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The handsome face with the special smile.

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Found in dusty antique gloom

this pretty ormolu frame, not new!

I picked you up and placed you safe,

with memories flooding mind of you…

Another face it must have held

fortune, fate, for there’s no doubt.

A loved ones face for I am sure,

the curves that made romantic feel

within my hands; dreams and whirls.

Perhaps a dear beloved wife

with pretty curls and soft sweet smile?

I turned this frame of memories old,

it felt smooth and cold but still with life.

Possible a child’s face lived there?

That someone loved long time before

beloved, remembered, for many years.

I couldn’t really leave it there,

in dusty antique gloom.

For I have a face that would look back,

that I could set beneath this glass.

A handsome face with special smile

perpetual,that would remain  awhile.

This dusty frame with pretty curves,

would then continue on its way

to make a place for another to stay?

This pretty ormolu gilt in style,

                                                found in dusty antique gloom…

Taking little steps and turning the pages of a new life is often difficult. A life that will be so different for you without the one you love. As I knew long before Hamada died, that he would not survive MM. We discussed a plan that would help sustain me through this bereaved time. Taking a little holiday as soon as I felt well enough to do so was something Hamada in his wisdom had suggested. I have always wanted to travel more, there are so many places yet to see and certainly not so many years as there once was to do this in! I would make a gentle start with a small trip as part of my healing process. We never dwelled on him dying but often mentioned little things that I remember now that were  all said to help me. Now at his six month anniversary I have achieved my first trip away and how very lovely it was too.

I selected something easy and not far away, Denia in Spain.  A place I had first visited back in 1968. When as a young woman I had stayed as a guest in a beautiful villa “Mar-Jon” close to the base of Mount Montgo, the mountain that sits as a watchful eye over this pretty seaside town.

Now of course packed to the gills with villas in every available space but still just as charming. I loved it then and always thought I would  return one day. Selecting a good hotel safe for single travellers with all the comforts of home was fun to do. Marvellous food, loads of good fish and delicious vegetables and desserts and with people my age and older, all looking for a genteel time, of course with fun and laughter but aimed at comfort and ease. It was delightful to listen to stirring new conversations and make new friends among the well travelled there. I was surprised to know that some had been returning to this part of Spain for many years, singles and couples all very happy with the clean and efficiently run hotel with its excellent bar and enjoyable evening music. An attractive place to unwind after a good dinner and a  day of walking and swimming.

Denia in Spain is still a lovely town retaining much of its authentic Spanish charm. The picturesque marina that I remembered as a small place back in the 60’s, is set beneath the pretty old Castle; it had stayed long in my memory. Now a fabulous place full of luxury yachts of opulence, marvellous paved walk-ways and wonderful cafes and tapas bars with upstairs terraces for fabulous views of the bay. I spent most of my days walking in the warm sunshine, admiring the sleek ‘sun seekers’ and the huge ‘gin palaces’ shining and pristine with gleaming chrome, their smooth lines of design resting gently upon the bright blue of the Mediterranean sea and so ready for the ocean.

I stopped each morning for marvellous Americano coffees to take in the beautiful views, then walked some more in the warmth of the Mediterranean sunshine. My shoulders  relaxed as I drunk in the beautiful vistas and for the first time in many months not – and I know this sounds so selfish – having to worry about pushing a wheelchair or almost carrying my dear Hamada. I could have walked there forever with the gentle sun warming my soul.

A weekly market in Denia was a bustling delight, reminding me in some ways of the colourful souks of the middle east I purchased from a grand selection, two rather nice sun-suits for further holidays. The sweet Spanish lady insisting I tried them on over my t-shirt!  Still she was right they fitted perfectly and would have still been cheap at twice the price. Bright and gaudy stalls covering a large area sold all manner of things and certainly worth time spent there. The level walk to the town centre along pretty streets with the red white and pink of the bougainvillea covering pretty courtyards in perfect weather was a delight.

