More ups and downs

-
Dear Monty,



This experience was uplifting - a walk with two other men coming to terms with the issues that are put our way - the changes wrought by age and retirement, the pain and joy of memories both good and ill. Uplifting though because it is so true that burdens shared really do lighten the load.




Forest Coal Pit to Twmpa.

I wound up the road from LLanigon in my battered car to the foot of the Black Mountains.
I saw a mountain hare
A red kite circling
A raven
And skylarks





Over the Gospel Pass to meet
Two men
Like 'Last Of The Summer Wine'


Hedgerows were bursting into new life
Arum, sorrel, aconite, digitalis, primrose and budding branches




We walked past Journalists houses




We pulled up to the ridge on a sunken lane




Unburdening on our way
Stress and anxiety
Passion and dreams
and the real things of this strange life

Llanthony Priory like a miniature medieval ruin
We try and pronounce Capel y Fin and
Twmpa

Easier to say Lord Hereford's Knob

With a smirk we finally mount the priapic mound



Vistas
Vales
And big skies greet us in the evening sun.



Paul

Comments

  1. JohnK17 April 2016 at 23:51

    After reading another blog today (you know which one), I can't help adulterating part of your verse:

    Over the Gospel Pass to meet
    Two men
    Like 'Last Of The Summer Wine'
    Missing a third.

    You'll understand, I'm sure.

    And stop reminding Charles that he's old!
    :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul Steer21 April 2016 at 19:20

      Yes a sad thought - not reminding Charles of being old - but missing the third.

      Delete
  2. Anne Wareham18 April 2016 at 09:45

    Good to have two perspectives on your ramblings! Xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gardens at Waters East21 April 2016 at 18:55

    From one older man - thanks for the posting. Enjoyed JC

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown17 April 2017 at 17:24

    Baggsy Clegg....

    Lovely verse and pics Paul. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Weariness and the NGS

-
Image
Hello,  I have to admit to a kind of tiredness that comes from somewhere deep inside me. It's a kind of bone deep weariness with my own self, and with what human life has become. Now I'm not saying that I'm depressed, but I'm trying to face the reality of who I am and what the collective 'we' are currently moving through; 'cost of living crisis', wars, famines, dirty politics, corruption. But then those things are always with us, like the realities of illness, separation and loss, but alongside and underneath there remains the living spirit of things. Well here I stand, still alive, still breathing in and out, and yes the garden and this post industrial valley is still singing a lively song. Today its the cuckoo, thrush, raven, buzzard, sparrow, bullfinch and the chirrrup of the blue tit family busy feeding their brood in the nestbox, protesting at our presence sitting under the shade of the umbrella. I believe that singing helps ! I have a friend named
Read more

Letter to Monty Don 48

-
Image
Dear Monty, I know that despite these rambles being addressed to you, they never reach your eyes or heart, but this question is most certainly directed to you : Can nature be ugly ? I am pondering this question sitting in my cupboard of a 'studio' where I am putting the finishing touches to paintings of  British native orchids, pollinators and butterflies for an exhibition next weekend. Now I believe that you understand perfectly well the response you may get when you make statements on GW - including the one about spent buddleja flowers being 'ugly'. I too have always deadheaded my buddleja for the same reason, and as you said to promote new flower spikes. But this ugliness is an intrinsic part of nature - it sets seed to create the next generation, the flowers last but for a few days. Is this ugliness a kind of acknowledgement of the frailty of 'beauty' .... and the cutting off and tidying away a kind of denial ? ( Perhaps I think too much.) I
Read more

Monty, where does the road take us ?

-
Image
Monty, I see you have returned to France. Your film reminded me of my visits to Paris as an art student between 1981-83. It is a city that cannot fail to make an impression with its wide open streets, avenues of trees, the river and public gardens. I particularly remember Versailles with its long canal. At that time I was not aware of having a particular interest in gardens, but the gardens at Versailles were astonishing. I saw them in early morning light, when there were not that many people there. I also remember being intrigued by the garden at the Musee Rodin. Strangely for an art student, it was not the sculpture that caught my attention but the garden with pyramid shaped topiary. Perhaps what I was responding to was the sense of order, balance and harmony. It almost feels as though I was meant to visit, and that the encounters I had which were sensually intense, were pre-ordained. There is one incident, which has great significance only to me perhaps, but which was of
Read more