Perhaps I had ambitions to be an MP - or an undertaker!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

No.191

WISE MEN SAY

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty
to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.
(Helen Keller)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS


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In the 1930s there was something that really scared children - the “fever van.”

If they were outside playing when it came in sight, the children would quickly vanish to their own homes and stay indoors till it had gone. Around 1932/3 scarlet fever and diphtheria were common, and as both were very infectious any one who caught the diseases had to go to hospital.

At that time I seemed to succumb to all the illnesses that were on the go, and sure enough scarlet fever claimed me. I was 7 years old when I was taken away in the dreaded “fever van”, and the awful thing was that I really thought I would never get home again. I believed I would live in that hospital for the rest of my life!

Visitors weren’t allowed inside, but on visiting days they gathered on the path outside the ward and waved to us children who were looking out the windows. I think I stayed there for 6 weeks, and it was very strange indeed being home again.

I don’t know if I was responsible for passing on the germ or not, but not long afterwards both my sister and one of our aunts took the disease. My sister who had her 5th birthday in hospital made very little progress, and eventually our worried parents insisted that she be discharged. As soon as she was home, her recovery began and she was soon well again.

My wife Jean tells me that in the Glasgow hospital where her sister had scarlet fever, parents used to dread approaching the ward, for, if the curtains at a window were closed, it meant that the child occupying the bed there had died. How awful!

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JOHN’S GALLERY



The Artist's Family
by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

She dwelt among the untrodden ways
by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:

A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.

She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me!

-o0o-

A 1957 vision of the year 2000
uploaded by ICT2030



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

Old age is like a plane flying through a storm.
Once you're aboard, there's nothing you can do.
(Golda Meir)

-o0o-

Next post here Friday 2nd March

The first post on 80 plus Music Mix will be tomorrow 1st March
http://80plusmusicmix.blogspot.com

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Monday, February 27, 2012

No.190

WISE MEN SAY

Alcohol may lead nowhere, but it sure is the scenic route (Molly Ivins)

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JOHN’S GALLERY

This is Gin Lane, the famous engraving by William Hogarth (1697-1764)



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I was brought up in a town where there were no pubs or licensed shops.

This arose because the Temperance (Scotland) Act of 1913 gave people the opportunity to decide if their district should have licensed premises or not.

The Temperance movement in Scotland was very strong at that time and had the support of many influential people like Keir Hardie the Labour leader.

Most of my relatives were abstainers and indeed my maternal grandfather was among those who actively brought about the “no licence” result in our area.

Certainly there had been a great deal of poverty earlier, much of it due to men spending their wages in the pubs, and there were many dramatic recitations and songs that warned of the evils of “demon drink”.

“Father, dear father, come home with me now” was written by the American Henry Clay Work (1832-1884) whose songs include “Marching through Georgia” and “My Grandfather’s Clock”.

Father, dear father, come home with me now,
The clock in the steeple strikes one;
You said you were coming right home from the shop
As soon as your day's work was done;
Our fire has gone out, our house is all dark,
And mother's been watching since tea,
With poor brother Benny so sick in her arms
And no one to help her but me,
Come home! come home! come home!
Please father, dear father, come home.

Chorus:
Hear the sweet voice of the child,
Which the night-winds repeat as they roam;
Oh who could resist this most plaintive of prayers
"Please father, dear father, come home."

Father, dear father, come home with me now,
The clock in the steeple strikes two;
The night has grown colder, and Benny is worse
But he has been calling for you:
Indeed he is worse, ma says he will die -
Perhaps before morning shall dawn;
And this is the message she sent me to bring
"Come quickly, or he will be gone."
Come home! come home! come home!
Please father, dear father, come home.

Chorus again,

and then, when the steeple clock strikes three, it’s time to get out the handkerchiefs -

Yes, we are alone, poor Benny is dead,
And gone with the angels of light;
And these were the very last words that he said
"I want to kiss papa good-night."
Come home! come home! come home!
Please father, dear father, come home.

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That song must have gone down a bomb at Temperance meetings!

