Thank God for common sense

Thank God for common sense and justice. Lynn Gilderdale's mother found not guilty of murder

See here

One of the trials of growing older

Today I learnt that Kate McGarrigle has died. She was one half of a duo: singing with her sister Anna. Together they wrote the most beautiful songs and, for me, they filled the mid and late 1970s with lyrics which were pure poetry. They spoke to me and filled my head with sweet and heart-rending images. Nowadays Kate is better known by the younger generation (if she is known at all) as the mother of Rufus and Martha Wainwright. For me Rufus is too affected, too ornate, too hysterical, too arch and too knowing. He is the opposite to his mother and aunt who seemed unaffected, genuine, sincere and humble.

Every time another of my heroes dies I feel the loss deeply.

Heroes have always been important to me. They shine a light on part of myself and influence the way I see the world, They inform and protect me by showing that there are other like-minded people: that I'm not alone, misguided, lost.....and now another is no longer with us.

Some say a heart is just like a wheel
When you bend it, you can't mend it
And my love for you is like a sinking ship
And my heart is like that ship out in mid ocean

They say that death is a tragedy
It comes once and it's over
But my only wish is for that deep dark abyss
'Cause what's the use of living with no true lover

And it's only love, and it's only love
That can wreck a human being and turn him inside out
That can wreck a human being and turn him inside out

When harm is done no love can be won
I know this happens frequently
What I can't understand
Oh please God hold my hand
Is why it should have happened to me

And it's only love and it's only love
And it's only love and it's only love
Only love, only love

Only love, only love

This of course is one of the trials of getting older: the longer we stay, the more people we have to watch leaving and I'm reminded of my elderly grandmother who, at nearly 90, had lived too long. After another bad chest infection and another long spell in hospital she turned to my father and said 'All my friends have gone. There's nobody in the street who I used to know anymore. I've had enough. I'd like to go now'...and she did. I don't want to go yet but I could do without watching the others leave.

*There's a lovely piece here about Kate's death with tributes from her children and sister

Happy New Year...bit late......

'JoAnn always has a happy outlook...' and maybe we should try to be more like JoAnn..although there does seem to be a soupcon of mania on her face...or is it just an overdose of 1960s happy tabs ????

Valium anyone ?
Nardil ?
Purple Heart ?
She's a bit like a white Winifred Attwell on speed. No ? (If you're under 45 you probably don't know who Wini is but you can always google)

Anyway, I hope you'll all have a happy and healthier 2010 and, who knows, by next January we may all be as full of vim as JoAnn, God bless her..and you