Nov/Dec 2021

30
South Woodford Village Gazette
DD’s 50 th Woodford Diary
Some South Woodford scribbles from
DD, our resident diarist, commentator
and observer of all things local
My partner, David, reported
yesterday morning that he had
been riding around New York on a
bicycle trying to track down the hall where
a friend was giving a lecture. He did find
it, but was late. Worse than that: he didn’t
recognise the speaker at all. He hadn’t a
clue who he was. It seems we can’t have
much influence over our dreams!
I couldn’t compete with David’s risky Stateside
escapade, but I did also have a dream to
recount. A more modest adventure, but
quirky all the same: I was being driven around
Ilford town centre in a horse-drawn carriage;
more of a cart really, like Steptoe and Son’s.
Definitely not anything on the Downton
Abbey scale.
I browsed the web. Evidently, “dreams are an
enduring source of mystery for scientists and
psychological doctors”. I’m not surprised. On a
much lighter note, someone had offered this
captivating comment:”Dreaming permits each
and every one of us to be quietly and safely
insane every night of our lives.”
Is South Woodford full of dreamers? Has
COVID affected our dreams? I joined a couple
outside the Tipi Coffee Company. Posed that
question. “Yes indeed,” said the husband. “I’ve
dreamt recently about school and college days
I hadn’t thought about for years. The good old
days, I suppose you might call them.” His wife
joined the chat: “I keep dreaming about what
were once the familiar situations in my life.
The daily routine of going to work. Travelling
on the bus. I’m back in a place where I feel I
have control over things. Unlike now!”
A friend of mine from Manor Court Lodge
was trundling her trolley back from Waitrose
when I met her. “Yes,” she said, “I’ve been
dreaming much more than usual and always
about friends long dead. Is it because death
dominates the news these days?” Caroline,
strolling with her mum: “I have surreal dreams
every night. Full of extreme emotions. Almost
as if they were part of my training to be a
counsellor, when I will be helping people
deal with powerful feelings.” Amira, outside
M&S Food, chatting while her toddler slept,
surprised me by explaining that often her
dreams predicted something that was soon
to happen. But she didn’t claim to be in the
same league as Joseph in his technicolour
dreamcoat. Further down the road, Elaine
was enjoying a coffee in the warm autumn
sunshine. Her dreams were often a sort of
problem-solving session, with her brain trying
to sort out thoughts and ideas from the day
before.
I soon found that the contents of night dreams
and daydreams can sometimes overlap.
Sehmi, behind the till in The Children’s Society
charity shop, didn’t hesitate to describe his
vivid dreams of travelling, with Kenya and
India topping the list of destinations he visited
in the night. I suspected (and I was right)
that he didn’t actually have to be asleep to
transport himself into these exotic places!
They inhabited his daydreams as well.
The residents of our friendly suburb may not
see themselves as being in the same league
as Martin Luther King, who dared to shout
his hopes aloud: “I have a dream!” But I found
no shortage of thinkers and philosophers on
George Lane, “dreaming dreams”, pondering
hopes and aspirations during this unique
phase in our lives. “Live each day to the full,
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