love and courage

Rachel mentioned that she'd be hosting a read along of Someone at a Distance in the second week of November and lo and behold I just happened to be reading that novel. Rachel will I'm sure write the most wonderful and thought provoking posts. So I shall mainly focus on favourite passages. There were two that really spoke to me, passages that stick with you and one hopes to remember and return to when needed.

'You must go on with love and courage... and trust to God to carry you forward through your life.'
.... 'I think the way to grow in faith is to behave as if all God's promises are true, and miraculously, you find that they are.' Dorothy Whipple Someone at a Distance

faith

Abou Ben Adhem

Today is National Poetry Day and what better way to celebrate it than with one of my favourite  poems.

Abou Ben Adhem

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

And saw, within the moonlight in his room,

Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,

An angel writing in a book of gold:

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,

And to the presence in the room he said.

'What writest thou?' The vision raised its head,

And with a look made of all sweet accord,

Answered, 'The names of those who love the Lord.'

'And is mine one?' said Abou. 'Nay, not so,'

Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,

But cheerily still; and said, 'I pray thee, then,

Write me as one who loves his fellow men.'

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night 

It came again with a great wakening light,

And showed the names whom love of God had blest,

And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.

Leigh Hunt

he met her eyes

Whilst on holiday we celebrated our third wedding anniversary. 

'"Who has brought into unity those who were sundered, and hast ordained for them an indissoluble bond of love" - how profound these words are, and how well they correspond to what one feels at this moment' thought Levin. 'Does she feel the same as I do?'
And, turning, he met her eyes.
And by the look in those eyes he concluded that she understood it as he did...
...she had almost no understanding of the words of the service and did not even listen during the betrothal. She was unable to hear and understand them: so strong was the one feeling that filled her soul and was growing stronger and stronger. That feeling was the joy of the complete fulfilment...' Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina

love

Carry her over the water

We haven't had a gratuitous wedding post recently. How about a spring Friday wedding? Let's take the day off work and celebrate amongst dear friends and family.

Carry Her Over the water

Carry her over the water,

And set her down under the tree,

Where the culvers white all day and all night,

And the winds from every quarter

Sing agreeably, agreeably, agreeably of love.

Put a gold ring on her finger,

And press her close to your heart,

While the fish in the lake their snapshots take,

And the frog, that sanguine singer,

Sing agreeably, agreeably of love.

The streets shall all flock to your marriage,

The houses turn round to look,

The table and chairs say suitable prayers,

And the horses drawing your carriage

Sing agreeably, agreeably of love.

W.H. Auden

The bride

smile

We'll be offered these drinks.

 drink


Hmm now what shall I wear?

How about this dress with a swish of red lips and the glimmer of a red sole?
What will you wear?

Hamlet

Hamlet

The noise is stilled. I come out on the stage.

Leaning against the door-post

I try to guess from the distant echo

What is to happen in my lifetime.

The darkness of night is aimed at me

Along the sights of a thousand opera-glasses.

Abba. Father, if it be possible,

Let this cup pass from me.

I love your stubborn purpose,

I consent to play my part,

But now a different drama is being acted;

For this once let me be.

Yet the order of the acts is planned

And the end of the way inescapable.

I am alone; all drowns in the Pharisees' hypocrisy.

To live your life is not as simple as to cross a field*.

Boris Pasternak, Dr Zhivago

*The last line is a Russian proverb.

If one can have a favourite Good Friday passage this would be it.

Abba. Father, if it be possible,

Let this cup pass from me.

Courage, Truth and Mercy

I've managed to read one book for Venice in February. This week's quotes are from books I've already read set in Venice. Miss Garnet's Angel.

"Who or what [do]you worship?"
"How would courage, truth and mercy and right action strike you?"
"But those are not gods," I protested...
"Tobias, for heavens sake, what do you think a god looks like when he works in men?"
Salley Vickers Miss Garnet's Angel

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Have you read Miss Garnet's Angel?

