Bedtime Story Conservatory 47 13/05/2020
Hello everyone,
Today I would like to share this thing I put on Instagram that I got excited about-
"another child picture (below) I recieved from my wonderful father @splanty65 through the post. i remember this hat, making it and how the scratchy paper felt on my hair and forehead. i’m touching the banister next to me which I used to pretend to be Spiderman on, and the image was transferred by a camera, onto material, which has sat in a box. The light, the shadows, the time and the memory exists in reality only as this piece of photosensitive paper, and it has been shipped to me around 17 years later between two other pieces of paper. Soon before receiving this photograph, this memory had popped into my head a few times, maybe some sort of calling out to the physical object sat at my dad’s, like Sauron to the ring in Lord of the Rings, or an omen of it’s arrival. It’s a beautiful coincidence. Thanks dad and thanks to my child self, it doesnt feel like it, but you did exist once, and exist now here, in this photograph, and in the digital reproduction of this photograph here, in this post"
I'm thinking of you, and my motivation to email you every day is spurred on by the fact that you are receiving my email in this virtual envelope, posted through your virtual letterbox. That is enough for both of us I think. Lots of love.
--
Today's reading is a small story from Tove Jansson's Tales From Moominvalley 1962. The story is called 'The Spring Tune'. The text has been sent to be by my friend Andrea, who I have collaborated previously in this project with, and here is a little paragraph about how she came about this book and why she shares it today:
"Everything started in the woods. My friend did this introspective ritual where he was seeking to reach the physical and psychic limit of endurance. To grow, transform or let something go. After that he felt exhausted, he went to sleep early and woke up late. The thing is that time passed by very quickly after that, he had to come back to the city before we did and he couldn't do the final part of the ritual. He read a story for all of us. He gave me his book "Tales from Moominvalley" to end the ritual, a special book that a special teacher gave to him a long time ago. A ritual about sharing and letting things go. Now I share with you one of it's stories, letting the ritual of story telling continue it's flow."
The book in turn briefly fell into my own hands last semester, before being returned to her. Whilst reading this today, I sank further into my chair as it lulled me into a state of submissiveness to the beauty and stillness of the story as it unfolds.
The song attached to the beginning and end of the recording is The Beatles' Blackbird 1968.
Here is a link to the reading-
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1peOGPcmwa2_C61M0Vmz1tBP_pYuVrGcx
And a link to all previous readings-
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1t4v042zpGgwI7KN6_ST_tAthqm63J22V
Warmest wishes, and loveliest love,
Sam