Incidentally, in the 1920s a pint of beer cost 3d, which in today’s money is a fraction over 1p, and a bottle of brandy was 5/6d, that’s 27 and a half p.

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FROM THE CAMERA LENS


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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

Like everyone else who makes the mistake of getting older, I begin each day with coffee and obituaries. (Bill Cosby)

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This is a clip from the 1953 film "Trouble in Store" where Norman Wisdom sings "Don't Laugh at Me" to Lana Morris. Uploaded by wizsoft.



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The new site 80 PLUS MUSIC MIX begins on Thursday 1st March
and will include compositions by Beethoven, Erik Satie and Scott Joplin.
You can have a look at the new site now at -
http://80plusmusicmix.blogspot.com

The 80 plus blog continues on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

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Friday, February 24, 2012

No.189


This is not me. I don't need a walking stick - - - yet!

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WISE MEN SAY

Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste.
(Charlotte Bronte)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS



Black-backed Kingfisher, Thailand

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

Stella’s Birthday - March 13th 1719
by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Stella this day is thirty-four,
(We shan't dispute a year or more:)
However, Stella, be not troubled,
Although thy size and years are doubled,
Since first I saw thee at sixteen,
The brightest virgin on the green;
So little is thy form declined;
Made up so largely in thy mind.

Oh, would it please the gods to split
Thy beauty, size, and years, and wit;
No age could furnish out a pair
Of nymphs so graceful, wise, and fair;
With half the lustre of your eyes,
With half your wit, your years, and size.
And then, before it grew too late,
How should I beg of gentle Fate,
(That either nymph might have her swain,)
To split my worship too in twain

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JOHN’S GALLERY



Boat-building near Flatford Mill
by John Constable (1776-1837)

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Uploaded by faydog2010music, this is the famous clip of Laurel and Hardy singing "In the Blue
Ridge Mountains of Virginia"



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
(Mark Twain)

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On 1st March MY KIND OF MUSIC is moving to a new site 80 PLUS MUSIC MIX where the music will range from popular classical items to the dance band tunes of the 30s and 40s.

You can have a look at the new site now at -
http://80plusmusicmix.blogspot.com

The 80 plus blog will continue, normally on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

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Thanks to http://www.office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/ for the clip art

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

No.188

WISE MEN SAY

Moral indignation is just jealousy with a halo around it (H.G.Wells)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS


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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

When I was Fair and Young
by Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603)

[This poem has been found in a number of old documents. In one, a note tells that it was written when Elizabeth "was suposed to be in love with mounsyre," her French suitor, the Duke of Anjou. Some modern scholars doubt the authorship, but it’s certainly an interesting little poem.]

When I was fair and young, then favour graced me.
Of many was I sought their mistress for to be,
But I did scorn them all and answered them therefore:
Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

How many weeping eyes I made to pine in woe,
How many sighing hearts I have not skill to show,

But I the prouder grew and still this spake therefore:
Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

Then spake fair Venus' son, that brave victorious boy,
Saying: You dainty dame, for that you be so coy,
I will so pluck your plumes as you shall say no more:
Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

As soon as he had said, such change grew in my breast
That neither night nor day I could take any rest.
Wherefore I did repent that I had said before:
Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

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JOHN’S GALLERY



Madame Pompadour
by François Boucher (1703-1770)

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Married for 62 years, this 90 year old man and his wife have some fun in a piano duet. Uploaded by jodihume



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

In youth we run into difficulties. In old age difficulties run into us.
(Beverly Sills)

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In 80 plus there is usually an item MY KIND OF MUSIC. From 1st March this is moving to a new blog 80 PLUS MUSIC MIX, in which I’ll present a variety of YouTube videos which I particularly like.

You can have a look at the new site now at -
http://80plusmusicmix.blogspot.com

The 80 plus blog will continue, normally on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

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Monday, February 20, 2012

No.187

WISE MEN SAY

Happiness, it turns out, is a destination that we can only reach
when we are trying to get somewhere else. (Matthew Syad)

-o0o-

THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS


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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

Little Eyes Upon You
(Anon)

There are little eyes upon you
and they're watching night and day.
There are little ears that quickly
take in every word you say.

