One of Marian’s birthday books is Douglas Coupland’s Life After God. At first Coupland’s style in this book–the first of his I’ve read–amused me. I laughed out loud at his character’s description of human history, basically 5,000 years spoiling the planet. Then I found the rest rather depressing and hopeless. Too many expectations laid at the door of relationships, too much early-life hopelessness and all lived out in the knowledge that God doesn’t exist and humans don’t need God anyway. Ultimately there is a glimmer of hope, in an enigmatic kind of open-ended, what is that about, kind of manner. For Marian and me, having spent April this year dealing with her dangerous heart condition, its treatment and the physical and emotional consequences, knowing God is there in all the turmoil has kept us sane and, almost above all, hopeful. I’d say there is God After Life.

30 June, 2009

My birthday present this year from the family was a barbeque. My youngest son delivered it last Saturday, and later Marian, Rachel, Stephen and I had our first meal out on our parched parcel of grass. This was my first at lighting a charcoal BBQ, first at cooking sausages and burgers without mixing up ordinary, gluten-free and low-calorie items. In the end, no one died and all survivors has a jolly nice time.

30 June, 2009

Travels are mainly over, so no interesting journeys to write about. But, learning continues, for example I learned last week that soaking comfrey in water produces an excellent feed for tomato plants. I rediscovered that Sherlock Holmes used heroin, at least he did in The Hound of the Baskervilles, which I read this month. Therein was the lovely word darkling, as in the darkling sky. These days we would use darkening, but Conan Doyle’s choice has a nicer sound.

28 June 2009