 

Kate and Nic Price

June 2002

Kate's Compositions

Short speech composed for my Aunt Juliet’s 80th birthday party

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Juliet – 80!

 

Juliet, I can’t believe you are 80! It just seems crazy! You defy all stereotypes …

 

I remember you taking me and the twins to see ‘the oldest man in the world’ when we were little – Henry Moore at 80. A white haired old man … we sat round his map of the world coffee table while you looked after him, serving his tea; and he might have had a blanket over his knees … I can’t remember but my memory is of an ‘old’ man in need of care … we did our best not to fidget and be as quiet and polite as we could until we were unleashed into his large Cambridge estate where we haired about in the fields among his sculptures. I now realise what an amazing visit that was for us, and how lucky we are to have that in our bank of childhood memories. This is just one small example of the generous aunt you are and it’s nice to have the opportunity to say a public thank you for that.

 

But, the real point of the story is that Juliet, YOU are now 80 – but no sitting in an armchair with a blanket over the knees for you!

 

Still racing around the world in passionate pursuit of Goya and Manet, putting on exhibitions, writing catalogues, giving lectures, speaking on the radio, and generally embracing modern media, and the modern world. Do you have a twitter account? Intellectual and cosmopolitan and chic in every way – plus you make a mean flapjack – you’ve got it all – quite an inspiration! I am hanging on to the fact that there is a bit of you in my genetic make-up – I think probably the rest of your blood relations here feel the same …. and your non-blood relations will probably be hoping something will rub off on them too simply by association!

 

It is lovely to be here celebrating with you. 29 Belsize Avenue is a bit of a rock of an address to us all I think in different ways. Much history here …

 

And so, I raise a toast to you on behalf of us all, congratulate you on reaching such a great age with such style, elegance and accomplishment! But most of all, wish you a very happy birthday and many happy returns of the day!

 

Juliet at 80!

Kate's Compositions

Dad – 70

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Composed for my father’s 70th birthday party, January 17th 2016 (his ‘actual’ birthday is 19th Jan!)

Dad you’re seventy

But feel like twenty?

 

Time to celebrate

Great age and state!

 

Viola playing

Holly walking

Daughter helping

Grandkid minding

Car maintaining

DIY-ing

 

Not forgetting…

 

Sofa plonking

Wine quaffing

Paper reading

Joyous eating

 

Dad, you are a bon viveur

With a gentle fun humour

 

A great example to us all

Stay cool, stay calm, stay a little bit wry …

 

Enjoy your party here today

We wish you a very ‘Happy Birthday!’

 

Kate xxx

Sunday 17th January 2016

Health and Wellbeing, Uncategorized

Holistic therapies

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I’ve just returned from a very relaxing reflexology session at The Natural Health Clinic, and thought I’d share as would very much recommend this clinic to anyone living in Bristol!

It was first recommended a few months ago when I had a very useful 1 to 1 session with the doctor at The Penny Brohn Centre, as I wanted to get advice on holistic therapies which can work alongside traditional medicine, and I had just completed 6 rounds of Chemo, surgery and then radiotherapy, I am still undergoing treatment and wanted something that helped with my recovery.

I had an initial consultation with Sam who talks through your current health and what you want to get out of treatment and we agreed on both reflexology and acupuncture. I have the reflexology with Val to just generally balance and de-stress me and the acupuncture I have with Sam who focuses on the side effects from the drugs I am on which are pushing me into early menopause. I have had several sessions now with Val and Sam and I find them both very helpful to calm my mind and body and I do find my side effects are improved when I have an treatment.

I think we all are living extremely stressful and hectic lives and any chance to take time out and re-balance yourself is important!

Health and Wellbeing, Thoughts ...

Serendi-pilates

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I love my pilates class. I have been going ever since I arrived in Bristol four and a half years ago.

Good for core strength and general well-being, it has become a firm staple in my weekly regime or ‘rhythm’ as a yoga friend pointed out to me. ‘Rhythm’ has more positive connotations! I absolutely agree – think music or heartbeat. There is something about the unenforced nature of ‘rhythm’ which makes it a more pleasant concept than ‘regime’. It is a constant, something that gently underpins and triggers a natural flow. There is something healthy and life affirming about the term ‘rhythm.’ So, yes, let’s go with that!

Anyway, suffice it to say, pilates is now an absolute essential to the balance and wellbeing in my life – physically and mentally. I have even invested in pilates balls, band and cushions lately so I can practise a bit at home. This really has been a very organic, unforced development, and underlines to me the power of sticking to something regularly … for a long period of time … to allow it to evolve naturally and in its own time. An ‘organic’ approach I guess. I think this is the longest I have gone regularly to a class, and it is without doubt the one I have gained most from. In so many ways.

