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February Reflections
There were many reports at the beginning of this month about labour shortages, over 55s taking early retirement, furloughed people and working-from-home-during-the-Pandemic people not returning to offices, and an increase in the number of people claiming benefits. I am among the many feeling aggrieved by the rise in the state pension age…my formal retirement drifted into the distance when I was in my late 50s and the news finally reached me that I would not be getting a bus pass any time soon. Thankfully, I am lucky enough to receive income from a couple of sources, one of which is from the work I did for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission back in the heady days of the 1980s when waistlines were slim and pay packets were fat. Now it is the other way around. A simple solution, surely, would be to return the school leaving age to 16. Thus, a clutch of physically and mentally agile people would be released to the market.
Snowdrops provide welcome glimmers of hope when walking in the sunshine, feeling the warmth of the sun through woolly jumpers. This boosts one’s mental state no end.
I had a massive mental boost at the beginning of the month when invited to participate in a live discussion for a local online radio station. It proved stimulating and fun as we discussed various aspects of astronomy and stargazing. I reassured listeners that it did not need any special equipment or late nights to enjoy the Moon.
This event was swiftly followed a couple of day’s later by an evening talk at a local library. This was a talk about the movement of the Moon, which had been postponed due to the pandemic and required a reprise of the first talk of which this was designed to be a follow up. Everyone said it felt like ‘old times’ ie pre-pandemic which seems a lifetime ago, although it is only a couple of years. It was a lovely feeling to be among friends and sharing my research into the mysteries of the Moon.
Early signs of spring continue with the appearance of tiny lambs and an increasing amount of pretty flowers. The end of the month saw more sunlight reaching into our new home late in the afternoon as Earth tilts towards summer once more.
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January Reflections
    This month saw me settle back into Honiton where I had lived for a few years prior to moving to Exeter. It felt like coming home and I received a warm welcome from people who recognised me. Having moved in just before Christmas meant there was a delay before getting work done on the house and retrieving our furniture out of storage. To say our move did not go smoothly is a bit of an understatement and the saga is liable to bore people. However, we had some pleasant adventures along the way and are now happy to be busy unpacking and living amongst the unpacked boxes while rooms are decorated.
Boxing Day was just that…boxing day.
There are always compromises in any situation and, for me, the compromise was a reduced horizon from which to enjoy the night sky and the Moon. The previous home had a great view of the Moon as it moved above and below the ecliptic. The necessity to stay in holiday lets culminated in one overlooking the sea with uninterrupted view of the ecliptic and I relished the glorious colours of sunrises and sunsets along with views of the Moon and Jupiter. Somewhat spoiled by this, I needed some mental adjustments to my new home. A short walk provides all the views one needs, which will give me an incentive to be up and out in the mornings and evenings. From the front of the house upstairs there are far reaching views to hills and countryside and a more open expanse of sky. This will give me an opportunity to learn a more northerly portion of the constellations. Change often provides opportunities as well as challenges and it is important to not get bogged down by the challenges.
January is a proper winter month yet has more hope than December with the beginnings of more daylight and warmth. Early sightings of bright yellow offer glimpses of the spring to come. Our new garden has delighted with clumps of snowdrops and pretty hellebores. We are looking forward to enjoying the garden and seeing what else is going to emerge.
Karen Hedges
January 2023
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Joy of Joys
Oh, joy of joys, I thought, as my hand felt the radiator and it was Hot. Very hot. Yesterday, the rental cottage was cold and we had so much washing from our holiday and recent move. We left our old house, it has to be said with a sigh of relief, as it was old and needed more than we could give it. Having had a couple of prospective purchases go awry, we booked a holiday let…and left that to go on holiday on a coach trip booked before we even put our house on the market. Everything happens at once!
The holiday was just what we needed, a breathing space between sale and purchase. The whole process of packing for various changing destinations and ultimately, to a storage unit, has been exhausting. It was bliss to sit back in the coach and close my eyes. Snowdonia did not disappoint with its stunning scenery, changing weather and views to it and from it. Beaumaris Castle was awesome with its castle within a castle and stunning views across the Menai Straits to the mountains of Snowdonia. A trip up to the top of Great Orme was the highlight of the base in Llandudno, But, for me, the greatest thrill of all, was seeing the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct and Viaduct at Llangollen.