There are little hands all eager
to do anything you do;
And a little boy who's dreaming
of the day he'll be like you.

You're the little fellow's idol,
you're the wisest of the wise.
In his little mind about you
no suspicions ever rise.

He believes in you devoutly,
holds all that you say and do;
He will say and do, in your way,
when he's grown up like you.

-o0o-

JOHN’S GALLERY



View of Delft
by Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)

-o0o-

MY KIND OF MUSIC

Back to 1967 for this Seekers clip. Of all their hits "The Carnival is Over" was always my favourite. Uploaded by Denny161853



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

Don’t regret growing older; it’s a privilege denied to many. (Anon)

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Next post Wednesday 22nd February

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Friday, February 17, 2012

No.186

WISE MEN SAY

Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care
for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.
(Buddha)

-o0o-

THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS

This photo is the copyright of Stephen Sweeney and licensed
for reuse under a Creative Common Licence



This is Wallace's Well, just a few miles from my home. It's said to be the place where William Wallace (1272-1305) had a drink shortly before being captured. He was handed over to Edward I of England who had him executed for treason.

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

The Queen's Marys
(Anon)

Yestre'en the Queen had four Marys
The nicht she'll hae but three,
There was Mary Seaton and Mary Beaton
And Mary Carmichael and me.

Oh, little did my mother think
The day she cradled me,
The lands I was tae travel in,
The death I was tae dee.

Oh, often hae I dressed my Queen,
And put gowd in her hair;
But noo I've gotten for my reward,
The gallows tae be my share.

Oh, happy, happy is the maid,
That's born o' beauty free,
It was ma dimplin' rosy cheek,
That's been the dool o' me.

Yestre'en the Queen had four Marys
The nicht she'll hae but three,
There was Mary Seaton and Mary Beaton
Mary Carmichael and me

In the past it was believed that the Four Marys were ladies-in-waiting to Mary, Queen of Scots. However, official records of the time name just three Marys who attended the Queen in France - Seaton, Beaton and Livingston.

There are a number of different versions of the poem and some tell that the unfortunate Mary had an illegitimate child with Lord Darnley, the Queen's husband. She drowned the baby and was hanged for her crime.

It may well be that the ballad is just an interesting tale with no basis in fact.

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JOHN’S GALLERY



Suspense
by Charles Burton Barber (1845-1894)

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MY KIND OF MUSIC

Jascha Heifetz plays The Girl with the Flaxen Hair by Claude Debussy, with Emanuel Bay at the piano. Uploaded by SamLee0519



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

As I approve of a youth that has something of the old man in him, so I am no less pleased with an old man that has something of the youth. He that follows this rule may be old in body, but can never be so in mind. (Marcus Tullius Cicero)

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Next post Monday 20th February

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

No.185

WISE MEN SAY

We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it. (John Lennon)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS



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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
by Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)

Come live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dale and field,
And all the craggy mountains yield.

There will we sit upon the rocks
And see the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

There will I make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle.

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull,
Fair linèd slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold.

A belt of straw and ivy buds
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my Love.

Thy silver dishes for thy meat
As precious as the gods do eat,
Shall on an ivory table be
Prepared each day for thee and me.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May-morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my Love.

-o0o-

JOHN'S GALLERY



The Kelpie
by Herbert James Draper (1863-1920)

-o0o-

I can’t vouch for the truth of this story, though I can well believe it happened.

The children in the infant class were getting ready to go home and the teacher was helping one little boy get his shoes on. After a struggle with the shoes, which were on the tight side, she succeeded but little Jimmy spoke up.

“They’re on the wrong feet, miss!” And so they were. Quickly she took them off and, again struggling, put them on the proper feet.

“They’re not my shoes, miss,” says Jimmy. The teacher fights hard to control herself and tears the shoes off.

“Why didn’t you tell me before, you silly boy?”

“They’re my brother’s shoes and I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone,” was his reply.

