A Sombre Weekend

On Saturday night I cooked pasta with salami, which does what it says on the tin, nothing exciting really, except perhaps from the addition of cannelini beans. Verdict on this dish is that the beans were surplus to requirement.

It has been a bit of a wierd weekend on the whole. For me the whole thing has been overshadowed by news that a guy we met on holiday died on Saturday. He was only a bit older than us. We don't know the whole story, but he is survived by his fiance, 7-year old son, 1 year old daughter, and a new baby on the way. Why, oh why, is life so unfair? A former colleague of mine at work is also gravely ill, who I had thought was relatively young in her early sixties. Life is so very precious. It certainly puts into perspective all the minor work worries and all the other daily grinds of life.

I like this poem, by Jenny Joseph, entitled 'Warning' which sums up the way I am feeling at the moment:

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

I may not be wearing purple very much at the moment, but am very pleased with my purchase of a long black velvet dress which I am going to wear to a couple of posh dos over the festive period:



I am off to grab life with both hands, and to enjoy every minute.

Goddess Mx