Monday 15 October 2007

I'm just in the process of compiling a calendar for 2008. All 12 pictures are close-ups of windows and doors I have taken in Normandy and Brittany. Hopefully those bright flowers and that warm stonework will keep a bit of sunshine all year round. Each time I look at them I find myself back in those pretty villages with the scent of coffee and the feel of the sun on my back.

Mind you, people are always telling me I will get into trouble for looking so carefully at other people's houses. But its not nosiness - truly it isn't. I'm just the same on buses and trains - I love gazing into people's houses and gardens from my vantage point up there. Who's that in the photo propped up in the window? Why has the toy tractor in the garden only got three wheels? What's that flag tied to the washing line?

You see people are fascinating. Rich people, poor people, old people, young people - they're all fascinating. Everything about them - from the way they dress to the lines etched on their faces acts like a magnet to us. If we love to look into each other's homes, its because we're naturally curious. If we can't resist a peek at each other's lives, its because we're drawn to each other - its part of being human.

Sometimes people get really spooked by the idea of God looking at us, as if he's some kind of terrible spy in the sky. But is no different to me gazing out of the train window really. He finds us fascinating - our ups and downs, our triumphs and disasters - these things are his business. If he's watching us from his vantage point- why worry? Sometimes its good to be fascinating.