Oooh I haven’t heard of this series and dare I say I only heard snout White Lotus for the first time about 2 weeks ago!! Clearly living under a rock & all that.
I have been travelling through the past 3.5 weeks and have funnily enough found myself in locations with VERY limited (& I do mean VERY limited) wifi & nil phone reception. One country did not even have my phone carrier (a little detail I did not even consider checking before boarding my flight…..🙃)
The outcome of the modern day trials has been the VERY delightful situation of being rather removed from all the horrid things going on in the news etc.
I am completely out of the loop but have landed back home to find out an election has been called & so I will lay a little more attention in the next 2 weeks to work out how to vote in a bid to stave off domestic maddening idiocy.
Can you be happy in spite of everything that is not right in the world? In short, yes. Yes you absolutely can & I genuinely believe it is even more necessary now.
We need joy, we need light, we need blue skies (although where I live we actually need some rain. Quite a lot of rain.) we need to feel lightness & gentleness, the softness of a breeze & the uplifting of the soul over simple and beautiful pleasures.
Time with those we love, a glass of something crisp & fresh, a cup of heart warming tea, a biscuit, a just picked pear from the orchard, a much loved book, a walk with the dog & a safe place to recharge.
These things are what matters. The rest well, in my opinion, not important in my daily world. They will all keep for another day when my heart is rested & my faith restored in humanity once again.
What a beautiful response, Tiffany, thank you. I'm intrigued now to know where you've been travelling and where you live! It sounds as if you've been on an adventure and we can all do with the right kind of adventure. Happy Easter to you. Here's to a glass of "something crisp and fresh"...
Cope with the news? Impossible. The best way is to strictly ration how much to watch/listen to/read. Saturating myself in the seemingly endless stupid cruelty is just too fatiguing.
Allowing some personal happiness is essential in the midst of it all.
A bit (lot) of wine and crisp fuelled binge watching can help. Slow Horses with Gary Oldman was totally brilliant. And Tom Hardy in the ongoing MobLand is just as good. Heart-warming is obviously a personal judgement call.
Getting involved and offering support to victims of gross legal injustices is a useful distraction.
Keeping a brief and rather mundane daily journal is a great excuse to utilise my newly rediscovered love of fountain pens. You simply cannot beat a smooth, buttery, wet flowing nib. And being able to read what was for dinner 8 days ago may come in useful.
Recently in Stockholm, visiting Raoul Wallenberg Torg and seeing his bust across the road from the Esplanade Hotel is both humbling and uplifting. And then discovering that this amazingly courageous man was the cousin of my Swedish friend’s father. It’s only taken 35 years to be told that. Swedish modesty.
And visiting the Skogskyrkogaarden woodland cemetery with friends. And respectfully eating “Greta Garbo’s tears” cakes beside her headstone. Lovely peaceful setting. Lovely cakes.
And when all else fails, the joy of an afternoon nap.
And then, refreshed, sticking it to the obscenely wealthy tech geeks.
I love this response, Glyn. So much wisdom here. We have indeed subscribed to Apple in order to watch Slow Horses. (Very good indeed though I'm not keen on all the murders. Another reason I loved My Family!) I know a little about your support for victims of injustice. I think that's a brilliant thing to be doing. Knowing that you're actively working against injustice must really help with the absolute horror show we're all seeing.
I'm intrigued by the fountain pen. I have the worst handwriting in the world. One of my friends recently joked that she could only read my birthday card because her daughter (who grew up in a one-bedroom flat in Hackney) was studying ancient languages at Cambridge. Brilliant girl. I wonder if a good fountain pen would miraculously make my handwriting legible?
And you've been in Stockholm! I haven't been to that cemetery. I don't even know what Greta Garbo's tears are and I think I've eaten pretty much every Swedish cake. I didn't actually know about Raoul Wallenberg Torg (I've just Googled him) and am pleased to have found it.
Enjoy your nap, your spag bol, your red wine and your Easter. You deserve it!
I love the notion of a university course in deciphering poor hand writing. As you know I did a five-year course in order to write illegibly. I could expand on the positive effect on returning to real pens, but not here.
Mrs F’s spag bol was a winner as always. It’s the home made sofrito and the addition of the Italian sausage that makes all the difference. So I’m told.
As for Raoul Wallenberg, I’d take Wiki’s account of his demise with a large pinch of doubt. It is likely he died some years later than stated. Think Stalin, think gulag.