Muttering under her breath, she forces the shoes back on, puts his coat on and wraps his scarf round his neck.

“Now where are your gloves, Jimmy?” she asks.

“Well, so that I won’t lose them, I always put them in my shoes, miss.”

-o0o-

MY KIND OF MUSIC

Thanks to MrNatashaRostov for this clip which features
Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly singing "True Love"



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.
(Dorothy Canfield Fisher)

Next post Friday 17th February

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Monday, February 13, 2012

No.184

WISE MEN SAY

Saving is a very fine thing, especially if your parents have done it for you.
(Winston Churchill)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS



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I have in my possession a newspaper published in November 1925.

It’s fascinating to read the news items and advertisements of that time, but what interested me was the list of radio programmes being broadcast by 2LO, the forerunner of the BBC.

On that particular night the top programme was a “Radio Military Tattoo” from the studio at 9.30 pm. Taking part were the Wireless Military Band, the Wireless Choir, the Pipes, Drums and Fifes of the Scots Guards, and the Trumpeters of the Royal Horse Guards. An “Artillery Musical Drive” introducing tanks, Anti-Aircraft batteries and aeroplanes was promised. Pretty good for a broadcast from the studio! To quote the newspaper - “The presence of other troops and their evolutions (?) will be suggested by sound effects, and indications of what is happening will be given by the dialogue between two persons supposed to be watching the performance.”

Earlier that day the Royal Air Force Band were billed to give four short programmes and the reason for all this military emphasis was the fact that the following day was Armistice Day.

Now, apart from the Royal Air Force Band, what other entertainment was available on the radio that year?

Jack Payne was probably the first of a long line of dance band leaders who would fill a great part of broadcasting schedules for many years. Outside broadcasts from hotels were frequent, and the first UK performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue came from the London Savoy Hotel on 15th June.

Among the top recording artistes were the Irish tenor John McCormack and Paul Whiteman the American Band leader.

In the London theatre, three musicals were playing to packed houses - Rose Marie which ran for 851 performances; No, No, Nanette 665 performances; The Vagabond King 511 performances.

1925 saw a large number of popular songs published, among them - Dinah, Tea for Two, Don’t bring Lulu, Show me the Way to go Home, and Always, which Irving Berlin wrote as a wedding gift to his wife.

The first popular song I ever heard was Alexander’s Ragtime Band (another Irving Berlin hit) sung by my mother as she did her housework. I wonder where she learned that!!!

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JOHN’S GALLERY



A Flemish Festival
by David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690)

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MY KIND OF MUSIC

“Holiday Strings” composed by David Rose was a popular light music item in the 1940s. Uploaded by ufrp136



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

It is sad to grow old but nice to ripen. (Brigitte Bardot)

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Next post Wednesday 15th February

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Friday, February 10, 2012

No.183

WISE MEN SAY

Children really brighten up a household; they never turn the lights off. (Ralph Bus)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS


Taken from the steeple of Kirkintilloch Parish Church - later renamed St. Mary’s, this picture looks down on the old wooden bascule bridge over the Forth and Clyde Canal.

The bridge was raised by means of a wheel which had to be turned by hand and this was done by the bridge-keeper whenever a boat wanted to pass through.

I remember when it was replaced by steel swing bridge in 1933. In the years after the war the number of vehicles on the road increased of course and the opening and closing of the bridge for canal traffic created hold-ups. Then in 1967 a proper road bridge was built on an embankment, but this closed the canal at that point with the result that rubbish of all sorts collected in the water on both sides.

Over the years many folk campaigned to have the whole length of the canal re-opened, and this happy result came about in 2001.

There is now a Marina not far from the bridge and Kirkintilloch is claiming to be “The Canal Capital of Scotland.”

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

September Song
Maxwell Anderson

When I was a young man courting the girls
I played me a waiting game;
If a maid refused me with tossing curls,
I'd let the old Earth make a couple of whirls
While I plied her with tears in lieu of pearls,
And as time came around she came my way,
As time came around, she came.

