Journeys

                                                                                         Kilimanjaro
 

Dear Reader,

It seems that there are a plague of rats in France.  There are over two for every Parisian and their numbers are multiplying.  Paris apparently vies with Marseilles for the distinction of being the most rat infested city in the world.  But to the Green Councillor in charge of pest control and animal welfare in north Paris, all creatures great and small come under that heading. One of her colleagues should not use the word rats, she says, because it carries "pejorative connotations" and probably offends the rats. (I put that in). They should be called "surmulots" which refers to oversized field mice.  "We should study them and learn to live with them,"she concludes.  

We had a rat in the garage in the winter.  It ate through handles of saws, wires, plastic buckets and anything else it fancied. If I see it I must remember not to shout at it in an offense way although, of course, it is an English rat so perhaps it hasn't yet heard that it is now called a surmulot,or an oversized mouse.

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From Gilbert White, 1786, July 31st in Hampshire

'The poor begin to glean wheat.  The country looks very rich, being finely diversified with crops of corn of various sorts, and colours.'

From John Ruskin, 1884, August 1st, in Lancashire

'Very lovely with calm lake, but the roses fading, the hay cut. The summer is ended.  Autumn begun.'

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Journeys

Young,
we fly to distant places,
walk the Silk Road,
swim in the Nile,
climb Kilimanjaro,
sail the great seas,
picnic in the desert
under the stars.

Middle aged, with children,
we travel to Europe,
walk in the hills,
ski, surf board, visit museums,
exclaim at the Eiffel Tower,
swim in rivers,
raid the High Streets.

Grandparents, and old now,
we travel all over the world,
enjoy lions in Africa,
natives dancing in Bali,
big white whales in vast oceans,
and explore National Parks
whilst drinking cups of tea,
preparing for the unknown
and longest journey.

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With best wishes, Patricia

My memoir: "Half a Pair of People"  is published on Amazon.  Click on books,  Patricia Huth and you will see it.