All of these steps continue, albeit there has been no personal return since November 2018. The shadows have indeed grown long and I must find my soul again upon these trails.
Category: France
It Sounds Like Home
For those who strive to find words from the pen or keystroke…they will understand…not all words are forthcoming.
Beginning to End
It is in the asking I find a link to my over-arching idea…to my words beginning and end…and why I choose to focus this day – you are there with him.
I Walk In Their Path
In anticipation of this Remembrance day, I prepare to find my place and take witness of today’s gathering. Those here are younger ones now and those I once knew have found shelters away from this earthly domain.
Footfall
These are the steps we take on our obligations and desires, or on our footloose whimsical or conscious tessellated paths of interest and exploration. With each footfall new existence…the chance to see.
All I Ever Wanted
In the Irish Peace Park a traditional Irish tower stands. It marks the place where soldiers of the 36th Ulster and 16th Irish Divisions served together.
And the leaves of the tree…
Still – this day, is a chance for gathering our thoughts before the morrow…it is a chance to pause previous to the emotions of the current ending. I often speak of regeneration in these places of conflict…finding peace in this former chaos, finding ourselves amongst those who have been…and remain.
…and now we have been
Thread Fourteen: The landscapes of France and Flanders…London…have offered of themselves…their connections to us. We have rediscovered, found, observed and, above all, we have become connected. In finding the threads between the thimbles and needles we have bore witness the fabric of history…perhaps patchwork…but ours for all time.
The Crunch and the Silence
Thread Five: The steady crunch of loose gravel beneath our feet announces our arrival to the names recorded here. As we move across from stone to grass the silence is heartfelt…it is respect. A mist upon the horizon, silhouettes at the Stone of Remembrance…
In the morning, evening, at night…
In 2009 I drove to Fresnoy, France with two friends for an exploration of the village of Fresnoy. It was here, to the north of the town, that my Great Grandfather was to lose his life…