33:Graveyards

It may sound very depressing or morbid to but I have never felt that way about them. Even as a youngster I enjoyed walking around them and I have no memory of ever finding them depressing or scary. Spooky sometimes but my overall feelings are of repose, serenity and calming, thought provoking even. I guess I should say this is in reference to older cemeteries, a few or more generations ago, who’s oldest relatives are long since dead themselves. Perhaps this takes the depression away from it , the fact it is no longer a place of mourning but rather a of remembrance.

I walk along reading the epitaphs as I pass. It is nice to read what has been written about these people, how old they were and how they have been remembered by their family and friends, and I wonder are these people any different to how we are today. I do pause when I come across a young person or child, I suppose that in truth is depressing, how couldn’t it be, but for the very most part its long full lives be it for the time. They lived they loved and they were remembered.  Sometimes I feel like I am visiting them in a way, as strange as that may sound. Their own families having moved on or died long ago themselves so many years ago, it is now only the stranger who walks by and reads those few lines about them, that, in some small way keeps the memory of who they were alive, if only for a few fleeing moments.

I suppose it is quite reflection that I get from graveyards, a peaceful place that seems to permeate my heart with a silent composure. Some may say that being surrounded by death will evoke a thankfulness of life. I see it differently, graveyards are full of live, lives lived long ago, lives remembered in memory and in stone and by that stranger who passes by.

56: Sandwiches

There is something about the perfectly crafted sandwich that makes it so much more than a meal or a snack. It is more than something to eat it is an art form.  It begins with the choice of bread, the canvas that your masterpiece will be built upon thick cut to granary or even a wholemeal bap the choice here is what sets the scene. This being said sometimes what you desire to be in the sandwich will dictate what it will be served between.

So many good combinations of salad cheese and meat can be combined into the creation of the perfect bready treat and with the addition of mustards, chutneys, mayo and other assorted sauces you have a kaleidoscope of possibility’s all as beautiful and tasty as each other. It pays to think it through, the right bread the proper cheese the right chutney, mayo and meat.  All of these small decisions are each a stroke of the brush, a piece or he puzzle, nothings to be rushed it has to be crafted with love and patience.

Some of my Favourite Sandwiches

• Ham hock with extra mature cheese served on a bed of crisp lettuce and a splash of onion between multi seed bread.
• Egg and Bacon on toasted wholemeal bread.
• Honey roasted ham with mature cheese, mayo, crispy lettuce and a few slices of cucumber between wholemeal bread.
• Thick sliced chicken breast on white bread with sliced boiled egg and spring onion lettuce and mayo.

11: Autumn

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” – Albert Camus

Autumn always puts me into a very select state of being, one of nostalgia and melancholy wrapped up in  comforting blanket of contentment with the world. I love the crisp cold and misty mornings with frost on the grass, I love the darker evenings when a sunset will hang low in the clear evening sky.  I love the leaves on the ground the excuse to wear a scarf and back in the day to light a fire and sit around in the comforting glow. Everything is a little more atmospheric. It is the very specific colour palate which makes Autumn as a season so wonderful, all of the livid brown hues and faded yellows there rich crimson and dusky shadowy orange its beautiful.  Its a colder time of year and to have such warm colours surrounding you just makes everything in some ways magical.   Autumn has been my favourite time of year for as long as I can remember.  It was a time of year for looking for conkers, of Halloween and sweets.  I have memories of running through big piles of leave on my walk home from school as a little kid, and of the wish to bury myself in one of them to scare people as they walked past.  I still want to one day do this one day, but until then you will find me in the park kicking the crispy leaves as I walk!

Coming Soon: My Favourite Things

I have been thinking that I really should have something more personal on here. I need to put up more of the things I love. Sure I have written about Edgar, books, movies, my top fives and had a grump or two but its time I added in something that is slightly more obscure and personal to me.  I am not saying that I will be pouring my soul out on some deep personal level. Its is going to be more of a mix between very random and quite specific things I like in the world. So comming soon, my favourite things!