On Friendship

Some time ago Lynn posted a picture of a paeony
just because she knew that I loved them.
I was immensely touched by this gesture.

This is my reciprocal picture:
Roses for Lynn
(without whom Blogland would be a very dull place).

I have had other reasons to be grateful to blog-friends recently:
emails which have made me laugh,
emails which have given me encouragement
and so many wonderful comments.

And a small parcel of badges from Lucille
Peter Pan and Wendy; Tinkerbell and MasterM's favourite:
'How About It, Wendy?'
MasterM was mystified
'Why would anyone go to so much trouble
when they don't even know me?'
I tried to explain that through blogging
I have met wonderful and generous people.

Thank you all for your friendship,

A Night in the Painted Garden

A riot of paeonies and cherry blossom

and an extravagance of exotic birds

painted onto a sky of liquid gold.

When I woke up, I thought
'this is what heaven might be like'.

I had better start being good.

Graduation

Here they are:

the Head of Department,
the Examinations Officer and the Admissions Tutor,
the enthusiastic academic and the expert on woolly mammoths,
the youngest academic and the tiny American academic,
the Professor who shall remain nameless,
the academic who is going to be 41 quite soon,
and a score of other colleagues in their academic finery.

The sun shone, the champagne flowed,
the cameras flashed to capture the memories
and the parents of the graduands smiled and smiled.

And now...
let the summer begin.

The Dark Entry

This ancient covered passage
joins the School and the Cathedral

It is a place of cool darkness and silence.

The flagstones are worn
with the footsteps of 600 years.

If you walk this way, day after day,
you may not know
when you pass under the arch for the last time.

If you did,
you would pause
and turn for a final look
at the places you love.

And then you would step out into the sunshine
and walk away.

Commem

Will she remember...

the tailored cut of the ivory dress
and the weight of her Prefect's purple gown

the fabulous costumes of her friends:
saris, turbans, kilts, ostrich feathers

the heat of the day
and the cool shadows of the evening

the fragrance of the bowl of strawberries
and the luscious ripeness of the cherries

the wrist ribbons she shared with her friends
and the warm hugs of her teachers

champagne at breakfast,
cream cakes at tea
and chocolate fountain at night

dancing all night in four inch heels
with the Charming MasterN.


I hope that, above all, she remembers
the smiles of her mother and father

we were so very proud of her.

Serenade

Sure on this shining night
Of star-made shadows round
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground

I expected to feel sad
knowing that it was the last time
that we would sit in the Great Cloister
on a warm summer evening in July
listening to the music of the Serenade.


The late year lies down the north,
All is healed, all is health
High summer holdsthe earth,
Hearts all whole

I discovered that the sounds
and the silences
are all locked away in my heart.


Sure on this shining night
I weep for wonder
Wandr'ing far alone
Of shadows on the stars.

At the very end of the evening
the roosting pigeons were startled
and flew upwards into the cobalt sky
through the arc of lights,
the undersides of their wings bright gold.


I thought that I had never seen anything so beautiful.

Sure on this Shining Night
Morton Lauridsen

MasterM, Mixologist

MrsM
What is in a Mojito?

MasterM
(shocked)
Wait one...
you have NEVER had a Mojito??

MrsM
(pathetically)
It is your father's fault...
he has never bought me one.

MrM
(embarrassed)
You must remember that
your mother was very, very young
when I first met her.

MasterM
I am going to make you a Mojito immediately.
You are in a new phase of your life...
The Mojito Years.

A Bowl of Cherries

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments.

We have just returned from the little cottage
that we stay in at this time of year
which has many charming features
but no phone reception or internet connection.

The cherries were left over from a picnic
on the very last day of school
and I have much to tell you.

But first...
I have emails to write...
a multitude of blogs to read...
and a Peter Pan costume to make for MasterM.

hat, t-shirt, shorts...check
bow and arrow...check
'Kiss Me, Wendy' badge...check

I think I blinked...

Today is the start of MissM's last week at school.

We are looking forward to the concerts and plays,
the picnics, Champagne Ball and Speech Day.

But this time next week it will all be over.

uniforms, name-tapes, suitcases,
homework, projects, reports, exams,
Carol Concerts,
Sports Days,
Parents Evenings

And I can't even begin to tell you
how strange that feels.

The Mother-Son Dynamic

MasterM
Can I borrow some of your CDs?

MrsM smiles at her son.
He is wearing his 'Respect Your Mother' T Shirt.
MrsM decides that he is a very fine young man.

MasterM
I feel uncomfortable about this.
There is something fundamentally wrong
about borrowing CDs from your mother.
I may have to change my taste in music.

MrsM decides he is a less fine young man
than she had originally thought.