Sunday 28 August 2011

My First Car ... What a Character She Was!


I didn't learn to drive until I was 38, and thrilled at being mobile, splashed out all of £250 on my first car.

As I handed over the money, I had no idea what a little monkey I'd just bought.

Oh the fun we had!

She'd stall herself in 1st gear so I had to keep revving the engine at traffic lights ... often inciting young lads waiting by our side to rev violently back and gesture for us to race.

And somehow she'd manage to work the driving seat loose so that when I was driving around corners it would suddenly jerk and shift 4" in either direction.

Then she'd shake all over and pretend she was going to fall to pieces whenever we went over 40mph.

Then there was the day when the traffic was particularly bad, and the rain torrential when she decided to throw the driver side wiper away.

And not forgetting her favourite.

Only letting me know we needed more petrol at the very last minute to make our journeys that little bit more exciting.

Aaah ... it was just one laugh after another.

I miss that little monkey!

Monday 22 August 2011

The Ride - Magpie Tales.

 










Black asphalt beckoning
we'd drive
forever to nowhere
fast.
Furious at the world
for nothing in particular
just fuel for the ride.


Magpie Tales   write a small vignette or poem using the photo above as your inspiration.

Sunday 21 August 2011

The Crows are Back

The crows are back
circling the field. 
Their raucous shanty
punctuating the silence.
And the swallows sigh,
closing their eyes,
dreaming of home -
of flying South.
Door bolted
I thumb through vinyl,
finding Ella Fitzgerald
singing at Carnegie Hall.
Turning the volume
I drown their caws,
as I join the swallows 
sleeping in their nests.
And we soar over open plains
while she sings of Summertime.

Cleansed

Speaking of desperation
you spin tales,
inciting revolution
while you slouch
on your granite podium.
A stranger now,
no light beckons me to you.
I'm cleansed.
And your face is cracked,
as it spills cheap rhetoric
now wasted on me.
The screw no longer turns,
and my memories are burnt
leaving ash grey dust
that floats in the breeze.







Written for wordle 18
at The Sunday Whirl



Saturday 20 August 2011

The Hoody .... I Saw Sunday - Week 49

 
 I Saw Sunday where you can join in with pictures, thoughts, observations, anything you like!



I was walking Grace in the park the other day when I spotted a teenage lad heading down toward the lake. He was dressed in a hoody, a scarf covering the bottom of his face, a muscly dog with studded collar by his side, and was carrying a bulging plastic bag.

As I watched, he looked around him furtively, then stopped by the side of the lake. Immediately the two swans swam up to him, their darling little goslings close behind. At that moment, media images flashed through my mind and although I usually look for the good in people - I felt sick. All I could think was ...  'the swans and their babies!'

But as I watched, he reached into his carrier bag and pulled out a whole loaf of bread and began feeding them. I almost squealed with delight. I could see his eyes crinkling at the corners and when he'd finished, he stroked his dog and went on his way. Admittedly he did throw the plastic bag on the floor, but at that moment I was just so happy.

I picked up the bag as I passed, continuing our walk,  feeling thankful to have had it reaffirmed that most people are lovely really ... we just have to look for it. Even if it is from a distance, on the other side of a lake, after a moment of pre-judgement! 

Thursday 18 August 2011

B .... Thursday Think Tank.

Things I would B

A sparrow, a daisy
a day by the sea

Chips and ice cream
afternoon tea

A walk with our dog
trees in the park

Black and white films
curled up in the dark

A place to come home to 
a smile amidst tears

Someone who'll love you
the rest of her years

All these I would B

Poets United  Prompt ...  Take the 3rd letter of your first name to inspire a poem

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Skyward - Three Word Wednesday


Eyes skyward
I feast on cobalt blue.

White confetti rains
dove drenched 
winged and alive.

A viable canvas
for dreams.

I gasp, smile
rendered mute.


 Three Word Wednesday where you write something using the three prompt words.   This week's words are ...  gasp, mute and viable.

