Saturday 13 June 2015

Phosphorescence

We've just spent the day at Julie and Sam's house doing craft and cake. For the record we were fed Lemon polenta cake and strawberries from Julie's allotment, and scones with cream and homemade raspberry and apricot jam. (Just a bit of food porn to get your digestive juices flowing!)

Throughout the day I've been suffering enormously with my left eye. When I lean forward, the pressure is intense, and every time I blink there's a sharp pain. I don't think I like Blepharitis very much.

Craft and cake was fun, however. Abbie and Michelle did cross stitch, Nathan, Julie and Tina knitted socks and Sam was using tiny little needles to knit a beautiful peacock green scarf for his fella. I was craft-less but cheered everyone on. I must remember to take photographs with me next time to stick in an album.

We went to look at Julie and Sam's allotments, which are through a gate and out the back of their garden. Julie has planted all manner of fruit trees and bushes, most of which are under a huge tent frame covered in netting. There are pears, plums, black currents, red currents, tay berries and something called sun berries which I've not even heard of but seem to be a cross between raspberries and blackberries.

Sam grows more savoury crops, although I did notice some gooseberries which looked like they were coming on nicely. The middle of his plot is a riot of poppies and cornflowers, which are actually my two favourite flowers. The whole place was idyllic in the sunshine and covered in bees and butterflies. For the first time in my life I actively wanted my own allotment! Although I reckon I'd only want it for potatoes, carrots and strawberries... And obviously a beehive!

I bumped my head on the corner of a shed and drew blood, which I reckon officially makes me in the wars right now! I also seem to have hay fever.

We watched a programme about fireflies in Japan last night. What magical creatures they are! I understand they only live on fresh water, which makes them even more charming in my view. I've found pictures of fireflies in Germany, but do we get them in the UK? Nathan thinks it's highly unlikely. Has anyone reading this ever seen one? Or a glow worm. Pepys talks about glow worms in his diaries, so they must be a British thing. Your stories please!

I'm lucky enough to have seen phosphorescence. I've probably written this in the blog before, but Philippa, Sam and I were in Nerja in the South of Spain. We went down to the beach at midnight and decided to lie naked on the seashore like fabulous bohemians. We could see a little pool of greenish light about ten metres out to sea, which we initially assumed was something to do with the moon's reflection, but as we lay there watching, it got closer and closer. With one last wave, the green glowing water rushed over us, and for some reason we instinctively all stood up. The water, which by now looked like a million glowing crystals dripped down our bodies and back into water. It was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most extraordinary displays of the beauty of nature I've ever witnessed.

Philippa drew reference to the event in the screenplay for her exquisite film Little Ashes, in the scene where Dali and Lorca jump from a rowing boat off the coast of Cadaquez and swim in a sea of phosphorescence.

Happy days!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.