To be fair, no one has actually said that to my face. But there has been a hint or two, and so far I've managed to deflect them. However, I can't do that forever, so here is what is going on.
Firstly, I was ill when I came back. I've not written about being ill before, and I'm not going to start now. Suffice it to say that stringing a complete sentence together was an achievement for a few days, and it's taken a while to get back to 'normal' (whatever that means).
Secondly, plans are in place for me to move house. This has been on the agenda for a while, and now the wheels are in motion. It's something else I'm not going to write about - anyone who has moved house knows how brain-consuming it is, but that doesn't mean that anyone else is seriously interested in your dealings with agents or solicitors or your plans for new curtains. To be honest, I bore myself sometimes, thinking about it all. But it's the context in which I'm trying to have a life, so I've just got to run with it.
And then there's Malawi. I can, at the moment, find brief chunks of times to think about it - an essential preamble to trying to unpick the story of my trip. For there is a story - there are several stories - and I shall find a way to knit them together in some sort of coherent narrative. But give me time - it's not a straightforward country to think about and I need to do it justice.
In the meantime, I'll give you a picture, just to be going on with. I only know what animal this comes from because the guide told me - I wonder if anyone can guess?
A warthog
ReplyDeleteChanged my mind, it is a hippo.
ReplyDeleteI suspect you've been googling, Mark!!
DeleteI would have said a warthog too, but a hippo? Maybe indeed although the jaw looks a bit narrow, but those teeth (if that's what they are) are maybe the reason hippos are so dangerous.
ReplyDeletePS I hope you manage to sort youhealth and your home soon, Jo. Moving house has to be the most mind bogglingly disruptive of events! I had the feeling you loved your old house, but maybe it's too inconvenient now?
ReplyDeleteThanks Val - the move is just the right thing to do. Moves are never straightforward and it's hard not to obsess about it. But I'll get there.
DeleteWarthog???
ReplyDeleteI am sure the book will be great when it comes - you have enough on your plate at the moment.
You're right, the plate is a bit overflowing. But I need to find the time to write this - there are stories I really need to think about before the memory dulls.
DeleteAw, Jo, moving house! We are thinking of downsizing...but the clerout will be immense. Hope it goes well. xxx
ReplyDeleteIt's a huge downsize, from house to flat. But wonderfully liberating, once you get started!
DeleteA hippo jaw found on the banks of the Shire river?
ReplyDeleteAh, Unknown ... I've a feeling you were there??
DeleteIt is a hippo - and, as Unknown somehow knew, it was found on the banks of the Shire river.
ReplyDeleteI guessed warthog, wrong! I hope your move goes as smoothly as possible.
ReplyDeleteI'd have guessed warthog, too - if I hadn't seen it. What you can't tell from a picture is just how big it is!
DeleteWow, one step at a time. Getting better, moving and settling must come first.
ReplyDelete