Apologies to the writing group members expecting to get straight to the writing group post. Just click on the link at the right to go straight to Week 12 or scroll down. I normally try not to post over the weekend, so as not to throw anyone off, but I'm kind of freaking out a bit and need to unload because I can't sleep.
Thursday I took Tank to the vet because he has seemed...off. He doesn't do his whirling dervish dance before meals. He's a bit lethargic. He doesn't give as many kisses as normal because he's been laying around a lot. He's just not been his usual adorable lovebug self and we were worried, particularly since Winnie was put to sleep less than a month ago.
Thursday turned out miserably, needless to say. After a lot of whining and shaking in the vet's waiting room (he really does not enjoy leaving the house, no matter where we go, not just the vet), he had a bunch of tests done and some x-rays. His spleen was very enlarged, so Friday he had to have an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed spots on his enlarged spleen (spots are clearly worse than just an enlarged spleen, which is bad enough) and on his liver, too. But his tests came back ok, so now an oncologist is looking at his x-rays because of the liver spots.
The vet wants to remove Tank's spleen Monday morning because it is so enlarged, but we can't decide what to do. We won't get any information on the liver spots until Monday afternoon at the earliest. No one wants to put him through major surgery if he has liver cancer, too, because that's just cruel, particularly because he would have to stay at the vet's for a few days of recovery. On the other hand, we are running the risk of having his spleen rupture, which would be horribly painful for him and horribly traumatic for both him and us. No one wants him to suffer like that, obviously, but we're not ready to say goodbye because he's happy, just not as happy and silly as he was two or three weeks ago.
But what if we agree to the surgery and the vet notices that he's riddled with cancer? Again, there's no point in removing the spleen when he doesn't have long to live, in that case, but then, as my mother pointed out, it would be cruel to wake him up and wait for the spleen to rupture, which will happen and most likely soon. I hadn't even thought about that. I can't even think that Monday might be the last time I see him. I start crying at the very thought.
Tank will be eight on May 1st. He is the baby of the family; his sister is the baby, too, but Tank is beyond sweet. He's never been in trouble. I don't think anyone has ever even raised their voice at him. He's just, in a word, precious. He sleeps with me and he fights his father and sister to get the closest to me for cuddles. My lap is basically a revolving door for the three of them; Tank, being the sweetest, usually loses out the most because his sister is way too pushy and his father, the handsome one pictured on the right is far too stubborn not to get his way, has also lived with me and been completely spoiled for his entire life but I don't even care. He's perfect and it doesn't matter. But, Tank. Tank.
We are having a really, really hard time coming to terms with all of this. It's too much. It's too awful. It's Tank.
March 24, 2013
March 22, 2013
Writing Group Week 12 - Productivity Hammer
It's Week 12 already. How, HOW, did that happen?
I'm not going to lie, I'm really worried about my dissertation. A lot has happened this semester and I let it come between me and my writing. It's my fault and I own that, but now I need to recover from it all and move forward with the dissertation. In other words, I need a Productivity Hammer.
This is no longer the time for gentle, easy 1,000 word count goals for me. I will never defend at that rate. I can't be ABD for the next job search season; I need my PhD in hand (or at least defended, waiting for graduation). Brute force and sheer determination are the only way this is getting done now.
I sense that I'm not alone in this. Is anyone else in need of a Productivity Hammer or perhaps Dame Eleanor's Mervaylous Anti-Bugge Power-Writer Spray? Some of us have already revisited the goals for the group. Some have revamped their routines to improve productivity. (By the way, the 3 90-minute work blocks a day are working great...if only I could use them all for writing!) What else are you going to do to finish strong for the writing group? How are you going to bring the pain on your goals for the group? (Bring the pain? I clearly have been watching too much wrestling with my little nephew.)
Before I forget, is anyone interested in hosting or co-hosting the next incarnation of the writing group to keep the forward momentum going for those who want it? Please say yes!
Roll call!
