The Fun Commence

The ice bit my finger tips

the lawn was torn into strips

and the black clouds that day

turned the wind round the other way

and the rain fell so slow

not knowing quite where to go

my camera shouted 'cheese,'

talked the fish down from the trees

and sunshine like a whip crack

sent shivers up and down my back

as the 'dickie-birds' chirped away

above the little piggy where he lay

for all the world like a peach

just sitting there on the beach

as the clock folded it's arms

all cross with the swaying palms

both the tyre and the nail

felt deflated and frail

time sort of came and went

to a festival in a muddy tent

yesterday is here to stay

now tomorrow has gone away

...life doesn't always make sence

so lets help the fun commence!

Shadows

A shadow is an absence of light 

yet to make one 

you need a source of light

you also need an opaque object 

of which the shape of the shadow will be formed

You need a surface onto which the shadow is projected.

A shadow appears when light from a source is obstructed by an object yet shadows do not occupy "space"

Shadows are mostly black

but can be coloured under certain  specific circumstances.

An object can form more than one shadow 

if more than one light source plays upon the object.

A shadow is a virtual image of a real thing

which science says can move by itself 

yet they are not "living"

they appear to flicker 

but this can be caused by the light source flickering.

There are shadows on the moon - created by the moon itself.

Pure water - with no suspended particles in it 

casts no shadow.

Light casts shadows - yet a flame won't.

Glass casts only a faint shadow.

Air can bend light away from its forward direction 

and so create a shadow.

Aeroplanes cast shadows 

but only when they're close to the ground. 

Ironically

once in the air

the shadow is lost under the light source which made the shadow in the first place.

Shadows are fascinating!

Click here to hear me read this piece

Loch Lomond

Quiet 

hear the waters lap on the shores the ice age formed 

the history 

the battles that raged

the smugglers rowing illegal whisky along its shores

it's landowners

its castles and stately piles

hear the swallows on the wing

and the "tip tap" of the soft raindrops on the roofs of the cars in the carpark

the midgies are missing thanks to the rain and the mist

both of which swirl around us

the wild water swimmers come and go 

back and forth

as hardy as the areas original settlers

tugging their coloured floats behind them 

the peaks of the mountains which tumble down to the waters edge to greet them

come and go too 

the crowning peak of "Ben Lomond" itself hidden 

maybe it's there - maybe it's not

the tourist boats are

plying their trade around the Loch

the many miles of island shores

splendid houses and secret coves 

they also come and go in the mist

leaving only their commentaries

skimming across the surface of the still waters

like the swallows

chasing what midgies they can find

to feed their families 

...oblivious to it all

A Raindrop Fell

A raindrop fell from a dark black cloud

'cross the dark black land

like a dark black shroud

a raindrop fell into a wee piggy's eye

as the wee piggy sat

in his wee piggy-sty

more raindrops fell into 'icky sticky' mud

where the 'icky sticky' piggy sat

amidst an 'icky sticky' flood

after a mighty fight they found themselves free 

and found themselves a river

then found themselves the sea

they join the other raindrops - some people never knew

the sea is just a lot of raindrops

some which fell on me and you

the sun shines on the sea; the raindrops warm enough

they're warmed enough into a cloud

to make the warm and rainy stuff

So don't be sad when raindrops fall

think of the miles they've had to do

the many hurdles they've had to jump

just to get you soaking through!

(If you are worried how the little piggy's now

the little piggy's fine

having eloped with a cow)

Now That I Am Old

Now that I am old I find that...

and I'm not able to...

my memory is...

to have to... ...is taxing

and not to be able to... ...frustrates me

and I don't...

the excitement felt from simply...

for when I was young I used to...  ...all the time

and...

it was so simple to...

now, now I can't even... ...by myself

I have to rely on others to...

and that isn't...

I don't like being old because I can't... 

I sometimes feel I'm a...

and a...

they say I'm not but I...

I don't like being...

I don't like...

I don't...

I...

...

Culross

Culross in Fife

former royal borough

former port city

with an abbey and a palace

and hidden courtyards

tiny cottages on cobbled streets

steep little streets 

streets off streets

ancient streets

history itself right in front of us

dates over doorways

tiny doorways

from hundreds of years ago

windows at irregular heights

tiny windows

and the 'Lockit Well'

foot-worn steps up to first-floor doorways

pan-tiled roofs and harled walls

and all on the shores of the mighty river forth

people from all over the world 

come to look

to take in the beauty 

of this sleepy little village

that once upon a time

shared trade with the world

and all with his majesty's approval