Italian sausage in a spag bog! I'm not sure if that's genius or serious offence. Am intrigued that you're so sceptical about the Wiki entry on Wallenberg. Either way, he was clearly quite a man. Happy Easter!
This all sounds utterly marvellous & about as good as a break away can get.
Off to research “Greta Garbo’s tears” cakes. I have never heard of this & now MUST find out about them. This along with learning about Raoul Wallenberg Torg will very likely fill my cup to overflowing.
Add in Slow Horses (I heartily agree this series is brilliant with a capital B) & a good stick it to the obscenely wealthy tech geeks is a way to claim some balance in a world that seems to have somehow tipped on its axis in a frighteningly rapid way.
If you ever go, get off the T-bane the stop before the cemetery and indulge in the brilliant family run https://www.gunnarsons.se/ for your picnic.
The cakes are wonderful. Crisp brittle dark chocolate case filled with a not too sweet almond/marzipan type filling. The topping is a not too sweet white cream/icing of sorts.
I loved your Falling Apart book and now I have discovered your Substack. Yes, we are allowed to be happy. That doesn't mean we don't care about all the crap going on in the world. We can be happy and we want others to be happy as well. Sometimes, that is all we can do. Happy Easter.
I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed The Art of Not Falling Apart and to see that you've now subscribed to my Substack. Thank you! It's largely me wanting other people to be happy (ie not oppressed, deported, deprived of their human rights/healthcare or murdered by a fascist invader) that makes me so angry and miserable at this time, but I absolutely agree that we can't be angry and miserable all the time. And it doesn't help those people either! Anyway, Happy Easter! Let's at least hope for that.
Glad you liked the TV series. Also glad the rain has stopped. It sounds lovely to be in Umbria right now. And yes, as we talked about in another thread, Spain has it’s advantages (climate is one) but Italy is incomparable when it comes to all the atmosphere and joy that can come out of what you can have for drinks and food in an atmosphere that’s charming and not seldom quite simple (I apologise for the choice of word ”simple”- you the master of words - please give me a better one). Reading your text and seeing the pictures brings me directly to the land of my heart. I want to go to Italy now and experience what you just did. So indulge and enjoy for me too.
About having the ”right” to enjoy life and feel happiness when so much in the world is dark I came across this article from 2018 that really appealed to me by Kayleigh Donaldson. Hope you enjoy it too:
Thank you so much, Eva. And thank you so much for the recommendation! It really was just the tonic we need. I know you feel about Italy as I do and look forward to the day when we'll be drinking aperitivi together on the terrace (in the sunshine!).
Thank you, too, for the piece by Kayleigh Donaldson. The ironic thing is that 2018 seems like a golden age compared to what we're going through now. But we have to have hope, we have to have hope.
Yes I made that reflection too about 2018. Really golden age compared to now. And the article did also refer to Trump. Now he knows the game and only surrounds himself with yes-sayers … well well enough about that and anyway - I liked the set of mind from the writer.
I so would have wanted you to know the language of Swedish. Then I could sent you a pod with a reportage of the vivid culture in Ukraine. I think it would interest you. How people strive to keep theatre, music scenes, dance halls, clubs etcetera open most days in the week, especially in the big cities like Kiev. And even when the warning of bomb attacks are a reality.
It’s a pod made by Fredrik Wadström a Swedish journalist working at our public broadcasting company Sveriges Radio. SR. His voice is sonorous and deep. Wonderful to listen to and he has a deep insight in Russia and Ukraine. By the reportage he has made in his last visit to the country we, the listeners, got to know that the soldiers fighting at the frontline ask the people working in the clubs and theatres etcetera to keep them alive and open so people can go out and amuse themselves for some hours. Forget about the war. ”That’s what we are fighting for” they say. Hearing that gives a perspective. He also talked to a lot of artists and common people who had let go of bad conscience for enjoying themselves for some hours.
Also interesting was that one artist had made an organ musical instrument by war material, the pipes of tanks for example. It was exhibited at the Venice Biennale 2024. I would so much have
wanted to see that.
So life goes on. We have to find joy in the small things. Like Voltaire said in the end of Candide ”grow your garden” or something like that … I think what he ment was that you can find satisfaction and socialize with other’s by growing your own vegetables. Or tomatoes as the simple peasant did in the book.
