Robin

Fear No More

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Fear no more the heat of the sun; Nor the furious winter’s rages, Thou thy worldly task has done, Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages; Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney sweepers come to dust. Fear no more the frown of the great, Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke;Continue reading “Fear No More”

Life

by Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) Life, believe, is not a dream So dark as sages say; Oft a little morning rain Foretells a pleasant day. Sometimes there are clouds of gloom, But these are transient all; If the shower will make the roses bloom, O why lament its fall? Rapidly, merrily, Life’s sunny hours flit by,Continue reading “Life”

Of Old Sat Freedom On The Heights

Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809‐1892) Of old sat Freedom on the heights, The thunders breaking at her feet: Above her shook the starry lights: She heard the torrents meet. There in her place she did rejoice, Self-gather’d in her prophet-mind, But fragments of her mighty voice Came rolling on the wind. Then stept she down thro’Continue reading “Of Old Sat Freedom On The Heights”

When You Are Old

by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) When you are old and grey and full of sleep And nodding by the fire, take down the book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty withContinue reading “When You Are Old”

Think twice before you crack a joke

Nowadays you have to be sensitive to others when telling jokes or making lighthearted conversation. Especially in the light of social media. I grew up enjoying the Goons; radio shows such as Round the Horne and The Navy Lark; and Hancock’s Half Hour; Harry Worth, and Michael Bentine’s Potty Time on television. It is noContinue reading “Think twice before you crack a joke”

Love In The Asylum

by Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) A stranger has come To share my room in the house not quite right in the head, A girl mad as birds. Bolting the night of the door her arm her plume. Strait in the mazed bed She deludes the heaven-proof house with entering clouds Yet she deludes with walking theContinue reading “Love In The Asylum”

Brother I’ve Seen Some

by Kabir (1440-1518) Brother, I’ve seen some Astonishing sights: A lion keeping watch Over pasturing cows; A mother delivered After her son was; A guru prostrated Before his disciple; Fish spawning On tree-tops; A cat carrying away A dog; A gunny-sack Driving a bullock-cart; A buffalo going out to graze, Sitting on a horse; AContinue reading “Brother I’ve Seen Some”

My Best Friend (Children)

by C J Heck My best friend had lots of curls but wasn’t like the other girls who stayed dressed up and always clean My best friend wore old blue jeans. She loved to do things just like me, like building forts and climbing trees. She stubbed her toe, and to stop the blood, weContinue reading “My Best Friend (Children)”

Song Of Hope

by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) O sweet To-morrow! – After to-day There will away This sense of sorrow. Then let us borrow Hope, for a gleaming Soon will be streaming, Dimmed by no gray – No gray! While the winds wing us Sighs from The Gone, Nearer to dawn Minute-beats bring us; When there will singContinue reading “Song Of Hope”

Skulduggery at the crossroads

When I wrote about my great grandfather’s notebooks and said they cleared up the mystery of the family ghost story I didn’t mention that it possibly cleared up another family legend as well. The three things I had been brought up with were: a) my grandfather was almost born on the banks of the RiverContinue reading “Skulduggery at the crossroads”