What is beautiful to you?

What is beauty to you? Is it the soft curves of a woman’s form or the visions of humanity and its gods captured on canvas or in stone? Or is it the natural beauty you find in the world around us?

Saturday

Raise your cup with me

Avoid the green spittoon

For dancing full of glee

We forget under the seduction of the moon
Raise your cup with me

Fair Sporalls of the night

The whiff of hoof and wee

Forgotten and out of sight
Raise your cup with me

Ye fair maidens with hidden gems

Gents fall at your long toenailed feet

Bidden by the temptress to rise again
Raise your cup with me

Hairy hollers to the divine

As we frolic beneath her beams

And succumb to music and wine

Monday Coffee: Home

I have reached home.
Today I took the steps leading me to the future, the place I want to be. I sit here revelling in the feeling of achievement I so rarely get to enjoy and…I am in awe.

Sometimes wishing is not enough. Sometimes, settling only gets you so far. But I have to ask myself why, on this journey here, did I question the fundamental right of anyone to pursue more than what their goal is? I ridiculed the idea that pushing further would reap rewards of happiness and success equally. I postured the idealism that greed is the main source of pursuit, leading down a slippery slope to materialism and superficial lifestyles. I know it is. 

But here I sit. The hunger is dated. I have reached the point where I want to be and that gurgling murmur of delight escaping my lips is not one of greed or want; it’s the sound of knowing that taking the risk to reach my happiness was not complete madness.

My happy place: a wet log covered by a doggy sack to keep my posterior dry whilst I type this drivel. 

My view – exquisite! A soft clearing half way up a hill overlooking the valley of wild grass and heather below. The sound of crunching leaves behind me as Henry pursues the heady scents of foxes and birds in his happy state. I can’t say everything here is perfect. As I crossed the gulley surrounded by gorse bushes, I honestly thought I wouldn’t make it. But I did. And once in the clearing under the tall redwoods, my celebrations were greeted by a dead bird lying on the damp grass. Not to be dissuaded, I moved further away after praying for its little soul. Yes, if we have souls, so do the beasts that co-habit this earth. There, I found my log, riddled with woodworm and all things unpleasant. This is where I sit, content. 

Sometimes, pushing for those dreams is definitely worth it.

​​

Australian Flora and Fauna

Here are a few snaps of the plants found around gardens and places of interest so far.

For Whom The Bell Tolls

Dear Reader,

I am reporting to you live from the most incredible country, Australia! The weather has warmed up considerably since its first frosty reception (probably to acclimatise us) and we are now experiencing days of pure sunshine bliss mixed with cool evenings.

There is no way I could invite you over for a coffee because the drink of the day would have to be a cool drink, cold beer or crispy wine. Once you’ve chosen you’re poison, come sit next to me by the pool.

I have a secret to share with you – not a nice one. Yesterday, I think we missed the Grim Reaper by a hair’s breath. I don’t know if you caught the report on the accident at one of the local theme parks on the Gold Coast, a terrible tragedy that took four lives. We were supposed to be at that theme park and when the tragedy occurred we would have been there. It was only by providence that we missed the time slot and decided to forfeit our day at the park, driving past it and going to the beach and shopping centres instead. 

As we lolloped amongst the waves, the news hit the headlines and we were struck with disbelief. Our family is large and the probability of us being on that ride would have been very high. The seriousness of this has stayed with me all night and I had to share my worry with you today. You see, when I travel with my sprogs and Hubble, I always guesstimate the probability of us dying in some freak accident.  As I drive down unfamiliar motorways, I keep a wary eye out for the Reaper, in case he has one of our names on his list.

It’s a morbid way of looking at life, I know, but we can’t live forever. It’s just hard to accept that one of us might not get to see a full life. Maybe.

Anyhoo, shaking off my morbid coat, I can officially re-declare my love of Oz and it’s inhabitants. The place is a mixture of Zimbabwe and England, taking all the best weather, space, technology, infrastructure and  design to create a eutopia that most crave. As we sit sipping our chilled drinks, soaking up the rays and twiddling our feet in the crystal clear water, I’m sure you’ll agree that this is a life we should aspire to. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be lucky enough to count our last days on earth in this place, or another like it. We will see what happens.

Well, I’m ready to go in for a dip. The thermal heating has cracked the cold barrier on the water and this sun is baking my shoulders. Fancy joining me for a swim?

Autumn Berries and more

As I walk in the dewdropped field,

Berries shine brightly

Bobbing gently in the wind.

Dandelions down the furs,

Imagining their travels

So far afield to disperse

Their beauteous wish imagined.

Seeds lay abandoned next to crunchy leaves

Awaiting their upliftment on the welcoming breeze.

I watch the meadow sigh in delight

As fortold by their turning

Sleep written in their dying leaves

Till spring when they be awakened.

Memories

Last night I had a dream.  I dreamt I was back in Zimbabwe, travelling to all the amazing places we were fortunate enough to visit a few months ago.

I have a feeling that I need to share more photos.  Please excuse the unfocused imperfect ones – they have been included for the nostalgic value.

A shopping centre on the road to Mutare.
Quick clicks as we drove through Mutare on our way to Nyanga.

Look at the backdrop to the high street. My photo does nothing to capture the beauty and the weather was not exactly enticing.

‘Welcome To Mutare’ with Izzy reading her book.

These still give me the shivers.  I can’t say I would ever eat dried worms, but apparently many people love them.

Shopping heaven for any ex-Zimbo – do these products bring back memories?

A true statement from a bumper sticker that encapsulates the mindset of Emergency Taxi drivers!

I will put up more photos in another post as I don’t want to inundate you with just one huge blog post.

Hope you enjoyed travelling with me down memory lane.

Have a great Thursday.

Holiday Photos

Hello,

It has been a rainy day today and we have spent it shopping.  The cold seems to have followed us from England and I don’t think my family are too impressed.  The lovely thing about the rain is that it’s warm, not cold, and sounds so serene pitter-pattering on the rooftops.  It’s a pity we can’t light a fire; a family of Hoopoes have nested in the chimney and we don’t want to disturb them.  

Here are a few photos from the past few days…

   
 Two metal sculptures at the top of Argyle Road in Avondale. Apparently they stand on the pavement of a back-packer’s lodge.

   The Catholic Cathedral captured from the car.
 Lovely patisserie in a Food Lover’s Market in Borrowdale.  They were huge and mouth-watering!

  The rest of the shelf of delicious treats.
There are many more and I am preparing a nice post on the artists and sculptors I met at a flea market the other day.  To give you a taster, here is a picture of some of their art:

   
 
I hope you’ve enjoyed a little taste of Zimbabwe.  Join me again for another update on our holiday.

This Is Truly Bliss

So close your eyes and come with me to a piece of the earth where beauty knows no boundaries. Close your eyes and come with me to a place where misfortune is just a fairy tale, stress is a myth and worry is an old past time. Close your eyes and come with me to a piece of paradise where the beauty is interminable, indiscernible and tranquil to say the least. Not for the young and not for the old just a story best left untold. If you close your eyes and come with me ill show you a place where dreams are real, and real is for the living.

Croatia’s largest and most popular tourist destination, Krka National Park, made its way onto my bucket list in a “love at first sight” kind of way. Half in the unbelief that somewhere so sensuous still existed. The other half because…

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Blue Moon