About TV series - I hope you haven’t missed Il Gattopardo on Netflix. I loooooved that series. It is magical. I could write a lot about it, the history of unification of Italy, Sicily, the actors and the characters (did on Facebook the other week) but I leave that to you, the master writer, in case you feel up to it 😘.
But I can’t help myself so I just want to add, I loved the character Gattopardo himself Prince Salina. And when Angelica entered the scene in the end of episode two I almost lost my breath. Oh, what a bellezza‼️
Thank you for the tip! Il Gattopardo keeps popping up as a suggestion on Netflix and so we will definitely see it. It sounds as if it will be a useful history lesson, too.
I really, really wish I spoke Swedish, too. It's so interesting what you say about that podcast and the soldiers asking for the clubs and theatres to be kept open. Art is one of the first things to be sacrificed in a dictatorship, as we all know from history. Trump is clearly trying to dismantle education, too.
It is all so depressing. But it's also Easter. I wish you a very, very happy one. xx
About knowing Swedish, well I am struggling with the Italian. And by learning a strange language, especially as an adult, it really makes me respect people who immigrate to my country and trying to get the words right. Of course talking Swedish would be just lovely for you with your background but when it comes to good and independent journalism there should be a lot more in UK than in Sweden even though I am very very proud of our national broadcasting company in Sweden that gives deep insight on the world by different pods and all other matters that’s of interest. We have for example of the USA pod that has been running for 2016. First ones a week but now twice a week- to be able to keep up. It is one of Swedens most popular pods. Also by me.
Il Gattopardo/The Leopard - I bought the book a couple of years ago but didn’t manage to get into it. So when the TV series appeared I was on it directly. It is one of the best I have seen for a long time. So well done. The director is British but has spend a lot of his childhood in Italy and especially Sicily. So of course he’s made for the job. The series gives perspective on Garabaldis efforts for unification, the reactions of the people and through the lens of this noble family in Sicily. The new world meets the old so to speak. And the characters has so many layers. I especially took for Prince Salina because he is both weak and strong. And of course handsome 😉. Hope you and Anthony will enjoy it.
Don’t miss ”The making of the Leopard”. Also on Netflix. Enjoy ☺️
Strange, like you my thoughts are often, "am I allowed to be happy" too. I wish we could get all the happy people together in one continent, black, white yellow grey or beige with yellow spots. Muslim, Christian, jew, Buddhist Hindu, and all those I have missed out. Lets put out a global message, and all live together in one land. It would never be nirvana, but we could be caring, considerate and look out for each other.
Yesterday, in Cannock town centre, members of the local Reform party, one main vocal supporter draped in the Union flag. I edged close to hear the desperately unhinged views. I could not get this out of my head. I did not engage with any of these people. Surely to God, they are decent people really, but the rhetoric was utterly depressing.
So, we definitely do deserve to be happy. For me, I try really hard to not listen to politics, or Channel 4 news, or CNN or even listen to the mighty James O.
I recently returned from travelling in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Vietnam, I love you so much. I embraced ( physically )so many people, for their kindness and their humour and their generosity. So, I allowed myself to be happy, because they gave me that right.
I don't drink, I stopped three years ago. I feel so much better for it. But everything I do is in excess. So it had to stop. But your wonderful description of being at peace, relaxing with a wonderful vino, with sunshine and warmth. I so get that. The images you describe are so vivid in my head. Dont laugh, but I feel as though I am participant.
A wonderful article. Again. Forgive my rubbish grammar and no, I do not look for a backhanded compliment. I write quickly and then push the send button.
The other evening I watched The Railway Man. A tribute to Julie Christie. Its happy and sad, but is warm and innocent. ( that might sound shite! )
Take care Christina. Be happy, enjoy the vino. Always be proud to be happy. So many suffer so terribly, and us trying to be happy people, feel so, so sad for them, so want to help, so want to tell them that we care, we would welcome them to our homes, but we are so helpless.
I can't write anymore. Hopefully you get the drift of what I am trying to say, but your article reflects perfectly how many must feel regarding others hardship.
This is really beautiful, George. You always apologise for your writing, but you really write beautifully and I'm often touched by what you say. I'm so pleased you had your adventures in the Far East. My parents lived in Thailand for five years and absolutely loved it - and the people. And I fully understand when you talk about doing everything to excess. I have that tendency, too. You should be proud of yourself for managing to give up drink. I would find it very difficult indeed.
