The Song of the Cuckoo (and another FLARE-UP right knee)

I was very taken with this little folk rhyme that Sue Higham posted in The Self-Isolating Bird Club:

"The cuckoo comes in April
  and sings its song in May
  In the middle of June
  it changes its tune
  In July it flies away."

The Club is back every Friday morning, 9 o clock ish, facebook, for an hour. 

I have been continuing with Bob's Report, and am now approaching the end.   It is a powerful document.      Our Abel and Cole delivery arrived on Monday - but that was about it. Even Himself did not go out. It was very windy - not a moth and butterfly day really.

He went out on Sunday though - with sandwich and cake for lunch - while I commuted to the kitchen and attended the meeting.

And I was woken up in the early hours by the pain of an arthritis flare-up in my right knee. I have had an early breakfast so I could take an anti-inflammatory and such pain killing as I am allowed.  I don't know whether I will be able to go back to sleep or if I am in for a day of intense pain.  We have a short field service meeting this morning which I would love to be able to zimmer to.

Its approaching 6 a.m. the wind of yesterday has dropped, the Channel is calm, and the sky is cloudy.  Could we be in for some real rain?  We do need it.

And I wonder about the Bible study I was conducting in this blog. Should I continue?

If I did, we would continuing to talk about how we can draw close to God.   And we do that  by learning about him from his inspired word and his creation.

Mark 12:30 tells us that  "you must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind and with your whole strength."
With our whole mind too, which it is why it is so important to know God's word.

1 John 5:3  says:  "For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome,"
Which once again shows how important it is to know what God does command, and what he does not.

And 1 Timothy 2:4 assures us that it is God's will that "all sorts of people should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth."

It is Jehovah who raised up and who supports this worldwide teaching campaign, and he will help anyone who wants to find him and to know him.   Every one of us on the earth is very very precious to him.

Where is that Omelette?

I was thinking about the poem I put in my blog yesterday - (memo to BlogSoundEffects.com:  Please supply the sound of two brain cells whirring round a vast empty space, colliding, and producing a thought).   Captaiin Butterfly and I were talking about it -  I had better add the poem again:

A War
by Randall Jarrell

There set out, slowly, for a Different World,
At four, on winter mornings, different legs...
You can't break eggs without making an omelette
- That's what they tell the eggs.

We were wondering why he inverted the usual "You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs."  We thought maybe it was get us to think a bit more about what has become a cliche.   And it does - "that is what they tell the eggs".   Off you go, young men. You are going to be broken to make a wonderful omelette.

All those young men (on both sides) who died in the horrors of the trenches in WW1, died to fight "the war to end wars" - a war so terrible there could never be another one.

So. many many eggs were smashed, but where is that omelette?

I seem to have spent a lot of Thursday and Friday trying to get through to the surgery to arrange for my next couple of blood tests - the blood sugar one being months overdue. Finally I got a ringing tone - and a voice telling me I was 9 thousands in the queue or thereabouts. I walked about holding the phone, did some housework, and made a jelly for supper while I was waiting.  But I did finally get through to a very nice young lady in Reception and the appointment is made. And I now just hope I will be able to have it before the next lockdown (should there be one).

The crowds on beaches over the last few days have been alarming - and very messy. It is much cooler today and we have had a little, much needed, rain.

I could have called this blog:  I Had a Dream of Mailboxes, as I had a strange and vivid dream last night in which I realised I had not visited our mailbox for years. True, as we left our expat life and mailbox 11 years ago.  I rushed off to a place very like our local library - all shiny and new, not too many books, but quite a few mailboxes. I couldn't find our box, so a kind young lady helped me. She took me to a desk on which lots of folders were piled up. And there was mine. It contained a piece of junk mail and an old book called "Fifty Kinds of Amber", with a pretty picture of something Ambery on the front.  I felt guilty for not thanking whoever had sent it to me all those years ago. And also for not witnessing to the young dream librarian who helped me...

What was that all about?

