rose pink

in need of distraction

I file my holiday photos

and discover these images of flowers

which I took for you

a welcome opportunity

to revisit tranquil places

Château de Chambord

Easter in a Country Church

When MrM was a little boy
he watched his father shaving
and then he said
"What do you DO, Daddy?"

and he says that his father paused
in the middle of shaving
and thought for a moment
before he replied

"I preach the word of God"

and that is what he still does,
long after his 'retirement'
at his two country churches:

St. Andrew, Thornhaugh
and here at
St. Mary the Virgin, Wansford.

On Easter Sunday
the church is decorated with love
to celebrate the Risen Christ

and the pews are full
with friends from the parish

who give thanks
for the continued ministry of
Thomas, their parish priest.

On Clare Bridge

As I took this photo the woman paused beside me
and when I had finished I thanked her.

"It is even more beautiful in the winter
than it is in the summer." she said.

"Shall I tell you something..." I replied
"I walked across this bridge
twenty five years ago as a young bride
because I was married in the chapel."

She was older than me and she smiled
"And are you the same person now
as you were then?"

I thought of all that had passed in that time
"No...no, I am not that person"

"But there is continuity...no?"
I thought of MissM visiting the Charming MasterN
in this same college and I smiled back at her
"Yes, of course there is continuity."

And she turned away from me,
this stranger who had offered such compassionate insight,
and walked over the bridge.

The weight of light

At times in certain places
the light has weight beyond its normal measure -

dense, thick, heavy,

rich with an abundance of warmth and color.

It soaks into the world it falls on,
re-illuminating it from within

so that the texture of air, of streets, of faces
etch crystalline images indelibly

in memories of living presence...

Words
extract from "The weight of light"
Manuel García, Jr.

Photos :
St. Andrew, Thornhaugh

Walls of Granada

Between budgets and employment contracts,
room bookings and purchase orders

The Hill of the Alhambra
Samuel Colman (1832-1920)

and clattering visits
from the academic who is now 41
and has another cunning plan or three
on the boil

The Comares Tower of the Alhambra
David Roberts (1796-1864)

I pause
and my mind drifts sideways...

The Gate of the Justice
Wilhelm Gail (1804 - 1890)

I have never seen the Alhambra,
that rose-red citadel on the edge of Granada;

Lions in the Alhambra
John Dobbin (1815-1888)

the sprawling walls and towers,
massive gateways, pillared courtyards
and extravagant Moorish decoration.

Entrance to the Hall of Ambassadors
George Owen Wynne Apperley (1884 - 1960)

I can't go today or tomorrow
or even next week
but I will...

one day I will go to Granada.

Sissinghurst

We followed everyone else to the White Garden

and appreciated the delicate blue Aster border

and wondered at the Nuttery

and climbed the tower to see the garden in the landscape

but it was the hot borders that we loved:

pulsating plantings of sunshine yellow and flame orange;

an extravagant compression of fiery petals.

A Most Elegant Soirée

MrsM and her companion, Lucille,
have invitations to the most select of soirées.
They have come to hear
the Celebrated Authoress, Amanda Vickery,
talk about her new book in the elegant surroundings
of Sir John Soane's house in Lincoln's Inn Fields.

Firstly, there are drinks in the Yellow Drawing Room
MrsM and Lucille cannot help admiring their fellow guests
and commenting on the charming young man
in the rainbow-coloured patchwork leather suit.

Next, they must sit on exquisite red chairs with gold legs
in the Library with walls of Pompeiian Red
and listen to Amanda Vickery,
incandescent in flamboyant red drapery.
She is the most vivacious and confident of performers
with teasing extracts from her research
including mentions of Anthony Trollope
who was apparently directionless as a young man.
How fortunate we are that he left such a detailed journal
to inform our knowledge of the life of a Georgian bachelor.

Afterwards, MrsM and Lucille explore the house
which is illuminated with hundreds of candles,
reflecting off mirrors and polished wood
and flickering in the most enchanting manner
around the myriad sculptures.

Such a magical evening.

MrsM smiles all the way home,
thinking of the pleasure of meeting Lucille for the first time
and clutching her autographed copy of
Behind Closed Doors.

Obsessive Bench Disorder

MrM and MrsM visit Osterley Park
and admire the impressive Neo-Classical mansion
and the Robert Adam interior.

They stroll beside the ornamental lake
and wander in the walled garden.

It is a beautiful day
and the sunshine makes the leaves glow
and the water shimmer.

When MrsM gets home she looks at her photos.

There are a selection of garden benches.

Metal, wood,
with and without arms,
decorative, plain,
with and without backs.

But just benches.

No house, no garden, no lake
No trees, no flowers, no happy children.

What was all that about?

MrsM contemplates a lifetime of therapy.

Venice in Winter

The academic who has just turned 40
went to Venice for a special birthday weekend.

The Doges Palace
Edward Seago

I recommended our little hotel
near the Accademia Bridge

The Grand Canal from Accademia Bridge
Edward Seago

and told him to ask for the room at the front
which overlooks the canal.

The Doorway, Venice
Edward Seago

We arrived by watertaxi at night
when Venice was shrouded in fog
and nothing could have been
more magical or romantic.

Venice at night
Edward Seago

The academic told me of a tiny restaurant
hidden among back streets
and I longed to return.

Maybe in the Spring.

*****

Edward Seago (1910 - 1974)
started his artistic career in a travelling circus
but went on to develop a Impressionistic style
which he used to explore the effect of light and shade
in various locations from the Antarctic to the Norfolk Broads.
His paintings were much sought after and he enjoyed
the enthusiastic patronage of the Queen Mother.
I look forward to the Centenary exhibition
at the Portland Gallery in February 2010.

Clare College, Cambridge

Clare College looked very beautiful on Saturday

just as it did on another September afternoon

when I walked with my father along the avenue,
through the gate and across the court to the chapel

where our family and friends were waiting
and we were married by MrM's father.

Afterwards we ate in the Hall:
Guinea Fowl with braised celery,
the most heavenly Crème brûlée
and a cake of extravagant beauty.

At the end of the afternoon we left by punt
and as our families and friends waved from the bridge
I threw my bouquet of cream freesias up towards them.

The bouquet landed in the river with a gentle splash
and was picked up by a young woman in a punt.

I hope that it was lucky for her
and she found happiness as we did.