Tomorrow Never Knows

My house backs onto an estuary, sometimes the water laps at the edge of my back garden, sometimes there is a steep rocky muddy slope 20 feet to the water’s edge. It is never the same level at the same time of day, as the tide takes 14 and a half hours to rotate round here. Sometimes I awake and look from my bedroom window and the water is billowing and pushing eastwards in a chocolatey brown rippling seething mess of pure power, sometimes it is a gentle trickling westwards babbling brook cascading over rocks and pebbles on the river bed.

What would I be if a Magic Fairy insisted on turning me into anything of my own choice? A tree, I’ve always wondered if they can think or feel, -no wait – an eagle, -no – a famous person adored by the world, -no, wait – the richest man on the planet, -no, I know – a monkey in a Thai temple, the ones that get away with such cheek, – no, hang on – I’ve got it, I would be a Magic Elf that can turn itself into anything it wishes as many times as it likes, yeah I think that about covers it all.

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My Daughter, Katy, says she would like to be a Pop Star. She wants to be cool and she wants loads of money. She would like to be able to choose whatever clothes she wanted to wear. She would share the money out with her family. She would feel a little self-conscious whilst singing, and a little bit scared to be stood in front of everybody. I don’t think she has thought this out fully to be honest, but if I could have anything in the world it would be her happiness.

My health, my sight, my hearing, my ability to breathe easily and walk up a set of stairs, my ability to reason means a lot to me. I don’t take it completely for granted, and I know there will be a time in my life when at least one of these things are taken away from me and I will have to come to terms with that somehow. I hope it will not be too bad when it happens, and that my children will not still need me to look after them when that time comes. I want to make better use of these things while I have them.