The Mind Cupboard

 Dear Reader,

It seems from the figures I can get from round the world that some of you are missing this poem.

So here it is again.

The Mind Cupboard

 

 

My mind cupboard overflows

with unwanted debris.

It needs a spring clean.

 

I will brush away the cobwebs

of cheerless thoughts.

Scrub out the stains of childhood.

 

I will replace the brass hooks

corroded with salt tears,

empty all the screams

hoarded through the years.

 

I will replace the accumulated ashes

from the worn shelf-paper,

with virgin tissue.

 

I will chase and catch the wasps,

relieve them of their stings.

I will refill this cupboard

with love, and learnt, brighter things.

 

                                                                                        *

 

 

I hope this is what you wanted.

With very best wishes, Patricia

Sleep Snare

 Dear Reader,

Sheep were first domesticated from wild species of sheep at least 5000 BC and their remains have been found at numerous sites of early human habitation in the the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia.  Domesticated sheep are raised for their fleece (wool), for milk and for meat.

Sheep originated in Central Asia and were introduced to Britain by early settlers.  Archaeologists unearthed preserved brown wool dating from the Neolithic period 5000 years ago.   

Sheep are very gentle animals and were one of the first animals to be domesticated.  They can differentiate facial expressions and prefer, it seems, a smile to a frown.  Sheep have excellent peripheral vision.   Their large, rectangular pupils allow them to see almost 360 degrees. 

The popular stereotype is that sheep are docile, passive, unintelligent and timid but a review of the research on their behaviour, affect, cognition and personality reveals that they are complex, individualistic and social.

                                                                          *

After my piece about being scammed last week I have found out that almost everyone I spoke to had been scammed.   I suppose the prime motive by these people is to make money out of their victims but do they ever think how upsetting their actions are?   I don't suppose so.  I feel better now I know that so many other people have been taken in by these criminals, and  I am very wary of everything that comes in and simply block unknown names.  

                                                                           *

From Samuel Pepys  June 28th 1664 in London

'Put on a half shirt first this summer, it being very hot, and yet so ill-tempered am I grown, that I am afeared I shall catch cold, while all the world is ready to melt away.'

From Francis Kilvert  June 29th  1872 in Breconshire 

'Called at Hay Castle and went with the four pretty girl archers to shoot and pick up their arrows in the field opposite the castle.'

                                                                            *         

                                                                       Sleep snare

 

 

 

 

I lie awake and hear

the clock strike three,

and wonder how to

snare elusive sleep,

how to capture it,

how to find

its hiding place

and coax it back to bed.

I might entice  it

with crimson berries,

or butter croissants

then pounce on it,

and let it loose

inside my head.

But sharp is cunning sleep

it knows the tricks,

is bored of counting sheep.

 

 

 

I must fly northwards

to the moon

and let sleep take me

 

 

soon

 

          soon

 

soon ......... 

 

 

 

                                                                              *

With very best wishes, Patricia

 

 

                                                                                                  

SCAM

 Dear reader,

The poem I am putting on this week is a true story about a scam I fell for and feel so stupid as a result. A man, giving his name as a Hollywood film star, fed up with dealing with actresses and wanting a friendship with an "ordinary" person wrote to me having seen my photograph  on the Instagram page. 

Vanity kicked in and I was flattered that a famous person thought I was beautiful and charming.  He was, he said, not only a film star but a film producer and I thought he might be interested in making a film of my book:  Half a Pair of People.  

But quickly I realized that this man was a fantasist.  He was probably working from a bedsit in Morpeth or Woking, or somewhere equivalent. However I was taken in by his lies and when I did realize the truth I felt such an idiot.  

Years ago a good clever friend of mine was completely taken in by a 'so-called bank' asking her to get cash out and give it to a policeman who would come for it.  And she did what they asked.  I can't remember how much she gave them but quite a sum I think.  

We believe these scammers because we have been brought up to tell the truth.  We don't imagine people are going to con us, make fools of us, take our money and our dignity and lie with every word they write.

But they do.  So if somebody writes on your Facebook page and says they want to be your friend think very hard about answering.  Facebook does look after us and will block an unwanted person and you can report anything you think is not genuine.  Just be wary.

 

                                                                                  *

 

From Dorothy Wordsworth  June 20th  1802 in Westmorland

'We lay upon the sloping turf.  Earth and sky were so lovely that they melted our very hearts.   the sky to the north was of a chastened yet rich yellow, fading into pale blue, and streaked and scattered over with steady islands of purple, melting away into shades of pink.  It made my heart almost feel like a vision to me.'

