Tag: Reading the seasons

Posted on

📘 Reading matters…..

I written very little about what I’ve read recently so here’s a look at some from the past few weeks – or couple of months if you’re really pedantic🙂

June arrived with its seasonal changes… Winter with its short days was a coming in so I decided on a couple of shortish reads to begin with…..


Great Granny Webster – Caroline Blackwood 1977
* I’ve no idea where I heard about it but this little book was a fun read about a larger than life character – available on Libby

Jumping the Queue – Mary Wesley 1983
Matilda Poliport, recently widowed, has decided to End It All.
But her meticulously planned bid for graceful oblivion is foiled, and when later she foils the suicide attempt of another lost soul – Hugh Warner, on the run from the police – life begins again for both
* An interesting read that flowed along from one ‘scene’ to another with no wondering why did that happen.
It’s one of those books you can’t put down and are a little disappointed when it ends but realise it really was the right length after all. With an ending I hadn’t anticipated at all.
Mine was a library copy but it’s available on Internet Archive.
If you’re interested there’s also a 1989 film version (Sheila Hancock as Matilda) HERE

*****
Then it was on to thinking about what was coming up in the months ahead with two very aptly named seasonal reads


A Winter Away – Elizabeth Fair 1957
Republished by Furrowed Middlebrow/Dean Street Press 2017. Hoopla

This was one of those very English books from the mid ‘50s about life in a country village – Maude who is staying with her cousin Alice (and her ?companion) has become secretary to Alice’s landlord – a very eccentric ‘lord of the manor. It was an easy gentle read, full of fun and misunderstandings, which filled the task of a seasonal read. I enjoyed it.

(Discovered while looking for something else)
Winter Holiday – Arthur Ransome 1933
Swallows and Amazons #4 – free download (faded page.com)

Two new children meet the Swallows and Amazon children and with a little bit of longing as well as trepidation take part in adventures they never dreamed about. Sharing skills, boosting self confidence, accepting differences – no sailing on water involved but because it’s set in winter (one harsh enough to freeze the local lake) there’s lots of sledging as well as ice skating also a planned expedition to an imaginary nearby North Pole.

****

Which then brings us up to the end of that month- time to make our way north to the winter sunshine in a Queensland coastal town

See below 😎
Still thinking of the season these are what I’ve been working through since getting to Bowen

Winter Solstice
Rosamunde Pilcher 2000
* A longish but quite interesting read by an author I’ve struggled with previously. This time I enjoyed most of the wordy descriptive chapters dealing with Elfrida’s family & friends plus all the emotions, decisions and more that cropped up.

The Dead of Winter
Stuart Macbride 2023
* A novel by a brand new to me author shelf picked for its title……
Detective Constable Edward Reekie (plus his new boss DI Montgomery-Porter) set off on a cold snowy journey to deliver a dying prisoner to a small village in Scotland ……where they become snowed in along with the rest of the ‘ankle tagged’ community of ex convicts…….

Definitely a ‘couldn’t put it down, wonder what on earth is going to happen next, page turner’. A humourous crime novel is certainly a first for me so I’m on the lookout for more of Stuart Macbride.

Two down- two to go…..one more month of winter
so both of these below have been renewed ready to see the season out

The Winter Garden
Nicola Cornick 2022
The Winter Palace
Paul Morgan 2024

****

AND in case you didn’t know…..the yearly JANE AUSTEN JULY event is in full swing again. She was born 250yrs ago this December and (by coincidence) died exactly 208yrs ago today – 18 July 1817.
As usual it involves various reading watching discussing challenges…..my book club decided we’d go easy this year and each do our own thing and then chat (me included) afterwards…….FaceTime is a wonderful thing!

So with school holidays bringing children to the van park last week I was able to share this little book about Jane Austen with a young girl staying next door.

Jane Austen – Vegara/Wilson 2018

Part of this series – https://littlepeoplebigdreams.com

She chatted away about loving to read and wanting to write – and was really interested in the ‘simple story’ about Jane’s life. Her mum wouldn’t allow photos so I took (and forwarded to the mother) this collage showing Jane ‘reading and writing’ ……there’s the note book I gifted her (for her little stories) plus the sand dollar she gave me ‘for being her friend’

My little neighbour was definitely a little person with big dreams – hopefully her dreams come true

*****

Years ago I watched reruns of the tv series Sanditon (Season 1) on iView – love a period drama – knowing it was based on the unfinished book Jane began writing in 1817


This year I thought I’d refresh my memory of the storyline by chasing up and finding the actual words to read – a big hooray for Project Gutenberg!
A free download of the manuscript can be found HERE.
Like Dickens, the language of Austen is a language of its own and the download actually has ‘clickable’ notes/explanations off to one side of words and phrases used/ added/substituted.

