Take up your bed and hike

Appropriate footgear

Easter weekend…

Jack: Didn’t do a lot. Built a fence which the gale promptly blew down. How was the hike?

William: Gale force up there too. And freezing.

Jack: You stayed overnight?

William: I had this whole hut to myself. Cooked my noodles and passed out until morning. 

Jack: Nobody on the trail?

William: Not a soul. Got a bit out of breath and had to stop for a rest several times. Dehydration, didn’t take enough water, prep a bit lacking.

Jack: Your hiking tales inspire me. I should take out my seven league boots and head for the hills.

William: Sugarloaf is not too taxing.

Jack: I was thinking of something like a walk up to the shops at the end of the street to begin with.

_________

Voice-over

 

Some necessary hiking takealongs:

Weather-appropriate clothing

Seven-league boots

Water and noodles

Medicines, maps and a multi-tool

Communication device

 

“If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood, go for another walk.” Mary Wetherly.

Easter egg painting

Seeking identity...

Sorbian Easter eggs

Questor: What do you want people to remember you for?

Witkojc: Now, that’s a question that can make you tidy up your life and get prepared for the end.

Questor: You’ve thought about it?

Witkojc: Not as much as I should have. How about, painter of decorated Easter eggs?

Questor: You’re joking?

Witkojc:

Sorbian flag

Not at all. My ancestry is Sorbian. Grew up in Australia knowing nothing of Sorbian culture. Never learned any recipes, literature, music, festivals or dances. But at Easter Sorbians paint eggs. Beautifully. Even in a small way I can connect with my ancestry. Now is the time.

Questor: It’s never too late, eh.

_________

Voice-over

Cultural background forms us. Cultural identity forms personal identity. Those who have a cultural identity can take it for granted. Those without one may struggle to find their path.

An Online Easter

A digital Easter…

.

Susan: How was Easter for you this year?

.

Maria: Well, we elderly and vulnerable were not supposed to go out.

.

Susan: You missed church?

.

Maria: Saw some great entertainment online instead. Jesus Christ Superstar.

.

Susan: Andrew Lloyd Webber?

.

Maria: Stunning cast. Superb cinematography. Only accessible for 48 hours. But then today guess who sang in the Milano Duomo? With no audience?

.

Susan: Andrea Bocelli?

.

Maria: A little older, a little thinner, but still he's Bocelli. Intercuts of empty streets of Milano, Paris, London and NY echoing him singing in the deserted duomo; nice production!

___________

Voice-over

Shopping online, education online, great entertainment online. The virus is a black swan heralding disruption in society as we know it.

...

Easter egg hunt with binomial nomenclature clues

You’ll find…

Uncle: Two eggs, one chicken and two rabbits, one each, underneath five of the trees in the garden.

Nephew: Which trees?

Uncle: I’ll tell you the first one. It’s Cordyline australis. Or do you want the common name?

Do Easter rabbits hatch from eggs?

Nephew: The common name.

Uncle: Cabbage tree.

Nephew: Found it. Here’s another note. “Olea europaea.” What’s THAT?

Uncle: Olive tree.

______________

Voice-over

And so it went. The nephew knew no Linnaean names but he recognized most trees from the common names. Helped by an accompanying picture. Rewarded with two chocolate eggs, a chocolate chicken and two chocolate rabbits. He asked if rabbits come from eggs. No, but he was rewarded in a Pavlovian way for remembering scientific names of five trees.

...