On coal black nights
edged with silver
I journey across
the northern moorland
towards the now empty
burial mound
at Deerstone Edge
my thoughts singed
with light filled days

and you…

Lead coffins
and their occupants
once slept here
cradled beneath
clay and heather carpets
whilst seeping rain
formed a mattress
of black silt
beneath bare bones

sleep evades me now…

Flowers and wine
long since placed
as offerings
to keep company
with the dead
and their Gods
are but colourless dust

your eyes were as blue as the evening sky…

How many
of the living
have taken shelter here
in the light of day
whilst pelting rain
and bitter winds
screamed their way
across the land

at night only the dead can claim sanctuary here…

How soon
we are forgotten
by others
by each other

my soul hunts the night... and yours

Labels: Miladysa, Poem, Poetry

Posted by Miladysa at 7:46 PM 16 Comments

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Jenny Joseph


I have every intention of growing old and doing it disgracefully! I've informed the old man, the children and the grandchildren so none of them are in doubt of my plans. In fact, according to them I'm already on the slippery slope... blogging being a prime example...

It's My Birthday

So when I grow older
I'm going to colour my hair red
and grow it long and wild
and dwell in a cottage deep in the woods
by a river
and talk to the trees
and stroke stones
whilst picking flowers at midnight
I'm going to have dogs
which yap around my ankles
and chase their tails
I will kiss my husband
on the mouth
while in the presence of strangers
In the afternoons
I shall play the music of Marc Bolan too loud
while eating biscuits
and writing strange stories
about angels and dead people
I shall holiday with my husband
and six children
on an island in the sun
In the middle of August
and skip in the sea
in fact upon reflection
I'm more than half way there...

Miladysa

I'm still two years younger than Madonna though!

See you in a little over a week's time :-D

Labels: Miladysa, Poetry

Posted by Miladysa at 12:01 AM 26 Comments

The Old Parish Church of Selkirk


Most of you will not be surprised to learn that our visit to The Borders was in connection with my family history research - thankfully I have an understanding husband who indulges and encourages my passion for such activities.

As well as studying some historical records I also wanted to visit the church in Selkirk where my 4 x great grandfather Andrew was married in 1820 and the Corn Mill noted on the marriage certificate of the person I believe to be Andrew's father which is dated 1794.

The church was disappointing... derelict as it is in the process of being demolished I was fortunate to be able to take a photograph before the last stone had fallen.
























The Old Corn Mill


The Mill on the other hand was still there although the original farmhouse had been demolished. The farmer today was happy for me to take as many photographs as I wanted but due to the shape of the building it was hard to take the right angle and I eventually decided to take one from the roadside.

Whilst I was taking the photograph I had a 'significant' moment which is something I have experienced ever since I was a child - a second or so where reality seems to be more intense than you could possibly imagine. I tried to shake the moment and returned to the car. Just as Sir H pulled off a large low flying bird appeared level with the car window flying alongside us in the field opposite.

"What on earth is that bird?!" I exclaimed.

I felt Sir H's excitement as he replied,

"Bloody hell! It's an eagle! Quick get your camera!"

In the moment I reached for the camera the bird had disappeared!

Well, you are probably wondering what all the excitement was about and you may be surprised to learn that in all my life so far I have never witnessed an eagle flying wild before! The only ones I have ever seen have been on film or in captivity.

Throughout the rest of our stay we kept reminding ourselves of the eagle sighting and we both agreed how lucky we were to have had such an experience.

When we arrived home I downloaded my photographs from the visit... what do you think? Is it or isn't it?






















A trick of the light?

