.jpg "Britta Huegel")
Dear You,
I was so glad that the little exhibition about my very beloved illustrator, Quentin Blake, was still there when I arrived in London. (If you never have: please read "The Hermit and the Bear" by John Yeoman, illustrated by Quentin Blake; hilarious and wise - only second-hand available).
You see one of his other drawings above: "What does an Illustrator think about?"
Good question. Leading me to another one:
What does a blogger think about?
At the moment I am thinking hard.
See: I was only 12 days in England - but took 1292 photos. For me: interesting. For you: maybe not. So I have to choose wisely if I do not want to lose you. Or hear deafeningly snoring. Skip our trip to Newbury and Hungerford.
Skip photos of my solo travel to London: for example the beautiful huge soap bubbles over the Thames. Glorious architecture. Interesting people I met. And will give you only a few photos and short texts in small doses (reaching the Zen-cherished 'present moment' assumingly in 2017, hahaha). Will skip interesting exhibitions I visited ("Virginia Woolf: Art, Life and Vision", "Horst: Photographer of Style", "Bond in Motion" --ah, those beautiful cars!! - only to name a few). I even stop now reciting the many, many events I've seen (whizzing through London like a bee) - though in my next blog I will show a few.
See: as a blogger I think that it is very difficult to keep the golden mean.
(I have a learned Facebook friend who complained bitterly that not everybody was constantly 'liking' his texts - completely forgetting that HE never ever likes texts of other people (or were it just mine?) - however, as I quoted to husband LK 6:41; NIV (you know: about the speck of sawdust and the plank in one's own eye) it gave husband the chance to pour some Latin over me in form of "Do ut des". Think I digress? Oh no: if I don't comment your blogs, sweetie, you will - after a short while, I don't have illusions about human nature - rightly stop to comment mine - which heaven forbid, I would miss you! So I read a lot of very interesting posts. Do it with pleasure. But - as I said somewhat complaingly to my new fitness trainer, who named many wonderful exercises I could add to my extensive routine: "Sir, I have a life beside the fitness room!" (He looked interested...)
Will say:
- a blog mustn't be too long - you, my dear followers also have a vivid life of your own, and work hard, panting to comment on oh so many interesting blogs
- of course I could write every day - but ... see above...
So I will not slay you with texts and photos.
Maybe we both will feel like that, then (Quentin again):
This blogger thinks about a massacre every time the name of the town, 'Hungerford' is mentioned. That is a shame for Hungerford. Yes I write too much, but I now there are one or two people who read too much as well - even when they are supposed to be working like I am - so I indulge myself.
ReplyDelete'know', not 'now'...
DeleteDear Tom, you know that I love to read your posts. High frequency, yes, - and at the moment I feel bad about not being able to read them all (have extra work at the moment, nothing to do with your blog). But having said that I give the answer to my post myself: I am free to choose - and cut back for a while - till I have more time again.
DeleteDear Britta - I think that you should just write whatever you feel inclined to write and show whatever photos out of 1292 (gosh that is a lot) that you want to show. If people aren't interested they will move on, and if they are, hopefully they will stay and with a bit of luck comment too.
ReplyDeleteDear Rosemary, you are right. I will do. I think what vexes me at the moment is what I said to Tom: When I don't have the time (for a while, due to extra work) - and then I think of the many tips for beautiful English heritage I got from your blog I really feel that I miss something.
DeleteWhat? No soap bubbles over the Thames?!? That is something I would dearly love to see. That being said I simply write about whatever pops into my little brain at the moment. My mother always said I was a fliberty-gibbet. My mind flits from one thing to another very quickly.
ReplyDeleteDear Emma, maybe I will smuggel in some huge soap bubbles :-) Seems that I had the fliberty-gibbet (wonderful new word I learned here) in my legs when I chased through the city - London always has that effect on me (Berlin in a weakened form too).
DeleteI look forward to to viewing as many of 1292 photos as you care to post. It is the vitality of the blog that keeps me reading and returning --YOU!
ReplyDeleteDear Geo., thank you so much! I am always so happy when I read your comments. And absolutely well-entertained + learning something fascinating when I read your blog.