When you meet with the young girls early in the Spring,
You court them in song and rhyme;
They answer with words and a clover ring,
But if you could examine the goods they bring
They have little to offer but the songs they sing,
And the plentiful waste of time of day,
A plentiful waste of time.

Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December,
But the days grow short when you reach September;
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame,
One hasn't got time for the waiting game.

Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few,
September, November;
And these few precious days I'll spend with you,
These precious days I'll spend with you.

-o0o-

JOHN’S GALLERY



Dinner of Herbs
by George William Joy (1844-1925)

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Thanks to bonkprodukcja for this great time-lapse video



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old.
(George Burns)

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Next post on 80 plus Monday 13th February

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

No.182

WISE MEN SAY

Have an attitude
Of gratitude
And everything else will follow
(Anon)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS



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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

Mother to Son
by Langston Hughes

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor - bare.

But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.

So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now -
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

-o0o-

THEN AND NOW . . .








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MY KIND OF MUSIC

Uploaded by HSVideoArt, this is Badinerie by Bach played by the Croatian Baroque Ensemble



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

The answer to old age is to keep one's mind busy and to go on with one's life as if it were interminable. I always admired Chekhov for building a new house when he was dying of tuberculosis. (Leon Edel)

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Next post here Friday 10th February

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Monday, February 6, 2012

No.181

WISE MEN SAY

If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator. (W. Beran Wolfe)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS


Our eldest daughter took this photo of ring-tailed lemurs while on holiday in Madagascar

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I’ve been reading lately of how things were in the year 1910.

Much of the world news then sounds very familiar to us today. Chinese troops had occupied Tibet and the Dalai Lama had fled. In Hungary one thousand people lost their lives in floods, and an earthquake in Nicaragua killed five hundred.

There was one item of good news, however - Marie Curie succeeded in isolating radium.

At home there was a great deal of unrest among railwaymen, shipyard workers and the Welsh miners. The suffragettes were active and on one occasion three hundred of them clashed with police outside Parliament buildings.

On the political scene, there was a General Election in January, and a second one in December. On both occasions the Liberals were successful, and Mr Asquith was Prime Minister.

One man’s name became known world-wide. Dr. Crippen, an American homeopathic doctor living and working in London, poisoned his wife and buried her body in the cellar. In June he was arrested on the SS Montrose which was bound for America. Later in the year he was found guilty and hanged.

King Edward VII died on 6th May and was succeeded by his son George V.

1910 saw the first Labour Exchanges, later to be known in Scotland as “the buroo.”

Robert Falcon Scott was put in charge of the British Antarctic Expedition. This was to end in disaster two years later.

The cinema of course was still in its infancy, but in the USA many short one-reelers were being produced. The first Frankenstein movie was shot in 3 days and lasted 16 minutes. A version of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol lasted all of 10 minutes!

In the world of literature, Prester John by John Buchan, Howard’s End by E.M. Forster and The History of Mr Polly by H.G. Wells were published.

And what were folks singing and whistling? Down by the Old Mill Stream, Chinatown my Chinatown, Some of these Days and Let me call you Sweetheart.

Imported from South America, the Tango was making its first appearances on dance floors, and causing controversy - it was NOT respectable!!!

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JOHN’S GALLERY



The Soldier’s Return
By John Faed (1819-1902)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

In an Artist’s Studio
Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

One face looks out from all his canvasses,
One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans;
We found her hidden just behind those screens,
That mirror gave back all her loveliness.
A queen in opal or in ruby dress,
A nameless girl in freshest summer greens,
A saint, an angel; - every canvass means
The same one meaning, neither more nor less.
He feeds upon her face by day and night,
And she with true kind eyes looks back on him
Fair as the moon and joyful as the light;
Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim;
Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright;
Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.

-o0o-

Charlie Chaplin once said “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” This video uploaded by corky1459 had me laughing!!!



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

I'm happy to report that my inner child is still ageless.
(James Broughton)

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Next post here Wednesday 8th February

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Friday, February 3, 2012

No.180

WISE MEN SAY

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. (Leo Buscaglia)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS



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THOSE WERE THE DAYS

This is Agatha Christie’s description of her father’s life in 1900.

