Perspectives

Earth Hour

I knew nothing about this until an e-chat with someone in Australia was interrupted when she said she had to switch off the lights for Earth Hour.  Later, when I mentioned it to my husband, he'd already heard about it, so we decided to give it a go.

We watched a film by candle light and started early (so we didn't miss any) and finished late (it was nice to be in the dark with the tea lights gleaming).  It only occurred to me later that perhaps watching the film used more power than switching off the lights, but Saturday night is usually film or disc night anyway.

Viewpoints

Perhaps our choice of film was appropriate - 'Gravity'.  If you don't know the story, it's Plot 3B of the 7 traditional Sci-Fi plots - astronauts' ship is damaged and they must try to get home...

Visually, it was stunning; Earth from space with spiderwebs of golden lights picking out the nighttime cities and roads. The juxtaposition of sound and silence was well worked without being overdone. The plot... well, some people would argue it didn't have one.  But I found quite a chunky storyline there, perhaps because I'm a science-fiction fanista, perhaps because I'm a writer. I really enjoyed it, but I can see why other people may not have appreciated it on the same level.

One person said that it was a very short film and made no sense; our Blu-Ray copy is 91 minutes, so perhaps there showing had a bit missing.

Pass It On

Here in the UK it's Mother's Day.  Time was when this was all about my mother - what I could do to show my appreciation of her. In the fullness of time, I became a mother myself, and I found a new perspective on the day - it wasn't just about my Mum any more, it was about me, too. I began to feel I was just the next generation of a long line of mothers and children perpetuating a day of gratitude... I can only imagine how it must feel if you've a grandmother living, too, as I never knew mine at all.

Now my mother is gone and it's all about me. My son makes sure I get a card and something to mark the day. This year, with Mother's day being a week after my birthday, he took me to lunch midweek which was really nice.

All about me?  Well, by the time I've thanked him and reassured him that I've had a nice day (even though he hasn't called...), it's becoming more about his feelings than about mine...

To mums everywhere. Phew.