June 4, 2013 by heavenhappens

Cotswold Stone

dry stone wall in the cotswolds

This post is inspired by the Haiku heights prompt word “Stone”

Golden meadows bound

With dry stone walling. Built by

Cotswold craftsmen

The Cotswolds, where I live, is a very beautiful area in the heart of England, which covers the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.

Beyond the hedgerows

As far as the eye can see

Yellow rapeseed glows

Rapeseed field

There are gentle hills and wolds, meandering rivers rich with salmon, trout, roach, bream and eels, a coastline along the Severn Valley, ancient woodland in the Forest of Dean complete with wild boar and roaming deer, beautiful market towns and unspoilt villages, gorgeous thatched cottages, magnificent country houses, fertile farms, and even several castles!

One of the outstanding features of the Cotswolds is the beautiful stone which is used for building. During the time of the enclosures act in Britain it was cheaper for farmers to enclose their land with dry-stone walls than to plant hedges, and to this day one of the special features of the Cotswolds is the golden dry-stone walls about a metre in height which border country lanes and lush farmland

The limestone found in the Cotswolds is from the Jurassic period about 150 million years ago, a time when dinosaurs roamed over the earth and the area was once below the sea. It is still possible to find fossils in the rocky cliffs and quarries. In fact Huntsman’s Quarry has a superb collection of large fossils that were unearthed during quarrying.

Fossilised features

Of prehistoric creatures

In limestone preserved

You can download a fascinating fact sheet about the quarry here

Quarrying has been carried out in the Cotswolds for many years, for sand, gravel and clay as well as stone. Some of the old quarries have been turned into the Cotswold Water park which covers an area of 40 square miles and has 150 lakes. All sorts ofwater sports go on here and it is a beautiful area to walk around enjoying the nature and wildlife. You can read all about it here

At the weekend I took my grandchildren to Warwick castle to enjoy the Horrible Histories. It was a great day out in wonderful weather. The castle was sold by the Greville family in 1978 and is now owned by the business group that owns Madame Tussauds. This has enhanced the visitor’s experience as every room is filled with models of the famous people who lived in or visited the castle. It must cost millions to maintain the structure of this impressive building. The walls are so think and the building so huge, that the bedrock is groaning under the strain. But there is 1000 years of history oozing out of every stone.

Stone steeped in stories

Of secrets and scandals in

High society

Bedrock is cracking

Sinking under centuries

Of blood-soaked conflict

Enjoy my pictures from the weekend…

May 30, 2013 by heavenhappens

Some Things Don’t Change

Some hurts time can’t heal

Memories hang around me

Like rain-soaked washing

May 23, 2013 by heavenhappens

Stanley’s growing up healthy ~ Haiku

These haiku are inspired by the word prompt at www.haiku-heights.blogspot.com

The word for this week is Health.

I am constantly amazed at the pace of Stanley’s development. It seems that every week he has acquired a new skill and grown a bit more aware of the people, places and things around him.

He is now rolling over, trying to crawl, giggling at his toes or anything else that waves around in front of him! He is also getting very sociable, going to ‘bounce and rhyme’ at the local library as well as ‘Little Fishes’ at the swimming pool.

He has started eating a variety of fruit, vegetables and cereals that his mum purees for him. All in all I am delighted to say he is a healthy and happy baby and a joy to be with.

Mini masterpiece

A picture of perfection

Healthy and happy

Healthy and Happy

Bootees abandoned

Tiny toes make tempting toys

Baby’s delighted

Tiny toes

Curiosity

Compels him to crawl, eager

To investigate

Compelled to crawl

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May 21, 2013 by heavenhappens

Betrayal ~ Haiku

This post is inspired by haiku heights word prompt. The word is ‘Betrayal’. It is a bit negative to be thinking about betrayal on such a lovely peaceful day, but there are always issues highlighted in the press which come under this theme. Today I saw a front page article in the Independent Newspaper about a 92 year old man who died waiting for a bed on a ward, having been left in a side room for 11 hours. This has got to be a betrayal by the NHS as an institution which is now seriously understaffed.

