One Small Step

    I can remember when I was a kid watching the first person, Neil Armstrong, step onto the moon. Sitting, glued to the black and white TV, I could hardly believe my eyes. Someone, was actually walking on that big shiny ball that visited my night sky.

    I peered at the grainy picture wondering if the man in the moon would appear from the shadows and either greet the astronaut, or tell him he wasn't welcome there. Yes, I had a wild imagination even back then. However, there was no man there other than Neil Armstrong who took one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, on July 21 1969.   

The Memory of Burns

Burns Monument and Gardens, Alloway

     I couldn't let this week pass without mentioning Scotland's great poet Robert Burns, as it will be the anniversary of his death on July 21. Therefore in my classic poet spot I'm featuring today not a poem by Robert Burns but a poem written as a tribute to him.

    The poem  was written by American poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier who was inspired by Burns as many others have.

The Memory of Burns   

Alloway Parish Church

How sweetly come the holy psalms

From saints and martyrs down

The waving of triumphal palms

Above the thorny crown

The choral praise, the chanted prayers
From harps by angels strung
The hunted Cameron's mountain airs
The hymns that Luther sung

Yet, jarring not the heavenly notes
The sounds of earth are heard
As through the open minster floats
The song of breeze and bird
Not less the wonder of the sky
That daisies bloom below
The brook sings on, though loud and high
The cloudy organs blow

And, if the tender ear be jarred
That, haply, hears by turns
The saintly harp of Olney's bard
The pastoral pipe of Burns,
No discord mars His perfect plan
Who gave them both a tongue
For he who sings the love of man
The love of God hath sung

To-day be every fault forgiven
Of him in whom we joy
We take, with thanks, the gold of Heaven
And leave the earth's alloy.
Be ours his music as of spring,
His sweetness as of flowers,
The songs the bard himself might sing
In holier ears than ours

Sweet airs of love and home, the hum
Of household melodies
Come singing, as the robins come
To sing in door-yard trees
And, heart to heart, two nations lean,
No rival wreaths to twine
But blending in eternal green
The holly and the pine

             John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)

Looking Through the Window

    There are times we just want to be alone, it's necessary for us to have some solitude. But, that I hope is a choice you are able to make, I know I can. For many though, they have no choice, day after day there is little, or no interaction with the outside world.

    Sitting by the window, watching the outside world as though it were a TV programme. The only sound in the house coming from the radio, or TV. No visits from friends and family, no laughing, no remembering the good times. Days and nights passing by, mingling into each other.

    Sometimes we need a gentle reminder that there are many people suffering from loneliness and this week BBC Radio featured the subject. The feature in loneliness amongst the older generation, particularly caught my attention. It focused on those who may find themselves alone after losing a long-term partner and I could  to relate to that. No not because I have lost a partner, thank God, but because I witnessed what my mother and aunt both went through after losing their husbands.

    Both couples were equally inseparable and it was difficult for the women to adjust their lives.They both did have contact with the outside world and still struggled. So what would it have been like for them if they hadn't had family calling, the friendly neighbour taking a minute to just ask how they were.

    If we know someone who lives alone, we need to make the time to call them. If we have a neighbour who lives alone, even just giving them a smile and a wave when when we see them, may make a huge difference to their day and life.

    Remember that person sitting at the window could be you, or me some day.


https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/loneliness-research/

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/loneliness/#.WWdCHLi2r4s
 
    

     

An Exiles Farewell

  

    I love poetry, especially classic poems and over the next couple of weeks I'm planning to feature a classic poem once a week. I hope you enjoy my choice of poems as much as I do.
    In my opinion they are vivid and sometimes haunting. The one I'm featuring today by Australian, Adam Lindsay Gordon, stirred some personal emotions when I first read it and like any good piece of writing the author took me into his world. I've added some of my photographs, in order to share some of my world.

An Exiles Farewell

 

The ocean heaves around us still
With long and measured swell
The autumn gales our canvas fill
Our ship rides smooth and well
The broad Atlantic's bed of foam
Still breaks against our prow
I shed no tears at quitting home
Nor will I shed them now

Against the bulwarks on the poop
I lean, and watch the sun
Behind the red horizon stoop
His race is nearly run
Those waves will never quench his light
O'er which they seem to close
To-morrow he will rise as bright
As he this morning rose

How brightly gleams the orb of day
Across the trackless sea
How lightly dance the waves that play
Like dolphins in our lee
The restless waters seem to say
In smothered tones to me
How many thousand miles away
My native land must be

Speak, Ocean. Is my home the same?
Now all is new to me
The tropic sky's resplendent flame
The vast expanse of sea
Does all around her, yet unchanged
The well-known aspect wear
Oh! Can the leagues that I have ranged
Have made no difference there?

How vivid Recollection's hand
Recalls the scene once more
I see the same tall poplars stand
Beside the garden door
I see the bird-cage hanging still
And where my sister set
The flowers in the window-sill
Can they be living yet?

Let woman's nature cherish grief
I rarely heave a sigh
Before emotion takes relief
In listless apathy
While from my pipe the vapours curl
Towards the evening sky
And 'neath my feet the billows whirl
In dull monotony

The sky still wears the crimson streak

Of Sol's departing ray

Some briny drops are on my cheek

'Tis but the salt sea spray

Then let our barque the ocean roam

Our keel the billows plough

I shed no tears at quitting home

Nor will I shed them now

Adam Lindsay Gordon  (19 October 1833 – 24 June 1870)          

Meet Dan Pierce

       

    Today I'd like to introduce my main character in the Salvation series, Dan Pierce. Dan and I go way back and I know everything there is to know about him. You could even say I know more about him than he knows about himself.
    However, seventeen-year-old Dan, has kindly agreed to do an exclusive interview for my blog, because he wants his voice to be heard and make new friends amongst readers. 
   

