When I was a boy, my parents opened a savings account for me. I was given a bank book in my name, and felt quite grown-up going into the bank and making my small deposit.

I remember the words that appeared on the first page of the bank book - “Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.” And at the bottom of the page I read that I should never be ashamed of depositing small sums, and was assured that “the manager will rejoice to see you with your shilling.”

There are many Scottish proverbs and sayings about money, and here are a few.

Mony a mickle maks a muckle (Saving a small amount increases to a large amount)
The deaf man aye hears the clink o’ money
Wilful waste makes woeful want
A fou purse never lacks freens (A full purse never short of friends)
He that spends his gear before he gets it will hae but little guid o't (If you spend money before you get it, you won’t get much benefit from it)
Greed is envy’s aulder brither. Scraggy wark they mak thegither (Greed is envy’s older brother. Together, they make a poor job of things.)
And a very old one -
Ask thy purse what thou shouldst spend

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I must admit that I miss those far off days when I produced my bank book each time I made a transaction and had it marked up. Nowadays they try to persuade me to use the automatic teller thing (they have one inside and one outside) but I prefer to join the queue and have a real person deal with me!

And while I’m thinking of the good old days, I look back fondly when customers were served by shop assistants at the counter and all their purchases were brought to them. Mind you, I suppose I’ve got used to trailing around supermarket aisles. And we’re fortunate in Sainsbury’s where you can always find an assistant who will actually take you find the item you’re seeking. Not so in Tesco’s where often can’t find anyone to help.

Now, to change the subject, here are 4 great photographs which I found on stumbleupon.com

Click on them to enlarge.

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George Shearing 1919-2011

One of the greatest jazz pianists of the 20th century died on 14th February.

Blind from birth, the youngest of a family of nine, he was brought up in London. His father was a coalman, and his mother looked after the children during the day and cleaned trains at night. While still a young man, his reputation as a fine pianist was well-known. In 1947 he emigrated to America. He was not forgotten in his home country and in 1996 the Queen awarded him the OBE. There was a further honour in 2006 when he was knighted becoming Sir George Shearing.

This is a nice example of his gentle style of playing.

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I wonder if you’ve seen anything like this before. I certainly hadn’t. Double click for a big enlargement.

It’s the guide for a “Painting by Numbers” picture.

In the few years before I retired, I enjoyed working with water-colours and also charcoal, and recently I had the notion to try my hand again at painting. I thought, to begin with, I’d try painting by numbers.

Now, if I had made my purchase in a shop, I would have seen the numbered pattern on the box and would have realised how fiendishly difficult it would be. However, the illustration on Amazon’s website looked great and so I’m now struggling to re-create Renoir’s masterpiece “The Luncheon of the Boating Party.”

When I began working on it, I estimated that I would have completed it by July!!! However, now that a few weeks have passed, I’m thinking probably Easter.

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When my sister Rita and I get together, the conversation very often turns to the time when we were children.

Last week end we were reminiscing and I was remembering that, when visiting a house where there was a piano, or when guests came to our home, we would usually be asked to perform. I told her that I was always sitting quietly, desperate to hear the question “Are you going to play something for us, John?” From what Rita said, I think she was sitting quietly, hoping that she wouldn’t be asked to perform!!!

And that reminded me of an old Gracie Field song written by Noel Gay and Desmond Carter. Here are some of the words . . . .

I took my harp to a party
But nobody asked me to play,
The others were jolly and hearty
But I wasn't feeling so gay.
They might have said, "Play us a tune we can sing."
But somehow I don't think they noticed the thing.

They asked Mrs. Morgan to play her mouth-organ
And somebody else did a dance
They let Mrs. Carter perform a sonata
But I wasn't given a chance.

A north country person called Sandy McPherson
Played bagpipes and took off his coat.
While both the Miss Fawcetts bust out of their corsets
In trying to take a top note.