Unaccountable

Neglected, alone

Forgotten on a trolley

Died a lonely death

I read recently of workers in Bangladesh who died when the overcrowded and substandard factory building they worked in collapsed. They worked for little wages to produce garments for sale in our shops.

Unacceptable

In squalid sweatshops

They labour for a pittance

Dying for profit

Due to the Government’s austerity measures we are having to make lots of cuts in every area of society. But I was shocked to hear that soldiers returning from fighting (or peace keeping as it is referred to these days) in conflict zones around the world will lose their jobs when they return.

Unpatriotic

Returning from war

No thanks were they given, just

Redundancy notes

Of course the world’s problems have been largely caused by injustice and greed which in no little part has been fuelled by the big financial institutions. It seems strange to me that the ordinary people have to suffer the consequences while the rich continue as if nothing has happened.

Unabashed

Arrogant bankers

Brought their business to ruin

But took their bonus

The world’s political classes are of course most guilty of betrayal whether intentionally or not. They are the only people with the power to do something about the injustices in the world so what do they do?

Unbelievable

At summits they meet

To discuss the worlds’ starving

At black tie banquets

I could go on about betrayal of innocent, defenceless children who have been abused by their “carers”; +about animals that are kept captive or treated cruelly; about the sick and disabled who are being vilified in this country for needing benefits to live a basic existence; but I will finish with a heartfelt betrayal:-

Unforgivable

Brutal betrayal

To abandon the mother

Expecting your child

May 20, 2013 by heavenhappens

Eggs ~ Haiku

This post is nspired by Haiku Heights prompt word which is Egg.

Fast food for fledgelings

Nesting under bleeding heart

Five healthy chicks hatched

robin gathering mealworms to feed its young

Naturally at this time of year there are birds nesting and I am lucky enough to have a variety of birds in my garden. We have watched fascinated as a pair of robins burrowed a nest into a large plant pot where they successfully reared 5 chicks. We have also seen Blue Tits nesting in one of our bird boxes. I am very lucky to have a variety of bird boxes all hand made by my clever daughter. She adapts them to different species of birds and they seem very popular!

Vacant possession

A luxury detached home

Built for a blue tit

My Blue Tit’s Bird House

The first thing that popped into my head was not the birds nesting in my garden! It was the Russian Christmas at Chatsworth House that I went to a couple of years ago. Chatsworth is a gorgeous stately home set in beautiful Derbyshire countryside. It is beautiful to see at any time of year, but especially so at Christmas when every room is transformed according to a theme. The Russian Christmas appealed to me as I love Russian culture and crafts. The photo shows a room filled with hanging eggs decorated by local school children. It is a Russian tradition to decorate eggs, usually at Easter, as a celebration of life and a promise for the future. The eggs are called, ” Pisanki”

In coldest winter

Celebrating life and hope

Pretty pisanki

I Decorated eggs at Chatsworth

Eggshells ~ Haiku Day 5 (heavenhappens.wordpress.com)

May 20, 2013 by heavenhappens

Lily of the Valley

Lily of the Valley in my lounge

Bluebells

Azalea

Lily of the Valley in the garden

Bleeding heart plant

Cherry Blossom

Lily of the valley

Two robins in the garden

May has got to be one of the most beautiful times of the year here in the Cotswolds. In my garden at the moment there is such a variety of blossom. We have several varieties of apple, two kinds of pear, a cherry tree and a quince all covered in blossom. The hellebores are almost over but there are still a few tulips and primroses. The blue bush, whose name I can never remember, is covered in flowers and the orange azalea is amazing. But the piece de resistance has got to be the Lily of the Valley. I did not plant these, they were already naturalised when we moved in ~ but they are superb. They are prolific under my pear trees. The perfume that surrounds them is just beautiful. There are so many in our garden that I picked a couple of bunches on Sunday. I brought one indoors where the perfume fills the room. I gave the other bunch to a lovely local lady when I took her some rhubarb I had just picked. The rhubarb is another thing that seems to love our soil as it grows really well. Unfortunately my husband is not allowed to eat it now that he is on dialysis so I tend to give it away.