Monday 15 August 2011

My 1st Bloggerversary! ... 10 Random Facts :o)

I've been blogging now for one whole year thanks to my lovely sister, who forced me to start ... yes  forced!

If I remember correctly, I was umming and arring, and saying such things as, "I just don't get why anyone would ever want to blog."   

(don't judge me, I didn't know!)

Well, my sister competely disregarded my protests and set up this blog for me, saying, "Just shut up and do as you're told, you'll love it!"

... and of course she was right  :o)

So here I am a year later, and to celebrate I thought I'd give 10 random facts about myself.

Here goes ...


1.  I am exactly the same weight now as I was when I was 21
( I was 9 months pregnant then, but for a moment, I bet you were impressed)

2.  I just LOVE animals, and dog watching makes me genuinely happy.

3.  When I was little I could jump in the air and land in the splits, bend my body all over the place and run really fast ... aah memories.

4.  I've recently developed a jowl, yes just the one! ... life can be cruel.

5.  I used to be painfully shy.

6.  I'm happiest surrounded by trees and nature.

7.  I am enjoying growing older ... even with the singular jowl.

8.  I've got a large head, short shins and a long neck ... it's not funny.

9.  I feel thankful and lucky every day to have my family.

10.  I can recite the alphabet in Chinese.

Okay,  that one's not true,  but I can't think of anything else and the pressure was getting to me!

Seriously though, to anyone who has followed, visited or ever taken the time to leave a comment


THANK YOU  xxxxxx

Saturday 13 August 2011

***Happy Birthday to My Lovely Big Sister Susannah***


51 today


When I was little, I'd look up to you
copying everything you'd say and do.
Your hair, your make-up, the way you'd talk
The swish of the hair, the way you'd walk.
Until the day I'd mastered it all
and there I was, 5.2" tall.
A smaller version, a 'mini me'
the best little you that I could be.
Then came the day when all I'd done
fell into place, and we were one.
As the clerk in the Post Office chatted away
continuing his talk from the previous day.
With a girl he was sure was my big sister Su
but instead it was me!  Well what could I do?
I'd chatted too long to suddenly come clean,
I was 4" shorter, you'd think he'd have seen!
 But he carried on chatting, so sure I was you,
that for one special moment, I believed it too!  :o)



51 ... I know! 

I'm going to check her attic the next time I visit.
I've seen that film 'Dorian Gray' ... and something's going on!


 ... she can even make a wig and moustache look good!


And as well as being talented, beautiful, creative, inspirational, and wise with some wonderful blogs I would recommend anyone visit,  The Streaming Now,  Joy Frequencies, Panopticulated, Out of My Ocean, and My Name is Zing,  she is also hysterically funny, and has made me laugh for as long as I can remember.

(hint* do a  funny blog :o)

In short.

She is the best sister ever and  has made my life richer and happier just by being in it,  and I am so lucky to have her as my sister and my friend.


So to my very special big sister

****HAPPY BIRTHDAY****

I love you all the world xxxxxx

Thursday 4 August 2011

The Meaty Treat

My darling dog Grace has a favourite treat called The Meaty Treat, a long, soft meat treat much like its name.

Being 15 now her eyes are not what they used to be,  so when I give it to her I wiggle it, and seeing the movement she gets very excited

her head starts to bob up and down with it, her tail starts to wag and she gets all lively and ready to snap as I throw it.

Now the other evening when I was in the bedroom with her, my lovely partner came waltzing in from the bathroom in his birthday suit, and as he walked toward Grace, I saw her head doing the very same bob.

Then with a burst of excitement, her tail started wagging.

It dawned on me that she'd spotted the movement of his 'thing'... and thought it was her Meaty Treat!

I had to act quickly.

"Quick, quick... she thinks it's a Meaty Treat!" I shouted.

To which he bent double, hands clutching just as she snapped.

Needless to say, as the observer this was .... hysterical!

And of course, as a result, you know what his 'thing' is now being called!