1 We were in Truro again this evening and though I don’t put our own Christmas stuff up so early, the city was beginning to look lovely. I really like these delicate snowflakes which are in all the streets. I’ll show you more as we get closer to Christmas!
Snowflake in lights
2 We went for a meal out before going to the cinema to see Gravity. I loved the reflection of the wine glass and the red wind on the table.
Reflection
33 My pizza was delicious!
Pizza
NaBloPoMo
1 Today I have joined Bloggers for Peace. I like their philosophy.
Bloggers for Peace
2 I have long loved the poetry of Pablo Neruda and on the Bloggers for Peace blog found this gem from him that I hadn’t heard before. As one who loves cooking and words, I really appreciate this.
Let me give you one of my favourites, a really beautiful evocation of that lovely fresh fruit, the lemon. Read it slowly and you can taste the lemon as you do so.
A Lemon
Out of lemon flowers
loosed
on the moonlight, love’s
lashed and insatiable
essences,
sodden with fragrance,
the lemon tree’s yellow
emerges,
the lemons
move down
from the tree’s planetariumDelicate merchandise!
The harbors are big with it-
bazaars
for the light and the
barbarous gold.
We open
the halves
of a miracle,
and a clotting of acids
brims
into the starry
divisions:
creation’s
original juices,
irreducible, changeless,
alive:
so the freshness lives on
in a lemon,
in the sweet-smelling house of the rind,
the proportions, arcane and acerb.Cutting the lemon
the knife
leaves a little cathedral:
alcoves unguessed by the eye
that open acidulous glass
to the light; topazes
riding the droplets,
altars,
aromatic facades.So, while the hand
holds the cut of the lemon,
half a world
on a trencher,
the gold of the universe
wells
to your touch:
a cup yellow
with miracles,
a breast and a nipple
perfuming the earth;
a flashing made fruitage,
the diminutive fire of a planet.
3 Tonight, in the wind and the rain, we have been to Truro to see the beautiful City of Lights Parade which warms the cold winter streets with the glow of enormous paper lanterns made of twisted willow and tissue paper. Here is a selection of the ones I was able to photograph. Click on any one to see the detail. The last one is the Tyrannosaurus Rex that I helped twist the willows for. It is made by Laura Frances Martin.
Tyrannosaurus Rex by Laura Frances Martin
1 These important words from the Dalai Lama came into my inbox today:
If we are demoralised, sad and only complain, we’ll not solve our problems. If we only pray for a solution, we’ll not solve our problems. We need to face them, to deal with them without violence, but with confidence – and never give up. If you adopt a non-violent approach, but are also hesitant within, you’ll not succeed. You have to have confidence and keep up your efforts – in other words, never give up.
2 After a busy weekend with the Grandchildren, we have come home and decided to decorate the sitting room! As I cleared a bookshelf, the beautiful tooling on the spine of these little books caught my eye.
Golden spines
3 I love this very pale Periwinkle flower, flowering in the bitterest of winds today.
Periwinkle
NaBloPoMo
1 It was a typical November start to the day, a misty moisty morning* as we took J to school. It was so lovely to see him line up and be a part of the whole school experience, sadly no photo. When we returned I took this photo of a Nasturtium in the garden.
Nasturtium with raindrops
2 Walking down the hill to the tube train, I had help all the way from Grand-Baby T. What a little star she is!
Help with my case
3 It is always so good to come home!
*The weather this morning reminded me of this little nursery rhyme which my Mum always used to say on mornings like this and which I couldn’t remember in full so I have looked it up.
One Misty, Moisty Morning
One misty, moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man
Clothed all in leather:
He began to compliment,
And I began to grin–
“How do you do?” and “How do you do?”
And “How do you do?” again!
1 On our way to the Science Museum this morning, T was entranced by the busker and took him some money.
2 Outside the Natural History Museum was a seasonal ice rink where people were having a lot of fun. I have always admired ice skating and even more, roller booting, something I have always wanted to try.
