Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The other night I had dinner with C. and A. who, as usual, provided me with brilliant conversation, our topics darting from wrestling to peoples' love of eagles. A.'s watch is broken and the watch face and half the strap are attached to his wrist with three red post office elastic bands. I worried that the bands were uncomfortable but he said not; C. assured me he was going to get it fixed at some point.

On the way home from their remote house overlooking the Treshnish Isles and under a perfect mackerel sky- where the sky shines silvery and the clouds ruffle like the dark and light strips on mackerel skin- I met with various creatures of the night; rabbits (all grey but for one tiny handsome black rabbit), highland cows grazing the hedgerows, sheep whose eyes glinted ominously in the headlights, and four hedgehogs. One sloped off quietly, one puffed itself up and I watched fascinated as its cream spines grew from its black fur, one sat in a ball as I managed to swerve around it, and one was recently dead, its bright red blood spilling from its ruptured middle, a gory mess splattered majestically across the road. Over all of this, two stars low in the sky: one white, one glowing orange, probably Venus. It is in places like this, on remote hilly roads, that one remembers that up there is a whole other world to which we are totally unimportant.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:09 PM

    Hi,

    This is a little odd; I commented on one of your posts in August 2008, after you'd moved back to London. I was living in London at the time and trying to find a door back to Africa. Masters, career change, and 24 months later, I'm now in Kenya. Right continent, wrong side of the meridian...but it'll do for now.

    Study and work took me away from browsing the net, but I just discovered the existance of "Yes we can" (via Scarlett Rose via Chris Blattman) and am happy to see that i) this great idea and physical record exists, ii) that it is on Out Here, and iii) that you are still writing and in-and-out of Africa these days.

    All the best,
    Steve

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  2. Hi Rose,
    I've never seen the Scottish version of such a sky but I do remember startling skies like that in Australia........it's good to be reminded of them and how they made me feel.

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  3. hi Steve, yes, I remember your comment back then - it was very encouraging and you were right, it has been an extremely slow transition back to life here and a tough year or so trying to make it. Now I enjoy the ease of life here and when I go back to Africa I really look forward to it too, and it still feels like going home to me. Yes We Can was a big project which has had some nice results- I'm glad you got to hear of it too. Well done for getting back to Africa!

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