Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Back to Reality

I’m back! What? No-one noticed I was gone? Damn and blast!!

Anyway, I’ve been away from my blog for some while now, partly due to not having anything much to say about anything but mainly to my being away in foreign shores, soaking up the sun and staring out to sea whilst ingesting copious amounts of soft drinks, oysters and cashew nuts, none of which is calculated to do the waistline any good!
Not your typical beach pic but more 'scenic'
Still, gluttony and excess will have their way, but now it’s time to try and shed those extra pounds by a diet of carrots and lettuce leaves. Not for nothing is it called the ‘Rabbit Diet’. Munch, munch.
There was also the carnival, a time of enforced revelry and legitimised lunacy when all other life came to a standstill. I too was swept up in the general mood of merriment and mayhem but managed to get away with the minimum participation.

When I got back on home ground it was cold and grey, as usual, and the sun and the heat were already but a distant memory. It was back to warm woolly socks, jumpers and jackets. But that was then and this is now. It’s warmed up again and now we’re on 18ºC! Still, can’t really compare with night-time 28ºC and daytime 38ºC at my holiday destination. But at least I’m comfortable in clothes now and have no desire to run around butt-naked to relieve my discomfort.

Back to the routine also means back to reality, and reality is nearly all bad. The world has gone mad and everyone seems to be up in arms in the Arab countries in a chain reaction to oust the oligarchic regimes that reign there, Japan is on the brink of national collapse after suffering earthquakes, tsunamis and radiation leaks, and the European economies are sinking ever deeper into the murky waters of austerity and teetering on the edge of national bankruptcy. We’re all worse off - it's official - with some much more than others. Man-made tragedies vie with natural disasters for the top position in destructiveness. It’s got too scary to even look out of the window, let alone go outside!

Crikey, it's too fuckin' scary out there!
Indoors is the safest place in a world where no place is safe. Vicarious experience through the telly and the internet and the cellphone are the best options. The real world is a scary place and getting scarier every day. Suddenly the sofa and one’s bed offer infinite attractions at little or no effort and zero cost.

Still, mustn’t grumble, I’m still alive and in one piece and millions of people out there are in a much worse condition. As I write this piece, the sun is shining, the birds singing, the trees budding, there’s a blue sky above, some food in the fridge, I’ve got money in my pocket, and life still seems worth living. Well, let’s face it, it takes a lot to make death more attractive than life, don’t you think? When all’s said and done, death doesn’t have a lot going for it unless of course life has been dumping on you since you were a baby!

Well, that’s enough of that, I need to get back to work now and earn a few bob to re-stock the fridge, otherwise life won’t be worth living!

Winter Hues in Stained Glass

Winter Hues in Stained Glass
As the nights grow longer and the days grow shorter, the cold begins to tighten its grip.

The Fair Ophelia

The Fair Ophelia
Ophelia, thou fairest of maidens, what beholdest thou in thy reflection?

Autumn colours - As cores de Outono

Autumn colours - As cores de Outono
Trees in their multicoloured autumnal apparel, a kaleidescope of hues and shades.

Poppy Field

Poppy Field
"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us and Say, For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today"