It's been a little quiet in the Care Community this week, so I’m writing a post that’s a little bit ‘off piste’ as my thought for Friday.
Yesterday I had a new oven fitted, and that, coupled with my husband’s recent return from Guyana, made me think about some past time I spent in Guyana.
You might reasonably wonder what the connection is, and the answer’s in the picture, which, believe it or not, is someone’s oven, with a hob next to it, and was used by a lady I once visited in Guyana, for all her cooking needs.
She lived in a relatively newly built house, but it was outside of the developed coastal strip of Guyana where much of the population is, and so it was ‘off-grid’, with no electricity supply or piped running water.
We visited one day via a red dirt road and the overall impression was of how peaceful it was. Similar in some respects to a small development of new houses in UK apart from looking much more tropical, set amid foliage, and with a coconut grove interwoven with the houses.
To the side and rear of the property was a garden and as well as a healthy looking vegetable plot, there was also an enormous tank for collecting rain water, and a covered area containing the pictured cooking facilities.
Our host was an elderly lady in her eighties, with only one leg. She lived alone but for the help of a granddaughter of around 10 or 11.
The pictured oven was clearly a repurposed cabinet of some kind, and was heated by a wood fire underneath, and the ‘hob’ beside it, by a wood fire above.
On our arrival there was a lovely smell of baking cake.
The whole scenario was absolutely fascinating. All water for use indoors was carried inside in buckets, including for the toilet tank which was refilled by hand. Showers were taken via a bucket of water in the bath, or outside, via a hosepipe. (That’s not such a hardship in the tropics, with the ever-present heat). It was all completely matter-of-fact with no sense of hardship or resentment. Far from it. The atmosphere was relaxed and happy.
Looking today at my newly fitted oven, heating up at the flick of a switch, I’m actually pretty glad in most respects for the conveniences most of us have. On the other hand the simplicity and seeming lack of stress in this lady’s lifestyle did make me hanker after elements of it.
I imagine she must be gone from there now as it must be about 11 years ago, but whenever I come across that picture I still debate with myself about which way of life is better.
Sometimes I think we do need to balance out our over-organised, over-regulated lives, but I’m not sure how well I’d really cope with baking cakes in an oven that’s essentially an old tin box, or heating a saucepan on what amounts to a ring of bricks. (But there’s not much clean-up to be done, after all!)
Anyway, that’s my musing for today. I suppose the answer as always is compromise. Try to simplify what can be simplified in your life. Let some things go that don't really matter but which we do through convention, or fear of judgment by other people. Any of your comments on that topic and how to do it are most welcome!
Here’s hoping that everyone has a pleasant weekend and no matter how busy you have to be, I hope you find a few quieter moments to refresh both body and soul.
Free For All on Friday
Cats r us
