smokingboot

Crashed out early, now awake too early.

Sounds of a gull laughing, sounds of cats shouting at an intruder. I like that dreamland blending. It occurred to me that this is what made Malta fascinating, the sense of a liminal space that utterly belies itself; from scratched earth to city and sea, it does not haunt. And yet it is clearly a way into the underworld /otherworld, down and down and out beyond the imagination.

There are stories in Malta that no-one knows.

And the stories here? The tedious buffoonery of those criminals in government barely deserves the words to describe them; though there is an almost enjoyable surrealism around the Dominic Raab beach story.

Kabul is all over the news. While my every instinct is to like Biden a lot, this does not reflect well on his government or the US, nor am I convinced it has much moral value. I can't even say it seems efficiently done. Polls suggest this removal was, at least, popular with the US electorate, and there is this sense of not throwing money, not policing other countries, not investing in destabilisation that inevitably comes back to bite, not feeding corrupt systems...

But it all smacks of the Fall of Saigon, and sends the same message; If you help the Americans, what happens to you when they leave?

And then of course, there are the Women. But these, as ever, seem forgotten, along with other groups in danger.

Forgetting is becoming a real talent of ours.

***

I like perfume. It affects me easily as much as music; when I am alone and can engage/respond to changing chemical notes, that's my optimum pong time. For others, I would wear the usual lovely combos.

I don't think Rook perfumes really suit my body chemistry. There is a sameness underlying, basenotes that Nadeem Crowe leans on a lot. If it's not incense it's leather, if it's not leather it's medicine. My husband, friend and niece were all revolted by the Rook fragrance Suede. It does have a leathery note which they clearly picked up because they described it as car freshener. Thurible is an interesting fragrance, in so much as everyone bangs on about it being smoky when on my skin it's like very strong soap that dries down into a rose scent, OK but at £100 for 50ml not OK enough.

Forest is basically Undergrowth without the mint top; even more dry wood if that's possible, Eau De Pencils.

Now I am trying Amber, a note I usually love. Rook's version claims a lot of saffron. I am not sure, its top notes may be just a bit too pharmaceutical. But when it dries down, I like it.

R does not respond well to these fragrances, he just pleads with me to buy a nice perfume. He likes Tom Ford's Black Orchid which is indeed truly glorious, and great for night/ winter, but you can't just wear the same perfume forever any more than you can listen to just one song (though I do both when obsessed) experimentation is key. It interests me how atmosphere, mood, even one's inmost mood can be changed by scent.

Maybe I should just try to make my own.