Memories from 1920

It's ashamed I am to see it has been ten months since I last made a post. I'd started a new blog and one thing led to another and this old one sort of became lost somewhere. Does this I wonder happen with other bloggers - they post regularly be it on a daily basis or once a week and after a while, it gets left by the wayside.

Recently on a city blog the blog owner had a photographed a bicycle part and said something like how hard it is to post a photo every day. This is something I can relate to, you post photos daily and love doing it but after a while it becomes a chore. And that my friends, is when it stops being fun. I do remember telling myself I would post on here once a week, every Friday. That didn't last.

So much has happened where does one begin? Hmmm...


Anyway, I hope you enjoy this week's choice which I purposely went looking for after hearing it played on Downton Abbey. In series 2, episode 8, when members of the Crawley family are struck down with Spanish flu, Matthew puts the gramaphone on, Lady Mary comes along the upper gallery. She peers down, sees Matthew (whom we all know still carries a flame for even though she won't admit it to herself) and comes down the stairs. She tells him she hasn't heard this song before, he says it was from a show called Zip goes a million which flopped. They dance, it's sort of dreamy and the music disappears, only the soft voices of the dancers are heard.
Suddenly there's Lavinia who you can't help feeling sorry for.

Burns Day

Well, I've been a bit remiss. Yesterday (25th January) was Burns Day in honour of the great Scottish poet Robbie Burns and really this post should have been done yesterday, but as a result of my ineptitude, it is being done a day later.

Robert Burns was born on 25th January in 1759 in a place called Alloway which is in Ayrshire, Scotland. He died at a young age - only 37 on 21st July 1796. Poignantly, it was the day his wife, Jean, gave birth to his last son, Maxwell.

For over 200 hundred years people have been having "Burns Suppers"

 

Above: Robert Burns

His poem "Auld Lang Syne" is known the world over and sung every New Year's Eve - people gather in a circle holding hands and sing Auld Lang Syne saying goodbye to the old year.

Another of his well known poems is "Ode to a Haggis" - so, in honour of the Baird, here is

Ode to a Haggis
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great Chieftan o’ the Puddin-race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang’s my arm

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
You pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o’need
While thro’ your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead

His knife see Rustic-labour dight,
An’ cut you up wi’ ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reeking, rich!

Then, horn for horn they stretch an’ strive,
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive
Bethankit hums

Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi’ perfect sconner,
Looks down wi’ sneering, scornfu’ view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as a wither’d rash
His spindle-shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro’ bluidy flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He’ll mak it whissle;
An’ legs, an’ arms an’ heads will sned,
Like taps o’ thrissle

Ye pow’rs wha mak mankind your care,
An’ dish them out their bill o’fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu’ pray’r,
Gie her a Haggis!

 

Above: Statue of Robbie Burns
The city of Dunedin (NZ) maintains strong links with its Scottish heritage. This statue of the Scottish poet Robbie Burns is located in the “Octagon” in the centre of Dunedin. In the background is the Anglican St Paul’s Cathedral (1915), which is made of local Oamaru stone.

Robbie Burns has his back to the church and his face to the pub. Which is the way he would have wanted it.

Favourite Childhood Books - Madeline

Someone was speaking about madelines - you know, those little tea cakes in an oval shape with a few wavy lines on top? Well anyway, the name madeline set me thinking as I remembered the Madeline books. I must have been about ten or so and well do I remember "In an old house in Paris
that was covered with vines
lived twelve little girls in two straight lines."

Did any of you have this book and if so, do you remember it? I no longer have the book but I remember the front cover - it was a hard cover (as most books were back then) and there was a nun with two lines of little girls on her right all walking in a straight line. Thank goodness for that nice Mister Google - isn't it wonderful what you can find, or in this case, "re-find" today.

 

Above: Madeline book


In an old house in Paris
that was covered with vines
lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.
In two straight lines they broke their bread
and brushed their teeth
and went to bed.
They smiled at the good
and frowned at the bad
and sometimes they were very sad.
They left the house
at half past nine
in two straight lines
in rain
or shine -
the smallest one was Madeline.

She was not afraid of mice -
she loved winter, snow, and ice.
To the tiger in the zoo
Madeline just said, "Pooh-pooh,"
and nobody knew so well
how to frighten Miss Clavel.

In the middle of the night
Miss Clavel turned on her light
and said, "Something is not right!"

