It’s been a while. The last post on this blog, A tale of loss and forgetting, appeared in late summer 2020. Much has happened since then, none of which needs explaining. But the neglect of the blog as a consequence has always been a regret.
Here’s another thing about that most ‘recent’ post: it was distinctly off-topic. This blog was created as a space for ‘reflections and research on German and UK politics’ — yet the post was about a novel, The Memory Police, by one of my favourite authors. Writing that post was different, fresh and enjoyable.
Reading has turned my attention to the blog again. Or, to be more accurate, rereading. Like The Memory Police, the books I’ve recently reread have nothing to do with the stated theme of the blog. But with no word of exaggeration, reading them anew has been a journey of rediscovery. More about that in the next post.
Upon finishing the second reading of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, I immediately reached for my macbook and began writing. Initially, these lines of text seemed destined to join the many others that never escape the Drafts folder. Very soon, though, a (potential) blog post began to take shape — but did it belong here? Another post on books, especially after such a long gap? Shouldn’t there be something on German or UK politics? It’s hardly as if nothing has happened over the past eighteen months…
Having given it some thought, I’ve decided that being ‘off-topic’ doesn’t really matter. At least not here. This blog will only ever be my tiny corner of the huge online space, but that doesn’t mean the subject matter needs to be boxed into a corner. My work, research, reading, convictions and experiences all relate to and inform each other; why should some topics be ruled in and the others out?
So I’m redrawing this space a little. Reflections on politics and writing on research will resume. And they’ll be sharing the space with thoughts on books, observations on everyday life or in fact any other subject that lends itself to a couple of hundred words. Whichever topics find their way onto the blog, I hope you enjoy them.
the green left hand 