A bunch of Christmas Thoughts 2020 Dec 19th -- Looking up Looking out

We're looking to the skies this weekend. People have always looked to the skies. I suppose, in the past, they could actually see them! Astronomy and astrology used to be one and the same. We looked at the skies and to the skies, for information on seasons, agriculture, fishing, origins, stories, portents of doom, signs of hope. It's a natural thing to look up and to look out. I'm a huge fan of space. I love that I live in a time when we know so much about the universe. I would love to see a day when our moral stature lived up ot that knowledge. We've gone so far and we've looked back in awe at the tiny 'Blue Dot' that is our own planet, and that should teach us just how special humankind is and that we should be working together to preserve this home of ours.

But I've always found poetic inspiration in the skies too. That too is our nature; to make of things more than the sum of their parts, to paint pictures, make up stories, represent what we experience to the gaze of others. We look up and out and say: Hey -- this is what I made of that! And we look at what others have made of it and together we gain more understanding, not of the thing itself, but of our collective consciousness. This for me is what it's all about. That is the worth and purpose of art and science; and they are not separate for me. They are one and the same.

So I give you some space stuff today. One of my favourite stories that I ever wrote: Closer to the Truth, first published in Every Day Fuction in 2008. I love it because it says all I have just said above -- only better -- and because it is a tribute to all the Mental Health professionals (some of whom my husband trained) who this year are needed more than ever.

 And a series of poems written to go with NASA pictures of the day in Bewildering Stories where there's a huge archive of space stuff! Youll have to click on the links for the poems though the first poem should lead you to the rest. I've done this because the pictures need to be seen too! 

Enjoy my Armchair Observatory by just clicking on this link and then using the drop down arrow v and 'GO' to the right of each poem to get to the next. You can also follow the link to each NASA picture.

CLOSER to the TRUTH

With the caution of a hunter, Brian approached the diminutive figure standing by the dark tree-line of firs. No need to startle her. She might run for cover. He was close enough now to see her back to him, to hear her whisperings and see the soft, white vapour of her breath rise like a spirit released. She was looking up steadily into the October sky, holding her thin cardigan stretched over her fast at the neck with both hands.   Like a saint at prayer she looked. Like an angel on the grave of a child, her gaze fixed on heaven. She was little more than a child herself.

Brian stepped on a twig.

“Have you come to take me back?” she said without turning.

“Is it me you’re talking to, Mary?”

“Aye, it’s you.” She didn’t move at all–just kept staring up at the cold stars. The wildness had gone from her eyes. She seemed calm now but her face was stained with tears.

“What are you looking at, Mary?”

She pointed to the equatorial plane.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Shooting stars. The Orionids. They happen every year. And that’s Orion, Mary.” He closed a bit on her, crouched and pointed. “Those three bright stars are his belt.”

“It’s a he?”

“Yes. The Hunter. He was a bit of a womanizer, Orion–always out to impress the girls–not a bit like me…”

Mary sniffed and giggled and looked at him.

Eye contact. That was a start, he thought. “So anyway, Orion bragged he could kill any animal, thinking this would get him a wife, but all his tearing about didn’t sit well with the women and their fathers only thought he was a big-head. But he was irrepressible, Mary, and do you know what he did?” With one hand Brian gestured to the other two with him that they could retreat. “He threatened to kill every wild animal on the earth. The earth goddess wasn’t happy about that and she sent a scorpion to bite him on the foot and…”

“He killed it?”

“No. It killed him. But the gods felt sorry for the shortness of his life and put him high in the sky with his two dogs to hunt the bull forever and they put the scorpion far away from him so that it couldn’t harm him ever again and he couldn’t harm it.”
 
Mary wiped her face with a fistful of cardigan. “It’s not true,” she said.

“No. Orion is really a vast region of space covering light years and full of stars and places where stars are born and if you approached it, it would look nothing like it does from here. You would be past some bits of it before you got anywhere near the others–they’re that far apart. It would be like you were inside a giant snow storm frozen in time all around you, above and below, and different from every point of view. But to us he’s the hunter. And it’s a good story, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

He stood up. She wasn’t going to run. “The way I see it, there are as many stories as there are people, Mary. Same star field, different points of view.”

“Do you think we need all those stories?”

