One of the tiny solipsistic fascinations of this blog is seeing where it is being read. Everytime a new country appears on the map I feel quite excited - even though I know no one is really reading it - just flipping past the page. One of the mysteries of the audience stats though is that while some countries appear in the weekly stats, they disappear when it comes to the all-time stats - which is why I have apparently lost my readership in Italy, Indonesia,. India and the Philippines. Rather sad. No matter, I am recording them here.
We went to Folkestone again yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfectly warm and lovely. We saw the ships in St. Eanswyth's church - like a lot of visitors we found the church more fascinating than the work - although it was an interestingish idea... boats all facing east - the Resurrection, the journey of life etc. Ships were all decorated with plastic flowers, jewellery etc. M thought of the votive offerings of ships in Roman temples - and I thought about the annual opening and closing of the maritime seasons in the Med. But really the church was far more interesting. Very high - lingering smell of incense - and heavily decorated during 19th and early 20th with very florid angels etc. Also some nice glass - a 17thC tomb, a medieval tomb and the relics of St Eanswyth...Lovely churchyard. Really Folkestone has some nice bits. After lunch we walked down to see the installlation about Algerian lighthouses, which was very beautiful - wonderful images and an interview with a lighthouse keeper who clearly lived a monastic life there. Then we went down in the lift and heard the Martin Creed music - basically 2 descending scales based on a note the lift makes as it squeaks into life... amusante!
I am still thinking a lot about this sort of art. I mean the Martin Creed thing - it's an interesting idea, it amuses one. It's clever to exploit the squeak of the lift like that but - ? So what? OK - it's suggesting a connection between music and a random sound... but - well, that's it. And that's the trouble with a lot of this sort of art. It makes a connection which may or may not be familiar - so there may or may not be a moment of recognition - but it doesn't have much resonance with something else. But perhaps for some people it does, perhaps for some people it's a short cut to something that they might not get otherwise.
The Zinab Sedira work about the lighthouse keepers was lovely because it was beautiful - it was a sort of documentary - but done with multiple screens that make one's eyes dash about from place to place, giving a sense of being there - and giving one a great deal more information or experience than a purely linear piece would have. It was an "educational" experience - learned about something, but also was washed with beautiful images, some of which passed before my eyes as I was falling asleep last night - and of course lighthouses do have a sinister feeling. It wasn't clear whether they were land based or island based (one was certainly land based). It is those isolated ones that just emerge from the sea that seem so sinister.
Tuesday: we went to see the newish Gerard Depardieu film Potiche - it was very enjoyable and silly. Gerard has definitely lost it in the looks department - (I can't talk). Afterwards when we went to collect the car the sky was incredibly starry. It's that time of year when I don't really recognise the constellations - is that Aquila or Lyra? No sign of Orion - but Jupiter low in the sky (we argued about this, M said it was Mars, I said it wasn't red enough and anyway Mars was in Leo so not visible during the night, while Jupiter was in Taurus; he was disgusted to find I was doing anything with ephemeris charts). But I saw a shooting star - at the time I was too busy feeling irritated to enjoy the feeling - and now it seems a miracle to me - I hardly ever see shooting stars. I no longer want to share the rapture - I am just feeling irritated by M's responses, and his mind swamping mine when I want to enjoy things - and he wants to talk all the time! Silent contemplation is not his thing. I don't know. He's so kind and good - but another 30 years of irritation....maybe I'll change again, and become more engaged with him, but it doesn't seem to be happening, despite my efforts. I don't think having another relationship is the answer - sometimes I just want to be alone. But I must beware of what I wish for...
We went to Folkestone again yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfectly warm and lovely. We saw the ships in St. Eanswyth's church - like a lot of visitors we found the church more fascinating than the work - although it was an interestingish idea... boats all facing east - the Resurrection, the journey of life etc. Ships were all decorated with plastic flowers, jewellery etc. M thought of the votive offerings of ships in Roman temples - and I thought about the annual opening and closing of the maritime seasons in the Med. But really the church was far more interesting. Very high - lingering smell of incense - and heavily decorated during 19th and early 20th with very florid angels etc. Also some nice glass - a 17thC tomb, a medieval tomb and the relics of St Eanswyth...Lovely churchyard. Really Folkestone has some nice bits. After lunch we walked down to see the installlation about Algerian lighthouses, which was very beautiful - wonderful images and an interview with a lighthouse keeper who clearly lived a monastic life there. Then we went down in the lift and heard the Martin Creed music - basically 2 descending scales based on a note the lift makes as it squeaks into life... amusante!
I am still thinking a lot about this sort of art. I mean the Martin Creed thing - it's an interesting idea, it amuses one. It's clever to exploit the squeak of the lift like that but - ? So what? OK - it's suggesting a connection between music and a random sound... but - well, that's it. And that's the trouble with a lot of this sort of art. It makes a connection which may or may not be familiar - so there may or may not be a moment of recognition - but it doesn't have much resonance with something else. But perhaps for some people it does, perhaps for some people it's a short cut to something that they might not get otherwise.
The Zinab Sedira work about the lighthouse keepers was lovely because it was beautiful - it was a sort of documentary - but done with multiple screens that make one's eyes dash about from place to place, giving a sense of being there - and giving one a great deal more information or experience than a purely linear piece would have. It was an "educational" experience - learned about something, but also was washed with beautiful images, some of which passed before my eyes as I was falling asleep last night - and of course lighthouses do have a sinister feeling. It wasn't clear whether they were land based or island based (one was certainly land based). It is those isolated ones that just emerge from the sea that seem so sinister.
Tuesday: we went to see the newish Gerard Depardieu film Potiche - it was very enjoyable and silly. Gerard has definitely lost it in the looks department - (I can't talk). Afterwards when we went to collect the car the sky was incredibly starry. It's that time of year when I don't really recognise the constellations - is that Aquila or Lyra? No sign of Orion - but Jupiter low in the sky (we argued about this, M said it was Mars, I said it wasn't red enough and anyway Mars was in Leo so not visible during the night, while Jupiter was in Taurus; he was disgusted to find I was doing anything with ephemeris charts). But I saw a shooting star - at the time I was too busy feeling irritated to enjoy the feeling - and now it seems a miracle to me - I hardly ever see shooting stars. I no longer want to share the rapture - I am just feeling irritated by M's responses, and his mind swamping mine when I want to enjoy things - and he wants to talk all the time! Silent contemplation is not his thing. I don't know. He's so kind and good - but another 30 years of irritation....maybe I'll change again, and become more engaged with him, but it doesn't seem to be happening, despite my efforts. I don't think having another relationship is the answer - sometimes I just want to be alone. But I must beware of what I wish for...
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