Connections

It was a day when we realised that the world is not only smaller than we think but also much warmer; and we’re not talking climate change here.

The blip is from the Don McCullin retrospective at the Tate Britain. Not a typical shot from the great man, who was after all famous for capturing the appalling defamations of war and famine. Now in his ‘eighties he remains haunted by the terrible things he witnessed and can be transported back to the Vietnam jungle simply by the sound of rain on the trees near his Somerset home.

But I liked this shot. I was sitting at the back of the room during a presentation of his magazine work and the heads of the people in front of me seemed to make a point about just how connected we all are and how an image can make that connection real.

It was a day of connections. We met an old neighbour on the train going up to London and arranged dinner for next month. In the Tate member’s room we met a delightful woman called Christine with whom we had so many places in common - from South London to Reading and from Bradford to the recent People’s March - that it was positively spooky. We had coffee with Mystic Em later in the day and met our current neighbours with their children in the local swing park. I was even given a cloakroom ticket bearing the number 444 which the attendant said was magically significant. If you google it, in numerology it means that the universe is trying to communicate with you and tell you not to worry and that everything will be okay. Seriously. This led me to calculate my personal angel number (again, google it). Apparently I am "a peace-bearer on a quest for truth and deep connection." Well I’d like to think it was true. Sounds like a good calling.

On a more everyday note, I bought a new suit for the wedding we are going to on Wednesday and we shared a pizza and chips for lunch. Monty went to the vet for yet another ear operation. Nick and Frank made more progress on the outside of the house. All everyday stuff. But our ordinary deserves a mention. Some of the terrible pictures we saw today were of people who had suffered unimaginable conditions and would have swapped lives for a fraction of our "ordinary" good fortune.

We also saw a free installation of old industrial machinery (see extra) which was fabulous. Amazingly beautiful in a rather overwhelming way.

Anyway today was the first of TSM’s alternate Mondays off which means we get even more time together. Money can’t buy me love but Mondays can. And connections - almost too many to handle today. But I’m not complaining ... the world is definitely a warmer place when you stop and remind yourself that you are connected in so many positive ways and that good is fighting the good fight every day out there ...