to get
Cyril checked out. And Hoorah!! it was his
final visit. He's been passed all clear. Which is good news since his taken to
venting his frustration by pissing up the lounge curtains.
Tuesday was April Fool's Day and to celebrate it was off to the Vet's
to get
Cyril checked out. And Hoorah!! it was his
final visit. He's been passed all clear. Which is good news since his taken to
venting his frustration by pissing up the lounge curtains.
Then into town for some clothes shopping and, for the first time in living memory when we've been out shopping together, Ross actually spent more than I did. Usually, I blow a gasket and see far too many things that I want. Perhaps it was the thought of the cost of the car hire that's holding me back.
James came round for a meal the following night and, on the Thursday, we headed off all three of us to Norwich to the Sainsbury's Art Centre at the University of East Anglia to see an exhibition of Derek Jarman's work. Because of poor signing, we nearly missed out on the later works in a basement area which would have been disastrous as these were some of the most powerful works. A final series of paintings entitled Evil Queen were produced when he was in the later stages of HIV-related illnesses. I could only stay in their presence for a short while they affected me so much.
You'd expect something cold and somber from a man awaiting death. These large scale panels were full of energy and bright colour with single powerful slogans hacked through the deep layers of paint. As an act of affirmation, of anger and the desperate will to live, I can't imagine anything more moving. I wept. I wept for all the people I've known who've been carried off by this appalling virus.
It won't be long before it is two years since David died. I don't think directly about him so much these days and that's healthy. I've mentioned the two year time frame elsewhere. And it seems to be working.
A couple of years back, just after David's death, I'd had a two year period which included a change of job, two changes of house, the end of one relationship and the death of my next partner. My stress levels were extraordinary. Very soon, all of that period of upset will be out of that range and, for the first time in a long time, my overall background stress will be back to a healthy level. Or more simply, I'll have had two years without any major upsets. And, believe me, that's quite a change for me.
The week ended by making good use of the car to go to Homebase to get materials for some shelves in the lounge, a mega shop at Tesco's and several trips to the Council tip to offload some of our major detritus. We also got a few more bedding plants, including a couple of hostas (fortunei hyacinthina and fortunei albopicta) which should please Rod, who introduced me to them last year. I'm not sure how they'll turn out which means that they'll probably be a sort of hosta to fortune.