There is so much to be sad about, every day, but we are here so briefly. Let's keep trying to keep our spirits up while also keeping our hearts open. A very happy Easter to you, George. You are so clearly a lovely man.
I do not allow myself to be happy as I know from life's experiences how transient that state is and it can feel like a roller coast to go from happy to shoot-happiness-down, to recover, to up again to happy (if you're lucky).
But I do let myself experience a constant, underlying, low lying, state of contentment.
Hello Divya, this is not at all unhelpful! I'm fascinated by your response. I wonder how much this is a semantic distinction, between contentment and happiness? Perhaps what one person describes as contentment means happiness to someone else? Either way, I'm glad/intrigued to hear that you're managing a "constant, underlying, low lying, state of contentment". That sounds like quite an achievement to me. I hope you have a lovely break this Easter.
You make an excellent point: to question and ask about the distinction between happiness and contentment, and how one could be experienced as the other depending on the person.
To elaborate on my experience: I can feel when happiness is rising within me or around the corner. Precisely because it is something that comes and goes.
Happiness feels slippery. A welcome emotion but one that is inherently dependent on either something external, or in any given moment, on 'things lining up.
Contentment is something cultivated and comes from an internal reckoning. Contentment is about a relationship to yourself. Happiness follows what is happening in life.
From a sunny, hot west Devon. Totally in line with our conversation - the weather here teases constantly. The trick is to not let your day or the way you feel depend on the weather in Devon...
I've definitely had the hell-in-a-handbasket feelings of late but it's nice to think of you in a place where simple pleasures exist and not everyone is glued to a phone screen. (Writing this on my phone, but with a view of blue sky 💙)
Thank you Christina for another uplifting read. With all that’s happening in the world you always make it go away for just a little while,. I look forward to your emails so much. Thank you.
What a truly lovely thing to say, Linda. Thank you so very much. I hope you’ve had a lovely Easter break, or at least some respite from all the madness.
It is all very depressing atm but I agree one has to remain hopeful and despite it all I think it is possible to be happy at least intermittently. I'm just back from a week in the West of Ireland. It was blissfully happy.
Thank you for your response, Donal. I'm glad to hear you had a blissfully happy week in Ireland. That sounds as good as it gets! We only get the one life and I agree that we can't let Trump ruin it. I hope you have a lovely Easter.
How lovely - and having spent much of my youth just over the border in Cortona, I recognise the emerald rain! It’s desperately needed. Even if as holidaymakers, we long for blue skies…Thank you for the tip about Mia Famiglia, sounds just the thing.
Thank you so much, Amanda. Cortona is beautiful - and your portrayal of the whole region in The Three Graces is just wonderful. I hope you enjoy Mia Famiglia. It certainly felt like just the tonic for me.
Umbria sounds like your ideal place to escape to from this crazy world. I stayed at the youth hostel there years ago and it was high up in the old town with frescoed ceilings and wonderful views. I also met an old crush there unexpectedly with his future wife. ( Awkward) it’s going to be a bumpy ride for a few years (again). Hopefully the U.K. will align with the right side and make the future an easy path towards the EU
Thank you for your response, Louise. Is that the youth hostel in Perugia? Perhaps we should check it out and go for a cultural weekend?! (We tend to avoid Perugia because parking's a bit of a nightmare.) How amazing that you met an old crush there! In my youth I actually tried to convert foreign students to evangelical Christianity on the steps of the cathedral. Even more embarrassing than bumping into an old crush! I really hope you're right about the UK and the EU. At the moment I'd say the signals are mixed, but we will get nothing by being close to America except probably betrayal. Tragically.
The crush in question was on his way to becoming a Church of Scotland minister. He still is nearly 40 years on. The youth hostel was in Perugia with spectacular views and frescoes. We actually met someone else we knew from college a few days later in Rimini which we spent a brief overnight visit.
You could have been a vicar's wife! Amazing that you met someone else you knew just a few days later. It really is a small world. I'm delighted to hear you love Italy as much as I do. Happy Easter!
Oooh I haven’t heard of this series and dare I say I only heard snout White Lotus for the first time about 2 weeks ago!! Clearly living under a rock & all that.
I have been travelling through the past 3.5 weeks and have funnily enough found myself in locations with VERY limited (& I do mean VERY limited) wifi & nil phone reception. One country did not even have my phone carrier (a little detail I did not even consider checking before boarding my flight…..🙃)
The outcome of the modern day trials has been the VERY delightful situation of being rather removed from all the horrid things going on in the news etc.
