Category Archives: Literature

Arts, Literature

Little Free Libraries

ENCOURAGING LITERACY

IT started in Wisconsin. They have been seen in France, Germany and the Netherlands. Now they are firmly in the UK. Little Free Libraries might look like bird-boxes, some are converted telephone boxes – they come in all shape and sizes. But they are full of books, free to take away and read.

The idea is to encourage literacy and bring neighbours together.

Todd Bol began it in memory of his mother, who loved reading stories to children. She would be delighted to see the great work Little Free Libraries are doing.

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Arts, Literature, Poetry

The power of poetry on the human spirit

FINDING ANSWERS

“I READ poetry when I’m stuck,” a friend told me. “When I can’t see how to get a thing done or when life has beaten me down to a place where I can’t be bothered any more, I like to read my favourite poems, or take a chance on new ones.”

“Do you find the answers in the poems?” I asked.

“Never.” She smiled.

“Then why?”

“Because they raise my spirits, they fill me up, they remind me what is important and they restore me. Then I am able to find the answers in me. Where they were all along.”

The power of poetry. It has the ability to change anything.

. Recommended reading

‘One Moonlit Night’ by Rachel Hore is an absorbing and touching fictional tale. It is a poignant story, rich in period detail: a wonderfully moving tale of love and loss, hope and eventual reconciliation.

Recently released, the novel is a stunnig depiction of life during the war, both for the men who faced death on the battlefields and for those left behind at home. Exploring themes of betrayal, family dynamics, and the all-enduring love between those seperated by war, it’s a compelling and evocative read, brimming with hope, courage and buried secrets.

Readers will likely be lost in the poised, intelligent writing, the complex characters, the intrigue and atmosphere of an old country house in wartime Norfolk and the lovely story at its core. The author delivers a story that stirs the deepest emotions.

A wonderful read.

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Arts, Literature, Poetry

The lifeless hedgerow?

ENJOYING my usual evening walk, I paused to stand a while

And watch the baby rabbits play – their antics make me smile!

What seemed an empty hedgerow stretched along the winding lane,

But as I stood there silently I had to think again!

First came some busy buzzing bees and they were quite intent

On seeking honeysuckle flowers, drawn by their heady scent.

Then from the ivy popped a wren, a tiny perky thing,

And then landed a blackbird, too, and he began to sing

His own sweet song, full-throated, pure, as he was unaware

That I stood listening to the notes that filled the evening air.

The hawthorn swarmed with small black flies and then a ladybird

And several butterflies arrived – I smiled at how absurd

To think this hedgerow void of life; I’d been completely blind!

It teemed, it buzzed, it was alive with life of every kind!

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