ISSUE 70, 2020
MAGAZINE FOR WELLBEING
ISSUE
70 • News and Views • Joaquin Rivas: Holding on to Hope • Lesliann Jat: Creativity & Mental Health • Dev Chatterjea: Mental Health in India • Artist Profile: Jessica Rimondi • Paintings, poems and fiction
Front cover: Pixabay/ sumanley
Equilibrium Patron Dr Liz Miller Mind Champion, 2008.
What Equilibrium means to me‌. WEB ALERTS If you know anyone who would like to be on our mailing list to get the magazine four times a year (no spam!), please email: equilibriumteam@hotmail. co.uk (www.haringey.gov.uk/ equilibrium).
Equilibrium is devised, created and produced by . students with experience of the mental health system.
Photo copyright remains with all individual artists and Equilibrium. All rights reserved, 2011.
I enjoyed writing a short article for the mental health magazine Equilibrium based on my personal experience of having a mental illness for the last 20 years. The office environment and people were all friendly and gave support on tap, especially when you got stuck for ideas or needed technical help using the computer. The other contributors present all shared a mental health history, so gelled well together, and we were made to feel very welcome. Norman I found Equilibrium at a crucial point, where I found an open door to try a new healing form of writing and expression. Honest, happy, healthy. One thing I have to say, I go at my own pace and learn little lessons on computers, in art and writing, communicating, and ultimately a chance to get some self-confidence and self-esteem back after being belittled and degraded and abused. I found the open light of Equilibrium at the end of a dark tunnel of life. Equilibrium gives me a purpose. Thank you. Blessings. Richard The magazine means a lot to me for the reason that it allows me to write about various aspects of mental health and wellbeing. This is one of the only places where you can talk about this sticky matter and issues surrounding wellbeing. Working here also allows me to meet like-minded people who are passionate about talking about their experiences of their conditions. Seeing these issues being published spreads information on mental health, and other topics, even further. Devzilla Equilibrium has been a fantastic form of expression for me. I have the choice to write about what I want and I can put my ideas into practice. I have been with Equilibrium since 2007, and I never run out of ideas of things to write about. I have enjoyed writing articles and reviews about plays, books and galleries. The Equilibrium team has changed from time to time, but we still manage to produce four copies of the magazine a year. Angela
EDITORIAL Dear Equilibrium readers, This editorial is being written in a climate like no other we’ve experienced. With the onset of Covid-19 we find ourselves living in extraordinarily challenging times. However, we see large sectors of the community coming together to support one another, neighbours reaching out to help the vulnerable and needy, a plethora of free online resources offered to help with our new ‘stay-at-home’ culture. Our family favourite is the Joe Wicks Workouts and free audio books offered by Audible to mention but a few! Taking care of your mental health as well as your body is essential whilst staying at home. You may feel bored, frustrated or lonely. You may also be low, worried, anxious, or concerned about your finances. Taking care of one’s mental health will be a priority over the coming months. We hope we can provide some stimulating information to help you through this. It wont last forever! Magazine disclaimer: this issue and nearly all its contents were created prior to the onset of Covid-19. Nevertheless, it is packed with useful stories and events surrounding mental health and wellbeing. Keep safe and enjoy. Equilibrium Magazine
THE TEAM Facilitator/Editor: Anthony Parke Students: Dev, Nigel, Richard
CONTACT US Equilibrium, Clarendon Recovery College, Clarendon Road, London, N8 ODJ. 0208 489 4860, equilibriumteam@hotmail.co.uk.
CONTRIBUTIONS Wanted: contributions to Equilibrium! Please email us with your news, views, poems, photos and articles. Anonymity guaranteed if required.
