In Readiness

The year ends with preparations for the year about to begin. Continuity rather than division. Flow rather than separation.

Transcendence

Couldn't help but feel that with the death of Pele a part of my childhood has been irretrievably lost, something belonging to the world of legend rather than drab reality. The man embodied perfection, not just as a supremely gifted footballer but as a sportsman of complete dignity. And everyone knew that when I was a kid. It wasn't open to discussion, just a brute fact reflecting the way things were. So when Brazil triumphed in the 1970 World Cup there was a taken-for-grantedness about it which sort of added to the wonder of it all.

He never looked hurried, as if time were a problem for others to deal with.

Continuing

We're on our way again, soon. Not a bad way to be, I suppose. Moving on means that, somehow, one is still keeping going. I think I got more than my fair share of rest in 2022.

Big Numbers

Fact of the day: We share the planet with 20 quadrillion ants. I am not making that number up. It's a real one and contains lots of noughts. Think of it this way: for each human being there are 2.5 million ants. Gosh.

Actually, it isn't really the case that we share the planet, is it? I suspect that the ants pay us precious little attention, except for when we catastrophically destroy what they need as habitat. But they seem to be able to bounce back from such minor setbacks, if their numbers are anything to go by.

All this makes me feel vaguely cheerful. But only vaguely. 

Still Building

Now trying to make sure we've got all we need as we leave Maison KL behind after this flying visit and contemplating the changes I've seen in the city over the years I've known it. These days whenever we come to Kuala Lumpur I'm struck by the sheer number of new buildings that appear, and I mean really big, chunky buildings. Driving to KLCC last night it wasn't so easy to pick out the twin towers which once dominated the skyline. They now seem hemmed in, a bit overwhelmed.

Is that how those who dwell here feel? Or do they carve out necessary spaces for themselves in which to thrive in the intersections?

Packing It All Away

Quite startled at the speed at which they've taken down the main Christmas display in the atrium at KLCC. We popped down there this evening to witness some thirty or so smaller Christmas trees unceremoniously tied, or rather wrapped, together in whitish fabric, dumped amid a mountain of black cloth which I surmised covered the carcass of the super-large tree which had dominated the space for the last month or so. It all looked ruthlessly abrupt. But as the Missus pointed out, with Chinese New Year coming particularly early in the new year there's likely a commercial imperative to ring the changes speedily.

Mind you, I noticed that they still had Xmas trees for sale in Isetan (two, I think) when we were going round there later. A forlorn hope, but possibly early buyers for 2023?

A Kind Of Blessing

Spent much of last night and this morning thinking of the kind of long cold drink I was talking about yesterday. This was provoked by our lack of refrigeration, putting said drink well beyond my reach. We've now solved the fridge problem, probably on a very temporary basis, but I still haven't had a decent cold drink. However, I'm keenly aware that in the big picture of things all this counts for very little indeed.

Today's news looked typically depressing, despite it being Christmas, so best to make the best of our secure little corner, despite its slight deficiencies - and use it as a platform to wish all who keep this season a blessed Christmas for 2022. 

A Long Cold Drink

We've been travelling north for the last two days, having set off for Malaysia in the early evening on Friday, taking Hakim with us to Melaka. Unusually we stayed over at Rozaidah's on Friday night, a first for us, arriving there after negotiating some decent sized jams at Tuas.

Then Noi and I pressed on to KL today after a leisurely morning in Sungai Petai largely dedicated to eating well. It was typically warm on the highway in the afternoon and that was when it came pressing upon me that a long, cold drink of something like orange juice when you have a thirst on is one of life's great compensations for difficulties. I mean, just fantasising about it is remarkably compensatory, and the actual act is perfect in itself. I put this to the test when we arrived at the Great Eastern Building on Jalan Ampang, near our house when we got to KL and I was right. By the time I was halfway through the fresh orange juice I applied myself to, the world had become a better place and I was entirely satisfied.

Now we are settling in at Maison KL and facing the several challenges of a house unoccupied since June. (The fridge has taken it upon itself to break down again.) I'm keeping that moment of the afternoon in mind as a reminder of a promise fulfilled.

Striking

Lots of coverage on Sky News of the various strike actions being called in the UK, most prominently that of the nurses. Even from this distance it's obvious they've got plenty of public support and given the events of the pandemic it's not difficult to understand why.

Must admit though, I'm happy to be situated in a part of the world that manages to avoid the uncertainties attendant upon industrial action. Utterly selfish, I'm afraid, but deeply practical.

Still Lost

I half expected to regain the weight I lost in my illness by the end of the year. Since I knew we would be well supplied on the victuals front during our umrah I thought it likely to put back 3 or 4 kg whilst in Makkah & Madinah, but that didn't happen, as I realised today when I went for my annual check-up at the clinic just over the road as required by my employers. The receptionist checking my weight noted I was 5 kg lighter than this time last year and the doctor reckoned I was 6 kg lighter than my average weight for the last 4 or so years.