Something else I did find online was this free audiobook – for some readers listening to the words could be more helpful than trying to understand the language used in the written word.

About Jane Austen…..

July in Jane Austen’s World…..
******

What’s on your bookshelf

Bookworms Monthly

Posted on

🧶 Last of the season …..

‘Want to come for a drive….
’What today….
’Yes, I need to go down The Bay…
’What today….
’Yes, I need to go to a golf outlet in Dromana ….
’I’ll buy you lunch while we’re out….
’Say no more, what’s another drive in the rain in the last week of Autumn…. as long as you promise I’ll get to see the sea when we’re there….

We left home under cloudy damp skies and returned to those same cloudy damp skies

10am
4pm

And true to his word I did get to see the sea
Under cloudy blue skies not a drop of rain to be seen
Just what I needed

And he did buy me lunch ~ sort of😊

My view of the sea (Port Philip Bay) from ‘our table’

*****


I’m finishing off the last of those seasonal knits (for the time being). I have these three newborn cardigans (similar to the ones given to nephew recently) they just need some work done on the neckline then they’re also off – not to the charity as planned but to a friend’s new gt granddaughter. A ‘tiny wee baby’ so she said, which means they’ll last a while I replied- no she’ll grow into them was her reply. Reminded me of turning up hems and rolling under cuffs when mine were little.
*****

And this has been the lucky last of my seasonal reads
Early Autumn – Louis Bromfield 1926

A really good well written read – well at least I thought so!

A family saga relating the goings on in the lives of a wealthy upper class family in post WW1 New England – too much for me to summarise. The wiki article sets it out better than I could ever do.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Autumn



Kat has open house on Unraveled Wednesday . click the (safe) link to see who’s been there and what they brought with them

To comment please click on post title and scroll down
Photos will enlarge with a tap/click or using two finger spread

Posted on

🧶May you be loved…..📘

May is the third and last month in our autumn, a time when some days are still ‘shiny bright’ compared to others which are cooling down (definitely colder overnight) preparing for the real go slow part of the year.
I’ve been feeling a bit that way this past few weeks – some days were great with a bright and shiny go get ‘em attitude evident from morn to night……others a bit cold and dreary, need to stay home and hibernate. Mind and body have played up so (as per usual) I retreated mentally as well as physically ‘into my shell’ until I felt safe enough to face the world (IRL as well as online) again.

As you can see, the charity box was going to benefit from my sit down and rest calming knitting sessions (top photo) then our youngest nephew became a father…..of a daughter instead of the predicted son….I gifted them a couple of newborn sized cardigans (lower photo) and laughed at their remarks about babies not being concerned about boy/girl clothes as long as they’re warm and comfortable so followed up by sending them a slightly larger one in a traditional girly pink shade. ‘Love it, so pretty’ was the new mother’s reply……sounds like she isn’t as modern as I thought!
****
What has been on my mind is that the garden certainly suffered over the hot summer months. There’s still so much ‘catch up’ to do outside which is going to have to wait a while because even though things are slowly improving I still can’t get down enough to clear and weed….those forecast rainy days haven’t been that rainy out our way but the soil has softened a fraction so once mobility becomes a little easier let’s hope rose pruning and maybe a bit of ground clearing will be achieved

We’re on track to make our way up north about the middle of next month and if the pruning is done that’ll keep them happy until growth begins again in the spring – and honestly what’s a few weeds between friends😊
*****

As well as needing ‘simple easy’ craft to occupy my mind during that time I also wanted – what else but – something ‘uncomplicated’ to read so ended up rummaging around various online sites (going to the library meant I had to actually socialise with people) and found these with a seasonal flavour- that is they had autumn in the title

  • Quartet in Autumn – Barbara Pym (Libby)
    An easy to read, relatable 1977 Pym novel about the lives of four people in late middle-age – Edwin, Norman, Letty and Marcia – who work in the same office, are all nearing retirement and suffer the same problem – loneliness. A really good read!

