Haile Selassie, Hope and Hartland.

I have been trying to keep my posts short and sweet recently as I don't want you all nodding off whilst trawling through them. This is going to be a tad long so settle down and pour yourself a drink.

I am two thirds of the way through a book and it has had a profound affect on me. This book is almost like a spider sitting in the middle of it's web, casting hundreds of strands out and drawing you in to the story. I have read more about Ethiopia tonight than I ever though possible. The book is called 'The Hospital by The River - A Story of Hope' by Dr Catherine Hamlin, an Australian Gynaecologist. I picked up a ten year old copy of it in a Charity Shop in Bodmin. I think there must be an Aussie in Bodmin who donates books because this is the third book I have read that has been published in Oz but not here. I feel so strongly about this book that I had to write about it.

It is the story of a husband and wife team, Dr's Reg and Catherine Hamlin. They trained in Sydney and accepted a post in Addis Ababa in 1959. When they arrived, they had no idea of the task that they had undertaken. It's hard to precis the story but I'll give it a go. Catherine and Reg were apalled at the number of women arriving at the hospital with Fistulas. Fistula by definition is; An abnormal or surgically made passage between a hollow or tubular organ and the body surface, or between two hollow or tubular organs. Essentially, a tear or hole in the wrong place.

Ethiopian women often marry when they are 12 and are typically preganant by 13 or 14. Many of these young wives are unable to give birth naturally as their bodies are too immature to bear a child. Couple this with very rural areas, no roads and very few Hospitals and you have a problem, rarely seen in the West. These women would fail to give birth. The baby would die inside them and start to be reabsorbed into their bodies, which is when they finally managed to expel the baby. There is no easy way to put this but young women were arriving at the Hospital with terrible Fistulas and dreadful bladder and bowel incontinence caused by days of straining to deliver their baby. They would be ostracised by their husbands and families and cast out of their village society.

Reg and Catherine saved over 20,000 women and after Reg died. Catherine continues her work at the Hospital, they founded together, even though she is well into her eighties. What struck me about this book was Catherines faith in herself and Reg. Catherine came from a missionary background and her prayers to her God kept her strong. I wish I had the same strength of character and more importantly faith. She stoically went through revolutions, famines, the near loss of her son and the death of her husband but still keeps going. Please read the book if you can. It is available on Amazon.

I suppose there are many stories of triumph over adversity, like Catherines but it was the way she told it. Her calm and gentle manner inspired me beyond anything else. The other thing that influenced me was her friendship with Haile Salassie, Emperor of Ethiopia. She found herself in a social circle with him and his extended family. Catherine supported his family when they were imprisoned after a coup by Mengistu and during the terrible times of The Red Terror.

I have always been rather entranced by Haile Selassie and his story. Catherine describes him as a gentleman, concerned for his family and during the famine of 1974 (no that is not a typo - Geldof came 10 years later - Dimbleby did it first in '73) she reports him to be an old man and out of touch with his subjects. Not in a critical way, being Catherine, she merely states the obvious. Ethiopia has been a Feudal state for centuries. The gap between rich and poor is massive.

Let me tell you how I became entangled with Haile Selassie. My parents lived in the parish of Hartland in North Devon for 10 years whilst my father was working for the 'Donuts' in Morewenstow. Just a mile or so out of the village is a beautiful church called St Nectans. I would sometimes drive back from Hartland Quay and sit quietly in the church. I came across a chair with a plaque on it stating 'This Chair was used by Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia who visited this Parish on 17 August 1938'. I wondered who he was and went home and asked my mother. We had no Wikipedia or internet then. I searched the library for books about him and became transfixed with his life. To have Catherine's account of his later life and subsequent death delighted me because she wrote 'as it was' and this was a treasure to me.

Hartland has always been a special place for me. I met a magical man by the name of Satish Kumar who lives in the village. A former Jain Monk and a disciple of Ghandi, a founder of Dartington College, he has touched many lives. Mary Norton, author of The Borrowers and Bedknobs and Broomsticks made it her home. Singing carols with Joss Ackland, the actor and him judging my eldest son to be Prince of Hartland in the Carnival was another memorable moment.

Its funny how certain people touch your life. Haile Selassie touched mine and 20 years on Catherine helped me to understand more about him and the proud and wonderful women of Ethiopia.

I just wish I had her Faith.

Namaste

Muse x

Arse Kicker...

I saw these 'Words of Wisdom' on the back of a sweatshirt, worn by a blonde, large 'arse', 30 something. I used to be an Arse Kicker - 'AK'! When I was young, I had beautiful skin, witty words and sexy eyes and many older women would not speak to me. I did not understand why they treated me like dust. I have never been a 'bitchy' woman as I could not see the point. I vowed, at the age of 26, I would never, ever treat a younger woman like that. I have stuck to my vow.

Onto the AK that I am now. Recently, I found myself stumbling through my life but it was only tonight that I realised that I can be an AK again. I still have sexy eyes and am able to be generous, loving, giving and...as hard as bloody steel if the situation demands.

Talking of which, I am made of Stern Stuff because I come from Stern Stuff! My 90 something Grandmother made the trip to Cornwall yesterday. She looks absolutely fabulous with her 3 inch heels and her lipstick. My grandmother or as she is known as 'Nanny' to me and 'Two Nanny' to my children or 'Three Nanny' to my Granddaughter Angelina. It is a beloved Welsh thing and she is a definite 'AK' plus two.

