My room is getting filled with plants. They are all stretching towards the window, this being Scotland and us not facing South, the sunshine is short. One of the succulents got a little tear when I moved it a few weeks ago and I thought the pale bluish-green leaf/petal/limb/part was going to fall off but instead, tiny pink roots have started to grow out of the wound, like a repair or a way of finding some stability again. Seems like magic. I must remember to go and buy some seeds to plant radishes, that is about as ambitious as my food planting is at the moment due to previously mentioned lack of sunshine. But there is nothing better than watching tiny seedlings peeking through the soil on the window-ledge. It's really been a lot better the last couple of weeks, I've been waking up naturally because it's light again and not having to force myself out of bed at the ringing of my alarm clock. Radishes make me think of Peter Rabbit which I used to like very much.
Today my uncle turned up at the door, it's always a complete surprise when he comes to visit. He lives down South and just appears now and then which is nice. It seems to me quite. good to be spontaneous like that, no one has to prepare or be anything other than there. He told us a great story about when he was very young during the war and the Polish army were stationed in his village, waiting to go and fight the Germans, waiting for D-day. He said that his little school friend Angela was dressed as a bride, they were both about 6 or 7 and a polish tailor had made him a tiny little army uniform with the beret and the polish eagle. They won first prize, it was some kind of village fancy dress contest at the fair. And the first prize was to go for a ride around the village on top of an Polish tank.
My mum gave my uncle a lift to my cousins house when he was leaving and came back with the photograph of the little bride and soldier, an old photograph, hand tinted, my uncle looking just the same. It really was the sweetest thing. My uncle is very good at languages, he speaks at least 6 and he's learning Russian at the moment because he would just like the be able to read the Russian newspapers he said. His Russian teacher is Ukrainian and is very worried about what is happening in the Ukraine and Russia at the moment. She has an English school in Kiev he said and is on her way back to see what's going on there. I met a Russian professor of geometry in the swimming pool sauna recently. I meet all sorts of interesting people in the sauna and have the strangest conversations! I started thinking I could almost write a book of those conversations.
I was also looking at photographs yesterday because my mother has been clearing out my grandmothers house, she died two days after Christmas last year which was very sad but she was 91 and there has to come a day for us all as is said. I went to help yesterday but ended up doing nothing but looking through things. I remember all the time I spent in that house, throughout my life and how much I used to like looking through all the cupboards and drawers and jewellery boxes. Every single object, touch and smell is so familiar, like a part of me. I love the smell of her perfume, Chanel no. 5, there was half of the bottle left. My mum says she's going to spend the next 20 years trying to clear her own house out so no one has to do that for her. I loved looking at the photographs, in every single picture of my grandparents, they are smiling. I think they really had a good life. I love the pictures of my grandpa when he was at sea, icebergs, whales, albatross, the whole deck frozen over with icicles clinging to the handrails. They had real adventures in their work. My other grandfather was also a captain, he was in warmer places like Africa and South America. I didn't get to meet either of my other grandparents sadly. Very lucky to have had two for so long. You really miss them so much when they go. It's strange coming across things you bought or made for people as presents after they are gone. I often have this feeling that objects are the most sad and pathetic thing about life but can also be really perfect and beautiful embodiments of memories and of a person.
Beautiful evening, going out for a walk...