DISCLAIMER Equilibrium is produced by students. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly forbidden without the prior permission of the Equilibrium team. Products, articles and services advertised in this publication do not necessarily carry the endorsement of Equilibrium or any of our partners. Any material that has been reprinted is, as far as we know, in the public domain. If you have any concerns about anything printed within Equilibrium, please contact the team via the email below. Equilibrium is published and circulated electronically four times a year to a database of subscribers; if you do not wish to receive Equilibrium or have received it by mistake, please email unsubscribe to equilibriumteam@hotmail.co.uk
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NEWS IN BRIEF Air pollution link with mental health problems Growing up in air-polluted areas is linked to mental health issues, reports The Guardian. The article explains how researchers in Denmark and the
Mind urges government to tackle 175,000 cancelled child mental health appointments
Distressing figures from mental health Mind have revealed that children with mental health issues are not
US found that people in Denmark
getting the treatment they require.
who grew up in more polluted areas
This is partly to do with the rise in
up to the age of 10 were more
demand for the services, showing
likely to develop depression, bipolar
a 25% increase compared to the
disorder, schizophrenia or personal-
previous year. This increase means
ity disorder. While US counties with
the service is struggling to cope with
worse air pollution had higher rates of bipolar disorder and depression. However, the Guardian report says that showing a link does not mean that air pollution was the direct cause of mental health conditions in these
demands. Mind uncovered data that revealed 175,000 appointments in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) were cancelled by the NHS in England. The charity insist
studies. Other factors could have
that the next UK government must do
been involved they argue, such as
more to tackle the massive strain the
“living in more polluted areas, having
NHS services are under.
lower incomes, having had more
http://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com
traumatic life experiences, different drug use habits and less access to green space�. The study, the Guardian observed, did not take all of these factors into account. https://www.nhs.uk/
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Body clock disruptions linked to mood disorders
Is schizophrenia risk ‘around 80% genetic’?
Recent research, reports the Guardian,
“Genetics account for almost 80 per cent
has highlighted something that we’ve
of a person’s risk of developing schizophre-
all known to be true, which is people
nia, according to new research,” the Mail
who experience disrupted 24-hour cycles of rest and activity are more likely to have mood disorders, lower levels of happiness and greater feelings of loneliness. WHile we’ve known it to be true, researchers have proffer it to be the. They wanted to see if disruptions to the 24-hour “body clock” of rest and activity (circadian rhythm) had an impact on mental health. They used wearable fitness-tracking
Online reports. That is the main finding of a study looking at how often schizophrenia affected both twins of a pair, looking at identical and non-identical twins. Schizophrenia is a serious mental health condition that can cause delusions and hallucinations. There is no single “cause” of schizophrenia. It is thought to result from a complex combination of both genetic and environmental factors. The researchers looked at twins born in Denmark and found that if one identical twin had schizophrenia, the other twin (with the same genes) was also affected
devices to assess the physical activity
in about a third of cases. For non-identical
of 90,000 people in the UK, and then
twins, who only share on average half of
compared the results with associated
their genes, this was true only in about
questionnaires looking at mood and mental health outcomes. They found that people who were less active in the daytime and more active at night were more likely to have depression and bipolar disorder, less likely to describe
7% of cases. Based on these figures, the researchers calculated that 79% of the risk of developing schizophrenia was down to their genes. While the findings suggest genes do play an important role in schizophrenia, this is only an estimate and the true picture is likely to be more complicated. Environmen-
themselves as happy, and more likely
tal factors clearly still have an influence
to say they were often lonely.
on whether the person actually develops schizophrenia.
https://www.nhs.uk/news/mental-health/body clock-disruptions-linked-mood-disorders/
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https://www.nhs.uk/news/mental-health/schizopenia-risk-around-80-genetic/
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Arts & Creativity Lesliann Jat
As Samuel Johnson said, ‘the only
Dickens, Shakespeare. “Not me!” you
end of writing’ – and it is as true of the
think to yourself, “I’m ordinary.” To
other arts as of literature – ‘is to enable
my surprise, in researching this article,
the reader better to enjoy life, or
“ordinary creativity” is the subject
better to endure it’”, from the Creative
of much psychological research. In
Health Inquiry Report.