From William Cowper   June 21st  1784 in Buckinghamshire

'We now have frosty mornings, and so cold a wind, that even at hight noon we have been obliged to break off our walk in the southern side of the garden and seek shelter, I in the greenhouse, and Mrs Unwin by the fireside.  Haymaking begins here tomorrow.'

                              

From Katherine Mansfield  June 21st  1918 in Cornwall

'What is the matter with to-day?   It is thin, white, as lace curtains are white, full of ugly noises....Went for a walk and was caught in the wind and rain.  Terribly cold and wretched...'

                                                                             *

SCAM

 

Hello gorgeous

you look pretty

so charming

 

how are you feeling

are you happy

let me into your life

I will support you

even love you........

 

could I ask a favour

now we are such good friends

 

could you lend me

a small sum of money

I need it for my dying mother,

my train fare, to mend my car

for my rent.......

 

And I am such a fool

I really believed him

so gullible was I

so stupid

such an out of pocket idiot

 

                                                                          *

With very best wishes, Patricia

Stations The Mind cupboard

 Dear Reader,

Gauloises cigarettes were launched by SEITA in 1910.   Traditional Gauloises were short, wide, unfiltered and made with dark tobacco from Syria and Turkey, which produced a strong and distinctive aroma.   The brand is most famous for its cigarettes' strength, especially its original unfiltered version.

Between the World Wars the smoking of Gauloises in France was considered patriotic and an affiliation with French "heartland" values.  The brand was associated with the cigarette-smoking French infantrymen in the trenches and the resistance fighters during the Vichy Regime.  Their slogan was "Liberte toujours", Freedom Forever.  

Gauloises Disque Bleu launched in 1954 was linked to high-status and inspirational figures representing the worlds of art, viz. Pablo Picasso, and the intellectual elite, Jean Paul Satre, Albert Camus and Jean Baudrillaro.  In popular music the British icon John Lennon smoked Gauloises.

                                                                                  *

I absolutely loved smoking Gauloises Disque Blue cigarettes in the 1950's.  I thought I looked so cool and sophisticated, and I enjoyed the glamour of it all. Sitting in a restaurant drawing in the smoke was, I thought, bliss.   I was seventeen so knew nothing of what tobacco was going to do to my lungs and smoked happily until I was forty.  Eventually of course I got lung cancer.  I am now paying the price with breathlessness and chest pains.  

 

                                                                                   *

From William Cowper  June 13th  1783 in Buckinghamshire

'The fogs......still continue, though till yesterday the earth was as dry as intense heat could make it.  the sun continues to rise and set without his rays, and hardly shines at noon.   At eleven last night the moon was a dull red; she was nearly at her highest elevation, and had the colour of heated brick...Dead ducks cannot travel this weather, they say it is too hot for them, and they shall shrink.' 

From Horace Walpole  June 14th  1791 in Middlesex

'It froze hard last night:   I went out for a moment to kook at my haymakers, and was starved.   The contents of an English June are hay and ice, orange-flowers and rheumatism.   I am now cowering over the fire.'

                                                                          *

 

Stations

 

are full of people,

people angry, people joyful

people sad, people anxious,

people disappointed,

people running,

people excited,

old people,

young people,

middle aged people

the odd dog

 

Stations are full

of smoke

the smell of frying onions

gauloises cigarettes

pigeons

lost luggage

people hurrying to and fro

the crashing of doors

noise and emotion

 

Stations

are the beginning

or the end

 

the alpha

the omega

 

                                                                                            *

The Mind Cupboard

 

 

 

My mind cupboard overflows

with unwanted debris.

It needs a spring clean.

 

I will brush away the cobwebs

of cheerless thoughts.

Scrub out the stains of childhood.

 

I will replace the brass hooks

corroded with salt tears,

empty all the screams

hoarded through the years.

 

I will replace the accumulated ashes

from the worn shelf-paper,

with virgin tissue.

 

I will chase and catch the wasps,

relieve them of their stings.

I will refill this cupboard

with love, and learnt, brighter things.

 

                                                                                 *

 

With very best wishes, Patricia

 

 

 

Second Chance The Mind Cupboard

 Dear Reader,

Roses are thought to have been first cultivated in China where they were grown in the imperial gardens of the Chou dynasty as described by Confucius (551-479 BC).  Many of the cultivated roses we grow today are hybrids and selections from species native to china. 

In Greek mythology the rose was beloved and considered sacred by Aphrodite, the goddess of love.  That connection with romantic love was paralleled in Roman mythology, associated with Aphrodite's counterpart, Venus.  

