Christmas
thoughts from Crichel Point.
December
2023
I met a friend at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra concert where
we listened to Brahms and to Mahler’s first symphony. His wife played the cello in the orchestra for
many years, including a stint under Rudolf Barshai, the Russian violist and
conductor. During a rehearsal performance
of this symphony, Barshai was trying to explain to the double basses exactly
the feeling he wanted them to transmit to the audience. He reminded them that he and his string
quartet had played at the funeral of Joseph Stalin in 1953. ‘Of course’, he said, ‘Our faces were
extremely solemn and sad; but inside we were filled with joy. That is what I want you to feel’. This anecdote perfectly encapsulates what
Leonard Bernstein called Mahler’s ‘duality’, or in the words of William Blake, ‘Joy
and Woe are woven fine’.
This metaphor could easily pass for 2023, where, within our families, we have experienced happiness and joy, but externally, with the woes in Ukraine, in Israel and Gaza, and the bizarre political upheavals in the UK, we cannot but be solemn. Our outward solemnity, in 2023, is real.
I am sure we all feel some ‘survivor guilt’ in these times…
But we are well and enjoying a little more normality in life
in 2023. Lindsay’s knee replacement in
2022 is in the past and she is able to exercise freely. Andrew’s prostate cancer is under control –
PSA is zero – though he complains of the side effects of the Prostap injections
– probably too much. After all, hot
flushes are a small price to pay!
So, it is with our families that we have had the most joy,
and especially with grandchildren. Katie
is the last of our children to get married, and few of us are likely to forget
the three-day event in the Chateau de Lerse in France.
As this time of year rolled round again, we enjoyed Grandson
Louis’ indignation when he returned from school in late September: ‘Mummy.
Guess what the school play is this year?
It’s Jesus again!’
Here are some pictures from 2023, and we wish you all a happy
and peaceful Christmas, and for better to come in 2024.
Andrew and Lindsay McLeod
The New Year came in in London with a flurry of blue and yellow for Ukraine:
The weather improved - Coco and Louis at Sandbanks:
Innocent joy for Arlo - with Dad's bubble maker:
Lindsay and Teddy (A Junior Cherry) went to watch AFC Bournemouth:
Andrew went to Edinburgh:
Lindsay climbed mountains with Marina in Lenzerheide:
Katie and James married officially at Kingston Registry Office:
But partied in France:
And pool partied with Anna and baby grandson Arlo:
Proud father of the bride:
We cycled the Vendee to recover:
Tranquil scene near Niort:
We swam (Poole):
Last holiday of the year - cycling round Lake Constance:
The year drew to a close - late November walk near Colmers Hill, Bridport:
And winter patterns appeared:
We wish you a peaceful Christmas and a Happy New Year.
