Archive for April, 2014
Wordless Wednesday: Curlew Pass
Posted in Art, Ireland, Wordless Wednesday, tagged Co. Sligo., Frances Macaulay Forde, Gaelic Horseman, Ireland, Statue, Wordless Wednesday on April 30, 2014| 2 Comments »
Rhinos
Posted in Africa, Animals, Books, nature, Poetry, Writing, tagged animals, extinction, Frances Macaulay Forde, Harry Owen, nature, poems, Rhinos, South Africa on April 27, 2014| 3 Comments »
Busy doing my tax return and came across an unsaved (!) poem I wrote and submitted (some time ago) to be included in an anthology to raise funds for the preservation of Rhinos.
Harry Owen the inaugural Poet Laureate for Cheshire (UK) in 2003, moved to South Africa’s Eastern Cape in January 2008, was the editor and now the book is published I shall put my order in.
Even though they didn’t use my poem I certainly want to support their very worthy cause.
Thandi
Imagine slow, deep heart beats
echoing inside a massive hide.
Slumberous half-blind grazing.
Open veld rare rhino protected.
Unaware evil stalks with intent.
Crack! Stinging rifle shot thrums.
Laboring body lumbers to escape.
Laid low, as deadly saw crudely
works on pointed bone bleeding
on Africa’s Skin. Enough death,
illegal trade. This is no noble
harvest to feed the starving poor…
Frances Macaulay Forde © 2012
Lest we forget…
Posted in Writing on April 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Everything I’m feeling today was said this time last year…
Perth Words... exploring possibilities.
My Dad was a Pathfinder in the R.A.F. 35 Squadron and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by King George.
Mum blamed the blitz for making her take up smoking.
Dad never missed the chance to proudly honor his fallen mates in whichever country he found himself – it was the only time his medals saw the light of day and the only time he publicly acknowledged the war unless ‘Dambusters’ or ‘Battle of Britain‘ were on TV.
My husband and I have been doing a lot of research into Mum and Dad’s life before Africa and have found out many surprising facts which have answered many, many questions we should have asked when they were with us.
I now know why ‘Don’t Fence Me In’was one…
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Wordless Wednesday: Sweater Shop
Posted in Ireland, Other blogs, Wordless Wednesday, tagged Cliffs of Moher, Co Clare, Doolin, Frances Macaulay Forde, Ireland, The Sweater Shop on April 23, 2014| 4 Comments »
Roadside Rubbish
Posted in Perth City, Poetry, WA Writers, Writers, Writing, tagged Frances Macaulay Forde, poems, rubbish pick-ups, rubbish roadside, WA Writers on April 17, 2014| 2 Comments »
It’s that time of year again (photo taken today). Wish I’d taken photos last year, when I wrote this though…
Two Fans
Two fans enthusiastically spin amongst
a pile of rubbish waiting for pick up,
roadside.
Through wind and rain, even thunder
“Look at me!” but nothing moved.
Clever stack.
Unlike No 2’s plant pots. Scattered
colorful rattles voicing the gusts.
Messy!
Drive-bys; inspection opportunists.
Recycling on a budget or business,
who knows?
Roadside shopping has rules. Don’t
muddle. Re-stack after inspection.
Carefully.
It’s bad manners to sort, scrounge,
accept or reject – pull apart, untidy,
then go.
Frances Macaulay Forde © 2013
Wordless Wednesday: Time Out
Posted in Other blogs, Poetry, Wordless Wednesday, Writing, tagged Frances Macaulay Forde, P>Coughlan, Retirement & Beyond, Time Out, visual poem, Wordless Wednesday on April 16, 2014| 5 Comments »
‘The Heart’s Journey’
Posted in Books, Perth City, Writers, Writing, tagged Alexander McCall Smith, Frances Macaulay Forde, John Grey McKendrick, Notes from the Currumbine Line, Perth, Rail Tales, Trains and Lovers, Western Australia on April 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Do you believe in Karma?
Standing in front of all those Alexander McCall Smith books, I was overawed – found it difficult to settle on just one (or two) to get signed, but “Trains and Lovers” called to me.
How could I resist when I had also written ‘Rail Tales – notes from the Currumbine line.’ like many who had found the enclosed capsule of a train carriage inspiring.
I’ve been waiting weeks since listening to him talk at UWA , to find the time to read the book. Not wanting to pick it up for a quick look, but time to read the whole thing because I know once I open those magical pages, I won’t be able to put it down.
Within the very first chapters Alexander had mentioned my home town Perth, Western Australia; introduced us to an Australian lady called ‘Kay’ in her 50’s; mid-twenties ‘Andrew’ with eyes the same color as my Mum’s; asked another if he was Canadian (my niece lives there) before letting ‘Andrew’ tell us about himself.
‘Andrew’ comes from the same place as my mother’s family, Oban, Mull, South Uist and Lewis. Mum also spoke Gaelic when she was young and came from a long line of doctors. In fact, my maternal grandfather was named after a famous doctor who helped found the Physiology school in Glasgow University, John Grey McKendrick. ( I’ve tried, but cannot find any other family connection to the famous physiologist except the name.)
And I’d only read to page 17.
So I’ll be ‘gone’ for a while readers… this book is obviously my Karma.