No.4

Words of Wisdom?

By the time you swear you're his,

Shivering and sighing,

And he vows his passion is

Infinite, undying -

Lady, make a note of this;

One of you is lying.

- Dorothy Parker 1893-1967

The more I see of the moneyed classes,

The more I understand the guillotine. 

and another of his quotes -

Beauty is all very well at first sight, but who ever

looks at it when it has been in the house three days. -

George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

An optimist is a person who sees 

a green light everywhere, while the

pessimist sees only the red stop-light. 

The truly wise person is colour-blind. -

Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965

There is, of course, no reason 

for the existence of the male sex

except that one sometimes needs

help with moving the piano. - 

Rebecca West 1892-1983

-o0o-

-o0o-

One day a friend called on Michelangelo and found him busy at the final stages of a statue he had been working on.

A week or so later he returned and, finding the sculptor at the same task, said “It appears that you have been idle since I was last here.”

“Indeed, no,” was the answer, “I’ve retouched this part, I’ve polished that part, I’ve softened this feature, I’ve brought out that muscle and I’ve given more expression to the lower lip.”

“But surely all these things are just trifles?” said his friend.

“Perhaps so,” Michelangelo replied, “But trifles make perfection and perfection is no trifle.” 

-o0o-

This photograph was taken at Lynncraigs Farm at Dalry, Scotland, showing the Husband and Wife Tree. This is an example of inosculation where trunks or branches of two trees grow together.

-o0o-

I expect we would all agree with the following -

“If we gathered our impressions from the newspapers alone, it would be easy to believe that there were no happy marriages, no honest bank officers, no incorruptible politicians. The discordant makes itself heard above the harmonious. Ugliness pushes beauty aside and crowds its hateful visage into the foreground.”

That comment was made more than a 100 years ago in “The Girls’ Empire.”

Well, well. As the French say, "Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose" - the more things change, the more they stay the same.

"The Girls' Empire" was described as "an Annual for English-speaking girls all over the world." Examples of some of the subjects covered in the 1903 edition (and this is perfectly true) are how to avoid the evils of excessive tea-drinking, the pros and cons of cycling in a full-length skirt and how to get the best out of your carrier pigeon. I wonder if I can get one from Amazon . . . 

-o0o-

This silk painting “Tinh Yeu”, by the contemporary Vietnamese artist Phan Quoc Hung, refers to the story of two young lovers who had to flee because their families wouldn’t allow them to see each other. Since their lives were being threatened, a kindly magician came to the rescue by turning them into two beautiful swans. So they were saved, living as swans during daytime and as humans during the night.

-o0o-

"I like this job. They always stay together 

and I don't need to run around so much."

-o0o-

Do you remember this cartoon character? This is Lord Marmaduke of Bunkerton, better known as Lord Snooty. He appeared in the first issue of The Beano on 30th July 1938, and was the longest running strip in the comic until Dennis the Menace and Gnasher overtook it. Of course, he was always recognised by his shiny top hat!

You may remember this photo. I've shown it before in different blogs. Yes, that's me with my uncle's topper. He was a Baptist minister.

-o0o-

"No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, 

you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.”

Tony Robbins

-o=0=o-

Today's post brings 
The Best of My Choice My Delight
to an end.
Now that's what I call art, The Thomas Hardy Poetry Collection and My Poetry Digest
continue to be updated every day

No.3

This day is a special day, it is yours.
Yesterday slipped away, it cannot be filled anymore with meaning.
About tomorrow nothing is known.
But this day, today, is yours, make use of it.
Today you can make someone happy.
Today you can help another.
This day is a special day, it is yours.

-o0o-

He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds 

peace in his home. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

-o0o-

This short piece by Agatha Christie gives a good idea how some of the upper class lived in 1900.

“By modern standards my father was a lazy man. It was the days of independent incomes, and if you had an independent income you didn't work. You weren't expected to. I strongly suspect that my father wouldn’t have been particularly good at working anyway.

“He left our house in Torquay every morning and went to his club. He returned in a cab for lunch, and in the afternoon went back to the club, played whist all afternoon, and returned to the house in time to dress for dinner. During the season, he spent his days at the cricket club, of which he was president. He also occasionally got up amateur theatricals.

“He had an enormous number of friends, and loved entertaining them. There was one big dinner party at our home every week, and he and my mother went out to dinner usually another two or three times a week.”

-o0o-

Glencoe, Scotland

-o0o-

I have to write a poem today,
 A short one, four lines long.
Something cute and breezy
With some rhythm, like a song.
The words must be quite catchy,
But I think it's kind of late.
These catchy words are breezy,
But this line is number eight!
- Denise Rodgers

-o0o-

A birthday card for a baby in 1925

-o0o-

The Christian Church didn’t always approve of observing birthdays and the rejection of celebrating them continued right down to the 4th Century. So many customs and traditions had their roots in paganism and that was the case with birthdays. 

An article from the German magazine Schwabische Zeitung in April 1981 explains that the origins of celebrating birthdays“lie in the realm of magic and religion”. It continues - “The custom of offering congratulations, presenting gifts and celebrating, complete with lighted candles, in ancient times were meant to protect the birthday celebrant from the demons and to ensure his security for the coming year.”

