Monday, November 12, 2018

Red Poppies


Yesterday was bright and sunny, an autumnal jewel of a day. Olga and I took a longish walk in the morning, and she patiently paused for me while I took photographic advantage of the shadows.

Then Dave and I were off to the Royal Free Hospital, where he had an examination scheduled. It's interesting that they chose yesterday, which was not only a Sunday but also Remembrance Day. The NHS works all the time, I suppose. We sat in the waiting room and watched the Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, with Theresa May and the other government and Commonwealth leaders laying their wreaths of poppies.

(By the way, this is an excellent gallery of photos from yesterday's ceremonies around the world. I find that image of poppies projected onto the Sydney Opera House especially beautiful and powerful. I'm glad Macron made a point of rejecting nationalism right in front of petulant Trump and conniving Putin.)

After Dave's name was called and he disappeared into the exam room, I walked to Starbucks and sat out on the sidewalk reading Derek Jarman's "Modern Nature," his journals from the late 1980s when he lived in Dungeness and tended a garden in the windy, salty environment. It's interesting reading, but it's also slow-going, I think because journals -- like collections of letters -- don't have the narrative drive of a novel. I've been reading this book for a couple of weeks and I'm only about a third of the way through. I like it, though -- his recollections of the Soho gay scene in the '60s and '70s, his references to his film and design work and the friends he loved and lost to AIDS, his descriptions of various plants and his efforts to grow them. He died from AIDS not too many years after the book's essays conclude.

Finally I went back to the hospital, collected Dave, and we came home. His exam went fine, and they seem to have some idea why he hasn't been feeling so great lately. This may lead to some treatment changes for his Crohn's -- he has a follow-up appointment in a week or two, so we'll see.

15 comments:

e said...

I'm glad it isn't horribly serious. I hope he feels better soon.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Who was this unpleasant Crohn fellow and why did he invent such a nasty disease? I guess he got a kick out of it and I also bet he was a nationalist like Trump.

crafty cat corner said...

I admire you for sticking with the book. I'm a terror with books, unless it grabs me by the time I'm a quarter way through I abandon it.
Hope the new treatment goes well for Dave, its no fun is it.
Love the shadows.
Briony
x

David said...

Gorgeous picture!

jenny_o said...

Wishing Dave good luck with his treatment alterations. Hope he feels better soon.

Vivian Swift said...

I love the photo of the shadow tree melding into the real tree. Even Olga looks like she's in on the joke.

Good luck to Dave and a speedy resolution of his Crohn's issues. I hope it's something simple, like a change in diet or a little vitamin pill.

Ms. Moon said...

Hoping the best for Dave. What a debilitating condition!

ellen abbott said...

sorry to hear Dave's disease has flared up again but hopefully whatever new treatment they come up with will help. Trump once again sullied the US with his failure to show up in the light rain to honor the American fallen, the current excuse being that his helicopter couldn't fly in the rain. really?

Sharon said...

Thanks for the link, I hadn't seen those photos yet. You are so right about the poppies on the Sydney Opera House. Beautiful.
Glad to hear that Dave's exam went well and they think they might be able to make some changes to make him feel better. I'm surprised that it was done on Sunday. That would be unheard of here.
Trump is a total embarrassment. Once again he's made a complete ass of himself and taken our country down another notch. I suppose we should have expected as much. Compassion and humility are foreign to him.

Red said...

Nice photo for Shadows and light!

Anonymous said...

Love that photo. Hope all goes well with the change in Dave's medications and treatment. These bodies we have really do take us on some interesting journeys.

37paddington said...

Hope all goes well with the medication changes for Dave. And thanks for that gallery. I read somewhere that we can no longer refer to the american president as the leader of the free world. he certainly is not.

Sabine said...

Flare ups are so yuk and living with an autoimmune disease is like sitting on a volcano. My very best wishes to Dave, sometimes a bit of fine tuning of meds is all that's needed. Anyway, I hope he will get better soon. Patience and rest!

The book about Derek Jarman's garden is one of my all time favourites. I believe teh garden is still there but not open to the public.

The Bug said...

I hope they get Dave sorted out pretty quickly - Crohn's is a pain in the... My aunt has still not responded to her treatments. Of course, she also refused to call her doctor & tell him or her. Stubborn runs in the family!

I was reading a book recently that was set in present day Notting Hill (it's a police mystery series). Each chapter began with a snippet from books about about Notting Hill and Portobello Road in the 1960s. It was pretty interesting - made me think of you.

37paddington said...

Good to hear that Dave is getting answers. Sending good thoughts.