Issue 11: ENO Breathe Summer Salon
31st July 2024
Welcome to the 11th Issue of our ENO Breathe Newsletter!
Last year we had a Summer Exhibition, but this year we thought we could do a more multi-dimensional ‘exhibition’ and the Breathe Summer Salon was born! I did like the idea of sitting in a Parisian Café sipping a nice glass of wine at a Salon, but this way we don’t have to leave home to get all the enjoyment of our multi-talented and ever-growing community (at last count nearly 4000 participants).
The theme for the Salon is “Seeing Beyond,” and was inspired by one of our participants, Lindsay, who because of long Covid was forced to change her career path and is now earning her crust as an artist. Lindsay’s aim is to inspire others living with long Covid and show that such an illness doesn’t have to define you (even though at times it can feel that others want to define you that way). She believes creativity, nature and music can help you heal, and see beyond ‘apparent’ limitations.
It’s always wonderful for me as editor to interact with so many of you, hearing your stories of fortitude and overcoming the fears of changing direction that this virus has forced so many of us to do (myself included).
Why is it that so often it takes life-changing events for us to dig deep and find the true gold within us, that otherwise remains buried? For most it’s easiest to just continue on the path we set out on, even if that is perhaps not the one that sits most comfortably with our true nature. We continue on our chosen routes without much thought, our vision clouded by the veils of conditioned existence. But major life events invariably shake us out of complacency, forcing us to find new directions when our chosen one is blocked. All the stories of new paths forged that you have shared only confirm that there have been many silver linings to long Covid. Don’t let people tell you how tragic it is, how awful that you can’t work as you did – as I have heard from some. It may sometimes seem like that, but I feel I have been given another chance and have allowed those gifts that I rarely tapped into to come into the light and be allowed to blossom… now I just need to work out how to generate a decent income from them!
As the rain hopefully gives way to some real summer, I hope you can pour a nice glass of something and enjoy the Salon.
Huge thanks, as always, to those of you who contributed and shared your art and stories.
Keep writing, drawing, creating, and finding new ways to allow yourselves to shine.
Jo Herman | Content Curator and Editor | ENO Breathe Newsletter
Our ENO Breathe Summer Salon has three sections: Summer Salon Playlist, Summer Salon Gallery and the Summer Salon Poetry Collection.
Either scroll through the page to be taken through each section, or if you’d rather, you can click on the links below to jump to a certain section.
Summer Salon Poetry Collection
Summer Salon Playlist
If our Summer Salon Gallery was immortalised in bricks and mortar, we would surely fill the room with sounds of summer curated by the ENO Breathe community. Please find our Summer Playlist below. Press play and meander through the (digital) rooms of our Summer Salon.
Summer Salon Gallery
Our gallery walls feature drawings, paintings, photographs, crafts, movement and little moments of creativity and joy captured by the ENO Breathe community.
Image 1: From Heather whose work inspired the theme of this newsletter.
“My vision for the future is to live a creative life, loving what I do, sharing my artwork and inspiring others to get creative.
The last 4 years have been and continue to be extremely challenging but it would be amazing to inspire others living with long covid/chronic illness to show by example that it doesn’t have to define you and that creativity, nature and music can help you heal and see beyond limitations.” – Heather Lindsay
Image 2 – Tanya Almeida: “I was planning to learn to draw & paint once I’d retired but decided to do it early, as long covid meant I needed some gentler pursuits.”
Image 3 – Elizabeth Hughes: “It has been very quiet on the Southern stretches I have covered so far and I can sing to myself and my dog the lovely song ‘Rushing’. I am not rushing, it doesn’t matter at all how long it will take me. And savouring the experience I have seen all sorts of wildlife that I might have missed if I had been going faster. From starfish, hares and pheasants to a fox, oystercatchers and what looked like a Giant Egret – although I am not an expert bird spotter so I cannot necessarily be trusted on that!”
Image 4 – Liiza Koziol: “Long covid made me stop my work as a midwife, but gave me the opportunity to do something completely different. I went back to University to study upholstery 2 days a week!! I love it 🥰”
Image 5 – Sharon Pollin: “Sending you photos of a couple of my sculptures that I’ve taken up since I’ve had Covid! I find being creative takes my mind off my issues!”
Image 6 – Anne Parsons: Drawings in pencil.
Image 7 – Martin Harborne: St Mary’s Axe with a tiny church overshadowed by The Gherkin.
Image 8 – Richard Overy: “In my back garden inspired by the ENO Breathe dandelions.”
Image 9 – Wendy Knight: “The landscape is based on the view from my window. I live in a flat on the River Lea, adjacent to Walthamstow Wetlands.”
Image 10 – Bethanni Smith: “This photo is a hand made tray, with an embroidery Gonk created to display the honey my son and son in law produce from their beehives.”
Image 11 – Meredith Dufton: “I had to give up my job as a Head of Movement because of my long Covid but have continued to do my movement just for myself. Sometimes I can dance but can not walk well – a mystery that pays tribute to the power of creativity and movement! But it makes me feel in touch with my art and more capable and creative in my body.”
