TERPSICHORE'S FIRE
10. LONG DARK NIGHTS
When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls
And the stars begin to twinkle in the night
In the mist of my memory, you wander on back to me
Breathing my name with a sigh
In the still of the night once again I hold you tight
Though you're gone, your love lives on when moonlight beams
And as long as my heart will beat, sweet lover, we'll always meet
Here in my deep purple dreams
Nino Tempo and April Stevens
Along came November, and the long dark nights begin in earnest as the winter sets in. All deciduous trees are bare, with a few exceptions still hanging on to some handfuls of brown shrivelled up leaves. There are many cloudy, grey overcast days, often with rain storms. The cold north wind begins to blow and howl, heralding winters' impending arrival.
The penultimate month of 1984 saw the climax of a dreadful famine in the poor African country of Ethiopia, which lies in the north eastern horn of the continent. Attempts by western aid charities to airlift desperately needed food and medical supplies to Ethiopia were being frustrated by bureaucracy and mistrust in the country's capital, Addis Ababa. It was estimated that at least 900,000 people are almost certainly doomed and the lives of six million others threatened. Meanwhile arguments continue about the choice of airports. So far, only one British relief plane, sponsored by a newspaper, has touched down in Addis Ababa with a meagre twenty tons of supplies.
The horrific scale of the famine was first revealed in a special and moving BBC television news broadcast given by Michael Buerk, who reported from the scene. The sight of emaciated children clinging pitifully to parents also close to death brought an overwhelming response from the British public. Other western countries also responded with great alacrity and much charity. The Irish born pop star Bob Geldof, lead singer of a controversial band called The Boomtown Rats, also watched Michael Buerk's on-the-spot report. He was so moved by pity and sympathy that he swiftly made contact with many other stars of the pop music world. Several famous bands and individual singers responded by collaborating together to form a single superband, which they aptly named Band Aid. Their mission was to produce a special single for release into the pop charts. Hoping to raise as much money as they could, the proceeds would be used to send food and medical supplies to fly out to the stricken areas. The record was a new composition, written jointly by all the songwriters on the team, and since it was to be released in the run up to Christmas, it was appropriately called; "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
In the United States elections Ronald Reagan won a stunning victory. He beat his Democratic opponent, Walter Mondale, in all but one of the fifty states. Mr. Reagan and Vice President Mr. Bush won more than fifty nine per cent of the total US vote. With the improvement in the economy, President Reagan's popularity was enough to retain Republican control of the Senate, but the Democrats still controlled the House of Representatives. As Mr. Reagan arrived to celebrate his victory in Los Angeles, supporters shouted his campaign slogan; "Four more years!" Mr. Reagan responded; "I think that's been arranged."
One Saturday in early November, as I was finishing my evening meal at my parents' house, Nikki made one of her usual early evening weekend phone calls. My mother reached the telephone first and, after identifying the caller, passed her on to me. Swallowing down my last few mouthfuls of cheesecake I hurriedly rushed to take the receiver from her. I still had a hot cup of tea to drink, but I reckoned it could wait for five minutes or so.