Lily of the Valley is a native of Britain. The 16th century Gerard’s Herbal decries it as “growing on hampstead Heath, four miles from London, in great abundance@” I must remember to check if it still grows there. It used to be a tradition here to give bunches of Lily of the Valley on May 1st. It still is in France I believe, where the flowers are called Muguet.

In 1851 Queen Victoria commissioned a special painting to commemorate 1st May. It was a very special year for her as it was Prince Arthur’s first birthday, the 82nd birthday of the Duke of Wellington who was the Prince’s grandfather, and the opening day of the Great Exhibition. Of course Lily of the Valley featured prominently in the painting with the Duke of Wellington presenting a posy to the Queen, Prince Albert and the young prince Arthur. The painting was completed by Franz Xaver Winterhalter and is in the style of the adoration of the Magi which seems rather irreverent to me but was a sign of the times I guess.

May 17, 2013 by heavenhappens

Bridges Part 11 ~ Haiku

Over Severn‘s Gorge

An iconic iron bridge

First cast in furnace

Another view of the bridge (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The years float away

On day trips to my birthplace

By ‘Blinking Eye’

English: Millennium Bridge, Newcastle to Gateshead This elegant tilting pedestrian and cyclist bridge is the lowest above-ground crossing of the River Tyne. It has become something of an icon of Newcastle and Gateshead. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A lifetime abridged

Sorrows surface in snatches

Sanitised soundbites

Brick by brick I build

A bridge to carry me home

Made of words and deeds

Related articles

Bridge ~ Haiku (heavenhappens.wordpress.com)

May 16, 2013 by heavenhappens

Bridge ~ Haiku

Today’s post is inspired by Haiku Heights prompt ‘Bridge’. Bridges have always held a fascination for me. My father worked all his life in the steel industry and I loved listening to him explain the engineering behind the iconic structures that fascinated him. There was no shortage of inspiration in Newcastle on the River Tyne where I grew up as a child. Having 7 bridges in less than a mile close to my home on that great river, each one totally different yet perfectly suited to their task, there was always something to look at and learn about.

River Tyne god

It is recorded that Hadrian built the first bridge on the Tyne in AD 122 before he built his wall. He named the bridge Pons Aelius in honour of the his family name. The family crest was a Goat’s head which is where the name ‘Gateshead’ is thought to derive from. From then on records show there was a crossing at this point over the centuries until 1248 when it was destroyed by fire. But in 1250 a medieval bridge was built with turreted guard towers, a chapel, shops and houses on it. In 1771 that bridge was virtually destroyed by a great flood but in 1778 a Georgian bridge replaced it. This bridge made navigation difficult at times and dredging impossible upriver so an opening bridge was proposed in 1851

The seven bridges at the heart of the city are

Gateshead Millennium Bridge, known as the ‘Blinking Eye’ because of the way it opens, was opened in 2001

The Tyne bridge, was opened by King George V in October 1928. My mother was 3 years old then and remembered sitting on her uncle’s shoulders on the bridge actually watching the ceremony!

The Swing Bridge was opened in 1876 to enable ships to pass along the Tyne. At its peak the bridge swung open 30 times a day. In 1924, 6000 vessels were said to have passed through. The opening mechanism is still in full working order and the bridge still opens on special occasions.

The High Level Bridge was needed when the railways came to town! Originally trains had to stop in Gateshead and passengers were then ferried across the Tyne to Newcastle where they were faced with a very steep climb up steps to the city. This bridge was designed by Robert, son of George Stephenson. It is double decked with rail lines above and a road beneath. It was the first bridge of its kind (double deck rail/road) in the world and was made of 5000 tons of local wrought iron and cast iron. It was opened by Queen Victoria in September 1849.

