Swedish death cleaning

 In recent times I have seen two mentions of this, an article in the Guardian and a tv episode on a obscure channel.

I had never heard of this before.  apparently it is  based on the New York Times bestseller, “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.”

Swedish artist, Margareta Magnusson, sheds light on how to declutter your home with the intent of making the grieving process easier for your friends and family after you are gone.

Most of us know about decluttering if they have been involved in selling a house.  A suit \rrives at your suburban semi-detached house complete with clipboard and nose in the air, and announce you need to declutter.  Estate agentgs pretend to know what house buyers are looking for and they believe that people are put off by the way the present owners live.  Pictures on the wall, ornaments on the sideboard, gaily coloured cusions etc.  all "clutter" to a certain mind.

Now apparently this idea had been developed into a Nordic precursor to visiting Valhalla.

It is not a new thing, but seems to me to follow on from the fairly modern idea that everyone should make provision for leaving some kind of inheritance for their family, even if its only no work in disposing of the deceased's belongings.

I don't follow the concept that somehow, parents have an obligation to make life easy for their children by working hard before they die to leave a tidy , uncluttered home.  A bit bizarre to say the least.  When I die, I wont care what happens, will I? Do I really need to spend time sorting out my old clothes, giving away all my books, tidying up my computer hard drive so that my daughters don't have to do it?

Starting with my clothes would be a problem in itself.  I know I have too many jackets and waistcoats,  but which ones do I get rid of.  I like them all.  If I drop my clogs or fall off my perch in the next week or so, it wont matter, but if I live for another year or so, I might want to wear some of them.

The same with books.  I have got books I haven't read yet and still reluctant to get rid of some that I might want to read again.

And that computer hard drive. Full of half written blogs, articles and even some detective books which I haven't finished writing because I couldn't decide who the murderer was.

Sounds like too much hard work just to save somebody else the bother.  It may well be that my executors wont have a problem, just bundle everything into black bags, or hire a skip and it could all be gone in  a day.

HMS Whimbrel and D.day

 

HMS Whimbrel was a Royal Navy sloop which had been built in the Yarrow shipyards at Scotstoun Glasgow. Ernest McKie had been member of the crew from the time it had been handed over to the Royal Navy in January 1943.

From then it had been employed on anti submarine escort duties across the Atlantic and back to America and Canada, to Freemantle in Africa via Gibraltar.  North Africa for the invasion of Sicily was also on its itinerary and lately the hazardous journeys with convoys carrying supplies to Russia in atrocious winter weather.  During its first three years, Whimbrel had to go into shipyards several times, usually on the Mersey,  for repairs occasioned by the weather rather than enemy action. 

Come June 1944, Whimbrel was in the Bristol channel preparing to escort a convoy of ships carrying American troops and their vehicles round to the English channel aspart of operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, D.day!

They were scheduled to leave for the 250 journey on 4th June but the appalling weather in the channel decreed otherwise and the journey was put off for a day but eventually the orders were given to go and the convoy had an uneventful trip around to the appointed place off the Isle of Wight.  Deespite the fact that the landings did not appear to have gone completely to plan the convoy vessels went in to the Normandy beaches to discharge their cargos of men and vehicles. The available records do not make it clear if this occured late on the 6th June or the following day.  Leaving the convoy,  Whimbrel went into the Solent before immediately returning to the Bristol channel to escort another convoy.  No rest no respite. Despite the famous Landings on the beaches of Normandy elsewhere the war went on.

Do you ever weep ?

 Do you every weep? For the state of the world? The people of Ukraine or the ones risking their lives crossing the channel in small boats? Now there are the people of Israel and Palestine, none of whom would choose to go to war against eaach other but are stuck in a situation created by zealots on both sides. We should weep for them all.

Tears can come watching TV at all of this and stories of children in trouble or happy because their football heroes acknowledge them. I weep remembering our family tragedies even though a long time ago.

When I see politicians with po faces and no emotions then I weep for them and for us that those who will be in charge of our destinies for the next few years have no empathy orf even genuine understanding of ordinary people.