100 ABSTRACTS - NUMBER 32

I fancied doing a black and white abstract today, so after I had been out shopping, and was sitting having a coffee, I happened to glance over at Mr. HCB who was listening to an audio book I had downloaded for him from our local library.  He says it’s not as good as actually reading, but because his vision is still blurry, obviously at the moment  he can’t read a proper book.  He says that he thinks it is about halfway clear, so perhaps in a couple of days, things will be better.

Our son, Martyn, popped round yesterday, so we were able to give him his birthday presents as we couldn’t see him on Monday, his actual birthday.  We opened the door and windows in the conservatory and sat our requisite two metres apart and he started opening his gifts.  

I have put a collage in as an extra and you may be wondering why he has Curly Wurlies, an egg box and a bottle of beer.  On the card I bought for him, it said that Curly Wurlies, Cadbury’s Creme eggs and CAMRA - the Campaign for Real Ale - all made their appearance in 1971 - so that’s what he had, as well as a Tee shirt - but not a brash one - an apron and a 30 Cube game.  He was always great at doing Rubik’s Cube when he was younger, so we thought this one would keep him out of mischief now he's 50!

For my 32nd abstract today, I took a shot of Mr. HCB listening to his audio book and then changed it to black and white.  Having used my SlowShutter app set on Light Trails, the only thing I did was change it to black and white and put a frame round it, so not very much fartnarkling required today.  You might just be able to work out where Mr. HCB's face is, complete with headphones.  This takes me one closer to my 100 Abstract Challenge for the Mamie Martin Fund, which if you read my journal regularly, you will know helps young women and girls in North Malawi to get a secondary education.  

The rain is lashing down and it’s very cold - so I’m thinking the central heating needs to go on very soon - I think it’s a “woman thing” to feel cold when it’s raining, but I will sneak it on for a few minutes, get warm, and then switch it off again.  I also think it’s a “man thing” to say that it’s not cold and walk around in a short sleeved shirt;  of course, I could be wrong, but that’s how it is in our house!

We watched a great YouTube talk from the Gathering Online 2020, part of the 24/7 Prayer Movement yesterday afternoon entitled Abnormal Hope.  It was an excellent talk and I thought this quote by Indian author Arundhati Roy was brilliant:

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans 
     to break with the past and 
          imagine their world anew. 
This one is no different. 
It is a portal, 
     a gateway between one world and the next.
We can choose to walk through it, 
     dragging the carcasses of our prejudice 
          and hatred, our avarice, our data banks 
and dead ideas, our dead rivers 
     and smoky skies behind us, 
          or we can walk through lightly, 
with little luggage, 
     ready to imagine another world, 
          and ready to fight for it.”
Arundhati Roy

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MaureenIles