Slowly I could feel the stress and strains of the past five years release from my body. I thought of  Hamada often, as I embraced Denia and of my new life as a single person now. Enjoying this pretty mostly unspoilt town that has retained much of  its Spanish charm with many places to stop for a cooling drink or little tapas. I enjoyed the best deep fried calamari’s (squid) I have ever tasted!

Sitting under the vine leaves of a centre cafe complete with fountain and pretty shops to view. I thought back on the struggles of  many months past, knowing that I had done my best in everyway for my precious man and that he would have been so happy for me as I embraced a new life. There will be many sad times for me of that I am sure. For indeed he was my soul-mate but I am taking little steps and turning the pages slowly of this ‘new’ life…  I am a strong woman and I have “The Power Within” to survive  -Blessings  dear friends.

It seems forever since I looked into those eyes,  yet the memory of your face is as clear as the picture below. How can six months have past without you by my side? Sleep well beloved.

I see you in my dreams and know you dream of me,  just as you always promised – from the ‘box of secrets’

Sleep well beloved…

Six Months Anniversary.

On the day of  Hamada’s Funeral my very dear Sister Sally – who is really a cousin but we call her sister because we all grew-up very closely together, and we love her so – presented me with this very beautiful framed photo of Hamada with a verse underneath. How wise she was at the time and although her so sad eyes showed her painful feelings for me and for the loss of  our dear Hamada, she knew I would take great comfort when reading this verse after everyone had left and when alone. 

During the past five months I have read this verse daily and as Sally  had rightly thought, it has brought much comfort to me and the wise words contain therein have indeed helped my heart to heal some.

As I embark on new ventures this week, with my first holiday alone since Hamada died. I feel it would be good to share these words with my other friends who read here and are also sadly bereaved.

Blessings to you all dear friends. I pray that each day will bring light and peace and many unexpected blessings, as you make your way with your love tucked safely in your heart, to continue with a different life. Here are the words that have helped me:

“You can shed tears that he has gone, or you can smile because he has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that he’ll come back, or you can open your eyes and see all that he’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him, or you can be full of  the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live for yesterday. You can remember him and only that he’s gone, or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, and be empty and turn your back, or you can do what he would want -

Smile, open your eyes , love and go on.”

I know Hamada would have wanted this – for me to smile, open my eyes, love and go on…

I seem to wait for you these days,

like longing for the sun to rise after a sleepless night.

When believing that the bright morning rays

that cast shadows across my floor,

will remove this need from my heart.

And still I wait.

I wait for you like the excited child before a birthday.

Eager and keen for the day to start

when all the surprises and fun will begin.

But you never come to bring these joys to me!

I know you can’t…I know you would… I know…

I’m still waiting for you when I look at the night sky

filled with twinkling jewels.

I look again for you as I enter the house alone.

I’m waiting to see those laughing eyes, black as coal-chips

and the smile that always took my breath away.

I’m waiting…

The tears fall as I write this and you would have been

so  mad,

mad with me for being sad – but I’m waiting to hear your

luscious voice once more.

I seem to wait a lot these days.

I know you can’t make it right.

I know you can’t…I know you would…I know…

All Rights Reserved. 2011.

Every week or so I take a little pot plant to Hamada’s grave to garnish in a small way the resting place of my beloved. I will continue this until his memorial stone is in place. We still have time to wait for that, as it is important that the ground settles and becomes flat once more. I have been thinking about appropriate words and style, what a decision this will be for me. I know my close family will help me with this when the time comes. Hamada was buried when the snow was deep on the ground and this winter was one of the harshest in living memory, so the ground until recently has been solid and unyielding. As Hamada is buried within walking distance of my home I can visit whenever I choose.  I always choose to pass by his grave on my walks. I bend and pat the ground where he lays and then as an elderly gentleman told me to do, look up at the sky for a moment or two.  This I have found is comforting to me as I listen to the noisy calls of the rooks, high up in their huge bowls of twiggy nests. The birds cannot spoil this high place of rest with it’s spring bulbs  and tranquil setting.

