Back in the air, 30,000ft, 500mph plus! Saying goodbye to my friends and my crying mother sure wasn’t easy. Last time she cried was when her dad died. It was heart wrenching to leave her there, but now I’m here. It’s mad. I’m gonna take a piss over Turkey, just for good measure!
Me and Broni dripped a couple of tears as we took off and flew out over old England. Yesterday, someone (do I know who?!) wondered if I’d get all patriotic when in Oz and I scoffed some but I guess it has been home and has fuelled several fires in my soul. Now is only forward though – no looking back!
Sunsets over Turkey, just a few hours after it rose for us, leaving pink dust on the horizons as barren mountains below slowly dissolve into darkness. We rumble along leaving a trail of cold wet air turned cloud (-47C) and tiny points of light scattered here and there our only signs of life on earth. The run up to today has been pretty surreal, time biding, nail biting, hmm! I’m pretty lost for words right now would you believe!
Oh but I’ll tell you, on our drive to Newport, sun goes down west side, moon comes up east side, moon can see sun across other side of earth and gives us a delicious pink moon, strawberry blancmange, hangs low in sky, touches our hearts, mine, Rob and Broni. Humm!
Today, this morning, I ring up Chrissie – one last goodbye – wake her up and she tells me she dreaming of Steve (good dreams), first time in ages and I wonder if he’s not there somewhere watching over us all – seeing to it those he loved have happy lives. Pink moon.
Plane engulfed in pitch, we watch thunderstorms in the distance, quickly zoom past us and while excitedly watching the skies for more flashes of sheet lightning we witness space debris meteorite burn up in the semisphere (you know I don’t know what it’s called!), quick burst of burning energy, released right before our eyes, up here, in the arms of god!
In the arms of god alright – we’re higher than the moon, helf moon hanging crescent low, a dim light just a few inches above our wing. Below, isolated lights pin prick the blackness and at times congregate in great cities with circles of red and yellow – kaleidoscope still life – now though, nothing – like falling forever into black holes of hell (as refreshments are being served).
Now we’re gonna fly into the sun, a creamy white pervades the horizon, turning blue and deep deep orange and reds torchlight silhouette clouds – breathtaking, nature’s wonder. (Like Milton’s Paradise Lost). Sit here and take it into my mind’s eye, snapshot, hit up the old memory sometime.
A bried hiatus in Bangkok – what terrific views as we came into land and tool off, of millions of paddy fields, water ways, Buddhist temples and gold courses. And now we’re back on our way, last leg over Chinese seas and Australia, into waiting arms of potential relatives and friends. And me, I want some sleep but nervous energy adrenalin could keep me going for ages. Imagine landing in Australia, early evening, driving to our flat (all sorted) falling asleep and waking up again in the morning, like, where the fuck am I!??
Brief hallucinatory sleep – then hallucinatory wake – look our window and it’s all calm, deep blude sea and I start seeing spots in front of my eyes. After a patient wait, first strikes of red sunbaked land poke into the ocean – salt marsh top of Australia, below – beach reflects a huge natural fractal image so breathtaking in beauty I want to stop the plane and go tell all my friends, right now. Onward into great sandy desert and parched earth below and above a thick layer of thundercloud that we hang ten feet of so under – I feel like we are touching the ceiling of the world – wild grey artex. Few signs of life on ground. A road here or there, long straight and little used, stretching off into the hazy distance. Three hours til touchdown, other side of this island.
Cotton wool clouds cast big black shadows contrasting the scorched dry earth. I watched a cloud disappear, evaporate under the blistering heat. So barren and desolate and inhospitable but so beautiful for our vantage point.
