I Think It Might Have Been Raining

• I woke up early the next morning,
  before time had been switched on, the hours still
  sleeping in my watch. Things weren't quite ready
  to happen chronologically.

  At some point, I was downstairs
  with a mug half-full of coffee.
  I was looking out the window, taking small sips of
  caffeine and sky and milk. I wasn't quite sober
  enough yet to tell the difference.

  But I could tell the difference between
  glass and water, when they exploded
  on the kitchen floor.

  I remember my socks were soaked through.
  I was sitting by the radiator, even though
  it wasn't on, still wrapped in a coat
  that was wetter than I was.

  And I definitely stumbled out of bed
  on feet that didn't feel like my own,
  trying to ignore a headache while
  opening the curtains in search of sunrise.

  I didn't find it. But I did find two Paracodol
  in the cupboard above the cooker
  so I decided they'd do for now; I dropped them
  in water, watched it eat away at them like acid.
  And I found a broom to sweep them up
  when they fell from my grasp.

  Then I remember standing in the hallway,
  deciding not to wear shoes in case I
  tripped over the laces.
  I didn't want to trip:

  when I walked downstairs, I hugged the banisters
  for balance, and closed my eyes
  so I could let myself believe that they were human.
  Because my arms wouldn't believe anything else,
  and my legs wouldn't move
  if they knew there was no-one there to catch them
  if they missed a step.

  I know I ended up in bed, pulling the sheets
  back over me, resting wet hair on a damp
  pillow, trying to work out
  if I was feeling lonely.

  But somewhere before that,
  I was outside, before the sky had been filled in.
  It was just the right shade of empty. I still wanted
  the sun to burn it down, but it could wait.
  I remember I listened to birdsong for a long time.
  And I think it might have been raining.

  
  

  
  

  By David Carey - Many thanks to David for letting me share this with you guys. I don't own any of the rights or anything (and he wrote it, obviously) but I thought it was so good that more people should read it.

  
  

  And now you have :)

Olympic Fever 2012

As I cannot escape it, I've decided to ponder it. Olympic fever is, of course, sweeping the nation (as well as many other nations). How unsurprising is it that Britain has only won two golds so far? The answer is: not very. I am, however, very pleased to announce that Germany (my favourite country in the world ever, except perhaps Armenia) is sixth in the medal tables with three gold, seven silver and two bronze medals so far. Armenia, unfortunately, has won nothing so far, but seeing as their only athletes are Garo and his mother, this is hardly surprising.

Surprisingly enough, North Korea is currently beating South Korea, having won twice as many medals as the latter. Unsurprisingly, both of them are beating Team GB. Who are quite useless. Apart from the women's rowing pair (Helen Glover and Heather Stanning) and to Bradley Wiggins - well done you! :)

And, amazingly, France is third in the tables - wow!

And all that gubbins about "Having the Olympics in London will be really good for the economy and it'll more than cancel out all the spending the country's done in making the Olympics happen" is absolute rubbish! Spending in London has actually decreased since the Olympics started because the Government and TFL have been telling people not to travel into London because of the enormous strain on the public transport all these extra people will have. And as for those extra people in London, well, they're not doing things like going to shows because, well, think about it. They've been out all day in the East End of London watching sport; they're not really going to want to travel to the West End in the evening and spend several more hours sitting down, just to watch a show, are they?

Germany just won another silver, showing how quickly all this could change. So, before I'm shown to be hideously wrong about how bad Team GB are, I'm going to shut up.

By the way, here's some shameless plugging:

http://lorolocuaz.wordpress.com/ --> The best language-related blog written by one of my teachers I've ever read (seriously though, food for thought; it's awesome)

http://mingledyarns.wordpress.com/ --> If you like literary blogs, and who doesn't, then this is definitely worth a read. Or several. My amazing friend Alice has written this blog detailing books she's read and her opinions. Both of which (the books and the opinions) are well-written and fascinating (usually - some of the books are questionable)

http://shirleynomates.blogspot.com -->This blog is probably about as pointful as mine (i.e. not very) but it's still interesting to know what goes on inside Emily's tiny head. Some of it makes no sense, but the interpreting is part of the fun (see first link, above)

Much love xx

Rain

Hey guys, I don't know how many people are still reading this, it seems to have been a bit of a five-minute wonder. But, in true Scoutist fashion, I shall continue regardless. As the weather has been (as Peter Andre/Jason described it) "hormonal" recently, it has been raining patchily for the last several months. Some much for summer! And therefore my ponderances have been mostly water-based.

Rain may not be the first choice of weather for fishermen, campers, festival goers, lovers of shorts, naturists etc. however, I have come to believe that it is wonderfully good for the natural world (flora, not fauna - obviously it has affected the migration patterns and breeding seasons for loads of animals). I am convinced that this summer there is even more plant growth than normal; trees are greener, grass is higher and thicker (and less dead) and because of the rain, there is a lot less pollen around, which means that hay fever sufferers such as myself are free to explore and discover nature without exploding every three seconds.

Secondly, there's the Gemütlichkeit of it all. Sorry, but there really isn't a word in English that's suitable; if you type it into Google Translate, it'll come up as "cosy", but I think it's more than that. To me, Gemütlichkeit is more like that feeling you have when you're inside (probably snuggled up in bed, or by a fire with a blanket) and it's chucking it down with rain outside and you feel so snug, like you never want to move again. That's the wonderful thing about rain, you feel safe (as long as your not out in it). This still happens at camp, because the rain is really loud on the tent (as long as your tent doesn't leak, it's fine), but it's colder in the morning. And, as anyone who was at Gilwell24 last weekend will testify (Pencil Guy, Liz, Sammi, MatT, Josh, Ollie, Martha etc), the actual participating in activities, unless that activity is mud-sliding, becomes a lot less possible...
You just don't get the same feeling of snug-cosiness when it's boiling hot in the summer - lying on top of your duvet, failing to sleep and needing to get up for a drink every twenty minutes doesn't exactly give you that same experience...

And yes, there is an element of Schadenfreude in there [for those of you who've never come across the most fantastic word Schadenfreude, it's the concept of "pleasure from the pain of others", the Germans have a word for it :-)] - the idea of being cacooned inside, wrapped up with your big thick book and a cup of tea whilst the rest of the world is experiencing this torrential downpour on their heads, makes you feel quite good (unless you have a Tom and Jerry Christmas moment...)

Don't tell me you've not seen "Tom and Jerry; The Night Before Christmas"?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Right! Next post...