Psychology Today, ordinary creativity
is discussed as a positive quality of
There is something to be said
for doing whatever takes you out
which we are all capable: “’We’ve
of your “head”, even out of your
become narrow in the way we think
“self” – without using mind-altering
about creativity,’” observes Teresa
substances! Something to be said
Amabile, a psychologist at Brandeis
about the experience of “flowing”,
University. “’We tend to think of it as
“focus”, “peace”, “letting go”. I’ve
rarefied . . . but the cook in her kitchen
heard all of these phrases, and
is showing creativity when she invents
used some myself, to describe what
a variation on a recipe.’” Decorating
happens when you get CREATIVE.
a room, knitting, arranging flowers in
The word “creative” can put you
a vase, writing a thoughtful note to a
off. It can seem daunting. You may
friend, planting a garden, these can
conjure up some great artists: Stormzy,
all be creative activities. Problem-
Beyonce, Beethoven, Renoir, Picasso,
solving of all kinds. New ways to do
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small things. Playing with children. All
kinds of inspired moments.
ourselves as creative. But are we
limiting ourselves with this narrow
Further in the same Psychology
Many of us don’t think of
Today article, Dr. Michele Root-
view? Are we preventing ourselves
Bernstein, co-author with Robert Root-
from appreciating our own potential?
Bernstein of Sparks of Genius says,
Is this simply a mindset? Can
“’It’s too bad that when considering
recognising our own creativity have
what endeavours may be creative,
a positive impact on our mental
people immediately think of the arts.
health? And what of the Arts?
It’s the problem-solving processes
Psychologists suggest that recognising
they exhibit rather than the content
our existing creativity and nurturing
or craft that make them so. Just
our creative impulses does have
about anything we do can be
a positive impact on our mental
addressed in a creative manner, from
health. Self-help books, such as The
housecleaning to personal hobbies to
Artist’s Way, have long expounded
work.”
this idea. Mental Health Services
have long encouraged participation
Creativity has been described
by high-performing athletes, as
in more traditional arts and crafts
the “white moment”, or “being in
and of course the use of arts-based
the zone”, or what psychologists
interventions, like music therapy or
call, “flow”. This is a moment
art therapy, as beneficial to mental
when your skills and the challenge
health. However, it is only in recent
before you seem to click into place
years that central government has
effortlessly. Times stands still or moves
started to show signs that they too
very quickly, you are oblivious to
recognise that provision of these kinds
distractions.
of services might be money well-spent.
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In 2017, the All-Party
measurable effect on mental health.
Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health
One of the successful projects cited
and Wellbeing published a report
by the parliamentary inquiry is Arts
entitled, “Creative Health: The Arts
and Minds, a Cambridgeshire-based
for Health & Well-being”. Now before
Arts on Prescription project which has
I go any further, take a moment to
had outstanding, measured, results.
consider the title of this cross-party
Measurement of whether, or not, a
grouping of MPs and designated experts. Since when has central government been thinking about arts and wellbeing? Do education budgets for primary schools usually include money for specialist art teachers? Or music teachers? (Just two possible examples of provision.) If the arts, as this report shows, have such a good impact on overall health, and mental health in particular, then shouldn’t we be fostering its promotion from an
project has beneficial outcomes for participants is an important factor in the government world of budgets and cuts to budgets. Arts and Minds runs weekly art workshops for people experiencing depression, stress or anxiety. The workshops offer people a chance to try out many different kind of making, including printmaking and sculpture.
Interestingly, the report also
cites the positive effect on health of
early age? Just saying! But back
simply attending a cultural event.
to the subject at hand. This report
So, maybe you just go to a concert
gathers evidence and concludes
or attend a neighbourhood festival.
that creativity generally, and the
In other words, you do not have to
arts specifically, have a significant
become Picasso, you can just look at
positive, transformational and
his paintings!