The Metro Bridge is officially called Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge as our Queen opened it with Prince Philip in 1981. This was designed and built to cater for the new integrated transport system from Newcastle to the coast at South Shields. Believe it or not when I was a child in the 40s and 50s in gateshead/Newcastle we still travelled on trams or trolley buses! The Metro was after my time, but I have been on it in recent years and it is a superb system, being fast, clean and efficient.

The King Edward Bridge was opened in 1906 by the then King Edward VII. It was desperately needed as railway travel was now so popular that the High level Bridge could not cope with the traffic.

Lastly on this short and busy stretch of my favourite river is the Redheugh Bridge. To be honest this is the third Redheugh Bridge as the original two were unfit for purpose. But the final one was a triumph of pre-stressed concrete with 4 lanes for traffic and one path for pedestrians. This bridge was opened by the Diana, Princess of Wales in 1984.

Any Geordie will tell you that the view from the train as it crosses the Tyne is enough to set the heart racing. Just the word, ‘Bridge’ set my muse going so I am posting some of my haiku here for you.

Captured on canvas

The city of my childhood

A lifetime abridged

Train carries me back

Beyond landmarks unchanging

Loved city unfolds

From the bridge I see

My family’s history

Slip away from me

Poor men paid a toll

A penny from a pittance

To cross the ‘Coaly Tyne’

Painted bridge belies

Oily blackness deep below

Hidden history

Under the arches

The homeless shelter each night

In cardboard boxes

Standing on the edge

She saw no life before her

Flowers lie there still

bridges on the Tyne painted in watercolour by Ron Thornton.jpg

The 1781 stone bridge, with the High Level Bridge in the background, from an 1861 illustration (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: The Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge that carries the Tyne and Wear Metro over the river Tyne, viewed from Forth Banks in Newcastle. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gateshead Quays across the River Tyne at night – Gateshead Millennium Bridge and the Sage Gateshead (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

May 11, 2013 by heavenhappens

Believe in yourself

Laughter and Lyrics Choir

Yesterday was very emotional for me in so many ways. I belong to a choir called “Laughter and Lyrics” which meets every Friday morning in the restaurant of the Everyman Theatre. We have only been singing together for a few months and we are all of different ages and from varied backgrounds. But I think we gel as a choir and make a beautiful sound together. Of course singing is very emotional at any time but yesterday was especially so as we had been invited to sing at a service to celebrate the life of the much loved father of one the ladies in the choir. The service was in a beautiful little church in one of the most idyllic villages in the Cotswolds, Dumbleton, and the sun shone on it.

As I sang in that beautiful church with our choir of wonderful ladies I felt privileged to be there, blessed to be alive, and grateful to be me.

One of the songs we are practicing for our show in July is “Believe”, written by Lin Marsh.

It is often sung at final assemblies here in the UK when pupils are moving on to a new school. It is so uplifting and affirming.

I hope you enjoy listening to this You Tube version of it, and know that it is meant for you.

May 10, 2013 by heavenhappens

Story – Haiku

He said “you can’t make

a silk purse from a sow’s ear”

His meaning was clear

This post is inspired by the haiku heights prompt for today ~ “Story”

This was the comment made about me at the age of 10 by the Headmaster of the school I was expecting to go to when me moved across the country for my father’s job. I had missed a lot of school due to illness so was way behind others of my age. I also had a Geordie accent which he equated with being uneducated. These factors led him to believe I was stupid and not worth educating! My determined parents decided to move me somewhere else thank goodness!

His words have stayed with me always and inspired me to become a teacher. Eventually I became a Headteacher. My aim was to value every child, to educate them to the best of their ability, and to develop in them self confidence and high self esteem so that whatever their talents they could go out into the world prepared to lead full, rewarding and satisfying lives.

I guess it is a milestone in my story!

May 9, 2013 by heavenhappens

Daredevil ~ Haiku

Inspired by this week’s prompt from haikuheights which is the word Daredevil I was reminded of my nephew who is in the Metropolitan Police. He faces possible danger on a daily basis but manages to stay calm and positive in the face of it all.

