For me, the day began rather musically, with a rehearsal of the St John Passion by J S Bach. My daughter's school is performing it in the spring so the parents' section of the choir met this morning to get our heads (or should that be voices?) around it for the first time. Fabulous.
After that, it was a quick whizz to the King's Road to do some shopping, then home to the garden, which seemed incredibly peaceful after choir practice and the bustling Saturday crowds.
Now that the clocks have gone back, what used to be an afternoon in the garden is really only a couple of hours. But I made the most of it, fishing dead leaves out of the ponds, and sweeping up the droppings from the ash tree in next door's garden.
I'm not a huge fan of ash trees. Like all unwelcome guests, they seem incapable of taking a hint, sprouting seedlings that resist your attempts to unroot them with a tenacity that would be admirable if it wasn't so annoying.
In Norse legend, the Tree of Life, Yggdrasil, was an ash tree, and in northern Europe ash is considered to be a charm against evil. In my garden, however, I would quite like a charm against ash trees. Ash leaves remain on the stem, so they get tangled up in everything, and getting rid of them feels more like combing the garden rather than sweeping it.
But even sweeping ash leaves was a pleasant task today, as dusk fell and the flowers of the fatsia glowed in the last rays of sun. You could have heard a pin - or even an ash leaf - drop.
Just as I was standing back to admire my newly-tidy plot, the first one came. KA-BOOM!!!
*@$+%*&@*! (I said). Bonfire Night. Time to go inside and put in the ear-plugs.
When I was little, Guy Fawkes Night, 5 November, consisted of a few rockets and sparklers and perhaps a Catherine wheel or two. You had your fireworks and bonfire ON 5 November, or the nearest Saturday thereto.
These days, Guy Fawkes celebrations start somewhere back in October and extend until nearly Christmas. The ordnance involved is astonishing, consisting mainly of bomb-like projectiles with the ability to shake a whole street. Another favourite is a kind of whining, whistling thing. The end result is the same, though: KA-BOOM!!!!!!
The public displays are fantastic, with lots of exploding stars and sometimes fairgrounds alongside to pull in the crowds. But the private parties seem to be limited to the KA-BOOM!!! variety.
There's only one thing to do when the Normandy landings are being reenacted outside. Go inside and watch a war film. So I'm going to settle down and watch Ice Cold in Alex, which, unbelievably, I've never seen, and which came free with the Daily Telegraph this morning. What a lovely day it's been.
14 comments:
Victoria~~ I feel totally the same way about fireworks. The municipal display is fine, once or twice a year. The neighbors lighting what are illegal fireworks in Oregon for nights on end is nothing short of irritating. I hate the smell, the garbage the fear of fire. I can't speak for you but I admittedly am getting old and curmudgeonly.
As a Putney gardener it’s likely that we shared a few aural explosions this lovely afternoon. I love the KAABOOMERS and I think they are what the 5th should be about, after all 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar don’t make no katherine wheel. I think a massive bone shuddering explosion taps into a primal human joy and if I had my way each street in London would pool their resources and invest in one massive uber firework, the money saved by culling numerous family displays and sparklers could then be pooled to buy replacement window panes, hearing aids and dogs.
By the way, Glennie Kindred, my oracle on all things cod Celtic describes ash as “the key to a universal truth the understanding of which is essential to the spiritual warrior. Your actions form part of an endless chain of events” perhaps she was raking leaves when she came up with this insight on eternity.
Ben.
We have ash trees. 2 large, and thousands of smalls!
Yes, we have a similar resonant boominess, on and around Victoria Day (I'm foggy on whether or not the UK actually celebrates this "queen's birthday" fest -- perhaps in your honour?) and Canada Day, July 1st. A whole industry seems to emerge noisily from the margins at these times of year.
I can hear fireworks going off as I write this but am hoping that this weekend will see an end to it all . I don't see any need for the 'KA-BOOM' variety but perhaps I am just a grumpy old woman. I think that your retreat indoors to watch a film sounds a most sensible idea. Remember to take the ear plugs out first:)
Hello Victoria,
Your description of your day made me wish that I was in London today. It is one of my favorite cities to visit.
I can only imagine being surprised by the "boom". Great information about Ash trees. We grow 3 different species here in Arizona.
I'm torn in 2 at this time of the year. I love fireworks (preferably the big municipal displays because I want to maximise my value for my oohs) but Skimble and Jess don't.
I've had a fab day too - firstly a forgotten carols workshop with Ali Burns (descended from Robert Burns) who researches and collects all kinds of seasonal music. The oldest piece we sang dated from the 1650s. We also sang a completely different version of the Holly and the Ivy - did you know that the Holly represents man and the Ivy woman? And there are some songs where the Holly dominates and others where the Ivy does? Apparently it's all to do with a shift during Medieval times between matriarchal and male dominated societies. Fascinating stuff.
In the evening we went up Solsbury Hill near Bath where we were treated to bangers of the sausage variety and fireworks set to music. Those of us there from the choir also sang to the fireworks. Our host thinks it might be a world first and is sending off a recording to the Guinness Book of World Records!
i adore any excuse to let off fireworks! but you are right, the private displays consist primarily of how loud one can get, or those waste-of-time smoke-y snake things.no color, no artistry, just noise. which gets old once you are past the age of puberty. the way ash trees spin off baby trees, they could almost be considered an invasive species! my father feels the same way about weeping willow trees.
:)
nice post Victoria
K
(Oh! - word verification is bless - how nice is that!)
Hope ypu enjoy "Ice Cold in Alex". Great Film,I've just seen "Hobson's Chose" Another great Brit Film.
Luckily we don't get too many random fireworks up here in Suffolk - people seem to stick to the displays - we went to a great one at Ickworth House on Saturday evening. However, I have memories of being plagued by them when living in London and almost afraid to walk home from the station as groups of teenagers would be setting them off in the street!
On a more pleasant note, your fatsia is superb and I do hope AT returns to GW!
Jeanne
....and I thought it was only us that had the entire Normandy landings going on outside! My poor cat went outside before they started (and before I went to lock the catflap!) and was missing in action for about 4 hours - have you ever tried to find a black cat in the dark when he's hiding anyway?!
I spent most of the weekend clearing leaves and separating out rocket sticks etc from the pile. Ho hum!
This happened last year - I didn't notice my Fatsia was flowering until you mentioned yours. I've just gone out in the dark and the rain to look and, by the headlights of a turning car . . . yes, there they are . . . lots of little white pom-poms. They look more delicate in the dark than they do in daylight.
I'd have noticed them before if I hadn't stuck a bamboo plantation in front of them!
And fireworks . . . they stretch past New Year now . . . Round here though, there seem fewer than there used to be, not more. And at New Year, people have stopped coming out onto their doorsteps. We are all growing old . . . and weary . . . and jaded . . . and sleepy . . . and . . . boring . . . ! (Round here.)
Esther
Yggdrasil..Wayne and Coleen Rooney missed the ball a bit there.What a great name.
We are surrounded by ash trees that shed leaves and seeds everywhere. I love the idea that if we just stopped gardening for ten years then the whole place would disappear back into the woods, like Sleeping Beauty's palace.
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