Let's talk about it ...

I’ve been scribbling this weekend, some people would say writing but I think that sounds rather grand for what I have been doing. Nothing too serious – I’ve been having some fun working on a ‘tall tale’ for a contest next week at our local speakers’ club dinner. I’ve never entered a tall tale contest before, so this will be a chance to step outside my comfort zone, to take another opportunity to develop my public speaking skills … gosh it all seemed such a good idea when I volunteered all those weeks ago!

The speakers club is part of Toastmasters International (http://www.toastmasters.org) a great organisation for developing communication and leadership skills. Membership is available to everyone. There are some great people who attend meetings and deliver some great speeches too. (Okay, so it may take a few visits to get to that stage of the training programme but it does happen, honest!) It never ceases to amaze me the range of subjects covered at a club meeting. I’ve learned a lot since I’ve joined about public speaking and many other subjects too. I’ve made some good friends. Public speaking - it’s not as scary as you might think and you’re always guaranteed a laugh or two. ‘How could speaking in front of an audience be funny?’, you may ask, I invite you to come and find out.

Well I’m off to scribble the finishing touches on my ‘tall tale’ entry – wish me luck!

Yellow Gorse

Yellow gorse
Sweet heavy perfume
Blowing in the breeze.
Horses grazing
Contentedly.
Inquisitive wagtails peck
And wander
On the one way track
Where I await
The return
Of the photographer,
To this restful
Soul space.

(Written on the road to Tobermory, Mull, Scotland. April 2009)

When the light is right

Sometimes when waiting for the perfect shot, one has the opportunity to be a little creative with words. I took the opportunity to scribble when my man went in search of the perfect sunset shot on holiday on the Isle of Mull, Scotland.

Photographer
Camera, lens, tripod,
For action
When the light is right

Landscaping,
An ancient mound
Ben More
When the light is right

Perspective,
Whitewashed houses
Nestled below
When the light is right

Loch Don
Ripples, reflections,
Musical birdsong
When the light is right

Sunset
The Ben exposed,
Camera shoots
The light is right.

The wheels on the bus go round and round …

We followed the big red bus today – The No 12 to Westminster Abbey. Nothing unusual about that you may say but instead of the advertised route - Oxford Circus, Whitehall and Westminster – the bus was nowhere near London, the city that hosts hundreds of big red buses. A peculiarity of said buses (I am told) is that none appear for ages and then several appear all at the same time. Perhaps, it’s a trick of magic gifted to big cities with lots of commotion and traffic. Today, the big red route master double decker bus was winding its way along the shores of Loch Lomond – in Scotland! I know I wasn’t the only one surprised to see it manoeuvre its way through the winding and slowing traffic system of small country roads with low hanging branches on nearby trees. But there it was a big, bold, pillar box red bus! It raised an occasional surprised smile from bemused car travellers and frequent van drivers too. I wondered … what it would be like to get on a bus marked Westminster Abbey and end up somewhere else completely different? How often have you travelled to somewhere other than your intended destination? I’m curious, what was that like? Who did you meet? What did you see?

‘… A host of golden daffodils’

My Easter break started in glorious colour – hundreds and hundreds of golden daffodils! Welcome to Glasgow. Miles of daffodils lined the welcoming route to the city. Mr Wordsworth, eat your heart out, Glasgow certainly did you proud, ‘a host of golden daffodils’. Now if that is a simple gesture of Scotland’s Homecoming year, it will be an amazing year. It’s been a few years since I’ve been to Glasgow, a great city and I truly felt welcomed back. It must have taken ages planting all those daffodils bulbs. Perhaps there were a few grumps and groans whilst doing so … I would like to say to whoever made the effort, thank you. I loved it! I was most impressed. What really impressed you today? Was it an unexpected surprise like the daffodils?

Making a difference

Today I'd like to share this lovely story ... I'm not sure of the author's name ... and a couple of questions to ponder - Who makes a difference for you? Who do you make a difference for?

One day a man was walking along the seashore.He noticed that during the night many seashells and starfish had washed up on the shore.Thoroughly enjoying the morning sun and cool sea air, the man strolled for miles along the sand.Far off in the distance, he saw a small figure dancing.The man was joyous that someone was celebrating life in such a grand and uninhibited manner.As he drew closer, however ... it became apparent that perhaps the figure was not dancing but was repeatedly performing some ritual.. Approaching the small figure, the man noticed that it was a child.The girl was methodically picking up starfish from the shore and tossing them back into the surf.The man paused for a moment, puzzled, then asked ..."Why are you throwing those starfish?""If I leave these starfish on the beach," she replied, "the sun will dry them, and they will die.So I'm throwing them back into the ocean because I want them to live."The man was silent for a moment, impressed with the child's thoughtfulness.Then he motioned up and down the miles and miles of beach and said,"There must be millions of starfish along here!How can you possibly expect to make a difference?"The young girl pondered the man's words for a moment,then she slowly leaned over, reached down, and carefully picked up another starfish from the sand. Pulling back, she arched the starfish gently into the surf.She turned to the man and smiled. "You may be right," she said ..."But I Made A Difference For That One!" -Author Unknown-

Sky blue thinking …

Monday morning thoughts
Whatever comes …?
No serious thoughts
No well constructed sentences
No deep and meaningful prose
Just write
And see what happens.
Then what?
It doesn’t really matter.
Sometimes it’s good
To let the mind wander
Run free and float
Like a cumulus cloud
To wherever.
Sometimes the thinking is hard
Too painful
So
It’s good to let go every now and then
Whatever comes
Will come
And
Inevitably
Go again too.