Lured into their trap

Alone he stands his ground as

Gang gathers round him

My son too is unflappable whether riding his motorbike across the world, diving deep under the oceans or climbing up devilish rockfaces.

Devil rock lures him

into death defying deeds

He claws at its face

May 4, 2013 by heavenhappens

Splashes of sunshine

Golden rapeseed spread
Thickly on the countryside
Fields splashed with sunshine

On a coach trip to London yesterday for one of Gerry’s hospital appointments it was a joy to see fields of Rapeseed bursting into bloom. I know lots of people find that rapeseed gives them headaches or breathing problems, but it made my heart sing to see the countryside spread thickly with golden sunshine.

May 3, 2013 by heavenhappens

Gone Fishing

It’s that time of year again when the weather is just about good enough for Gerry to go fishing ~ joy!

Heavenhappens

Under a fishing umbrella by the side of a lake in the pouring rain with husband and grandchildren, heaven happens. There is nothing quite so exciting as being at the mercy of the elements but safe! It appeals to our most basic human need for shelter and protection. All our needs are met. We are together, warm and dry and we have a picnic. We are relaxed and at peace. There is nothing we mustdo but enjoy ourselves. It is a precious gift ~ time to be. Grandchildren learn how to fish. They watch the fluorescent tip of the float marking the place where the line enters the water. The bait of sweetcorn gently drifts in the depths as we throw more corn in to attract the fish. And it does. The float waggles then dips down ~ a bite! Ben gets the landing net ready and Rosie slides the…

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April 28, 2013 by heavenhappens

Youngling

Invading my space
Busy Blue tit emerges
Eco warrior!

Blue Tit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was amused to watch a blue tit flying in and out of a small hole in my brickwork. I thought he might be nest building, but actually he was helping himself to my cavity wall insulation then flying into a nearby bush to line his nest! Whatever next? Central heating? Solar panels?

April 28, 2013 by heavenhappens

Xerox inspired Haiku

Hope you don’t mind if I sneak in 2 days worth of haiku as I missed yesterday! So my open prompt comes today when ~ I heard my first cuckoo!

Loud and clear cuckoo
sings, summer’s early warning.
Nesting birds beware

~~~

Xerox inspired ~ Before I retired from my job in education, I was linked with Kianja Primary School in Nyanza Province, near Kisumu in Kenya. The first time I went there I was amazed to see classes of up to 80 children in what were effectively large mud huts with no windows or doors ~ and no resources! The teacher was using water to write on a wall to illustrate his lesson. Sometimes teachers would take lessons outside under a huge mango tree. The children were bright, keen, polite, well-behaved, friendly ~ and learning!

They had no electricity so a xerox machine would have been of no use to them.

Water on mud walls

left a lasting impression.

One teaching resource

~~~

African children

Learn in tribal village school

Under mango tree

April 26, 2013 by heavenhappens

A Haiku inspired by The 33 Waterfalls

On one of my many trips to Russia, I was taken to an area of outstanding natural beauty in the Shakhe river valley. We travelled by coach through rustic villages, stopping along the way at small wineries and family businesses selling home made crafts and furniture. The river flows through the Dzhegosh Gorge, where the 33 waterfalls are to be found, as well as rapids, 13 cascades and countless streams! In order to get to the gorge you have to walk through a dense forest of ancient Oak, Maple, Alder and Hornbeam trees. There are also some exotic plants as well as mosses and tiny box trees growing wild there.

Once you arrive at the 33 waterfalls there is a steep and rather treacherous climb up a slippery wooden walkway to the top. From there the views are truly breathtaking. It really is a magical place. Once you have braved the rapids and been soaked by the waterfalls on the way down, you can buy the most amazing pastie type food which is prepared by a local Babushka who cooks them expertly in an old oil drum in the forest. It looked, and was, rough and ready and I did not see a Food Hygiene certificate, but her food tasted wonderful!

Cascading river

Fragments and falls, crashing through

Walkways of wonder