Maybe it was a kind of guilt that I did not witness to the very friendly young receptionist the doctor's surgery - but I knew how busy they are coping with all this so I must admit it did not even occur to me.

The human brain is a strange and amazing thing - even in the decrepit state that I am in now.

A Knight in Shining Armour (just a little tarnished)

Tuesday morning there was a monstrous beast in my shower.  I didn't have my glasses on but it looked like a large spider.   And it was. 

"Help, help, beautiful Maiden in distress" I screamed to Sir Butterfly.

He came galloping through on his white charger: "A beautiful maiden?!  Where?  Where is she?  Are you standing in front of her?"   

Anyway (after some indignation on the part of the maiden in distress), Sir Colinahad did charge in and slay the dragon - or at any rate cup it in his hands and put it outside.

My hero!

Post-spider I had two Zoom meetings - first the congregation field service and then an hour's zooming with my siblings.

What did I do on Monday?  The days just hurtle by. I did some studying, some witnessing, continued reading Bob's Report - we are in an intense internet discussion about it.  And I managed a bit of editing work for my publisher - just checking some short stories (not mine) he is about to publish for typos.     And also I managed to get 3 important sympathy card sent - thanks to Bea for her beautiful cards, as I can't go out and choose any at the moment.  Its always hard to know what to say, but the important thing is to say something.

Col is sorting through family pics to find a nice recent one of Jo for her funeral.  Which of course we will not be able to attend.

Wednesday - very sunny as predicted - and I have done my 30 minutes balcony sunshine early.  I took the John Bayley collection "Hand Luggage" out with me.  Its an odd and interesting collection of poetry and prose.

Here is one from the poet Randall Jarrell,  He was in the US airforce during WW2 - he had experienced war..

A War
by Randall Jarrell

There set out, slowly, for a Different World,
At four, on winter mornings, different legs...
You can't break eggs without making an omelette
- That's what they tell the eggs.

The Return of Chris and Megan and a FLARE-UP, left knee

Friday morning, 9 a.m. they returned. The Self Isolating Bird Club rides again. And with a distressing scene of predation too, as a baby bird is taken from its nest the very moment its mother flies off.  It is horror.  Yet we are trained by "the world" to think its normal - that horror is normal.

I think C and M will be back same time, next Friday.

And I need to record an arthritis FLARE-UP - started Thursday morning in left knee - very swollen, very painful - by the meeting in the evening I was in such pain that I almost felt I wanted to leave  - to escape the pain (!)   Fortunately I couldn't until Captain Superhero came through on his mighty butterfly wings to swoop down and get me out of my chair (where I was frozen with pain) and get me standing up.  I had scheduled this rescue for 9.45 when the meeting ended..  And I couldn't call for help in the interim as he was watching the telly.

So I was there right through the meeting. Thankfully.  We all need every drop of teaching from Jehovah we can get.  And the pain is inescapable anyway until it chooses to go, which it did overnight.  Why though can't we be allowed proper painkilling for the intense pain of arthritis flare-ups?  I find it hard to believe that doctors would not give themselves a proper dose of something if and when they were going through it.

My whole body shakes with the pain sometimes. And it goes on and on for hours.  So I am now very tired.

I did manage to finish my editing work on the SciFi novel for teens, which is good - good to have finished, and a good read.  I am continuing with Bob's Report - taking it in small doses, as it is very powerful stuff.

Lilian - exPlanetExpat - rang me up and we had a long chat. She and her sister are also being very very careful - not going out, having shopping delivered etc. 

In harmony with that, we had a gentle but firm talk from the Governing Body of The Watchtower on Saturday morning, after our Field Service Zoom meeting.  They reminded us of these three things:

1.  As we respect Jehovah, the Creator of life, we respect life.  We put a high value on life.  The Governing Body of the Watchtower Society closed the Kingdom Halls just ahead of the Government ban - and they remain closed.   Bearing in mind that there are economic arguments for a quick end to lockdown we were reminded of this:  "For wisdom is a protection just as money is a protection, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner." - Ecclesiastes 7:12
The wise thing is to respect the Creator of life and the life he has created.