Little Madeline sat in bed,
cried and cried - her eyes were red.
And soon after Dr. Cohn
came, he rushed out to the phone,
and he dialed: DANton-ten-six -
"Nurse," he said, "it's an appendix!"
Everybody had to cry -
not a single eye was dry.
Madeline was in his arm
in a blanket safe and warm.
In a car with a red light
they drove out into the night.

Madeline woke up two hours
later, in a room with flowers.
Madeline soon ate and drank.
On her bed there was a crank,
and a crack on the ceiling had the habit
of sometimes looking like a rabbit.
Outside were birds, trees, and sky -
and so ten days passed quickly by.

One nice morning Miss Clavel said,
"Isn't this a fine -
day to visit
Madeline."

VISITORS FROM TWO TO FOUR
read a sign outside her door.
Tiptoeing with solemn face,
with some flowers and a vase,
in they walked and then said "Ahhh,"
when they saw the toys and candy
and the dollhouse from Papa.
But the biggest surprise by far -
on her stomach
was a scar!

"Good-bye," they said, "we'll come again,"
and the little girls left in the rain.
They went home and broke their bread
brushed their teeth
and went to bread.

In the middle of the night
Miss Clavel turned on the light
and said, "Something is not right!"
And afraid of a disaster
Miss Clavel ran fast
and faster,
and she said, "Please children do -
tell me what is troubling you?"
And all the little girls cried, "Boohoo,
we want to have our appendix out, too!"

"Good night, little girls!
Thank the Lord you are well!
And now go to sleep!"
said Miss Clavel.
And she turned out the light -
and closed the door -
and that's all there is -
there isn't any more.

 

Above: Madeline

Christmas Day 2012

Okay, I know it's three days after Christmas and Maybe this should have been posted earlier, but hey! it's Christmas everybody's busy. So here's the annual Christmas photo (or one of them). Better late than never, eh?


Above: Christmas lunch 2012

Sunday Brunch is Fun

Bella Cosi
Last Sunday I had brunch at a little place called Bella Cosi - that's Italian for beautiful place. In Port Melbourne, you get a lovely view of the beach with the Spirit of Tasmania in dock.

 

Above: Bella Cosi
This is where I had my coffee - see the table on the right? Well it was the other table to the right of that!

 

Above: Cappuccino
Not bad, not bad at all.

 

Above: Sweet and Saucy
I put on weight just looking at it.

 

Above: The BIG Breakfast
This was a hearty brunch, and it comes with either tea or coffee.

 

Above: Le Menu
Such tempting goodies. All in all, this is a nice place to go, the staff are friendly (it's a family run business) and the decor is rather quirky.

I'm Not Me Anymore ...

Wrinkles. Do you have them and how bad are they? When I look in the mirror, the person looking back at me is someone I don't recognise. Who is this old lady with more wrinkles than a bloodhound? This can't be me - I want the old me back, the one with the smooth, unlined face who is still me inside. I don't want to be old - I don't feel old (well not much anyway) I want me face to reflect the me that feels young.
Where did the time go and where has she gone? Once not so very long ago it seems, the world was my oyster and anyone over thirty was over the hill. Each day was a thrill, each minute a moment to be lived and each second a lifetime.
What happened?

I remember reading an interview given by that Blonde Bombshell, that Saucy Sexpot - Mae West, who when asked her age, always answered, "Twenty-eight plus" What a great idea I thought. I'll give the same answer - it seemed so much better than saying, "Twenty-one" My mother was always twenty-one until one day I said, "Mum, you were twenty-one last year" to which she replied, "Oh, well I'm twenty-two now" I always thought it pretty silly for females to always pretend and say "21".
So Mae West's answer was much cleverer, the only problem was, I remember thinking, "Damn! I can't say that, I'm not 28 yet."

Twenty-eight was a long tine ago how I wish I still had the quandary of not having reached 28 yet.
What happened?

I don't remember where the years have gone, but the mirror, like the camera - never lies. Or does it? Looking in the looking glass I see someone who's beginning to sag a bit, gravity having done it's best not to hold back the tide, and everything like the leaning tower of Pisa.
What happened?

When did I suddenly become old?

 

Getting old is not for sissies - Bette Davies.

Happy Easter ~ Have An Eggcellent Day

Happy Easter everybody - I wish one and all an eggcellent day. It was eggstremely cold when I went outside before and I haven't been eggzactly cleaning up the eggstreme mess in the kitchen yet, although I'll make an eggception and try to use today to eggcel.
I eggspect today will be an eggstrodinary chocolatey eggsperience for many children.