Amanda@ladyscientist: (1)Cut down research plan to 6 pages.(2)Write Career goals (3)Write RCR
Amstr (writing account): 1) Ch. 4 thesis statement and abstract, 2) Ch. 4 structure and topic sentences, 3) organize research and make a plan for Belcher Wk. 5.
Bardiac: no check-in
Contigent Cassandra: goal for 4/1: shitty but full rough draft of the chapter.
Dame Eleanor Hull: Companion-piece revisions and submission. At least one hour a day on research, focusing on IPM and translation, unless I really have my teeth into one of the MMP-pieces.
Danne: no check-in
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: moving boxes
emmawriting: no check-in
Good Enough Woman: no goal set
heu mihi: Fill in MS info for Kzoo draft (involves some research). Spend 1 hour on article draft.
humming42: Go to conference. Post online survey. Write other proposal and look for participants.
Jane B: Conveniently I have four conference abstracts (or maybe five?) due at the end of the week. So my goals for the week are two-fold: Do something research oriented FIRST, before I go on to the teaching and admin and everything, even if it's just for 15 minutes. And complete and submit four (or maybe five) abstracts. Sigh.
Jason: no check-in
Jodi: Power through starting (hopefully) tomorrow. I need 3,000 words to get a really good chapter finished and off to my supervisor. Work on the dissertation every day.
kiwi2: a first draft of grant proposal RD. A three page, but immensely dense proposal with a very high bar for success (daunting in itself). I feel tired at the thought, but have to go into battle for this one. And one day of work on the exotic synthesis.
kiwimedievalist/zcat_abroad: no check-in
luolin88: 30 minutes on Friday.
Matilda: Revise the paper and make a plan for another paper
meansomething: 1) 5 12-minute sessions of writing. 2) One book ms. submission. 3) One magazine submission
metheist: Get my nerd on at the conference next week. I haven't been able to do this in a year, so I'm excited.
nwgirl: Finish revisions on another chapter
Pilgrim/Heretic: 1500 words
profacero (Z): the abstract; decide about that second application and act or not; not hoping for any words besides the abstract but if I finish it I will rework it in Spanish, in a more sociological direction, and send to a second conference; send off state income tax, acquire deck materials, prepare and give lecture about Mexico City as laboratory of 21st century urban life (how did I get myself into this?) for on campus lecture series with audience of 200 or 300 people (why did I forget I was supposed to do this and what will I say?), more exercise.
rented life: no check-in
Susan: get the draft done
tracynicolrose: Finish submitting TS paper; finish application packet; read for BE paper, look at MS data
Zabeel: no check-in
I'm not going to lie, I'm really worried about my dissertation. A lot has happened this semester and I let it come between me and my writing. It's my fault and I own that, but now I need to recover from it all and move forward with the dissertation. In other words, I need a Productivity Hammer.
This is no longer the time for gentle, easy 1,000 word count goals for me. I will never defend at that rate. I can't be ABD for the next job search season; I need my PhD in hand (or at least defended, waiting for graduation). Brute force and sheer determination are the only way this is getting done now.
I sense that I'm not alone in this. Is anyone else in need of a Productivity Hammer or perhaps Dame Eleanor's Mervaylous Anti-Bugge Power-Writer Spray? Some of us have already revisited the goals for the group. Some have revamped their routines to improve productivity. (By the way, the 3 90-minute work blocks a day are working great...if only I could use them all for writing!) What else are you going to do to finish strong for the writing group? How are you going to bring the pain on your goals for the group? (Bring the pain? I clearly have been watching too much wrestling with my little nephew.)
Before I forget, is anyone interested in hosting or co-hosting the next incarnation of the writing group to keep the forward momentum going for those who want it? Please say yes!
Roll call!
Amanda@ladyscientist: (1)Cut down research plan to 6 pages.(2)Write Career goals (3)Write RCR
Amstr (writing account): 1) Ch. 4 thesis statement and abstract, 2) Ch. 4 structure and topic sentences, 3) organize research and make a plan for Belcher Wk. 5.
Bardiac: no check-in
Contigent Cassandra: goal for 4/1: shitty but full rough draft of the chapter.
