Opening time at my local pub is 3pm on Tuesdays, and a nice thing about arriving early is that I get to light the well-laid fire. The lump of lava on the right is a firelighter doing its job: within a few minutes this whole construction will be alight. Sometimes the interest is in the details — such as the paper to the left, what series of numbers goes 3, 10, 50, 70, 100 I wonder?
At about 3.30am in the morning I was awoken by a distant but continuously ringing alarm down in town, and a sense that I could smell smoke, although both these things only reached the semi-concscious level of awareness. Having convinced myself that if there was smoke, it was external to our place, I drifted back to sleep.
In the morning, it became more apparent where all this was coming from: the La Perla restaurant in town burned down overnight. This morning they were still dousing the smouldering timbers, the town cordoned off as I walked past on my way to the station — so this was the nearest I could get for this bit of reportage. No one was hurt, but I imagine there are a number of people who today are extremely upset.
My three weeks in St Helena meant that I missed out on the first decline of winter, and have thus been plunged straight back into December chill and gloom, without the initial acclimatisation. Sights like this are thus very welcome at this time. It’s only just been lit, but it’s developing nicely.
One of those shots where you either see it the same way that I do, or you don’t. But look at it’s balefully glowing eye, its smouldering snout. It’s definitely there, and watching.
The clocks went back last night, and winter draws closer. But no one has told this tree yet and it’s determined to go out in a blaze of glory.
I did say there was going to be little to get excited about this weekend (or for the next few days, come to that). In fact this picture is taken in the same place as yesterday’s. Warmth like this was much needed today, a grey, chilly day. About that point in the winter where you really start getting fed up with it.
I am off work, but this is in no way the most eventful Easter break of my life. Nor the least chilly. Both facts lead to today’s photo being evidence of the fire being lit in the house across the road today — at lunchtime.
Posted for much the same underlying reasons as yesterday’s pic of the frosty roofscape: because the winter chill is starting to seep through these increasingly old bones, there is pleasure to be found in watching things burn. So, fire today, ice yesterday: tomorrow I might try luke-warm water. (Spinal Tap joke.)
The climber ascends the crag beside the lava falls. Or maybe it’s a strangely shaped bit of wood beside the fire The fun thing is that you’ll never be sure.
Being 42 