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NEWS IN BRIEF NHS spending £2.5m a week treating mental health patients out of
Personal health budgets to be given to 100,000 more patients
area The government have announced The NHS is spending an estimated
a change in law that means 100,000
£2.5m every week providing out of
more people are to be given
area treatment for mental health
personal health budgets. People
patients. The figures show that in
who use wheelchairs or need
the last twelve months, the NHS
mental health support will have
has spent £128m on patients, with
more choice and control over their
some being forced to travel over
own health and care. Individuals
300km and several hours from their
who are eligible for an NHS wheel-
home for a bed. These shortages
chair and those who require after-
occur due to a lack of hospital beds
care services under section 117 of
locally, with the number of out of
the Mental Health Act will have
area placements due to bed short-
their own personal health budget.
ages rising by four per cent from last year. Up to 8,400 such placements were recorded across England. Of those recorded, 2,060 lasted between one and three months. A further 310 lasted over 91 nights. Over 3,000 of these placements
In order to give the individuals more of a say into their health and care support, a planned health budget, personalised to the patient, will be agreed between themselves and clinicians. http://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com
took place 100km or more from patients’ homes. http://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com
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Holding on to Hope Joaquin Rivas
W
hat does hope mean to you?
Hope for world peace, hope
us human and we can all have a
Hope is part of what makes
to win the lottery, hope to get that
conversation on what hope means
political change at the ballot box that
to each one of us and give very
always seem to allude us at every
different answers. It may mean
election, are some examples. Hope can
different things to different people.
also be more deeply personal borne
Look in the dictionary and you may
out of difficult circumstances. Such as,
find that hope is defined as a desire of
hope for my cancer to go away, hope
expectation and fulfilment. It is part of
to pay the bills this month. Or a religious
our everyday thinking without us being
hope where it is seen as a confident
necessarily aware. Metaphorically, it
expectation rather than wishful thinking. may also be an optimistic flight out of
A child’s hope may be integrated
that glum place you may be in into
and visualised during play, where he or
an expectation of greener sunnier
she hopes to be that actor or a football
pastures.
player. They then act out the pretence
and have that moment of happiness
the 75th anniversary of Auschwitz. At
whilst doing so.
the time the first thought that came to
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I was asked to write this article on
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me was what type of hope, if any, did
“I hope I can give up smoking”.
those survivors have while they were
interned and is hope what kept the
by reminding us that our planet is
fragile thread of their life from giving
precious and the changes we are
way? We may not know the odds but
making to the Earth should not be
we hope to achieve the expectation,
underestimated. “Halting dangerous
even to the point where all that is left is
climate change is achievable”. He
the hope to survive and live.
underlines the point by reminding us
MP, Hilary Benn grounds us
of that iconic photograph taken by In the linked article 16 writers and
Apollo astronauts. “Our Earth in all
thinkers give a view on what gives
its splendour floating in the eternity
hope in dark times. I have given some
of space. At that moment, we really
brief extracts from 6 that stood out
understood what our interdependence
for me. However, I suggest you read
means”.
through the article yourself as there
will be some viewpoints that may
gives a contrasting view with a rather
undoubtedly resonate more personally
jolly twist on the subject of global
to you.
warming. “If the planet doesn’t melt, I
can redo my kitchen.” Interestingly he
Crystal Rasmussen who wrote
Ed Gamble is a comedian and
Diary of a Drag Queen hopes we can
also mentions how his audiences react
all be kinder to each other and also
to his performances, “you can never
says, “I hope in the next decade that
truly know what an audience will be
we see the NHS restored, nourished,
like (unless you are in Maidenhead,
and valued.” In contrast Crystal
where they stare). You can only hope.”
mentions something which was very
real to me and finally managed to do,
Taking Up Space: The Black Girl’s
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Ore Ogunbiyi is co-author of
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Manifesto for Change, reminds us of
will be here soon. I hope my dog does
the under representation of black
not take any more tennis balls from
women in the social landscape and hopes to see more black women at the top.
An interesting and focused
viewpoint is raised by Luciana Berger,
other dogs in the park. I already have more tennis balls at home than there are in a match at centre court. I hope my son gets his A levels. I hope my
former MP. “Pretty much everything
children will be happy in the future. In
good in our world has been made
fact, I could go on and on. The more
by optimists, from the NHS to electric
I think of it the more I realise hope
cars. And pessimists have always
encompasses many of my desires
been there to drag us down”. She also mentions we can shape our destinies and hopes children will inherit a better
quote from the Dalai Lama XIV makes a lot of sense to me, “no matter
world.
and thoughts throughout the day. This
Brexit of course had to be
what sort of difficulties, how painful
mentioned here at some point.
experience is, if we lose our hope,
Which leads me to Journalist
that’s our real disaster”.
