A Splash of Silver

I am not just about obsessive china collecting

Oh no...you have misjudged me...

I have a sideline in obsessive silver collecting
...specifically, jewellery made by the lovely Emma...

This is my latest Silverpebble acquisition:
an antique locket embellished with a crystal clear bead,
rice pearls and a hand-made ivy leaf.

Just the place to keep a breath of sea air.

Much Ado About Nothing

MrsM
Errr...I bought another camera...

MrM
I know.

MrsM
Oh!

MrM
Does it make you happy?

MrsM
Yes!

MrM
Well...that's alright then...

that sweet ornament

Indian carnation, viburnum,
Turkish rose and orange blossom
cardamom, coriander and cinnamon

~~~~~

MissM left her perfume behind
on the dining room table.

I look at it for a while
and then I lift the lid cautiously.

The fragrance of laughter floats out.

scary stories for small boys

Jessie Willcox Smith
A Child's Book of Stories
Duffield and Company, 1911.

it has occurred to MrsM
that some fairy stories could be very damaging
if read to impressionable little boys

consider Snow White and the seven dwarfs:
there is the problematic size issue...

and the worrying suggestion
that you could live happily
in the forest
with your pals
and then, without warning,
two women might come along at once
and disturb your comfortable bachelor life...

don't even start me on
the symbolism of mining...

or the disastrous implications
for healthy eating...

you have been warned

Berthe Morisot (1841–1895)

Still Life with Cut Apple and Pitcher

Berthe Morisot studied with Corot
and married the brother of Édouard Manet,
She was an influential member
of the Parisian Impressionists,
exhibiting alongside Cezanne, Degas and Renoir.

Her paintings provide insights into her life
that I recognise from my own experience
one hundred and forty years later.

White Flowers in a Bowl

I could have featured 'The Cradle',
a study of the intense relationship
between mother and child.

Daffodils

Or any of the intimate portraits
that capture the violin lesson,
the little girl with the doll,
the picnic on the grass
or the child at the garden gate.

Dahlias

But this is my first half term without children
so if you don't mind
we will look at pictures of
apples, flowers and china bowls.

It seems safer.

beyond the bridge

I turn my camera sideways
and see the light melt on the water.

It lies on the surface,
a mercurial slick,
pewtered droplets spread thin
until they shatter into pinpoints.

I watch in silence,
this watery incandescence,
this glittering metallica

and then I ask my mother,
"did you see that too?"

the vine

These are the grapes
that were cut from the vine
that was grown from a twig
left over from a bunch
that was picked from a greenhouse
and shared at a picnic
in a cliffside theatre many years ago
and now provides dessert for
a special birthday lunch.

*****

My parents argue amiably
about who can claim the credit
and it is agreed that
my mother nurtured the twig
in a Marmite pot with rooting hormone
and when the vine had grown
my father carefully transported it
to the garden by the river.

a rose in October...

is more precious than
a rose in June.

no?

*****

Happy Birthday, Mum.

My camera and I

I have a confession to make...
I am not getting on with my new camera.

My photographic style - such as it is -
is about rapid identification of images
and so I need a very fast camera.
The new camera has lots of tiny dials and switches
and is unbearably slow to set up a shot.

Another thing that is important to me
is the ability to see what the outcome will be on the screen...
I only take a few shots at a time - perhaps two or three -
and so I can't afford to make mistakes.
The new camera has a Smart Auto function
and it corrects effects that I want to achieve
which is very frustrating
when you cannot go back to recreate a shot.

And I really don't want weird Hipstamatic photos

Finally, my new camera is only slightly bigger
but it does not fit in my coat pocket;
this might sound a ludicrous complaint
but I had not realised how important it is to me.

Fortunately, MasterM needs a camera
because he dropped his.

Who knows - perhaps he will send more photos home...

Exam Term, Stellenbosch

I can only write about my family
with their permission
and I am very grateful to them
for being so tolerant over the past three years.

I am particularly careful with photographs
because I do not want to compromise their privacy.

These photos were sent by MasterM recently
and I was surprised and delighted
when he said that I could post them here.

It might be linked to the fact
that the Head of Department is visiting Stellenbosch
and has offered to take an emergency supply of fudge.