Franklin goes to China(town)
I initially planned to write this blog every other day rather than every day, and that might still happen, but for now it seems to have become a daily affair. Ellie asked if I actually did interesting things every single day, which offended me deeply, but I suppose you can tell if I've had a fairly boring day if I just copy and paste one of my history essays in here, or if I start raving about Honeymoon in Vegas.
Yesterday was not a boring day because we were all getting together to celebrate me mam. I'm a slightly biased source, but after years of reflection I have decided that my mum is *objectively* one of the best mums in the world. She is certainly one of the kindest and most approachable: fingers and toes are not enough to count the number of people I know who have relied on my mum for help, or who have thought of her as a dear and close friend. She did a brilliant job with all of us growing up (right now she has just refused my help with the washing, which speaks for itself), and especially by herself since Dad died. She has been exceptionally supportive of me without being pushy, and she still tries to come to almost every show I do - not just every production, but every show of every production (or as many as she can!). She is my best friend, and I'm not embarrassed about saying it. So Mothering Sunday is a good thing, and we should all be grateful to our mums!
Showing our gratitude to this particular Mum involved treating her to a whopping great Chinese meal in Soho. We had hoped to go to a place called Mr Kong, which is where she and my Dad used to go when they were dating, but it seems sadly to have closed down. Chinatown is fortunately full of places that, at least to my untrained tongue, served basically the same food, and so we settled down for what turned out to be probably the second-largest amount I've ever eaten without being sick. The unparalleled largest was at Christ's May Ball last year, where we ate several courses and then everything else on offer throughout the ball, and I still don't quite understand why that night didn't end with me rolling lazily into a grave, or exploding like that guy in Monty Python.
So that was grand, and then we were headed back home and I launched into some serious study of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. What with FDR being a namesake I'm bound to like him a fair bit, which means:
INTERESTING FACT TIME: FDR couldn't walk for much of his political career because of polio that he contracted in the 1920s. He had a wheelchair, but kept it away from public view; when getting out of or into cars or trains, he did so away from the eyes of the press and public. To stand, Roosevelt, used what must have been mightily uncomfortable iron leg braces, combining these with a cane and the arm of another: rotating his hips and throwing his weight forward allowed him to create the appearance of usual walking over short distances. It was an extraordinary effort on his part.
Nowadays one hopes that disabled individuals are less obliged to hide their disabilities, although there is still a long way to go on this front. There have in fact been some brilliant articles and videos on the BBC News website recently concerning the experiences of individuals with dyspraxia, blindness and other disabilities at an event called Storytelling Live, which you can find at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability. Many of those who contributed to the event did so with extraordinary warmth and wit, and their stories are extremely thought-provoking. Please do explore them for yourself!
I am writing this outside and feeling very content right now.
RJLF
P. S. My friend Arianna asked for a mention in this blog. Apparently my friend Damian and I were in her dreams the other day distracting her while she was working, for which I can only apologise. She also asked me to include a reminder to her that she still owes me a Secret Santa gift - if you are a friend of Arianna's and are reading this, could you also pass the message along? I am sure she would be very grateful.
Yesterday was not a boring day because we were all getting together to celebrate me mam. I'm a slightly biased source, but after years of reflection I have decided that my mum is *objectively* one of the best mums in the world. She is certainly one of the kindest and most approachable: fingers and toes are not enough to count the number of people I know who have relied on my mum for help, or who have thought of her as a dear and close friend. She did a brilliant job with all of us growing up (right now she has just refused my help with the washing, which speaks for itself), and especially by herself since Dad died. She has been exceptionally supportive of me without being pushy, and she still tries to come to almost every show I do - not just every production, but every show of every production (or as many as she can!). She is my best friend, and I'm not embarrassed about saying it. So Mothering Sunday is a good thing, and we should all be grateful to our mums!
 |
| Me mam |
Showing our gratitude to this particular Mum involved treating her to a whopping great Chinese meal in Soho. We had hoped to go to a place called Mr Kong, which is where she and my Dad used to go when they were dating, but it seems sadly to have closed down. Chinatown is fortunately full of places that, at least to my untrained tongue, served basically the same food, and so we settled down for what turned out to be probably the second-largest amount I've ever eaten without being sick. The unparalleled largest was at Christ's May Ball last year, where we ate several courses and then everything else on offer throughout the ball, and I still don't quite understand why that night didn't end with me rolling lazily into a grave, or exploding like that guy in Monty Python.
So that was grand, and then we were headed back home and I launched into some serious study of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. What with FDR being a namesake I'm bound to like him a fair bit, which means:
INTERESTING FACT TIME: FDR couldn't walk for much of his political career because of polio that he contracted in the 1920s. He had a wheelchair, but kept it away from public view; when getting out of or into cars or trains, he did so away from the eyes of the press and public. To stand, Roosevelt, used what must have been mightily uncomfortable iron leg braces, combining these with a cane and the arm of another: rotating his hips and throwing his weight forward allowed him to create the appearance of usual walking over short distances. It was an extraordinary effort on his part.
 |
| Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in a private setting. |
Nowadays one hopes that disabled individuals are less obliged to hide their disabilities, although there is still a long way to go on this front. There have in fact been some brilliant articles and videos on the BBC News website recently concerning the experiences of individuals with dyspraxia, blindness and other disabilities at an event called Storytelling Live, which you can find at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability. Many of those who contributed to the event did so with extraordinary warmth and wit, and their stories are extremely thought-provoking. Please do explore them for yourself!
I am writing this outside and feeling very content right now.
RJLF
P. S. My friend Arianna asked for a mention in this blog. Apparently my friend Damian and I were in her dreams the other day distracting her while she was working, for which I can only apologise. She also asked me to include a reminder to her that she still owes me a Secret Santa gift - if you are a friend of Arianna's and are reading this, could you also pass the message along? I am sure she would be very grateful.
I was about to say my lack of mention was forgivable because the paragraph on your mum is adorable (i bet she loves that photo) but luckily you mentioned me anyway. you got the dream wrong though, you guys were failing to comfort me for having not done any work. Also I think my friendship is more than enough of a gift to anyone. Also I'm writing this comment as requested which is another gift. Also my birthday is coming up, you can just not get me anything for that and we're even. I enjoyed reading this blog again. Your thoughts are amusing.
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