“I don’t know, Mary. What do you think? Maybe it takes all the perspectives together to make up the truth, and the more stories we know, the closer we get to it.” He took off his white coat and slipped it over her shoulders. “Shall we go in now? And tomorrow if you like we can come out and look at Orion again and maybe you’ll tell me your story, Mary. Deal?”
 
He placed one hand on her shoulder directing her away from the woods across the frosty grass in her bare feet, towards the well-lit buildings and the warmth and safety of the ward and tomorrow.

A bunch of Christmas Thoughts 2020 Dec 18th -- Solidarity, Elves!

I've always thought Christmas dinner is an over-rated meal. A good meal is one thing but after all, you can only eat what you eat, so why all this excess? Our Christmas dinner (I don't bother making a starter) will consist of roasted pork, crackling, swede mash, roast potatoes and parsnips, sprouts of course and gravy. It will be accompanied by a chilled bottle of Gwurtztraminer. We don't usually have room for pudding but I have two of those little individual ones just in case and some clotted cornish cream. 

Many people will be working on Christmas Day. My husband used to when he was a nurse. Key workers are still needed no matter what day it is. Thanks to all of you who, during this dreadful year, have kept going, kept caring. I hope and pray that next year we will see an end to this terrible pandemic and that soon there will be a government in this country who will not only recognise the worth of workers, but reward them for their devotion. Teachers, nurses, shop-workers, delivery men, cleaners, ambulance drivers, firemen -- all the people who do the real work while politicians sit in their shiny-arsed suits polishing their parliamentary privileges. 

Well let this story be a little warning to you!

Elfday

by Oonah V Joslin

The elves pushed their chairs back and groaned. No one spoke.

“There’s nothing like a good Christmas roast,” said Glitter. It sounded a bit forced.

“Best ever!” said Gretchen. That sounded equally forced. There was a kind of finality to this feast that required a degree of solemnity. It was the end of an era.

“Tinsel, you out-sparkled yourself, girl.”

Tinsel blushed, knowing it.

“Yep! Here’s to you!” Spice emptied his flagon and farted loudly. The others ignored his lack of sensitivity.

Time was, a hundred elves would be seated around tables here in the workshop, singing and celebrating the success of the season well into New Year. Tinsel had cooked turkeys and hams, jellies and puddings that would do the heart good to see and beers, breads and home made sloe gin. That was before -- they were just a handful now and they weren’t exactly celebrating. There’d have been more fun at a wake.

“What do we do now?” Pickles, always ahead of every game, sounded unsure for a change.

“The dishes?” said Gretchen, hopefully.

Pickles gave an exasperated sigh. “I mean what do we DO now?”

“As in?” enquired Sprinkle.

“As IN – for instance, do we open the mail?”

There was already a pile stacked up in the corner and they all knew that if it wasn’t tackled bit by bit, it would build to a mountain in no time at all. However, none of it was addressed to them. Suddenly the dishes seemed to be the least of their problems.

“It doesn’t seem right somehow.” Glitter’s voice sounded small. “I know we used to help with the mail but…”

“We’re going to argue ethics now?” said Pickles.

“You mean we should just carry on – like before?” Franzipan had always been a keen worker. He specialized in handmade wooden toys but the big stores with their mass produced mouldeds, meant he was the only one of his department left. It seemed there was little demand for craftsmanship. Santa had been going for cheaper options for years. It was more ‘cost effective’.

All that was part of the original dispute.

“It’s a consideration,” said Pickles, self appointed shop steward through all the ‘unpleasantness’ of the past months.

Franzipan had become bitter. “Whoa! Weren’t we made redundant? Let go? Cast aside? ‘Cost cutting exercises,’ remember? The ‘economic down-turn’? ‘Trimming the fat…’”

“We could become a co-operative. Go it alone,’ said Pickles.

“But nobody can afford Christmas any more. That’s what he said…” Glitter’s voice kind of swallowed itself.

“That’s right, comrade. And why should we work now? We have a roof over our head… Plenty here to eat.” Spice rubbed his rotund belly contentedly and picked a strand of white hair from between his teeth. “Tough old bird! Had to be – old timer like that… Been everywhere… Done everything…”

Franzipan looked away in disgust. “Ghoul! Nobody said you had to eat boots and all.”

Spice just laughed.

