It is Saturday and time for Stream of Consciousness Saturday. LindaGHill said :Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “to your left.” When you sit down to write your post, look to your left. What is the thing closest to you? Write about the memories that thing induces. Enjoy!
To my left is my hubby! What can I say, there are so many memories. I have known him 54 years through thick and thin we will of been married 50yrs this August. So how did we meet?
l was thirteen and my friend Anne was fourteen and she’d heard of youth club in Ealing. One evening I met this very handsome guy with blond hair and brown eyes. The rest as they say is history. We went from strength ups and downs but we are still standing!
Hi it’s Saturday and time for LindaGHill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday. #SoCs. This week Linda said :“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “may.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!“
The May Day Possession.
May Day, I am carrying Dad’s Lilley of the Valley, a huge bunch. They smell absolutely beautiful. The sky is so blue and there are puffy little clouds floating around.
I am wearing my summer school uniform, so I am still in the junior part of the school. A powder blue pleated dress, a wide yolk at the front topped with a white collar. At the waste a belt that joins buttons at front. My blonde hair is in neat plaits, but as usual the unruly whisps are escaping around my face….that will get me scolded by the nuns. On top of my head is my straw Panama hat with the school badge. I have fresh white knee length socks and my sensible brown sandals.
I walk the two miles to school so proud of Dad’s flowers. Sister Margarite is waiting at the gate, she tells me off because my socks are not quite up to my knees and my unruly hair. I was never in her good books…she always had something to scold me for.
Today though I did not let her upset me, it was the first school Monday in May and time for the May day possession. The statue of Our Lady, Queen of the May was to be carried from the gate at the junior’s part of the school around the roads to the front of the senior school and through to the front lawn outside the main convent house.
I was always so proud because Dad’s flowers were used to decorate the statue’s head with a crown of Lilly of the Valley. The statue was carried on a plinth by four girls, and we all processed, some infront of the Virgin Queen of the May and the rest behind scattering petals on to the road and singing hymns to the Virgin Mary. How ever hard I tried to be good, try as I may, I was never picked to be a barer of the statue.
It’s time again for #SoCs and our host LindaGHill said: “Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “oop.” Find a word with the “oop” sound in it and use it in your post. Enjoy!”
Oops I’ve done it again!
So what can I say I seen to bumble through life making the same mistakes over and over, forever jumping through hoops. It’s like an never ending loop, I troop on trying to cope.
I just think I am doing well when I make another bloop and in all my troubles swoop. As ever I end up in the dog poop. So it’s farewell from me the nincompoop.
Well that’s enough of me … Here is an Acrostic Poem to finish off!
Acrostic Oops.
Oops life takes an odd turn Only I repeat all my mistakes. Plainly I watch my plans burn. Swinging on the hoopla that life takes.
Its Saturday again and time for Stream of Consciousness Saturday! This week LindaGhill, our lovely host has said. “Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “mash.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!“
Smash is a brand of Instant mashed potatoes in the United Kingdom. It was launched in the United Kingdom in the 1960s by Cadbury, which was primarily a manufacturer of confectionery at the time. Smash was reasonably successful.
However, it was not until 1974 that Smash became popular in the convenience food market after Cadbury launched an advertising campaign by agency Boase Massimi Pollitt featuring the Smash Martians, who would watch humans preparing mashed potato the traditional way on television instead of using potato granules, and laugh at them.
The adverts of 1970s and their catchphrase, ‘For Mash get Smash’, were voted television advert of the century by Campaign Magazine, and second-best television advert of all time in a poll of April 2000 conducted by The Sunday Times and Channel 4, beaten by Guinness‘ Surfer advertisement from 1999.
The brand has since been sold by Cadbury and is now owned by Premier Foods who, using their Batchelors brand, launched a ‘healthier recipe’ version in 2006. More information here.
You can buy it still and lots of people love it! Personally I can’t stand it ….it has to be real potato for me especially Mash!
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Then there is the song and dance from Dee Dee Sharp.