I think often as I walk, of the lovely words from “The Autumn of Love” by Khalil Gibran, which give me peace and today I leave here  for my friends just a small extract for your pleasure.

“The sorrow of love sings.

The sorrow of knowledge speaks.

The sorrow of desire whispers.

And the sorrow of poverty weeps.

But there exists a sorrow deeper

than love, more noble than knowledge,

stronger than desire, and more bitter

than poverty.

This sorrow has no voice, it is dumb,

but its eyes glitter like the stars.

Khalil Gibran – From Love Letters in the Sand.

I missed you, when the heated rhythm of Salsa
- that feels so like chillies when they touch
your tongue – drifted across the dance floor.         

I missed you as this enticing music reached 
my jewelled pinned ears.

Where were you? when the luscious sounds of
Sax blues caught my needy toes
so carefully encased in high dancing shoes.

Where were those slim ‘sun touched’ hands that would 
reach to twirl me to the dance floor.

Where was the graceful dancer whose gentle persuasion
could spin me like a whirlpool, making me turn
and sway to the sounds of Latin beats and bluesy tones.

Tell me, where were those magical eyes,
those sparkling rays of light,  that always laughed with me.

Where was that smile, those breathy movements on the
dance floor, those feet that could glide and coax
the dancer from my soul.                                                                                   

How my heart wants to dance with you once more,
instead of standing alone when the music calls to me.

I watched the others spin and whirl but my arms were empty,
sadness for your charms that made me feel like sixteen again.
I was never a wallflower but she has found me now.

 
Where were you… when the deliciously heated sound of Salsa
reached my ears… where were you?

@ Copyright 2009 Susie Hemingway.

"Poetry is the opening and closing of a door,
leaving those who look through to guess about
what is seen during a moment" Carl Sandburg.

Hamada’s Tree in Rhode Island

“Hamada’s  Special Ray Of Light” here in the Village.

When I first started writing my “Poems of Love”  for Hamada I was amazed at the many who also seem to enjoy them and understood my reason for keeping a diary of these difficult days. One of the very first comments I ever received was from a wonderful gentleman Lt (now Captain) Michael Morse of Providence, Rhode Island.  Michael  as an Emergency Medical Technician in Providence, works in a team of very brave men and woman all willingly risking there lives every day, to help and save the community of Providence, dealing with drug overdoses, gunshot wounds, suicides and all manner of  medical emergencies that are all in a days work for them. These are extremely brave and courageous people working continuously in often very difficult conditions.

Five years ago in the early hours of  the morning, Michael was surfing the net and came across my little blog written here in this tiny village in the UK. During a quiet moment and a lull in calls he settled down to  read some of my poems. They seem to appeal to him, he wrote  on his blog and I quote:

“Susie’s poems hit home in so many ways. Heroes are all around us, fighting life and death battles, facing the fear of uncertainty yet still able to inspire others during the darkest days of their lives. People previously unknown to me and living on another continent are fighting with amazing grace, dignity and courage” and so this started the many comments and sincere praise that he often sent my way. He pointed out that he has never been very interested in poetry but mine tugged at his heart and he found himself becoming more interested in the story behind them.

Michael is a most compassionate man – he would not be doing the job he does tirelessly every day  if this was not so. He is a wonderful writer, logging as he does the daily problems and trials and tribulations of the work he does as a EMS/Fire-fighter on his wonderful blog www.rescuingprovidence.com    Michael’s comments encouraged me to continue writing the updates and poems that made Hamada’s Blog “A Power Within” http://www.susiehemingway.blogspot.com  the success it became.

So Michael followed Hamada’s blog and online through his comments, Michael and Hamada became good friends, a connection you could say.  Michael’s  very popular book “Rescuing Providence” was sent, read and enjoyed very much by Hamada. I would pass-on all the comments Michael wrote under my poems – somehow, someway, Michael gave Hamada more courage.