Dame Eleanor Hull: Companion-piece revisions and submission. At least one hour a day on research, focusing on IPM and translation, unless I really have my teeth into one of the MMP-pieces.
Danne: no check-in
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: moving boxes
emmawriting: no check-in
Good Enough Woman: no goal set
heu mihi: Fill in MS info for Kzoo draft (involves some research). Spend 1 hour on article draft.
humming42: Go to conference. Post online survey. Write other proposal and look for participants.
Jane B: Conveniently I have four conference abstracts (or maybe five?) due at the end of the week. So my goals for the week are two-fold: Do something research oriented FIRST, before I go on to the teaching and admin and everything, even if it's just for 15 minutes. And complete and submit four (or maybe five) abstracts. Sigh.
Jason: no check-in
Jodi: Power through starting (hopefully) tomorrow. I need 3,000 words to get a really good chapter finished and off to my supervisor. Work on the dissertation every day.
kiwi2: a first draft of grant proposal RD. A three page, but immensely dense proposal with a very high bar for success (daunting in itself). I feel tired at the thought, but have to go into battle for this one. And one day of work on the exotic synthesis.
kiwimedievalist/zcat_abroad: no check-in
luolin88: 30 minutes on Friday.
Matilda: Revise the paper and make a plan for another paper
meansomething: 1) 5 12-minute sessions of writing. 2) One book ms. submission. 3) One magazine submission
metheist: Get my nerd on at the conference next week. I haven't been able to do this in a year, so I'm excited.
nwgirl: Finish revisions on another chapter
Pilgrim/Heretic: 1500 words
profacero (Z): the abstract; decide about that second application and act or not; not hoping for any words besides the abstract but if I finish it I will rework it in Spanish, in a more sociological direction, and send to a second conference; send off state income tax, acquire deck materials, prepare and give lecture about Mexico City as laboratory of 21st century urban life (how did I get myself into this?) for on campus lecture series with audience of 200 or 300 people (why did I forget I was supposed to do this and what will I say?), more exercise.
rented life: no check-in
Susan: get the draft done
tracynicolrose: Finish submitting TS paper; finish application packet; read for BE paper, look at MS data
Zabeel: no check-in
March 16, 2013
Books, books, books
Erm. I think I set a resolution to read a book a week this year because I may have only read ten or so books for fun in the past five years of my dissertating life. This is week eleven, I think, of the year and...well, no. I have not read eleven books this year.
For those of you dying to know, I've read:
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (still don't like it, but can't wait for the movie)
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott (my lifesaver)
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allan (another lifesaver)
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Kelly O'Connor McNees
I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, Giulia Melucci
The Lady of the Rivers, Philippa Gregory
I couldn't bring myself to read The Tipping Point, so I read a fictional romance about Louisa May Alcott, who I love. It was delightful. I wanted it to be true. The spaghetti book I could have lived without, but it did have recipes, which is nice. Still, the author was obnoxiously pretentious at times, completely overshadowing the genuine tone of her occasional heartbreak.
Needless to say, I am quite behind. Five books behind to be exact. I should get back to that. When I was reading, I was managing a much better work-life balance, I think. I got a lot done, but I was not just working.
Being sick for over a week now, I have started reading again just a little bit because it's all that I've been able to manage, but I'm cheating a little bit. Don't judge; I'm sick. I read the Philippa Gregory book because, well, I love her. Her books normally feed me the history that I love with an imagination, too, and this book didn't disappoint. Don't get me wrong - it was nowhere near as all-consuming as The Other Boleyn Girl, but I didn't expect that. Even as many times as I've reread that book, I still can't put it down. Anyway, after The Lady of the Rivers, I needed a comfort book. My dad bought me a new copy (with a lovely pink and green cover!) of Pride and Prejudice for Christmas. I used to read it every year, sometimes more than once a year, but when I moved to San Diego, I lost my copy, so I haven't read it in almost seven years. My Mr. Darcy fixes have had to come from the BBC movie, which is more than fine (I mean, really, who doesn't want to see Colin Firth post swim), but I needed to read Darcy again and it's been glorious, particularly because I now read the characters' lines with the actors' voices in my head and it makes me laugh.