I suppose the physical demands of the umrah meant that no matter how well I thought I was feeding myself I needed the intake from the extensive buffets to provide the energy just to rise to the challenge. At some level I'm underestimating that need for energy, I think, somehow not throwing myself into life, if that makes sense. I have an appetite, but it's too easily satisfied.

It would be nice to feel greedy again.

A Sort Of Destiny

Like I said, funny old game, football. By halftime yesterday I was convinced Argentina would win and decided to go to bed. Now I suppose you'll tell me I missed an incredibly exciting second half, and extra time, and penalty shoot out. But that doesn't change the fact that I was right in the end, eh? When it finally went to pens it was obvious which side was going to win, almost as if England had been there.

Looking Likely

Happily tested negative for covid earlier in the evening. But my nose is still running and I'm using a lot of tissues.

Ignoring all that by immersing myself in the ongoing World Cup final. Can't say I felt particularly excited at the kick-off, though mildly favouring Argentina and the mercurial Messi. Can see much to admire with France also. But as things stand, as halftime approaches, there seems only one team in it, the Argentines having dominated from the get-go.

Still, there's plenty of time left and it's a funny old game.

Simply Outraged

Entertained myself for part of the day by watching some of the outraged reactions to the Harry & Meghan nonsense on YouTube. Astonished at the level of outrage generated. Isn't it strange how ill-equipped we are to deal with the hypocrisy of others, even though at some level we can surely recognise at least a little part of ourselves in it?

To be honest, I find the blindness of the couple to their own obvious contradictions and double standards almost endearing. There's a kind of innocence in their obliviousness. 

Dysfunctionality

As a way of dealing with the monotony of self-isolating I tried to watch some of the Harry & Meghan documentary series on Netflix. I managed about twenty minutes of the first episode before terminal boredom set in. Astonishingly self-regarding stuff from a deeply over-privileged couple.

Mind you, I have no idea as to why these two seem to generate so much more loathing than the other royals and why people seem to be rushing to take sides in the latest falling out in the royal family. Isn't it obvious that the institution itself is completely unfit for purpose aside from the deeply flawed individuals who mess up both each other and themselves as a matter of historical routine?

In Isolation

When I had my little moan about the coughing and sneezing amongst our umrah group roughly a week ago I mentioned testing Noi for covid with a happily negative result. Now we're back in Singapore we've both managed to test positive. So we're now self-isolating.

Actually I'm feeling quite well, apart from a runny nose, but Noi has been putting up with a ferociously unpleasant cough for quite some time - though she has only just tested positive. Odd!

A Degree Of Involvement

Time to acknowledge the on-going drama of the World Cup. It isn't that I've been completely ignoring the competition, but I decided early on there was no point in subscribing to the tv coverage when I simply wouldn't be able to watch most of it. Instead I've been following the print coverage assiduously, supplemented by online highlights. On the whole, it's worked for me. And it meant I didn't feel quite the usual depth of pain when England went out.

Must say, I'd like to see Argentina win it this time round just to confirm the ultimate brilliance of Messi.

In Transit

Something of a lost day this one. At the moment killing time in the airport hotel at Abu Dhabi, waiting for our connecting flight this evening. Mind you, after all the frantic running around to fulfil obligations a sense of ease is more than welcome. In fact, I fancy a bit of a doze just now and there's a decent sized bed readily available. So over and temporarily out.

Not Exactly Healthy

Everybody here is struggling with a variety of physical ailments. The most obvious problem for me is my feet on which the skin is cracking, making walking uncomfortable, to say the least. But we're coming to the end of our stay, so the focus now is on packing, in a rather frantic style.

For some reason we seem to have been more pushed for time on this umrah compared to our first in 2014. Mind you, I recall my feet presenting a similar problem then, so some things remain constant.

Quite A Chill

On completing the day's prayers yesterday at Masjid al Nabawi I'd intended to write something about the experience on getting back to the hotel (the day still being Saturday here, if you see what I mean.) Noi was still at the masjid with the ladies from our party who were visiting the oldest section of the mosque, ar Raudah, which houses the tomb of the Prophet (pbuh) and those of two of his companions - Abu Bakr and Umar. I'd had the very rare privilege of actually completing the Ishaq Prayer there and was keen to memorialise my good fortune.

However, I was so shivering cold after dinner in the restaurant, with its unrelenting air-conditioning, that it was all I could do to dive into bed and wrap up warm, hoping to emerge somewhat more in order a little later. Of course, that didn't happen as I just surrendered to sleep. I suppose I do have the excuse that I definitely needed it - just as I needed to be warm.

Here And There

Left Makkah today for Medinah. The journey is now considerably faster than it was when we first did it in 2014, though then we went from Medinah to Makkah. There's now a connection by a super-speed train which means you get from one place to the other in less than two-and-a- half hours. I much preferred the seven-to-eight hour journey through the night myself. It gave time time to think and doze, usually at the same time.

Now trying to adjust to a new hotel room. Air-conditioning too cold and the water's barely warm. Shouldn't complain, though, even if that's what I'm doing. We are where we are.