I am completely out of the loop but have landed back home to find out an election has been called & so I will lay a little more attention in the next 2 weeks to work out how to vote in a bid to stave off domestic maddening idiocy.
Can you be happy in spite of everything that is not right in the world? In short, yes. Yes you absolutely can & I genuinely believe it is even more necessary now.
We need joy, we need light, we need blue skies (although where I live we actually need some rain. Quite a lot of rain.) we need to feel lightness & gentleness, the softness of a breeze & the uplifting of the soul over simple and beautiful pleasures.
Time with those we love, a glass of something crisp & fresh, a cup of heart warming tea, a biscuit, a just picked pear from the orchard, a much loved book, a walk with the dog & a safe place to recharge.
These things are what matters. The rest well, in my opinion, not important in my daily world. They will all keep for another day when my heart is rested & my faith restored in humanity once again.
What a beautiful response, Tiffany, thank you. I'm intrigued now to know where you've been travelling and where you live! It sounds as if you've been on an adventure and we can all do with the right kind of adventure. Happy Easter to you. Here's to a glass of "something crisp and fresh"...
Cope with the news? Impossible. The best way is to strictly ration how much to watch/listen to/read. Saturating myself in the seemingly endless stupid cruelty is just too fatiguing.
Allowing some personal happiness is essential in the midst of it all.
A bit (lot) of wine and crisp fuelled binge watching can help. Slow Horses with Gary Oldman was totally brilliant. And Tom Hardy in the ongoing MobLand is just as good. Heart-warming is obviously a personal judgement call.
Getting involved and offering support to victims of gross legal injustices is a useful distraction.
Keeping a brief and rather mundane daily journal is a great excuse to utilise my newly rediscovered love of fountain pens. You simply cannot beat a smooth, buttery, wet flowing nib. And being able to read what was for dinner 8 days ago may come in useful.
Recently in Stockholm, visiting Raoul Wallenberg Torg and seeing his bust across the road from the Esplanade Hotel is both humbling and uplifting. And then discovering that this amazingly courageous man was the cousin of my Swedish friend’s father. It’s only taken 35 years to be told that. Swedish modesty.
And visiting the Skogskyrkogaarden woodland cemetery with friends. And respectfully eating “Greta Garbo’s tears” cakes beside her headstone. Lovely peaceful setting. Lovely cakes.
And when all else fails, the joy of an afternoon nap.
And then, refreshed, sticking it to the obscenely wealthy tech geeks.
Off FB and IG.
Off Amazon Prime.
Off Spotify.
That’ll teach them.
And spag bol and red tonight. Marvellous.
I love this response, Glyn. So much wisdom here. We have indeed subscribed to Apple in order to watch Slow Horses. (Very good indeed though I'm not keen on all the murders. Another reason I loved My Family!) I know a little about your support for victims of injustice. I think that's a brilliant thing to be doing. Knowing that you're actively working against injustice must really help with the absolute horror show we're all seeing.
I'm intrigued by the fountain pen. I have the worst handwriting in the world. One of my friends recently joked that she could only read my birthday card because her daughter (who grew up in a one-bedroom flat in Hackney) was studying ancient languages at Cambridge. Brilliant girl. I wonder if a good fountain pen would miraculously make my handwriting legible?
And you've been in Stockholm! I haven't been to that cemetery. I don't even know what Greta Garbo's tears are and I think I've eaten pretty much every Swedish cake. I didn't actually know about Raoul Wallenberg Torg (I've just Googled him) and am pleased to have found it.
Enjoy your nap, your spag bol, your red wine and your Easter. You deserve it!
Thank you, Christina.
I love the notion of a university course in deciphering poor hand writing. As you know I did a five-year course in order to write illegibly. I could expand on the positive effect on returning to real pens, but not here.
Mrs F’s spag bol was a winner as always. It’s the home made sofrito and the addition of the Italian sausage that makes all the difference. So I’m told.
As for Raoul Wallenberg, I’d take Wiki’s account of his demise with a large pinch of doubt. It is likely he died some years later than stated. Think Stalin, think gulag.
Italian sausage in a spag bog! I'm not sure if that's genius or serious offence. Am intrigued that you're so sceptical about the Wiki entry on Wallenberg. Either way, he was clearly quite a man. Happy Easter!
Skins off naturally - genius. Spicier the better. Half beef, half pork mince.
