Praise

Dear Reader, 

The story of the primrose (Primula vulgaris) is a journey from ancient mystical folklore to the heart of English literature and Victorian tradition.  Known as one of the first flowers of spring - derived from the Latin prima rosa - this unassuming, pale yellow flower had held a place in European culture for centuries.

In Irish and Scottish folklore the primrose is deeply associated with fairies, often called "fairy cups".  It was believed that a bunch of primroses, particularly when placed on a doorstep on May Eve, acted a a barrier against evil spirits and protected the household.  Also a Scottish legend claimed that if you ate a primrose you would gain the ability to see fairies.

And farmers would place them in cow sheds to stop fairies stealing the milk.  The primrose was a favourite of William Shakespeare who often used it to represent youth, early death or fleeting pleasure. 

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Lots of different flowers have come up in the garden this week but no primroses. 

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From Dorothy Wordsworth   February 26th  1798 in Somerset

'A winter prospect shows every cottage, every farm, and the forms of distant trees, such as in summer have no distinguishing mark.' 

From S.T. Coleridge  February 28th   1827 in Highgate

'What an interval!   Heard the singing birds this morning in our garden for the first time this year, though it rained and blew fiercely; but the long frost has broken up, and the wind, though fierce, was warm and westerly.'

From John Ruskin  February 29th   1876 in Oxfordshire 

'I saw some blessed purple walls against the sunshine among the farms, and seemed to find my life again on the green banks.'

 

 

Praise

 

She always tried to be good

did her best in everything she did

but her best wasn’t

good enough

 

her mother was too busy

meeting drinking friends

her father didn’t notice

he was too busy making films

 

and they didn’t seem

to know about praise

 

but praise is so easy to give

and so difficult to get

why can’t people see that

a word or two can change

a whole life view

 

can turn a bad black day

into a day to remember

when your heart fills

with love and thanks

    

With very best wishes, Patricia                                                                          *