The Train of Gossip

The last couple of days have been busy. It was my boyfriend's 40th birthday on Thursday, so I was at his in the morning and spent the day with his sister until he came home in the evening. She and I get along well and took a trip out in the car. We went for coffee and a muffin, and also popped into my new favourite fabric shop, so that I could get some supplies. Once home from work, all of my boyfriend's family got together to celebrate with an Indian takeaway.

I worked in one of my school's yesterday. Even though nothing was said, the lessons were not as satisfying as the week before. I think that a lot of this has to do with having so little input from the teachers. My 'point of contact' doesn't really get very involved, so it is easy to lose sight of what it is we are supposed to be aiming for. She has not really given me much, in terms of a brief, which makes working difficult. To prevent another flimsy set of lessons next week, I will put some real time into planning before I go in next and give the kids some more structure. I was thinking of starting a t-shirt design and printing session then, which will give them a little more focus and an end product. I have got some good books on t-shirt design and print, so hopefully I'll be able to put a good workshop together.

After work, I zipped home to get myself changed and ready for the evening. My boyfriend had decided to celebrate with his work mates in the city, so I met up with five of my friends and we took the train up to London. It was nice and sunny when we boarded, which made it all the nicer. All dressed up, the five of us were talking and laughing quite loudly - the kind of noisy group I usually raise my eyebrows to when I am alone on the train. One of my mates has a really strong personality and tells the funniest of tales. There was a young guy sitting parallel to us. I don't think he managed to get past the second page of his book due to our racket, but I noticed him smiling and laughing to himself through more than a couple of my friend's stories.

The bar we went to was packed, which we expected for a Friday night, so my boyfriend reserved a couple of tables at the back. Everyone got along well and we had a great night -so great, in fact, that we ended up missing the last train home. The group managed to get split up, taking the tube from two different locations. Because the other group were late, we had to find an alternative train to somewhere else and a £45 taxi at the other end. My boyfriend ended up footing the bill for most of that. His generosity is one of his good points, but can also bug me, since most people never seem to put their hands in their pockets as often as he does.

For today, I have drawn the 7 of Swords and The Lovers. Glancing down from above, the trickster from the first card casts a sly look over the couple in the second. He is deceitful and takes that which he fancies. With both of these cards in play, they possibly suggest a hint of infidelity or a lie or two about a relationship. This duo doesn't speak about the relationship I have with my boyfriend, but it could be casting it's eye over someone else's - a little indiscretion here and there or maybe some flirting. With the swords stolen, the lovers look a little lost. Their arms are open and when I look at the card today, the space between them seems larger.

I have an idea who and what these cards are referring to. I am never too fond of seeing the 7 of Swords in my personal readings, due to it's lack of care for those around it. In today's scenario, it does represent the minor indiscretion of someone I know, but it could also be about the train of gossip that naturally surrounds these kind of things too.


Illustrations from The Radiant Rider Waite by Pamela Coleman Smith, recoloured by Virginijus Poshkus