Risk Taking

Journey One

Journey Two

SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS
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chose the topic

RISK TAKING

I'm  a reasonably lively person
At times I'm almost brisk,
But I certainly am not the type
To go in search of risk.
You won't find me sky-diving
Or considering a gamble
And when I walk I take such care
I almost seem to amble.
And yet, not once but twice in life
I've upped and emigrated!
And that's a move that friends of  mine
Have never contemplated.
My risk-takings never physical
It's adventure that I've craved
And thats why joblessness and such
Has been,quite gladly, braved.
What is a risk to one person
Isn't a risk to all
I'm a midget in some areas
But in others I stand tall.

*

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ADVICE

Ask for advice when you're in doubt!

Don't think you can do without.

Verify all that you are told.

If possible sort dross from gold.

Consider all things with great care.

Everybody has good advice to share!

*

Upgrade

SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS

http://sundayscribblings.blogspot.com.au/

asks us to consider an upgrade

UPGRADE

(An Acrostic)

Unhappy with your present standing?

Perhaps you need some brand new branding.

Get new clothes in a smart new style.

Renew your persona, flash a smile.

Act as the person you wish you were.

Do the things you really prefer.

Even YOU need to improve!

Upgrade out of that sad old groove.

*

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My Corner of Australia

UPHEAVAL

Upheaval.

The leaving of one country for another.

The year 1974.

*

We were leaving South Africa.

Our destination New Zealand.

There we would find

Prettiness, 

Relations,

And an English atmosphere.

*

Consider our situation......

A sick mother in tow,

Plus two young children. 

Crates packed,

Car organised.

Bridges burnt.

*

A letter!

An Oil Crisis in the Middle East!

A shortage of fuel!

The ship could go no further than Australia!

What to do?

*

Australia did not appeal....

Beaches,

 Cities, 

Deserts.......

Not for us.

*

We wanted New Zealand.

*

But we took the plunge regardless.

After  all, we'd burnt our bridges.

*

We stayed in Australia.

We could not be happier.

*

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PS

Yesterday our Probus Club celebrated its Friendship Day. I don't know how it originated but it's been a tradition ever since I joined the Club. Normally we have a varied program but this year my Merry Mellows were asked to perform an old play called 'Tiddly Pom'. It's months since I wrote it but it all came back to us and we all had great fun performing it. Afterwards we had a catered lunch.

Here you see me as the prim English woman being accosted by a rough diamond Australian man on board ship. I end up marrying him! (Her!)

Worlds Apart

SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS
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WORLDS APART

They're there! They're there! I feel they're there, although I have no proof.

I feel in my bones the theory  must be true............

The other worlds out there, out there, truly beyond our ken,

And very clearly far beyond our view.

Maybe mankind will never know for certain that they exist,

Even technology may fall at the fence,

Because there are multi-universes lost in eternity

And 'immense' cannot describe that great 'immense'.

'Never-ending' is a human word but I feel that it depicts

A sea that has no shore and is forever.

(And maybe I don't know nuffink and I'm talking through my hat

And I'd be pooh-poohed by those who're really clever).

Not 'a world apart' but 'worlds apart', a never-ending number,

And we'll never know about them and their creatures;

They'll never know of us but there is one thing that is sure....

They will not share our accidental features.

These worlds apart........ and we live on one...... all come alive and die

And the multiverses couldn't give a damn.

So aren't we human-beings jokes when we stand up on our legs

And crow those famous last words......'

'Here I am!'

*

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The words in blue are the last words of Beatle George Harrison.

TOO DIFFICULT!

If the concept that you're after is the age-old one of 'Love',

Just try to Google  a picture of what you're thinking of!

You'll find lots of hearts and flowers and Cupids by the score,

As though it's only sexual love that you are looking for.

Romance is very charming, there's just no doubt about it,

And the mating game would be quite dull if we had to live without it.

But the 'Love one another' that's quoted is something else again,

And, in my case, trying to do it goes right against the grain.

I can't love unreservedly, I can't love one and all,

My ability to go overboard is really very small.

'Affection', yes, I do feel that; I'm happy with that word.

But the idea of loving everyone seems crazy and absurd.

Even my nearest and dearest don't get love constantly;

My love comes in spasms, like writing poetry.

Jesus had the right idea.....'Do unto others as you

Would they should do unto you'; words that are very true.

I like the element of selfishness, the looking for a reward;

Just 'being nice' to others; not going overboard.

Act as though you love one another and that will do the trick.

'Loving-kindness', the Buddha's word, is the one that I would pick.

It's too hard to 'love one another'; it requires a lot of passion.

But loving-kindness is something that we never need to ration.

If we want a world of tolerance, respect and mutual care

We must pretend to love one another, and then we may get there.

