Sycamore Gap – sadly no more. A great loss to the North East
What a week. Not necessarily on a personal level (although work was typically hellish), but with the constant barrage of bad news headlines from around the country this week – another young life tragically lost due to knife crime and, at the other end of the scale, the wanton vandalism that has resulted in the loss of a really iconic landmark from the North East – I am more thankful than ever I am blessed with some beautiful books to retreat to. I know that might seem a little ironic, or even hypocritical, as I mostly read crime fiction but, for the main part, in books at least, bad guys get their comeuppance. In real life, even when perpetrators are caught and prosecuted, the sentence seldom fits the crime.
My heart goes out to the family and friends of Elianne who have lost a piece of their hearts this week, and to the people of the North East who, although in a very different way, have lost a little piece of theirs too. Sadly, the Government, as usual, seems to be doing little of note to help reduce knife crime, vandalism or climate change, and we keep bearing witness to unnecessary, often preventable, loss time and time again. What has been stolen from the Andam family this week can never be recovered, and although trees can regrow it takes many years, and the beauty and history of Sycamore Gap has been lost to a whole generation if not more. Both are facts. Both are signs of a far more ingrained blight that afflicts ‘modern Britain’, one I am far from confident we will find a solution to in my lifetime. Divisions seem to be widening, increasingly fuelled by hate not healing.
Can you tell I’ve had a bad few weeks and that my mind and spirit are in a low place right now? I’m hiding it well aren’t I? I rarely get political, or delve into the madness and sadness of the real world on the blog, but some weeks you just need to let it all out before it consumes you, if you know what I mean, so please forgive my self indulgence. This is one of those weeks (months, years).
Deciding to book a last minute day off on Friday was a very good idea and very much needed. The weather was nice. I started out with a lovely brunch and then took a walk along the canal. Amazing how much the little swannies have grown. Bees were buzzing in the bushes, butterflies were out in force and it was a lovely day to appreciate what we have, whilst we still have it.
Swans, ducks, a coot and a Red Admiral butterfly along the canal.
And books. We mustn’t forget those. I received two books in the post – my Orenda Books subscription from Bert’s Books. This month it was The Opposite of Lonely by Doug Johnstone and The Murmurs by Michael J Malone, and I’m quoted in both. Very happy as I loved both books. I also received The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict (09 November) from Simon & Schuster via Netgalley. My preorders of A Winter Wedding at Starcross Manor by Christie Barlow, and Swiping Hearts by Jeffery Deaver also landed on my kindle. And, I bought myself a copy of Divorced Not Dead by Harper Ford (Rebecca Mascull) as one disgruntled reader described it as having ‘too much thirsty stuff’ and I am desperate to know just what the hell that means (I think
