Friday Poetry: T. S. Eliot

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has some good plans for the weekend.

My chosen poem for the week is from an old favourite. Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats is probably my all time favourite book of poetry, so I have chosen to share The Naming of Cats.

The Naming of Cats

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter, 
It isn't just one of your games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES. 
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily, 
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey - 
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter, 
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter - 
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum - 
Names that never belong to more than one cat. 
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover -
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation, 
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is enraged in rapt contemplation
Of the moment, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

T. S. Eliot

Happy Reading

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First Lines Friday: 28/05/2021

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Hello!

I haven’t done one of these for ages so I thought it was high time I took part again.

So here are the opening lines of the book. Remember the answer is below the cats.

No mortal alive had ever seen a Spindle.
Echoes of them lingered, in places remembered or forgotten, in people touched by magic, in creatures descendant of other realms. But no Spindle had burned in an age. The last of them was a thousand years gone. The passages closed, the gates locked. The age of crossing ended.
Get guessing!

Have you guessed the answer?

And the answer is???

A strange darkness grows in Allward.

Even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it, tucked away in her small town at the edge of the sea.

She soon discovers the truth: She is the last of an ancient lineage—and the last hope to save the world from destruction. But she won’t be alone. Even as darkness falls, she is joined by a band of unlikely companions:

A squire, forced to choose between home and honor.
An immortal, avenging a broken promise.
An assassin, exiled and bloodthirsty.
An ancient sorceress, whose riddles hide an eerie foresight.
A forger with a secret past.
A bounty hunter with a score to settle.

Together they stand against a vicious opponent, invincible and determined to burn all kingdoms to ash, and an army unlike anything the realm has ever witnessed.

Please drop me a comment with your First Lines Friday and will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading.

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

First Line Friday: 23/04/2021

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has had a good week so far. I thought I would join in with First Line Friday this week as I do enjoy guessing other people’s First Line Fridays. As usual the answer is below the cats!

I believe that a well-known anecdote exists to the effect that a young writer, determined to make the commencement of his story forcible and original enough to catch and rivet the attention of the most blase of editors, penned the following sentence:
‘”Hell!” said the Duchess.’
Strangely enough, this tale of mine opens in much the same fashion. Only the lady who gave utterance to the exclamation was not a duchess.
Get Guessing!

Any idea?

and the answer is…

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is summoned to France after receiving a distressing letter with an urgent cry for help. Upon his arrival in Merlinville-sur-Mer, the investigator finds the man who penned the letter, the South American millionaire Monsieur Renauld, stabbed to death and his body flung into a freshly-dug, open grave on the golf course adjoining the property. Meanwhile the millionaire’s wife is found bound and gagged in her room. Apparently, it seems that Renauld and his wife were victims of a failed break-in, resulting in Renauld’s kidnapping and death.

There’s no lack of suspects: his wife, whose dagger served as the weapon, his embittered son, who would have killed for independence, and his mistress who refused to be ignored. Each felt deserving of the dead man’s fortune. The police think they’ve found the culprit. But Poirot has his doubts. Why is the dead man wearing an overcoat that is too big for him? And who was the impassioned love-letter in the coat pocket for? Before Poirot can answer these questions, the case is turned upside down by the discovery of a second, identically-murdered corpse.

Did anybody guess correctly?

Please drop me a comment with your First Line Friday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

First Line Friday: 19/02/2021

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Happy Friday!

I thought it was time to do a First Line Friday as I haven’t done one for a while. As usual the answer is below the cats. Good Luck!

As pale as a grave grub she’s an eyeful.
She looks up at him, startled, from the bed. Her pale eyes flitting fishy: intruder – lantern – door – intruder. As if she’s trying to work out how they all connect, with her eyes cauled and clouded.
get guessing!

Answer

Bridie Devine, female detective extraordinaire, is confronted with the most baffling puzzle yet: the kidnapping of Christabel Berwick, secret daughter of Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick, and a peculiar child whose reputed supernatural powers have captured the unwanted attention of collectors trading curiosities in this age of discovery.

Winding her way through the labyrinthine, sooty streets of Victorian London, Bridie won’t rest until she finds the young girl, even if it means unearthing a past that she’d rather keep buried. Luckily, her search is aided by an enchanting cast of characters, including a seven-foot tall housemaid; a melancholic, tattoo-covered ghost; and an avuncular apothecary. But secrets abound in this foggy underworld where spectacle is king and nothing is quite what it seems.

Blending darkness and light, history and folklore, Things in Jars is a spellbinding Gothic mystery that collapses the boundary between fact and fairy tale to stunning effect and explores what it means to be human in inhumane times.

Did you guess successfully?

Please drop me a comment with your First Line Friday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

Mid Week Quote: James Herriot

Hello!