  • A Breath of Autumn – Lillian Beckwith (Internet Archive)
    A ‘delightfully soft, humorous at times and very descriptive’ story by a new to me author of life on a small island in the Hebrides owned and inhabited by Kirsty McDonald along with her small son plus a stepson.  The regular pattern of her solitary slow life changes with the seasons and as strangers appear needing her help and involvement in their lives other changes happen.  Some she slowly welcomes- others she spends a great deal of time contemplating. One of those ‘could not put down’ books where even though the pace is slow you can’t wait to read more
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Beckwith

    Excepts can be read HERE

  • The Autumn After Next – Margaret St Clair (Project Gutenberg)
    What can I say – this is exactly what it is about … a different, interesting sort of read that makes you think

    Famous and Classic Science Fiction Novel
    Being a wizard missionary to the Free’l needed more than magic—it called for a miracle! 

    The Autumn After Next” by Margaret St. Clair is a science fiction novella written in the early 1960s. The story explores themes of magic and cultural dissonance through the experiences of Neeshan, a wizard missionary trying to teach a lazy and indifferent tribe called the Free’l about the proper use of magic. The novella highlights the challenges of bridging different worldviews, especially when one party lacks the motivation to engage with the teachings being offered. source

And look here, as well as being able to read the very short story on screen – you are also able to listen to it being narrated by William Sky

******

This post has become rather on the long side – word brevity has never been my strong point – so thank you to anyone who has reached here.

I have to say that one thing that helped me a lot over these past weeks were the simple thoughts of loving kindness meditation (directed to myself) and I often found myself muttering or repeating them silently ‘in my head’ adding love into the mix ~ it’s strange how unloved one can feel even when surrounded by it.. The Golfer would have a fit if he heard me say that because supportive is definitely his middle name

My love to you all – thanks for reading- see you soon
Cathy

I know this isn’t exactly whimsical or crafty but I’m joining Min’s link up as well as Kat’s as a way of saying ‘I’m back’

Wednesday Words and Whimsy

Unraveled Wednesday

Posted on

📘The ‘What’s ’ are back….

I’ll be sharing this post with the January 2025 edition of 
What’s on your Bookshelf

January is the middle of Summer here in Australia…..when most of us sit back, relax and just enjoy life. Barring wondering if we’re going to have extreme heatwaves, bushfires or floods – which can always be just round the corner – many could be wondering how the cricket/tennis is going…..
Or if you’re anything like me – what am I going to eat read next

There are three age old questions readers often ask friends and family

What are you currently reading ?
What did you recently finish reading ?
What do you think you’ll read next ?

As well as …..What have you been watching ?

Maybe you could pass on ‘your’ answers in the comments.

Because it’s the beginning of the year and see above 👆 it’s Summer……..most of what I’ve been reading lately has been short – not too taxing – Summer related (being the season) – found in my library catalogue or online using the keyword Summer
However unread authors, new series, debut novels, novellas/short stories, Irish authors……these (and more) are what I have in mind for this year. No particular challenges like last year…..just see if it fits the bill.

On the go at the moment is:-

Shabby Summer – Warwick Deeping 1939.
A struggling landscaping nursery owner fights to keep his business alive during a severe summer drought. His wealthy neighbor plots to drive him out of business so as to purchase the nursery land at a low price. A beautiful woman takes up residence across the river on Folly Island, adding spice to the story.
That’s the Goodreads blurb however the ‘blurb’ on Amazon reads much differently- it sounds like a far more interesting and complex story HERE

Have just begun this which I’m enjoying so far. Set between two wars, small village gossip, a bit of obvious class distinction, older versus younger generation attitudes, The early seasons have been strange causing a bit of concern to the farming community.

(This quote makes me smile because it could be echoing words that many gardening bloggers have been known to come out with…)

……“this was one of those sanguinary years when the weather went mad, and played every sort of devilish trick on you. Evil spirits were abroad. The ruddy spring was bewitched“.
“There ain’t no sense in it. A March like June, and an April like January. And dry at that,” and Bob spat to show his opinion of the weather.”

*****

What I finished ….over the past month

  • Summer – Edith Wharton 1917
    This is the summer that 19yr old Charity Royall could not have predicted. Living in the small community of North Dormer in New England it’s the summer she meets Lucius Harney and becomes a woman.
    Filled with all the emotions of a young confused girl, the highs and lows of a passionate first love, descriptions of flora and fauna ……which might have seemed out of place to some readers but definitely added to the storyline…… plus social history of the time (early 1900s)
    An easy to read short book, one that made you ponder (about small town living, attitudes to women, unmarried mothers, abortions, marriages ‘because’…..and whether they have changed at all) one I enjoyed reading.
    *******
  • The Greengage Summer – Rumer Godden 1958.
    A summer of discovery.
    For the four children left in the care of an unknown adult after their mother becomes ill, the trip to France became a summer of discovering that some places are better than others, that growing up is not fun, that everybody has a private side, that all adults are not the same and do not always behave the way you expect them to.
    Another of those books that passed me by….one I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to others.

