R's rue

I have blogged about "Singing Together" and "Rhythm and Melody" before. It was a nationwide music education  project delivered via the good old BBC. In primary school classrooms up and down the land, children gathered to sing along to the radio. I still remember many of those songs and  one I have been thinking about recently is "The Minstrel Boy". It was written in the early years of the nineteenth century by an Irish songwriter called Thomas Moore. It was first published in 1813 - featuring in Moore's "Irish Melodies" project. The roots of this song are probably much older. It is a wistful and evocative song that speaks of  war, of bravery and of loss. It is a plea for liberty as much as anything and it comes as no surprise to learn that Moore visited America's southern states in 1806. In dreams I may sometimes see myself as that minstrel boy with my wild harp slung behind me.The song has been with me since 1963. Please listen:- T...

 When I was a ward manager I used to keep a notebook in my office.  In it I used to record stories gathered by staff and indeed patients about embarrassing things that ever happened to them.    Nurses excel at telling such stories and I had some crackers written down in that book, a book that was lost after several house moves and changes in employment. One of the best stories was shared by a friend called Ruth who moved from Spinal Injuries into Prison nursing in order to have a break from the stressors of working in the acute sector. This move always baffled me given the environment , so I wasn’t surprised when Ruth returned to nhs work a year or so after leaving. She told me this story of one of her last days at Doncaster Prison. As a nurse, it was expected for her to be able to frisk a prisoner if she thought the need was there and it a fit of bravado one day, and in front of several prison officers she frisked a prisoner who was acting suspiciously in on...

 Sunday morning Smile sunshine It’s a blessing  To be alive from R's rue https://ift.tt/5JsVtplaU