Thursday, April 30, 2009

Nothing Doing?

I went out to buy clothes today, maybe a new top or something, for the do on Saturday. I came home empty handed, because I was in one of my funny moods where I liked nothing I saw.

Nothing is a funny word. I was listening to In Our Time, Melvyn Bragg's show on R4, this morning on the way to look for clothes and I ended up taking a wrong turn and driving this little country road up the wrong side of the Cooley mountains. It's called Flagstaff and it is very high up indeed: it gave me a view over Carlingford lough that I've never seen before. Anyway, there I was driving along listening to physicists discussing atoms, nuclei, golf courses and golf holes and the thing is that there's never nothing going on in the spaces between all these particles, because there's a great deal of electrical charges all bouncing around, shifting and changing things. Talk about a state of flux!

I've now done a lot of thinking about nothing, because apparently when it comes to quantum, and the small particles that make up atoms, there's no such thing as nothing and in space there's no such thing either! And don't quote that expression, "nothing abhors a vacuum like nature" because apparently there's no such thing really as a complete vacuum either.

And then I get home and find this poem on Poetry Daily, which adds to the whole thing I have going on!

Now you know why I couldn't buy clothes this morning: I was too busy thinking about nothing.

13 comments:

Gerald (Ackworth born) said...

that sounds a lovely run out in the country - I spent this morning wandering around Stockport cemetery before shopping for cans of coke-zero and a nice piece of cod for lunch.

Lots of nothing going on here.

Unknown said...

Cheers Gerald, I much rather enjoying scenery than looking at clothes that I'll probably never wear again, if that's nothing well then, nothing is as nothing does, to misquote :)

Rachel Fox said...

That's the world's way of telling you to wear something old that you really love and that suits you and that you will feel comfortable in! Plus a new top would distract from the new shoes...
x

Totalfeckineejit said...

No such thing as a vacuum? Show the coneheads my bank account. Further proof of vacuums is the fact that their initial abscence of anything means that they collect dirt and that's the reason why we all have vacuum cleaners.

Unknown said...

TFE, don't have me to come over there and explain a vacuum to you: you'd probably end up writing a great poem...

Rachel, you're dead right. I have it sorted already. Elegant but comfy (my favourite combo) :)

Sheila said...

Wonderful poem. Thanks for the link. Based on your appreciation of rockets falling into squares, fishing boat crews and their memories, Wittgenstein, the pull of the tide, high and low pressures, rain falling into the sea, and the way love keeps us alive may I humbly suggest my new blog - The View from Errisbeg - which will feature, eventually, all of the above, and plenty of thinking about nothing in between.

Group 8 said...

Your drive sounds lovely in a day full of nothings. Nothing like a nice view to feed the soul.

Best of luck in Wigtown. I'm so proud of you!
N x

Dick said...

I've been thinking about nothing for nearly a week. Much recommended.

Colin Will said...

In the words of Edwin Morgan "Nothing is not giving messages."

Dominic Rivron said...

I've saved an mp3 of Melvyn Bragg to listen to.

I'm reminded of Monty Python's Galaxy song, which ends:

The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whizz
As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know,
Twelve million miles a minute, and that's the fastest speed there is.
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's b***** all down here on Earth.

:)

Dominic Rivron said...

Oh, and with reference to TFE's comment, my bank account isn't a vacuum. I think it's full of antimoney.

Kay Cooke said...

I love this! Great post. Hope you find your dress in a jiffy when the mood for shopping hits!

Unknown said...

Thanks guys for the warming comments. More about Wigtown soon!