{"id":54917,"date":"2025-11-15T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/?p=54917"},"modified":"2025-11-14T17:03:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T16:03:35","slug":"from-misanthrope-to-marveller-and-back-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/?p=54917","title":{"rendered":"From Misanthrope to Marveller and Back Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Black<\/a>
Photo: Karin Mora<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve caught another bug: the sapient shivers. I don\u2019t spot the symptoms at first. I think the tingly feeling in my scalp is just from cutting open a Hokkaido pumpkin whose insides look too much like a lotus flower seed pod. The nausea \u2014 well, I didn\u2019t need<\/i> that banana for pudding, did I? And the lethargy\u2019s just late nights and long hours worked. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I begin to suspect it\u2019s something else when, looking out the window, I catch myself giving a passer-by the stink eye. Hmm. I wait around for another to come along. Same thing, only this time I\u2019m additionally annoyed that I had to stand there for five minutes. Could it be? I go to the bathroom and look in the mirror. Yep, even the sight of my own ape face is irksome. Damn. The misanthropy\u2019s back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wander into the kitchen to check on supplies. Okay, we\u2019ve got enough fruit, veg, and staples to last for several days. Dairy\u2019s fine too. I shake the coffee bags. We\u2019re good. No pressing need to venture out. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I make myself a soothing cocoa and other-world myself through writing. It\u2019s a balm(*). But it\u2019s not a cure. It\u2019ll pass, I tell myself. We\u2019ve supplies. There\u2019s time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weekend draws near and The Mathematician tells me that the Euro-scene is on, a festival of international dance and theatre. It looks and sounds amazing, only \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can decide on the day,\u201d she says. \u201cYou can tell me how you feel. We can just go for a walk in the woods, grab some food somewhere quiet. But if you do<\/i> fancy it, I\u2019ve bookmarked two great performances. I\u2019ll send you the programme.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She does. I get the sweats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday arrives and I\u2019m really no better. I force myself to look at random pictures of people online, which goes reasonably well until I inadvertently click through to The Guardian and am appalled once more. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat about cycling down to the woods and the river,\u201d I say, \u201cthen making our way west to Schleu\u00dfig or Plagwitz?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She smiles and nods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe could get off our bikes and push, spend some more time enjoying nature. Nice and peaceful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNice and peaceful,\u201d I repeat. \u201cSounds great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, we could go to Chulo! We haven\u2019t been there for ages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMmm, I quite fancy Nepalese food. Alright, we\u2019ve a plan. Oh, and we could walk from Chulo to the coffee roasters and eat some cake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her eyes light up beautifully. \u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s what we do. The woods are a riot of colour and quiet. The river\u2019s serene. There aren\u2019t too many people about, and one who passes me in the Auwald smiles with genuine warmth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first one on your list\u201d I say, over coffee and cake. \u201cWhat was that again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first performance? Well, it\u2019s called \u2018Non-Aligned Newsreels\u2019 by Mila Turajilic, and it\u2019s about the Non-Aligned Movement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She shrugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure, but Mila\u2019s doing a live documentary performance, and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to go,\u201d I say. \u201cIt sounds interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes. I still really don\u2019t feel like being around people, but I don\u2019t want that to dictate my day. I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll be great. And the one after it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I mean, yeah<\/i>, but \u2026 what about the shopping?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll wing it \u2014 make a ragout of what\u2019s left. It\u2019ll be yum. Oh, and we could walk to the first event along the canal. If we leave soon, we\u2019ll have time. And it\u2019s still light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It saw itself as an alternative to the power blocs of the Cold War, fought for decolonization, disarmament and anti-racism.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\n

<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The walk\u2019s very pleasant, and the event is astonishing. We both realise how little we know about Yugoslavia, and are ashamed we know nothing of the Non-Aligned Movement. Here\u2019s an excerpt from the programme:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the collapse of Yugoslavia, the legacy of the Non-Aligned Movement also fell into oblivion. This international alliance was founded in 1961 in Belgrade at a conference attended by 25 nations and 17 liberation movements, including representatives from India, Indonesia, Egypt and Algeria. It saw itself as an alternative to the power blocs of the Cold War, fought for decolonization, disarmament and anti-racism \u2013 and yet remains largely unmentioned in Western historiography.\u201d(**)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stay for the discussion afterwards. It\u2019s invigorating, and I feel my faith in humanity has been (to an extent) restored. We realise, when we leave, that we\u2019ve missed the second performance. A shame \u2014 it would have been good, but this was great. We talk about it all the way home. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I bet they want more light.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Home may be where the heart is, but it\u2019s also where the trees are. The view from our building\u2019s not just pavements and people. Between two of the buildings opposite is a path to a tucked-away house. It\u2019s lined with lovely tall trees (three stories high) that are themselves often lined with birds and song. And they just cut half of them down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think all the noise is just a few guys trimming branches, and it is, to begin with. Then, to my horror, they hack the whole thing down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI bet they want more light,\u201d says The Mathematician. \u201cThe trees are blocking some of the windows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s private land. Not a city decision.\u201d She throws up her hands. \u201cPeople.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People. I listen for hours to sawing and chipping. I don\u2019t have a choice. I\u2019m relieved when they leave and see three trees still standing. Beside them are three sorry stumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel a familiar tingling in my scalp. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(*) Not always: stories are often full of people . Yep, even the made-up folk get my goat sometimes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(**) https:\/\/euro-scene.de\/en\/2025\/non-aligned-newsreels<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve caught another bug: the sapient shivers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":54916,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[213],"tags":[214,209,262,292,293],"class_list":{"0":"post-54917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cf","8":"tag-city-fables","9":"tag-leipzig","10":"tag-mental-health","11":"tag-misanthropy","12":"tag-nature"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54917"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54919,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54917\/revisions\/54919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/54916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}