Roses have a time honoured place as a symbol of love in literature and poetry.  Roses in the ancient Mediterranean were symbols of religious devotion, erotic desire and luxury.  They were used in incense and aphrodisiacs, garlands and perfumes, wines and food.  They were also an important medicinal ingredient.   The juice from the rose petals was used as a rinse for sores in the mouth and the gums.

The worlds oldest living rose is believed to be 1,000 years old.  It grows on the wall of the Cathedral of Hildesheim in Germany. 

                                                                       *

From Francis Kilvert  June 7th  1874  in Wiltshire

'Another glorious glowing day of sunshine and unclouded blue.  But every day the drought grows drier and the predicted water famine is stealing upon us.   Every day the pasture grows whiter and more bare and slippery .....Later the warm soft night was laden with perfume and the sweet scent of the syringa'.

 

From Gilbert White  June 7th  1783 in Hampshire

'Tulips have faded.   Honeysuckles still in beauty.   My columbines are very beautiful.  Tied some of the stems with pieces of worsted, to mark them for seed. Planted out pots of green cucumbers.'

                                                                                  *

Second Chance

 

So do the juices

that you thought

had run dry:  flow again?

 

You had forgotten

the tingling down the legs,

down the arms, everywhere.

 

Then faint in body,

stumbling to stand,

memories return.

 

Your heart jumps now

at a word,

smiles at a thought.

 

Yes it can happen.

 

Age is no barrier,

spirit is ever young

 

love again is possible,

                            for everyone.

                                                                             *

 

The Mind Cupboard

 

 

 My mind cupboard overflows

with unwanted debris.

It needs a spring clean.

 

I will brush away the cobwebs

of cheerless thoughts.

Scrub out the stains of childhood.

 

I will replace the brass hooks

corroded with salt tears,

empty all the screams

hoarded through the years.

 

I will replace the accumulated ashes

from the worn shelf-paper,

with virgin tissue.

 

I will chase and catch the wasps,

relieve them of their stings.

I will refill this cupboard

with love, and learnt, brighter things.

 

 

                                                                         *

 I am putting  'The Mind Cupboard'    on my blog each week.  It seems to be the one poem that people relate to and like best from my collection.  And in case you didn't read it last week or some time before, here it is again.  

                                                                           *

With very best wishes, Patricia

Loveable Rogue The Mind cupboard

 Dear Reader,

The Hippie movement started around 1967.  Its fundemental ethos including harmony with nature, communal living, artistic experementation particularly in music, sexual experimentation and a wide spread of recreational drugs, spread around the world during counter culture of the l960s, which had become closely associated with subculture.

Its origins may be traced to European social movements in the 19th and early 20thcentury such as Bohemiams with influence from Eastern religion and spirituality. It is directly influenced and inspired by the Beat Generation and American involvement in the Vietnam War.

By 1969 the hippie movement had become more radical and militant with many hippies participating in protests and demonstrations.  The movement had also become more diverse, attractin people from various social and economic backgrounds.

                                                                                  *

 From Thomas Hardy  June 2nd  1865 in London

'Walked about by moonlight in the evening.  Wondered what woman, if any, I should be thinking about in five years' time.'

From D.H. Lawrence  June 3rd 1918 in Derbyshire

 'I love the yellow rock roses: but they are so frail.   I wonder if you will ever see them as they areally are.  I am afraid they will be all withered.   They are pure flowers of light - and they cover the dry, limey hills...the yellow pansies.....grow sprinkled close all over the tiny meadow just under the house, and so glitterery standing on the close turf - like a Fra. Angelico meadow.'

                                                                               *

Loveable Rogue

 

 

Jeans jacket, black trousers

long curly black hair

an impish smile

sparkling white teeth.

 

A world traveller

worked in a kibbutz

surfed in Australia

sold jewellery in India,

Nepal and Afghanistan.

 

He had a finger in many pies,

he said, done many deals,

made friends, made enemies

walked the Silk Road.

 

The ladies loved him

he twinkled at them

made jokes

got on with their dogs.

 

He told good stories

wore silver rings

had a rose tattoo

on his arm, a cross on his leg.

 

This loveable rogue

was charming,

uninterested in the truth

and wandered through life

conscience free.

 

The Mind Cupboard

 

My mind cupboard overflows

with unwanted debris.

It needs a spring clean.

 

I will brush away the cobwebs

of cheerless thoughts.

Scrub out the stains of childhood.

