‘I’m Jack Johnson. Heavyweight champion of the world. I’m black; they never let me forget it. I’m black alright; I’m never let them forget it’ (Jack Johnson (1878­–1946).)

WFH: DAY 56. I woke at 7.45 am after a dismal night’s sleep and a great many thoughts.

House (detail) #36:

The day, therefore, began behind time — at least as far as my internal clock was concerned. I decided to ‘go gently’ into it. I posted references to the American minimalist’s Come Out (1966) on Facebook and Twitter, in acknowledgement of the killing of the African-American George Floyd by police on 25 May. In one exchange with a Facebook associate, I recalled my initial encounter with Reich’s composition, when I was studying as an undergraduate. A red-letter day:

Back in the late 1970s, musicians were often asked to give lectures in art schools. One brought a record player and a selection of records into the lecture theatre, and played and talked his way through them. ‘Come Out’ was among the tracks that he introduced. Hearing it for the first time then would change the direction of the work I made later in my professional life.

I returned to the writing that I was close to completing (as a first draft) on Saturday. The conclusion of the text describes the conclusion of a life. I’d not been looking forward to this.

Following lunch, I decamped to the study. A cooling breeze passed through the open window. (I remembered Pentecost, yesterday.) On with the writing. A final paragraph. Endings are always tricky. How to wind-up one thing and, at the same time, suggest an opening to something else.

4.30 pm: I took to the route. The breeze through the long-grass was audible. Ten weeks of growth has naturalised the cemetery. The place has the air of a countryside churchyard. If pushed, I’d advocate keeping it this way. While we may appreciate the record-breaking temperatures and sunshine, they’re indicative of what is still the biggest crisis and challenge that we have to face globally.

7.30 pm: A varied dim sum of small, self-contained tasks, that credited themselves only by virtue of their need to be done. As England ‘ramps-down’ its lockdown, opening-up schools, shops, and distances, Wales proceeds with due caution. No one I’ve met demurs. Aberystwyth University has announced that the campus will be open for the new academic year, which begins in September. Meanwhile, scores of US cities have experienced another night of clashes.