Saturday 1 January 2011

Fire on the foreshore


In the last moments of the last hour of 2010, Lynn and I observed a familiar ritual on the island foreshore. I was going to say, 'tradition' - but that would only really be true in the context of the People from whom we borrowed it. Even then, we didn't borrow it directly, but from someone whose life was inextricably linked with those same People, and whose story has intrigued and inspired me since I first came across it fifteen years ago.

I won't go into the story here because I posted about it in some detail this time last year (see The House at Otowi Bridge ).

Afterwards, we watched the fireworks display from London on TV. Having seen the New Year's display in Edinburgh many times (twice from the roof garden of my apartment block beneath the castle), we thought we had seen it all - but we weren't prepared for the spectacle of the Thames, the London Eye and Big Ben lit up, bejewelled and silhouetted as you've never seen them before. Spectacular doesn't come close - it was breathtaking; and we wern't alone, because every so often the camera panned the thousands who lined the river bank, and no-one talked to their neighbour or even moved, rooted as they were, their faces tilted upwards, transfixed and aglow.


Happy New Year to all. May 2011 bring you everything you wish for.
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