Continuing another extract shown here from Michaels blog, explains well this connection:

“One night, as I sat at my desk in a little office in a  fire station in a small city in the US, I opened my window to the world known as the Internet, and moved the little mouse over something called “Verve Earth”, and randomly zig-zagged  across the map of the world, wondering where I might stop. When I was a kid I used to go to the  globe, which for those who never saw one is a three dimensional orb which replicates Planet Earth, mounted on a holder of sorts that allows the earth to spin. I’d give it a good push, and lightly place my finger on the surface as it spun, and wherever it stopped, that’s  where I decided I would go. This night, it stopped in England, “in a beautiful village nestling by the river Bain in the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds.”  There, I was introduced to Susie and Hamada, a happily married couple, living gracefully through the curse of Multiple Myeloma.  Through Susie’s poems I was allowed entry into the most astonishing love story ever written. The simple complexity of her words, full of pain but able to articulate enduring hope travelled an ocean, and opened a part of my heart that had been closed since 1990, when my father battled cancer and lost. The profound sadness I felt when I heard the news that Hamada had died literally crippled me. I never spoke to Hamada, nor heard him speak. I only knew him through the words his wife used to describe their life together, and his courage and dignity during his last few years. Yet I knew him. And I’m a better person because of it. I imagine Hamada will be laid to rest, “in this beautiful village nestling by the river Bain in the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds.”  I imagine his friends and family will join the solemn occasion, and pay their respects, and mourn his loss. But here in my little place, back in my little office, watching the world through my window the sadness I felt has been replaced, and in its place something greater and timeless resides, and I have Susie and Hamada to thank, for without them, I would not have experienced “The Power Within”

Michael of the Giant Heart read my poems and never fail to send a comment or a good wish our way and as you have read, very saddened when Hamada’s journey came to an end. Now to the special  story of  “The Tree and The Hawk”

On the day we laid Hamada to rest  in this little country village in Middle England– this freezing cold Winters day when the ground was thick with snow and ice – and many had come to pay their respects to our  beloved warrior, at  approximately the same time on the other side of the  world, a very kind  and compassionate man was taking his regular walk  and passing a large old tree near to his home he watched a huge hawk flitting above him in the branches. As he approached this tree, the hawk suddenly stayed very still and appeared to look down at him. The hawk stayed this way for sometime, causing the man beneath to feel something most spiritual.  This man was Michael who was so move by this experience he felt the need to say his own goodbyes to Hamada.

Then once again on another day as Michael walked his usual route, at the very same spot he had said  goodbye to Hamada  he looked up, and the giant hawk again landed on a branch about thirty feet above him, in this old  tree. A flock of mockingbirds descended upon him, dive bombing and pestering him, but the bird refuse to move ( much like Hamada with his courage) and just sat there, and again  they looked at each other for nearly five minutes, again the spiritual feeling.

How I love this,another connection made. Hawks remind me of the wonderful Falcons of the desert and Hamada loved to watch them when we lived in the United Arab Emirates. Yes, a hawk is most suitable for my Hamada who just  may have been paying his respects to this kind and compassionate man who befriended him  during the many months of  his courageous fight with the wretched illness that is Multiple Myeloma. Two good men making a connection through this modern world of ours. Miles apart, never having met, never having spoken, but a connection for sure.   Thanks Mike.

All Rights Reserved: 2011

“Ray of Light Photo” Courtesy of Janey Johnson Photos.

A Mocha (coffee and chocolate) Victoria Sponge Cake filled with butter cream and a fat-less Sponge Cake topped with chocolate butter cream. Ready for the Horncastle coffee morning. Raising  funds for St Margaret’s Church Hemingby.