Labels: Miladysa, Photographs, Scottish Borders

Posted by Miladysa at 9:06 AM 19 Comments

'Had not our royal predecessors,’ continued the monarch, exalting his sovereign voice to drown these disaffected clamours, — ‘had they not their Jean Logies, their Bessie Carmichaels, their Oliphants, their Sandilands, and their Weirs, and shall it be denied to us even to name a maiden whom we delight to honour? Nay, then, sink state and perish sovereignty! for, like a second Charles V, we will abdicate, and seek in the private shades of life those pleasures which are denied to a throne.'
~ Extract from Guy Mannering by Sir Walter Scott

Abbotsford


There are those who think that the life’s work of Sir Walter Scott painted too romantic a picture of the past, that the truth was much uglier and that the reality was overwritten by history. I can accept their opinion without losing the ability to treasure his books, breathe of his imagination and float away on the adventures his words create. Those who would discredit him should open their minds at the same time as they open one of his books; a great storyteller does not concern himself too closely with the facts for his magic is woven within the fiction and the telling of the tale.

Looking from the house down towards the river

Sir Walter has always been special to me and there is no greater honour I can pay than to use the term special. Rob Roy McGregor, Ivanhoe and the others have their niche in my heart and are as real to me as any I have met in the flesh. To visit Abbotsford then, the home of the great man himself was a truly delightful experience and one that I shall always strive to remember.























The view of the Eildon Hills from our hotel room

I saw with my own eyes the sword and musket of Rob Roy, a lock of hair from the Bonny Prince, a fragment of a dress worn by Mary Queen of Scots and most importantly I stood by the side of his writing desk and chair in his library where he wrote some of his greatest works! Would any of these exhibits have stirred such a nostalgia within me if I had not been introduced to their owners through his works of fiction?

Throughout the visit I wandered in awe, squealed with delight and thanked Sir Walter from the bottom of my heart for all the joy he has given me and will continue to do so.

If you ever get a chance to visit Abbotsford or one of his books take it!

Labels: Abbotsford, Miladysa, Scotland, Sir Walter Scott

Posted by Miladysa at 11:03 PM 22 Comments

UFO interest in these parts has recently been stirred by a new television series concentrating on Britain’s closest encounters of the UFO variety and as I have made mention here before this area is not unfamiliar with such encounters. In fact, The Pennines which are sometimes referred to as the ‘Backbone of Britain’ seem to have seen more than their fair share of such incidents.

Possibly the most famous of the British UFO encounters took place in a nearby town and involved the case of Police Constable Alan Godfrey . The sightings of a UFO around the same time also took place at a local farm and quarry.

Last weekend ‘lights’ were seen over yet another nearby town and captured on video, you can watch the video here, make of it what you will.




What captures my interest is the connection between the UFOs, lights and stone. I tend to go along with the theory that these lights are actually omitted, perhaps even absorbed by stone. Stretching that theory even further perhaps the ancients were aware of that connection and possibly tried to recreate the light omission/absorptions with the stone circles. Who knows?

When unusual events take place in these parts they seem to involve more than one phenomenon. Take the case of the lights last weekend and the reappearance of the large black cat that is said to prowl these parts and known locally as the Huttock Top Beast. Now, for those of you who are not familiar with the wildlife of the UK we do not have raccoons of other such beasties, the nearest thing we have are squirrels, foxes and the rare badger. Panthers etc. according to the experts do not roam these parts, the evidence however seem to point in another direction.

What if the lights are actually caused by some natural earth force? Those of our fellow creatures closer to their natural instincts than we are can possibly sense this force and prefer to get out of its way rather than hang around and greet it. Is it too far fetched that our great black cat made a decision to venture down from the moor or other surrounding areas around the same time as the lights are seen once again? After all, it would be a little strange for it to come down in search of food at this time of the year.

On the other hand it would not explain the events PC Alan Godfrey recalled under hypnosis, the photograph of an alien figure on Ilkley Moor, the strange case of Zigmund Adamski or the fact that my camera refused to take photographs in the Dell that weekend...

*** It appears that there was a whole burst of UFO activity in the UK during July. If you are interested in other sightings this site is worth a visit. ***

Labels: Big Cat, Phenomena, UFO

Posted by Miladysa at 3:15 PM 27 Comments