Being Here

Spirits are high within our umrah tour group but there's been a noticeable increase in the volume of coughing and sneezing issuing from its members - including myself. Noi skipped dinner this evening (it's still Thursday evening in Makkah) and is running quite a temperature, but has happily tested negative for Covid. Since we are moving to Medinah tomorrow, and performing our final umrah, we need to dig deep to find the energy to pack everything, do the necessary, and get on the move. Not easy. But that's why we're here.

On The Monumental

The great mosque in Makkah, the Masjid al-Haram, aspires to the monumental. And like any massive project that does so it has spent much of its existence under construction - as it is at the present time. Indeed, it's so much in the process of being rebuilt that it's difficult to imagine when this current manifestation might be finished. And something similar is true about the hotel complex immediately surrounding it, which I had the impression had been largely completed when I was last here in 2016. It turns out that there are more very large hotels being built behind the very large hotels that immediately face the masjid. In fact, we are resident in one of them, with the adjoining one not completed yet.

Now I can understand the idea of honouring the Creator of All Things with something that reflects in a small measure the grandeur of that creation. I suppose the great cathedrals and temples of the past in other religious traditions are examples of the human desire to do so. There's a kind of nobility in such attempts which reflects well on the human spirit in at least some degree. But there's always the worrying question as to whether its the human aspect in its least attractive form of hubristic ambition that is being celebrated with the divine being pushed somewhere into the background. 

What I like about Makkah are the ways in which the crowds make it their own. Something akin to the anarchy of worship. They bring the monumental down to earth.

Everybody Hurts Sometime

It may be Wednesday (as stated above) in Singapore, but it's still very much Tuesday here in Saudi Arabi and I'm exhausted at the end of another busy day. I suppose this is likely related to my recent illness, but I've found it more difficult than I expected to deal with the physical demands associated with the umrah. Today I honestly wondered at one point whether I'd be able to complete the final ritual, one I've breezed through in the past. I ended up quite pleased with myself for keeping going yet feeling very old indeed.

It's all very humbling, painfully so. I know this is useful in some deep sense, but it still hurts.

Not At Ease

We're now established, temporarily at least, in our hotel room in Makkah. Getting here and fulfilling all our obligations on the way was not easy, which is a large part of the point. Mind you, we didn't have to face anything like the epic wait at the Immigration at Jeddah Airport we experienced in 2016 when we set out on our Hajj in that year. In fact, this time we sailed through - perhaps the fact it was a whole new airport helped.

But each journey here throws up fresh challenges. I'd say the Masjid al-Haram is more of a building site than previously and even noisier and more confusing. Again, the pilgrim faces a challenge and it's quite astonishing to see so many accept that challenge with a calm, implacable good will.

Much Ado

Reasonably frantic preparations now afoot for our upcoming umrah. We set off for Makkah tomorrow afternoon and Yazir, Wan & Maya, who will be accompanying us (along with Fuad & Rozita), are now in residence. Most things are settled, but still lots of detail to consider, both on the practical and spiritual fronts, so that's what I've been applying myself to and will continue to endeavour to do so. Useful to have no real choice.

Affairs Of The Heart

When I was seeking a discharge from the hospital in early October the sticking point was my elevated heart rate, which, to be honest, was quite a concern for me as well as the medical staff. I did wonder whether some kind of damage had been done resulting in the consistently inflated numbers even when I was just resting. And the breathlessness I experienced in the early days of my recovery also seemed to point to some sort of fundamental damage.

Things have greatly improved since then, of course, and I have recently had a strong sense of getting back to something like normal, but it still came as a relief to be told today by a specialist that my heart was functioning well and had recovered completely from the trauma inflicted upon it in September. The doc even went as far as suggesting that some exercise was now in order, which sounded very good indeed.

Of course, the most important aspect of my heart is that it belongs so entirely to my dear wife, who celebrates her birthday today. 

Further Developments

I really should devote more of my time to furthering my education in the visual arts through the resources available online. There's an astonishing amount of informative and insightful material out there of obvious expertise. The excellent Open Culture website regularly features intriguing posts on artists ranging from the classically famous to the modishly obscure and keeps reminding me of how enjoyable it is to expand my knowledge and understanding of the basics.

For example, a recent piece about Picasso at fifteen reminded me of something I once knew and had managed to forget. The young Pablo was a gifted artist in formal terms. An awareness of that helps put in perspective how extraordinary his later development was. The brilliance of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon becomes even more obvious when juxtaposed against the earlier naturalistic canvases. You are forced to understand how nothing in the modernist Picasso has come about arbitrarily: his command of technique is such that he means all of it, even if it leaves us puzzled as to what exactly it 'means'.

By the way, Open Culture doesn't provide an interpretation of Les Demoiselles, but it's very easy indeed to google quite a number, some of which sound reasonably plausible. And if you click on the title itself in the article you're given a link to a decent article on the great work. So no shortage of good stuff, like I said.