A Passing Easter Thought

This morning I awoke at my grandmother’s house in Sussex. I haven't seen her in a while and thought it was about time I showed my face; if anything to remind her I'm making good use of my life and not running about shooting up and being debauched and angry at the world (I'm not you know).

My grandmother grew up in the Second World War (that's the one that started September 1st 1939 don’t you know). It's been a long time since the war but my grandmother can still remember the subtle details of her lifestyle and the situations she had to deal with back then. She's an amazing older woman and is still totally on the ball, independent and fiercely cognitive. I only hope I've inherited some of her sheer force of will (and maybe some of the crockery).

I was standing idly looking out of the window into the newly blooming front garden yesterday (after a very fast rain shower which lit up the grass like green amethyst) after a particularly wonderful fried breakfast. My grandmother had done my washing (as grandmothers do) and was in the process of ironing my shirts for the week (I am allowed to be spoilt sometimes so shtum!). I was surrounded by the smell of bacon, ironing, tea and rain. Never have I been taken back in time so far as at that moment.

Perhaps it was the silence in the house and the background noise of some local news on the radio but the modern world seemed to fade away in place of this vibrant, evocative and older version of the world. It was here, but fifty years ago. I'd been listening to my grandmother talk of her time as a girl during the war, of rationing books and family apprehension during the forties and for a moment I had a fleeting sense of it all.

Of course I know it's probably only my romanticised, exaggerated perspective of what I imagine the time to have been, but it was a far cry from the dusty, dated and broken world that museums, galleries and books paint of the time.

It's usually at major holidays like Easter and Christmas, that I get a real sense of the sacrifice, struggle and effort that has gone into the freedom, fun and enjoyment of such a time. It isn't about religion, it isn't about prayer, it isn't about gifts and consumerism or overindulgence, it's about realising how lucky we are to be here in this day and age having everything we have and just how easy we have it. More importantly it's realising that it all came out of stark simplicity.

So if you ever find yourself tied up in your own drama's, tensing up and feeling the world is against you, wait until it rains, iron a shirt, fry some bacon and make a cup of tea. In essence take time for the little things that add up to what you have, after all that's how it all started.