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.

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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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