“Plenty of what to eat?” asked Gretchen.

“Venison. We have a breeding herd.”

“But I like the deer.”

“Me too, Gretchen but as Santa himself pointed out, ‘there’s no room for sentiment in times like these’ – nice with redcurrant jelly on the side too – you can manage that, can’t you, Tinsel?”

“Just as long as I don’t have to behead them myself this time.”

“Involuntary Severance,” reminded Pickles, “and again as Santa said, “‘commerce is our business.’ He’d be the first to realise it’s nothing personal. Now -- what about that mail?”

“I think we ought,” said Sprinkle.

“But we can’t deliver toys without logistics.” Franzipan thought of the beautiful sleigh he’d made so long ago. It had been replaced by ugly, fuel-guzzling lorries and now sat rotting in a shed, eaten away by profit.

“Someone should let the kiddies down gently. Whatever else happens, Santa definitely isn’t coming to town this year.”

It was a hideous truth. Spice burped louder than ever.

Published in 10FLASH

A bunch of Christmas Thoughts 2020 Dec 17th -- Chaos and Light

 Chaos and light is what it's all about, isn't it? I mean Christmas, the universe, everything!

Chaos and Light

It was snowing. Brendan turned his key in the lock. The door opened a fraction and then stuck. “What’s behind the door?” he shouted. “I can’t get in!”

“Come round the back,” came the reply. “I’ll let you in that way.”

He picked up his briefcase and went round the back.

In the kitchen, the baby was crying and Peter, three and a half, was in pole position. A box of Christmas decorations took up most of the rest of the floor.

“The baby’s crying,” Brendan said.

“Vroom, vroom.” Both car and toddler crashed into his legs.

“That hurt, Peter,” he protested, shaking the snow off his coat.

The phone rang.

“Can you get that?” asked Maria as she picked little Cyril up and patted his full nappy.

Brendan stepped over box, tinsel and toddler, and looked round in dismay at the chaos that welcomed him home. “Hello? What, this minute? Now?... No, no, you’re always welcome. See you in a minute then.” He replaced the receiver. “You’re mother’s on her way.”

This evening was turning into a nightmare. All he wanted to do was relax. Now he tripped over the box and spilt its baubles and bunting all over the kitchen floor. Baby was being changed on the table. Brendan thought the better of commenting on this as a matter of hygiene and started shoving the contents back into the box.

“Daddy, can I have a dink?” said the little one.

“What can he dink - I mean drink, Maria?”

“Juice in the fridge,” she said distractedly wafting the smell of poo away from her nose, “And could you just have a look at the chicken? No, wait. You finish this and I’ll have a look at the chicken.”

“Can’t I change first? I’m in my suit.”

“Okay. Turn the oven down to a hundred and sixty, get Peter a drink and then go and change.” Maria swept the hair out of her eyes with her wrist, wrapped the baby in a bath towel, poo and all, stepped over the box and dragged Peter along into the living room. “Get Mummy baby’s bag,” she said and Peter who knew the drill, obliged.

Brendan disappeared thankfully upstairs. He had only his shirt on when, with a sudden flash the light went out. “What the f… on earth? Maria? Maria?” He looked out onto the dark landing. It wasn’t just the bedroom light. It was all the lights. “Maria, where’s the torch?”

Maria appeared at the bottom of the stairs holding a match. “Dunno. Peter just switched the Christmas tree lights on and they’ve fused.”

“Peter did? Is he okay?”

“Yes, the fuse blew in the plug.”

“Okay, nobody move! I’m coming down.” Brendan sat on the top step and came down on his bare backside. He took the matches. “Everybody just stand where you are. There’s candles under the sink.”

The laminate felt hard on his knees as he struck a match and began to rummage. Shirt tail in the air, he managed to find a candle and light it just as an icy draft from the back door shriveled his scrotum.

“Isn’t your bell working?” said Maria’s mother brushing the snow off by the back door. “I’ve been stood out there for…Oooh!” She looked around in the candle light for something else to focus on. “Nice baubles,” she said.

Published in Short Humour

A bunch of Christmas Thoughts 2020 Dec 16th -- extract from A Genie in a Jam

I wrote a novella you know. You didn't? Well I did. It is serialised in Bewildering Stories and it chronicles the adventures of a rather naughty and naive genie called DJ who gets into all manner of scrapes in his capacity as The Genie of the Jam. 