*

Retreat

SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS

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chose the topic

RETREAT

An exhausted Mother was heard to say

'I am going to go into retreat today.

I am going to stay in bed.

There's '50 Shades of Grey' to be read.

I'll take a box of chocolates too.

I'm tired of looking after you.'

These words were said to the family,

Who stood around uncertainly.

The cat, however, passed the test

And simply snuggled on her chest.

'Where's the sugar?'......this was Dad.

('So there's no sugar! That's too bad')

'Where's my T-shirt?'......this was Clare.

('Well, just find something else to wear.')

'What's for my play-lunch?'......this was Pete.

(' There are plenty of things in the fridge to eat.')

*

In vain they shouted again and again

Mother was up to Chapter Ten.

*

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L'INCONNUE: THE UNKNOWN

You don't know about me....

*

And you never will.

*

When first they plucked me from the Seine

They only saw

Hair like seaweed,

Orifices filled with mud,

Clothes dishevilled and filthy,

Maybe creatures

Of the water

Now part of me.

*

They laid me on a slab

In the morgue

With all the other bodies

Set there for recognition.

*

It was then they noticed my smile!

*

There,

Among the gaping, twisted, macabre faces

Of other suicides,

Was my face,

Smiling,

Serene,

Beautiful and young.

But, above all, smiling.

*

I must have been happy to die!

*

You don't know about my past.

*

You never will.

*

Shopgirl, nanny, mistress,

Pregnant?

That's my secret.

*

But you loved my smile so much

That you preserved me

In a death mask.

*

No-one ever claimed me.

No parent, friend or lover.

I remained Unknown.

*

But my lips have been kissed

By more people

Than any other lips on earth!

*

What was my name?

Berthe? Yvonne? Mathilde?

Who knows.

But the whole world knows me as

L'Inconnue.

*

Read More:

"The popularity of L’Inconnue did begin to wane as the century went on, but her image was revived in the 1960’s, thanks to a new development in medical training. In the 1950’s, Dr. Peter Safar refined a system of lifesaving techniques that eventually became known as CPR and he recruited a Norwegian toy manufacturer, Asmund Laerdal, to produce a mannequin on which these techniques could be practiced. As he created this mannequin Laerdal was inspired to give it the face of the young woman who drowned in the Seine, thus allowing CPR trainees to symbolically save her life. By now, Resusci Anne (or CPR Annie as she is called in the U.S.), has been saved thousands, if not millions of times over, and her face has become known to new generations of admirers as “the most kissed face of all tme”. It’s a fitting tribute to L’Inconnue, whoever she may have been, in that her ultimate legacy will not only be tied to tragedy and death, but to compassion and survival."

*

Creative

SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS

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chose the topic

CREATIVE

Carve a piece of wood into a semblance of a face;

Redecorate your bathroom, that previous disgrace;

Embroider pretty flowers on a hanky for your Gran;
Attach a snazzy slogan to the window of your van;
Tat, if you know how to, and I certainly do not;

Illuminate a parchment, if a parchment's what you've got;
Versify incessantly, rhyming at full spate!
Every living person has the power to create.

*

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IMMORTELLE

The French do have a way with words.

Dried flower? That is for the birds.

But 'immortelle' is pure romance,

A word to make an old heart dance.

It speaks of love pressed between pages,

Meant to last throughout the ages.

It brings to mind a musty scent

Where sweetness lingers, heaven sent.

It makes one think of loving glances

And sweethearts making the most of chances

In shadowy corners and garden bowers.

It speaks of the Language of the Flowers.

'Dried flower?' That cannot cast a spell.

But oh the charm of the Immortelle!

*

Flecting Again

SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS

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FLECTING AGAIN

The first time I tried flecting it gave me such a thrill

That I decided to flect again and I do it with a will.

I advise you all to try it; it doesn't take much skill;

And if you're ever feeling bored flecting fits the bill.

The first time I tried flecting I shouted out 'Yippee!'

And everybody looked around shocked at my levity.

'I'm flecting!' I explained to them 'Come and flect with me!

Flecting is so desirable it should be compulsory.'

Of course, I'm an expert flector, flecting again and again,

I find that the constant exercise does wonders for the brain.

I'm now an expert re-flector, treating with disdain

Those who will not flect with me. They really are a pain!

*

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MAD KANE

http://www.madkane.com

gave us the first line

TUT-TUT!

A woman was trying to show

That she was as pure as the snow

She chastised the blokes

For telling rude jokes

So they said 'Goodbye', not 'Hallo'.

*

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Raw

SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS

http://sundayscribblings.blogspot.com/
word of the week is 'RAW'

RAW

Such an ugly word.

But not always.

*

Applied to food it can mean

Fresh,

Crisp,

Healthy

And, in every way,

Desirable.

*

But apply it to feelings

And it becomes ugly.

