Tiny Desk

I find John Prine on the Tiny Desk series, posted four years ago and I am delighted. https://youtu.be/sOg7mAkrKJw It's a gentle slip into this rainy Boxing Day afternoon. Christmas has been thankfully unremarkable . No dramas, nothing going wrong, not that there was much to go wrong anyway - perhaps I could have overcooked the roast potatoes, but unlikely.

Then it's on to Natalie Merchant. https://youtu.be/iOdsAE8Mq7I Ok. It's clear to see that I'm a bit of an old folky sort (cough) I mean indie listener. It has been blissful to sit in silence while I knit tiny ears for catnip bunnies I am currently creating and before I turn on the television, (like breaking a diet - it needs to be done gradually) I need gentler sounds to dance to, hence the Tiny Desk performances.

The dog lies on the tiles, walked before the rain returns its tropical downpour. Some of the US is in a terrible state with Arctic storms pelting. Australia is still flooded down south. Scotland is still cold.

The world is as it wants to be. I saw that Putin is considering talks with Ukraine. He's probably only doing it as a distraction. We've stopped reporting on the state of affairs in Yemen. Ukraine news no longer tips the headlines.

Being on this continent can sometimes feel isolating. I'm here, safe and protected. We don't feel the impact of attacks on Kurdish communities in France. Note to self... look beyond the borders in 2023. Watch for the signs Jane . There is indeed change afoot and it's not just the climate. Perhaps I'm just talking to myself. What will happen to our civilisation if we continue to ignore humanity's needs and play only by the rules of border-lines? Sombre thoughts.

On a more positive note, I've decided to change a stranger's life this year. Not a client. Not a relative. A stranger. I"ve joined The Letterbox Project to reach out to someone in Australia who might be feeling isolated within this lucky country. I'm waiting to hear who my pen pal will be. Perhaps it will be a refugee, a pensioner, a... who knows? If I can't make changes or bring a sense of value in the big picture of the world, then in 2023 I'm going to do it in my own little picture.

What are you going to do in 2023 to improve humanity's need for connection or someone's need for a sense of self worth? Yes. I'm challenging you. Make this year be a year where you are an agent of change for the good. Somewhere. Somehow. I'd love to hear what you plan to do that's different. Intention is half the battle won.

I'm off to make some nice stationery in readiness for kind words.

Pip Pip Peeps.