Thoughts of a Soo

Yesterday I decided to walk round The Great Orme because I was in need of changing coastal views and a feeling of peace. I got both of these as well as some lovely gentle interactions from fellow walkers. A sunset or sunrise time of day would be good for next experience,  but I am pleased to have finally accomplished this walk as it has been on my wish list for a while now. The circle of fungi was pretty impressive and it is always good to nominate a sheep for sheep of the day... Fungi Ring Sheep of the Day A contender for goat of the day, but there was a bit of a dude with super curly horns later on.  Halfway    Curious goats who I told were lucky to live there.

 Pomegranate, pumpkin seed and apple porridge to start the day...  Autumn leaves...  observed heron... knitwear in the wild... birthday cake ready.

Here's my lovely poetry buddy, Audrey, reading 'The Antiquarium' which has just been published by the good folk @PoetryBusMag . I love her reading!

When your sister leaves her shire and travels to yours there is fun to be had... you can pose for the camera in her shire,  walk on a windy pier in a different shire, and go seal spotting in a shire along the way.  You can even enjoy a circle of penguins,  a cuddle of meerkats and a surprised lemur.

Stratford Hotel stay to surprise Sarah Cream tea to celebrate time out with friends  Selfie on the sand at Prestatyn  Making shadows Loving blue skies even though the sea was churny and like watery hot chocolate

This poem found its home on the Places of Poetry website in June 2019. I loved pinning it at Reculver to give it its own place in the world. And I received this feedback: Day 9 poem of the day. Some excellent poems pinned today (thanks!), including a few moving pieces engaging with military heritage: from an ancient history of warfare evoked by the walls of Colchester, through to World War II. I particularly like this piece, pinned to the coastal village of Reculver, Kent, which juxtaposes the everyday labours of fishermen with the brutal, dehumanizing reality of death at sea. In September 2019 it also got a mention on https://ahrc-blog.com/2019/09/08/the-importance-of-poetry-today/ which made me extra proud. TRAWLING ON A DAY'S LEAVE, 1943  Too waterlogged to haul over the side even for the strong arms of you and your father. Your roped him to the boat, tied him on the stern for towing behind. He couldn't be left to float; he needed to come out trawli...

The sun has been shining for four days now and yesterday it seemed appropriate to take a flask of tea, a hot cross bun to share and some biscuits to The Little Orme. It is one of my favourite places and it always has the ability to ground me and give me peace. I like to reach the edge of things and the fact that seals bob and swim around also makes it special. I decided to tuck a poem in my rucksack in case I felt like recording it there, and I did. It felt good to have read a poem with the sea behind me and then to linger in the sun and just be. It was good to see primroses on the verges as we drove down as well as the vivid yellow fields of rapeseed. Yellow is such an affirming colour for me and my absolute favourite is the brilliance of gorse. Excited by the fact that the sun was making shadows while I photographed some yellows, I made it my mission to capture my shadow next to as many shades as I could find. The clasp of my phone case made me chuckle at the essence o...

There was a day when I was younger when I was going to have a new bed. The day before bed delivery day I knew I had to tackle what was under my bed, but somehow I got distracted and forgot.... Answering My Mother (Audio) ANSWERING MY MOTHER I had meant to move them, remembered that I needed to move them. Then the day distracted me and bedtime was just for sleeping and a new day was coming down for breakfast and putting the television on. Not even when she went upstairs that morning did I think of it again. Until she shouted, I had totally forgotten. We could have had mice. Then my forgetful mind made my heart sink. The cry worsened; Rats! We could have had rats. The four flights of stairs between us only gave me time to swallow and stare. I had meant to move them. I had planned to wrap them in newspaper, like chips, take the package quietly to the backyard, unclip the dustbin lid, lay it inside. Rats! We could have had rats. If y...

Whilst in Betws-y-Coed we found vegan food options to keep us well fed including pizza and a chockbocka glory by the station, and a good curry at The Waterloo Hotel where we were staying. With swims in the pool and good walks we seem to have been able to blow off the cobwebs to good effect. It was good too to take the opportunity to visit the Fairy Glen. The water was flowing rather fast which made it sound dramatic as well as look impressive. These photos are from the walk down to the glen.

New goal setting as Spring approaches finds me making recordings of my poems so that I get used to reading them aloud. Yesterday I added versions of 'His Gun' and 'Sloth' to this blog. I bow to those people who are encouraging me.

Today I completed my first needle felting kit. This was my crafting present from my sister, and I absolutely loved it. I thought the hare looked very wise when it was fully made and we left it on the settee while we took a stroll in Llandudno to breathe the first sea air of 2019. On returning I named him Solomon.