April 16, 2010
April 5, 2010
Guest Beers at the Victoria April 1st 2010
Mauldon’s Cuckoo (4.3%) £3.05
Dixons Colour of Spring (4.2%) £2.95
Butcombe Gold (4.4%) £3.15
Batemans Eggs-B (4.2%) £2.95
April 2, 2010
No place to hide
The end of the road is a long long way
and with storm clouds gathering
there is no place to hide,
I think of the friends I have left behind
and wonder what they are doing,
wish they were with me on this long long ride
Photo – Lewis weather by Blues
March 31, 2010
March 29, 2010
Not An Easy Living
Dilapidated house in Lewis – by “Blues”
It was not an easy living and the kids eventually had to leave home to work over the water. They came back from time to time but then the old man died and there was no longer a reason to make the trip. The building lay empty and locked until one winter a storm ripped slates off the roof. The subsequent decline was rapid and the cottage soon became fit only for sheep and nesting birds. Never again would that hearth see a roaring fire in the grate.
The Highwayman
Clippety-clop the hooves rang clear,
The Highwayman came riding,
Brave and with no fear,
Bang hoe werkt bang, the guards had fallen,
He cut the ropes off Bess,
And the Highwayman came riding away,
From the old inn’s distress.
March 28, 2010
South Uist Sunset
South Uist Sunset – by Blues
I look at this scene and feel calm, the serenity of the South Uist sunset. The derelict building, a black cut out on the darkened promontory, is a focus for the mind on life on the island. Summer now but a different proposition in winter. As if I am being lulled into a false sense of wellbeing.
I spend a few minutes gazing and then retire to the cottage. The oil lamp is already lit. There is no fire in the hearth but the smell of peat lingers, mingling well with the whisky in my glass. We sit around the table in the kitchen and talk long into the night.
afficionadoless
Graffiti by Blues
hidden art
conflict of emotion
paint by discard
sewer of creativity
avoided filled void
afficionadoless
Graffiti3 by Blues
March 24, 2010
jura dawn
photo – “jura dawn” by Blues
waters gently lap
whilst the light slowly
grows in intensity,
nature’s perfect alarm clock
a gradual awakening,
reflection on the day ahead,
eastern promise exclaimed
in western islands, perfect
church spire mull
one casts shadows
the other provides shade
church tower – tree
tree – church tower
rhyme or reason
personal decision
photo “church spire Mull” by Blues
March 23, 2010
roll ‘em
roll ‘em
fill ‘em full of whisky and roll ‘em
line ‘em up like gas-bloated porkers
brim with potential and gasping for kicks
release to an audience of nosey savants
significant savour,
bar brawl, shameful mix
full, of anticipation
empty, filling with expectation
or deepest reflection, innermost feeling
a cycle, start again
roll ‘em
fill ‘em full of whisky and roll ‘em
photo – Barrels by Blues
March 21, 2010
The Strugglers
Landlords at the Strugglers Inn, Westgate, Lincoln.
1838 Philip Ball
1854 Mary Ann Ball
1856 Philip Ball Jnr
1869 Charles Frost
1875 William Roberts
1890 Thomas Thorndyke
1899 Charles Hagues
1904 Frank Brumpton
1917 Harriet Brumpton
1924 Patcick Markham
1935 Arthur Woodcock
1944 Amelia Wardle
1960 Charles R Wood
1966 Frank Ormsby
1988 Philip Hockney
1996 Anthony Reany
1996 Christopher Mansell
15/10/1999 Heidi Raabe
Note I’m going to have to go back and check some of these names. I can’t understand my own handwriting sometimes, especially after a beer.