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piroska.mihalka's avatar

Beautiful thoughts, Matt. I love to read your fragments with my morning coffee and open up to your world of wonders: everyday experiences enhanced by your imagination and your impeccable use of words. We get to know you more, line by line, with every weekly Friday Fragment.

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Matt Inwood's avatar

Thank you so much, Piroska. I don’t know that it is so much my imagination, more attentiveness. I listened to someone describing this morning how attentiveness is one of the things most at risk in the world right now and I felt affinity with that.

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piroska.mihalka's avatar

Well I think attentiveness is the key to a good memory.

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Mark Thomas's avatar

A beautiful piece, Matt - and I know the ‘nearly trees’ all too well, too!

I do drive, but very rarely when we’re making the trip from East to North (Devon) to see Ben’s mum.

I much prefer the passenger seat - taking in the scenery 😊

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Matt Inwood's avatar

Thanks, Mark. Those trees are always such a nice landmark to see (although we always have another hour of driving from them, so not quite nearly there!).

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Vanilla Black's avatar

If you do learn to drive , you’ll miss those sights.

But anyway, if you do, you can borrow one of my Ferraris.

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Matt Inwood's avatar

Ah, thank you. I can’t wait for the instalment of your restaurant story where you explain financing your famous sports car collection.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

That’s Part 72.

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Matt Inwood's avatar

That’s five parts later than Ramsay and Kerridge.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

We’re all different.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

I understand the "Coming Home Trees", the symbol that you were nearly there. We had a coming home symbol as well: as soon as we spotted the big orange mailbox, we knew we only had a mile to go...

I love this post, Matt, and you have given me something new to think about "We can accept confined space so long as we can confine time simultaneously." I haven't quite understood this yet, but I will.

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Matt Inwood's avatar

Thank you, Sharron. I don’t think I ever had such a landmark for my own home city. To explain further, I think we accept the conditions of confined space (being squashed into a car) because we know that we can confine time (completing a long drive in as short a time as possible): speed makes this possible.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

👍🏻 Like in an elevator / lift! Or a Ferris Wheel.

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Matt Inwood's avatar

Yes, although I hope I’m never in/on one of them for as many hours as our Cornwall trips!

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Harry Watson's avatar

Lovely piece Matt and since I gave up driving some years ago I realise now that those once familiar sights of journeys of our past will never be seen again as we travel towards the horizon...

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Matt Inwood's avatar

Thank you, Harry. I still haven’t ruled out learning to drive. I hope your son might one day take you down memory lanes once more.

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