Carole Cadwalladr who says she is
“despairing much of the time,” and adds, “the referendum was corrupt.” She however hopes, “the truth of matters will turn out.”
Personally, for me, hope is for a
We never really know what
tomorrow will bring, it is beyond our touch. A type of blindness and confinement until it comes into view. We fill the empty canvas with our
better tomorrow. I hope people will
expectations and hope reality will
be nicer for each other. I hope spring
match what we expect.
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Arts - Jessica Rimondi Anthony J. Parke
Looking at the work of Jessica Rimondi
the rawness of there rendering.
one is immediately confronted by
There is a sense of an obliteration of
apparitions of an intense visceral
the portrait, and with that a certain
nature. These ‘portraits’ are designed
sense of quasi-violence in the air. There
to extract a certain emotional or
is something taking place in a temporal
psychological response from the viewer.
sense. A nowness imbued in them.
There is little bystanding to be done.
Perhaps an unfolding of an event.
They demand the viewer be involved.
Almost certainly, this is a psychological
One could say there is something of the
event. The fragmentations of the sitters’
Francis Bacon about them, certainly in
features leave one feeling uneasy. Art
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Summer/ Issue 38
can be many things, and a sense of dis-
about them. I think of the oft-told tale
ease is a very viable form of expression
of William Burroughs performing the
to elicit from a viewer.
William Tell act on his wife. A bottle on
her head for him to shoot with his rifle.
The muted background palette
renders not only something akin to the
Except that he misses and shoots her
classical grisaille underpainting, but also
in the head. There is something of the
of the deadened hues of a prostate
explosive head, designed to elicit a
cadaver. But unlike the incomplete
psychological response.
grisaille, these are very much complete
and assured works. They are robust
to create such paintings? Slow and
paintings with a provocative strength
genteel? Or vigorous and explosive?
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How would one expect a painter
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Possibly even attacked? The textural
made all the more intense by the
rendering gives the clues. They were
absence of ours. For there is nowhere
created with emotion, and elicit
for the viewer to escape, no
emotion.
cupboards, tables, gardens, skies, or
swimming pools. You can turn away,
These paintings are created
with an assured hand. They are
or connect.
bold and potent. Completely
decontextualised from any
inescapable ‘attraction’. Why?
recognizable environment, they
Because we are witnessing real
make their own worlds which is
people. Fragmented, yes, but all
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These paintings have an
Summer/ Issue 38
the more real for the fragmentation.
effect us all. They are not calm or
This is because this fragmentation
still. Every mark, slash, scrape tells its
reveals a truer picture of our human
own psychological tale. They appear
nature, far moreso than the mere
bloodied, bruised, and battered.
approximation/ inclusion of features.
But that is the surface reading only.
Less is more, shall we say.
These surface physicalities are merely
the portals into which we discuss
An abstract rendering creates
a complex psychological focus.
their humanity. To stand before one
Who are these sitters? If there is a
of these paintings is to stand before
psychological struggle, what is it?
the very existential nature of our lives.
Note, the psychological condition
Who are we, and how do we exist
under scrutiny is not a localised one.
in this world, is the question these
It is a universal one. These reflect the
paintings provoke.
psychological encounters which
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Pixabay/Darshak12Pandya
Mental Health stigma India Dev Chatterjea
T
his subject is a very sticky subject in
it has not been made public. Health
the country. Especially in a country
statistics in India states that 150 million
that houses nearly a quarter of human
people have mental illness in the
population. In short it is hardly spoken
country.
of, or kept secret as people say. This is
mainly due to pride, ego and a lack or
say the least. Any services that are
unwanted interest in the stigma riddled
available are way to expensive or hard
subject. So you could say people with
to find. If there is a services its hardly
mental health issues keep it tight lipped.