“Mashed Potato Time” is a single written and composed by Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe, and performed by Dee Dee Sharp on her debut album It’s Mashed Potato Time. The song refers to the Mashed Potato dance move which was a fad at the time. It was one of several that came out at that time, for example, “(Do the) Mashed Potatoes” in 1960. The Marvelettes song “Please Mr. Postman” is mentioned in the lyrics and is copied in the arrangement. Also mentioned in the lyrics, are the songs “Lion Sleeps Tonight” by the Tokens, and “Dear Lady Twist”, by Gary US Bonds. Dee Dee Sharp did a follow up sequel to “Mashed Potato Time”, with “Gravy” (On the Mashed Potato). In 1996 the Campbell Soup Company used the song in a $30 million advertising campaign, and commissioned a new, more upbeat recording from Dee Dee Sharp.
Well now we need to bring in a video clip to bring together, the Smash / Mash the food, and the Smash hit and dance Mash potato time.. a MASH UP shall we say?
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “start with who/whom” Begin your post with either “who” or “whom” and go from there. Have fun!
Who do I think of when I think back to my pre-teen days when all my brothers and sisters where all alive and at home. Who was who back then, Teresa Mary, Mary Anne, Frances Jane, Anthony Conrad, John Patrick and me , there had been three more but I never knew them and of course there was Mum and Dad.
Music played a huge part in my young life, in all our lives but I was the youngest and the one who soaked up the magic.
Mum loved the big musicals of the time, Carousel , Paint your Wagons, South Pacific. Now Dad he loved the classics, Maria Calis was exactly who my Dad really liked .. I learned to a appreciate Mum and Dad’s music at a young age.
Teresa loved Pat Boone, Frances loved Elvis and Cliff, Mary…well I can’t remember who Mary really liked back then but in later years she was into big shows and jazz. My brother Tony was heavily in to Johnny Mathis for whom I have a great liking still. Then there was John Patrick who was absolutely besotted with Buddy Holly and Adam Faith both of whom I also like.
So how can I finish this post? Well I am going to say that there is one of the afore mentioned artists of whom I am very much enamoured and that is Adam Faith! My favourite song of his is …wait for it…WHO AM I and here it is .💜
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “starts with cal.” Use a word starting with the letters “cal” as your prompt word. Have fun!
Caledonia.
Caledonia was the Latin name used by the Roman empire to refer to the part of Great Britain that lies north of the River Forth, which includes most of the land area of Scotland. Today, it is used as a romantic or poetic name for all of Scotland. Wikipedia.
The Romans built Hadrian’s Wall. It’s still standing… The Caledonians are a fearsome race, they scared the Romans and later the rest of the UK and the world.
This post is really me being lazy because I am finding it too hard to post at all at the moment. I am hoping I can get back into the swing of things soon.
Linda said that this week is an anniversary–the start of lockdowns and the acceptance of the Pandemic–for most people around the world. She’d like to suggest something different for this week’s SoCS. We don’t have to do it. You can just choose one of the prompt words and run with it as you always do. Linda said she might do that herself. But it might be interesting to see not just how everyone has coped, or not, over the last year, but to share our common experiences as a way to connect, to feel a little less alone, perhaps. Basically, talk about our last year whether stream-of-consciousness style or not. Or, if we’d rather not, talk about any time period your heart desires. Without further ado!
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “day/week/month/year.” Use one, use them all, use them any way you’d like. Enjoy!
I used songs and videos a lots to describe this past pandemic year. They helped me cope and take it all in. The first one to strike me was Andrà Tutti Bene by Cristóvam. It seemed to say it all, the fear, the stress and separation.
The first I heard of this new illness was late November, news coming out of China of fast spreading virus that was killing people in far off Woohan. In late January I wrote my poem The Plague you can read it here I posted it February. So March came around and it was beginning to bite shortages in shops especially toilet rolls yes really toilet rolls. What was so frightening was we kept seeing the news from Europe, especially Italy and Spain.
image Pixabay.
We had a Carribbean holiday booked for March, that was cancelled the day before we went due to covid. In a way I was relieved. Then the Lockdowns started.
It was confusing.
