R's rue

Agua

Taking a stroll

Down the mountain pass

Seeking the birds flying

High above

In majestic formation

In the heights

Worry melts

And peace

Is as readily available

As the living water

He has

For his beloveds

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I watched the 58th Superbowl last night - between San Francisco 49ers and the eventual winners - Kansas City Chiefs. This meant I was very late to bed and it's undoubtedly the reason why I missed my early appointment for an anti-shingles injection. Drat! But never mind, I phoned the health centre to apologise and they re-booked me at eleven forty.

Afterwards, I went round the corner to visit Frances and Baby Margot. Shirley was there too and helping to sort through a mountain of baby clothes which Frances plans to sell on. She was taking pictures of the various items to display online.

I cuddled Little Miss Peaceful for a while and sung her "Scarborough Fair" as well as the evolving "Margot Song". She rewarded me with some heavenly smiles as she surveyed my face with her sparkling Pacific blue eyes.

Yesterday I made the Sunday dinner again - roasted loin pork with all the trimmings. This time I tried something different with the cauliflower cheese. Taking florets from a large cauliflower I then tossed them in olive oil, seasoning and grated parmesan before roasting for twenty minutes. They browned a little.

My cheese sauce included a little English mustard powder, grated nutmeg, half a spoonful of "Marmite" and a big handful of grated "extra strong" Cheddar cheese. When the sauce was done, I poured it over the roasted florets and returned my roasting dish to the oven for twenty five minutes. We were all pleased with end result and I will certainly be following that method again.

Today, I note with bitter dismay how Netanyahou has given the go-ahead for further wanton destruction in Gaza. This time, the Israeli army is focusing on the beleaguered town of Rafah to the south of "the strip". It's a town that is filled to the brim with internally displaced and desperate refugees.

Netanyahou disguises his brutal punishment of Gazans by claiming they have to keep rooting out and killing members and supporters of Hamas. Simply speaking, as The Gaza Strip is such a small piece of land, it is unavoidable that Hamas members and supporters will be present in every surviving neighbourhood but why should that involve such a cruel orgy of collateral damage? 27,000 inhabitants of Gaza have now been killed with a large proportion of them being children and women.

It beggars belief. It really does. The Palestinians of Gaza are sealed in a trap from which there is no escape. Where are they supposed to run to now? Netanyahou does not appear to give a damn. And of course Hamas can never be destroyed because it is an idea more than it is a thing.

Back in my little world in Sheffield, far away from Kansas City and The Gaza Strip, the sun is shining and I am just popping into the kitchen to make a small excuse for a lunch - a wedge of Shirley's surviving homemade Christmas cake with a chunk of Cheddar cheese and a mug of coffee.

Rafah today

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Love

When the words

Don’t come

Let my heart

Be the compass

To the thoughts

I cannot speak

Lead me to the place

Where Your love

Is all I find

As I seek forgiveness

And acceptance

In the Hands

That formed

What I see

In the torrent of rain

Reawaken my soul

To the joy

That comes

When I’m

Wholly reliant

On Your Power

To allow me

Peace

To see life

As it is

Even if

I struggle

To grapple

With its goodness

Search me

Find me willing

To love others

Even when

I question

The benefit

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Sink

Sink into the arms

That won’t let

Me sink

But float

Until

I’m ready

To swim

And face

The sharks

Racing the tides

And undercurrents

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Pictures

Many is the time I have driven along the B6001 between the villages of Calver and Hassop. Almost every time, I have glanced across fields to the right to see a scenic barn and thought, "I need to photograph that!"

Unfortunately, along that road there is nowhere to park up for a while so I had another thought. Perhaps I could leave Clint in the nearby village of Rowland and then walk along an old lead miners' track upon the ridge and through the woodland behind the barn.

This plan came to fruition on Wednesday morning as these two barn pictures show. It is off the beaten track and not by an official public right away so I guess that very few photos if any have ever been taken of this particular barn. You can see the original roof has caved in but at the north end of it the farmer has done a partial re-roofing with steel sheets.

Below, above the village of Rowland, I spotted a flying saucer landing pad. Actually, it's the top cover of a small reservoir that serves that local community.

Today - Saturday - I drove over to Hull once again. My team were playing Swansea City.

I set off early again in order to bag some more Geograph squares. The image below was taken at the entrance of the now disused Westlands plant nurseries near the village of Ellerker in East Yorkshire.

The next picture was taken on Norfolk Bank Lane - a single roadway with passing places.. In the distance you can see The Yorkshire Wolds rising above the flat farmland.

Finally, I snapped this picture at remote Sand Bridge looking along Ellerker Drain. The road to the right leads nowhere and is used almost exclusively by farmers with jobs to do upon the land.

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Tribute

Sarah Miller of Both Sides Now.

A ten minute walk from our house you reach The Greystones public house. It has a concert room at the rear called, quite imaginatively, "The Backroom". It holds about 250 and though it doesn't host world famous arena acts, it is a popular venue for what I might call moderately successful mid-range bands and singers. On more than one occasion it has been voted Britain's best small venue for music.

Tonight more by default than design, I was there to witness a concert by a tribute band called "Both Sides Now". The name gives it away for they honour the music and lyricism of Joni Mitchell. They are not trying to be imitators. Those who pay tribute do not have to copy.

The Backroom was packed and my friend Mike had got there long before me. I arrived at 8pm just before the band came on the stage. In the first half I sat on a stool in the aisle but in the second half I managed to sit on the front row for I had earlier spotted an empty space there.

Both Sides Now consists of four skilled musicians - drums, bass, lead guitar and keyboards but the voice of the band comes from Sarah Miller who looks more like Bonnie Tyler than Joni Mitchell.

In my judgement, there were some issues with sound balance - with the guitars threatening to smother Sarah Miller's voice but the second half was better in that regard. It is fifty years since the album, "Court and Spark" was released and several numbers on the playlist came from that album.

My favourite Joni Mitchell album will always be "Blue" and thankfully the band covered "A Case of You", "Carey", "River" and "California" but the song I enjoyed most was in fact "Both Sides Now". Sarah Miller sang it with only keyboard accompaniment and though I am sure she has sung it many times before, it was fresh and heartfelt finishing to loud applause from the audience. It's a great song and it was good to hear an original interpretation of it. The video below is quite faithful.

I am glad I went. My ticket became available because Mike's wife Jill has been ill this week. If you're reading this Mike - thanks a lot!

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Carbohydrates

Coiffed

And cute

The chocolate melts

As the tongue

Takes in

The delicious

Buttery and flaky

French pastry

Taking a mental holiday

Relishing the joy

That can be found

In carbohydrates

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