Write … Edit … Publish … Bloghop/IWSG hop: WEP Close Encounters …

 Close Encounters from life experiences …

When I was starting out in London … in the 1970s ... I spent sometime with my father … I'd lost my flat and was looking for somewhere else to live …

… at that stage I was working for a small organisation, near the River Thames, up a narrow flight of Dickensian stairs … well worn by Victorian workers, dark oak, stained … probably full of ancient smoke no doubt if one looked/smelt under the treads …

… then at home-time out into the dark, misty gloom of a London evening – not much changed from the two centuries before …

Ancient staircase

… the walk from there to the tube, where the mist rising from the Thames, swirled around the cast-iron lamps, limiting the murky light struggling through the winter gloom …

My destination was Bond Street and then I'd walk north towards my father's flat … one day – instinct kicked in and I was aware I was being followed … London isn't short of commuters … but not many would come out of Bond Street tube, cross the road and walk the same way I had done …

London - Tottenham Court Road tube stattion
1950s or 1960s

… what to do, I wasn't that young, but hadn't spent much time in London … also hadn't thought about stalking … these sorts of things weren't so discussed or mentioned in the media …

… something clicked as I carried walking up the road, checking that I was still being followed – fortunately I'd spotted a small hotel ...

… at least there was a degree of anonymity in entering the hotel – so I went up to the desk, the guy followed me into the foyer …

Victorian cast-iron light stands balefully
beaming out ...  

… I explained my situation, showed the receptionist the guy in the dirty-mac (if that's what he had on) … and insisted that the manager was called.

Eventually the manager arrived – the same story was told … and after some thought he said he'd accompany me back to my father's building … and we disappeared out the back.

That thankfully was the end of this little saga – would youngsters today instinctively be aware enough to take evasive action … so many walk along the pavements (sidewalks) umbilically attached to their phones in one way or another …

Close Encounter # two … as a teenager, before Close Encounter # one, I'd come back from a holiday in Italy … agreeing that I'd find my father – yet that wasn't easy … I didn't like to disturb him and it was late at night – and as that was the way in those days, he didn't have a phone in the flat … he spent many hours at work …

…

what to do … my mother was in Cornwall – miles away – in the end I phoned some friends of my father's up in Northamptonshire – where my father was now based – well that was eventful – I'm fairly certain I got on the wrong train … so they very kindly had to drive across the Midlands to pick me up – and we got hold of my father the next morning … the days before mobile phones … I became known endearingly as 'Waif'!

Close Encounter # three … when I was in Johannesburg, I was walking back to the garage to get my car and go home. As I walked up a major route … a largish group of lads were coming down and started to move in towards the roadside office building wall …

Street scene Johannesburg 1970

… I realised I couldn't be put in that situation … so moved out into this highway – thankfully empty, but then the cars started to come down – the guys let me pass … and that potentially uncomfortable situation was over.

Plenty (many plenty!) of other Close Encounters … but these three came to mind … I lost the plot with this WEP prompt ... but memories arise ... 

I will now be round to read all the entries … thanks for visiting …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Cricket via the Allahakbarries …

 

Cricket … well I thought you'd like to know about a team of literary players … sorry if you don't!     The Allahakbarries are the team, and its backstory c/o the author of Peter Pan …

J M Barrie in 1892

Peter Pan's author … J M Barrie (1860 - 1937) – had an elder brother, who died very young … sadly for JM that elder brother was his mother's favourite …

… so it has been mooted that Barrie had psychogenic dwarfism – a growth disorder caused by this emotional deprivation – he only grew to 5 ft 3 ½ inches (1.6 m) …

Michael Llewelyn Davies
as Peter Pan (1906)

Barrie was an amazing man – he wrote Peter Pan and before his death gave the rights to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, which continues to benefit from them.

Cricmash suggests that he was a man with a quixotic sense of humour and an affinity for the unusual … his article is a great read …

Christopher Robin
reading to Pooh

Perhaps we aspiring authors look to join with others in search of other pursuits … Barrie did just that – he recruited a cricket team from many of his famous friends … captained by Peter Pan, with Sherlock Holmes as the star batsman and Winnie the Pooh at the wicket …

Peter Pan statue in
Kensington Gardens

… there were explorers – perhaps trying to find the boundary limits … artists, painting the sessions as a record, big game hunters making sure no pussy-cats were haunting the grasslands …

Very expensive! copy
from c/o Abebooks

Barrie's selection also didn't comply with what was considered to be normal … for instance he chose married men – because he liked their wives! Or as far as the single men were concerned – it was for the oddity of their personal appearance …

