When I read this poem by my friend, Kim Ridgeon, it just rang bells. We, too, miss the sea so much. Our nearest sea on the North Coast is just four miles away and the South coast only ten but lockdown means we have to walk from our door. Thank you Kim, for letting me share your carefully crafted words here.
When we pulled down the blind in the back window, the piece of glass that hangs in the window was illuminated by the lights we still have on our baby Christmas tree in a pot.
It’s National Poetry Day today and you can read and hear our Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage’s new poem written for today, an uplifting one about communication in the time of Covid – Something Clicked
We followed a new walk this morning through woods and lanes, leaves, streams and livestock! Join us along the way. Click on any photo in the gallery for the bigger version. Underneath is another poetry gem for you, reflecting on the changing season. It seemed right for today to go with our walk. Thanks, Kim.
From ‘Uncovering’ 2013 by Kim Ridgeon
It’s October 1st and here is this month’s help chart from Action for Happiness. Print it out and be optimistic! Optimists have more fun!
There’s the first full moon of this month tonight but, sadly, it is hiding behind the clouds.
What a night! There were wild August winds, driving rain and clatters of garden chairs trying to take off. Sadly much of the garden has been flattered as our small landscape has been altered but a disaster can be an opportunity so here we are with a lovely bunch of colour indoors of flowers that we rescued.
As we couldn’t spend much time outside today, we decided to make marmalade with the oranges we froze in January when the all too short Seville orange season was with us. That’s it for the year now. The tiny jars are for breakfast in bed should one of us fall ill.
My poet friend, Kim Ridgeon, penned the perfect poem for the day and for the strange emotions we are all feeling in these uncertain and disturbing times. Please read it several times and feel the phrases that sum up the unpredictability of our lives right now. I love this poem.
Two books arrived from my poet friend, Kim Ridgeon, yesterday and there are so many I want to share with you. I’ll start with a very timely one called, “Poppy Meditation”
Inspired by this beautiful, delicate poem, I have taken a series of photos of our Poppies.
May 1st is La Fete de Muguet in France when people give their loved ones little bunches of Muguet, Lily of the Valley. Our Dear Friend Kath, to whom I dedicate my blog and who died far too soon nearly eight years ago, loved France and we holidayed with her and Charlie in Meysaac a couple of times. Every May 1st she would give me a little bouquet of muguet when we were close enough or send a card if we weren’t. As soon as we moved here, I planted some Lily of the Valley in a shady spot and have picked a couple of flowers each year in Kath’s memory. This year there have been many blooms and I have brought them inside to share with you all in a spirit of love and friendship and in memory of my beautiful, much missed friend.
For Kath, Lily of the Valley and Rosemary
My poet friend, Kim Ridgeon wrote the perfect poem for today and with his permission, I share it with you here.
Here is this month’s Action for Happiness calendar, helping us all to manage ourselves in these very strange times. Stay safe everyone.
The poet, Kim Ridgeon has written very movingly about isolation. Like me, he worries about those whose views, in isolation, are just bricks and graffiti, who have nowhere beautiful to walk and he expresses that so clearly. He feels he wants to do something, as we all do, and here he is, doing something – writing poems that touch our hearts and set us thinking. I thank Kim for the permission to share his poem with you here.
Our walk today took us across the railway line and along some lovely lanes with the gift of open skies. We are so very lucky.
I feel the same need to ‘do something’ and though I write for myself, my gift right now is being able to sew. I have made eleven scrub bags which will be collected tomorrow and sent to wherever they are needed. Although I am a political animal, I rarely show that here but I have very mixed feelings about being an amateur sewist doing my bit along with everyone else in the national movement to sew scrubs, caps and bags when our government has let the side down so very badly. NHS and other care workers are dying for lack of PPE. Clapping on Thursdays is good but proper funding over the last ten years would have been much better.