This has been a very busy and some what exciting week! It started  when my sons Jo and Matt invited me to join them all on their summer holidays in August. They usually arrange something about this time of  year but I have not been able to join them in recent years, as leaving Hamada for a fortnight in the care of others would not have been something I would have considered. This year they had their usual grand debate about having a villa in Tuscany or the South of France.  They really love villa holidays and a large crowd all went together last year, having much fun. They are also lovers of the “All Inclusive” deals that  take all the hassle out of  arranging flights, accommodation and all the extras that go with a really good holiday. So this year we are all going to a very nice hotel near the Red Sea in Egypt. Both of my sons have been there before  and do select well from the Hotels they know. This particular Hotel has a large casino,  so I must put aside a little for that. What fun!  Also Shisha and a nice Spa which Mummy likes very much. The recent troubles in Egypt have not reached this far, having a nephew in this area he assures me that all is calm and much the same as always. Egypt relies so much on it’s tourism that they must get back to normal as soon as possible. So lets hope it stays calm and peaceful and we get to go later in the year, I can’t wait!

So having then really got the holiday bug I  booked a sneaky week away in May. Taking a page from their notebooks, doing the “all inclusive” thingy. This time a nice looking  hotel about a mile from Denia on the Costa Blanca in Spain. I’m going back to a place I first visited in 1968. Denia was only a small port village then but is now a large rambling  town. Set at the base of Mount Montgo, it has a very pretty Marina and I chose a hotel  near to the sea-front and a room with a balcony.  I shall look forward to doing a little walking  in the May sunshine and also catching-up with an old friend while I am there too.

What a hoot! Two holidays booked in one week! Get me,the lady who has hardly left her village in five years, with only one exception, a short holiday in 2008 when we managed to take Hamada to Minorca, so he could dip his toes in the Mediterranean once more.

And so my exciting week continued…when attending a local auction I bid successfully on several lots, coming home with a much battered 1920’s writing desk. Needing much restoring but won for a ‘song’.
I may leave this desk with it’s busy past alone, as it seems to tell a story showing well it’s providence and what life has done to it, much like me really!

Then with a really silly bid,  I managed to get a  lovely picture  that I fell in love with on the preview day. This picture shown below, called “Oranges and Lemons” was in a lot of two old pictures, well knocked about. I have cleaned and restored them  and one  now hangs in my sitting room the other, a sort of old Art Nouveau print is in a guest bedroom.

There was a few other little things but needless to say these also needed some restoration work, this will give me  much pleasure to attempt and with little cost  turn these bargains into something worthwhile. It was such an exciting day as  my Sister Jenny and I were also bidding for another friend and I loved watching what items sold for, what we could manage to achieve and the antics of the whole procedure. We plan to make this a regular event, it’s such fun even if you don’t spend a thing. It was warm and cosy,we had lunch and even made new friends. Our local Town of Horncastle is well known for it’s antiques shops and with many house clearances that make-up the majority of these auctions. I am planning another little foray into this unique world of  the local Auctions . Exciting it was! 

Like all the days before.

And all the days that come.

I am thinking of you.

Where are those dark eyes of my pleasure?

The warm gentle smile, our kisses.

I can hear you, I can smell you.

I have so much to tell you.

The clearest visions in my mind,

are of your beautiful hands.

Shuffling the cards or counters of “tawlah”

I miss our games! I miss so much

your calm movements, your voice,

your love…

I feel your presence but cannot find you.

The world is going crazy, do you know of that?

I wonder what you would  have said?

I know you would be proud of me.

You always were.

Everyone says I’m doing well.

Doing all you told me to do.

Perhaps I need more practice

I always needed more practice!

Remember? (smile)

I don’t need to shut my eyes to see you.

Your presence is always here.

In that place I carry around with me.

Do you know its almost three months

I’m thinking of you today

Like every day.

                                      I’m thinking of you…

All Rights Reserved.

