The last few days have seen an improvement, mentally; I feel that I have left the Purgatory of semi-awareness and have been re admitted into the land of full consciousness!
Would not presume to call it Heaven….
How do you recognise such an improvement ?
I have finished Donna Tartt’s “The a Goldfinch” – an epic book, and have begun “All is Silence” by Manueline Rivas, translated from Galician Spanish, set on the Atlantic Coast, in the era, just prior to the death of that Fascist bastard,Franco – nothing to do with the Caminho – more like “Moonfleet” meets ” Lord Of The Flies”.
Watched much of the Commonwealth Games – The Anti Olympics! Terrific…
Some great 20-20 Quarter finals ; come on you Bears!
Looking forward to Michael Portillo’s latest railway journeys, set in World War I, tonight, on BBC 2- political pillock, turned great broadcaster!
Able to concentrate for longer- crosswords, sudoku, Leader columns in the papers…..
Going to Stratford to see ” Two Gentlemen of Verona”, tomorrow, part of Barbara’s Birthday week celebrations!
Physically,still occasional Gas Attacks.
Moving towards solving leaky , Urostomy bags problem – no leaks in current version.
For the uninitiated, bags should last up to three days before changing…..
Appointment at Good Hope Hospital, today, Anti- coagulant Department, to
Set up Warfarin treatment
So, basically, I have a secondary condition around Blood thinning- all because of PE, caused by Chemo.
Cannot travel by plane for three months and if driving distances, shake a leg every hour or so.
This treatment will be regularly monitored till correct level achieved.
It is in tablet form, so in ten days or so, I can stop the self injection of Rexclane.
Am able walk around the block, up ad around the garden; may get Hannah to drive me to the allotment, later in the week.
We had a lovely w/end visit from Dan, Nelly Tom and baby Jake.
Barbara tok Tom down to the plot and they came back with potatoes,spinach, carrots French and Runner gleans, plus courgettes and lettuce- able to give them a large bagful to take home!
To close, a poem to mark the” official” beginning of WW I – putting all,our afflictions into perspective…….
FUTILITY
The sun is receding from the sky,
Which is now painted a deep crimson red
But the blood of bodies lying, left to die
Have filled this red sky with unease and dread
For, a few hours ago, a battle was fought
One side was victorious, the other was mercilessly defeated
But the value of human life came to nought
Jesus’ maxim, “Love thy neighbour” was severely dented
Among the battered bodies, a soldier rises from the ground
With great discomfiture, and holds his bruised knee
He looks around at the destruction and carcasses strewn all around
And it is only then that he starts crying inconsolably
For he is all alone, in this desolate picture of heartache and grief
He starts looking at one bloody corpse after another
For his friends and comrades, with whom his association was brief
And then he, with watery eyes, looks at the body of his brother
His brother had just joined service, he had not served in the regiment long
But Fate and Death selected him, and played a cruel joke
With his brother, with whom the soldier would sometimes sing a song
And when catching him rob apples red-handed, his ribs he would gently poke
It is only now that the lonely soldier realizes
How utterly futile it is to fight a war!
He surveys the dead fathers, sons and brothers of all sizes
He regrets his mistake, the rest of the world he wants peace for
And then he decides to do something in this endeavour, there and then
He will preach to the world the foolishness of battles
He does not exactly know how, where and when
But nobody can stop a man’s resolve, when his conscience rattles
War is NOT a necessary evil, it can be stopped
Peace and dialogue have never hurt Mother Earth
For it is better, than to have bodies mercilessly chopped
That, to a new happy world, we give a grand new birth
RONY PATRA
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