Maybe I'll read The Tipping Point after this. Maybe not. I'm just glad to be reading again.
For those of you dying to know, I've read:
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (still don't like it, but can't wait for the movie)
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott (my lifesaver)
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allan (another lifesaver)
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Kelly O'Connor McNees
I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, Giulia Melucci
The Lady of the Rivers, Philippa Gregory
I couldn't bring myself to read The Tipping Point, so I read a fictional romance about Louisa May Alcott, who I love. It was delightful. I wanted it to be true. The spaghetti book I could have lived without, but it did have recipes, which is nice. Still, the author was obnoxiously pretentious at times, completely overshadowing the genuine tone of her occasional heartbreak.
Needless to say, I am quite behind. Five books behind to be exact. I should get back to that. When I was reading, I was managing a much better work-life balance, I think. I got a lot done, but I was not just working.
Being sick for over a week now, I have started reading again just a little bit because it's all that I've been able to manage, but I'm cheating a little bit. Don't judge; I'm sick. I read the Philippa Gregory book because, well, I love her. Her books normally feed me the history that I love with an imagination, too, and this book didn't disappoint. Don't get me wrong - it was nowhere near as all-consuming as The Other Boleyn Girl, but I didn't expect that. Even as many times as I've reread that book, I still can't put it down. Anyway, after The Lady of the Rivers, I needed a comfort book. My dad bought me a new copy (with a lovely pink and green cover!) of Pride and Prejudice for Christmas. I used to read it every year, sometimes more than once a year, but when I moved to San Diego, I lost my copy, so I haven't read it in almost seven years. My Mr. Darcy fixes have had to come from the BBC movie, which is more than fine (I mean, really, who doesn't want to see Colin Firth post swim), but I needed to read Darcy again and it's been glorious, particularly because I now read the characters' lines with the actors' voices in my head and it makes me laugh.
Maybe I'll read The Tipping Point after this. Maybe not. I'm just glad to be reading again.
March 12, 2013
Death Break
Oh my god. I am dying. I really think I am. I alternate between freezing cold and breaking out in a sweat. All of the dogs want to lay on me, as if, in doing so, they will magically cure me, or at least win a prize for being closest to me when I die. I can't sleep because I just hear the wheezing, creaking, rattling sounds in my chest as I try to breathe. I'm certain this is what they call the death rattle.
I keep getting email notifications that my ILL books have arrived. My dissertation mocks me.
And I should be in the Bahamas, getting ready for the rehearsal dinner for my best friend's wedding.
I keep getting email notifications that my ILL books have arrived. My dissertation mocks me.
And I should be in the Bahamas, getting ready for the rehearsal dinner for my best friend's wedding.
March 9, 2013
Writing Group Week 10
Hello, everyone! I just went to check in and there was nowhere to check in, so I'm thinking JaneB must be even more sick than I am. If you follow her blog, you'll know she's been struggling. I'll post the writing group here this week. Apologies for the delay!
I'm borrowing this week's theme from Dame Eleanor Hull, who graciously stepped in to give everyone a place to check in. It's a continuation of last week's theme of happiness in writing. As DEH said, for those of you think happiness is too much to ask, "then think about comfort or contentment. Maybe you could make your desk more inviting, or associate writing with something more pleasurable, even something as simple as a good cup of coffee or tea in a mug of your favorite color. Try one small change in the direction of pleasure, and see what happens."
Roll call!
Amanda@ladyscientist: no check-in
Amstr (writing account): 2000 terrible words of Ch. 4; 500 words of conclusion; photocopy ILL and organize research for Ch. 4. (Bonus: type up some notes.) Exercise.
Bardiac: no goal set
Contigent Cassandra: continue making at least incremental progress, writing M, W, and perhaps Sa; do whatever research/retrieval is necessary to have the materials I need at home over Spring Break; keep up with the grading so as to be able to devote Spring Break to writing (and a bit of rest).