This all sounds utterly marvellous & about as good as a break away can get.
Off to research “Greta Garbo’s tears” cakes. I have never heard of this & now MUST find out about them. This along with learning about Raoul Wallenberg Torg will very likely fill my cup to overflowing.
Add in Slow Horses (I heartily agree this series is brilliant with a capital B) & a good stick it to the obscenely wealthy tech geeks is a way to claim some balance in a world that seems to have somehow tipped on its axis in a frighteningly rapid way.
If you ever go, get off the T-bane the stop before the cemetery and indulge in the brilliant family run https://www.gunnarsons.se/ for your picnic.
The cakes are wonderful. Crisp brittle dark chocolate case filled with a not too sweet almond/marzipan type filling. The topping is a not too sweet white cream/icing of sorts.
The sandwiches are pretty wonderful too.
Mmm. Sounds delicious!
I loved your Falling Apart book and now I have discovered your Substack. Yes, we are allowed to be happy. That doesn't mean we don't care about all the crap going on in the world. We can be happy and we want others to be happy as well. Sometimes, that is all we can do. Happy Easter.
I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed The Art of Not Falling Apart and to see that you've now subscribed to my Substack. Thank you! It's largely me wanting other people to be happy (ie not oppressed, deported, deprived of their human rights/healthcare or murdered by a fascist invader) that makes me so angry and miserable at this time, but I absolutely agree that we can't be angry and miserable all the time. And it doesn't help those people either! Anyway, Happy Easter! Let's at least hope for that.
Hi Christina!
Glad you liked the TV series. Also glad the rain has stopped. It sounds lovely to be in Umbria right now. And yes, as we talked about in another thread, Spain has it’s advantages (climate is one) but Italy is incomparable when it comes to all the atmosphere and joy that can come out of what you can have for drinks and food in an atmosphere that’s charming and not seldom quite simple (I apologise for the choice of word ”simple”- you the master of words - please give me a better one). Reading your text and seeing the pictures brings me directly to the land of my heart. I want to go to Italy now and experience what you just did. So indulge and enjoy for me too.
About having the ”right” to enjoy life and feel happiness when so much in the world is dark I came across this article from 2018 that really appealed to me by Kayleigh Donaldson. Hope you enjoy it too:
https://www.pajiba.com/think_pieces/the-world-is-dark-but-youre-allowed-to-be-happy.php
Thank you so much, Eva. And thank you so much for the recommendation! It really was just the tonic we need. I know you feel about Italy as I do and look forward to the day when we'll be drinking aperitivi together on the terrace (in the sunshine!).
Thank you, too, for the piece by Kayleigh Donaldson. The ironic thing is that 2018 seems like a golden age compared to what we're going through now. But we have to have hope, we have to have hope.
Yes I made that reflection too about 2018. Really golden age compared to now. And the article did also refer to Trump. Now he knows the game and only surrounds himself with yes-sayers … well well enough about that and anyway - I liked the set of mind from the writer.
I so would have wanted you to know the language of Swedish. Then I could sent you a pod with a reportage of the vivid culture in Ukraine. I think it would interest you. How people strive to keep theatre, music scenes, dance halls, clubs etcetera open most days in the week, especially in the big cities like Kiev. And even when the warning of bomb attacks are a reality.
It’s a pod made by Fredrik Wadström a Swedish journalist working at our public broadcasting company Sveriges Radio. SR. His voice is sonorous and deep. Wonderful to listen to and he has a deep insight in Russia and Ukraine. By the reportage he has made in his last visit to the country we, the listeners, got to know that the soldiers fighting at the frontline ask the people working in the clubs and theatres etcetera to keep them alive and open so people can go out and amuse themselves for some hours. Forget about the war. ”That’s what we are fighting for” they say. Hearing that gives a perspective. He also talked to a lot of artists and common people who had let go of bad conscience for enjoying themselves for some hours.
Also interesting was that one artist had made an organ musical instrument by war material, the pipes of tanks for example. It was exhibited at the Venice Biennale 2024. I would so much have
wanted to see that.
So life goes on. We have to find joy in the small things. Like Voltaire said in the end of Candide ”grow your garden” or something like that … I think what he ment was that you can find satisfaction and socialize with other’s by growing your own vegetables. Or tomatoes as the simple peasant did in the book.
