Pippa's Song

Pippa's Song  by Robert Browning

And the day’s at the morn,
Morning‘s at seven;
The hillside’s dew-pearled
The lark‘s on the wing
The snail’s on the thorn;
God is in His heaven
All’s right with the world.

This always brings tears to my eyes.  Pippa passes through the corrupted world, the spoilt paradise, singing, her song reminding us of what we have lost and of the paradise earth to come - because Jehovah IS in his heaven, and He WILL put all right with the world. That is the wonderful reassuring message of the Bible - from Paradise lost, to Paradise regained.

Will the poet, his wife Elizabeth Barrett, and their son Pen wake from the dreamless sleep of death one day to find that truly all is right with the world?  I hope so.

In the meantime, we had a nice day with family on Saturday.  The little one, 3 years old, spent a lot of time on the balcony, drawing - and also had a good time on the beach and in the playground.  She added some treasures to her pebble and shell collection too.  

I have known Linda, Evie's gran, since she was a little girl herself, when Col and I first began a'courting. And now she is a grandma of three lovely girls with another one imminent.

The strangeness of time passing...

The flowers were a pressie from our guests, along with a bottle of wine.

And Pippa's song seems just right for Evie.  A dear little creature, full of the joy of life.  And she said a charming  "Thank you for having me" as she left.  

Apparently she loves being outside.  Which takes me back to my own youth in post WW2 Sheffield, food rationing, bomb sites, and the whole town black with soot from the steel foundries. We played out all the time.  And one of my earliest memories is of being outside in the stone walled back garden of a little friend. It was May and we were playing shop with flowers and petals.  I remember how the white blossom shone against the black paving, and it gave me such a feeling of happiness.

I think of it now as a paradise feeling, just a glimpse of that lovely garden our first parents once lived in so happily.  For sure it was not paradise back then, but there are still glimpses of it everywhere. So can they remind us that it is not gone for good?  If what the Bible promises is true, as I believe, there is more happiness ahead for us, right here on the earth, than we can now imagine.

The Beauty of the Underwing

 

This beautifully designed creature is a Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing.  It checked in and out of our balcony moth hotel a few days ago.

It ought to inspire a wonderful poem, but I don't seem to be up to it any more...  beauty of the underwing/makes my heart sing... There was a young Under of Wing, so lovely it needed no bling...

I can't thank Jehovah for this lovely world from a perfect heart yet, but I hope that both the Captain and I, and all those we love, will be able to one day.

That will be such a moment when and if it comes.

We have family visitors coming at the weekend - a rare thing these days, compared to our first years by the sea when we had family and friends down all summer. So many of them are no longer with us, or no longer able to travel. We were talking about them on the balcony last night.  Our good friends Chuck and Mary - Ralph - Janie - Diane - all the uncles and aunts... and so many others.  Our parents - though only Col's mum ever came here. She used to like coming though and would sit and watch all the goings-on on The Green for ages.

And of course Jackie...  who was so much a part of our retirement.  We can and do visit her in her Home when I am able to travel there - not so often now - but she is a limited version of herself. 

I had to go through my notes from the Convention as we discussed what we had learnt at the meeting on Thursday night.  I did manage to extract a few gems from the scrawl, but overall I think what the Convention left me with was the very comforting thought of how much love and sympathy Jesus - and therefore his father, Jehovah  (as he perfectly reflects his Father's qualities) - feel for us, and how much they want to help us.

And we, the children of Adam, need to feel this love and sympathy for each other.  And help each other.  Not constantly let "the world" and our own imperfections force us in the opposite direction.

My bro and sister-in-law in Germany have just experienced such a tragedy, a close friend, a young friend, has been killed in the war in The Ukraine. She was visiting family.  Such a senseless and cruel waste.  I might write a bit more about it in another blog.

It's not as warm as it was. which is fine by me.  I almost wanted a woolly on when we were out on the balcony last night.   In theory the Big Heat is over for the moment.

In a lot of pain still. And I remember talking sternly to myself when I hit seventy - and how young that seems now - that it was not going to get easier and that I must be grateful for every day. And now, with Eighty looming up in the rear view mirror and about to overtake me, I must cling on to that thought even more

Family visits today.  I am providing a sandwich lunch. Which is why I must now post this and get myself started.  I am hoping for a brief refreshing dip into the Zoom field service first.