Dame Eleanor Hull: At least 1 hour a day; 10 lines of the IPM; start checking Chunk 2 of the translation (at least 1/2 hour, 3 times); check in at least once with MMP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-3, and try to do one concrete thing for each of them (this can be something as small as "write one sentence").
Danne: 1) write at least a page of notes a day. 2) Go on spending 3 hours a day on research 3) Read current book on space 4) If a positive answer is received from the new uni, schedule a day off for reading, and celebrate.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: Read Chapter Three of WYJA
emmawriting: no check-in
Good Enough Woman: The usual. Get up at 6:00am M and W so I can read/write for an hour (and run for 20 minutes) before the day gets rolling. Then work two hours on Friday. It's *possible* I'll have a hotel night on Thursday, but I'll have to see how the week rolls out.
heu mihi: I want to write on 3 days, make notes on a recently finished book, and start reading a related book.
humming42: finish and send in conference abstract/draft to panel chair
Jane B: one 30 minute session
Jason: no check-in
Jodi: 2,000 words (again) with 60 minutes a day MWF and 3 90 minute blocks on Thursday. Order ILL books to get here in time for spring break dissertation blast. Update cv.
kiwi2: revise polish intro
kiwimedievalist/zcat_abroad: no check-in
luolin88: 15 minutes Tuesday, just to get going again;
Matilda: 30 minutes Friday
meansomething: 1) Four 12-minute sessions 2) One book ms. submission
metheist: T/R write all day and MWF at least one hour
nwgirl: Finish revisions on one chapter.
Pilgrim/Heretic: 1,500 again, though it's going to be a challenging week
profacero (Z): Finish other application, finish abstract for conference, actually finish those 500 words or more.
Susan: no check-in
tracynicolrose: Submit TS paper (dependent upon co-author); revise LM paper for new submission; write abstract for Frameworks presentation; work on BE findings.
Zabeel: Section 3 of article.
I'm borrowing this week's theme from Dame Eleanor Hull, who graciously stepped in to give everyone a place to check in. It's a continuation of last week's theme of happiness in writing. As DEH said, for those of you think happiness is too much to ask, "then think about comfort or contentment. Maybe you could make your desk more inviting, or associate writing with something more pleasurable, even something as simple as a good cup of coffee or tea in a mug of your favorite color. Try one small change in the direction of pleasure, and see what happens."
Roll call!
Amanda@ladyscientist: no check-in
Amstr (writing account): 2000 terrible words of Ch. 4; 500 words of conclusion; photocopy ILL and organize research for Ch. 4. (Bonus: type up some notes.) Exercise.
Bardiac: no goal set
Contigent Cassandra: continue making at least incremental progress, writing M, W, and perhaps Sa; do whatever research/retrieval is necessary to have the materials I need at home over Spring Break; keep up with the grading so as to be able to devote Spring Break to writing (and a bit of rest).
Dame Eleanor Hull: At least 1 hour a day; 10 lines of the IPM; start checking Chunk 2 of the translation (at least 1/2 hour, 3 times); check in at least once with MMP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-3, and try to do one concrete thing for each of them (this can be something as small as "write one sentence").
Danne: 1) write at least a page of notes a day. 2) Go on spending 3 hours a day on research 3) Read current book on space 4) If a positive answer is received from the new uni, schedule a day off for reading, and celebrate.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell: Read Chapter Three of WYJA
emmawriting: no check-in
Good Enough Woman: The usual. Get up at 6:00am M and W so I can read/write for an hour (and run for 20 minutes) before the day gets rolling. Then work two hours on Friday. It's *possible* I'll have a hotel night on Thursday, but I'll have to see how the week rolls out.
heu mihi: I want to write on 3 days, make notes on a recently finished book, and start reading a related book.
humming42: finish and send in conference abstract/draft to panel chair
Jane B: one 30 minute session
Jason: no check-in
Jodi: 2,000 words (again) with 60 minutes a day MWF and 3 90 minute blocks on Thursday. Order ILL books to get here in time for spring break dissertation blast. Update cv.
kiwi2: revise polish intro
kiwimedievalist/zcat_abroad: no check-in
luolin88: 15 minutes Tuesday, just to get going again;
Matilda: 30 minutes Friday
meansomething: 1) Four 12-minute sessions 2) One book ms. submission
metheist: T/R write all day and MWF at least one hour
nwgirl: Finish revisions on one chapter.
