Don't let the weather get you down......

''A change in the weather is sufficient to recreate the world and

ourselves.'' (Marcel Proust)

When it comes to small talk, the weather is often a safe bet.

Perhaps it can be likened to a code that can be used to start

 conversations and overcome social inhibitions.

When I lived in the UK, the weather was a very common topic.

Especially when it was nice weather.

A clear blue sky with a friendly sun seemed to put a little

zing in most people's step.

There were picnics, walks, and games in the parks to be had.

Ice-creams to be devoured, cups of tea to be sipped,

and intimate conversations to be enjoyed.

 Sunny days were days,... for being outside.

 In a country often draped in gray clouds and on-and-off

downpours, being able to feel the sun on one's face,

to remove a layer or two of clothing, I can imagine would probably

feel quite exhilarating.

You see, I believe that the weather affects us.

Not only physically, but according to some science, also

psychologically.

Rain (yay! boo!) is vital for life and growth,

but too much rain, can be devastating and potentially deadly.

Sunshine (yay! boo!), vital for life and growth, if too much,

can also be devastating and potentially deadly.

For someone who relies on the weather for their livelihood,

the weather is a serious subject. Floods and drought can often

lead to significant mental health consequences for farmers

and all those who work in areas that depend on the weather.

Australia is a country with huge farms but not until I visited

one personally did I realize just how important the weather is

 for the farmers.

 To be a farmer here in Australia takes a lot

of stamina, courage and resilience.

The farmer has to contend with bush fires, drought, insect and

rodent infestations, water spouts, hurricanes, etc. etc. etc.

Just so we are on the same page, a definition of the term weather.

Weather incorporates components such as: temperature, 

atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, 

precipitation and cloudiness.

Although some of us may like windy and rainy days,

we have no problem with barometric pressure or humidity,

for some other of us however, they are an issue.

Windy days can be catastrophic for people suffering

with allergies, rainy or humid days can make some people

moody, irritable, and or tired. Barometric pressure can

trigger headaches in some of us but temperature, I contend,

 affects most of us in some way or another.

My first few years here in OZ, I experienced only two seasons:

Hot and bloody hot. A few years later I added muggy and bone-dry.

Now they are back to two: hot and muggy, bloody hot and bone-dry.

(One may think that I ought to be used to the weather here by now,

but for some inexplicable reason, ... I'm not.)

Fossicking through a number of sites on weather and 

how we are affected by it, I am afraid that I have found

nothing yet that meets the criteria that I am looking for.

All I can say for sure is that there seems to be a general

consensus on most of the sites that the 

weather does affect us.

In conclusion: I can't make one. 

There are way too many variables.

How the weather affects us depends

 on the day, on the time of day,

where we are, where we are going,

who we are with, who we left behind,

what we are doing, what we did,

what we are feeling, what we are thinking,

what we believe, what we perceive,

etc. etc. etc.

''It can be hard to look cool and be warm at the same time.''

''The sound of the rain needs no translation.''

(Allan Watts)

 

about the image: acrylic on canvas

There is solace to be found in the arts........

 They called her ''Lady Day'', but her real name was Eleanora Fagan.

Professionally she was known as Billie Holiday, and though she

didn't live a long life, her artistry still lives on today.

Her life was not a happy one. Already at the tender age of nine she

had to learn to fend for herself. 

When she was 15 years old she renamed herself ''Billie'' and

began to sing in local clubs in New York.

Music, she discovered, offered her solace.

Like so many other musicians/artists before and after her,

she struggled with substance abuse, failed relationships and

a life fraught with many hardships.

Eventually her hard life caught up with her and she died

in a hospital on July 17, 1959.

In spite of all her hardship, substance and physical abuse,

she still managed to produce amazing music and is by many

musicians considered as one of the best jazz vocalists of

all time.

''To be a ''real'' artist you need to suffer for your art.''

''You don't know how to play the Blues

unless you've lived it.''

Is there something to the trope of the tortured artist

or is it just another myth?

''We need to stop using ''the myth of the tortured artist'' to

dismiss creatives with mental health issues and instead

recognize the therapeutic potential of art.'' (Cerys Wiles)

Is turmoil and hardship somehow some kind of 

necessary ''fuel'' for creativity?

Is it possible to live a contented, harmonious and happy

life and be a great artist?

Why is an artist's suffering so often perceived as a necessity for a

''true'' artistic expression although recent research shows

that rather than improve creativity, it impedes it?

What if it is not suffering that makes great artists great

but their ability to express emotions that others can connect

and relate to?

Human beings, we are told, are social beings. We like to

share and exchange experiences with others. Doing so

we create relationships, form bonds and help us understand 

ourselves and others. Usually we do this with the use of

words, but sometimes words just aren't enough.

 This.... is the time when the arts can come in handy.

