Mayhem

Mayhem: violent or extreme disorder; chaos.  For example: “complete mayhem broke out”. That is a bit of an exaggeration of our current situation, but with restrictions lifted since April 26th here in Scotland, our lives are opening up again, with choices suddenly possible.  We can visit family and friends in gardens, stay away from home in hotels or self-catering cottages, eat in restaurants, go shopping……It’s a huge adjustment after all these months of staying at home, almost too much to cope with. My friend A is ‘dizzy with excitement’ after visiting the hairdresser, garage and charity shop all in one day.  The weather is by turns cold and wintry, sunny and springlike.  Vaccinations here progress, while deaths in India multiply.

Today’s Tarot card, from the Leonora Carrington deck, is The Emperor, as at the start of the year.  This card marks the end of a cycle, emphasising the importance of authority and law.  It is certainly relevant to our situation now.  

Last month I wrote about my mother’s involvement in Gilbert & Sullivan. I want to add some more family history.  There was always great excitement when her costume arrived from Doyley Carte in London; I especially liked her Mikado outfit, with kimono, black wig and fan. For The Gondoliers, in which she was  dancing as well as singing, she had a swirly, striped, swishy skirt with a black lace up belt and a tambourine with ribbons.  I was sorry to see the tambourine go back.  I now have several of my own in my percussion collection.

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Some years ago I found photographs of my London grandmother and her sister in costume as well as scores with their names on. I hadn’t known they were also leading lights in G and S. My great aunt, who lived on in the family home in Ealing, was a member of Questors, a prestigious amateur dramatic society with its own theatre.  She took my Sister and me to a stunning production of Antigone. I was 14 and stagestruck. It was excellent and she was very much a key member of the group.  Questors  still exists, with Tyrone Guthrie, Michael Redgrave and Judi Dench as past presidents. My aunt may have been a founder member in 1929. I like to think she would have been interested in my career in Drama. I will come back to her story which I am continuing to research.

She was an exotic figure in our family, with her wild curly hair, not unlike my own, piercing brown eyes and London accent.  She stayed with us for two weeks every summer and taught me to knit, crochet, play solitaire and canasta and do cryptic crosswords.  At Christmas she sent a parcel of jumble sale purchases.  I still have the Susan Coolidge and Angela Brazil books she sent me.

I’ve been reading a variety of books:  Stephen Gethins’ Nation to Nation (homework for the Scottish Parliamentary election this month) is a demanding read.  I got into it though and found it provided a good picture of Scotland’s place in the world and how it could move forward as an independent nation in future. 

I finished Louise Penny’s Still Life.  I enjoyed it but am not sufficiently hooked to read more of the series just yet.  Discovered my unread copy of A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier, set in England after the First World War. Violet is one of the many ‘surplus’ women, making a life for herself, taking up tapestry in the Cathedral.  Daughter recommended a Viking style Saga, The Eye of the Wolf by A.E. Rayne which I am enjoying.  The Lightkeepers by Sarah Comex (a contemporary re-telling of the ‘Flannan Isle’ ballad) was a good read, cleverly constructed and atmospheric.  I enjoyed watching Marina Warner being interviewed for Toppings (bookshop in St Andrews) about her new book Inventory of a Life Mislaid. She talked of the consolatory effect of writing about her parents.  I am looking forward to reading it.   My most recent audiobook is Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye, one of my favourites, read so long ago that I scarcely remember it, just that I was riveted by its portrayal of how cruel girls can be to one another.

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Excited that The Great British Sewing Bee has returned.  And of course Line of Duty is a weekly treat (both BBC1}.  We're still watching The Walking Dead (Now TV) as well as Deutschland 86 and The Good Fight (All 4)

I’ve been working on a painting/collage for WeeBoy’s room. He has had an input on figures.  It had to include Stickmen (as in the Henry Stickmin games) and Thugs (as in the Marvel movies) in addition to pictures of him and his cousin in various Spiderman Miles Morales costumes.  The Emerald City bit came from a present I got from WeeBoy’s mum.

I was delighted to update my screen saver with this lovely design from Katie Ebben Smith.  It adds a new dimension to using my phone.  Check out her website https://tabletandhaar.com for her unique textile designs.