Pilgrim/Heretic: 1,500 again, though it's going to be a challenging week
profacero (Z): Finish other application, finish abstract for conference, actually finish those 500 words or more.
Susan: no check-in
tracynicolrose: Submit TS paper (dependent upon co-author); revise LM paper for new submission; write abstract for Frameworks presentation; work on BE findings.
Zabeel: Section 3 of article.
March 8, 2013
It's a cruel, cruel world
Yesterday I sent this email to a friend:
"I'm on Spring Break! I couldn't be more ready for it, too. I've been desperate for a break. Yesterday, before class, I was thinking about Friday's upcoming class and how I already knew a few students weren't going to be there because they were leaving school early. I asked them in class how many were planning on not being there and, after convincing them I wasn't going to be mad but only wanted to know because I might rearrange what I was planning to do for World War II. Over half of them confessed they weren't going to be there Friday. Eight students said they would be there. EIGHT. I'm supposed to drive 45 minutes at 7:00 in the morning to teach a maximum of eight students because, let's face it, some of those won't actually show up. The other half started to demand extra credit for being there because time with my hilarious, brilliant self clearly wasn't enough incentive. So. I told them I was willing to cancel class IF they agreed to watch a documentary on WWII and complete an assignment on it (so I know they watched it) and hand it in in class Monday after break. Naturally they jumped at it. I look like the coolest prof ever AND I don't have to get up at 6:00 Friday morning AND my Spring Break starts early, too. Sometimes even I am surprised by my genius."
Well, my gloating came too soon. The universe hates me. It is mocking me. I was too happy that I canceled class today. I'm sick. I feel like my head is going to burst. And someone must have used my throat as a toothpick holder while I was sleeping. It's raw and sore and I sound like I smoked three packs a cigarettes a day for 60 years. It took all my energy to turn my computer on after I dragged my sorry self out of bed and laid on the couch for awhile.
My triumph has turned to agony. Well played, universe. Well played.
"I'm on Spring Break! I couldn't be more ready for it, too. I've been desperate for a break. Yesterday, before class, I was thinking about Friday's upcoming class and how I already knew a few students weren't going to be there because they were leaving school early. I asked them in class how many were planning on not being there and, after convincing them I wasn't going to be mad but only wanted to know because I might rearrange what I was planning to do for World War II. Over half of them confessed they weren't going to be there Friday. Eight students said they would be there. EIGHT. I'm supposed to drive 45 minutes at 7:00 in the morning to teach a maximum of eight students because, let's face it, some of those won't actually show up. The other half started to demand extra credit for being there because time with my hilarious, brilliant self clearly wasn't enough incentive. So. I told them I was willing to cancel class IF they agreed to watch a documentary on WWII and complete an assignment on it (so I know they watched it) and hand it in in class Monday after break. Naturally they jumped at it. I look like the coolest prof ever AND I don't have to get up at 6:00 Friday morning AND my Spring Break starts early, too. Sometimes even I am surprised by my genius."
Well, my gloating came too soon. The universe hates me. It is mocking me. I was too happy that I canceled class today. I'm sick. I feel like my head is going to burst. And someone must have used my throat as a toothpick holder while I was sleeping. It's raw and sore and I sound like I smoked three packs a cigarettes a day for 60 years. It took all my energy to turn my computer on after I dragged my sorry self out of bed and laid on the couch for awhile.
My triumph has turned to agony. Well played, universe. Well played.
March 7, 2013
The Philadelphia Flower Show - When "British" is Anything But British
I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show Tuesday for the first time since I was a little kid. It's supposedly the largest indoor flower show in the world and I've wanted to go for the past few years because it is pretty cool, but, well...Canada.
