Sunday 18 May 2014

A Sunday Morning Walk



Walking down the hill, there is a fine crop of
 Red Valerian growing on the wall of this house.


  


This is a lovely decorative touch on the modern
 garden wall of an old house.




At the bottom of the hill is a fine Horse Chestnut tree.




And a glorious Norman Church with its churchyard enclosed by a wall!




Nicely framed by the leaves, you can see it was ten past eight :-)




The tide was right in when we reached the beach, 
 it was really, really warm and such a beautiful view!
As we could not take Basil for a walk on the beach 
and it was getting hotter by the  minute, 
we made our way home for a nice cold drink.

Thursday 15 May 2014

Saying Hello

Saying the single word "Hello" is not a difficult act, neither does it take much time. Why, then, is it so very hard for so many people to say?

Yesterday, DH and I were cutting the lawns at my mum's house, and as I was clearing up and bagging the grass, I could see a very young child and his father making their way down the pavement. The little boy was on a bicycle and his father was walking next to him. As they approached, the little boy gleefully rang his bell and shouted "Hello!" to me, with a beaming smile on his dear little face. I immediately stopped what I was doing, stood up, smiled at him  and said "Hello!" back.
His father stopped briefly and said to me "Thank you for taking the time to say Hello to him; you'd be surprised at the number of people who just totally ignore him when we are out for our walks. "

I was absolutely dumbfounded. How could anyone **not** find the time or effort to say hello to a child who is greeting you with such innocence and a beaming smile? All I could think to say was "That must be so dispiriting for him", then I waved at the child and told him to have a lovely day. His father thanked me once more, and the little boy waved back at me and beamed before continuing on his slow progress around the block.

Slightly later on, as we were driving home, we drove past this father and son again, and I made a point of waving at them so the little boy could see me doing it, but I felt sad for ages afterwards and wondered what sort of message we are giving young children when we cannot even be bothered to smile at them or greet them.

Friday 2 May 2014

Ancient Hymn....

This is a truly sublime and hauntingly lovely 800 year old Icelandic hymn......

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player


A translation of the hymn:
Hear, smith of the heavens,
what the poet asks.
May softly come unto me
thy mercy.
So I call on thee,
for thou hast created me.
I am thy slave,
thou art my Lord.

God, I call on thee
to heal me.
Remember me, mild one, (or mild king. This is a pun on the word mildingur).
Most we need thee.
Drive out, O king of suns,
generous and great,
human every sorrow
from the city of the heart.

Watch over me, mild one,
Most we need thee,
truly every moment
in the world of men.
send us, son of the virgin,
good causes,
all aid is from thee,
in my heart.