3. The Science Museum kept us all amused for hours! From Stephenson’s Rocket to the Apollo Capsule and all the hands-on activities for the children – it’s a brilliant place to spend a day.
NaBloPoMo
1. We took the Grandchildren to the park this morning where they had adventures crossing the stream and hiding in the bushes.
2. The autumn colours are gorgeous.
3. The local church had a winter festival and I have never seen a church used so creatively or so full of happy creative families. There was a bouncy castle in the middle of the nave and activities of all sorts for the children including the handling of a snake!
1. We all went up to town today to see the new developments around King’s Cross. Grand-baby T loved being on the tube, the escalators and having lunch out.
2 The snowflake decorations were in the trees and on the walls and T loved seeing herself in the mirrored ones.
3 We collected J from school again and were amazed that at four years old, he has homework! He got on with it happily as soon as he got home.
NaBloPoMo
1. After our six hour journey up to London, we were just in time to collect J from school. He just started in reception in September and is loving it.
2. KJ’s beautiful cat loves to sit in the washbasin and to sip from the tap!
3. The family had saved some sparklers to share with us which was fun. Grand-baby T was wearing her pumpkin hat which really suits her and pleases me!
NaBloPoMo
1 Today is World Kindness Day. Being kind to each other must be one of the most important attributes of the human.
World Kindness Day
2 I wrote a few weeks ago here of the Golden Rule, treat others as you wish to be treated. These words of Arthur Dunn ask an important question and one that is partly answered in the work of ShelterBox below. If only we all (including our governments) could live by this philosophy, the world would indeed be a kinder place.
Why should the Golden Rule be so difficult in business and foreign relations? The happily married treat each other as they wish to be treated. They treat their children better than they wish to be treated themselves. Unless we do unto a friend as we do unto ourselves, we lose a friend. In an emergency we rush to the aid of our neighbour. Is it so great a step to realise that all people everywhere are neighbours?
3 Today from ShelterBox: “PHILIPPINES UPDATE: 504 ShelterBox tents have now arrived in Manila, Philippines. Distribution of this aid will begin as soon as it has cleared customs. A further 224 ShelterBoxes and 576 ShelterBox tents are currently en route to Cebu, Philippines with airfreight courtesy of DFID. This shipment is hoped to arrive in the Philippines 13 November. Nine SRT members are carrying out assessments in Cebu, Bohol and Tacloban. Additional team members are also on their way.
An extra 200 ShelterBoxes destined for the Philippines were packed by warehouse volunteers at ShelterBox HQ in Cornwall yesterday. ShelterBox are looking to help up to 4,000 families in the Philippines in the immediate future, with potential for more help if it’s needed. We couldn’t do any of this without your support and donations.” We are lucky enough to be both safe and able to have donated for a Shelterbox. What a beautiful idea it was that Tom Henderson, the Founder of this charity had all those years ago. Find out all about the charity and the boxes here.
ShelterBox in action
NaBloPoMo
1 I received a lovely email from one of the Cor Serenata thanking me for the book I sent and looking forward to The Inglehearts’ reciprocal visit to Port Talbot next year.
2 This card has been on the dresser for a few days brightening my days. It came from a very good friend left behind in Yorkshire when we came back to Cornwall nearly 6 years ago and it was a real joy to receive. A is one of those special people who you might not be in touch with or see for months but the moment you are together, the time falls away and there you are again, warm, happy and safe in each other’s company.
Inside it says, ‘…the way thoughts of you brighten mine!’
3 At the hospital today (just for Visual fields tests as my Dad had glaucoma) I found the other delightful mural by Peter Wright. This one is called, ‘Falmouth Working Boats’ and is about 3 meters long. To see the first one if you missed it, click here.
‘Falmouth Working Boats’ by Peter Wright
Detail of the mural
NaBloPoMo
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