Haiku

Words of wonder

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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

rich climbing

 

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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.

Rapeseed fields high up in the Cotswolds

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Gone Fishing

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

heavenhappens's avatarHeavenhappens

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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Youngling

Invading my space
Busy Blue tit emerges
Eco warrior!

Blue Tit

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?
blue tit 2

blue tit

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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

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A Haiku inspired by The 33 Waterfalls

33 Waterfalls in Dzhegosh gorge, Sochi 33 Waterfalls in Dzhegosh Gorge near Sochi

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

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Shadow ~ Haikuheights A2Z April Challenge

Spectral shadows form

In candlelit cathedral

Vespertine vision

~~~

In gathering gloom

Spectral saints in chapels pray

Unseen and unheard

~~~

Caught in candlelight

Silent battles continue

As saints shadow fight

Shadows in Worcester cathedral

Shadows in Worcester cathedral

Shadow in chapel at Worcester cathedral

Shadow in chapel at Worcester cathedral

 

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Moth ~ Haiku

Tenderly treasured

Nurtured chrysalis to moth

Now time to release

P1090021 P1090025The grandchildren have been breeding butterflies and moths in a cage. When they are ready the children release them into the bushes in the morning while the sun is shining.  It’s a serious business and Rosie worries about them with maternal zeal.

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Pariah ~ Haiku

Mary Magdala ~ Pariah?

Mary Magdala ~ Pariah?

Mary Magdala

Spilt oils on his feet and wept

Begging forgiveness

~~~~~

Judas, pariah?

Or pawn in a cosmic game

At Gethsemane.

We have just finished performing the Gloucester Mystery Plays in the fabulous setting of Gloucester Cathedral and Worcester Cathedral.  The plays were directed by Sheila Mander and received some very good reviews.   One former actor said,

 “Her motley crew of patches, rude mechanicals, all shapes, sizes, ages, levels of acting ability, musicianship and technical support experience were met together to serve one of the greatest stories ever told – amateurs and professional all – with God (we all know that He would really like to be Jeremy Irons) topping and tailing the entire affair. The spirit of Ye Olde rough and ready Middle English Mystery Play tradition is both honoured in its purest form and updated to modern relevance in a beautifully structured piece. Each actor, amateur and professional alike, somehow manages through simple, honest and often movingly unsophisticated service to this mammoth narrative to deliver one of the most touching and engaging pieces of theatre you could ever wish to attend. It is indeed theatre fulfilling many of its most powerful functions. Like smokers who quit the habit judge people who smoke, ex actors like myself can be an impossible audience to please. This little gem pleased me no end. It is charming, challenging, provocative but most essentially of all it is warmly approachable.”  I can’t weait for the next production!  Enjoy some of the photos below of rehearsals.

http://www.gmpfestival.com/diary-of-events/

 

Jesus taken by soldiers in GMP
Judas kisses Jesus
Judas played brilliantly by Robbie
Rehearsing the Crucifixion in the timber yard
Satan played by mark Kempner corrupts Judas
Jesus is arrested
Jesus brilliantly played by Lawrence Aldridge is crucified in Gloucester cathedral
Whole cast rehearsing the Gloucester Mystery Plays
Actors who played Apostles in the GMP

 

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Owl ~ Haikuheights April Challenge ~ A2Z

Solemn, silent sage,

Features frozen forever,

Fixed a stony stare

stony owlLooking after the grandchildren during the Easter holidays we stayed in a cabin by a fishing lake.  It was freezing cold, as you can see from the snow on the hills, but the children had fun.  Ben used the stone owl as a goalpost!

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Catch up ~ haiku

Hunter

Hounded and harried

He wandered the wilderness

Prey to temptation

Mystery devils tempting Jesus

 

Incense

Prayers of the faithful

Cloaked in celestial clouds

Scent of mystery

insence

 

Jasmine

Refreshed and relaxed

With a herbal infusion

Healing Jasmine tea

jasmine tea

 

Koi

“Don’t feed”, the sign says

But the Koi plead their hunger

Mouths open, they glide

fish 2

 

Lily

Alert and aloof

Proud Sharpei stands, protecting

The Peace Pagoda

lily

The Peace Pagoda in Willen, Milton Keynes

The Peace Pagoda in Willen, Milton Keynes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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Grasshopper ~ HaikuHeights A2Z ~ Day 8

Learn from the least. On

The path to enlightenment

The grasshopper guides

 As soon as I saw today’s prompt word, Grasshopper, my mind drifted back to the 80’s and 90’s when my children were young.  Two TV series stand out in my mind from those days.

In the 90s we watched an American series called “Land Before Time” which was beautiful in every way.  Each episode had a moral about virtues of courage, strength, love of family etc.

In the 80’s we watched a series on TV called “Monkey“.  This was a very unusual series based on a classic sixteenth century Chinese novel “Journey to the West” by Wu Cheng’en.  The series was produced in Japan and each episode had a moral which was based on Buddhist and Taoist philosophy.  We absolutely loved it.  I am sure there was a grasshopper character in the series!

Learn from the least. On

The path to enlightenment

The grasshopper guides