2.  We were reminded to obey the superior authorities.  God has allowed human rule on earth in the interim between our first parents tragic rejection of his rulership over us and the establishment of the heavenly government, the Kingdom of God.   Human governments, although imperfect, can be a great protection. Can we imagine anarchy?!   So let us obey them, obey their lockdown rules.  One of the cited Scriptures here was Romans 13:1,2.   Of course when they ask us to disobey God's law, God's law must come first.

3.  We were warned not to develop a casual attitude as the lockdown continues  Stay vigilant - do not lower our guard.  The two Scriptural references here were Proverbs 22:3; 14:15
Proverbs 22:3 says: "The shrewd one sees the danger and conceals himself, But the inexperienced keep right on going and suffer the consequences."

We are being well cared for within Jehovah's congregations. And there is room for all, all who want to come and join us.

Our meeting this morning was so helpful.  And I had a chat with Bea of the North this afternoon.  But, depressingly, even 20 minutes holding the phone seems to have zapped my right arm. I hope I will not have to be reporting yet another FLARE-UP in my next blog.

Goodbye to Jo

Yesterday evening when I was Zooming away with a friend in the kitchen, Col appeared to tell me that Jo, my sister's stepdaughter, had just died.  We knew it was coming. She was in palliative care in hospital, and had been unconscious for the last day. Which was probably merciful.  Matthew was there, and Helen.  Nute was not allowed to visit because of the Covid crisis.

But still somehow we did not expect it to be quite so soon.

She was part of the family for a long long time.   And I thought I would put one of her poems in my blog today as a memorial to her.

It was read at her father's funeral last year.

                                           Here Comes the Autumn
                                                 by Joanna Reah

                                           Here comes the autumn
                                           visiting my garden again
                                           making his presence felt
                                           by sweeping the leaves
                                           off my honeysuckle
                                                   and clematis,
                                           dragging them off the branches
                                           into the air to perform
                                           their last dance
                                           before folding
                                           onto grass, below,
                                           leaving a skeleton
                                           of twisting vines
                                           intricately woven
                                            round each side
                                                  of the trellis.
                                            A delicate pattern
                                            against the blue, September sky
                                            filling out the spaces
                                            with its deep, rich colour
                                                 dotted at random
                                            by a clutch of decaying berries
                                            or an occasional splash
                                            of surviving greenery
                                                 ready to drop
                                                 to the ground
                                                    at its cue
                                                 from behind
                                                 the final curtain. 

This was the last time we saw her, at Ken's funeral.  She was only in the Autumn of her life too.

Ken and Jo, father and daughter, loved and appreciated and praised the beauty of the creation, and I hope that when the time comes, the Creator, Jehovah, will wake them from the dreamless sleep of death, and they will open their eyes in this lovely earth again.  Only it will be a very different earth then - it will be the earth we pray for when we ask for God's Kingdom to come.

And Jo, always a lover of animals, will be so happy to find that nature is no longer "red in tooth and claw", but that all the creation is at peace again, as it was in the beginning, in Eden.

What are the Seagulls thinking? and a FLARE-UP left hand

Which is the Dickens book in which he asked the question "What are the wild waves saying?"  Was it Dombey and Son?   Anyway, my question yesterday as I sat on our balcony looking over the lovely Channel watching the gulls wheeling and swooping overhead, was "What are the wild gulls saying?" 

First we don't emerge, then we start to, very late in the mating season; then we suddenly start to congregate in hordes and throw statues into the sea. 

I guess they must be hoping that the chip shops along the river have all re-opened and they can get their fair share again. And I find I don't know if they have.

The wild waves weren't saying very much at any rate, as the Channel was fairly calm. We have had some much needed rain over the last few days, and our Green is not as brown as it was.

i can type no more as my hand is too painful - maddening as i have a lot of work to do.

