Retail therapy

Watercolour flowers I painted yesterday

Pretty fabrics in Cabbages and Roses window

For the garden

New improved masks I've made this week

A strange week. Waiting for the rains that never came. Sharing the angst of students who were disappointed with their exam grades. Hoping that voters in the States will not vote for Trump this time around. Seeing a rise in Covid cases and the panic to get back on British soil of holidaymakers in France who had to be home by 4am (what a stupid, arbitrary time???) or else be forced to quarantine themselves for a fortnight. And witnessing through the media the struggle the whole world is experiencing in a pandemic.

I guiltily retreat into playing with my paints or reading (currently The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel). I feel I should be doing something practical but I don't know what. I am lucky I remind myself to have a roof over my head and enough money to buy food. But what about the desperate souls in flimsy boats that need to be given asylum but instead are turned away. They need practical help. I feel bad that this country which has so much isn't hospitable to those who want to live here. 

I am using this blog to exercise my right to Free Speech. But many aren't as lucky. The protesters the world over that try to be peaceful but are met with bullets or tear gas. When I was a teenager I thought the answer was to have a World Government to co-ordinate resources and help one another. Now, in my old(er) age I think that is not youthful idealism but something urgently needed especially now when the whole world is fighting the same illness.

This week, for the first time since March I visited Midhurst, my favourite place for charity shops. It was so nice to relax in a quiet little place with very few people about and to find some bargains for the family. A bit of normal. Although some shops are still closed I do admire the Caroline Bloomfield shop in West Street for carrying on and providing the best place to browse. Just beautiful things and a tonic for people like me to see them...

Did I mention that a kind gardener near here puts out a box of surplus produce with a sign saying Please Help Yourself? That's how I came by black beans for the first time. As he said they are easier to pick because they show up well against the green leaves. So I've bought some seeds for my garden hoping they do well although I know I've really missed the boat for planting them... Maybe with our mixed up seasons it doesn't matter any more when things are planted...

Have a good week readers.