''Art and music shine a light of meaning on ordinary life,

and through them we are able to confront the things that

trouble us and to find consolation and peace in their

presence.'' (Roger Scruton)

''Music expresses that which cannot be said and on

which it is impossible to remain silent.'' (Victor Hugo)

''Music can change the world." (Ludwig van Beethoven)

''Dance is the hidden language of the soul.'' (Martha Graham)

''Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.'' (Edgar Degas)

''When artists give form to revelation, their art can advance,

deepen and potentially transform the consciousness of their

community.'' (Alex Grey)

In my view, it was not all the suffering that Billie Holiday 

experienced that made her a great singer, rather, 

what made her a great singer was that she kept on singing

in spite of her tortuous life.

about the image: ''Lady Day''     ink on paper

Some ideas are excellent no matter how old they may be.............

 The waitress nonchalantly and from the corner of her mouth

told me to just ''swipe the phone with the QR stamp''.

''Sorry'' I said, ''I don't have a smartphone''.

(Well, I do, but I had left it at home that day.)

''Is there another way of signing in perhaps?'' I asked.

I was handed an iPad and a minute later I was signed in.

For almost two years our little family lived in the UK, North Devon.

 Actually, to be more precise, we lived in a quaint little village called Braunton.

Braunton is near the Saunton Sands, which is where my spouse's

elderly parents lived in a small, white-chalked cottage

with a view of the open Celtic Sea. 

Occasionally, some brave surfer dressed in rubber from top to

toe would ride the waves and I couldn't help but admire

his or her resolve to ignore the chilling weather.

 The transition from a sunny, warm and tropical Queensland

to a cold, wet and windy North Devon, was quite the challenge.

(I think I was shivering with cold for our first two weeks in

Britain.)

But, we were there on a mission, 

we wanted our boy to have some time 

with his grand-parents before it would be too late.

We found a reasonably priced but surprisingly wonderful place to rent

 in Braunton, and once I had set up my little recording studio and practice room,

I felt settled. 

My partner started to look for a job, we enrolled our

son in ''kindie'' and I started to work on an album.(music)

We bought a Triumph Stag and decided to explore Devon.

Though it took some time to get used to safely navigating the mostly

single and very narrow lanes, the beauty of the landscape was

awe inspiring. 

At times it felt almost as if we might have entered into a Constable, 

Turner or Gainsborough painting. Even the bright red telephone

booths scattered through the villages and hamlets seemed to belong,

although they perhaps signified a more contemporary time than

the landscape in which they stood tall.

These days, most of those red telephone booths have been

removed. And, as far as I can ascertain, phone booths in general

and in many countries, are often viewed as obsolete.

Which in my view is a shame.

When I was a kid, a phone booth offered privacy, a shelter from

nasty weather, a hiding place from bullies, a secret meeting place

for friends, and a point of access for getting help. (Police, hospitals, etc. etc.)

Taking or making phone calls, if I remember right, was generally

 viewed as more of a private rather than a public undertaking.

These days, whether we like it or not, we are often exposed

to other peoples phone conversations.

(I don't know about you, but I find it quite embarrassing.

Before phones became mobile, they used to be designated to

specific places such as the hallway, the office, or the bedroom.

So, whoever was making or receiving a call, would do so in private.)

The development of the capabilities of the mobile phone has

perhaps been so rapid that we haven't had the time to figure

out whether we need to attach some form of etiquette to its use.

Is it okay for instance to:

Accept a call when in the middle of a face to face conversation?

Discuss private/personal matters when strangers can hear it?

Receive and make calls when in a restaurant, coffee shop, 

movie theater, doctor's surgery, etc. etc. ?

I guess the only answer to those questions is: it depends.

There is no doubt that the mobile phone is very handy

in a number of ways. However, walking around a very large

shopping center the other day looking for a public phone

and not finding even one, I can't help but wonder the wisdom

in removing all public phones.

I mean, batteries can die, reception can be iffy, some folks

can't afford expensive smart phones, sometimes we may forget

to bring our phones, etc. etc. 

It's late at night. You're driving through some uninhabited land.

Suddenly you have a tyre blow out. You pull over.

When you get your spare out you discover that it is flat.

You try to call for road assistance on your mobile

 but there's no reception. What will you do?

Probably, you'll lock the car and start walking.

Wouldn't it be nice if just up the road you see

an all lit up phone booth?

Train stations, bus terminals, airports, hotels, motels,

hospitals, etc. etc. used to have lots of public phones and or phonebooths.

Today........... not so much.

I think this is a mistake. 

Some ideas are excellent no matter how old they may be.

''We can only blame ourselves for all the crime and violence today.

We removed all the phone booths and now Superman

has nowhere to change.''

(Quotemaster)

about the image: acrylic on canvas, some editing