    The novel is based on a summer the author and her sisters spent in France when her mother took sick and they were allowed ‘to run free’ .
    If you are interested This link takes you to an interesting article about BBC journalist Hugh Schofield’s ‘search for Rumer Godden’s French summer’.

I also discovered this 1961 full length film adaptation of the book (called Loss of Innocence in other parts of the world). Starring Kenneth More and a young Susannah York – like all adaptations…..similar but not the same

It can be found online HERE.
******

  • Mrs Lorimer’s Quiet Summer – Molly Clavering 1953.
    Mrs Lucy Lorimer (a successful published author) was looking forward to a nice quiet summer to enjoy with her friend (another female author) who lived in the same village….but her children along with young families (plus their various ‘problems’) were coming to visit for a week – all at the same time – and there just wasn’t enough room for all of them at her house. She rather liked the look of one (house not child) just down the road, which would have been large enough for them all but The Colonel (husband) wasn’t and then it was sold.
    In amongst sorting out sleeping arrangements, marriages, car crashes, accepting single son falling for girl from house down the road (not the right sort), returning order to the lives of ‘downstairs staff’ there was also sections of the local show to organise. All this and more meant it ended up being a very busy sometimes stressful time, thankfully with an ‘all’s well that ends well’ ending
    One of those lovely easy family oriented reads with descriptions of country village life in a different time also proving that mothers never stop caring….and are a dab hand at giving advice and solving problems.

(Loosely based on the friendship of authors Molly Clavering and D.E.Stevenson who lived close to each other in a Scottish village)
*******

  • Murder by the Seaside (Classic Crime Stories for summer). 2022
    Edited by Cecily Gayford.
    It’s the height of summer. As the heat shimmers on the pavements and holiday makers depart for the coast, tempers begin to rise and old grudges surface. From an impossible murder on a remote Cornish beach to a coastal honeymoon gone horribly wrong, it’s not just a holiday that’s on some people’s minds…..it’s murder.

A set of short mystery stories – some longer than others – to be enjoyed during the summer….. the first one is The Boscombe Valley Mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle. Good reading – especially as it concerns a couple of fellas from Ballarat…..just two hours up the road from here!
And here for your enjoyment is the dishy Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes

*******
And now for something different – because of a recently ‘found’ photo taken on a trip we made back in 2006…..

Green Gables, ‘Anne’s’ home in Cavendish PEI – September 2006

…..I remembered a book that has been on my ‘must read sometime’ list – a downloaded version courtesy of Project Gutenberg has been sitting in my Books folder for a long time and thought maybe this summer is when I should actually get around to reading it

Anne of Green Gables – L. M. Montgomery 1908
A debut novel that turned into a series.
What a fabulous way to close off this month’s post. This story (which had me chuckling more than once as well as a bit teary in places) about a little orphan girl sent to Green Gables by mistake, who never seems to stop talking, whose mind/imagination just keeps on working, who sees the bright side of her mistakes, who gives so much of herself to Marilla & Matthew as well as the people around her has to be one of the most ‘feel good’ books I have read for a long time – if ever.
However I do wonder if it would have had the same effect/ if I’d felt the same way…..if I’d read it as a child rather than an adult.

I did learn a new word – drabbled….wet and dirty.

….” there was no help for it; Anne, clinging to Gilbert Blythe’s hand scrambled down into the dory, where she sat drabbled and furious in the stern with her arms full of dripping shawl and wet crêpe.

Chapter XXVlll. An unfortunate Lily Maid

What might I read next:- .
I’m not quite sure yet- it could be any one from this little pile that came home with me a few weeks back. I see Australian authors, historical fiction, a debut novel, a novel about a book club plus a mystery/thriller.
I’ll let you know sometime 😊


The Sea Captain’s Wife – Jackie French 2024.
Family Baggage – Monica McInerney 2005.
Where the truth lies – Karina Kilmore 2020.
The Wartime Book Club – Kate Thompson 2024

They came from my ‘cup of coffee and biccy book club’….a gloriously casual very special group that I wrote about when I first joined them back in 2015

Which is so very different to my ‘read – think – discuss’ one.
The one I enjoy in a different way because I get to read books I might not have read otherwise and where afternoon tea comes later

Click the link below to see what others have been reading
What’s on your Bookshelf

(To comment please click on post title and scroll down)

Posted on

📘 ‘Tis the Season…..