This year was different, obviously, and, even better, the show had a British theme. No way was I missing it. My bff (of niece and nephew fame) wanted to go, too, because she is a complete Anglophile, in addition to her father being from Northern Ireland. So we made a day of it, having lunch at Reading Terminal, and it was lovely, except...it wasn't.
It wasn't British. I'm very used to Scotland (and Northern Ireland and Wales) getting ignored as being British. Scots complain of it all the time, but it does happen and if it frustrates me, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for an actual Scot.
I was sure the Flower Show would be different. After all, since the 17th century Scots were at the top of the field in botany and gardening and, since the 18th century, after the Union, Scots were the head gardeners of English noble estates through the 19th century, if not up until World War I, although I'm not sure about the precise end date because I can't find my notes on a fascinating talk by Cairns Craig, who is a genius. History aside, there is just so much you can do with British gardens, right? I mean, there's the lovely little rural cottage with flowers all around it, there's structured formal gardens with box hedges, there's all the gardens created from seeds brought back from the colonies and explorations.
You can even be cliche about Britishness and still have an interesting show. Double-decker busses, anyone? Fast blacks? Buckingham Palace? Big Ben? Castles? "The Secret Garden," perhaps? Jane Austen? Downton Abbey??? That's only a little popular right now. Also, HARRY FREAKING POTTER, for crying out loud!
Do you want to know what the exhibits were? There was a good exhibit with a river, a wood hut, and some tropical flowers to show the explorers' contributions to British gardens. There was also a cool '60s themed bit with some hippie stuff and the Rolling Stones peace sign. There was also a kind of interesting Mad Hatter tea party for Alice in Wonderland, but it wasn't that exciting, to be honest. It had all been done before. There was a very lame London Fog exhibit with giant umbrellas hanging and very few flowers. My first thought, upon seeing the umbrellas, was that there was a Mary Poppins exhibit, but, no. Even that would have been better than a bunch of umbrellas. (P.S. the fog is gone, so, yeah, there's that)
From there, it quickly went downhill. There was a double-decker bus...made out of cardboard, not flowers. There are no red flowers in the world?
There was a Jane Austen exhibit that was just...I have no words. Here's a picture:
It was mostly pansies. Pansies for Jane Austen! Right next to it was a display about Beatrix Potter's cottage. It looked nothing like her actual cottage, though, which, by the way, is online and you can see tons of information on her garden on the National Trust's website. That presumes a willingness to do a little research, though, I suppose.
There was a garden path with about ten daffodils to represent Wales. Poor Wales. Northern Ireland didn't fare much better. There was an admittedly giant display about Derry-Londonderry, probably because it's the 2013 U.K, City of Culture. The display, however, was a giant cardboard wall with two men shaking hands over it. I almost died. Way to sanitize hundreds of years of oppression, resistance, and warfare, guys, but there were also no real flowers. Through the walls was tiny little path lined with a few flowers. This was a flower show, right?
What sent me over the edge, however, was - you guessed it - the ONE display pertaining to Scotland. Here it is:
It was a small golf display. It looked nothing like any Scottish links I have ever seen and I've seen a lot. It was overly manicured. It could have been Augusta National for all anyone knows, except that they stuck the Union Jack and the Cross of St Andrew in there, so it must be a British course. Please notice the stuffed gopher (a la Caddyshack) near the hole because that's classic British, no?
It's not just that the show was lacking in non-English representation. I love England (please don't tell!). I don't consider myself a Scottish historian, but a British one, so I understand the complexities of British identity and the repercussions of those complexities. It really wasn't just about pathetic attempts at non-English displays. It was barely even English. It missed the very essence of English gardens. There was some English ivy in a hanging pot. One hanging pot. They didn't even try to put the ivy on a cottage wall. There was not even one single English rose in the show - not in any exhibits, not in any of the table displays, nowhere. The bff was particularly upset about the lack of English roses.
If you want to be cliche about Britishness, while I'd rather you weren't, at least get the cliche right. Play to what people know and love and do it really, really well. This was just laziness and from a show of this size and renown, I expected so much more.