When I was caring for Hamada my son Jo asked what would I like to do when I was able to spend some time away from home. When you are a carer well for me anyway, I seldom thought beyond the next day prescriptions, caring, or hospital appointments. We still had great occasions but going anywhere in the past few years was of course difficult. You give of yourself gracefully when you love someone deeply. Still somewhere tucked away was a wish to see the old haunts of London again.  I had worked there in the sixties and have never lost my love of  this wonderful city.It had been a long time since I have spent anytime there and you probably know the old saying   “When you are tired of London, you are tired of life” and I am certainly not tired of life! 

So last week I drove down to my son Jo’s beautiful barn in the Chilterns,  such an amazing weeks stay, right  from the moment I arrived to the lovely on-suite room on the first floor.

Jo had arranged some wonderful carefully selected treats that he knew I would just love. Starting straight away on the first night with cocktails at a very exclusive club in Beaconsfield  called “Crazy Bear” www.crazybeargroup.co.uk  The stunning elaborate decor was something else! take a look at the link.  I spent the whole time admiring the setting and the beautiful young people that adorned this trendy place. I selected the  pretty coral pink cocktail “Singapore Sling” the base being Bombay Sapphire Gin which is a firm favourite of mine. It was absolutely delicious!  From Crazy Bear we went on to a rather cool Moroccan restaurant “Ayoush” www.ayoush.com  we had a Mezza starter and  then a delicious chicken and spinach dish which was supremely buttery, something I will try to recreate at home. Then a Lamb Tagine which is so typically Moroccan and with the Arabic music playing, it really set the scene, I felt as if I had already had a little holiday in some foreign clime.

The weekend brought the best surprises with a real reason to dress-up!  Jo drove early to London the first stop being  the exciting, simply amazing Vertigo42 ! www.vertigo42.co.uk  this cool champagne bar overlooking almost the whole of London. We sat on high stools in front of sheer plate glass, going through security and then whizzing –up in the fastest lift possible I was beyond excited.  This magical vision which delighted me as I quickly spotted,  St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, The Millennium Wheel, City Bank in Canary Wharf and all those sparkling lights of old London Town. The shining curves of the River Thames slithering like a snake between the old and the new buildings of this wonderful capital. Even looking down! on the aptly named Gherkin which shadowed below us made my heart beat faster. What a thrill, I could have stayed there forever watching and looking at the amazing history of this sensational  twinkling  city-view, from what seemed like the middle of the sky.

Next stop was a treat beyond compare and a place that I had long to visit again, having gone there for afternoon tea in the late 60’s when as a young girl I was working in London. Yes you’ve probably guessed “The Ritz”  This beautiful old hotel which dates back to 1906 and opened by Swiss hotelier Caesar Ritz. The building is neo classical in the Louis XVI manner, built to resemble a stylish Parisian block of flats. It was the first substantial steel-frame structure in London.  Elegant beyond compare with service of  exceptional perfection. From the moment the door of Jo’s car was opened for me and the doorman taking the car for parking, to the warm welcome and  perfect attention to the visitors needs and just ultimate luxury throughout. With its faded pinks and gold ornate ceilings and priceless crystal chandeliers, it is a delightful place to visit. We had cocktails at the art deco Rivoli Bar which was divine and with a perfect “Iceberg” I drank  this beautiful azure blue drink in these quite perfect surroundings as my eyes feasted on the splendid soft lighting and perfect elegance of this stunning hotel. I thought later as I tip-toed down the pink faded carpet to the Ladies Power Room, just who had walked those stairs before. Edward VII,Charlie Chaplin, Sir Winston Churchill, Noel Coward for sure, Judy Garland,Evelyn Waugh,Elizabeth Taylor. Oh! such names to conjure with.

The Rivoli Bar, built in the Art Deco style, was designed in 2001 by interior designer Tessa Kennedy, to look like a bar on the Orient Express.It certainly looked like that and so much more. It is wonderful to know that these elegant places still survive in this sometimes harsh world of ours. Stunning and spectacular!

We are not really supposed to take photos but I will insert these two that were taken by mobile phone – so does that count I wonder?