That this is the best time to dream

For, after the gospels,
After the human and divine comedies,
After the one thousand and one nights,
After crime and punishment,
War and peace, pride and prejudice,
The sound and the fury,
Between good and evil,
Being and nothingness,
After the tempest, the trial,
And the wasteland,
After things have fallen apart,
After the hundred years of solitude,
And the rememberance of things past,
In the kingdom of this world,
We can still astonish the gods in humanity
And be the stuff of legends,
If we but dare to be real,
And have the courage to see
That this is the best time to dream
The best dream of them all.
Ben Okri, last stanza 'Mental Fight'

With Christmas Love x

The colour of happiness

One of our memories of Granny is the colour lilac. It suited her eyes, her grey hair, her whole being.

.... 'Her [Galuzina] favourite colour was a violet-mauve, the colour of church vestments on certain solemn days, the colour of lilac in bud, the colour of her best velvet dress and of her set of crystal goblets. It was the colour of happiness and of her memories, and Russia, too, in her virginity before the revolution, seemed to her to her to have been the colour of lilac.' Boris Pasternak Dr. Zhivago

image - so sorry the credit was lost when blogger had it's upset in May.

Do you have a colour associated to a precious person in your life?

The Month of April

Friday night drinks with friends by the river...
An early Saturday start to visit cousins in Swindon. A really lovely family day, eating, laughing, talking and a windy walk.
Continuing March's tradition of Sunday Biscuit Baking and a roast.
Meeting dear girlfriends for mis week suppers in town. Eating too many mini eggs. Basking in the April sunshine. Then shivering as it turned cold again.
Painting toenails for the first time this spring. Loving OPI original nail solution it really does work.
Starting on Mad Men Series Four.
Leaving work promptly and driving for supper at my parents. Being abruptly woken at 4.15am to catch the 5.55am ferry to France. Arriving in Arras to join family Warmth in time for Breakfast. Sipping cafe au lait, toasting Mama Warmth's 70th with champagne and a delcious meal. Sitting with sunglasses in the various cafes around the square.
London holiday days. Popping to the Persephone shop for books, bought my first Whipple, calling into Caravan, brilliant book finds in Canterbury's Oxfam book shop, kicking my heels along the Kings Road (oh how I have missed you), foresting in Forest Hill, a trip to Tring. Supper at The Dartmouth Arms.
Much daydreaming about our potential new home...
Visiting Seville - oh my Semana Santa a time of awe and wonder.
Gorgeous Easter weekend in London. Mooching along the southbank viewing Miro and Gabriel Orozco
Then drinks -back at The Dartmouth Arms again. Baking Nigella's delicious Easter Nest Chocolate Cake. A sunny and delicious bbq with dear friends. Eating eggs, hot cross buns, simnel cake on a repeat cycle for two days. To mama and papa Warmth's for Easter Sunday.
Making the place names and table plan for a dear friends' wedding, handing them over... meeting for a Pain Quotidien supper the week before.
Enjoying the Royal Wedding - immensely - far more than I'd imagined. Watching it by myself and with twitterhen travelling to NW3 for lunch with a friend and what turned out to be a street party - my first street party.
And then waking up the next day being a guest at a dear friend's wedding. So in the mood after Friday's wedding.
Reading As I walked out one Midsummers Morning by Laurie Lee, Mrs Tim and the Regiment by DE Stevenson, All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West, Devoted Ladies by M.J. Farrell, The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham

The Twinkling of an Eye

When Rachel wrote about how she was 'slowly making my way through' Gilead, as she was relishing it so much, I was prompted to find my copy with all its turned down pages.

'...but it's your existence I love you for, mainly. Existence seems to me now the most remarkable thing that could ever be imagined. I'm about to put on imperishability. In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye.
The twinkling of an eye. That is the most wonderful expression. I've thought from time to time it was the best thing in life, that little incandescence you see in people when the charm of a thing strikes them, or the humour of it.' Marilynne Robinson Gilead

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Do go and read Rachel's brilliant review.
Thankyou for reminding me to re open the book and read my favourite passages again.