A Leopard on our Balcony

There was a young tiger from Jersey
From the Arun, not from the Mersey

On our balcony bed

He rested his head

And for that he was none the worse-y.

Erm... that's it folks.

My previous blog has a photo of our flying tiger from Jersey on it - but I hadn't written the limerick then.   And you, my blog reader, may well feel I have not written it now either!

Today's photo is of the Leopard moth, but its hard to find the rhyme... could he put something in Jeopard-y?

Lots of medical calls on Monday, with medical appointments coming up - two telephone ones, a blood test, and a bone scan - so far.  Made an appointment for Monday as requested - in the afternoon, as our Bible study has been rescheduled to Monday morning.  Appointment confirmed by email. Then another email came through re-scheduling it for the morning, when I will be out. Another email sent, so now, who knows?

When, where, or what

Will my appointment be got.

And if we live in the bleak and pointless world of Darwinian Evolution, WHY will my appointment be got?  What use could someone of my advanced age be, in Darwinian terms?

But, if Genesis tells the true story of us, as I believe, then I am valuable. Every one of us damaged children of disobedient Adam is so precious, has such potential.

Don't we know that, at some very deep level?

The phone call did come.  I think. But unfortunately on my OutSmartMe phone which, as usual, would not let me answer it.  I now have an email telling me to rebook the call...

It was the monthly get together of us Fantastic Book authors on Monday night. Encouraging to know that one of us - Penny step forward please - had just sold out at a local bookshop and actually earned some money. An encouragement to us all.

A Tiger on our Balcony

 

A Jersey Tiger spent the night in our Moth Hotel on Tuesday. And here it is. A truly splendid moth.  

It's been a splendid moth summer so far - they must really like the heat.  And it is hot again, though we did get quite a nice sea breeze on Saturday, which makes all the difference.  Col went to the Detectorist BBQ in the afternoon - taking sausages, drinks and crisps with him.

The days when I would have made something for him to take are now in the past, sadly.  

We have been sitting out on the balcony of an evening with a glass of wine.  Even I have been having wine rather than tea, hoping it might act as a bit of a painkiller.  We hold hands and talk about the past.  It is great to have shared so much with the Captain, but now... well, how much longer do we have?

On the last day of our District Convention - last Sunday - we were learning how to apply lessons from Jesus' illustrations.  And we were reminded that his illustrations were so clear and so simple that they can be understood even today.  Which is an example for us as we try to tell others what the Bible says.

There are plenty of improvements to be made...   For example: "People who love people do well in the preaching work".   That is of course true. But worrying, as that does not describe me.  I am not someone who loves people.  Not that I hate them...  but I am an introvert, somewhat on the spectrum, find interacting with people stressful - and am not doing all that well in the preaching work.   But we were given the example of a brother in Denmark, who also has the same sorts of difficulties.  Like me, he is trying.

So, with Jehovah's help I can hope to improve.  Even at my advanced age.

We were also reminded of the great teaching work to come during the Thousand Years.  Most people will learn about their loving Creator, Jehovah, after he wakes them from the dreamless sleep of death. They will long to hear and to learn then.  It will be such a pleasure and a privilege to be involved in teaching them.  And of course we will all be learning together.  We will never stop learning.

Col is busy checking out the guests from his moth hotel as I finish this blog. They are swirling happily around - exquisite creatures all of them. Once he has them photographed, off they go, to live happily ever after - I hope.

Moth City

 

Col took this photo of our balcony flowers - geraniums and nemesia - a few days ago. They are enjoying the weather at any rate.   I don't know if you can make out our parched Green through the railings.

We have had no scent from our nemesia yet, but then it is an elusive thing, scentwise, so who knows.   Sometimes they fill the whole balcony with a soft vanilla smell.

The heatwave returns, and it seems the moths are loving it, judging by the numbers checking into our balcony hotel, on our balcony walls, on our balcony door, and fluttering round the room as they check out of the hotel every morning.

