I've not been here for quite a while but I had something to say (or write) - to 'share' even - and this seemed the best place (now I'm not on social media). Inspired by my dear writer friend Mary Smith, whose blog on her cancer 'journey' has been just that, inspirational for a lot of people over the past year , after her last post I felt, like most people, immediately devastated. But devastation doesn't help anyone, so I tried to think of something positive. Here goes: Mary has written many times of spring bulbs. Of how last year she didn't know if she would still be alive to see the ones she planted in autumn 2020. Now, again, she's facing that same reality. Should she, or shouldn't she... and the resounding answer from many of her friends (real and virtual) is YES. Plant those bulbs. It struck me that the planting of spring bulbs is in some sense an act of resistance (I don't do 'hope' but I do do resistance') - we cannot change what will come but we can, if not control, then make a statement. Another of Mary's friends described this as planting a 'Riot of Colours.' And so, yes, project 'ROC-on' it is. My suggestion is that all who know Mary (and Mary herself) plant spring bulbs this autumn. Do so mindfully and with meaning. With love and empathy. And take pictures/video of the planting. Then when they come up in the spring take more pictures/videos. SHARE THEM. Do it not just in solidarity and love for Mary but for the people of Afghanistan whose own spring must be looking incredibly bleak right now. Many people 'know' Mary from her writings about Afghanistan, indeed I first met her at a reading of her non fiction book 'Before the Taliban' way back when. So it seemed only right that we broaden the scope of our 'project' to make it a gesture, perhaps an act, to remind us all that while 'wee' people can't change the world, we can still have our voice. Mary joined me in 2003 when we put on a 'Not in My Name' performance in Dumfries (which did NOT stop the war in Iraq) and for the 10th anniversary of that event I published the pieces by our fellow writers: Jo Abbott, Jackie Baldwin, Mark Frankland, Vivien Jones, Mary and myself. I'm making that ebook available again for free for anyone who wants to download it HERE (pdf format - don't complain, I'm amazed I was ever able to find it in my hard drive of hell) Time presses on. There's nothing any of us can do to really help Afghanistan, or to prolong our time with Mary. BUT rather than suggesting she does 'not go gentle into the good night' or 'rage, rage against the dying of the light' as male poets (Thank you Dylan) might suggest, how about we do something positive? If 100 or so of Mary's friends ALL commit to planting bulbs (and taking pics, sharing on social media for those of you who do that sort of thing) and commit to doing that EVERY year from now as a mark of our friendship with Mary, I hope that we might show her NOW, when it matters, just what she means to us all. Mary, however long you have, I promise that for as long as I am around to do so, I will plant bulbs in the autumn to contribute to a Mary Smith Riot of Colour in the spring. I truly hope that you'll stick around for the first act of this event next spring - but know NOW that it will go on in some form for many, many years to come, a legacy to and inspired by you. My own two planting sites are already planned. I will plant (actually replant) some white daffodil bulbs (see earlier posts on this site) at two places. 1. The Family Trees. These trees feature heavily in two of my works: Brand Loyalty (2010) and All Moments are One Moment. (2020) I visit them every day. So from now on, every day Mary will be there with me in my thoughts. Part of the 'family'. I treasure Mary's comments during the editing of Brand Loyalty and her review on its publication. * see bottom of post.
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