                                                 “Putting On The Ritz”

Jo is a perfect host, looking after me so well during my five day”special treat” stay, he has inherited many of his Fathers elegant and stylish ways. I am supremely proud of him, how clever his wonderful distraction therapy has been at this time.

Thank you Jo. Mummy will return to her quiet little village content and thrilled at this fabulous treat and my memories of this delicious time will stay for always.

Moving on now with days  becoming more cheery and loads of Spring shoots appearing in the garden which always brighten your spirits. It goes without saying that of course  I am still missing my special man very much, but there has been much excitement in the “Hemingway home” to keep me distracted. I have so much to be grateful for.  Jo and his new lady arrived for a really nice weekend together with Ellie (my niece ) and Stu, with all of us having a jolly time at  the village pub over a  good meal. The house seemed brighter and it was lovely to have their company.

Firstly something to cheer and  finishing last week, a new vamped kitchen! Bringing everything more up-to-date with wonderful work achieved by dear brother-in-law Ian. Keeping the cost down by using the little bit out-of date but still good condition, existing cabinets. I added two extra high level cookers and two new hobs. All the cabinets and power had to be redone with new under-shelf lighting and a microwave was added into a concealed cabinet to make it more streamline and modern. It was no easy task as rearranging an older kitchen is always so much harder than starting from scratch. It was long overdue but not being able to have the disruption while Hamada was poorly I am now thrilled with the result. Thank you Ian, for putting up with all my requests and for the perfect work achieved.

Also, as shown in top photo, I wanted you to see the wonderful work my sister Jenny did re-upholstering a chair that I’ve had since 1967 ! This chair with the most unusual shape being very wide at the back, was brought for me by a dear Aunt who is no longer with us and so the chair was much treasured. It was very shabby having been used all these years for everything from a nursing chair to an extra dining chair, and many more uses besides. I can see my babies sitting in this chair at various stages of their lives and so pleased that it could be saved with Jenny’s skill.

Jenny took this old chair  stripping it right down to the  solid oak frame, re-varnishing the woodwork, replacing stuffing, webbing and even piping and covering silk buttons, completing with this very beautiful but rather impracticable silk  material. This was chosen by yours truly, a pattern I just fell in love with. I am so very thrilled with the result and the beautiful work that Jenny has done, it fits my eclectic/mishmash taste so well. Thank you Jenny for your skill  and for saving this much loved chair. I wonder what dear Auntie Dot would have thought of it now?  At 44 years old I think it looks splendid, what do you think readers ?

The disaster that is now our beautiful Egypt! I am pleased Hamada did not live to see this terrible fighting and bloodshed for he would have been so sad. Stay safe dear family and good friends. I know that you read here and some of you have internet restored again now. Stay strong and positive. I am thinking of you and praying that peace will come really soon.  Below is the re-posting  of my poem “Cairo” The beautiful Cairo we all knew and loved.  May it return to us once more.

“Cairo”

Oh Cairo of the sepia light,
empurple in the late of night,
the sparkling rays on marble stones
the quickest steps and gleaming domes.
The narrow streets and alleyways,
the different smells, the different ways.
The hookah pipes, the mint tea trays,
Oh Cairo and your faded ways

The empyrean of mosaic mosques,
the many souks and little shops.
The hot and dusty lives we lived,
the little child with flower to give.
Street cafes where every day
we sat and watched in wondrous gaze.
Oh Cairo, I remember all those days.

The perfume shop, where we paid
to smell like Chloe, in a way!
The special time, with special friends,
we thought that it would never end.
Halcyon days spent with you
enticing splendour of garnet hue.
Twinkling stars in darkest night,
Oh Cairo of the sepia light.

The dark robed men,
with beads and dice,
delicious honey with special spice,
the bright and silky lengths of cloth
tahina, lentils in a pot.
Can you recall this magic place ? 
                               for I can see your handsome face.
                                                                    Oh Cairo of the sepia light.

@ Copyright 2006