About TV series - I hope you haven’t missed Il Gattopardo on Netflix. I loooooved that series. It is magical. I could write a lot about it, the history of unification of Italy, Sicily, the actors and the characters (did on Facebook the other week) but I leave that to you, the master writer, in case you feel up to it 😘.
But I can’t help myself so I just want to add, I loved the character Gattopardo himself Prince Salina. And when Angelica entered the scene in the end of episode two I almost lost my breath. Oh, what a bellezza‼️
Thank you for the tip! Il Gattopardo keeps popping up as a suggestion on Netflix and so we will definitely see it. It sounds as if it will be a useful history lesson, too.
I really, really wish I spoke Swedish, too. It's so interesting what you say about that podcast and the soldiers asking for the clubs and theatres to be kept open. Art is one of the first things to be sacrificed in a dictatorship, as we all know from history. Trump is clearly trying to dismantle education, too.
It is all so depressing. But it's also Easter. I wish you a very, very happy one. xx
About knowing Swedish, well I am struggling with the Italian. And by learning a strange language, especially as an adult, it really makes me respect people who immigrate to my country and trying to get the words right. Of course talking Swedish would be just lovely for you with your background but when it comes to good and independent journalism there should be a lot more in UK than in Sweden even though I am very very proud of our national broadcasting company in Sweden that gives deep insight on the world by different pods and all other matters that’s of interest. We have for example of the USA pod that has been running for 2016. First ones a week but now twice a week- to be able to keep up. It is one of Swedens most popular pods. Also by me.
Il Gattopardo/The Leopard - I bought the book a couple of years ago but didn’t manage to get into it. So when the TV series appeared I was on it directly. It is one of the best I have seen for a long time. So well done. The director is British but has spend a lot of his childhood in Italy and especially Sicily. So of course he’s made for the job. The series gives perspective on Garabaldis efforts for unification, the reactions of the people and through the lens of this noble family in Sicily. The new world meets the old so to speak. And the characters has so many layers. I especially took for Prince Salina because he is both weak and strong. And of course handsome 😉. Hope you and Anthony will enjoy it.
Don’t miss ”The making of the Leopard”. Also on Netflix. Enjoy ☺️
Strange, like you my thoughts are often, "am I allowed to be happy" too. I wish we could get all the happy people together in one continent, black, white yellow grey or beige with yellow spots. Muslim, Christian, jew, Buddhist Hindu, and all those I have missed out. Lets put out a global message, and all live together in one land. It would never be nirvana, but we could be caring, considerate and look out for each other.
Yesterday, in Cannock town centre, members of the local Reform party, one main vocal supporter draped in the Union flag. I edged close to hear the desperately unhinged views. I could not get this out of my head. I did not engage with any of these people. Surely to God, they are decent people really, but the rhetoric was utterly depressing.
So, we definitely do deserve to be happy. For me, I try really hard to not listen to politics, or Channel 4 news, or CNN or even listen to the mighty James O.
I recently returned from travelling in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Vietnam, I love you so much. I embraced ( physically )so many people, for their kindness and their humour and their generosity. So, I allowed myself to be happy, because they gave me that right.
I don't drink, I stopped three years ago. I feel so much better for it. But everything I do is in excess. So it had to stop. But your wonderful description of being at peace, relaxing with a wonderful vino, with sunshine and warmth. I so get that. The images you describe are so vivid in my head. Dont laugh, but I feel as though I am participant.
A wonderful article. Again. Forgive my rubbish grammar and no, I do not look for a backhanded compliment. I write quickly and then push the send button.
The other evening I watched The Railway Man. A tribute to Julie Christie. Its happy and sad, but is warm and innocent. ( that might sound shite! )
Take care Christina. Be happy, enjoy the vino. Always be proud to be happy. So many suffer so terribly, and us trying to be happy people, feel so, so sad for them, so want to help, so want to tell them that we care, we would welcome them to our homes, but we are so helpless.
I can't write anymore. Hopefully you get the drift of what I am trying to say, but your article reflects perfectly how many must feel regarding others hardship.
I'm definitely going now.
This is really beautiful, George. You always apologise for your writing, but you really write beautifully and I'm often touched by what you say. I'm so pleased you had your adventures in the Far East. My parents lived in Thailand for five years and absolutely loved it - and the people. And I fully understand when you talk about doing everything to excess. I have that tendency, too. You should be proud of yourself for managing to give up drink. I would find it very difficult indeed.