I hope everyone is doing well. We are in Lockdown number 3 so I thought today’s quote would be one attached to a cute picture of our cat Lyra. Lyra has taken to squeezing between my husband and myself on the sofa and finds this her absolute favourite spot at the moment so I have gone for a related quote.

Cats are connoisseurs of comfort.
James Herriot

Happy reading and stay safe.

Friday Poetry: Clare Bevan

Happy Friday!

It is time for some Christmas poetry!

I chose this poem because it is about a cat and poems about cats are always good.

Christmas Cat

I've built a cuddly snowcat
With whiskers made from straws
And I'm almost sure,
I'm almost sure
I saw him lick his paws.

He's sitting in my garden,
He's smiling at me now,
And I'm almost sure,
I'm almost sure
I heard him say, 'Mee-ow!'

Clare Bevan

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I Would Name a Pet After

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. For more info please check out Jana’s blog.

Hello!

Another fabulous theme this week and one quite apt as my husband and I own two cats that are named after book characters.

So here is the list and first up are my cats!

Meet Lyra and Pan from His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Gandalf the Grey from The Lord of the Rings – This is my dream name for a long haired grey cat.
Winnie from Winnie the Pooh – A female British Bulldog.
Pilot from Jane Eyre – A male German Shepherd
Holmes and Watson from Sherlock Holmes – Two male Beagles
Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights – Male wire haired Dacshund
Deuteronomy from The Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats – Male Maine coon cat.
Darcy from Pride and Prejudice – Male or female Dalmatian
Meg from Little Women – Female long haired collie
Hercule from Hercule Poirot – Male Scottish Fold cat
Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol – Male Tea Cup Chihuahua

So there is my pet wish list.

Please drop me link with your Top Ten Tuesday and I will head over for a visit.

This and That Thursday

Hello!

Another busy week has gone by with teaching, studying and throwing things away.

Yes I have had a big clear out of my music room and changed the position of my online teaching setup and I love it. The room is so much calmer now it is all organised. I am aiming to do every room before Christmas so the bedroom and music room are now done, so kitchen and dinning room are next.

Here is my lovely music room

Exercise

I have been after an exercise bike for ages and I now have one and so after a busy day I have been chilling out with a session on the bike whilst watching an episode of Criminal Minds.

Walking

We are still walking and have recently discovered a lovely walk which is really close to where we live and I loved it. Lyra has been helping us choose some new walks to try as well.

Piano Playing

I have started practicing Christmas music on the piano. Each year I try to learn new Christmas pieces on the piano and so hopefully I will be able to play some new tunes at Christmas. So far there has been some terrible Christmas tunes in this house.

So there is my week. I hope everyone is having a good week so far.

Happy Reading.

First Lines Friday: 30/10/2020

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Happy Friday!

I hope you all have some amazing reads planned for the weekend.

I thought it was time for a First Lines Friday. As usual the answer is below the cats.

“These days the origin of the universe is explained by proposing a Big Bang, a single event that instantly brought into being all the matter from which everything and everyone are made.”

The answer is…

Mythos by Stephen Fry

Rediscover the thrills, grandeur, and unabashed fun of the Greek myths—stylishly retold by Stephen Fry. This legendary writer, actor, and comedian breathes new life into beloved tales. From Persephone’s pomegranate seeds to Prometheus’s fire, from devious divine schemes to immortal love affairs, Fry draws out the humour and pathos in each story and reveals its relevance for our own time. Illustrated throughout with classical art inspired by the myths, this gorgeous volume invites you to explore a captivating world, with a brilliant storyteller as your guide.

Links

Audible • Book Depository • Foyles • Kindle • Waterstones • Wordery

Please drop me a comment with your First Lines Friday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading!

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I hope all my fellow Book Dragons are well and having a good week so far.

This week I have been organ playing and back to teaching again which has been a bit of a shock to the system after a week off.

So here is what else I have been up to this week.

Studying

The studying is going well and I have now begun planning my two essays for my first assignment. They are very different to anything I have done before and I will be honest I am rather nervous about them. Hopefully I do a good job.

Crochet

The cowl continues! This cowl has been unravelled and restarted several times as I haven’t been happy with it. The husband has threatened to throw it in the bin several times but now I have got the ripples correct and it is going well.

Baking

The Great British Bake Off is having a bad influence on me because it keeps making me want to bake lots of yummy cakes. This time I chose to do some chocolate brownies. Thankfully, they came out of the oven a success with that all important gooey middle.

Hot Chocolate

This week has also included lots of hot chocolate sampling as we work through all the different flavours that Hotel Chocolat does for the Velvetiser. So far my favourite is the mint and dark chocolate.

Cats

To finish here is a cute picture of Lyra who decided she needed to be under the blanket rather than on top.

Happy Reading!

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