I am sort of getting back to normal - or what passes for it in old age.  It is all actually new territory, the constant deterioration, the vanishing energy - but in balance it comes with an ever increasing appreciation for the precious gift of life.

I am still struggling with my Convention notes, having failed, yet again, to take few but legible ones.  But I think I can manage an overview of Saturday.  It centred round a discussion and video about the Sermon on the Mount. And we were reminded that, before he taught them, Jesus went among the crowd healing people.  So how eager would you be to hear the words of someone who had just healed you, and how much easier to listen if you were no longer in pain?

And wasn't Jesus showing us what he can and will do for us - what he longs to do for us - once he is ruling over the earth as the King of Jehovah's Kingdom?

Talking to a friend about it on Tuesday afternoon - she and her husband also attended in Zoom (health reasons) - she said she found it hard to accept how quickly it was over.  Me too. Those three days just flew by. And we will have to wait till next year for the next instalment of The Good News According to Jesus.  They gave us a preview of it on Sunday.

At any rate I do know how quickly a year can fly by. But will we fly along with it?  

We celebrated out 53rd wedding anniversary on Monday.  Well, we didn't celebrate it as such, but were just glad we are still here and still together. We had intended to get a takeaway, but in the end we didn't.  I made Himself an omelette and had beans on toast myself.  I don't think we even managed a glass of wine.  We are just grateful to still be together.

It is very hot today, but we do have a slight breeze through the flat, which makes all the difference.

The July Calendar - the Frog Orchid

 

We chose a Frog Orchard from Col's photo gallery for our July calendar this year.  I am already starting to wonder what the theme for our next year's calendar could be.  A Finds Calendar maybe, featuring some of the detected artefacts?

That, of course, is if we make it into 2027...

With that in mind, my day started with a phone call from a young medic at the doctors, outcome of which is a new med and I am back on the blood pressure machine routine - just for 4 days this time, but 6 times a day.

The theme for the first day of our Convention - Friday - was Matthew 5:3: "Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need".

It is a Scripture I knew from my convent schooldays, but we knew it as "Happy are the poor in spirit", so I never understood what it meant.   What it does mean is very simple.  If we feel the need for our Creator, the need for his support and guidance, if we feel the loneliness of being born cut off from Him, in a damaged and dying state (through no fault of our own), we will seek for Him, even if we don't exactly know who it is we are searching for.

And if we seek for our loving Creator, Jehovah, he will let us find him, as He has promised.  And, as Jesus himself assured us, if you keep on seeking, you will find.  I found that to be true.

Here is a question asked by one of the Convention's speakers:  Are some of us so tired of being in constant pain, and life being a constant round of doctor's and hospital visits?

Yes. I think many of us are.  We are grateful, very, for the NHS.  But how we long for perfect health.

While the weekend was warm and sunny, it was not the return of the heatwave. Not yet.  Col was home on Friday - and gave me a consoling hug when he saw my eyes filling with tears during the Convention.  Episode 4 of the video series The Good News According to Jesus included Jesus healing the leper, and it showed how Jesus reached out to him and touched him just before he healed him.

How long since that man had been touched by anyone?  Leprosy is - or was then - so contagious that lepers had to stay isolated.

And I want to remember and treasure this, from Friday morning:

You make known to me the path of life.

In your presence is abundant joy;
There is happiness at your right hand forever.

Psalm 16:11

Happiness forever.  Don't those two words perfectly express what we long for?  And we long for it because that is what Jehovah made us for - to be happy, under the loving care of the happy God.

Eternal Happiness Convention

 

A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky

By Lewis Carroll

A boat beneath a sunny sky,

Lingering onward dreamily

In an evening of July —

Children three that nestle near,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Pleased a simple tale to hear —

Long has paled that sunny sky:

Echoes fade and memories die:

Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,

Alice moving under skies

Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,

Dreaming as the days go by,

Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream —

Lingering in the golden gleam —

Life, what is it but a dream?

I am sure I have blogged this poem before - in another July. And, as I love it, I may do so again, if I live to see another July.  Because, yes, what are our lives now but a dream, just a moment in time, so quickly gone.

