Curly's Capers

For Ivor Nor trees; nor masts did I espy in Gloucester Docks; on a drizzled May day. Rather, afore me, a copper-coloured spiral candle, reaching upwards to join the sea-gulls lamenting the departed Gloucester brotherhood; who wore boots dripping in Flanders mud and gore. Looking down to my feet, an extract  from your requiem for the fallen heroes. How wonderfully, bloody apt. Today I bought a shirt made in Vietnam and wondered at the absurdity of it all. I felt humbled,to have reached retirement age, without hearing a shot fired in anger. Unlike you, Dear Ivor. You were taken from Cotswold elm and beech to a battered tree-stumped landscape fashioned by trench warfare. No beauty here, no salve for the soul. Respite only through memories of Severn land. Then: a shell-shocked return with war-scared thoughts. Finally: withdrawn in '22 from the Shire. Removed from: Cotswold scarp and meadow-lands, But: ali...

  A Pie-In- The -Sky plan, hope or wish is unlikely to come to fruition  and be achieved. So where does this phrase come from? Here's the answer: Meaning A promise of heaven, while continuing to suffer in this life. Origin This is an American phrase and was coined by Joe Hill in 1911. Hill was a Swedish-born itinerant labourer who migrated to the USA in 1902. He was a leading light of the radical labour organisation  The Industrial Workers of the World  - known as the Wobblies, writing many radical songs for them. The phrase appeared first in Hill's  The Preacher and the Slave , which parodied the Salvation Army hymn  In the Sweet Bye and Bye . The song, which criticized the Army's theology and philosophy, specifically their concentration on the salvation of souls rather than the feeding of the hungry, was popular when first recorded and remained so for some years. Long-haired preachers come out every night, Try to tell you what's wrong and ...

The Head can be charming, amusing, but sometimes sinister..... So explains  Michael Fassbender , regarding the head/ mask in the film "  Frank "  which I saw at the cinema with little D. , last Tuesday  (13 / 5 ). Frank The film is loosely based on the character ' Frank Sidebottom ', the persona of  the Late Chris Sievey, read more here   Chris S. However apart from the spheroidal head, the film is a composite of many characters including a couple of references to Captain Beefheart. The storyline concerns a young out of musical work keyboardist,  beautifully played by  ( see guy on  right ) Domhnall Gleeson who gets an offer to join a group fronted by Frank and is then whisked off to Ireland for a very protracted music-making exercise in a rented cabin. Frank urges the group to experiment and wait for a creative spark before beginning, recording a record.. This of course, is a direct nod to the making of Beefheart's semina...

I'm beginning this week with a book review. This splendid and enchanting book by Neil Gaiman  was my reading for the last week and I really enjoyed it. Is it a book for children?  Yes. Is it a book for adults?     Yes. Can adults read this book to children?     Yes. Could children read this book to adults?   Yes. So what we have here is a book for all purposes, Mr. Gaiman has pulled off the trick of being an adult, but  able to assume  the mind of a child.  Each day I battle with the twin ' enemies ' of reality and maturity and try to ignore both of them. Quoting Neil's words from the book (p150 )     " I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside    either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age (  7 ) . The truth is ...

MAY A white, grey mist enshrouds  the meadowlands. Unseen, but not unheard  birds cry out, with joyful appreciation. A quickening of the pulses; a rooty growth emanating from   underearth. The blades of time are changing and  seasons move onward What can it be this feeling of rebirth,coupled with the harmony of Gaia ? It is May, the fifth step of the year  a light footfall  springing forward to summer days ahead. Maybe it is love, the trees and plants think it may as well be. May I dare to suggest the light is creeping through the shimmering mist? Yes it is so. The grass caresses , the wind moans gently and the ground shows it slope afore me. A movement from left to  right at speed as a coney darts an exploratory reconnoiter.  Mayday; Mayday, indeed. Raising my eyes upwards I espy on the summit a royal copse illuminated by a wondrous shaft of suns...