Yea Lord we greet thee

I always know in my heart and the Chistmas tingle appears when this verse is sung. (I get slightly disgruntled if it's sung before the 25th December too.)

Yea Lord we great thee,

Born this happy morning;

Jesu to thee be glory given;

Word of the father,

now in flesh appearing.

stockings

Happy Christmas To You x

What is a Marriage?

"What is a marriage? Words. A commitment. We pledge ourselves to someone else. It is probably the most significant commitment any of us can make, and it depends on our moral determination to honour it. A declaration of marriage does not mean: 'We are man and wife so long as we find each other attractive or compatible; so long as we feel passion for each other; so long as we don;t meet someone more attractive.' It means 'I will be woth you whatever faith brings. I will stay loyal to you. When you need me, I'll be there. When things are tough, I won't walk away.' A marriage can begin in attraction, shared interests or common destiny, but by moralizing the bond it lifts it to an altogether different plane. A personal commitment is stronger than passion, emotion or attraction. It is a pledge to spend a life together, come what may." Chief Rabbi Jonathon Sacks Celebrating Life

Alternative Wedding Flower Love

peony love
stem vase love

floral tin can love

Hope you've enjoyed this week.

December

Sometimes I think this blog could be renamed 'The Carol Ann Duffy Appreciation Blog' . Her poems always fit in so perfectly with my thoughts and the seasons.

December

The year dwindles and glows
to December's red jewel,
my birth month.

The sky blushes,
and lays its cheek
on the sparkling fields.

Then dusk swaddles the cattle,
their silhouettes
simple as faith.

These nights are gifts,
our hands unwrapping the darkness
to see what we have.

The train rushes, ecstatic,
to where you are,
my bright star.

Carol Ann Duffy

red jewel

The Month of November

Reading Dr. Zhivago as part of a group read. Then starting a new novel The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani- which was also a translation!

Films watched Man on Wire and Gran Torino. Loved them both.

A stressful journey to friends in Sevenoaks where we managed to take the wrong road not once but twice and arrived appallingly late. Thank goodness we were staying the night.
Peppermint cold walks around Honor Oak and Forest Hill.
Meeting dear printmaking friends at The National Cafe.
Drinks and a meal at The Old Vic.
Enjoying being in a new part of London with different places to explore. Mooching in Shoreditch. Shopping at Caravan, eating in Albion cafe and then wandering to Spitalfields. Catching the first scent of mulled wine and then spying Pret's turkey and stuffing sandwiches.
Remembrence day service with Mama and Papa Warmth. Walking through the field of soldiers, hearing the chimes of Big Ben and feeling the boom of the guns as the two minute silence is observed.
Catching a stinky cold.
Eid Mubarak and that means a day off. A leisurely morning and then meeting friends for lunch.
Rekindling my love for Browns. A good Friday night meet up.
A visit to Gaugin at Tate Modern. I liked it but I didn't love Gaugin as much as I'd presumed I would.

Still life with peonies

Starting the Christmas shopping - in making Christmas cards, shopping on the high street, at Cockpit Arts and on the internet. Buying my Persephone Secret Santa - well living in london i had to go to the shop and then for a cupcake at Beas.
Finding this winter's dress, a cosy shrug like cardigan from Topshop and new winter pj's.
Finally spending my Space Nk gift voucher from my old job on Annick Goutal Grand Amour.
A little spend in Topshop on their make up. Especially loving 'Grunge' nail varnish. Continuing the varnish theme. Liking Chanel Rose Confidentiel

Beginning Christmas preparations. We're hosting the Warmth family Christmas gathering on the 27th December. Cook books open..... I want to bake cupcakes galore.

And then the snow came...

Angel

We've just had the Ofsted telephone call so I shall disappear for a few days. I shall make sure I find time to remember this poem, another one mother sent me, each day.

Angel

Next day
the angel of tranquility was with us.
Great golden wings were spread above.
And in their tender shadows
the glory of the hunble things
of daily life shone forth.