There is so much to be sad about, every day, but we are here so briefly. Let's keep trying to keep our spirits up while also keeping our hearts open. A very happy Easter to you, George. You are so clearly a lovely man.
I do not allow myself to be happy as I know from life's experiences how transient that state is and it can feel like a roller coast to go from happy to shoot-happiness-down, to recover, to up again to happy (if you're lucky).
But I do let myself experience a constant, underlying, low lying, state of contentment.
(sorry if this is unhelpful!)
From a very rainy yet beautiful west Devon.
Hello Divya, this is not at all unhelpful! I'm fascinated by your response. I wonder how much this is a semantic distinction, between contentment and happiness? Perhaps what one person describes as contentment means happiness to someone else? Either way, I'm glad/intrigued to hear that you're managing a "constant, underlying, low lying, state of contentment". That sounds like quite an achievement to me. I hope you have a lovely break this Easter.
You make an excellent point: to question and ask about the distinction between happiness and contentment, and how one could be experienced as the other depending on the person.
To elaborate on my experience: I can feel when happiness is rising within me or around the corner. Precisely because it is something that comes and goes.
Happiness feels slippery. A welcome emotion but one that is inherently dependent on either something external, or in any given moment, on 'things lining up.
Contentment is something cultivated and comes from an internal reckoning. Contentment is about a relationship to yourself. Happiness follows what is happening in life.
From a sunny, hot west Devon. Totally in line with our conversation - the weather here teases constantly. The trick is to not let your day or the way you feel depend on the weather in Devon...
I've definitely had the hell-in-a-handbasket feelings of late but it's nice to think of you in a place where simple pleasures exist and not everyone is glued to a phone screen. (Writing this on my phone, but with a view of blue sky 💙)
Thank you, so much, Emily. I'm glad to hear the sun is shining where you are. Here's to simple pleasures! I hope you have a lovely Easter break.
Thank you Christina for another uplifting read. With all that’s happening in the world you always make it go away for just a little while,. I look forward to your emails so much. Thank you.
What a truly lovely thing to say, Linda. Thank you so very much. I hope you’ve had a lovely Easter break, or at least some respite from all the madness.
Oh how I love this piece Christina: a mindfully, soul-drenched adventure. The colors, textures, all of the senses at play!
Thank you so much, Rhaine. I'm thrilled by your super-kind words. I hope, in spite of everything, you have a wonderful Easter.
It is all very depressing atm but I agree one has to remain hopeful and despite it all I think it is possible to be happy at least intermittently. I'm just back from a week in the West of Ireland. It was blissfully happy.
Thank you for your response, Donal. I'm glad to hear you had a blissfully happy week in Ireland. That sounds as good as it gets! We only get the one life and I agree that we can't let Trump ruin it. I hope you have a lovely Easter.
How lovely - and having spent much of my youth just over the border in Cortona, I recognise the emerald rain! It’s desperately needed. Even if as holidaymakers, we long for blue skies…Thank you for the tip about Mia Famiglia, sounds just the thing.
Thank you so much, Amanda. Cortona is beautiful - and your portrayal of the whole region in The Three Graces is just wonderful. I hope you enjoy Mia Famiglia. It certainly felt like just the tonic for me.
Umbria sounds like your ideal place to escape to from this crazy world. I stayed at the youth hostel there years ago and it was high up in the old town with frescoed ceilings and wonderful views. I also met an old crush there unexpectedly with his future wife. ( Awkward) it’s going to be a bumpy ride for a few years (again). Hopefully the U.K. will align with the right side and make the future an easy path towards the EU
Thank you for your response, Louise. Is that the youth hostel in Perugia? Perhaps we should check it out and go for a cultural weekend?! (We tend to avoid Perugia because parking's a bit of a nightmare.) How amazing that you met an old crush there! In my youth I actually tried to convert foreign students to evangelical Christianity on the steps of the cathedral. Even more embarrassing than bumping into an old crush! I really hope you're right about the UK and the EU. At the moment I'd say the signals are mixed, but we will get nothing by being close to America except probably betrayal. Tragically.
The crush in question was on his way to becoming a Church of Scotland minister. He still is nearly 40 years on. The youth hostel was in Perugia with spectacular views and frescoes. We actually met someone else we knew from college a few days later in Rimini which we spent a brief overnight visit.
You could have been a vicar's wife! Amazing that you met someone else you knew just a few days later. It really is a small world. I'm delighted to hear you love Italy as much as I do. Happy Easter!