Poem for Thursday...dVerse ...mix and match

I'm taking as my prompt...

...Beautiful Solitude ...I don't want to miss the second birthday celebration of dVerse...so I spent a few hours down the field in my quiet place taking in the "soul-touchers" around me.

I think that this needs quite a bit of rewriting...but here are the bare bones of my contribution for the party....thankyou Tony Maude for the thoughts!!

Swing thoughts

The evening sky

Creams

Down on the horizon line

And an eastern breeze

Chants in the labyrinth grasses

Young swallows

Lower their standards

And scream down the air

For late…late insects

Give me your virgin fly past

And while my soul cries stay

Stay

And fill the gap

Winter is coming and

I may live in this town

But I don’t belong here.

...so this is for dVerse Poets Pub ..."mix and match"and a very happy birthday to all those lovely poets who contribute and give me so much reading pleasure.

An 80th Celebration!

We were up at the Bay for most of the week...

...amazing weather...sandcastles galore!!

 

..the weekend culminated in the celebrations at the Midland Hotel on Sunday.

...80 Years built!...

 

So out came the vintage dresses...very Morecambe now anyway with more and more vintage and collectibles in the shops.

 

We went for the ice cream and afternoon tea.

...vanilla ices...

...and coffee actually with home made almond cakes from one of the stalls...

...I loved their aprons...want one!!

We sat for hours and people-watched!

...lots of people did...I like to think that maybe this glamorous woman remembered the days of the hotel's youth...she certainly was captivated with the music...

 
...we also listened to the jazz singer ...Harri Deane...singing those 1930 songs....sang along...couldn't help myself!

...then I did a bit of "cherry-picking" from the stalls which were laid out beneath Eric Gill's famous NW Coast line Relief.

...silk devoree jacket and some rabbit moulds for the southern grandgirls...they have just become the besotted owners of bunnies!!

 

.....outside patient donkeys were doing their duty with little children...

..though I suspect it was more of a photo opportunity for the parents!

 

...and Pimms with strawberries was drunk ...

 

... the hotel lounge hosted a Palm Court band ... gently lulling those folk in the armchairs to sleep....

...the chairs positioned over the rug designed by Marian Dorn in the 30s.

(I still remember "The Arcadia" in Portrush in the late 40s ...the palms ...the ice cream and the band....)

...you can just see the rug here.....

Stalls aplenty...

 

 traditional sweets...

 

..and .lots of 50s glitz...

 

...a sunset to drool over...

...dropping down behind the western lakes.

...following Vivienne Maier...

 I watched the BBC art programme on the photographer Vivian Maier...well I watched it twice as it really caught my interest...you must see it for yourself if you are so inclined...
...anyway the thing that has stuck with me is how she put herself into the frame by getting her shadow there on the ground around whatever interested her....now that is poetry for me!

So off I went this morning and took a few garden pics...
...anyway the garden has done itself proud this week what with the arrival...albeit rather late in the day...of the sun!
Hooray!

I'm going to work on this idea.......

....I often say to the potter...

..."would you mind taking a pic of me?!"...well when you hold the camera...you are never in the shot!!

So here are a few from the morning cull...

...pot of perennial geraniums in the herb garden...

...I love how I caught the little forgetmenot as my eye...serendipity you must know!...

...field poppies are starting to pop....

Ceramic Workshop ...

Today was the first of the summer workshop's...and the sun shone...hooray!

We were able to eat lunch in the garden which is always a treat...

...and the finished work was great. The potter had a few ideas ready for those who were first timers.
But the others came through with lots of creative thoughts...that's what makes the group more and more exciting to work with.

...Anne...

...Bibu...

...Denise...

...Gill...

...Gwen...

...Jim...

...John...

...Barbara...

...Margaret...

...with a little bit of input and advice from the potter!!

...hmm?...blankets?

well it is the north of England..

we are just thankful for the rain to stop and the sun to shine!!!

Elderflowers

Big and strongly perfumed this year...could it be the British weather? Rain...cool ..even some may say...cold and miserable...?
Yes...but...
Is that why the elderflowers are so lovely, fig are "afigging" and the strawberries are bursting...oh and even the cherry tree has excelled itself!?
Well whatever the reason it means that the annual making of the Elderflower syrup can begin.

So this morning my dear friend in Criccieth... north Wales... put up this great recipe for the syrup.
I don't usually make the cordial as I find that I can store syrup in yoghurt pots in the freezer and always add some tonic or soda water afterwards.

The Recipe...

ELDERFLOWER SYRUP

Ingredients

 900 g sugar

 600 ml water

 12 heads elderflowers, picked of any bugs but not washed

 2 lemons, 1 thickly zested, 1 sliced

Method

1. Dissolve the sugar in the water to make a syrup. 

 

                                                                                                                                       2
2. Put the elderflower heads into a bowl with the thickly pared lemon zest and lemon slices. 

3. Pour over the boiling syrup, cover and leave overnight. 

4. Strain through muslin and bottle the elderflower syrup. ...or pot and freeze.

Serving suggestions

 Champagne and elderflower jelly: warm champagne with elderflower syrup to taste – don’t boil. Add softened gelatine leaves (9 leaves for 600ml of liquid) and leave to set in the fridge.

Elderflower granite: balance the sweetness of the elderflower syrup with some lemon juice and water. Freeze the mixture in a shallow tray and break up with a fork when half frozen. Serve with spoons.

 Elderflower champagne: add a drop of elderflower syrup to a glass of chilled champagne. Scatter with a few elderflowers. 

I haven't made the jelly...jello for my US friends...but the granite and champagne are ...

DELISH!

still around!

...back from the "beautiful south" of Spain and you know how it is...you have to get your head around it all when you get back " to porridge"!!

...so more info starting again soon...
                                                          Gerry.

Thankyou...

A BIG thankyou to my new followers. I hope I can live up to your expectations!!

Gerry x