I am trying to imagine her life. She has lived in the same house in Cardiff for 70 plus years. During the Second World War she took a Belgian family in and looked after them. She had three bedrooms, three children and another family to look after. As a young boy my father had a great friend called Roger and when they were teenagers, Roger was left to fend for himself. She took him in, fed, clothed and watched him join the RAF with my dad.

Just as I did, she found herself pregnant in her 30's with my lovely Aunt Jacqueline. When I fretted over my late pregnancy, she telephoned me, told me not to worry and told me it would be alright.

I must look to her and realise that whatever she went through was far and beyond what I am going through. Her name, by the way is Florence May.

Thank You Flo.

Be Careful out there.

Muse x

Dedicated to D - She knows who she is.

I tried to watch 'The Social Network' the other night and failed to watch it to the end. For those not in the know, it is the story of Facebook. How it was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and various other people, the ensuing lawsuits and 'Social' fallout he endured.

Perhaps 'endured' is the wrong word for it, as to me, Zuckerberg is an infamous Geek with the mind of a genius and the social skills of a Hermit Crab. Note the reference to 'Hermit' and recent pap pictures of him squatting in a shop doorway, eating Mexican food. There is a reason for this. He is probably what I fondly call an 'Aspe' - I've dated a few BTW! His Asperger traits, linked with the mind of a Japanese high speed Bullet Train have got him into an awful lot of hot water. I understand the premis of FB and how it is used. Post what you want to folks but be aware it may come up behind you and bite you in the bum! Therefore, I don't really have a problem with Zuckerberg, suffice to say; get those fecking ads off my wall, they are irritating the pants off me!

Facebook has given me access to so many long lost friends and so much enjoyment that I cannot thank the Geek enough. Getting in touch with the Donut Kids was such a massive thing in my life. Last night I heard from a girlfriend that I had 'lost' along the way. I missed her so much but wasn't able to write that letter or make that phone call - as you do.

I searched for months on FB for her and my little bit of grey matter finally registered that she had a maiden name - I had been searching for her married name. Durr! I had a precious message from her and am delighted that she is bigger and better than me and was able to put my past mistakes behind us both. That little message meant so much to me.

Whatever you all think of 'The Great God Facebook', use it as it is supposed to be used and enjoy the ride.

Be careful out there.

Muse x

PS - Shame you did not use your talents effectively V.

Middle Class Bangers.

My little Banger has gone and has been replaced by a bit of a smart Nissan Micra. Tis very plush, it has a radio instead of a hole, power steering and some brakes.... imagine having Feck Off Brakes that you can actually use instead of having to change from 5th to 2nd very rapidly! Note to all you guys out there, I can read a map and tend to drive with my gears rather than wearing out my brake pads...nuff said! The blowers for the windscreen work so that I don't have to travel with 15 tea towels and a Shami stuffed in my glove box. Even more impressive is that the sun roof does not leak! No more Chinese Water Torture for me!

I have to say that the Banger has been a faithful and trusty companion for the last 9 months. I was very sadly broke at the time I purchased it. Obviously, I bought it on a sunny warm day and everything looked fine. I had a terrible winter trying to mop crap off the inside of the windscreen. I do not normally touch the inside of my windscreen - only 'women' drivers do that...ooo get me! I used to struggle to get into the damn thing as sometimes the central locking went into 'sulk' mode and it would take me a good half an hour to gain entry. Oh! And do not forget all the times that the alarm has gone off at 3am and I have had to get out of bed to silence, kick and swear at it. Apparently it wanted to kip on my sofa when we were experiencing high winds and rain.... However, it has never ever broken down and never failed to start! This I must be grateful for!

I knew that the banger was coming off the road, so was reading the motoring section of the local paper a couple of weeks ago and wondering how I was going to manage to get another Ve-Hickle on the road. I came across an Ad asking for a banger from a guy who wanted it for his son to learn to drive in. As I was reading the paper 4 days, after it was published, I rang the number and thought that he probably had a banger already. He rang me straight back and we agreed to meet. Surprise, surprise he offered me £170 for it! This meant I could afford to invest in Middle Class Banger rather than Working Class Banger. The MOT was due and as my car had a huge hole in the back passenger floor, an exhaust that farts like a Pregnant Elephant and the need to kip on my sofa when it's cold and exhausted, I said to him "Are you sure"? I am too honest to sell a load of crap onto someone else. After all Bad Karma comes back to haunt you! He was quite happy to take it and told me that he lived in deepest Cornwall, had a lot of land and it was for his 12 year old son to drive around his field in. Apparently his son has already wrecked a Ford Escort on the field. What a great dad he is!

That! was my childhood. At 13 years old I was driving Landrovers (real nasty ones) and backing Speed Boats down the jetty at Dhekelia Ski Club. At 17, I actually managed to 'deep six' a Landrover complete with trailer and Speedboat. Erm...I think this was due to a 4.30am start at Dhekelia Ski Club and a 2.30 am finish at The George Club! The Yompers at Alexandra Barracks had to pull out my Landrover, with their Landrover. Oh, the shame! I was Catatonic!

So here I am, in a state of bliss, driving my zippy little Micra through the Cornish lanes with superb v.flashy stereo on extra loud! The stereo is so good that apparently I have to remove the cover and take it with me in case someone is jealous. Apparently people are more jealous of Middle Class Bangers than Working Class bangers... It's All Greek to me!

Be careful out there

Muse x