Anyway here's Chapt 9 for you to read and you can catch up with more of his adventures in BwS using the title below as a link.

A Genie in a Jam

Chapter 9: Conserving the Christmas Spirit

When Cranberry was first mentioned, DJ had been about to throw another tantrum, its being a sauce rather than a jam; but upon reflection, he’d decided it wasn’t really worth the hassle. Then Geoffrey had mentioned that it was Cranberry with Grand Marnier. Well, that put it in a class of its own as far as DJ was concerned, and he would be happy to dimensionally co-exist with any such high-status condiment.

Besides, he’d heard Christmas could be quite uplifting. There was turkey and all the trimmings — you couldn’t really object to that or to the presents set out so tantalizingly beneath the tree; you just had to have a snoop. When opened, most were probably yawningly familiar items, but Christmas was really the only time of year when things sparkled as in Djinn, with colourful wrappings, and bright baubles and lights.

The songs and carols were repeated so often, DJ had quickly learned them and had found himself singing along. He had a rather good baritone voice. Yes, there was a certain indefinable magic about the season, and when everyone was distracted by the festivities, there might be the odd nip of gin to be had too.

DJ was excessively fond of the odd nip of gin. Also he’d always wanted to meet the real Father Christmas — not that Saint Nicholas person but the unsung member of his own race who’d taken on the role and had been fulfilling wishes the world over for many centuries.

Few recognized his true identity. Who but a Djinn could change his local thermal equilibrium to a temperature suitable for descending chimneys, even when a fire was lit?

And so it came to pass that when the Peabodys twisted the lid off their cranberry sauce, a little prematurely on Christmas Eve, the genie appeareth unto them, a light shone all around him and he sayeth unto them, ‘Chrrristmas Grrreetings to you all.’

Well, he would have sayeth it unto them had he been able to make himself heard, but the party was in full swing and he was drowned out by loud music, party poppers and people shouting conversation over the din.

Most were busy filling their plates from the inordinately admirable buffet that Mrs. Peabody had prepared and nobody took any notice of poor DJ, who got kicked several times and had to take refuge beneath the table — handy things, tables, as he’d often observed.

Cranberry came in very small pots and DJ’s diminutive appearance reflected this fact. This was yet another snag in the contract that he had not familiarized himself with before signing. But sometimes it was of benefit to go unnoticed and as he had only one wish to grant, it was probably just as well on this occasion.

Only little Jemima Peabody had noticed his advent and she immediately followed him under the table and whispered in conspiratorial fashion, ‘Are you the fairy off the tree?’

Indignantly DJ enquired, ‘Do I look like a fairy?’

Jemima, who was five and three-quarters and prided herself in always getting the correct answer, took in his pointy eyebrows, deep red turban, white T-shirt with a logo she couldn’t read, green tights, yellow socks and white Nikes, furrowed her little brow and pronounced her verdict. ‘Ye-es.’

‘Well that takes the biscuit!’ pronounced the genie.

No sooner had he said this than Jemima disappeared, although not in the literal sense, reappearing a few moments later with a whole packet of luxury Belgian chocolate biscuits.

‘There you are, mister.’

‘These are delicious,’ said DJ with his mouth full. He’d not really made a study of food etiquette; he was still busy researching fluidity. ‘Call me DJ,’ he said, then wiping a chocolaty hand on his tights, he held it out to be shaken.

‘I’m Jemima, but my friends call me Jam.’

‘Some people call me Mr. Jam too,’ explained DJ. ‘I am the Genie of the Jam, you see and...’

‘What’s a genie?’ asked the child. ‘Does it mean you’re very smart?’

‘Well, I am very smart,’ said DJ, ‘but it really means I’m a Djinn.’ DJ would have gone on but she upped and disappeared again, this time coming back with an almost full bottle of gin.

‘How kind,’ said DJ, taking a nip out of the bottle — more like a slug than a nip. ‘Now where was I? Oh yes. Well you’ll have heard the expression there’s no smoke without...’

Away she went again. She was evidently a very hyperactive child but most hospitable, it had to be said. DJ couldn’t think why she’d gone this time. Maybe she required a leak.

