Blogger’s block. Is this common a few months into the blogging life?
Today I received some hand-dyed fabric which I’ll use in the background of my Chenrezig piece. I’m very excited to move forward and finally finish it.
Nottingham was an interesting experience. My bags weighed 14.9 kg going and 15.2 coming back (sold cards but also carried back some I’d had printed in England), so I met the Ryan Air weight challenge by the skin of my teeth. Not a trivial accomplishment by any means!
I like the architecture of English cities. The ground-floor fronts are colorful and distinct from the upper part of the buildings. This makes the streetscape seem lower and more intimate.
And the countryside is soft and welcoming. I enjoyed three days in my friend Diane’s tudor house in the country before the teachings started. Here’s a photo from the back of her beautiful garden and some flowers of the most amazing blue.
The “marketplace” at His Holiness’ teachings was in a “Big Top” circus tent about five minutes’ walk from the arena. The cold, wind, rain, spotty lighting, and uneven flooring made for an interesting (and exhausting) experience. At one point, the tent was even closed to the public because the wind was pulling up stakes! But still, we could intermittently watch some of the Dalai Lama’s teachings on a large screen TV, we had some nice Indian food, and people were quite kind and interested.
Two people, in particular, became seriously enamored with the Green Tara thangka, coming back to my table repeatedly to gaze upon her. And one woman asked that her extraordinary crystal be allowed to communicate for a while with Tara. I think they had quite a conversation!
I sold a lot of postcards but very few posters… I wonder why that is… It was interesting to note that people were especially drawn to the simpler images or those that focused on a detail. My lotus card was very popular, as was this close-up of White Tara’s face.
The ethnic diversity in England is impressive. Quite a contrast from Italy. More reminiscent of the US but even more mixed. People from every corner of the world sharing a splash in the fountain on the first sunny day. A Tibetan man who shared the Big Top market experience with me told me he’s lived in London for several years and it’s the first place where he doesn’t feel conscious of being a minority. He’s just a human in the great big mix of humanity there. But along with the diversity in Nottingham, which reminded me more of my US home than my Italian home, there was also a sense of suffering, of poverty, of alcoholism, of vulnerability which also reminded me more of my US home than my Italian one. Something to ponder…
