It has been decided - I am going to take the first big step in moving the content of this blog a little away from the people and happenings in Bathurst only, and begin edging it more towards "Spirit of Place" in the sense in which it was originally begun ............ Anecdotes about people I have known and places I have been, and how they have hooked up in writing and in pictures to create the essential sense of landscape values required to imprint them forever on the fabric of my memory.
I enjoy telling stories. More often than not the people I tell them to say that I should write a book ………. perhaps I will ……….. perhaps this Blog - these entries - are that book.
My wife insists that I exaggerate - I do - but a little bit of exaggeration only serves to enhance a story which I always fear might otherwise be dull …… so I spice it up a little.
I have an alter ego of sorts …….. someone who does things that I often wish I had the courage to do …….. or to whom things happen that I wish had (or had not), happened to me. Here and there crossovers exist and I am not sure whether something happened to me - or whether it happened to my alter ego: Or whether I actually did something - or merely wished I had - and so attributed it to this other being which I have created to suffer blame on my behalf. I call him by various names from time to time in an effort to protect both our identities and as you read you will come across us both in various guises.
So - I am committing to paper some of the thoughts and stories which my friends and mentors have encouraged me to do …….. I leave it entirely to you - the reader - to decide where and when an action or activity should be attributed to me or my alter ego, or whether it is simply an embellishment to enhance a story being told.
There will be other crossovers of course - where stories meet and constitute part of each other ….. and drift off into netherworlds and embellishments which may or may not have a bearing on each other …….. these are my ‘Durrell’ moments, variations committed to the realm of “space / time” continuums which I trust you will have both the time and enthusiasm to try to interpret. They are unintentional games that life has dumped in my path and which I have chosen to either play or not - games filled with characters that are conglomerates of both real and imagined people, and real and imagined incidents ………… invariably attributed to people that I do know, but who have not necessarily perpetrated the deeds which have been attributed to them. If you have been caught up in one of these games and are not happy with my representation - please don’t sue ………… enjoy the experience for what it is and believe that there was never any malice of forethought …. simply the ravings of a frustrated storyteller who has left this little exercise undone for far too long, and who now really needs to get things down.
There will also be images uploaded which may - or may not - have bearing on the subject being discussed. I don't consider this important ............... they are simply images that I like and which play a role in the restitution of the memory bank. I hope that you will enjoy them as much as I do.
Copy of Van Gogh's painting of the Langlois Bridge at Arles (1888) - See the house on the right
Van Gogh's Langlois Bridge in 1973 taken from the other side
Pat posing in front of the house in 1973 - for posterity - and here we are!
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