Learning The Imagination
A photograph comes to mind, of a shadow and silhouetted chair. The thoughts that go with the image are like a dream, they occupy my imagination for a moment and begin to fade. Usually that would be the end of the moment, but I decide to put the picture into my flickr stream and think how I might write something about the condensed thoughts that came to my mind as I remembered the photograph.
A bumbling bee bumps into the window and bounces across the glowing Geranium petals, reddening Virginia Creeper leaves fall and catch a cold breeze, shimmering shadows crease the coffee filled cups.
Distant memories bubble to the surface, of being outside, working on a sports ground as a kid, brushing the leaves and frost from a hockey pitch with a besom, Jude begins to remember and sing the chorus of an old folk song, "Buy broom buzzems, Buy them when they're new, Fine heather bred uns, Better never grew". "It could be a selling song" she says. We find the song 'Buy Brooms Besoms' is attributed to 'Blind Willie' Purvis, a mid 18th century fiddler in Newcastle, where he was, 'a universal favourite with all ranks of society; and he had his regular places of call, where he was always welcome and duly served.'
We finish coffee, Jude goes out to sweep leaves, I go back to trying to recollect the thoughts that went with the shadow and silhouetted chair, and finish reading a chapter on Jung and Vygotsky in 'Education and Imagination. Post-Jungian Perspectives'.
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