Cricmash's article is a fun read … while the Wiki page gives an overview …

Wordsworth edition of Three Men in a Boat

Where else would Three Men in a Boat meet Andrew Lang's Fairy Book illustrations …

An illustration from
The Orange Fairy Book

Notable figures to have featured …

Rudyard Kipling - novelist

H G Wells - writer

Arthur Conan Doyle – writer and physician

PG Wodehouse – writer and humorist

GK Chesterton – writer and philosopher …

Jerome K Jerome - author

A A Milne – author and children's author

E W Hornung – author (Raffles – gentleman thief)

Henry Justice Ford – artist and illustrator

A E W Mason – author and politician

Walter Raleigh – scholar, poet and author

E V Lucas – talented writer and essayist

Maurice Hewlett – historical novelist

Owen Seaman – editor of Punch

Bernard Partridge – illustrator for Punch magazine

Augustine Birrell – Politician

Paul du Chaillu – French traveller, zoologist and anthropologist (gorillas and Pygmy people)

Henry Herbert La Thange – realist rural landscape artist, associated with the Newlyn School

George Cecil Ives – poet, writer, penal reformer

and George Llewelyn Davies, (George had 4 younger brothers)

as well as the son of Alfred Tennyson – Poet Laureate …

Jack acting out a Pirate
Adventure

The Llewelyn Davies family were the inspiration for the Peter Pan story and its characters …

It's the season of the Ashes (Australia v England) … tennis is in the offing too – Queens next week, Eastbourne from the 26^th, then Wimbledon in July …

Porthos, Barrie's Saint
Bernard dog

Enjoy your summer … I'm busy, trying to de-stress and sort life out … so my life goes …

Cricmash. com - cricket and literature through J M Barrie and his Allahakbarries

Wikipedia article on Allahakbarries ... 

Art work c.o Scribd.com (see link below)

Scribd.com - article on Barrie's Extraordinary Celebrity Cricket Team ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Yakety Yak – no yaks, but final part 3/3!

 

Rites of Spring … short and sweet … the wonderful early vegetable and fruit season kicks in – for me … it's rhubarb and asparagus …

Concept design for Act 1, by Nicholas Roerich's
for Diaghilev's 1913 production of
'Le Sacre du Printemps'

Two things – when I asked my father's BIL whether he had any rhubarb in the garden … I hadn't noticed any – but he said 'yes' … my eyes lit up, my tummy came to life …

Rhubarb Crumble

… then came the denouement … he said: 'I can't stand the stuff, so I buried it under the compost heap' – well that took the deliciousness out of my brain sails yes I meant 'sails'! I had to laugh with him …

Asparagus
bundle

Asparagus is perhaps a little stranger – this year … having eaten a fair amount of asparagus – the ammonia – asparagus urine smell - hasn't occurred. For some reason – this leaves me wanting it back … my body seems to want it back … perhaps it's been bred out …

Moving on – Mike at A Bit About Britain wrote two posts about Monarchy – I understand: not that interesting to many – but part of our history.

NB - not Mike!  (Resting
not so elderly gardener)

He wrote one on Monarchy through the centuries … it's a long feature – but very thorough … the history of our country has reached another milestone … Mike is an excellent 'recordist' …

Then on the day, he and his wife decided to visit some of the Coronation sights – Slough, which is outside London, but made travelling easier; Windsor – you'll know about that place and castle – well I hope so! Then they went into central London … and then they travelled around … brave souls, I say!

Also not Mike,
nor my uncle!

However – both posts give us an honest overview of Coronation life today and over the centuries …

I haven't really enjoyed the Spring – a really cold wind … I'm still trying to deal with the blood pressure aspect – just need to get my act into gear and spur myself on.

Other things are on the horizon … as is my way – always lots going on … but I'm being sluggish … I will come through – positive by nature …

Cricket and tennis are upon us – again summer time sports – so good to enjoy!  I have a lovely cricket post to entice you to think positively about the game - through some authors!

Sketches of Maria Piltz
performing the sacrificial
dance - I think I need to try and 
copy - they might bring me back
to Spring like life ... 

It's really sticky here – so I'm glad I'm by the coast able to see the sea with its breeze … even if it's called 'a Channel'!

That's all folk – I'll now be getting back to normal posting – a WEP entry is due next week … enjoy your summers/winters – wherever you may be.