*

When someone strips the mask away

And we are revealed as

Inept,

Difficult,

Egotistic,

Petty,

And, in every way,

Undesirable,

It hurts.

*

Like a flesh wound

It pains,

It weeps,

It intrudes on everyday living.

*

But unlike a flesh wound

It does not heal

Evenly.

*

'I'm over it'

We say.

But then,

In the dark recesses of a wakeful night,

It's there again.

*

Raw.

*

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SENT TO COVENTRY

Where did that odd phrase come from? 'Sent to Coventry'?

It's been used in England for ages, with familiarity.

But few people know where it came from, or from whence it was derived,

Or why, for many hundreds of years, the little phrase has survived.

Whenever a certain person's snubbed and left out of the loop,

This phrase is is uttered to signify rejection by the group.

It appears that Coventry was named after the Covin-Tree,

And the Covin-Tree was a gallows! It's all simplicity!

So, when your friends ignore you, I'm afraid it must be said

That they are ganging-up on you and wishing you were dead!

*

A Thousand Years

SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS

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A THOUSAND YEARS

In one thousand and eleven a seer had a vision

Which was received by everyone with laughter and derision.

For he declared 'In a thousand years men will have wings and fly;

They'll circle the earth in giant ships that will zoom across the sky!

Messages will fly through Space as quickly as a thought,

And moving pictures will appear of people playing sport!

All knowledge will be accessed by the pressing of a key,

And babies will be born without any clear paternity!'.......

He would have continued longer but they  burned him at the stake

For talking utter rubbish! That was a big mistake.

*

In two thousand and eleven a seer had a vision.........

*

(They tell me the seer also announced, before he dropped his clogs,

'Old ladies will get hours of fun by writing things called Blogs'.)

*
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SOOTHSAYER


People of old, before high tech, used to gaze up at the sky
And read the portents written there, way, way, way up high.
I went out one day last year and stood and sniffed the air,
Saying 'That's a very cold, windy sky that I see up there!'
And, sure enough, the very next day the wind began to blow,
And the air was thin and icy as though it were going to snow!
Of course, it never snows here, but it does up in the hills
And then we feel the aftermath which is bleak and full of chills.
So maybe I'm a mystic, whose words are always truth!
I'll curl up by the fire, I think, and practice saying sooth!
*

On Being Safe

SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS
http://sundayscribblings.blogspot.com/2011/01/252-safe.html

ON BEING SAFE

I have never felt safe in my adult life!

Safety is an illusion.

Dangers have beset my way

Sometimes in profusion.

I have lived my eighty years

In a constant state of dread!

Will Ebola reach these shores?

What's that under the bed?

I fear I am a pessimist;

I always fear the worst!

The sun may shine on my perfect life

But, undoubtedly, I am cursed!

Is that pimple on my nose

Something I dare not mention?

Will the Government, suddenly,

Remove my old age pension?

Is the man in front of me in the line

A member of a gang?

Is there a bomb in this aeroplane

That will suddenly go 'Bang!'?

The World is a terrifying place;

Safety is unattainable!

What about all those fossil fuels?

Is their use sustainable?

I've lived a life that's been long and safe!

Retribution's overdue!

How can I have done so well?

How can I have struggled through?

It's all out there, the Danger!

It will get me in the end!

Safety is an illusion.

On that you can depend.

*

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TORNADO
Acrostic

Tearing across the sky

Overtaking lesser clouds.

Rushing, reeling, rolling by,

Nothing escapes....buildings, crowds!

Angry, a tube of wicked misery!

Dive for cover!

Or blow to eternity!
*

The Little Matter of Eternity

SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS

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'Eternity'

THE LITTLE MATTER OF ETERNITY

So you fancy living for ever........ well, doesn't everyone?

We hate the thought that our little lives will be suddenly be done.

There are some who believe we never die, but float around somewhere,

In some sort of improved life way up in the sky.

I don't subscribe to this theory, and I ask those with these views

' If you'll be one age for eternity, which age will you choose?'

Babyhood may look very cute, but there is no denying

That 'forever', as one, would be rather dull........ all that dribbling and crying!

And would you like to be a teen, with all that that entails;

All that body-image angst, all that teetering on the scales?

How about all eternity as someone of middle age?

I've yet to hear anybody say that that's the perfect stage!

As to being, for ever, all elderly and tottery......

That doesn't strike me as much of a prize for winning the final lottery!

And so I'm sure that you will say you'd like to be twenty-one,

Now that's something to look forward to when your days on earth are done.

But wait! What about your children? They're not yet on the scene!

You'll have to go through eternity as though they had never been!

The whole thing's rather complicated. I can't make up my mind.

I think I'll just turn out the light when I leave this life behind!

*
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WAITING.

Like an unlit candle pre-dawn,

It waits, wan and waxy,

For the first flare of morning sun.

*