The sun shines

1 And so it does. Indeed, the day could easily be described as a summer's one. Admittedly, the sun took longer to get out of bed, yet once we allow for the seasonal tardiness the subsequent effect was entirely benign. I have no doubt that the Wednesday cyclists will relish the warmth and the light. (I went to Forest Row to say hello and to confess that the rest of my life had got in the way (again) of my cycling. I'm intending to cycle a few miles sometime this afternoon.)

2 The Armed Man has left its mark on me. I returned from the performance full of the music, the singing, the effects (particularly the percussive ones), the beauty of the cello in the Benedictus, and, of course, the contribution of the Call to Prayer. We shall have to listen to it, with the libretto. I register too the location, a small village parish church.

3 Yesterday was the day of the Three Ds. (Not good enough for university entrance, as Derek reminded me, but quite good enough for three elderly gentlemen whose common room is not a university one but a club one. We enjoyed each other's company. The tales, the ruminations, the explorations - they all followed one and other.

4 However, I did join a university library yesterday, the LSE one. One of the notable libraries in the country. I'm working towards my Study Day. Whilst I am sure that the study will be pursued in East Grinstead, there may be occasions when an event (an opera) in the evening will provide the possibility of some reading beforehand.

5 Meanwhile, I wonder about life in Montenegro. The transposition of English living, of Norwegian? A melting pot or a salad bowl? An enclave? One thought leads to another, in the usual fashion, so now I think of the account which was given to the J & P meeting yesterday evening by a onetime social worker who now works full-time for the Family Support Service, a charity. Her work, in East Grinstead, takes her to families, with children, who have little or no money, who are seriously in debt. In not-so-long-ago years, she said, there were statutory services she could call upon. Now, those services are no longer there. Life in Montenegro - the account will depend on whom one asks, just as life in East Grinstead does.

Staring up the Close

Stayathome