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Yakety-Yak part 2 …

 

Lunana, a Yak in the Classroom film … is a quite delightful story telling about a Yak in Bhutan, a recalcitrant youth, and a school high up in the Himalayas in need of a teacher …

Lunana is between the 'M & A' of the 
Himalayas name

… said youth had to finish off his teaching diploma before he could leave Bhutan, with his guitar, to pursue his dream of achieving a musical career in Australia – for which he already had a provisional visa.

Ultimately he has to qualify as a teacher … so off he goes up into the Himalayas … grumping and groaning as only a rebellious youngster can …

Pokhara Valley in Bhutan

The headman sends two herdsman to meet him – when the 'road runs out'; he has his walkman headphones permanently clamped to his ears … ultimately the batteries run out …

… the two villagers reassure him the walk is easy – it's along a river – yes, but that stream is pouring down the mountains – so the walk is an uphill wet trog. He'd purposefully bought Goretex boots before leaving – well they're no good – soggy wet feet step onwards!

Poster for film

We journey with him … it is beautiful, hardwork, we see cultural aspects, are introduced to a few peoples along the way.

Eventually he arrives – it is basic to put it mildly – he has his own hut … he's fed that first night … and given some basic instructions about how things work – he needs to light his own fire, cook his own food etc etc … eventually sleep comes …

Early the next morning there's a knock on the door – by the littliest schoolgirl – we're ready for you 'teacher' she beams announcing with delight …

See link at end

… oh dear – nothing's organised … eventually things sort themselves out – he's beguiled by the children, copes with wet yak pats – told he needs dry ones to light his fire … etc etc

His guitar comes out – he recognises there are excellent songsters in the hamlet … he sends for teaching tools from Thimphu, capital of Bhutan …

A Yak - they're sleek animals

He's given a Yak to look after – who has pride of place in the classoom – domesticated yaks are highly regarded for their milk, fibre and meat, and as beasts of burden – then there's their droppings – fuel for their fires … but the yak will not eat grain … they must have grass …

… in the end they have a happy year – but he's determined to leave … and does … he's qualified and can travel to Australia … his dream has come true … but has it …

Here he's playing his guitar to his yak!

… he's playing in a bar in Sydney and realises no-one is listening to him … they're all nattering away … he's upset … then appreciates there's a calling at home – high up in Lunana …

Some brief stats and info … Lunana's administrative area has a population of under 900; rainfall is over six feet a year; many of Bhutan's glaciers are within the district, which lies at an altitude of 3,400m (over 11,000 feet); yaks are related to cattle and are also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, or hairy cattle …

The movie inspired me – and still does – I hope you'll be able to make a plan to watch it sometime … 'a teacher touches the future' and 'you find what you seek in a place you least expect' …

The trailer to watch ... Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom 

Wikipedia's page on the film ...

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Yakety-Yak … part 1 …

 

Absent without leave … the brain being 'overwhelmed with 'to dos''and as you'll gather not getting very far. Yes, I do want to write about Yaks … strange, but true …

I've had a few things going on … the brain works, but not much else apparently – so my grey cells tell me!! Also I got a whammy … my blood pressure has decided to not agree with me … which needs to be addressed – i.e. slow down, de-stress … not something I needed right now – but obviously I must deal with it.

We had a wonderful talk from the Finnish Ambassador - he was great … very personable … he'd accepted our European Movement (see January post) invitation last June – mentioning he never confirmed speaking dates so far in advance … but for your meeting I have.

Apparently he'd been looking forward to coming back to the Sussex coast since the 1980s when his father had sent him over on a student exchange … we'd opened the door for that return.

His talk revolved around the history of Finland over 1,000 years – it was fascinating in the context of a country being part of an evolving area of Europe.

Identity Global image - website here

This month we had a local high achiever as our speaker, whose Identity group has been responsible for organising the Coronation, other global events ...

... including messing up 'my childhood beach at Carbis Bay, Cornwall' for the G7 Leaders get together (their Summit!) last summer, COP26 in Glasgow and the recent NATO summit … we had a really fun evening …

Perhaps to get back to this age ... of no worries!

I'm trying to cut back to give myself more time away from committees – so re-evaluating life and getting my 'rambling' health back into line. I'm fine – just need to make sure I get back to being healthier.

I think I'll stop there … having just heard a snippet about the Michael J Fox film 'Still' on his life and living with Parkinson's disease for over 30 years … the word 'attitude' was highlighted – I need to get over myself right now – and get back to normal.