This year was different, obviously, and, even better, the show had a British theme. No way was I missing it. My bff (of niece and nephew fame) wanted to go, too, because she is a complete Anglophile, in addition to her father being from Northern Ireland. So we made a day of it, having lunch at Reading Terminal, and it was lovely, except...it wasn't.
It wasn't British. I'm very used to Scotland (and Northern Ireland and Wales) getting ignored as being British. Scots complain of it all the time, but it does happen and if it frustrates me, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for an actual Scot.
I was sure the Flower Show would be different. After all, since the 17th century Scots were at the top of the field in botany and gardening and, since the 18th century, after the Union, Scots were the head gardeners of English noble estates through the 19th century, if not up until World War I, although I'm not sure about the precise end date because I can't find my notes on a fascinating talk by Cairns Craig, who is a genius. History aside, there is just so much you can do with British gardens, right? I mean, there's the lovely little rural cottage with flowers all around it, there's structured formal gardens with box hedges, there's all the gardens created from seeds brought back from the colonies and explorations.
You can even be cliche about Britishness and still have an interesting show. Double-decker busses, anyone? Fast blacks? Buckingham Palace? Big Ben? Castles? "The Secret Garden," perhaps? Jane Austen? Downton Abbey??? That's only a little popular right now. Also, HARRY FREAKING POTTER, for crying out loud!
Do you want to know what the exhibits were? There was a good exhibit with a river, a wood hut, and some tropical flowers to show the explorers' contributions to British gardens. There was also a cool '60s themed bit with some hippie stuff and the Rolling Stones peace sign. There was also a kind of interesting Mad Hatter tea party for Alice in Wonderland, but it wasn't that exciting, to be honest. It had all been done before. There was a very lame London Fog exhibit with giant umbrellas hanging and very few flowers. My first thought, upon seeing the umbrellas, was that there was a Mary Poppins exhibit, but, no. Even that would have been better than a bunch of umbrellas. (P.S. the fog is gone, so, yeah, there's that)
From there, it quickly went downhill. There was a double-decker bus...made out of cardboard, not flowers. There are no red flowers in the world?
There was a Jane Austen exhibit that was just...I have no words. Here's a picture:
It was mostly pansies. Pansies for Jane Austen! Right next to it was a display about Beatrix Potter's cottage. It looked nothing like her actual cottage, though, which, by the way, is online and you can see tons of information on her garden on the National Trust's website. That presumes a willingness to do a little research, though, I suppose.
There was a garden path with about ten daffodils to represent Wales. Poor Wales. Northern Ireland didn't fare much better. There was an admittedly giant display about Derry-Londonderry, probably because it's the 2013 U.K, City of Culture. The display, however, was a giant cardboard wall with two men shaking hands over it. I almost died. Way to sanitize hundreds of years of oppression, resistance, and warfare, guys, but there were also no real flowers. Through the walls was tiny little path lined with a few flowers. This was a flower show, right?
What sent me over the edge, however, was - you guessed it - the ONE display pertaining to Scotland. Here it is:
It was a small golf display. It looked nothing like any Scottish links I have ever seen and I've seen a lot. It was overly manicured. It could have been Augusta National for all anyone knows, except that they stuck the Union Jack and the Cross of St Andrew in there, so it must be a British course. Please notice the stuffed gopher (a la Caddyshack) near the hole because that's classic British, no?
It's not just that the show was lacking in non-English representation. I love England (please don't tell!). I don't consider myself a Scottish historian, but a British one, so I understand the complexities of British identity and the repercussions of those complexities. It really wasn't just about pathetic attempts at non-English displays. It was barely even English. It missed the very essence of English gardens. There was some English ivy in a hanging pot. One hanging pot. They didn't even try to put the ivy on a cottage wall. There was not even one single English rose in the show - not in any exhibits, not in any of the table displays, nowhere. The bff was particularly upset about the lack of English roses.
If you want to be cliche about Britishness, while I'd rather you weren't, at least get the cliche right. Play to what people know and love and do it really, really well. This was just laziness and from a show of this size and renown, I expected so much more.
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