Wednesday, October 02, 2013

death is a lousy disappearing act

My Son Chris is 25 today. I love the bloke. He's doing really well. Busy building walls .Making Paths.Doing Horticulture. Chopping down trees.He's had some trouble this year.But thanks to HIS strength & the help of  Calderdale NHS (that's even better than Obamacare my American friends!),My Son has grown so strong again .
Meanwhile, Ive not been well for 7 days.(just flu & stuff).& .I sat and watched David Cameron today on the tv
.Irony :(today of all day's) he announced that ,if elected again,he would take away all support for those under 25.Its just so fucking cruel.(READ details  )
(I know I have lots of American readers.I would like to say ,you must be puddled if you don't support Obamacare.)
Me & Brother Zyg in 1961

The old magician takes the stage {n.b.reminding me of David Cameron's speech today& various recent comments from Republican TeaParty spokespeople}
His act does not improve with age  Observe the shabby hat and gloves.... The tired act that no-one loves..... There was a time he produced doves
A mirror and a puff of smoke His mysteries are now a joke
His poor assistant black and blue She's tired of being sawn in two
Hidden trapdoor, velvet cape Still from death there's no escape ......Words of sympathy and tact.... Only underline the fact Death is a lousy disappearing act
Lord have mercy and be kind When our faculties unwind
Overlook the hat and gloves The tired act that no-one loves There was a time we produced doves
The old magician takes the stage With sleight of hand he’ll disengage
As dignified as you’ll allow He’ll take his last, his final bow He’s lost all his illusions now .......
He’ll take one last, one final bow
This weekend each year i go the Rugby League Grand Final at Old Trafford in Salford.We meet beforehand at The Halfway House Pub in Royton.(not going this year due to sickness) I was out drinking with friends in Manchester the other week.My friend Jim Stridgen was telling me something i never knew concerning The Peterloo Massacre in Manchester.
He told me that the woods behind The Halfway House,at Tandle Hill were manmade in the 19th century.Orginally open  land ,local people would assemble there to protest ,talk & plan against the authority of the time.
After Peterloo,fearing further protest,the authorities cunningly planted lots of trees there to make marching & grouping more difficult.
A way of blurring the view? Of altering the landscape to  prevent folk seeing clearly ?It depends on your point of view i suppose.
This week's sepia Theme is around blurred & unclear photos.Here are 3 of mine.The 2nd a fairly recently one ( 2005) on Boston Common.Me Chris & Ayse had walked in it and a sweet lady offered to take a photo of us together.It was February.Tons of snow on the ground.The sun was both blinding & low.Lord knows how she managed it ,but the snow&sun seemed to leech all the detail out of the image.I still like it..albeit in an abstract kinda way.
The 3rd photo is a rare one of me & my Dad .It must have been taken 72-73.I must have been 21 years old at the time....'back from my year away working in a London Youth Hostel.While in London my weight had shot up to 15 stone.I was on a diet (eventually i lost nearly 5 stone!) but i look poorly in the picture.Over 9 months i studied and gained 6 o levels & 2 A levels (i had no qualifications at the time)I passed & later in the  year entered Teacher Training in Liverpool.
But the combination of book-learning & lack of food can be seen in this shot.Its blurred but it still evokes a lot of memory for me.


This is a Sepia Saturday Post

17 comments:

Brian Miller said...

enjoy the rugby final....the prefab song was pretty cool...enjoyed for sure....and happy bday to your boy....

Kristin said...

Happy birthday to your son. I wish he were closer to us so he could cut down a few of these trees that need to come down before they fall on the house.

nice song and blurry photos too.

Ann ODyne said...

The wrong list seems to die though Tony. I have a little list, and they'd none of them be missed.

Glad to hear your son is well and involved with the land, the earth, the landscape. a non-soul-destroying occupation.
Can we blame Eton for this fear of health welfare? When a person is unattractive we might look to the parents for a cause. I know from reading Just Boris that Mr J had what I consider to be childhood neglect, but I have yet to read a Cameron biog.
Spare a thought for half of Australia who didn't vote for our new PM now trying to start a war with Indonesia's 110 million illiterate muslims jammed right up against our 25 million practising Apathetics.

Anonymous said...

Interesting about the arborial aftermath to Peterloo. A contrast to Hausmann's broad boulevards to prevent Parisiens barricading them. Perhaps a companion to Belfast housing estates designed for restricting movement.

savannah said...

very glad to hear your boy is well, sugar! a day late, but happy birthday to chris! xoxoxox

Alex Daw said...

Great lyrics. Great post. I'm really liking this week's theme and almost thinking the blurred photos are better than those in focus...softer lines lend themselves to better to imagination and gentler thoughts

Wendy said...

You have made a good point that despite overexposure and blurs, "bad" photos often come with strong memories. And that's why somebody kept them.

Postcardy said...

I have been in favor of national health care ever since I learned about it in the early 1960s. Now I am old enough for Medicare. Medicare is a good thing but not really cheap.

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite photos for many years was of me and two friends, blurred as can be, but we were too at the time, heh.

Boobook said...

Best wishes to your bloke.

Rosie said...

I live in Canada, we have national Health Care, thank God! Birthday wishes to your son!

The Silver Fox said...

There's something charming about all of those.

Unknown said...

interesting smatters there; amazed at how the bleary is made clearer by the words...glad your son is doing well.

Unknown said...

Good for your Chris -- there's a hardwon battle, yes? And thanks for your support of the AFA (its real name) here in the USA -- we need it desperately!

Sharon said...

Glad that your son is doing well. Hope that you are feeling better soon too.

That second photos is very interesting.

Mike Brubaker said...

This weekend's theme might be called abstract photo memories. Your three choices have that quality of modern art that allows the imagination to see several layers, and the artist explains it in context and we then see something else too. My son is coming up to 25 too, and I know how you feel. Life moves on in patterns and cycles. Hope you feel better soon.

Bruno Laliberté said...

I mostly like the one at the Boston Commons. Even those obscure pictures have a lot to tell, as you can attest to that. Abstraction is only another point of view...
:D~
HUGZ

Many [healthy] years ahead for Chris,
hopefully!!

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