I go for an early bike ride then get into the garden. Winter is nearly over and I need to move trees while the earth is cold. And before they flower. There's blossom all over Christchurch, the Garden City, now. In my garden the Daphne is perfuming the rubbish pile and daffodils are spreading egg yolk rays of sunshine. I've lost touch with the favourite part of my home. Now I have to roll my sleeves up and get digging. I open the windows and doors to release the paint smell and put saucers of coffee down. My friend, Alan, has told me this works. After the EQC fix, I put out vanilla essence. Someone else has suggested onion. I'll try them all. I listen to Kim Hill on RNZ. She interviews Greg Newbold, retiring professor of criminology. I went on one date with him. Interesting character. So down to earth and said prison was one of the best things that ever happened to him. It stopped from developing a serious smack habit and allowed him to complete an MA on the social organisation of maximum-security prisons. It's always good to listen to stories while digging in the earth.
Back home I make sure Kahu has enough jobs to keep him busy till he goes out then dress for my mate, Mark's, memorial service. Long story but he died in Vietnam when a gas cylinder exploded in his apartment. I see old friends who've moved on from Papanui, but the connection is strong. Working there is like belonging to a family. I also see one of my ex-boyfriend's best mates after 25 years. Feels like time has stood still. Longevity is the key part of friendship. The longer you've known someone, the stronger the connection. Even if a generation has speed by. The blink of an eye. And so many personal dramas.
The memorial is a fitting tribute to Mark Jenkins. A gentle soul who battled depression and was ill-fated to boot. He had a good sense of humour and ironic sense of self. Forgiving and generous, flawed and human. Any one of us. And loved to bake cakes for the fringe kids he taught. In and out of hospital and on and off medication, he stayed with me after he left hospital once. Did some gardening. He'd come home from Vietnam to get treatment and missed the garden he used to have at Lyttleton. He told me he'd tried to commit suicide recently but it hadn't worked. Crazy that his life ended so suddenly and randomly. Friends and family, we chat and reminisce then go our separate ways.
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