This morning, back at our holiday cottage, the world seems a little brighter with warm radiators and dry clothes. The sheep seem to get up when they choose and look at us through the windows.
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Space Day
Enjoyed a really great day at the Hive in Worcester where there were many exhibitors including myself, showing spacey things, talking space and loving every minute of it! People loved my activity of putting a sticky dot where they thought the solar system is in the Milky Way.
That was on Saturday, today, Tuesday there is a glorious Hunter’s Moon just above Exeter Cathedral.
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10 September 2022
    Still reeling from the news of the passing of surely the greatest monarch in our history, it is timely to look to the future, to a future where peace is essential for the wellbeing of our planet, a future where space science may reveal more about Earth than we can ever dream of.
    It is a time of great flux with the pandemic still with us, wars raging, people fleeing, a new Prime Minister, bills rising, the future of the planet uncertain, yet James Webb leads the way with new views of our environment. The Universe is our back yard yet sometimes we only see to our garden fence. Now is the time to look beyond that fence and into new horizons.
Books I am reading: Henry Williamson’s 10 novel saga of social change from 1880 to 1940 through the story of one man and his family. It is engrossing, with astute observations of life, love and so much more. They are not books to be read in a hurry but savoured for the richness of prose and the images they provoke.
Books I am writing: Maldwyn the somewhat mischievous Welsh mouse is busy having lots of adventures wherever he goes. He loves long country walks followed by a Devon cream tea. He only has a Cornish one if the cream is too soft and the jam too firm. He is entranced by glimpses of sunsets and sunrises and the Moon in her ever-changing form. He loves trees and flowers and birds and vast seascapes with raging waves.Â
A gentle guide to stargazing is poised, awaiting publication. Some copies will be taken to the Space Day at Worcester on 8 October this year. Do come and say hello!
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…blogging again!
Holed up indoors, riding out the extreme heat, seems a good time to continue with my blog. I have too many diaries and notebooks on the go as I have been keeping a diary although not updating this blog. There has been much in the news about women and work recently. I was a full time mother and loved every minute of it, although I was intending to return but life events wiped that possibility away. Nearing retirement I do feel the lack of having had a ‘career’ from which to retire while on the other hand, I am still doing things that bring me joy as well as an income. There is no end in sight for this thankfully. For women to have both a baby and a career, or even a job, there needs to be a step change in thinking. Society needs more people to be born and thus there is an obligation to help mothers. Will Hutton back in the 1990s was advocating a 4 day week as a result of technological advances. Indeed, working from home is now a real option for many people. For those jobs that cannot be done from home, there needs to be investment in providing more part time opportunities, and for men as well as women. Use of technology does away with the constant need for presenteeism – sometimes people need to be present in person, other times not.
Enjoyed a really good, gentle film yesterday afternoon. Entitled ‘This Beautiful Fantastic’, it told the tale of a young women on the autistic spectrum with OCD and her curmudgeonly neighbour. Ultimately, it was a tale of finding joy and love with like-minded folk. Along the lines of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the main characters developed a fondness and respect for each other through the process of creating a garden. Starring Jessica Brown Findlay (I knew her mother!), this was a beautiful film showing how much better life can be when people respect other people’s quirks and help each other. I felt it would be an excellent film to show in schools. It is worth watching for the Mechanical Bird storyline alone.
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w/e 23 January 2022
The senseless shooting of an innocent man overrode everything this week. A colleague of my daughter, this was too close to home. No words.
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w/e 16 January 2022
A hearty start to the week with a delicious treat of a meal out in a local Beefeater restaurant to celebrate a birthday. At least we had earned this with an early morning swim on the same day.
Tuesday saw me reach ridiculous levels of excitement when, at long last, the issue of a magazine, ‘Yours’, was out containing a story of mine. It had quite a high profile as the story was part of a Marie Curie campaign to highlight their work. I felt very proud. And excited. Ridiculously Excited.
