What Do You See?

What Do You See?

The house in which we dwell has been home for thirty two years and for twenty five of them I listened in the dark to tiny bits of plaster crumbling and pattering against the bulging wallpaper. Finally, whilst mending some guttering outside, a builder was surprised to find a large hole through which the weather had been steadily encroaching in on our damp abode. Once repaired, the walls began to dry for the first time in decades and I mustered a clumsy attempt at patching the plaster.

What do YOU see?  My wife sees a mess that will cost four figures to fix.  Me?  I see a face; a man who maybe hangs his head in shame; maybe in prayer or even weeping a tear for me.

Much against my will I joined a friendly chat group with some of my GA (Gamblers Anonymous) pals; something called WhatsApp.  One reader saw the Yorkshire Ripper! Like the steps of our house that I have already posted a piece of writing on,  the wall and the face could tell so many stories.  Maybe he tells a story to you or evokes some hidden thought that you didn’t know existed within.

If it had been discovered in a cave or some ancient tomb I am sure by now the backstory would have been written…the only facts are it is patched up plaster and the house has history, but I won’t hold my breath for the millions of visitors and self-confessed experts who would be all too eager to tell me all about it. There is no miracle behind it; no ‘face of Christ in the snow’; no shrouded mystery, but where would we be without the gift of imagination that brings that face alive. Maybe he's just plastered!