 

I will replace the brass hooks

corroded with salt tears,

empty all the screams

hoarded through the years.

 

I will replace the accumulated ashes

from the worn shelf-paper,

with virgin tissue.

 

I will chase and catch the wasps,

relieve them of their stings.

I will refill this cupboard

with love, and learnt, brighter things.

 

 

 

                                                                             *

With very best wishes, Patricia

 

 

 

 

 

'

 

           

            

A Charlbury Voice. The Mind Cupboard

 Dear Reader,

The poem today is about a very different Charlbury, the small market town that I live in.  My next door neighbour for many years was Vic Brackenbury, born and bred in the town. He wasn't at all  happy about the ways of "new comers"; they spoilt the town he said, and many of the traditional shops closed.  I wrote this poem many years ago but I think he would be shocked at the changes he could see today.  These changes have taken place in villages and small market town everywhere in England, and not for the better I would say.  Still I am old and don't like change.  I like things as they were when I came here twenty years ago.

                                                                          *

Well the sun shone here all yesterday.  I couldn't believe it.  Lots of garden birds hopped about and the robin stayed near the table where we were sitting most of the day. Gosh it makes such a difference to your mood when sunlight filters down through the trees and the birds make music.  

                                                                           *

I thought this was interesting.  

Red squirrels may have passed leprosy onto humans in medieval times according to a new study co-authored by academics from the University of Winchester.  The leprosy strain recovered from the medieval red squirrel bones is closer to the human stains than it is to those in  modern rodents says the new study.  Transmission may have taken place when furriers were handling the skins of animals.  Squirrel fur was often used to line and trim clothing in the medieval period.  The UK"s red squirrel population (around 160,000) is now far smaller than it would have been in England in the 10th and 11th centuries.                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                *

 

From Francis Kilvert  May 24th  1874 in Wiltshire

'.....banks and hedges brilliant with pink campion .....As I came home the western heavens were jewelled with pure bright sparkling lights of grey silver and pale gold, and overhead a sublime mackerel sky of white and blue in its distant fleecy beauty gave me a more intense and grand sense of infinity and illimitable than I ever remember to have had before.'

 

From Gilbert White  May 28th  1793 in Hampshire

'My weeding-woman swept up on the grass-plot a bushel basket of blossoms from the white apple tree: and yet that tree seems still covered with bloom.'

 

From Samuel Pepys  May 29th  1662 in Surrey

'With my wife and the two maids and the boy took boat and to Vauxhall, where I had not been a great while.   To the old Spring Garden, and there walked long, and the wenches gathered pinks.'

                                                                              *

A Charlbury Voice

 

“Things were different then,” the old chap said,

“Some born and died in the same old bed.

Saddlers, glove makers, and the railroad

gave men jobs; and kept them proud.

Yes, men kept guns but shot to eat,

the poorer families had little other meat.

People helped each other through their lives,

with babies safely born to knowing wives.

Walking through the town you talked to everyone,

no privacy, of course, but things got done.

 

Now I know or speak to few people here,

and fewer people talk to me, or care,

I hear the railway is just a single track,

and a wilderness overtaking round the back.

Once men worked there selling coal,

later with its disuse, forced on the dole.

 

Then, useful things were sold in shops.

The ironmonger sold screws, pins, string and mops,

darning needles, hammers, dusters, candles, brown teapots,

measures, light bulbs, garden hoses, children's cots.

 

On summer evenings children ran down the southern road,

and played and picnicked by the Evenlode.

In those days we wandered, happy, daring, free -

well, nothing now is as it used to be.

Modern life is twisted, the proper order is unsure,

people not content with little, ever wanting more.

 

There is danger everywhere, from cars and caravans,

litter in the street, discarded bottles, empty cans.

The evening peace with rooks my music overhead,

silenced;  a cacophony of noise instead

from pubs, which need the trade, and so

by popular demand silence had to go.

 

Were people more contented then?   It’s not for me to say,

and yet I think they seemed so in my day”.

                                       *

 

The Mind Cupboard                By popular demand

 

My mind cupboard overflows

with unwanted debris.

It needs a spring clean.

 

I will brush away the cobwebs

of cheerless thoughts.

Scrub out the stains of childhood.

 

I will replace the brass hooks

corroded with salt tears,

empty all the screams

hoarded through the years.

 

I will replace the accumulated ashes

from the worn shelf-paper,

with virgin tissue.

 

I will chase and catch the wasps,

relieve them of their stings.

I will refill this cupboard

with love, and learnt, brighter things.

 

 

 

                                                                            

 

With best wishes, Patricia