Not only hands and dishes, and hands-that-do-dishes, but this week a wider, more inclusive cleansing - April has arrived in May. The fields are being sprinkled and swept, windows opened to a cool and clear air, grasses brought to life as velvet green rivers. The walled garden is scented with lilac. Overhead, the sky is a continually changing landscape of its own.
Early today the waning half-moon stood full in the middle of a blue southern sky. It is a lunar observance day. Only, as with April and May we took things the other way round and devoted yesterday to quiet reflection instead. Something I was rudely reminded of, when I woke this morning to the repeated thud of our porridge master butchering palm sugar in the kitchen.
He’s down there again just now; one half of a North American All-Star team, that we trialled on Tuesday in Ajahn Munindo’s absence. They Super-Sized everything; an understandable mistake that I had not accounted for, fearing instead that they’d dial in pizza or take the monastery car to the drive-thru: All unwarranted prejudice on my part, for which I eat humble pie and give them free rein this time round.
After they’ve finished, and the meal is offered and eaten, Abramina (who has the freest kitchen rein of all), has to leave us. Whilst Jay, Minnesota-man from Minneapolis, has just arrived. Over breakfast he thought all his Christmases had come at once when he mistakenly heard me ask “Would you like to be an ex-cook?” He should be so lucky. Next week he’ll be joining the All-Stars. But before that, the Leeds group will be with us. Perhaps they’ll be logging-on first to find out some helpful food items. So here they are:
- honey
- long-life milk
- normal milk
- dried semi-skimmed milk powder
- cheese
- lemons
- mayonnaise
Whilst helpful non-food items include:
- small bread baskets
- fire wood
- Large Letter stamps (1st or 2nd class)
- small denomination stamps (eg.2p,5p,1p)
- larger denomination stamps (eg. £1)
- plastic rake
- pastry brush
- Ecover toilet and multi-surface cleaners
- small hoover
- toilet roll
Thanks also, but we've plenty of toothbrushes, instant coffee, tea bags, towels, onions, pasta, lentils and spices.