Life then became groundhog Day! At first hubby did all the shopping because he wanted to protect me he bravely carried on doing that until November when we decided to get all our shopping delivered, we still have our shopping delivered.
We’d walk Ruby twice a day we would drive to woodland twice a day and she’d have a lovely walk. We drove 4miles to the woods because they were deserted unlike the park near us which was and still is full of people, on bikes, runners and people who didn’t seem to care about social distancing.
Hubby’s mother fell ill in April , it was covid on the brain, she was taken into hospital. May the first was her 100th birthday hubby was invited into the covid ward so he could celebrate her birthday with her.
Empty corridors, closed wards, wonderful staff and Mother in law confused but doing well. Sadly hubby’s brother and his family caused so much grief for my hubby, refusing to let him in his mother’s house to get clothes for her, his brother was staying there. He refused hubby entry threatening him with the police, his daughter even threatened to kill my husband! They said he had been on a covid ward and could not go near them! …he didn’t want to we had to social distancing.
Well it all got worse. Then hubby’s mum was allowed home, hubby was banned from going over to see her. Sadly she went down hill again and went back into hospital. She died of Covid on the 3rd/4 th June. Then I fell ill. You can read about that here if you wish.
Hubby’s brother and sister let hubby do the whole probate and will and sell his mother’s house with even more threats and nastiness. Thankfully now we never need to speak to them again.
The months went by in a blurr I got used to my Cholosectomy drain and bag it was with me until the end of November when I had my gall bladder and the offending stones taken out.
We walked Ruby, we clapped the NHS every Thursday until we were told to stop. …
We are all very thankful to the NHS and all our frontline workers and first responders , that is not reflected in government’s latest “payrise” to them.
Below the window posters I made.
Then we had Captain Tom Moore. He walked up and down his garden to raise money for the NHS at the age of 99yrs, he died this year at just over 100yrs Tom’s Story Here.
Our Grandchildren have grown up a whole years worth and apart from a few 15 to 30 minute socially distanced visits where they stood on their doorstep and we on the pavement we have lost that year.
above photos sent to us of our grandchildren..
Our boys too have had it hard, our eldest has had to work from home the entire time and has missed his social life and office life dreadfully. He has lost weight, and got very depressed at times . We keep in touch by video and phone.
Our middle son was furloughed and had to take a massive paycut on return to work. Also he caught Covid after returning to work. He was very ill with it over Christmas, he was had the paramedics out twice,was in hospital over night and we could not visit him . We took food round to him Christmas day and waved through the window to him. Christmas was hard this last year. We saw no one in person .. thank goodness for zoom, what’sapp and Skype.
Our youngest son also has had a year of working from home, he has a wife and two children so he is in a better position company wise than the other two boys who live on their own. The children have found it hard in the lockdowns especially the eldest one who misses his school friends. Again, no Christmas no birthday parties it’s so hard on the children. They are back at school now. The younger one was at nursery most of the time as nurserys did not close this lockdown?
Our daughter in law and son have done a sterling job of homeschooling this year. In January our son had an office lodge built in his garden so he can work in peace.
I am not going to mention all the terrible and stupid, selfish and not playing by the rules that some of our government have committed over this past year…it’s taken me long enough to write this and I have written but SoCs so forgive typos, and timeline blips!
So a year later here we are hopefully coming out of lockdown number three. We have lost a lot but in a way we have gained so much. I just hope that there is not another surge of covid. I hope everyone behaves or we will be back into Lockdown number four.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “-sty.” Find a word that ends in “-sty” or use the word “sty.” Enjoy!
Honesty is a commodity that is very often in short supply these days. On a large scale our leaders an politicians very often just play fast and loose with it, interested in their own ends. None of them have the decency or honesty to admit the mistakes they make.
We are often very tight on honesty with ourselves and others. Yet there are always those who’s honesty shines like a becon. They are like lighthouses guiding us through stormy waters.
I shall be honest now, I am not the best person I could be, not the best wife, mum, grandma, friend, sister but I try I know my faults. Let me guide you to a wonderful soul Sue Vincent. A beautiful person full of love and honesty.
