Friday, June 05, 2009

New Beginnings & Old Folk

Andrew's threatening to start the bathroom, yikes. He's been shopping today for some copper pipe and when asked what it was for, the bathroom was the answer. I have no idea why he needs copper pipe but I'm sure all will become clear in due course.

We've got to a stage in our life when old age doesn't seem eons away and if I'm telling the truth, it's pretty scary. We were talking about removing all the tiles from the bathroom walls and wondering what state the plaster will be in underneath. This in Andrews eyes, is by far the worst part. I suggested that we pay for someone to come in & skim the walls up so that he will have a flat surface to tile. In my eyes it's money worth spending because it's not as if we're going to renew the bathroom again is it. In another 20 years Andrew will be 73 & may not be up to major DIY! Isn't that the scariest thought ever. We decided not to dwell on it and turned our attention to other things ~ phew.

Elena wants to start sailing lessons on Saturday mornings. I think it's a great idea but unfortunately it will mean giving up drama. I suppose trying as many things as possible makes for a well rounded person and if you don't have a go at new things, how do you know what you like & what you don't? So drama has been put on hold and sailing lessons begin in Sandown Bay tomorrow morning. She's really excited, especially after her trial sailing lesson last week. Way to go Elena, good girl for trying x

More cool news, Gemma's got a new car! Her old one was falling apart at the seems and the exhaust was so noisy you could hear her driving up the road before you could see her lol. She's managed to sell her old one to one of Matt's friends so she's done really well. Hope you have a bit more luck with this one Gem x

I love it when Liam's back fro Uni. Some of the discussions we have are amazing. Tonight we've been discussing Poetry. Liam doesn't really get it but I love it. My 2 favourite poems of all time are completely different, I Wish I Looked After My Teeth by Pam Ayres & Dolce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen. I love the way Pam Ayres write poetry, very child like & amusing. Wilfred Owens poem was one we did at school and it blew me away. It is so sad & so moving.

DULCE ET DECORUM EST ~ Wilfred Owen

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.

8 October 1917 - March, 1918

The full saying ends the poem: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - it is sweet and right to die for your country. In other words, it is a wonderful and great honour to fight and die for your country. How wrong could it be?

I Wish I'd Looked After My Teeth ~ Pam Ayres

Oh, I wish I'd looked after me teeth,
And spotted the perils beneath,
All the toffees I chewed,
And the sweet sticky food,
Oh, I wish I'd looked after me teeth.

I wish I'd been that much more willin'
When I had more tooth there than fillin'
To pass up gobstoppers,
From respect to me choppers
And to buy something else with me shillin'.

When I think of the lollies I licked,
And the liquorice allsorts I picked,
Sherbet dabs, big and little,
All that hard peanut brittle,
My conscience gets horribly pricked.

My Mother, she told me no end,
"If you got a tooth, you got a friend"
I was young then, and careless,
My toothbrush was hairless,
I never had much time to spend.

Oh I showed them the toothpaste all right,
I flashed it about late at night,
But up-and-down brushin'
And pokin' and fussin'
Didn't seem worth the time... I could bite!

If I'd known I was paving the way,
To cavities, caps and decay,
The murder of fiIlin's
Injections and drillin's
I'd have thrown all me sherbet away.

So I lay in the old dentist's chair,
And I gaze up his nose in despair,
And his drill it do whine,
In these molars of mine,
"Two amalgum," he'll say, "for in there."

How I laughed at my Mother's false teeth,
As they foamed in the waters beneath,
But now comes the reckonin'
It's me they are beckonin'
Oh, I wish I'd looked after me teeth.

ROFL, very appropriate as I spent the first 6 years of my working life as a Dental Assistant.

Just to brighten up my blog here are some of our gorgeous flowers from the garden :O)

2 comments:

The Girl With The Mousy Hair said...

No you are not getting old your just getting better like a fine wine.
I am glad Gem has a new car at last, you couldn't miss her coming in the old one.
How depressing that poem was but then things suddenly brightened with Pam " Oh I wish I'd looked after me teeth. I love her she is brilliant. See you later. xxxx

Teresa said...

Your only as young as you feel and with all they young people you have round your house i'm sure you'll stay that way!

Nice to hear Gemma has sorted a new car out.

Not sure about the first poem, was a tad depressing for me but i do agree with you about Pam, shes fab!

Lots of love Tree xxxxxxxxxxx