“By modern standards my father was a lazy man. It was the days of independent incomes, and if you had an independent income you didn't work. You weren't expected to. I strongly suspect that my father wouldn’t have been particularly good at working anyway.

“He left our house in Torquay every morning and went to his club. He returned in a cab for lunch, and in the afternoon went back to the club, played whist all afternoon, and returned to the house in time to dress for dinner. During the season, he spent his days at the cricket club, of which he was president. He also occasionally got up amateur theatricals.

“He had an enormous number of friends, and loved entertaining them. There was one big dinner party at our home every week, and he and my mother went out to dinner usually another two or three times a week.”

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JOHN’S GALLERY



Come unto these yellow sands
by Richard Dadd (1819-1897)

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

Bongaloo
by Spike Milligan

"What is a Bongaloo, Daddy?"
"A Bongaloo, Son," said I,
"Is a tall bag of cheese
Plus a Chinaman's knees
And the leg of a nanny goat's eye."

"How strange is a Bongaloo, Daddy?"
"As strange as strange," I replied.
"When the sun's in the West
It appears in a vest
Sailing out with the noonday tide."

"What shape is a Bongaloo, Daddy?"
"The shape, my Son, I'll explain:
It's tall round the nose
Which continually grows
In the general direction of Spain."

'Are you sure there's a Bongaloo, Daddy?'
"Am I sure, my Son?" said I.
"Why, I've seen it, not quite
On a dark sunny night,
Do you think that I'd tell you a lie?

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MY KIND OF MUSIC

This is the 1959 recording of Sidney Bechet‘s “Petite Fleur” played by clarinettist Monty Sunshine (what a great name!) and members of Chris Barber’s Band. Uploaded by bernieb48.



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
(Henry David Thoreau)

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Next post here Monday 6th February

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

No.179

WISE MEN SAY

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances. (Martha Washington)

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THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS



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WHEN I WAS A YOUNG BOY

It must be difficult for a young person to imagine what like it was like to live in a tenement in the early 1930s.

We were fortunate to live in property which was well looked after; there was a good-size hallway, the kitchen/living room, the best room/parlour, the bedroom, a small boxroom and the toilet.

Lighting was by gas which gave out a pretty poor light. The gas mantle fitting was above the fireplace which meant that the corners of the room were not well lit. On a winter’s night the darkness in the hallway was relieved only by the dim light from the living room/kitchen shining through the window above the door leading to the hall.

The coal fire in the living room provided for heating and cooking, and the rest of the house was generally unheated.

The kitchen range - the big iron fireplace consisted of a nest for the fire and compartments where the food was cooked. There were surfaces where pots would rest near the fire and a swivel plate on which the kettle sat to boil up water over the open fire.

The ashes from the fire were removed each morning and the fire re-set and lit. The whole range was cleaned daily and all the surfaces regularly black-leaded.

At the window there was the sink with one cold tap, and at bath time water boiled in kettles was poured into a metal bath placed in front of the fire.

That was our home, and I always remember it as being a happy home. I think that perhaps my mother, who tended be a worrier later on, was happiest there, for she used sing as she went about doing her housework.

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POETRY FOR PLEASURE

I know why the caged bird sings
By Maya Angelou

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.

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JOHN' GALLERY



“La Belle Chocolatière”
by Jean-Etienne Liotard (1702-1789)

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DO YOU REMEMBER . . .
Nina and Frederik

The Danish singers were popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Following their divorce, Nina continued as a solo artiste. Frederik, who belonged to Danish aristocracy, later became involved in a crime syndicate in the Philippines, and in 1994 he was shot dead in a dispute with another gangster.

This video features Nina singing "Triy to Remember" in 1970. Uploaded by jmannen77



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A QUOTE FOR 80 PLUS

I don't feel old. I don't feel anything till noon. That's when it's time for my nap.
(Bob Hope)

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Next post here - Friday 3rd February

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