May...or may not!

 Well April was dry...and now May is wet, windy and cold.

But even so the hidden garden at The Potters House Penketh is blooming.

The cherry tree has excelled itself with blossom...the hope is ripe cherries in June...as long as those pesky birds don't pinch the lot.

Although I curse the ever expanding plot of bluebells in June when the leaves turn slimey after the bells have seeded......nevertheless in May when they glow in the evening golden hour...I'm always glad that they are still there. 

Forgetmenots and bluebells...they grow themselves.

And that's a good thing...as I'm not the world's greatest seed sower.

Carole Klein may say.."Just throw them in...they want to grow"...I must be buying the wrong seed packets!

However I must have done something right as the Japanese chocolate vine has also rambled into an even more wonderful concoction of twisting stems and branches over the wood shed...I suspect it is even responsible for holding that old structure together!

I'm not sure if this is Walt..(wall brown) or Woody..(wood brown)...but I love how they dance together in May. 

Almost always seen in pairs...may be just brown but oh how they can dance.

"Let nothing trouble you...Let nothing scare you...All things pass"!...St. Teresa of Avila

A Poem for Thursday.

Once again we met at The Gateway Centre opposite the beautiful Golden Gates of Warrington's Town Hall.

The Bold Street Writers.

And the prompt...very apt for the moment... came from Pat who had introduced me to this wonderful group a few years before.

"The Unexpected"

Well there is so much unexpected at this moment in history...though maybe there may have been more before the days of media coverage of each and every tiny change of mood and tone but we will never know and that could have been a blessed bonus!

This is my offering.

Unexpected

Twice I looked  to find it true.

Not daring to believe my eyes.

The screen  flickered, night was old.

From my companion came sighs,

Disbelief. Fear tugged. Anxiously 

We watched. Numbers rose and fell.

The outcome boards were black

The names above were bold.

The list grew longer, stronger

Were the thoughts we shared.

Mouths tightened, eyes narrowed,

Or eyes wide, mouths agape.

You think you've seen it all

By the time your pension's drawn.

We made another coffee, sleep

Would have to wait 'til  results

Crashed the top line, powered

Through, above, over, beyond.

Whose dreams would crash? And

Whose would soar?

The band played on while the

Dancers danced. What should we do

At a time like this? Should we 

Laugh or weep? Some will rejoice.

Losers lose and winners win.

As it is in life, so in death.

And midnight makes you morbid.

So we crack open the brandy.

We plump up feather cushions

For the necessary comfort in

The long haul.In the small hours

As we wait for light to filter

Through net curtains, and brocade. Then 

When spirits are at lowest and

Souls dried of emotion comes

The long-awaited verdict after

Lonely days, and years

Have passed in the waiting full

Of hope, despair and longing?

A faithful partner at his side.

A shining spotlight  on him. he

Holds his head up high and ...Waits . 

But the Master of Ceremonies in

Red velvet jacket speaks. 

And we hold our breath in

Expectation. At last a result.

The mirrored ball is lifted high and

And Anton  claims his prize.

Now those of the distant shore.... Amerikay!... may not know how long and hard Anton du Beck has fought for the "Glitter Ball...the prize of Strictly come Dancing"...but at a time like this here and across the pond...we need some light relief in our lives.

Vive Le Anton!

Two Days in Morecambe.

"Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!"  

written by John A. Kind 1907

 Listen to Basil Rathbone take you back...

...even if you were never there!

Everyone delights to spend their summer holiday

Down beside the side of the silvery sea

I'm no exception to the rule

In fact, if I'd my way

I'd reside by the side of the silvery sea.

But when you're just the common or garden Smith or Jones or Brown

At bus'ness up in town

You've got to settle down.

You save your money all the year till summer comes around

Then away you go

To a place you know

Where the cockle shells are found.

Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside

I do like to be beside the sea!

I do like to stroll upon the Prom, Prom, Prom!

Where the brass bands play:

"Tiddely-om-pom-pom!"

So just let me be beside the seaside

I'll be beside myself with glee

And there's lots of girls beside,

I should like to be beside

Beside the seaside!

Beside the sea!

M.m.m.m.m.m.m.m.m.morecambe!