Happy #NationalPoetryDay! 28th September is national poetry day, a celebration of a rich culture of language, imagery and expression. I find that autumn is a season steeped in poetic inspiration. In the spirit of 'here's one I made earlier', I thought today would be the perfect occasion to share this poem I wrote inspired by …
Oh my chutney-days!
2017 has been a year of '1sts', of new experiences... some huge, some life changing, some small, some perhaps only of consequence personally so unnoticed by the rest of the world. This weekend it was the turn of one of those smaller moments, but one that is no less inspiring than any others on the …
SFN Journal – Autumn Almanac: Into the Wind
A buzzard, bent-winged into the wind, was hanging against the clouds as I walked up the driveway to work. I had to acknowledge a pang of mild jealousy as I watched him twist his ruffled feathers and bank, realign, then tilt and soar off over the tree tops. Behind me, the jays were raucous in …
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SFN Journal – Autumn Almanac: Return to Autumn
I popped to my Mums house, to exchange a couple of bits of shopping we'd picked up for each other. It is just a 5 minute walk around the corner, but I found myself amazed by the complete image of early autumn offered to me by the remnant hedgerows and woodland edges that soften my …
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SFN Journal – Autumn Almanac: A Sweet Utterance
I have finally seen the bullfinches. All summer long I have heard their whistles from the long hedge that runs parallel to one of the glasshouses (of the plant nursery where I work) but they have remained elusive and disembodied. Today a movement in the bushes attracted my attention as I headed out on my …
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SFN Journal – Autumn Almanac: The Snail Bone-Yard
It's been days since I heard the Swifts. July was washed away in a week of heavy showers, and the rain seems to have rinsed the cloud-cutters from the sky. Perhaps they have left us already; they are after all the first summer migrants to head south to their winter quarters. It does seem odd …
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SFN Journal – Autumn Almanac: Silence of the Birds
July 16th 2017 - Silence of the birds The weather has been hot, close and suppressive. I have taken to retreating to the cool shade of the woods when out for a lunch-break walk. Luckily the plant nursery where I work is bordered by woodland, filled with a myriad of textures and colours and illuminated …
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SFN Journal – Autumn Almanac: Nature never holds still for long
July 7th 2017 - Nature never holds still for long The TV tennis coverage is proving intense, but beyond the kitchen door the balcony is dappled with shade by the soft weeps of the birch whose triangular leaves always remind me of bunting in the summer breeze. Now and then a formation of swifts cuts …
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SFN Journal – Autumn Almanac
Introduction – the turning year When planning some writing, there is nothing worse than sitting down to start a project, and staring at a blank white page! It can really stifle the creative thought process. Thankfully, today my page is far from blank. My inspiration has travelled forward with me thirteen years, from the days …
Sussex Field Notes 