DeleteI believe one more balloon will get her over the Thames.
ReplyDeleteDear Joanne, I hope you speak of the 'lady' in the second photo - not me :-)
DeleteWhat, you mean the blogosphere does not want to read a 3,000 word post on Aino Sibelius's garden? And was it 8 or 9 other posts on my recent travels in which over 3,000 photographs were taken from which to cull for the blog? The golden mean is indeed the devil of it. Well, I, for one, would love in particular for you report on the Virginia Woolf exhibit, which I really wanted to get to, but missed. So I vote for that one, will read it, and will comment! As to the rest, I tell my Mom, who follows this advice about my posts even before I give it: feel free to go straight to the slideshow. Kidding aside, the blog is a good place, in the digital age, to make a diary for yourself of memorable events, so the trick is how to invite people in to enjoy that with you, but also know that some will pass it up. (Don't know about you, but I don't know what I'm going to do about all the OTHER photographs I took!)
ReplyDeleteDear Susan, you make me grin! Your photos are always so stunning that I would not miss any! You know that I can say more to the garden- and travel-themes than to the wonderful music-themes (for me they are really tough - and take time, though worth-while invested). As to Virginia: you missed something (one always does - seems to be one of the facts of life...) No photos allowed - I scribbled up some quotes. Maybe I will find the time, am not sure at the moment. As to diaries: I write almost every day, privately.
DeleteI love that for a blog - though it is a small form of text - one has to think about 'presentation', structuring a text (I don't do that consciously in my diaries).
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DeleteEven for those who are inclined toward music, to listen takes time (and a set-up the that allows you to listen right then, which most of us don't have). What we can hope, I think, is to catch a glimpse of something now and then that speaks to us. In your case, it's the spirit, as I think George has said, that underlies everything, a joie de vivre that comes through, even when the going is tough.
DeleteDear Sue,
DeleteI am touched, thank you. The listening is seldom the problem (most of the time - though when it is too modern it might become so) - but the talking/commenting about it - I feel that I am not at home in that domain, have no words.
It is VERY difficult to strike a happy medium when it comes to blogging, and it's virtually impossible to visit every blog we want to visit every day. Even if I concentrate mostly on visiting bloggers who visit me, it still takes a lot of time, so I'm not always happy to come across a super long post. But hey! It's enjoyable. Like having a whole bunch of lovely pen pals. Smart ones, too!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm looking forward to seeing whatever pictures you care to share.
Dear Susan,
Deleteyes - it takes up a lot of time - especially if one has to look up an idea that one wants to quote in a comment etc. And sometimes work interferes. But as you say: I absolutely love my pen pals here - and they brighten up my day! (And I learn a lot).
Oh Britta... The beauty of the digital camera! It allows us the indulgence of taking as many photos as we wish... No limitations except the battery and size of the media card! Share what you will...I live vicariously through my well-travelled blog-friends! I'm with Emma...soap bubbles over the Thames... A once in a lifetime opportunity! Happy week, dear friend! Susan
ReplyDeletePS... Have you noticed an abundance of Susan friends? ;-)
Dear Susan,
Deleteyes: the ability to take that many photos - we discussed it a few days before, still remembering the rolls of film that made one choose wisely (though even then I had heaps). What I admire in digital photography: I can choose (afterwards) And Facebook or blogging helps: there are quite a lot I would not publish - a good indicator for their quality (deleted then, if not a very personal reminder). In the time when our son still lived with us, I made tombs of photo albums - with texts and drawings - beautiful but spacey. Now I have most of them in the computer - sometimes people get a DVD (as Anne).
As to the abundance of friends: I found Pondside and Susan F-S; isn't it fine that we can share? I wish you a happy week too, dear Susan! Britta
I must work at writing shorter posts on my blog. I tend to focus on one thing forever, which causes me to write, and write, and write.
ReplyDeleteDear JJ,
DeleteI like deep thinking - and I like to read about it. The difficulty is not 'the thing as such' - more the many blogs I want to read and to comment on. I will try to comment shorter (not easy - there is also joy in finding an adequate quote or a funny idea for an answer).