I make up a lot of Kennings, those cheeky Anglo-Saxon word pairs that still pepper our thoughts and conversations. Not all of my nearest and dearest are in favour of this habit. Today we had a family zoom conversation with different bits of our global family brought together on the internet. Dad, the Oldie Zoomer, can now get onto zoom unaided, and many others of his generation have been learning such things. Hannah has been teaching on line while drinking chocolate milk (if this sounds like a music hall trick I am unable to comment not having seen it myself).
Meanwhile I continue my virtual End to End and we’ve reached Day 25, another on the Strawberry Line in Somerset. It was a damp day and all the greenery lining the cutting through which the path passed was verdant and bright. One year on in Derbyshire, it’s rather dry and there was a fire on the adjacent moorland a few days ago. Small seedling still shoot up and dandelions cling to precarious perches around the Longdendale reservoirs.
Everyone has been spotting unusual wildlife: a sparrow hawk or mutjac deer in the back garden for example as well as plants and flowers springing up in places usually mowed down by now. Perhaps we can learn some new ways of getting on with wildlife, side by side, and allow the fragile things to flourish.
Spotting wild stuff was a big part of the End to End for me. I’d keep a record on my phone, especially of butterflies but also of orchids when the time came. It was a joy to see new species I’d not seen before. It was also good to end the day at a welcoming cafe that had tasty scones. So that’s Memory Maker and Scone Eater signing off for now, until tomorrow.
From the remembered gospel:
Jesus said ‘Come and have something to eat’.
Meal Maker, we yearn to enjoy each other’s company again.
Help us to keep in touch while at a distance,
our memories making important connections.
For those who feel alone, be there in the simple things of everyday:
may something unexpected turn up and turn the day around.
May joy come with the morning.
JAL: 26.04.2020 in Longdendale.