Head clearly surplus-to-requirements at the Royal Academy
Reindeer, plural
Festive graveyard, Barnes
Church gate, Barnes
Church tower, Barnes
Barnes Pond
Spent most of yesterday spring-cleaning two rooms at home, both of which involved hauling around furniture and shelf-loads of books, washing them and putting them in new constellations. Weeded the shelves, too, with several stacks of books ready for Oxfam, or whoever will take them. But I find it excruciatingly difficult to part with books, however long I have had them – they all seem to have one association or another.
Have been using the break to uncouple from the locomotive of my working life, at least to a degree. Emails continue to come in at quite a rate, from round the world. But have managed to sit and read for hours on end today, finishing two really excellent books: The One From the Other, by Philip Kerr, and La’s Orchestra Saves the World, by Alexander McCall Smith. Once started, I could hardly abandon either, even for the joys of spring-cleaning. Also bought Kerr’s Berlin Noir trilogy on Monday, so am very much looking forward to continuing that thread.
Have been skimming through endless books as I worked my way around the house, particularly art tomes, with Max Ernst and Peter Randall-Page among those that stick in my mind. Art, including our visit to the Royal Academy a couple of days back, often helps unblock my mental channels. As does walking, though generally I have to be dragged out of the house. Haven’t cycled for months, what with travel and operations, so am missing that severely.
Barnes was like a ghost town as we did a circuit this evening, my limbs aching from my exertions as a hyperactive librarian. The only blot on the landscape was a bunch of people down by the river who were loosing off a cannonade of fireworks, each louder than the last. Could have gladly dropped a skip-load of surplus-to-requirements books on their surplus-to-requirements heads.
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