Each cup became a chalice
each chair a chariot
and on the radio they played
the music of the spheres.

Mercedes Ciaraso

angel

I hope the angel of tranquility is with you today too.

Inward Music

One of reasons I'm really enjoying reading Dr. Zhivago is the theme of life and faith that runs though it. I haven't read many Russian novels but, of those I have, these themes seem to run through each of them. The questions of life which characters think and talk about provokes me. I like being reminded of my faith when reading. They're not always the best passages to put on a blog - sometimes too long. But I'm going to have a try.

'... what has for centuries has raised man above beast is... an inward music: the irrestible power of unarmed truth... It has always been assumed that the most important things in the Gospels are the ethical teaching and commandments. But for me the most important thing is the fact that Christ speaks in parables taken from daily life, that he explains the truth in terms of everyday reality. The idea which underlies this is that communities between mortals is immortal, and that the whole of life is symbolic because the whole of it has meaning.'


'Lara was not religious. She did not believe in ritual. But sometimes, to enable her to bear her life, she needed the accompaniment of an inward music and she could not always compose it for herself. That music was God's word of life and it was to weep over it she went to church.'

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I shall take a building

Visiting lots of churches, walking around a corner and finding another church made me think about this passage.

"So how am I to present Him - this invisible all pervasive catalyst? How am I to suggest to my reader... The extraordinary fact that for much of recorded time most people have been prepared to believe in the presidency over all things of an indefinable unassageable power?
I shall take a building. A building shaped like a cross, furnished neither for habitation nor defence. I shall multiply this building by a thousand, by ten thousand, by a hundred thousand. It may be as small as a single room; it may soar far into the sky. It may be old or it may be new; it may be plain or it may be rich; it may be stone or it may be of wood or it may be of brick or mud. This building is in the heart of cities and it is in the wild places of earth. It is on islands and in deserts and up on mountains. It is in Provence and Suffolk and Tuscany and Alsace and in Vermont and Bolicia and The Lebanon. The walls and furnishings ofthis building tell stories; they talk of kings and queens and angels and devils; they instruct and they threaten. They are intended to uplift and to terrify. They are an argument made manifest." Penelope Lively Moon Tigee

Florence

Florence, what a lovely lovely time we had.

Here are some of my memories.

With our Luxe guide to help discover the gems.

O ur hotel

in

so we had to visit

And then Santa Maria Novella Pharmacia .

We marvelled at

and our favourite museum was

a welcome simplicity after the ornateness of The Uffizi.

We licked a

every day.

We had to eat a slice of

Every night we started with a

and then to some delicious restaurants.

We drank lots of lovely

And finally we queued for our

to take the


back to

The end of a wonderful wonderful holiday.

Our Deepest Fear

As October is Black History Month I'm going to have a weekly post celebrating it. We'll start off with this passage Nelson Mandela used in his inaugural address, written by Marianne Williamson. (Thank you Ali Mal.)

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us.
We ask ourselves.

Who am I to be so brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually.

Who are we not to be?

You are a child of God...

Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you, we are all meant to shine as children do.

We are born to make manifest the glory of God, within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,

We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we're liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.

Nelson Mandela

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Hoping your light shines today x

Forming People

So, the start of a new academic year. I've always liked this passage and today as we look ahead to our hopes and dreams for the next year it seemed appropriate. Who knows where this year will take us, what changes will happen. (I feel those who are making those decisions should read this passage.) This is what education means to me and why I'm looking forward to the year ahead.

'Education is about forming people who have the moral strength and spiritual depth to hold a course and weather its ups and downs.

It is about forming people who know that economic competition is not more important than family life and love of neighbour, and that technical innovation is not more important that reverence for beauty of creation. It is about forming people who. however academically and technically skillful, are not reduced to inarticualte embarrassment by the great questions of life and death, meaning and truth.'

Archbishop of Canterbury quoted in Lord Dearing's Report 'The Way ahead' quoted in The Daily Telegraph 31st July 2002

.'

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