A Tour of the British Museum

I spent Friday morning doing a tour of the British Museum with 25 of my siblings - via Zoom of course.  It was fascinating.  We know how accurate Bible prophecy is, but its amazing to see how many artefacts survive to confirm it.

I took some notes.  For example, our tour guide, a brother, started with these verses from Isaiah:
"Therefore look! Jehovah will bring against them The mighty and vast waters of the River, The king of As·syrʹi·a and all his glory. He will come up over all his streambeds And overflow all his banks  And sweep through Judah. He will flood and pass through, reaching to the neck; His outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Im·manʹu·el!” - Isaiah 8:7,8

The brother asked why the word "neck".  Jehovah never wastes words, or uses them carelessly.

History shows how the Assyrian king swept through Judah, taking city after city, and penning the king  up, like a bird in a cage, in beseiged Jerusalem.  So the mighty Assyrian army has reached the neck, and is about to take the head - Jerusalem.  Only it doesn't.    The explanation of that prophecy confirmed by the stela - the stone tablets - in the museum sends chills down the spine.

Here is an interesting article in the Awake! magazine, which hopefully might spark your interest in doing a Bible tour of the museum yourself:
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/101978443

The Captain and his trusty metal detector were out all day on Thursday - he had one good find, a very elderly silver sixpence that will appear on his blog in due time - but I still have not left the flat. I am probably too nervous about the outside world now.  Nothing to do with the Covid crisis - though I certainly would not wish to get it - its seems a strange and unfathomable sort of virus.  The Zoom world suits me well enough.

My passion for the poems of Stevie Smith continues, so here is one of her very very short ones.

It filled my heart with love
Stevie Smith

In his fur the animal rode, and in his fur he strove,
And oh it filled my heart my heart, it filled my heart with love.

Zooming Along

Two Zoom meetings on Tuesday morning, one with my siblings in the congregation, and one with my siblings in Oz and Yorkshire.  All very encouraging, especially the prayer this morning, and the experiences.  But to what extent we are still supposed to be in lockdown I do not know.

My arthritis has me locked down at the moment anyway.

Apparently the statue of Cecil Rhodes will be the next one to go, but whether it will be torn down by an angry mob as happened in Bristol, or whether the powers-that-be will sensibly remove it first (from wherever it is?) remains to be seen.

I would neither erect statues nor tear them down - after all we are all the damaged children of disobedient Adam, so best not to put any of us on pedestals (we all have feet of clay) - but I do find the mob a terrifying thing, whatever its cause.

And after seeing those crowds and crowds of people all jammed together, all shouting, I am wondering if there are going to be any Covid consequences.  If there are not, then does that mean we have the famous "herd immunity"?  Once again, nobody seems to know.

There are a lot of statues that will have to go now, given that human history, since the loss of Eden, has been a tragedy.   And its all going at Armageddon anyway - every vestige of the current wicked system of things on the earth.  So why not stay away from the mob, and trust in our Creator with all our heart?  He will never let us down.

Schools remain closed.   I do see the difficulties for children and parents,  but also know that when I was a child I would have loved school to be closed - for as long as possible.  Mind you, it was a Convent, with nuns.

Its a pity about the school system though. Or the school system as it was then - I am talking 1950s here - the one thing young children want to do is learn. They are fascinated by everything - and can't stop asking questions.  Then you go to school and find out that learning about things is not only boring - when it had been fascinating - but it is something that you can (and do) get wrong, and get into trouble for.

And of course jamming children into large peer groups is a perfect recipe for bullying.  And I learnt that I would never be able to get along with people - even though I tried.  But I did learn to make my own little world for myself, which sustains me to this day - though it does not begin to compare with the comfort and support I can find within the Christian congregation - despite my being rather distant.

And I am amazed to find myself - in non-Covid  times - out there knocking at strange doors talking to complete strangers  and - most impossible of all - trying to make some kind of connection.   Am I good at it?  No.  But what we have to do is the best we can - try to teach as Jehovah instructs us - and leave the rest to him, to the power of his holy spirit.  He can achieve beyond what we can even imagine.

