Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Inventing Icecream



ABC WEDNESDAY

INVENTING ICECREAM

When we think of ice cream we think of intense cold;
Surely this wasn't available in the fridgeless days of old!
Surely electricity had to play a part!
Without our modern know-how how did they ever start?
Well, icecream isn't modern although it seems to be;
In fact it dates from way, way back in dark antiquity!
The Chinese, three thousand years ago, mixed honey with frozen snow;
It was collected in the mountains and then brought down below.
The Romans did something similar at a very much later date;
It travelled from a distance but they were prepared to wait.
In 1292 Marco Polo mixed snow with a yak's rich milk;
The resulting ice cream was creamy and tasted as smooth as silk.
A French chef invented flavours in 1533;
He mixed ice cream with chocolate! Now that's modernity!
*
So now we ask however did they keep the snow so cold?
Surely the ice it was packed in would melt in days of old!
They sometimes stored the frozen ice in deep pits in  the ground
Or down in lakes  or inside caves, where the sun was never found.
*
Imagine all those old-time cooks in the palaces back then
Receiving the summons 'More ice cream!' They'd say 'Not that again!'
Think of all the journeying, the scrambling and the fuss!
I imagine I can hear them as they'd tear their hair and cuss!
I can hear the master bellowing 'I'm not prepared to wait!
Bring me my ice cream straight away on my favourite golden plate!'
Talk about stress! Those poor old cooks combining snow and fruit!
Knowing that if they ever failed they'd surely get the boot!
*
How much more fortunate we are, when we only have to pick
Our very favourite flavour and give it a big lick!
*
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SUNBIRTH/SUNDEATH

Imagine a cloud of dust
Within nothingness.
Imagine that you are in it.
For you are.
Everything that is you is there,
Already.
*
Gravity clumps the dust
Into a mass.
It becomes hot.
It becomes hotter.
It becomes unimaginably hot.
Yet you are within that heat.
Already.
*
Within the cloud
Fusion.
A star.
A sun.
*
You were not part of the sun.
You whirled away
Into the ether
To become a planet.
Don't you remember?
You were there
Already.
*
With the birth of the sun
Came all we know as 
Life.
And you were in it from the start.
You are eternal.
*
And when you die
You will still be part
Of the miracle.
Your star-stuff will remain
*
And when, in five billion years or so,
The sun also dies
The stuff of you
Will implode,
Explode,
Alter beyond recognition.
*
But it will be there,
Ready for the next stage.
*
Already.
*

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PS

I had a brand new experience yesterday and what a lovely one it was! I was invited to read poetry at a meeting of the Newcastle Garden Club and the venue was an uexpected delight. Among all the average-sized suburban plots was this enormous park-like garden tucked away at the end of a cul de sac. And the owners name was Delilah! I scoured through my blog for 'garden' poetry and I came-up with quite a bit, although I'm not a keen gardener.


Here we see the members of the club arriving for coffee. I trotted-off on my own with my camera while they were settling-in. The meeting itself was quite interesting, as many of the members had brought examples from their gardens to show. There was a lot of oohing and aahing.


Here I am reading some verses. I had to borrow a big hat because the back of my neck was being burnt by the sun.

The cottage garden outside the kitchen. There was a large vegetable patch too.


One of the many paths made for drifting.


A quiet corner for a glass of wine at dusk.


The well-kept lawn. (The water-bill must be high.)


One of the many statues placed here and there.


And the gardener herself caught in mid-sprint.

I came away with a bag embroidered with Australian flowers, and three impatiens for my poor little yard!

*

11 comments:

Hildred said...

Wonderful post, - I love the picture of you in your pretty blue top and shady hat.

Roger Owen Green said...

interesting and informative, esp re ice cream! tasty, too.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Jingle said...

ice cream is sweet,
imagination is soulful and beautiful..

love your thoughts on those history and more, amazing shots.
Happy Wednesday.

Sue said...

Interesting history of ice cream. It reminds me of the children's story by Odo Hirsch: "Bartlett and the Ice voyage" - I hadn't twigged it was based on fact!

photowannabe said...

Loved seeing the photo of you reciting your poems and all the beautiful garden pictures. Great job.

Pranavam Ravikumar said...

Nice Clicks!

Wanda said...

Thin information on the history of ice cream was so interesting.

You are darling in your blue blouse and big hat...wish I could hear you reading.

Brian Miller said...

ha nice history of ice cream...and waht a pain to climb in a hole of go down deep just to get a treet...for yourself or the king...smiles...

added your link to the new linky at theme thursday...

Mary said...

Yes, we are really fortunate today to have so many flavors of ice cream and have it so easily accessible. A fine write.

(Visiting from Theme Thursday)

Grace said...

Very lovely post ~ I enjoyed learning a bit of its history. Indeed the flavors today are so varied ~

Lolamouse said...

First off--congrats on your poetry reading! Wonderful!!!
I enjoyed the SWEET history lesson! I used to make a mix of snow, milk, sugar, and vanilla when I was a kid. Delicious!