Still messing about

"Stop messing about" is a cry that has accompanied my entire life. "Stop messing about and get on with your homework”, “Stop messing about and get down to some real work, “Stop messing about and…. ....". You can change the latter part of the sentence, but the first few words remain the same. Some time the cry came from others, particularly my mother, but more often it comes from me. Whatever the source, the meaning is the same - curtail your flights of fancy, beware of tempting tangents and stick to the matter in hand. I’ve always found diversions so tempting.

But now, apart from familial and matrimonial responsibilities, I answer to nobody, my life is gloriously aimless, and I can mess about 'till the cows meander home. When my time eventually comes, the last post on my blog will be "Deri Parsons - Stopped Messing About".

And this rumination was prompted by my coming across some old family photographs - a collection of my 1st Cousin X1 removed, Audrey Minnie Kent, my dad’s first cousin. Audrey trained at the Royal Academy of Dance and ran a dancing school in Brighton for many years. I’d say the photograph was taken in the late 1920s/early 1930s. She died in 2004 and I’d only met her a few times over the years. The colourisation of the image brings her to life and I might well do a little research and see what else I can find out about her. She deserves to dance in the spotlight once more, methinks. Then the cry will come “Stop messing about with those old photographs and cut the hedge”. Plus ca change.