The Morning Gift

I want to live like music sounds."- Ruth

One must not judge other cultures by the standars of one's one,' said Aunt Hilda

Please, God,' Ruth would pray, 'don't let me be competitive. Let me realize what a privilege it is to study. Let me remember that knowledge must be pursued for its own sake and please, please stop me wanting to beat Verena Plackett in the exams.' She prayed hard and she meant what she said. But God was busy that autumn as the International Brigade came back, defeated, from Spain, Hitler's bestialities increased, and sparrows everywhere continued to fall.

Would you like me to stop talking? Because I can. I have to concentrate, but it's possible

Then she washed and dressed very attentively, putting on high-heeled court shoes, silk stockings, a black skirt and crisply ironed white blouse, because she was Viennese and one dressed properly even when one's world had ended.

One must not judge other cultures by the standards of one's own

She made life… big for me

Arnold Schönberg, the inventor of atonal music, gave concerts which might not be comprehensible but were obviously important.

I said a picnic,' said Quin sternly. 'In Britain a picnic means sitting on the ground and being uncomfortable, preferably in the rain.

Gardeners are never wicked are they?' said Ruth. 'Obstinate and grumpy and wanting to be alone, but not wicked. Oh, look at that creeper! I've always loved October so much, haven't you? I can see why it's called the Month of the Angels.

He meant that the dead must be allowed to move about freely inside us, they musn't be encapsulated, made finite by their prejudices