Because you can't have depths without surfaces.
Linda Grant, thinking about clothes, books and other matters.
Pure Collection Ltd.
Net-a-porter UK

Thursday 28 May 2009

WHERE ARE THE UMBRELLAS?




It was raining heavily on Tuesday morning and I was going to the gym. And the umbrella stand in the hall was empty. And there was no umbrella in the boot of the car.
And I didn’t know where they had got to. And I couldn’t remember when they had last been used, or when I had last seen them, or who might have borrowed them. And I couldn’t remember, for that matter, when it had last rained.

On Tuesday it was the six month anniversary of the fateful night in Mumbai when Will and Kelly were threatened with their lives. And said their goodbyes to one another. And I was intermittently on the end of a phone in London and at one stage did not know if my lovely son was alive.

It has been a long time. It has, in a sense, been one long extended event. And Christmas and New Year have been and long gone. And snow has happened and spring has arrived and public holidays have occurred and friends have gone away and come back and Rosie is coming to the end of her second year at university. And Will is still in hospital undergoing rehabilitation.
He is a star . Kelly is a star.
It does sometimes happen in life. A disruption to the normal flow. Of events . Of habits . Of time. When something prises you into a parallel world that runs alongside the familiar one. When what used to be important preoccupations are now barely recognised irrelevancies. You look across to the old familiar life and wonder when the tracks will intersect. ( I’m talking for myself here)

Three weeks ago Will and Kelly decided to go public with their story. They had absolutely no desire to , but they acknowledged that they needed to as they get no compensation from the UK government. And now the real world has been engaged, but in a kind of ultra way. Interactions with journalists and politicians,. Seeing images and stories in print and on TV. And messages coming in from the ether. From complete strangers and from long lost friends. Offers of help. Expressions of support . And many heartfelt greetings.

And they have been very gratified by the support that has been forthcoming.
And now that they have engaged the outside world it is sort of time for me to. And I hope I will have the kind of energy that allows me to get back to doing some of the things I enjoy. Like writing occasionally for this blog. About less important things like the disappearance of tab collars and , now that the warmer weather is here, the ghastly re-appearance of cargo pants. Or buying an umbrella.

Thank you one and all for all your kind thoughts.

7 comments:

Toby Wollin said...

Harry - my husband is going crazy trying to find a decent pair of men's shorts that do not have cargo pockets/cell phone pockets etc. on them. Glad to see you back!

Sz said...

Welcome back Harry. You were missed.

Unknown said...

Welcome back Harry. Best wishes for you and Will and Kelly.

dana said...

Nice to read your words again, Harry. My thoughts and best wishes continue to be with you and your family. Thanks for the update.

lagatta à montréal said...

Dear Harry,

('ll continue to use your pen name on the blog), it is wonderful to read you writing on some of the minutae of life that make us human, after the ghastly experience Will, Kelly and you have faced and continue to experience. Hope everything goes as well as possible.

Oh dear, cargo pockets again...

Miss Cavendish said...

Welcome back, indeed, Harry,

I too deplore the return of cargo shorts/pants for gentlemen and will look forward to your recommendations.

Harry Fenton said...

Thank you everybody for welcoming me back. Things are still quite busy, Will is due to be discharged from hospital on Tuesday. After that I will investigate some alternatives to cargo pants ( I guess it's an age thing)