Jemima took a while to come back, so DJ helped himself to more gin. The party had turned into a carol karaoke by now. The genie kept on slurping from the bottle, not minding in the least that the gin was neat. No one save the little girl seemed to have the least idea he was there, so he decided that he would grant her the wish the moment she returned. ‘Most host-hick-it-pit-able child!’

‘I had to find the matches,’ a breathless Jemima explained, ‘but I got you a smoke,’ she said, handing them to DJ along with a huge Christmas cigar. ‘I’m not allowed matches you see, or cigars.’

DJ intimated that he was glad to hear it. He’d save the cigar for later.

‘Now Jim-in-im-ima,’ he began, ‘if you could have a Christmas wish, what would it be?’

‘Santa’s bringing me a pony,’ she said, ‘and hay to feed him and a saddle and everything.’

‘Oh that’s nice. Isn’t there something else?’

Jemima thought hard about this. Usually when Mum used that tone she’d forgotten to say thank you, but thank you didn’t seem appropriate here. In the end she took a cue from the karaoke going on outside.

‘I know,’ she said happily clapping her hands, thinking she’d solved a riddle. ‘A Merry Christmas!’ and she launched into the song: ‘I wish you a Merry Christmas. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year’.’

‘Well, I’m most touched, Jemin, Jenim, Jam,’ he said. Just at that moment, her mother called her to stop playing whatever silly game it was under the table and get off to bed this instant.

‘Sorry, I have to go to bed now or Santa won’t come.’

‘I’m sure he will,’ reassured DJ. ‘You’re a very good girl.’

Full of chocolate biscuits and gin, DJ fell happily asleep under the table and was awoken much later by someone pulling at his foot.

‘Ho, Ho, Ho, what have we here?’ asked Santa, pulling the cloth up. He’d heard snoring and, seeing a trainer poking out from under the table, decided to investigate whether some naughty child was not in bed.

A disheveled DJ roused himself and hurried out. ‘I’m so pleased to meet you Father Christmas,’ he blustered and then groaned with the effort and held his head.

‘My word, a genie! And been on the gin, by the look of it.’ Santa shook the much depleted contents of the bottle and smelled DJ’s breath.

At that moment DJ’s main concern was that Santa here might report him to the Elders for drunkenness, so he did a little groveling. ‘Never been to a Christmas before and little Jem-in-nina insisted and Obsijin would throw me in the gemime-mine-me... if...’

‘Needn’t worry about that, lad,’ said the older Djinn, patting him on the back. ‘I won’t tell. Never could stand that lot of self-opinionated old miseries m’self. Prefer humans any day. That’s why I took the job, don’t ye know. And you are...?’

‘DJ — Genie of the Jam — your servant, sir.’ He bowed lower than usual and nearly fell over.

‘And did you grant the little girl her wish?’

‘I was going to do so when she wished me a Merry Christmas and now you’re here.’

‘Well you’ve certainly made merry, I’ll give you that. And what extra wish would you have me grant your little hostess, since you could not oblige?’

DJ wanted to make it something special, she was such a terrific little girl and the older Djinn was capable of so much more than he. Mustering his entire sobriety for the speech he said, ‘As much goodwill throughout a long, lustrous life as she has shown this genie, sir,’ he bowed again and this time he did fall over.

The old fellow beamed down at him. ‘That is truly the spirit of Christmas,’ he said. ‘You know DJ, drunk or not, I think you’re a damned fine genie. Keep up the good work, son.’ Father Christmas patted him on the back, snapped his fingers and was away.

DJ felt the spread of a warm Christmas glow throughout his being as he adjusted his thermal equilibrium for the dimensional shift, then he too disappeared.

A bunch of Christmas Thoughts 2020 Dec 15th -- CUTS

 I had my hair cut today -- very short in case of another lockdown after New Year. It reminded me of a story I heard in the salon one day; a true story about times past right here in the village where I live. It reminds us that 2020 has not been the only terrible year. History gives lessons, all too often ignored by those in charge of things; and it's always the vulnerable who suffer.

I am glad I heard this old gentleman's story. I am glad I could write it down and pass it on.

CUTS

Janet’s scissors were snipping away at an old man’s silver hair when I walked in.

‘…divint kna’ they’re born these days.’

His accent was richer than Geordie; more rural.

‘Aye that’s right, Jimmy.’ Janet winked at me.