Not only do I feel better for the regular practise and more and more confident about practising at home, I have also made some real connections with my fellow pilates classmates. Greeting people and chatting at the beginning of the class yesterday, I realised how central to my life this class now is. Not only is the familiarity of the other members of the class now a comfort to me, a really pleasant bunch of people, but so many good things have happened for me from our pilates connection.

Through this lovely class, I have been introduced to the Bristol Botanic Garden, helped to edit their magazine, been invited by a participant to the Bristol Arts Trail, enjoyed photographic collaborations here on our blog, broadened my social media connections, learned to give a  head massage, made some lovely French connections, resurrecting my French, and been given help talking through the option of going back into teaching again with two ex-teachers in the class.

The point of this post? Just to satisfy an urge to express my cheer at all this, to exemplify that stuff happens and life blossoms in ways and from places you might least expect … a celebration of serendipty! And also, to give a shout out to Joyce’s fab Walktall Pilates and fellow pilates goers :)

 

 

 

Books

Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

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This is a great tome of a book. It had been recommended to me many times, but what finally spurred me on pick it up and start reading with intent to finish was the fact that it was suggested for book club. Nothing like a deadline to get you going.

I thought I would find it difficult to finish. But, it was a total page turner. I was hooked from the beginning and the adrenaline was constant. If you’ve ever watched any of the Bourne movies, it kind of felt like it had that constant ‘keep moving’ music pulsing away in the background, drawing you and on you in spite of the terror of what might be around the corner.

Here’s the book cover precis:

‘Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and an absent father, miraculously survives a catastrophe that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Theo is tormented by longing for his mother and down the years he links to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld.’

The story itself is gripping. You have to keep knowing what is going to happen next, how things will end. The writing is utterly compelling and the exploration of big ideas is seemlessly threaded right through it all. Ideas about love, fate, death, survival, the human condition, mortality, immortality, truth and illusion, the significance of beautiful things … the endlessly ponderable philosophical subject of the meaning and/or point of our lives good or bad, here on planet Earth.

There are moments of unutterable brutality and cruelty, and also sublime tenderness and human warmth.

What more can I say? It is an epic work and will stay with you long after you have finished it. Whether you liked it or not.

 

 

 

Books

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

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Well … I was intrigued. Brilliant idea to meet Scout and Atticus 20 years on from THAT trial, and THOSE lessons about ‘standing inside another person’s shoes’ … Oh Atticus, everybody wants you to be their dad.

At this point though, I can’t resist inserting a silly joke I saw the other day did along the lines of:

Never complain about someone until you have walked a good long mile in their shoes. Then, it’s fine  – because you are a good mile away from them plus you have their shoes! Ho, Ho, Ho …

But, jokes aside … I found this sequel to be, well, not as good as To Kill A Mockingbird but worth sticking with. What is fascinating is that it was in fact written before To Kill A Mockingbird. There is an allusion to the Trial of Tom Robinson and apparently Harper Lee was advised that this might be a better central theme for the story. And brilliant advice that turned out to be – a child’s view of events heightened the prejudice Lee wanted to highlight so fantastically well.

Go Set A Watchman sees Scout returning to her home town of Maycomb as a young woman, educated and now a lawyer herself practising in New York. Times have moved on, but the journey towards establishing equal rights between the black and white communities is a complicated one. It is interesting to see how things play out in the novel in this respect.

What I found more compelling though, was the emotional journey experienced by Scout in terms of her relationship with her father and family. It is a tale of disillusionment and passions run high.

Go Set A Watchman is no doubt an interesting and engaging read on a historical and emotional level. I wonder what it would be like to read if you haven’t read To Kill A Mockingbird? Better or worse, I don’t know. I think really, you have to appreciate the incredible relationship between Scout and Atticus in To Kill A Mockingbird to feel the full force of what goes on between them in Go Set A Watchman.

Go on, give it a whirl. All comments appreciated …

 

 

Beauty

Lipstick Fun!

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Look what Louise gave me for my birthday:

Thriller, Catalina and Mystery - a shade for every mood and occasion ...
Thriller, Catalina and Mystery – a shade for every mood and occasion …

Exciting!

‘ Balm, gloss and liner in one, in a new purse-friendly form!’ exclaims Poppy the designer and self styled ‘lipstick queen’.

I love them. I have never been a great fan of lipstick but now, a lady of ‘certain age’ (the French have all the best expressions),  I think the time has come to brighten myself up – in more ways than one – with a slash of luverly lip colour.

And how could I resist Lipstick Queen’s seductive ‘lipcopy’? The appealing info about the glosses being ‘enriched with ultra-moisturizing Shea and Mango Butters to leave lips soft, supple and silky-smooth’  and promise that they ‘can be drawn on in seconds and will flatter in a flash!’

What’s not to like? Stylish, practical, lip-nourishing fun.

There is of course a website for further tantalisation … https://www.lipstickqueen.com/

Thank you to the lovely Louise for the gift and the lip inspirations – much needed, much appreciated :)