known of secretive. Here comes the
Unlike the UK where this subject has
infamous ego trip thought, to know a
been brought in to the media, here
place that deals with mental illness
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Support services are scarce to
Summer/ Issue 38
maybe seen as “bad” for the ego
the person may be led to feel like a
in a social sense. This is one of many
fool or an idiot. Now the “immediate
factors why mental health services
family” only starts to find support for
and support is not known ofin India.
him secretly - in the fear of getting
Huffington Post India states that while 150 million people are in dire need of mental health intervention but only 30 million people actually get care. Sometimes people would use mental health problems as a way of avoiding trouble. They would be
even more ostracised! So much for family support. I must stress this is not the case in all Indian families. In some families people are more accepting and help that specific family member. But this maybe an exception.
deemed to be unfit. And this could
go on for a long while. This is clearly
Word Health Organization in 2015
ignoring a very serious illness. However
had showed that one in five Indians
this is common in India.
may suffer from depression in their
lifetime that is the equivalent to 200
Let me give the reader a
scenario: let’s say a young man has a mental health condition which suddenly lairs up. He starts to act out at home, in front of family (extended family). The family starts step back. They start to gossip amongst themselves, ultimately leading family to ostracise the individual instead
A study conducted by the
million people. Even though this was done 5 years ago, these statistics wouldn’t have substantially changed that much today. There continues to be a massive stigma associated with mental illness in the country. Due to a lack of awareness, and the limited
of helping them. The immediate
access to professional help, only 10-
family are also to a lesser extent
12% of these sufferers will seek help.
kept at a distance. In some instances
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Photos by Taran Parke-Antonis Skipton Woods, Yorshire
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Breakfast in his Den Polly Granger
Y
ou can choose your friends, but you
life is planned and controlled.
can’t choose your family.
It’s quite a cruel thing to say, I
Back to our breakfast. I pour
precisely 127g of low-fat Greek
suppose, particularly when you know
yoghurt over 59g of shattered
what I’m alluding to.
walnuts. Prime numbers are special,
phantasmagorical. He also insists on
Funnily enough, it’s because
of my family that I don’t have many
a ramekin of fruit salad, which must
friends. I don’t have many family
comprise of peeled green grapes,
members, either. Just the one that I am
diced dragon fruit, a deseeded Cripps
actually in contact with.
Pink apple and chopped strawberries.
British, naturally. And if I can’t buy them
I wake up to an alarm, usually set
for half six in the morning. Some may
in the shops, I have to drive twenty miles
consider this early start odd, as I work
to our nearest farm to beg them for a
from home, but this is usually before
punnet of the bitter strawberries they
they find out what my job is, what the
can’t sell at the market. It used to be
slightly unusual intricacies of my day
very embarrassing, but now they know
involve, what he expects from me.
me and the reason for these odd visits.
They understand. I’ve been going every
We always breakfast together,
so I shower, dress and go to the kitchen
autumn for fifteen years.
to prepare his very pernickety morning
meal. This never changes, and if it ever
and fruit salad, I climb the stairs to his
sways from his specifications, he’ll either
den. It has the semblance of a study,
ask me to prepare a new breakfast,
with a broad mahogany desk and
or he’ll starve himself until I bring his
three-legged stool (three being a prime
lunch at exactly 12.45pm. If lunch is
number). The stool doesn’t complement
any later than that, he won’t eat until
the opulence of the beautiful desk; it is
dinner. This absence of sustenance
old, the rough plastic seat stained with
will always result in anger, irrational
a variety of dark drinks that have spilt
cognition, aggression, hatred. There are
from a quivering hand. But, like many
a plethora of other annoyances that
things in his life, it would not feel ‘right’
cause these tantrums; everything in his
to change it. Although only an object,
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Once I’ve prepared his yoghurt
Summer/ Issue 38
an inconsequential, dirty object, it is
immediately. Although he never
an integral part of his routine.
leaves his den, he loathes the idea of
mess in other rooms of the house.