FLARE-UP, Left Ankle or The Zimmer Returns

Its been back to the Zimmer frame for the last couple of days - intense pain in left foot/ankle...  as someone has said: "Old age is not for wimps".  Nor is arthritis.

Well, its all part of the damage and imperfection we inherited from our first parents.  And when we are being restored to the life and perfection they so tragically threw away, how wonderful it will be.

I managed to Zimmer to the kitchen this morning for the Field Service meeting - and I am glad I did.  And I managed to get the meals together today - but poor Captain B had to look after me Thursday and Friday. He made an excellent veggie soup too.

Our supermarket order arrives tomorrow night and as its now June I have ordered two punnets of strawberries.  Which I am looking forward to very much.



Here are some lovely words from Psalm 103:12-14:  "As far off as the sunrise is from the sunset, So far off from us he has put our transgressions.  As a father shows mercy to his sons, Jehovah has shown mercy to those who fear him. For he well knows how we are formed, Remembering that we are dust."

We want every one to know how much and how tenderly our Creator loves us - and how much he wants to help us, knowing how fragile and damaged we are.

Two Poems - Neither one by me

This is Thomas Hardy

In Time of Breaking of Nations

Only a man harrowing clods
In a slow silent walk 

With an old horse that stumbles and nods 

Half asleep as they stalk.

Only thin smoke without flame 

From the heaps of couch-grass; 

Yet this will go onward the same

Though Dynasties pass.

Yonder a maid and her wight

Come whispering by: 

War's annals will cloud into night 

Ere their story die.

Source: https://quotepark.com/quotes/1944915-thomas-hardy-wars-annals-will-cloud-into-night-ere-their-stor/

Then here is Stevie Smith, picking up the baton from Thomas Hardy. This one makes me cry, and it makes me laugh.

I Remember

It was my bridal night I remember,
An old man of seventy-three
I lay with my young bride in my arms,
A girl with t.b.
It was wartime, and overhead
The Germans were making a particularly heavy raid on Hampstead.
What rendered the confusion worse, perversely
Our bombers had chosen that moment to set off for Germany.
Harry, do they ever collide?
I do not think it has ever happened,
Oh my bride, my bride.

https://davidsuttonpoetry.com/2014/11/21/week-108-i-remember-by-stevie-smith/

With the rioting that is going on in the USA and now spreading to London, it almost feels like civil war.  Lawlessness increases, and the earth becomes filled with violence.   How much we need the Kingdom of God.  And already that Kingdom is teaching millions from "every tribe and nation and tongue" to live in peace as the brothers and sisters we truly are.

I talked to Lilian - exPlanetExpat - on the phone on Tuesday.  Like us, she is not rushing out to taste this new freedom.  None of us are young, and it is best for everybody that we remain cautious.

Though today Captain Butterfly has headed back out to the field - the metal detecting field, specifically a Hampshire one.  As it looks like being a long do, he has taken two boxes of sandwiches and cake with him.   I guess they are allowing a limited amount of detecting now as it is carried out by a very few people - only six in this case - in a very large field.  

So hopefully it is safe enough.   Worry worry.  Its not so hot today but overcast and humid.  We badly need some rain, but I hope there are no thunderstorms over whichever field the Captain and his gallant detectorist comrades are in.

The next stage of a Bible study would be about Jehovah's invitation to draw closer to him and come to realise how he is so interested in each one of us, and so understanding about our weaknesses and our imperfections.

Psalm 65:2 says:  "O Hearer of prayer, to you people of all sorts will come."

He is there waiting for us to speak to him, to ask for help.  And Jehovah has taught us how to pray to him, how to contact him.  Its in the Bible.  But how many of us know how to pray?  I didn't, for many years, despite all my churchgoing and my convent education.

And it is so important.  Psalm 145:18 says that "Jehovah is near to all those calling on him, To all who call on him in truth."    And to find out how true those words are we need to know the truth about our Creator and how to pray to him.

I hope to include the beautiful, comforting words of Psalm 103:12-14 in my next blog.