We’re talking here about
the classic period for paper-
weights. “Keep your eyes on
the skies,” he said. The Coral
Island or Lord of the Flies?
There are birds that should
be here that aren’t but we
still have a fascination with
these uniforms. Does deafness
have its compensations? “I am
almost frightened by your
daughter’s talent,” he said.
It’s always better to hedge one’s
bets yet few trees are as instantly
recognisable as the weeping willow.
“There are grim times ahead,” he said.
“I’m describing how things are,
not how they could be,” he said.
Steve Spence
Painting: Odilon Redon
.