Winter light

Wide Wednesday: Winter Light

Winter is the time of year for ghost stories.  About a year ago I read a great ghost story by Michele Paver - "Dark matter". 

It concerns an ill fated expedition to Svarlbard shortly before the Second World War.  The expedition are due to spend the arctic winter on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the middle of an Arctic winter - four months of complete darkness.  The author carefully ramps up a fear of the dark in Arctic conditions in a way that made me feel distinctly anxious as I read the book.

The last short day, after which there would be four months of night before the sun would be seen again, was particularly well done.   Sunsets in winter bring that part of the story to mind even now.

In other news, Dad is back home after his short stay in the care home, but he appears to have had a fall yesterday.  This is his first fall, but with Parkinsons he is going to become increasing less mobile, and less capable now.  He's a little sore, but he hasn't broken anything, so its not as bad as it might have been.  The poor chap was a bit confused when I visited, although his focus improved considerably as we talked.