‘Ello, Vera!
Terrible puns aside, this is the first aloe vera plant I’ve ever owned. I brought it home from the pub, the day that Boris Johnson prorogued Parliament. It was one of those informal arrangements where you stick a quid in the charity jar and pick the pot you fancy; except this was the last in the tray.
Often in recent months I’ve been saying to myself, And yet I will not despair. I said it on that evening, when I claimed the aloe vera plant.
And yet I will not despair.
A few weeks later, Lady Hale pinned on her spider brooch and announced that, legally speaking, it had never happened.
I will not despair.
It’s an attitude that works for me: acknowledging the fact that the news is often depressing, often overwhelming, that often I can’t see how things can get better – but I can still trust that there’s a reality that’s bigger than my current perception.
Friday’s election result was the opposite of what I’d hoped for. So many people, believing so many lies. Actually, I don’t know what I’d hoped for, apart from a miracle.
I didn’t get a miracle. I can’t see the way out of here.
And yet I will not despair.
The aloe vera seems to be putting out tiny little leaves.
I will not despair.
Kathleen Jowitt 