Journal

6 June 2006

6 June 2006 I am on the plane with my two children, for hours upon hours. The flight is so long; we have to change planes and then drive another 100 miles from the airport to my parents' house. I watch Brokeback Mountain three times during the flight; by the second and third showings, I only watch the sex and kissing scenes, and the scene where Ennis finds his shirt wrapped inside Jack's. In the dimness of the plane, with all the windowscreens shut, I cry. Three times. The kids, engrossed in Cartoon Network, scarcely notice.

Death of the Matriarch

3 June 2006 I am having lunch in the sunny garden of a friend's sister's house when I get the phone call. It's my husband. "You need to call your mother as soon as possible. It's your gran." He can't tell me any more, hangs up. The sunlight in the garden, brilliantly hot a moment before, dims and cools. I ring Mum, my heartbeat heavy, weighted.
Cherry

Paraguay v Sweden from Ciudad el Este 15 June 2006

Time to get over the border and see the Paraguayans....
Cherry

Brazil v Croatia from Sao Paulo 13 June 2006

The third game of the World Cup finds us crammed into a tiny square in Sao Paulo....

the future laughing now

What if an apocalypse happened and no one noticed? The lime trees still cast their dust down In front of the blocks on Walworth road. What if the Elephant continued to gleam, where once I (buses autonomous and gold -windowed in rain)

Bind In Silence

I am Second, bound in chains. The First is in his prime, his fullest of form. He gathers power, he gathers false words. He will fall, with all his principles. The Second is on a journey, He is more like me. Except that -
Cherry

Argentina v Ivory Coast from Buenos Aires 10 June 2006

The second missive from the World Cup in South America....
Cherry

Ecuador v Poland from Quito 9 June 2006

The first missive of the South American tour - I'm following the World Cup around south America, watching the games from the country involved.