From Tom’s Midnight Garden – the vast country-house grounds held trapped in the memory of a tiny city backyard – to The Secret Garden, which Mary Lennox discovers with the help of the robin, to The Selfish Giant‘s garden where Spring will not visit while the children are kept out, there’s something magical about walled gardens.
Continue reading “wallflowers and garden walls”
Category: writing and writers
round in circles
If you ask for advice about writing a presentation, one recommendation is likely to come up time and again:
Tell them what you’re going to tell them.
Tell them.
Tell them what you’ve told them.
This three-part cyclical format is far more likely to get your message through to your audience than a simple linear thread.
I’ve long been an advocate of the idea of poetry as “the art of patterning”, but the more I think about it, the more I see that patterns play a part in effective communication in general, not just poetry.
Continue reading “round in circles”
come closer
At first sight, some things are all curvy, soft and dreamy, the sort of soft focus look used for attractive women on the early episodes of Star Trek.
But as you get closer you realise that’s not quite the whole story: you begin to see straight lines, edges and sharper outlines, and it all seems a bit scratchier – more like horse hair than angora.
Continue reading “come closer”
earth day
When I posted about the Queen’s birthday a few hours ago, I had forgotten that today was Earth Day.
Having now remembered, I think perhaps this poem and pictures would have been more appropriate, so this weekend we’ll have an additional post.
(Only the top image was taken in Spain, and I’m not really sure that it was actually La Mancha, but that’s probably not that important.)
Continue reading “earth day”
celebratory
According to the news, the Queen celebrated her 91st birthday yesterday by going to Newbury races.
As far as I can ascertain, there was no special monarch’s trophy awarded or race run to mark either the Queen’s birthday or her presence at the event; even so, it’s as good a reason as any for starting this post with a photo of a magnificent golden kingcup.
Continue reading “celebratory”
don't confuse the narrator 