Me:  Hi Dan, thanks for this exclusive interview today.

DP:  Hey Christina, it's a pleasure as always, for us both to get together again and have a chat. We've
known each other for eight, or nine years now. Although you didn't introduce me to your friends until four years ago. I don't know why you waited so long. Maybe you were ashamed of me!

Me:  Blame the publishing industry. Dan you were enlisted to help in the fight against Satan's dark forces who have been spreading misery and destruction on Earth, in return for your salvation. Would you like to tell everyone which towns you've visited so far, as a probationary angel?

DP:  My adventure started in Phoenix, Arizona and once my work was finished there, I moved onto
Tuktoyaktuk in the Northern Territories of Canada. The Devil's disciples were hard at work in both those places.

Me:  So, where are you living now and what are you up to?

DP:  Oh, I'm living here and there. Having some chill time at present. It's not easy being a devil slayer
at times and after my trip to Canada I needed some downtime. Which I've been kindly allowed to
have.

Me: What do you do when you're not tackling evil?

DP:  I love soccer, white water rafting, listening to rock music and reading.

Me: You say reading is an interest, any books that have had an impact on you?

DP: A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway for sure. While I was at Wingate High, I was chosen for
the lead role in an end of term performance based on the book. All I'm willing to say is that the performance uncovered a few devilish surprises. At present I'm re-reading Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost. Although, I did need a bit of persuasion to read it again. Mikey, I mean Archangel Michael told me it was a particular favourite of his and relevant to our line of work. Hey-ho, each to their own.

Me:You didn't mention the bible. Aren't you a religious guy?

DP: Of course, I am. I've enlisted in God's army, not only because I want my salvation. But, because I
believe that good must conquer evil.

Me:Who has greatly influenced you since coming to Earth?

DP:Like lots of other teenagers I need a little guidance and that's where my guardian, Sylvia Angell stepped in. She keeps me up to the mark. I can't hide anything from her.

Me:Who is your best friend?

DP:It's impossible for me to have lasting relationships with humans, because I'm a spirit. But, while on
Earth one of my closest friends, was a guy called Paul Mitchum. I miss him. I believe your readers had the chance to read part of his story previously on your blog.

Me:Yes, they did and can still do so by checking the archives. What about girls Dan?

DP: What about them?

Me: Any romance in your life?

DP: Romance kind of gets in the way of what I'm trying to achieve. But, I've had my moments, as readers will find out. Right now, I do have  a special place in my heart for another spirit. However, we need to take it, 'despacito.'

Me:Is there anything that particularly makes you angry?

DP:Nothing makes me fly into a rage. But, I do have it in my power to help people who find themselves
in what seems impossible situations. I have zero tolerance for people who want to harm others in any shape or form. Bullies for example and predators, which includes sexual who prey on the vulnerable.

Me:Are you scared of anything?

DP:Lots of things. But, having goals in my angelic life help push me on. I have two important goals, the
first one being that I will be granted my salvation and be able to call myself an angel one day. Secondly, that a page on God's data base will be found with my real name on it. My page in the, Book of Life.

Me: Hopefully, one day Dan, one day. Is there anything else you would like to say to the reader?

Dan:Yes, Christina. I would only ask that you lovely readers check out my adventures. The good news you don't have to be a teenager to become my friend. Whatever age you are, let's all become good friends.
     







Please note this work is purely fictional and names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living, or dead is entirely coincidental.

A Ball Boy or Girl?

      

     Wimbledon starts today, Scotland and the UK are crossing their fingers that Andy Murray will collect that trophy once again.

Dunblane Cathedral

   
    When he married in 2015 in the cathedral there, I went to his home city to take some photographs and wrote a post about my visit, the link you can find below.

Local public house

    Two years on, the happy couple have announced that they are expecting their second child. To celebrate, the pending arrival, I thought I would share some more photographs of the city of Dunblane with you.

The city celebrated the big day

 
     I think that the word, city, projects the image of a large town, similar to Edinburgh, New York, or Rome and if that's what you're expecting on a visit there, you may be disappointed.

River Allan

   
    However, I know that this small city and surrrounding countryside doesn't fail expectations.

    Come on Andy!




https://devilslayingamongstotherthings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/game-set-and-love-match.html

    

Play the Game

      I worked in the city of Stirling for several years and I used to love walking around the streets in my lunch-hour. Some of the streets are paved with cobble-stones which aren't particularly kind to your feet when wearing a pair of high-heels. But, the sights that surround you, are worth the blisters and pain.

    One building that I used to pass regularly was, the Boys Club, on St John Street. Previously an old butter and poultry market, the building was renovated and extended in the late 1920's. Concerns had been raised in the city about the rise in youth crime and ex-chief Scout for Scotland, Major F. M Crum, having an interest in youth welfare, founded the club.

    The Major having fought in the Second Boer War and the First World War created a youth movement for boys who were not in the Boys Brigade, or Scouts. Having founded Scout groups previously, Major Crum knew that young boys needed an interest. Somewhere they could go to meet-up with other boys,  burn off their excess steam and develop leadership skills amongst them.

    The club initially offered them a place to play billiards, bagatelle, ping-pong and draughts. With activities such as football, cricket, boxing and gymnastics being added at a later time. As Major Crum had hoped, the numbers in youth crime did decrease and by 1944 the club had 164 members.

    The Major himself was a recognised hero in the wars he served in, serving in the Mounted Infantry in the Second Boer and a sniper in the First World War. Additionally he was a hero amongst the Scottish Scout movement. He wrote both his memoirs that were initially published in pamphlet form and a book titled, Camp and Character training, published in 1927.