A village dancing

Thursday was J's birthday. F and I wrote tags and finished various things while he had a lie-in. When he opened his presents, he was pleased with his haul of books, CDs, a couple of games (including the new Professor Layton on DS) and a selection of vegan truffles bought by F with her own money. It was a staying-in type of birthday due to a deficiency of funds (my pay still hasn't arrived in my bank account) and an excess of weather (cold sideways rain). And not even a takeaway in sight, so I made a curry - 4 different dishes in fact, very proud I was.

Friday F went to a drama day focusing on A Midsummer Night's Dream, which she enjoyed. I stayed for the morning session and saw her do some good mirror work with an older girl. Was proud of her for being 'big' about not being able to work with E as her partner, and just getting on with it. She can be flexible, must remember that. The workshop was mostly good, though I personally felt it might have benefited from being split into a younger group doing a shorter session and the older ones working through the whole day.

F is now very able to concentrate on more challenging and engaging sessions like this and I must start actively looking out for more such opportunities (when I get paid ha ha!). She really is an 'older' child now and likes to be challenged a bit. 

I came away after the lunch break, went home and had a bath and generally relaxing time. F was going back with her friend after the workshop, for tea, so I did the remains of the curry for us, with some garlic bread.

Saturday J was on cover and got called out to work. F and I went to Brighton for E and A's party. 

E and A got married recently and the party was a celebration of their relationship. But E is ill and we are all going to lose her far too soon, so grief came to the party with us, along with a desire to hang on to her and to celebrate her. And many other complicated things. 

It was a wonderful party. The room had been decorated so beautifully with clusters of lights and beautiful paper flowers in jewel colours, a huge array of food with everybody having contributed different items.

There was an excellent poet and some live music and the many children there had a film room to dip in and out of, but of course spent a lot of time outside - enjoying the thrill of being out in the playground in the dark, with glow sticks. Was lovely to look out at one point and recognize F's halo of hair as she stood on the big bowl swing looking up at the stars. 

Most of us fell apart a bit early on when A made his speech. We repaired ourselves with hugs and reminiscences and continued to prop each other up in turns for the rest of the evening I think.

E is a person whose warmth and energy sustains whole groups of people. She forges links, finds ways, brings her intuition and intelligence to these different overlapping groups, and here they were together. A village dancing with her, in defiance of death and winter and darkness, of hard times ahead.