The reason I don’t call this
room a study is because it also has
a single bed over by the back wall.
and he opens Word. We wait ten
This den is large enough for a double
minutes because he likes to start at
bed, but he has refused to upgrade
exactly 8am.
to this more mature option. Like the
stool, the bed is lucky. One of its
working on yesterday: ‘Golfing
four wheels has come off, but he
and Giraffes’, chapter four of his
has never bothered to remedy this,
novel, the title of which illustrates
despite the irritating tilt that plagues
his partiality for alliteration. I move
him whenever he turns over.
my chair over to his side and start to
read the prose. It is the third time I’m
He is sitting at the desk now, the
When I return, I log in for him,
He opens the file we were
computer screen on, ready for me
reading this paragraph. He sits with
to log in for him. I have to be present
his blond head bowed, his sombre
whenever he enters any passwords.
blue eyes trained on his lap, waiting
He’s frightened that he’ll send them
for me to point out any errors he may
to someone in a moment of lunacy,
have made, any sentences that are
and then he’ll be hacked, robbed,
reminiscent of things I have read over
humiliated.
the course of my thirty-year life.
I smile at him, place his
“I don’t want them to think I’ve
breakfast on the desk, and then take
plagiarised anything. You can never
my usual seat in the chair between
be too careful.”
his desk and bed. He begins to eat.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t have any
the same passage this afternoon,
mealtime rituals. It is perhaps one of
perhaps again tomorrow.
the few reprieves he gets from his
compulsions. We do not speak.
same novel for fifteen years after all.
But isn’t that the sacrifice you make
Once he’s finished, I take
the tray downstairs and wash up
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
I knew I would have to read
We had been working on the
for family?
EQUILIBRIUM 27
Andrew Howard Poems 1)
2)
Beginning.
This palace of extraordinary change,
The broken journey.
King of islands,
Eternity takes a rest
Milk and honey to the mind,
As life pulls me
Sea walled Eden,
Through it’s eye.
Seasoned and mature in autumn gold. A celebration of the year,
War in Yugoslavia.
A feast,
A bucolic scene,
For England.
Criss crossed With tracer bullet fire,
3)
Snapping from woodland,
I woke,
Bouncing off farm building walls.
And found myself Strapped tight
An appeal for violence to cease.
To a white marble table,
In the dark we slave,
Part of rows and rows,
But you look like light.
With others similarly imprisoned.
Let there be light.
Screams of pain or horror Surrounded the temple.
Glastonbury.
“Right, lets get started”
Night fires and the clear sky
Said the devil, smiling.
Were magical, As if sparks
4)
Created the stars.
Earth factory.
And in the morning
Advert: GMO tailored to your planetary
The yellow sun’s nuclear eye
conditions. Exports local and interstellar.
Mixed with blue air
Only the rich now live on earth. Only the rich
To make leaves of green.
can afford robots to deal with material issues
And there as the sun rose
such as food, sanitation and healthcare, and
The devil confessed to me.
most importantly, security.
“I had to do it”, he said,
Poor people live on other planets, both in
Sadness in his eyes.
this and in other solar systems.
EQUILIBRIUM EQUILIBRIUM 28
Summer/ Issue 38
War has been eradicated, but only by the triumph of the elite controlling the masses. Peace is worse than war. Life is miserable for people on mars. It is dirty, dangerous, claustrophobic and deadly, mainly from cancers. The fine Martian soil is like red photocopier toner, and gets everywhere. Yet earth factory products have been creative in bringing life to the dry, cold planet. Horse bushes thrive, as do GM bees. Mosses green the red planet. The first baby was born there in 2241 AD, in the King Trump hospital in Eden district, as the small pod near knife creek was grandly named.
5) Good Friday. Noises by the Wolfe statue. Birds chirple over the hazy scene. Fire engines scream. A distant dog Walks down the path. Columns of canary warf Plot the air. I’m having a good good Friday. We’ve come a long way Since it was ok To nail a bloke to a bit of wood. I sit on a flakey green painted bench, And creatures pass by; A man with headphones on, A crow, a pigeon, a fly. We live, we age, we die.
www.haringey.gov.uk/equilibrium
EQUILIBRIUM 29