A couple of days at work soon calmed me down and brought me back to Earth though.
Upon meeting an old friend, I was struck by the difference between two emerging groups in this strange Post Pandemic world. Those of the Fearless and the Fearful. My friend was reluctant to commit to agreeing to meet indoors although had been on a cruise. Other friends are similar in their illogical approach to life. I feel saddened and a little bit adrift in this new world. So much has changed in the last couple of years in everyone’s life as well as in the world around so it will be a while before we are all adjusted to the so-called New Normal. It is going to be different for different people for a very long time.
At last, the skies cleared for a view of the stars, with a bonus fleeting glimpse of a meteor. However, my enthusiasm was dampened by the brightness of the Moon…
Joy of joys! The snowdrops are out once again. And many more bulbs are peeping through the soil.
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The beginning of the Year 2022
What better way to start the new year than with a dip in the sea. There was a real feeling of camaraderie when I joined in jumping the somewhat rough waves with a group of people already enjoying the sea. I must confess to being somewhat alarmed when a big wave knocked me off my feet and the breath out of me. Nonetheless, I left the beach, damp but happy. My poor husband was also damp as the tide came in a bit too far, too suddenly, catching us by surprise as I was changing. It gave the onlookers something to enjoy! Thankfully, the annual Viennese Concert was able to be performed in front of a live audience. I love this annual feast of colour, music, dancing and flowers.
The new year continued to get off to a good start with an outing to the cinema to enjoy the new version of West Side Story. Stephen Spielberg has gone a great job! The lead characters were amazing and well cast. The costumes, dancing and music surpassed expectations and the whole story was told in a darker, more authentic way than in the 1961 film, yet still exuberant. Every second of the film counted and was not to be missed.
And the week included for me a return to work. It felt good. I am not ready to retire although it was hard to get out of a warm bed when there was ice on the car windscreen….a challenging return. I came home feeling revitalised and young from having ‘been to work’. Interesting.
The ending of this first full week saw a return to swimming in a local pool and a walk on Dartmoor. This latter was as wet as the pool from the recent heavy rain resulting in streams where once were footpaths. Hopefully, these glimpses of normality will become normal once again.
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To the End of the Year
It felt good to enjoy a life affirming dip in the sea a couple of days before Christmas. This was followed by a hearty lunch with Roy and his son. I was amused at being escorted to and from the beach by two hulking rugby men while I was the one who braved the waves in a swimming cossie…We had all been to the beach a few days prior to this final swim of the year when Roy’s son kindly treated us to a pub lunch (I appreciated being able to change in the pub’s warm facilities before lunch though!). End of year dips to wash the year away.
Christmas Eve saw the arrival of my son and the world was at rest for a day or so. The roads were quiet with people out walking or driving to collect relatives. I collected Mum and had a quick breath of sea air after I had returned her in the evening. The Queen’s Christmas speech was one of her best – I totally agreed with her comments when she remarked that many people say Christmas is for children, yet it is for all of us, for the child inside us, to be childlike in our enjoyment of family, friends and fun. Personally, I love to see trees in homes decorated with lights and ornaments old and new.
Arriving home on Boxing Day from a delicious lunch with friends, I was surprised and delighted to find a bag hanging from the front door containing a gift of a replacement Maldwyn. My clever friend also had made a delightful companion for the little mouse.
The short spells of daylight and the unpredictable weather together with not many places open mean more time indoors, sitting. Weekends with loved ones at any other time of year include outings, sitting outside, visiting places not intense visits from one sitting room to another. No wonder it is stressful and tiring. Everyone has different tastes in music, films, and widely differing views on the issues of the day to boot! Left to our devices, no doubt many would hole up with a good film, or music or book and a big mug of comfort.
However, I am delighted to say that my own experience was one of warmth and love, with visits to and from family, friends, in-laws and exes. Highlights include an evening listening to Stephen Sondheim’s music which brought back happy memories of all the shows my son had been involved in while at university and a walk and shopping trip with my daughter.
Karen Hedges 