But once paradise is restored, will there be one July to come, maybe hundreds of years from now, when I can talk to the poet, to Alice, and to the other children so lovingly remembered in the poem?   If I can keep on going faithfully to the end - the end of the current wicked system of things on the earth, or of my life, whichever comes first - then it is more than possible.

The young man came to fix our phone on Wednesday morning. He was due at 8:00 and turned up promptly at 8:00!  And, hopefully, he has fixed it- our ancient horse-drawn phone that is, not our mean OutSmartYou ones.

I managed to get myself up and dressed, which is as exhausting as a full day's work these days, made the usual lentil veggie curry soup, and the weekly mushroom curry.  Plus I made a strawberry yoghurt for afters.  Just doing that required a lot of stops for rest. I am reminding myself, somewhat worryingly, of my mother and my granny in their latter years.

I also had my double Zoom with a friend in the afternoon. We both got some work done and a good talk.  It all helps so much.  Col detected on Thursday leaving very early, and I managed to change the beds, wash the sheets, and do my Watchtower study for Sunday. But that was it.  I slept all afternoon, trying to escape from the pain.

And another night of odd dreams followed, punctuated by trips to the loo.   But during my dreams I somehow kept a consciousness that I am due at the ETERNAL HAPPINESS Convention this morning - via pixel, on my computer - and woke myself up in time.  Well, hopefully, given how much it takes to unwind from the pain.

But eternal happiness... who could ask for more? And it is what the Bible promises us - right here on this lovely earth for most of us.

Its strange to think that I used to be able to go on the coach. And even stranger to think that one year I drove Maggie, Jean and Ken to Brighton and back for the whole three days! 

The Heatwave

The heatwave continues with more thunderstorms on Saturday night.  But, thankfully, our block has not been hit - yet.  There have been some bad strikes locally though.

We heard from Bob - a friend from our expat years.  We used to see so much of each other in those days.  They are all now in Northern Thailand - a very lovely part of the world, remembering our long ago trip to Chiang Mai.  It was so quiet back then, but now it's apparently like another Bangkok.

So I thought I would look for a photo from one of our Thai trips to head this blog, but then I remembered that the Captain has not yet put any of them in his Gallery.  Our trips to Thailand were so long ago that he would have to digitise them. (Don't ask.)  Or was it so long ago that we had to hire a local painter to portray us there?  Once again, don't ask.  He spent Sunday - a hot Sunday - manning a stall with two other detectorists at a Farmers Fair.  

And he bought his cake and sandwiches home, as the attraction of burgers proved too much. Very good they were too apparently.

Had two anxiety dreams on Sunday night, and woke up relieved to find that I had not left my bag with purse and credit cards outside a London gallery and had it stolen, nor had I forgotten an important commission given to me by an expat friend. That last dilemma took me back many years to Planet Expat when we visited the UK and fellow Brits would give us letters to post, commissions for stuff, etc.  In my dream I had failed to unpack one of my suitcases and forgotten about an important commission involving a large file full of CVs.

As I said, it was a relief to wake up.

We have been sitting out on our balcony of an evening, often talking over the past as befits two old people I guess.  So I used a rather good photo Col took of a recent sunset to head the blog.

We had our usual Zoom sessions on Monday.  And I made an apple crumble in the afternoon, plus did three cards to family and friends who are in hospital - Seppi, Richard and Patricia.  And this morning we saw our Bible student.  

Oh, and Jane gave me some lemon drizzle cake for Col. She is a very good baker, and that is Col's favourite, but not one I usually make as it is not sturdy enough for his packed lunches, which used to have to survive The Dive Boat, but now have to survive The Field.  I plan to surprise him with it when we have our afternoon chocolate.

It ought to be freshly made iced lemon juice in this weather really, but we are such creatures of habit now, and at 3:00 we have hot chocolate.

Freedom at the Boundary

 

I had no time to Hate (763)

I had no time to Hate -
Because
The Grave would hinder me -
And Life was not so
Ample I
Could finish--Enmity -

Nor had I time to Love -
But since
Some Industry must be -
The little Toil of Love -
I thought
Was large enough for Me .

Emily Dickinson

https://allpoetry.com/Emily-Dickinson

I discovered the poems of Emily Dickinson in my first year at Uni - many years ago - and have come to appreciate her more and more over the years.

