Wednesday 25 June 2008

From Hilaire Belloc



Lady Thinker has passed me a book meme post, for fun - to choose a book from my shelf and quote a passage from p123...

Lady T, it has taken me ages, on and off, exploring my page 123's. I could find nothing really interesting on any of them! Most of the good bits were on the other pages, oddly enough.

What I would have liked to do would be to type out a paragraph from PG Wodehouse. Any one of his p123's might have been great I'm sure! I love his writing, so finely crafted and so so funny - laugh out loud, chuckle chuckle stuff.

Unfortunately, I have none of his books here at home - because my parents have a complete set and I always read them when I stay at their place.

(No realistically I collapse at their place)

OK, so in the absence of PG, I found Hilaire Belloc's Cautionary Verses (for children) roosting in one of the kids' rooms -

From: About John - Who lost a fortune by Throwing Stones

...As time went on declining Health
Transmogrified this Man of Wealth;
And it was excellently clear
That Uncle Bill's demise was near.

At last his sole idea of fun
Was sitting snoozling in the sun
So once, when he would
Take the air,
They wheeled him in his
Patent chair

(By "They", I mean his Nurse, who came
From Dorchester upon the Thame:
Miss Charming was the Nurse's name.)
To where beside a little wood
A long abandoned green-house stood,
And there he sank into a doze
Of senile and inept repose.

But not for long his drowsy ease!
A stone came whizzing through the trees,
And caught him smartly in the eye.
He woke with an appalling cry,
And shrieked in agonising tones:
"Oh Lord! Whoever's throwing stones!"

Miss Charming,
who was standing near,
Said: "That was
Master John, I fear!"

"Go get my Ink-Pot and my Quill,
My Blotter and my Famous Will."
Miss Charming flew as though on wings
To fetch these necessary things,
And Uncle William ran his pen
Through "well-beloved John", and then
Proceeded, in the place of same,
To substitute Miss Charming's name:

Who now resides in Portman Square
and is accepted everywhere.


Hmm, perfect verse I think!

Sunday 15 June 2008

A Job at Last!


I found this fallen rose last week and thought I'd leave it here - so many textures, shades and such a scent - well, it's a shame there's no smell feature on Blogger!

I have good news: a job at last! The landscape gardening company I've been with spending time with recently, on work experience, have taken me on full time. I am really really pleased!

This comes in spite of somersaulting spectacularly through a rockery last week, whilst uprooting a giant weed... I don't know what it was called, a kind of hairy rhubarb sort of triffid?? Whatever it was it had very long stubborn roots...

I'm looking forward to much more of this sort of thing - with a happy heart!!

(And a crash helmet - )

Thursday 5 June 2008

Six Random Things About Me

Thanks to lovely Sandi McBride for this tag -






One: Purple.

Is my favourite colour, all shades, especially into dark inky blue.

I like it in clothes, it offsets the haggard grey rings under my eyes rather well - but I do have to keep reminding myself to be cautious...

A bold purple kaftan for example, looked fabulous in the shop recently, but back home morphed scarily into a stylish archbishop's cassock, shiver!








Two: Marc Chagall




Is an artist I love. He can have a magical dreamlike quality... Haphazard? Naive perhaps? Hmm. I do like his paintings - I've had a picture of this for ever: The Blue Violinist
- Inspiring!







Three: Anglo-Saxon

Is a language I have learnt. It has not come in useful at all so far.
But there's still plenty of time, I'm optimistic!







Four: Playing the Piano


Is something I do, dreadfully - and I mean it's REALLY REALLY AWFUL!! - even my kids are embarrassed - still, I go for it, with enthusiasm -




Five: Cadbury's Chocolate

I eat it... Just adorable...




Six: A Catholic Education

Yes. A character building experience.

I think I would have been left-handed if Sister Marie-Therese hadn't "made" me right-handed, aged four. Fear of an angry nun, as we all know, is a powerful thing...

(This isn't her, obviously.)

I have forgiven you of course SM-T, as a good Catholic should, well, kind of forgiven?!






That's me in 6 daft strokes... I won't tag anyone, but if you would like it, you may have it, with pleasure!