Image 12 – Kerstin Sailer: “I’ve drawn an impression of ‘warm yourself in a blanket of starlight’ – one of the lines in the lyrics for ‘Gently, gently rest’.”
Image 13 – Alison Letten: “Breathing exercises in Spring sunshine today. Lovely.”
Summer Salon Poetry Collection
The library of our Summer Salon collection are full of poems, sonnets and creativity.
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou.
Summer Salon Collection includes:
Long Covid by Anne Parsons
Words by Sarah Jane Grace
Seeing Beyond by Celia Burgess-Macey
Long Haul by A. K. Davidson
Master Lobster by Eloise Oliver
Long Covid by Anne Parsons
When People ask me how I am
“I’m fine” they hope I’ll say,
its hard describing how I feel
it changes by the day,
an overriding deep fatigue
permeates my being,
I’m not the woman that you know
it isn’t me you’re seeing.
when every joint and muscle aches
I can’t escape my bed,
my words are slurred my eyes don’t see
there’s treacle in my head,
I don’t inhale sufficient air
to leave the house for long,
or walk with you and talk with you
there’s something very wrong,
it’s far too soon clinicians say
to know what you’ll endure,
for weeks or months or even years,
but there will be a cure.
now time has passed and something’s changed
I’m really pleased to say,
I laugh with friends and walk a bit
and garden more each day,
I’m resting less, no foggy brain
to muddle all my words,
I’m happy strolling on the shore
just watching all the birds,
I’ll draw again and paint with ease
go swimming in the sea,
and dance unseen for hours and hours
then write more poetry,
when people ask me how I am,
“I’m fine” they hope I’ll say,
and I can tell them honestly
I’m better every day.
Seeing Beyond by Celia Burgess-Macey
Seeing beyond was but a far-off dream
Caught as I was in Covid’s stranglehold
Surrendering myself to all the thoughts that stream
Through mind’s dark places. I could not feel bold.
My breath that once unbidden came
To feed the limbs, support the voice
Reluctant now to shout a name
And climbing mountains not a choice.
So in this nightmare place I thought to stay
Lingering and longing for the strength I had
And eking out the hours of every day
Remembering past times and feeling sad.
But now, my breath returned, my voice is strong
And ENO Breathe has helped me sing this song.
Long Haul by A. K. Davidson
Let’s cry ourselves a river
that will wash away the stunted hopes of yesterday –
hydrate our dusty soil so we can plant
the seeds of next endeavours;
feel them germinate and grow as our new seasons approach
and we turn from what we were to who we’re going to be:
flourishing, radiant, our joy and empathy
unique to those who’ve tilled, hoed, sowed
sweating sadness and despair
for endless hopeless hours with no promise of fruition.
Let your tears flow.
Know this:
each small shoot’s a harvest.
These aren’t weeds, they’re flowers.
‘Long Haul’ is taken from Poetry for Life and Other Chronic Conditions: short poems from Long Covid by A. K. Davidson, available from all good bookshops.
Words by Sarah Jane Grace
Float in and out
Of my consciousness
Like clouds.
I reach up to
Grab them
But emptiness fills my
Grasp.
I pray for rain to
Soak me in inspiration,
But the landscape
Within
Remains barren
And unforgiving.
I sit in silent
Pain,
Hollow and withered,
Weathered by the
Storms
Of my life.
I feel rich
In experiences,
But lacking
In
Colour.
Monotone etchings
Shape me.
Define me.
I’m no longer
The person
I used to be.
Fatigue and dysfunction
Carved
Deeply into my
Heart and soul.
I mourn the
Loss of me.
I miss
Me.
My reflection
Empty.
My soul retreated.
Yet, storms come
And storms go.
I’m still here.
A new me is
Emerging.
Wiser. Wizened.
Whole…
Master Lobster by Eloise Oliver
Watch Eloise perform Master Lobster, or read the full poem below.
Centre stage – a ship smiles from ducky ocean wand’ring
Lumb’ring from port to curtain call.
See the loot that it’s been plund’ring!
Can’t help but wond’ring if beneath the skin that scorpion crawls
One can find anything at all?
There’s a lovely greying light you can see
That brings a stony thunder thund’ring
But the buck won’t stop with meYou see, the boy has whisky in his voice
But solder on his tongue.
He flitted through the choice like a stag from shadow sprung –
I think t’was I that tied the noose from which I hung
Yet I kissed the pincer on his sleeve
When he put granite in my lung
And then reminded me to breathe.So I’ll while away the whys
Awaiting sanity to pass,
Notice the iron-ore eyes
And an oyster for a heart.
I don’t think Master Lobster is my soulful counterpart
Why the loyal lobster court would scorn at solder boy’s uncautioned courting!
His hermetic exoskeleton is painted in op art
Luring sponge and siren alike, somehow, I don’t find it very sporting.But someday, sailing ship will maybe settle on an island
On some cay where stones can curl.
Let carbon colt be turned to diamond,
May his heart produce a pearl.
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