trying not to get too muddy (bear island II)

a curious orange light at the dawn

back from a walk over to the post box and then up the hill past southview to the cwm. horsemouth couldn't find a postbox or a letterbox at the cwm so he just stuck the letter to the door (hope that's ok). on the way back the village hall was open so the poor blighters from community payback could make use of the toilets etc. 

earlier a walk up on the common (trying not to get too muddy). 

soon some farting about with christmas decorations (tomorrow the full horror of the tree and at some point the full horror of tescos). 

the golden glow winter solstice celebration continues.  

here we have horsemouth selecting and  playing tracks by lata mangeshkar, sproatly smith, lemmchen grundschule, canned heat, alice coltrane, that's the first five tracks, way back 18th december 2015 (so getting on for a decade ago).  it has been a long time since he listened to it. it was a very early golden glow, the third one howard had done. 

it's the afternoon/evening of the night before and it is growing dark. soon (the solstice) we reach maximum darkness (a mere 7 hours 45 minutes of daylight). later more tv. 

tonight's reading bear island alistair maclean, fontana, film tie-in edition 1980. book box ( gratis)

the cast are film-makers, not scientists researching climate change as we were told in the movie. this is a wise change for the script-writers to make, if it were a film about the murder of film-makers it would already have an element of farce (think the shadow of the vampire). the doctor (our hero) has brought a small medical library with him and diagnoses aconite poisoning.  

this evening (on the day when when you read this a monday) a management committee meeting on zoom (he will have to get his reading and preparation in before the meeting). tomorrow (to that) a kafka quote. friday the winter solstice sunrise in the morning. sunday the final golden glow of the winter solstice season  thereafter christmas day, horsemouth's brother and his family are around for a few days, last moon of the season,  then the dead dull days either side of  new years. 

he will continue with some entries from the tarkovsky diary instead. 

'the myasnoye house is nearly finished. all that has to be done now is to glaze the veranda, and make the summer room out of it. lay on the water. tiles on one kitchen wall. gas. outside lavatory. bath-house. 

the stove and the fireplace have turned out superbly. they draw really well. the fire heats up the house, which retains the heat. 

when shall I be able to stop worrying about hose, mod.cons., and my chances of working.' 

- tarkovsky, time within time: the diaries, 18th december 1973.