Barton in the Beans

Here is another poem I wish I had written:

Barton in the Beans
by Joanne Limburg

For comfort on bad nights
open out a map of Middle England

and sing yourself to sleep
with a lullaby of English names:

Shouldham Thorpe, in gentle sunshine,
Swadlincote, in a Laura Ashley frock,

Little Cubley, veins running with weak tea'
Kibworth Beauchamp, praying on protestant knees,

Ashby-de-la-Zouch, saying 'Morning',
Wigston Parva, smiling - but not too widely,

Ramsey Mereside, raising an eyebrow,
Eye Kettleby, where they'd rather not talk about it,

Market Overton, echoing with the slamming doors
of Cold Overton, where teenagers flee every night to their rooms,

screaming that from Appleby Magna to Stubbers Green
they never met a soul who understood.

They never met a soul.
At Barton in the Beans, the rain says Ssssshhhhh...

The weather is grey and Novembery - fine by me - but it is warmer than it should be.  We do have the electric blanket back though - very comforting.

Col was busy at the weekend with his usual two days of metal detecting - very early starts in both cases. The public talk at the Kingdom Hall on Sunday was so encouraging - it was a reminder about the immensity of the known universe, all created because of Jehovah's dynamic energy - where all matter comes from. 

“Lift up your eyes to heaven and see.

Who has created these things?+

It is the One who brings out their army by number;

He calls them all by name.

Because of his vast dynamic energy and his awe-inspiring power,

Not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 40:26

I ventured on an expedition to Waitrose after the meeting, to buy some cooking apples. And later I had to go downstairs and re-park my car, as our parking bay was full when I got back and I could only find a space in another bay that was a bit tight.   The point about that (un)dazzling anecdote is that the tiny bit of exercise I had has caused me two days of bad arthritis pain.

The photo that heads this blog is the result of putting "apple" into the Search Engine of Col's photo gallery. This Apple Moth came up - specifically a Light Brown Apple Moth.  And the resultant Apple Crumble was well worth the expedition, as it has turned out very well and Col will be having another portion of it with his lunch today - after our usual lentil and veggie soup.