The others were jolly and hearty
But I wasn't feeling so gay.
I felt so ashamed at not striking a note
That I tried to hide the thing under me coat

They sang "Home Sweet Home" and "The Banks of Loch Lomond"
And "All the King's Horses" and "Trees"
While nephews and nieces kept playing their pieces
And spreading their jam on the keys.

A daughter called Lena, played her concertina
We all played ridiculous games,
Till old Mr. Dwyer set his whiskers on fire
And a fire engine played on the flames.

Yes, I took me harp to a party
But nobody asked me to play
So I flung the darned thing away!!!

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When we were much older, we played piano duets together and did quite a bit of entertaining around the town. In fact, we popped up so often at social evenings that possibly some folk would whisper to their neighbour “Oh no, not those two again!!!”

We had a big book of duets, consisting of light classical pieces from the Victorian era. I remember one which wasn’t in that collection - “Country Gardens” by Percy Grainger. So to bring back more memories for Rita, here it is played by Daniel Adni.



Now at John’s Gallery -
Five famous paintings including the Mona Lisa
http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

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Some years ago, when our eldest daughter Margaret was in Borneo, she visited the famous Sepilok Reserve for orangutans. Founded in 1964, the Centre’s purpose then was to rehabilitate orphan orangutans, and today there’s a population of 60-80 animals.

During their tour of the reserve, Margaret and her husband came across a cage containing just one occupant - a very old, blind orangutan.

Visitors can feed the animals with fruit, and, having attracted the old fellow’s attention, Margaret gave him a large papaya. You can imagine her surprise when he took the offering, broke it in half and handed one half back to her!

When he had finished eating his portion, Margaret then passed her half back to him. Again he took it, halved it and gave half back. And this happened one more time!

She says she found the incident very moving and I can quite understand that. If only humans were all as generous!!!

Margaret always takes a huge number of photographs on her travels, but this is one Google found for me.

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Now, if you know what “mancinism” is, go to the top of the class.

Perhaps you’d like some clues?

People with this condition are more likely to have allergies.
Most parrots have this.
Mensa claims that 20% of their members are affected.
It’s 3 times more likely in males than in females.
Between 8 and 15% of the world population have this.
In Scotland those folk are “corrie-fisted” - yes, left-handed!

I’m naturally left-handed, but, even before I began school, I had been “corrected” and taught to write and draw with my right hand.

However, there are so many things I do with my left hand - throw a ball, shave, untie a knot, dial a phone number, punch in the numbers on the burglar alarm, turn a key in a lock. I hold a table tennis bat in either hand, but kick a ball with my left foot.

Of course, real left-handers are in good company. Among the many famous folk in that category you’ll find Albert Einstein, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland, Harpo Marx, Benjamin Britten, Paul McCartney, Magnus Magnusson, Winston Churchill, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Lewis Carroll.

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Now, here's something to think about - - - -

Man is dear to man; the poorest poor
Long for some moments in a weary life
When they can know and feel that they have been
Themselves the fathers and the givers-out
Of some small blessings; have been kind to such
As needed kindness, for the single cause
That we have all of us one common heart. (William Wordsworth)

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And a picture to marvel at - - - -

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Today at JOHN'S GALLERY - Schoolmates, by the Scottish painter Sir James Guthrie
http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

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A CHANGE OF HEART . . . .

Yes, I've had second thoughts about this blog.

I was surprised to see that a good number of people are still logging on to 80 plus, and so it WILL continue!

I'll try to prepare something for Thursday, but in the meantime here's a nice picture.

Click to enlarge

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For a number of years now, I've enjoyed surfing the net and collecting paintings and photographs that I've found there.

Here are three photos taken in the High Street and Saltmarket areas of 19th century Glasgow.

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My parents were both born in the last decade of the 19th century, and there will undoubtedly have been places in Kirkintilloch just like those shown above.

This photo of my father was probably taken in 1914 when he joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

I think it would be around that time when my mother (on the left) was photographed with a friend.

