The Wild Hedge by Stan Phillips

The Wild Hedge

by Stan Phillips

The wild hedge And the roof tops beyond. The late evening sky turns gold. Almost ethereal it is with the fading of day, as I watch that patch of sky through my window. There is something wonderful about day's closing moments as night wanders slowly in. Soft evening. So gentle. With that glowing sky, Vincent yellow, filling me with wonder as this August fades easy into an unknowable September. Like a sunflower turning it's head to greet each new dawn with a sigh of hope.

Stan Phillips 2020 ©

Stan Phillips is an 80 year old poet, musical podcast maker, part-time wannabe male model, and occasional stand up comedian. “I used to be a psychotherapist/counsellor when I had an honest job. I was born into prewar London, and attended 17 schools (my father believed they couldn’t hit a moving target) and I eventually finished up here in Ireland. Still wonder

ing what I will be when I grow up — but enjoying writing my quirky poetry as I do so.”

Discover more about Stan on Mom’s Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/stan-phillips

Chess

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The white queen is pinned to the white king. Can you find the correct defence?

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Six Months of Lockdown

by Grant Leishman

Okay, so we’ve just passed the six-month period, here in Manila, of being locked in our houses and forbidden to go out without masks, face-shields and a damn good reason. Yes, it is true that Manila has eased some of the restrictions around Covid-19 and we are now under what is known as GCQ (General Community Quarantine) which is the lowest of the various acronyms we’ve been under over the past six months. So, for some, life is (almost) returning to a “new normal”. We do still have a high infection and positivity rate in this country, so care is very much still required. However, because my wife and I are both over the magical age of 60, none of these supposed freedoms actually apply to us. Under GCQ, if you’re 60 and above or under 21, you’re effectively still locked down. After six months of only leaving our subdivision once (I snuck over the road to get my hair cut one day –naughty me!) and actually only leaving our house and yard on maybe ten occasions over the last six months, I thought it might be a good time to reflect on how it’s all been and how we’ve coped.

When the news of the lockdown first came, it was March 12 th and the whole family was here celebrating my wife Thess’ 60 th Birthday. As we watched the news, I think we all realized that life, as we knew it, was going to change. For me, it didn’t seem a big deal at the time. I mean, I work from home anyway –as a writer and an editor, as well as doing VA work and to be honest I didn’t go out a lot before Covid, anyway. For Thess, however, it was a body blow. She’s a financial consultant and most of her days were spent meeting with clients and potential clients, all over the Metro and clearly that had to cease. That raised the spectre of how we would cope financially but, as always, we approached it from the perspective of positivity and the certainty that the Universe would look out for us. Six months on and that belief has not been shaken in any way, shape, or form. We’re not making millions but we are surviving and surviving comfortably. When I look around me, I can see many families struggling to make ends meet and we remind ourselves constantly just how grateful we are for our circumstances. We have a roof over our head, we eat three meals a day and (thank God) we can still afford to run the air-con in the bedroom. What more can you want from life?

As I said, earlier, for me, it has just been just work, as normal. I write and when I’m fortunate I have client’s manuscripts to edit and proofread and

when I don’t have any work, I read. Reading, for me, is and always will be my greatest pleasure in life. I so pity those people who have not discovered the joy of books. They open up way more worlds, for me, than any video game ever could. Life, for me, under Covid-19 really hasn’t been that different from life before this dreaded lurgy. Thess, on I’ve noted others have also found ways to keep oc

the other hand found herself with a lot of time on cupied and even make money. My Facebook feed is

her hands. What to do? What to do? You can only full of people offering something for sale –their

clean the house so many times until it is so spotless cooking, their baking, their plants, second-hand

you could eat off the floor –right? Thess has redisclothes, even appliances that used to be sold by the

covered her deep love of gardening. Now, the fact malls are now being sold by individuals on Face

that we have perhaps just 2 square metres of land, book. We have become a nation of resellers and if

at the front of our house, hasn’t hampered her it keeps people afloat financially, emotionally and

green tendencies at all and every available space is mentally, then all I can say is –more power to

now filled with pots and home-made containers them!

filled with a wide variety of green-stuff. I have no idea what she is trying to grow out there and to be perfectly honest, even less interest. My “green thumb” must have been chopped off years ago. But what I do notice is the sheer joy and pleasure she gets from planting, nurturing, celebrating the successes and crying over the failures. I am in awe of the dedication she gives to these plants –the love and the care. Woe betide any snail or a caterpillar that fancies some lunch on Thess’ plants. I kid you not, she is out there at all hours of the day and My number one advice to everyone struggling

night, scouring the area for creepy crawlies that through lockdown is to focus on the positive. We

might damage her precious babies. I have suggesthave two sayings: “This too shall pass” and

ed she sets up a tent out there and sleep beside “Something wonderful is just about to happen.”

them or install CCTV so she can identify the miscreBoth of these ideas always give us hope and keep

ants and bring them to justice. That suggestion, I us positive.

might add, was met with a slap around the ears. Her devotion to her plants has had an unexpected her such joy and happiness it spreads to everything she does around the house. I can honestly say, since she took up gardening, our house has been happier, more joyful and full of laughter. That alone gets my wholehearted support for her venture.

Yes, lockdown has had its trials. I miss the grandkids something wicked, I miss our big, family, weekend outings and with Christmas just around the corner, we desperately want to visit Thess’ papang in the Province (he’s 84 now!). But it has also had its bonuses. Our marriage is closer, tighter and more loving than it was before, we are safe, we are healthy and we are alive. We couldn’t realistically ask for much more in these troubled times. side effect for me, though. Gardening brings

Stay safe , stay happy, and stay alive!

Grant Leishman is a fifty-nine-year-old full-time author and editor, domiciled in the beautiful island of The Philippines. After careers in finance and journalism, Grant finally found his true bliss in life, writing. He is happily married to Thess

and they have two daughters, Rose and Angeline. Discover more about Grant on the Mom's Favorite Reads website

https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/grant-leishman