I'll be curating a few other happenings – my brain is full on at the moment … and I need to lighten its load – poor grey cells - which means overloading your visits!!

Thanks for bearing with me – I'll be around soon … Happy Mother's Day weekend to those in the States …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Write … Edit … Publish … Bloghop /IWSG hop: Life is Beautiful

 

Life is beautiful for us … for some not so … for others it was until life intervened …

We are so lucky … has anyone experienced homesickness … what does it mean? Missing home, or family, or friends, or all three – and then there's our emotions that affect us so profoundly.

I left home – the home that was security – yet exploring beyond my own realms was actually beyond my own imagination …

Victoria Falls with its bridge
(Southern Africa)

I made life easy so used the same language – was able to engage with like-minded people, though different … but I missed home; I couldn't go back – well I could, but I had to give myself a chance living overseas.

Within the environment I embraced … things were much the same … the humour, the music, the books, and yet new memories would be created … I was not going to be culturally bereaved.

Our maternal homeland
(I always miss it!)

Now I am back home – in the country I was born in ... and have that freedom that comes from being in a safe place … there are other adjustments that others cannot easily make …

But I can learn … and need to learn to appreciate others' ways of life – the whys and hows of how others think about life away from their roots …

Look at the other side
of life too

When my mother was in her last years in a nursing centre … I became more aware of how others' felt – in other words how I was feeling – not being completely in control, as I needed to be with my mother, rather than worry too much about myself.

There are two sides of a hand … the palm, or the dorsal side … I learnt that if someone was frustrating me – I needed to rethink … and used my hand as a metaphor to change my thinking.

Others' lives are in our hands

It has made my life easier for me – I can adjust … Life is beautiful – yet it needs to be for all peoples of the world … as a child we are (or should be) born into a positive world … where compassion and thoughtfulness abound – each person helping, caring and understanding the other …

Our world is becoming 'upsy-down', horrific for many, sad for others … so many are homesick yearning for what was …

Courtesy of: NHS Tayside Mental Health

Let's help each other have hope – and allow them time to create their own life of beauty …

Ugliness and cruelty are unnecessary

Life is Kind and Beautiful

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Pasta Primavera – Spring Pasta …

 

The delights of Spring … those early vegetables … and the thought of enjoying a Spring meal using young Spring greens – with luck new peas, sprouting broccoli, watercress, sorrel, Spring cabbage, early broad beans or runner beans, pasta with a creamy sauce … and some herbs …

Pasta Primavera with asparagus

Healthy flat ribbon pasta (tagliatelle) – steam or lightly cook your veggie as you usually do … boil the tagliatelle, drain … add the fromage frais and gently stir in (making sure the sauce doesn't split) as you warm it through …

Sprouting Broccoli - one of
my favourites

Add the veggies and chopped herbs of choice (parsley and chives come to mind) with a splash of pasta water … stir very gently … lightly season …

Broad Beans - also delicious!

Serve scattered with parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil …

Spring Meadow - with blackthorn in the 
background

As this is a Spring dish … I prefer not to add tomato at this stage in the season … preferring a green pasta dish …

Pasta Primavera with Shrimp

We could add salmon, or seafood if so desired for a Good Friday lunch/supper …

Apparently the dish was invented in the 1970s in Canada by a New York restauranteur … I feel fairly certain the Italians would have been making similar dishes over the centuries in their villages … but so be it: it introduced me to Roberts Island, in Yarmouth County …

Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia -
their shipping museum

… but I can't find a satisfactory image – so I'm showing you Yarmouth County Museum – which is full of shipping history. Nova Scotia has an interesting coastline – suitable for rich barons who need summer homes!

Personally I wouldn't add asparagus as ours really doesn't come into season til the end of this month … on checking – St George's Day is when it commences here (23^rd April) … til mid-summer's day (21^st June). Then of course May will arrive rather sooner than expected – so please use asparagus if you'd like to!

Peas growing ... so good straight from the plant

A simple meal to prepare over the Easter weekend … with the fish appropriate for Friday … I doubt it's going to be warm enough here to eat outside – some years it has been.

Happy Easter to you all – here is a collection of Ukrainian pysanky with traditional folk designs … and I'll be back with my WEP entry next week … 

A variety of Ukrainian Pysansky eggs

Note: Pysansky are Ukrainian Easter eggs – decorated using beeswax and dyes. The verb comes from pysaty, “to write”, as the designs are not painted on, but decorated with beeswax.

See the history here ... Pysanksy Eggs project ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories