Sunday, May 23, 2010

On Display



SHADOW SHOT
http://heyharriet.blogspot.com/

ON DISPLAY

In a dusty case in a small museum these clothes pegs were on show.
Lit from above with a little lamp so the whole scene seemed to glow.
They were displayed as artifacts over time collected.
Cast aside, no doubt, back then, though now they were resurrected.
And it struck me that this was their stage, with the footlights at their feet.
With the little blue ballerinas looking rather sweet
As they dipped and bowed and circled in time to a melody
With all their little tutus flaring so prettily.
While beside them marched the soldiers, with their military might,
And all their colourful uniforms looking crisp and bright.
Their shadows, too, looked theatrical, as they echoed the dancers' legs!
I found myself almost believing they were more than humdrum pegs!
*


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(Our house lay in the very centre of this shot.)


ALTON MEMORIES

War having ended, my Father decided
That, since he could not be a Preacher,
He'd find a Church School, a small village school,
Where he could become the Head Teacher.
My Mother, from Kent, was not at all pleased,
But, really, she hadn't much say ,
And so we all moved, to our new village home,
Knowing that was the place we would stay.
My Mother was never entirely at ease;
She yearned all her days to see Kent,
Though the village we'd come to was charming, indeed,
And she learned to be almost content.
As for me, I was rather an unthinking soul;
I accepted that this was my fate.
I grew up as a village girl, living the life
And eventually finding it great.
For Alton was beautiful in its own way,
A Peak District sort of a place.
'Peak Practice' was shot in a nearby location
And Alton had that sort of grace.
I lived there for six years until I left home
So these scenes were a background for me.
And here are some shots of the place that I loved.
It's delightful.
I know you'll agree.
*

The village in the valley.




Alton Castle hung over the Churnet Valley.


The Churnet River flowed past our house.


This was the 1000 year old church where my Father was a Lay Preacher.


This was the pulpit from which my Father preached frequently.


Toot Hill (always called Tootle Rock) which I loved to climb.

The pub over the road.


The historic lock-up called The Round House.




The bridge adjacent to our house; I loved to inch my way along the parapet!



Lovely walks, even in Winter.


A recent newspaper photograph of a car accident in Alton. In the background, to the left, can be seen our little house, with the Castle above it.
*

11 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Loved to see the pics of England, also loved the poem, nade excellent reading and viewing.

Yvonne

Anonymous said...

I love 'On Display' - both the poem and the sunny image. Funny how the lined-up pegs are so sturdy and serious, while those forming the circle feel so playful. Too, how such ordinary things, when fixed in a case, turn into beautiful art to ponder. Very inspiring photo, and oh! what a wonderful job you did being inspired!

- Dina

Mar said...

Oh how lovely your home town is. I'm enjoying reading your blog(s) and I've added them to my list of links to check out. Marlene.

Annie Jeffries said...

Good evening Brenda. I'm back, this time seeking out your shadow shot. I contributed for the first time today so am exploring them all now. Anyway . . . here I am visiting and I find so much more than a shadow. What a rich post. I'm going back now to linger over it all for a while.

Julia Phillips Smith said...

'And it struck me that this was their stage, with the footlights at their feet.
With the little blue ballerinas looking rather sweet
As they dipped and bowed and circled in time to a melody
With all their little tutus flaring so prettily.
While beside them marched the soldiers, with their military might'

To say I adore this is to put it mildly.

Unknown said...

What a great shot of the clothes pegs. Their shadows do look like dancers.

Hey Harriet said...

I love that colourful army of little pegs! How sweet!

Gemma Wiseman said...

Amazing shadow shot of pegs! (I can't believe I am saying that!) Fascinating and very different! And then I browsed your post of your romantic little village in England! Beautiful!

Maude Lynn said...

I love "On Display." You have so much imagination!

Killara girl said...

you really have a special and amazing talent...that peg poem is phenomenal...i don't think i would've ever seen them from that point of view.

such lovely photos of your town...i'm assuming it's England...such a great countryside.

wanderlust said...

The shadows are very pretty, love the colorful pegs!