This is beautiful.  Our lives are so short now, even at best.  I wish I could explain how quickly our threescore years and ten goes by. So why not do something loving with the little time we have?

The divisive spirit of the world, along with our own imperfections, will push us in the opposite direction if we are not careful.  

The photo that heads this blog is of Shadow and his good friend Sophie happy in the Saudi desert. They were very loving animals - a credit to the loving Creator who made them. Alas, alas, that cannot always be said of me, but I am trying to get there...  

"Well, you ARE very trying..."   Was that the Captain's voice rising above the hum of metal detectors, in a distant field?

Not quite so hot on Friday, after a hot and still night. So I felt a bit better - got a tiny bit of energy back. I managed to review the book of poems Captain B just bought me - Freedom at the Boundary, by Mike-Philip Williams.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freedom-at-Boundary-Mike-Philip-Williams-ebook/dp/B0DWHWHG2S

The review is on there.

Mike-Philip writes very well about the landscape of my childhood.  And I find myself thinking quite a lot about my childhood now - the feel of childhood.  Not of school though. I try not to think about that.

The Captain is not into poetry in the least, beyond possibly "There was a young lady of..."  but he knows I love it.   

Today is really hot again, and it's so still, after a night of thunderstorms and some much needed rain. Armed Forces Day is happening on The Green outside my window and i am typing this to an accompaniment of: Left, Right, Left, Right, as some young trainees march along the sea front.  In this heat!  I hope there is a breeze soon, for all our sakes.

And of course I long for the day promised in Psalms when there will be no more war, but a true and lasting peace earthwide, under the rule of the heavenly government, the Kingdom of God.

Come and witness the activities of Jehovah,
How he has done astonishing things on the earth.
He is bringing an end to wars throughout the earth.
- Psalm 46:8.9

Astonishing things indeed, as what human government, no matter how well-intentioned, has come anywhere near to achieving that?

Sky

 

 

Emily Dickinson

The Brain — is wider than the Sky —
For — put them side by side —
The one the other will contain
With ease — and You — beside —

The Brain is deeper than the sea —
For — hold them — Blue to Blue —
The one the other will absorb —
As Sponges — Buckets — do —

The Brain is just the weight of God —
For — Heft them — Pound for Pound —
And they will differ — if they do —
As Syllable from Sound —

https://allpoetry.com/The-Brain--is-wider-than-the-Sky

Some recent sky shots from our evening balcony.  And what an outstandingly marvelous creation the human brain is.  I think I am right in saying - given I heard it somewhere (so who knows?) - that Charles Darwin acknowledged that the capacity of the human brain was a big problem in his Theory of Evolution - as is human language.

Whether that is true or not, would he actually believe in his theory these days, given how much more we now know about the complexity of the human brain, the complexity of even a single "simple" cell?

I feel sure he would have a big re-think.

The creation is telling us of its Grand Creator as clearly as if it spoke.

We are in the middle of a fierce heatwave here - but after all it is midsummer, the Solstice just having come and gone.  We had a lovely breeze from the sea Monday and Tuesday which made such a difference.  There has been torrential monsoon rain in parts of the country, but not here, yet.  And today is supposed to be the hottest June day ever. Last night was still and stifling, but today there is a small breeze which is making all the difference.  However it is still very very HOT.

We got to our student this morning and she had a good sized fan going for which we were so grateful.  Next week we start learning what the Bible says about the dead - where they are now, and will we see them again. And if so, where. We hope it is going to resonate with her, as she says she has no idea, and never really learnt much about it in religious lessons at school.

As a Catholic Convent schoolgirl, in the 1950s, I learnt about all sorts of terrible - and unBiblical - destinations for the dead.

I have a double Zoom field service this afternoon, which will be about all I do, as the heat is flaring up my arthritis horribly - see my recent blog "The Lamb" - and I am ashamed to say that I would have been more than happy if our student had cancelled this morning. But I am very glad she didn't as we had a good study.  

But my limbs are not only painful but working very badly. I have just managed to drop and smash the butter dish all over the kitchen while making the Captain's sandwiches for tomorrow.

You would think making sandwiches was easy enough - but these days - alas...