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BLOG NEWS

This week-end my new site JOHN'S GALLERY begins with 4 paintings by Jan Vermeer, including my favourite "The Girl with the Pearl Earring." Then from Monday onwards I will be adding a painting each week-day.
The address is http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

The Pre-Raphaelite blog will continue on week-days, Quiet Corner on Tuesdays, The Poetry Path on Wednesdays, and A Touch of Culture on Fridays.

Wise Men Say, which has the biggest following, will achieve a record of sorts next month, for it will have been going for 5 years.

As you can see, all these websites will keep me busy, but something must go and I've decided that today's post on EIGHTY PLUS will be the last.

I always like to finish up with something from YouTube, so here's a record from 1931 - "You're Driving Me Crazy" played by the original BBC Dance Orchestra led by Jack Payne. The vocalist is Val Rosing.



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BLOG NEWS

Three weeks ago, having posted 80 paintings, I brought my Pre-Raphaelite blog to an end.

However since then, more and more people have been logging on to the site, and so I decided to do a second series.

This will begin on Saturday 15th January, with the four Pygmalion paintings by Edward Burne-Jones.

When the Pre-Raphaelite blog finished, I began to prepare for a new site in which I would collect my favourite paintings from all schools of art. This will go ahead as planned, and “John’s Gallery” will begin on Saturday 22nd January at - http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

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The Poetry Path site this week features some love poems by Henry VIII, and next Wednesday I will post two of William Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads.

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Tomorrow the subject on A Touch of Culture is classical guitar music, with some great playing on the 5 short videos.

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“The Harbour at St.Monance” by the Glasgow-born artist Alexander Ignatius Roche (1861-1921)

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First, a reminder that 80 plus will now be an occasional blog, appearing from time to time on Thursdays.

Yesterday saw the start of my new blog THE POETRY PATH which will be updated every Wednesday. The address is - http://thepoetrypath.blogspot.com

Wise Men Say began again on Tuesday, A Touch of Culture resumes tomorrow with a short feature on Lewis Carroll, and Quiet Corner is back on Monday.

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Thanks to FreeFoto for this colourful picture. Just what we need at this time of the year!

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Watching the Queen deliver her Christmas Day message, I was reminded of a very emotive broadcast given by her father George VI. The occasion was Christmas 1939, just a few months after the start of World War II.

Because of his speech impediment, he spoke very slowly and deliberately, and this made his message sound all the more serious. “A new year is at hand,” he told us, “we cannot tell what it will bring. If it brings peace, how thankful we shall all be. If it brings us continual struggle we shall remain undaunted.” And he concluded with a quote which has now become famous. The words are from a poem by Minnie Louise Haskins.

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied, “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

I believe that the thought expressed in those simple words had a profound effect on all who heard the broadcast.

That led me to remember another royal broadcast, this one four years earlier, on 11th December 1936 when I was 11 years old. That was when the uncrowned King Edward announced on the radio that he was abdicating. I remember the unusually serious faces of my parents as they sat listening to the King’s message which told the nation of his inability to do his job “as I would have wished” without the support of “the woman I love.” The woman in question of course was Mrs. Simpson, a twice-divorced American who was considered to be quite unsuitable a person to be our Queen.

And, while I’m reminiscing, I must tell you of another broadcast (not a royal one) which caused some excitement at the time. It happened on the evening of 15th October 1940. As usual we were sitting in the living room listening to the news on the wireless. Suddenly there was some kind of crashing sound from the radio. The announcer Bruce Belfrage hesitated for a moment or two, and then carried on reading the news.

Later we learned that a 500 lb bomb had been dropped on broadcasting house, killing 7 BBC staff members. There was a great deal of praise for Bruce Belfrage who had managed to keep going, despite the fact that the ceiling had fallen around him.

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Here’s a great quote for the New Year . . . .

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

To finish, there are some excellent pictures of Scotland in this short slide show.



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