Frizzworld

R.I.P Paul Newman (1925-2008).

Sarah (aged 4): “I’m going to zoom in”. Translation: running to something, getting back to the house quickly, generally a fast movement.

Anna (mother): “John, that’s n a u g h t y”. Translation: John stop messing around, teasing your sister, teasing your mother/father, generally being a six year old.

Trying to get Glastonbury tickets…

Go here for some good deals, although watch out, quite a lot are out of date… but if they weren’t they’d be good.

Lovely lunch and afternoon in South London. We hid 200 or so eggs. Great fun had by all… even in the cold.

I’m feeling rather proud. I managed to complete my first march… from beginning to end in the actual crowd, not off on the sidelines somewhere, leaving before the end, or only arriving after it’s finished – all things I’ve done in the past. I have a problem with marches they make me feel uncomfortable, I think it was passed down to me through my mothers milk. So true to form when the march started I had this almost overwhelming sensation to ‘get the hell out of there’, but as I said I stood my ground, it helped that the atmosphere couldn’t have been more friendly. Hearing the first car that slowed down to honk in support had a real feel good factor feeling – as did the woman watching us go by clapping. What was sad though was the poultry paltry numbers that turned up, we certainly weren’t a million women rising, we weren’t even close to the expected twenty thousand.

As a side point it was great to be able to walk along Park Lane and Piccadilly in the road – much better to see all those incredible buildings. And the best was Hyde Park Corner.

Orange have started charging for itemized billing… I’ve always been impressed by the fact that they didn’t charge, it’s even been one of the reasons for sticking with them. It’s a small thing, but small things count. Anyway so this guy tried to tell me the reason they were charging was to save the environment… Well I kinda lost my top, because if they were really doing things to ‘save the environment’ I’d be happy, but he was telling me this, whilst I was holding my crisp white paper bill, with it’s pointless top page, which in turn had come out of a similarly crisp white envelope. And I’m carrying around my new mobile phone, which their policy encouraged me to buy when my old one still works, whose packaging, with it’s numerous plastic bags (even small ones count) is still hanging around the house. So I lost my top because I want these companies to start doing things environmentally and when they have a consistent policy I’ll be happy, but if they are going to use the ‘environment argument’ as an excuse to make more money out of me, I’m going to be angry.

This just got a great review on Late Review.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to have some Reiki, which is a type of healing. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it turned out to be an incredibly positive and inspiring experience. Much of it was centered on change and understanding we can change the choices we make.

On Monday I went to Oxford to work for The Photographer for the first time since the move. On the way home I met an acquaintance who told me about having her camera stolen and how devastated she’d been by the experience; it had taken her two years to get a new camera and she was still obviously upset. I’ve had a camera stolen and I’ve left another one (with my favorite ever picture on the film still inside it) in a taxi. Both times I just went out and bought a new one and it struck me, whilst I was listening to her, that that was a choice I made at the time and I thought about the photos I wouldn’t have now if I’d decided not to get another camera, what I would have lost. We had both reacted in completely different ways to similar incidences and suddenly I could see what a huge difference such a simple choice could make.

Then yesterday coincidently, I had two discussions about choice and fate. One wrangled it’s way there from somewhere else and another one was a group discussion and it just happened to be the topic for that meeting.

So I’m thinking about two things, firstly, being able to see the choices, because I don’t think I always have done in the past and secondly, to let myself choose the reaction that is most positive. I think what it boils down to is not getting so hurt and being able to let go, which doesn’t mean forgetting, because I still think about that picture left behind in my camera, but I’ve also got all the pictures I’ve taken since.

Goes without saying it’s easier said than done.

for the Green Fair and Bikefest in Regents Park the weekend before last – I am a bit behind with the posts too…