Both the Romans and the Greeks believed that everyone had a spirit who attended the birth and watched over him or her for life, and birthday celebrations were partly in honour of that guardian angel. There was a special significance about sacrificial fire and lighted tapers, which explains why we have candles on our birthday cakes today.

-o0o-

-o0o-

The People Upstairs

 Ogden Nash

The people upstairs all practise ballet
Their living room is a bowling alley
Their bedroom is full of conducted tours.
Their radio is louder than yours,
They celebrate week-ends all the week.
When they take a shower, your ceilings leak.
They try to get their parties to mix
By supplying their guests with Pogo sticks,
And when their fun at last abates,
They go to the bathroom on roller skates.
I might love the people upstairs more
If only they lived on another floor.

-o0o-

It's Never To Late To Fall In Love

(Song title from from the show The Boy Friend, written and composed by Sandy Wilson)

-o0o-

The Best of My Choice My Delight
 will be updated
NEXT FRIDAY

-o=0=o-

No.2

A quiet spot at

The River Teith, Callander

-o0o-  

Excerpt from

The Cloud

Percy Bysshe Shelley

I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,

From the seas and the streams;

I bear light shade for the leaves when laid

In their noonday dreams.

From my wings are shaken the dews that waken

The sweet buds every one,

When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,

As she dances about the sun.

I wield the flail of the lashing hail,

And whiten the green plains under,

And then again I dissolve it in rain,

And laugh as I pass in thunder.

-o0o-

I am an old man and have known many troubles, but most of them never happened. (Mark Twain and others)

One of the good things about getting older is you find you're more interesting than most of the people you meet. (Lee Marvin)

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. (Abraham Lincoln)

By the time you're eighty years old you've learned everything. You only have to remember it. (George Burns)

Old age is a lot of crossed-off names in your address book. (Ronald Blythe)

-o0o-

This photo probably dates from around 1900 - a time 

when a man with a camera always attracted a crowd

-o0o-

A Love Letter

from Napoleon to Josephine

Dec.29, 1795

I awake all filled with you. Your image and the intoxicating pleasures of last night allow my senses no rest.

Sweet and matchless Josephine, how strangely you work upon my heart.

Are you angry with me? Are you unhappy? Are you upset?

My soul is broken with grief and my love for you forbids repose. But how can I rest any more, when I yield to the feeling that masters my inmost self, when I quaff from your lips and from your heart a scorching flame?

Yes! One night has taught me how far your portrait falls short of yourself!

You start at midday: in three hours I shall see you again.

Till then, a thousand kisses, mio dolce amor! but give me none back for they set my blood on fire.

-o0o-

-o0o-

Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savoured. - Earl Nightingale

-o0o-

"She's pretending she doesn't see what I'm doing!"

-o0o-

The Best of My Choice MyDelight
is a Week End Blog which will be updated
EVERY FRIDAY

-o=0=o-

No.1

Fiona and Brian are Sammy's Mum and Dad

so I must be his

Grampa !

-o0o-

“Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.” 

- Lao-Tsu

-o0o-

-o0o-

Some thoughts by Boutros Boutros-Ghali 1922-2016, Secretary-General of the UN 1992-96

Ever since my youth I have been inspired whenever I contemplate the Nile, the river-god my ancestors worshipped.

The Nile flows on indifferent to mere events. It carries a message from the heart of Africa, our common home. It brings life to all who live near its banks. It contributes its water to the Mediterranean and the great civilisations which surround its shores. And ultimately it flows and merges with all the world’s oceans which link every continent and all the people of our planet.

To me, it is a constant reminder of our common humanity.

-o0o-

Part of the Japanese Garden at Portland, Oregon

-o0o-

FROM CHURCH NEWS LETTERS

1. A songfest was hell at the Methodist church on Wednesday.

2. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet on Thursday at 7 p.m. Please note that members can use the back door if they wish.

3. The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."

4. Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

5. The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment.

6. During the absence of our vicar, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when Rev. Percy Lund occupied our pulpit.

7. The concert held in Fellowship Hall was a great success. Special thanks are due to the minister's daughter, who laboured the whole evening at the piano, which as usual fell upon her.

8. Cynthia remains in hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of the Minister's sermons.

-o0o-

-o0o-

Granny's Little Laptop
 Roann Mendriq

Granny has a laptop,
its sleek and shiny new;
She gazes at it fondly,
and wonders... what to do?

She keeps it gently on her lap,
she really thinks its nice,
She doesn't like the mouse at all,
she's very scared of mice!

But soon she'll start blogging
and take the world by storm,
With precise posts on ecology,
and why our globe is warm!

She'll be in touch on email,
with family friends on the net;
And keep us all enthralled,
with her global tete-a-tete!

She'll engage in quirky forums,
and have a million fans,
Asking for her recipes,
of fish curries and flans!

She'll keep the world begging,
for her poetry and prose,
For her masterpiece in Egyptology,
for the stories that she knows!

So, get set darling Granny,
we're so happy you're online,
You're a Granny in a million,

I'm so glad you're mine!!!

-o0o-

-o0o-

The Best of My Choice My Delight
is a week end blog which will be updated 
EVERY FRIDAY

-o=0=o-