I got ready for the tirade of ill feeling towards young people though I’m getting to that age when I sometimes take a similar view.

‘Time’s used to be very hard, roon here.’

I buried my nose in the magazine I’d lifted and listened to the interjections of the hairdresser as she clipped at the little hair he had left.

‘They get everything these days…’

‘So they do.’

‘An’ they appreciate nothin’.’

‘Just put your head a bit forward for me there, Jimmy?’

‘They ha’ mobile phones and computers ye kna.’

‘Just straighten your head again…’

‘When A was a lad, my mother didn’t ha’ ony fancy washin’ machine or cooker. We had just the range an’ the tin bath an’ me father used tae wash in that efter a shift doon the pit.’ Jimmy laughed and his laughter was like bubbles rising out of the dark. ‘He’d be that black, ye cudna see ‘im al winter lang unless it snawed!’

Janet laughed at that and so did I.

‘We hoyed the dirty watter intae the back lane.’

‘Where did you live, Jimmy?’

‘First Row, the colliery hooses, just round the corner here. An’ I went tae the juniors too. Mind you the school was nearly new then. That was a lang time noo.’

‘What age are you anyway?’

‘Eighty nine.’

‘You don’t look it. He doesn’t look eighty nine, does he?’

He did look every minute of eighty nine, but such are social mores that I agreed.

Jimmy gave a hefty sigh. ‘There wisn’t many got tae my age. A was just a wee lad. We went back tae school after the summer an’ there was that few o’ us left so the teacher telt us tae double up classes. In fact ye cud ha’ taught the whole school at once.’

I put down my magazine.

‘We used tae play footy doon the lonin at the back o’ the hooses an’ there was an open drain doon the middle. Al the watter we used for anythin’, used to gan doon that gully. It was like an open sewer, you understand. Weel, it was hot weather an’ first Freedie Fenwick an’ then Eddy Cuthbertson went doon wi’ it – cramps and a nosebleed. Freedie didna last lang, like. Twenty four hours and he was gone an’ my father told me himself. Explained it was the cholera. Before I knew it there was naybody tae play with. Aye…’

Jimmy shook his head and rubbed the back of a wrinkled hand. I could feel the loss of his pals ooze out of him.

‘Aye,’ he said. ‘That was a terrible year.’

A bunch of Christmas Thoughts 2020 Dec 14th -- In a 1950'S Christmas Card

When I was a child I always loved those old fashioned Christmas cards where the snow sparkled. I'd take one down and look at the Victorian scene and play the light onto the glitter. I loved the long dresses worn by the ladies, the fur capes. The cold of the snow, the yellow warmth of windows, carriage tracks in the rutted streets; it was all very 'Dickens' and demure. It was another world. Another world is always attractive when you are young. I still like cards with a bit of glitter on. It's not very eco-friendly these days. But as I was saying -- another world is always attractive. The 1950 was certainly another world!

In a 1950'S Christmas Card

I wanted to sparkle

more than anything

to be that elegant

lady descending

from a smart coach and four

on a gentleman's arm

her gloved hands extending

exuding poise and charm.

I wanted to enter the high-spired church,

and hear the choir and sing

carols to the fading light,

praises to a newborn king.

And afterwards supper

by firelight and candle-glow

behind leaded windows

safe from swirling snow,

safe from the possibility

of it becoming slush,

secure in unreality

where everything is Christmassy.

I wanted to sparkle;

to inhabit the card.

A bunch of Christmas Thoughts 2020 Dec 13th -- wee dark days

To flash is to send forth light with a sudden, transient brilliancy.
A spark of life; the guts of every story from zygote to dust, each pain from light to terror of the dark, and in between relentless needs that motivate the imagination, galvanizing all actions of the body and seekings of the soul.

In the vast universe, we are a flash. 

Oonah

Published in Smokelong Review 

Today has been dark -- raining. Any light there was this morning had disappeared by 1:30 as we drift into the wee dark days before Christmas. The sky is battleship grey as I write this. Boris is battleship ready! It seems we sink deeper into darkness with each passing day. It's being so cheerful that keeps me going! 

But there's the Christmas Tree and cards from friends and on this third Sunday of Advent, chicken dinner. Chicken dinner, I can cope with!  I'll see you tomorrow -- light permitting!