Not my thing, to be patient... Especially when I feel passionately about something, like my garden, OR my writing. So perhaps you can imagine my restlessness now that I have to wait for my gardens to wake up, for our gig with the band, and for my novel to be published all during the same month. I am like a cat on a hot tin roof. Or like my darling Puck when she notices I am getting her bowl, but am not slicing her doggie sausage just yet.
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| My 'historical' map of Den Briel |
The gig is happening on Feb.9th, the gardens are weathering the windy wetness and I have checked the 3rd printing proof for Boerenwormkruid (Tansy) and returned it to the publishers.
And exhale.
I realise that I am writing about a novel that most of you (3/4 of my readers are from 'foreign' countries) will not be able to read (yet?). But I will explain. There's nothing doing in my gardens right now anyway.
That woman you see speeding on her bycicle is Noor, my protagonist. Noor loves two things: her allotment and detectives. She's a pensioner now, but was a hippy in her youth, is rather eccentric, and extremely stubborn.
When she discovers a dead man in a clump of tansy on her compost heap, she decides it would be such fun to find out who murdered him.
The second narrative in the story is that of Agnieken, a young woman in 1572, who has to deal with being a roman-catholic carer for the sick in a rapidly changing environment which is evolving to a protestant country, and thus is at war with Spain.
At first glance the two stories have nothing in common, but as they unfold, you'll realise that there may be 450 years between Noor and Agnieken, but shockingly little has changed, at many levels.
Civilisation...Such a baffling concept.
Just one example: there IS a medicine against AIDS, but financial motives of a xenophobic country stop this medicine from reaching people who suffer from this horrendous virus.
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| The Year of the Snake |
If only 'civilisation' was as warm as the drawing on the left. I have no idea what the characters beneath it spell out, but I expect they say something like 'may you have a very prosperous, healthy, happy new year, amongst your loved ones'.
If only...As if those poor ill AIDS sufferers have no loved ones, and should simply perish.
It makes me furious.
But let's keep it light, right? You do not read this blog to be ranted at.
Here you are, a lovely, hopeful sign that this cold, wet, windy season too shall pass. My wallflower on the balcony is telling me it is looking forward to spring. And so am I!
If you are on the Asian side of our planet, may you enjoy your holiday week, and if you are on that other side, please remember those historical words by The Beatles: "All you need is love, love is all you need!"
Renée