‘Tis the season to read whatever you want…..

Spring here in Australia starts on the first of September……Summer begins on the first of December. And yes, difficult as it to imagine we’re almost one third through the season I look forward to, in amongst all the other books I’ve been reading over the past few months I tried to fit some in with Spring in the title……Spring being relevant to the season – just gone!

A mixture from the library and online – after years of not liking them at all I’m gradually becoming accustomed to reading ebooks. I still prefer traditional paper books, ones I can hold but often the really old ones aren’t available that way.
Some of these were mentioned by other bloggers ….most were very short or didn’t take long to read at all……and just by chance fitted in with my year of unread authors

  • Spring rain – Marc Hamer 2023.
    This is a story about the rain, a boy, an angry dog and a gardener, and how some of them find peace and freedom.
  • A Spring of Love – Celia Dale 1960.
    Esther Williams is thirty and single. She has been nowhere, done nothing, loved no one except her recently deceased grandfather. Her life is one of routine and order, following the same pattern week after week. That is, until she meets Raymond Banks.
  • The Peacock Spring – Rumer Godden 1975.
    Una and her younger sister Hal have been abruptly summoned to live in New Delhi by their diplomat father Sir Edward Gwithiam. Hal settles in well, accepting their new way of life and the governess, Una not so…..until she meets Ravi the under gardener.
  • Escape in Spring – Martha Ostenso 1939
    A tale that will tug at your heartstrings—of fate’s strange gift of love to two lonely lives

*******

And as we all know there’s also another season at this time of the year.

🎄✝️The Christmas season[2] or the festive season;[3] also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from late November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, source

It’s definitely not difficult to find books centred around this season. Here’s a few really short ones (novella length even) I’ve enjoyed this month – don’t you love the fun and intriguing titles.
I must have seen mention of them on a blog somewhere because as well as being new to me they are all part of different series. All available on Hoopla – a platform I’m only just beginning to use but it’s yielding books not found elsewhere. It’s one of the benefits of being a registered user at more than one library. My local Victorian card doesn’t have access whereas the Queensland one does.

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding – Agatha Christie 1960
An English country house at Christmas time should be the perfect place to get away from it all….

Put together Hercule Poirot, a missing ruby gemstone plus a cast of upstairs family, downstairs staff along with mischievous children (and scheming adults) all gathered for a traditional Christmas and you have the makings of this very very short story. Jolly good fun.
Hercule Poirot #37.

*******

Christmas Cake Murder – Joanne Fluke 2018.
It’s Christmas many years ago, and topping young Hannah Swensen’s wish list is becoming the go-to baker in Lake Eden, Minnesota. But as Hannah finds out, revisiting holiday memories can be murder . . .

Family and friends who cook together stay together – recreating a Christmas Ball and Christmas Cake parade, finding and reading an old manuscript that turns out to be true to life, reuniting a mother and daughter……all these (and more) are ingredients in the Christmas Cake Murder.
Hannah Swensen #23

******

Tinsel and Trickery – Rose Pascoe 2023.
Penrose & Pyke have until Christmas Eve to save the orphans’ home, by unravelling a tangle of tinsel and trickery

Set in C19 New Zealand Dr Penrose is associated with an orphanage providing free health care, his daughter (Grace) and her fiancé (Charlie) set out to stop the sale of orphanage building due to happen on Christmas Eve and end up uncovering a real estate scheme that benefited one by harming others.
Penrose & Pyke Mysteries #5.5

*****

Mistletoe and Murder – Sarah Hakamer 2019.
Alec Stratman comes home to Twin Oaks, Virginia, after his Army retirement to contemplate his reentry into civilian life. Instead he’s greeted with the murder of his beloved Great-Aunt Heloise.

Oh my goodness, this was the tiniest of stories about a family gathering after a suspicious death, another actual murder, a will reading that exposes who is and who isn’t family plus a love story that all takes place over a few days right at Christmastime. The shortest ‘fun’ read I’ve had for a while.
Twin Oaks Christmas

******.
And this year because I’d never read it (and also because it’s fairly short) I decided to read a classic seasonal favourite……….

A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 1843 .
If I had my way, every idiot who goes around with Merry Christmas on his lips, would be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. Merry Christmas? Bah humbug!

