General Chat

.O, to have a little house!
To own the hearth and stool and all!
The heaped up sods against the fire,
The pile of turf against the wall!
To have a clock with... weights and chains
And pendulum swinging up and down!
A dresser filled with shining delph,
Speckled and white and blue and brown!
I could be busy all the day
Clearing and sweeping hearth and floor,
And fixing on their shelf again
My white and blue and speckled store!
I could be quiet there at night
Beside the fire and by myself,
Sure of a bed and loth to leave
The ticking clock and the shining delph!
Och! but I'm weary of mist and dark,
And roads where there's never a house nor bush,
And tired I am of bog and road,
And the crying wind and the lonesome hush!
And I am praying to God on high,
And I am praying Him night and day,
For a little house - a house of my own
Out of the wind's and the rain's way.
----------------------------
Poem ... 'Old Woman of the Roads' by Padraic Colum.

O what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive

Sir Walter Scott

'As rare as a vegetarian butcher'.

The bodies of those that made such a noise and tumult
when alive, when dead, lie as quietly among the
graves of their neighbours as any others.

'Procrastination'


Jonathan Edwards 1629-1712

What a Splendid lot of entries. Now I will write a few of them in my own little book. I always acknowledge who wrote the authors on here.

So far today I cannot think of a poem or any good speeches or sayings, but will but my brain in Order very soon.

Bridget

If I could catch a rainbow
I would do it just for you
And share with you its beauty
On the days you're feeling blue.

If I could build a mountain
You could call your very own;
A place to find serenity,
A place to be alone.

If I could take your troubles
I would toss them in the sea,
But all these things, I'm finding,
Are impossible for me.

I cannot build a mountain
Or catch a rainbow fair,
But let me be what I know best,
A friend who's always there.

Chelsea managers make excellent egg timers.

'When one door of happiness closes, another opens. But often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the new one which has opened for us'.

(Helen Keller).

'I have many times asked myself whether there can be
more potent advocates of peace upon earth through the
years to come, than this massed multitude of silent
witnesses to the desolation of war.

George Vth 1865-1936
On the battlefield cemetries in Flanders, 1922.

Alphabet of a Good Life.

A is for Ambition, it was Lucifer’s shame;
It may be a virtue, if Heaven’s your aim.

B is for Baptism, to vows we are bound;
Often renew them, for Satan’s around.

C stands for Courtesy, not a fine art;
It springs from good breeding and kindness of heart.

D is for duty to God and to man;
Conscience imposes, all through life’s span.

E is for Eucharist, whole and entire;
True God, and true man, my poor heart’s desire.

F is for Faith, the salvation of love;
Lord, fill us with this light from above.

G is for God’s Grace, pearl of mystical sheen;
Help us to keep it, Immaculate Queen.

H is for humour, a condiment strong;
With grace and good humour, you’ll never go wrong.

I is for intention, it’s good, or it’s ill Heaven or Hell;
It depends on your will.

J is for that name, the sweetest sound beyond worth;
Pray that it may be our last word upon earth.

K is for my Knees, made to bend the right way;
To make me feel lowly when I start to Pray.

L is for Our Lady, God’s mother and mine;
Pray for thy children, for he made us thine.

M is for the Mass, Christ is mystically slain;
Come and behold it again and again.

N is for neighbour, far away or nearby;
His soul is from God, so to love him I’ll try.

O is for Obey to submit with God’s grace;
As he did to St. Joseph and Mary’s embrace.

P is for Patience, calmness in strife;
Passion of Christ, be my strength during life

Q is for Quietude, calmness and rest;
After the storm has obeyed his request.

R is for Repentance, admit you were wrong;
For God is all Holy, and Hell is long.

S is for the Saints, God’s friends they became;
They did his will, let us do the same.

T is for Time, just the passing of years;
We must account for them, when he appears.

U is for Unity, of one accord;
The mark of his Church, it was the Prayer of Our Lord.

V is for Christ’s Vicar, St. Peter lives on;
The Voice of the Shepherd, although he is gone.

W is for Wisdom, sound judgement not cute;
Silence is wiser, instead of dispute.

X is for the Cross, its our symbol and guide;
Take it with thankfulness, make it your pride.

Y is for your Patience, listener of this Rhyme;
Oremus Pro Invicem, whilst you have time.

Z is for Zeal, an ardent endeavour;
To practise those rules, which spells HEAVEN FOREVER.

I think the words could be said today as they were yrs ago .its stood the test of time .so many lives lost & its still happening ,many ask why including me x the words are written on a small piece of paper which we will give to our son .Barbra

Dear Lord

So far today ,Iam doing alright

I have not gossiped,lied or said anything bad about anyone

I have not been grumpy, nasty, selfish, self indulgent or greedy

I have not been inpatient, complained or sworn

I have not charged anything to my credit card

I have not eaten any chocolate

However,in a few minutes I am going to get out of bed and
I will need a lot more help after that

Amen

'Politics in action' is the total opposite of 'politics inaction'.

Barbara
What a wonderful piece to read, especially as we still have our soldiers and other military personnel serving for their country including one of my sons.
I feel for the comment " God had taken them out of their misery".. I suspect some may say "God should not have allowed it to happen" not my point of view but I understand why some may feel this way.

Finally I am sure that you will pass this on to the next generation.

Over Yon ,, Alone and far away from friends we and those we hold dear out in the desert sands On plains of strife and fear fighting for freedom and everything we love ,fighting as we never fought before and watched by God above ,But there are times when things dont go to well ,when we fought hard and the bravest of them all have fell , It would seem that God had taken them out of their misery ,And put them in a place to rest beyond eternity So life goes on and we must do our best ,Untill it comes our turn to take that well earned rest .A dear friend of late FIL wrote this x

No matter how far the fishes swim , they never seem to sweat !! If all the boys lived over the sea what a good swimmer Barbra would be x

'What I kept, I lost.
What I spent, I had.
What I gave, I have'.

(Persian Proverb).

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.

It's so easy to forget them,
For it is so many times
That our Bobs and Jims and Johnnys,
Went to battle, but we know,

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:

"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."
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(Published in this week's Midweek Herald, Devon.)

American elections - two bald men fighting over the ownership of a comb.

Delighted that so many have added onto this thread. I have had problems with our telephone provider recently which meant no comp either but back now.

I will be back during this week

Bridget