Posts tagged with “parenting”

November 24

If death disturbs, think on it...

Believe it or not thinking of Jimmy Saville and the fact of his death and influences spreading there from startled me from my bed. I lie - it was thinking of my childhood and my father that had me in the sweats tonight. But I do not find the comparison so odious nor so hard to make (of course this would disgust my father and indeed my family, but what of that?). However and though the link may seem obscure it is not really. Jim "fixed it" for kids (the phrase must surely echo down spreading horror now, how many abusers was he really "the fixer" for?) but was the sin all his, no there must have been countless folks who simply stood by and did nothing.... But this is not what I was thinking of again, I lie and it tells a tale that I distract with macabre and horrific tales, perhaps they feel the only adequate camouflage for what I perceive as an equal horror, an equal omission. The standing by as my mothers life drained from her poor young body, as the poison took hold. For surely this was done? Surely someone could have saved her? And surely someone could have seen how affected, almost, one could say, afflicted, I was and maybe tried to help me? [edit] But I am probably missing it - they probably did. Shame they failed... but at least they tried... [/edit]
11:41 PM | 0 Comments | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
December 10

Christmas

How to offset the cycling obsession? Icy weather is likely to make a natural intervention sooner or later at this time of year. It is a time to look towards making things special for the ones I love. For the first time I can remember I seem to have actually bought all the presents for Christmas before my birthday! I do need to think of a better present for my partner than a rear wheel with drum brake for the tandem though, to give that could result in murder at Christmas! Oddly I have ended up with an "orphan present", a volume of poetry called "the Bees" by Carol Ann Duffy. It was such a beautiful book I could not resist it and although I could give it to my daughter's mother it does not seem appropriate. Perhaps I shall keep it as an indulgence to myself, or perhaps someone will present themselves as suitable to be the recipient. This is a far less thoughtful or creative or eccentric post than I should like, it feels mundane. I shall set myself the task of writing something poetic next time about parents who "give too much" at this time of year and the dangers inherent (I'm very conscious of this after braking the bank to get my daughter a laptop far superior to anything any of the grown-ups can afford!)
07:52 AM | 0 Comments | Tags: , , , , , , ,
May 15

Polar Bear

So last weekend we went to see "Polar Bear" by [[Mark Haddon]] and I was really looking forward to it.  I had been quite disappointed to hear initially that we could not get seats, which also surprised me because I had it on good authority that the reviews were quite mixed.  So all the more exciting to be going and even taking a friend along and dinner to follow after the matinee.  Sadly our friend's partner was called away to Mexico City, and I think he missed out on something he may very well have enjoyed a great deal.

There is no interval and the performance is an hour and a half, but after seeing it I can quite see how no break is a necessary part to the entire piece.  The narrative is not chronological and as a result a break could add to any confusion.  I loved the set and the way it worked, it was not quite "in the round" but it had that feeling to it.  No one actor "upstaged" any other, though [[Celia Imrie]]'s performance was masterful, if you can use that word in the context.  I was embarrassed on entering the foyer to get her name wrong and think it was Imelda Staunton.

If I had to single any one actor as impressing me it would actually be the female lead though.  She played the part of Kelly who as it turns out is the manic depressive in the play.  When the play starts she is in fact dead, or at least we are led to believe so. As the narrative moves along and back and forth in time I personally began to wonder if there was some ambiguity on that score, if in fact her husband had become deranged and she was actually in Oslo and not the body in the cellar.

Our friend noticed and we all agreed that since we realise bipolar disorder is a big part of the play then we all thought the husband was the person affected by it (and of course he was, but only indirectly).  It is not until the change in scene that it becomes apparent Kelly is the primary focus for the bipolar, though there is the shadow of her father and his depressive suicide hanging over the whole play menacingly.

Later we have a Jesus figure (several perhaps!), and I especially loved the scene where he said true love is when the person you love does not know your name and went on to itemise the stages of decomposition of a corpse and the associated "symptoms". This was interesting, the husband is a philosophy professor and I felt we were being played with for Mr Haddon to display a knowledge of the subject on a par with mine (IE very amateur!).  Mark Haddon always manages to irritate me at some level, and in this play it was the mention of a coach tour through the philosophers of the ages and the "stopping at Kierkegaard for someone to be sick" which I thought was a cheap laugh (I have a LOT of respect for the Dane).

On leaving the theatre none of us could understand the poor reviews - apparently it was slated by quite a few critics - but since we believed there were good reviews too we settled on the play having "bipolar reviews"!  Over dinner I asked everyone what they thought they would remember from the play (we had all enjoyed it thoroughly).  For me ultimately it is the subject of suicide, mental disorder, family, and the ensuing trauma from the act and ripples down the generations that shall be my abiding interest and memory.

 

09:34 AM | 0 Comments | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
November 09

Isabel's poem

This was written by my daughter at the weekend, I shall photograph the original text and post it, but this is my version typed as faithfully as I can:-

Look! a leaf
Scrunkling my life away.

Look! a rabbit hole
Like a bowl
Eating my life away.

Look!...a nest
Like a bed
Sleeping my life away

Look at the green grass
Like  a bean
I roll my life away

Isabel Eleanor Amelia Wrighton, November 2009.

06:21 AM | 2 Comments | Tags: , , , , , ,
February 14

Ode to a burglary

Come on you burglers

Come and have a go

Take every thing I own

I'm a Quaker so

that's OK....

 

The riches of my spirit

far outweigh your karma

if you want to hurt me

You'll have to try harder

 

Come on all you burglars

You got my daughter's DS

now you really shouldn't

Mess with my princess

 

Come on all you burglars

show me your face somehow

I may be a Quaker

But I could kill you now

 

All the stuff you have is tainted

You can have it all

But frightening my daughter

You really didn't oughta

 

That made it personal

that made me care

Makes me see your life as worthless

But I can't go there

 

We'll get our home back

we have our love

You have some stuff

and when you go above

You're going to fucking pay for this in ways you never could imagine you fucking bastard.

 

Sorry I'm a Quaker

What I meant to say

was God bless and I feel sorry for you

and listen to a voice inside next time

Just LEAVE THE DS, OK?!

 

06:48 AM | 0 Comments | Tags: , , , , ,