R's rue

Did you know this? Of all the many books published in the nineteenth century, the biggest bestseller after "The Bible" was "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, it sold well in America and even better over here in Great Britain. I don't think our literate ancestors read it because it housed an entertaining story but rather because it removed the veil that had previously kept hard truths about slavery shrouded in mystery. It took me far too long to read it but towards the end I cantered along and finished the book in the early hours of New Year's Eve. I am so glad  that I took up the personal challenge of reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin". It was revelatory - not just in terms of shining a spotlight on some of the horrors of slavery in America's Deep South but also in the way it observes religious belief and the social mores of the mid-nineteenth century. STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION from Yorkshire Pudding https:...

 In darkness you can hide and get lost and be invisible and be intimate. You can be yourself without the glare of eyes, of judgements, of shame or of ridicule. You can sit back in a darkened cinema and loose yourself. You can disappear too and never be seen Thirty years ago I danced with some friends on the top of a multi-storey hospital at night A backdrop of lights worthy of Manhattan in South Yorkshire. I’ve remembered it before.  Without a care,  without self consciousness  Joyous silliness, dancing shadows against the skyline Three years ago in choir. A hard song made easy by sudden darkness. No awkward glances at each other, no worries about harmonies Voices that lifted the beams of the village hall  Worthy of anything seen on stage Forty years of monthly night shifts, all possessing a different pace to days Some bad, most ok. Occasional sleepless nights of worry where the dark drags too long and too silently A few family bedside vigi...

 Lord I come today To declare  I am Yours In every way from R's rue https://ift.tt/3zibODS

 I slept from 9 until 1.  Then a combination of bright sunshine through a chink in the curtains and bulldog restlessness woke me up, forcing me to take the dogs into the garden. I spoke to Heulwen and Derek , Wendy and Mr B  all enjoying the sun in the Lane  I could tell Mr B was reading the words on my T shirt. It was a Christmas gift from my nephew  The Queen’s New Year honours list was out last night.with Chris Whitty,Dame Jenny Harris, Joanna Lumley, Daniel Craig  Film director Paul Greengrass, Vanessa Redgrave and bloody Tony Blair amongst the recipients.  For those who scoured the list of awardees, you may of overlooked one name Tim Walkden Williams who as it turns out is my brother in law. He is now an M.B.E !  How good is that ?  Back to bed xx from Going Gently https://ift.tt/3HoN67S