Reading Dickens is almost like learning to read again- it’s a whole new language. The gist of the story is there but not in words we’re familiar with. Anyway I finished it, a rather strange ‘out of this world’ imagined story which leaves the reader with much to think about……as well as being interesting enough to ask Mr G about certain words and phrases…..I was pleased to learn what glee and catch meant in regards to singing – it was mentioned when Scrooge was watching his nephew’s Christmas gathering

“After tea. they had some music. For they were a musical family, and knew what they were about, when they sung a Glee or Catch, I can assure you: especially Topper, who could growl away in the bass like a good one, and never swell the large veins in his forehead, or get red in the face over it “
Stave three: The second of the three spirits

A catch is a round for three or more voices, written only in a single voice part, so that each succeeding singer had to “catch” his part at the proper time. source

******

Even though not born and bred here….our first Australian Christmas was 1972 – 52yrs ago !…..still regarded by some as a new chum 😊
I’m partial to a bit of old time Australian (Bush) Poetry.

Like this from C.J.Dennis.

A BUSH CHRISTMAS

The sun burns hotly thro' the gums
As down the road old Rogan comes --
   The hatter from the lonely hut
   Beside the track to Woollybutt.
      He likes to spend his Christmas with us here.
He says a man gets sort of strange
Living alone without a change,
   Gets sort of settled in his way;
   And so he comes each Christmas day
To share a bite of tucker and a beer.

Dad and the boys have nought to do,
Except a stray odd job or two.
   Along the fence or in the yard,
   "It ain't a day for workin' hard."
Says Dad.  "One day a year don't matter much."
And then dishevelled, hot and red,
Mum, thro' the doorway puts her head
   And says, "This Christmas cooking, My!
   The sun's near fit for cooking by."
Upon her word she never did see such.

"Your fault," says Dad, "you know it is.
Plum puddin'!  on a day like this,
   And roasted turkeys!  Spare me days,
   I can't get over women's ways.
      In climates such as this the thing's all wrong.
A bit of cold corned beef an' bread
Would do us very well instead."
   Then Rogan said, "You're right; it's hot.
   It makes a feller drink a lot."
      And Dad gets up and says, "Well, come along."

The dinner's served -- full bite and sup.
"Come on," says Mum, "Now all sit up."
   The meal takes on a festive air;
   And even father eats his share
      And passes up his plate to have some more.
He laughs and says it's Christmas time,
"That's cookin', Mum. The stuffin's prime."
   But Rogan pauses once to praise,
   Then eats as tho' he'd starved for days.
      And pitches turkey bones outside the door.

The sun burns hotly thro' the gums,
The chirping of the locusts comes
   Across the paddocks, parched and grey.
   "Whew!" wheezes Father. "What a day!"
      And sheds his vest.  For coats no man had need.
Then Rogan shoves his plate aside
And sighs, as sated men have sighed,
   At many boards in many climes
   On many other Christmas times.
      "By gum!" he says, "That was a slap-up feed!"

Then, with his black pipe well alight,
Old Rogan brings the kids delight
   By telling o'er again his yarns
   Of Christmas tide 'mid English barns
      When he was, long ago, a farmer's boy.
His old eyes glisten as he sees
Half glimpses of old memories,
   Of whitened fields and winter snows,
   And yuletide logs and mistletoes,
   And all that half-forgotten, hallowed joy.

The children listen, mouths agape,
And see a land with no escape
   For biting cold and snow and frost --
   A land to all earth's brightness lost,
      A strange and freakish Christmas land to them.
But Rogan, with his dim old eyes
Grown far away and strangely wise
   Talks on; and pauses but to ask
   "Ain't there a drop more in that cask?"
   And father nods; but Mother says "Ahem!"

The sun slants redly thro' the gums
As quietly the evening comes,
   And Rogan gets his old grey mare,
   That matches well his own grey hair,
      And rides away into the setting sun.
"Ah, well," says Dad.  "I got to say
I never spent a lazier day.
   We ought to get that top fence wired."
   "My!" sighs poor Mum.  "But I am tired!
      An' all that washing up still to be done."

“C.J. Dennis”
Herald, 24 December 1931, p4

More of his works can be found HERE

******

Now because of everything going on behind the scenes there was nothing too deep and meaningful this month although as I read the Spring books they did have me thinking about life and all its mysteries. And even though there were murders in some of the Christmas ones, they were fun to read.
How did your ‘literary’ month go? Lighthearted or Weighty

*******

Sharing with the final What’s on your Book Shelf Challenge linkup for 2024

(To comment please click on post title and scroll down)

Website Built with WordPress.com.