Rereading Jane Eyre

#AtoZChallenge ‘H is for House’ #Haiku #NaPoWriMo #PoetryMonth

Lonely house by shore

Wrapped in ice-cold sea and snow.

Warm wood glows inside.

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This photograph was taken by my friend and colleague Thor Walum, retired English teacher and lover of Spain and photography, who lives in a beautiful, tiny island in the north of Norway, which I was lucky enough to visit some years ago.

The light and colours I saw in Norway, were spectacular. I’ve never seen such fabulous colours anywhere else I’ve visited.

Thor took this photo at the end of November, during the dark months, when there are only a few hours of partial daylight, from the bus on his way into town on the island of Hinnøya. It used to be an old sea house, used by fishermen, but it has been refurbished recently, preserving its original shape of a hundred years ago.

This is the same view, earlier in the year, with more daylight and less snow!

You can check out some more of Thor’s fabulous photos here on Facebook,

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This year is my fourth AtoZ Challenge. My theme this year is poetry once again. I’ll be writing a haiku a day, but I’m also adding a new hobby to the posts, photography. I will post one of my photos, or a donated photo, every day to accompany my haiku.

This April, I’ll also be sharing my poems and joining another group of poets at National Poetry Writing Month, organised since 2003 by Maureen Thorsonn. Write 30 poems in 30 days. I’m in! What about you?

#SilentSunday The Shard Again #Haiku

Glass temple spears sky

Sunbeams bounce on crystal walls

Necks crane up in awe

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Haiku published yesterday on my AtoZChallenge.

The Shard is one of my favourite buildings. I watched it grow on my yearly trips to London and it never ceases to amaze me.

I love the view next to Southwark Cathedral; past and present side by side.

#TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE ‘The Warrior’ #Cantabria #HotelChiqui

This Tanka is for Colleen Chesebro’s challenge. This week’s challenge is to include #Synonymsonly of Honour and Grow.

The Warrior

On raised rock he stands,

Watching over land and sea,

Tubal’s descendent,

Testament to times long past,

Weathered stone proclaims glory.

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You can find this stone statue of a pre-Roman, Iberian warrior, at the end of the Sardinero Beach in Santander, Spain, standing by the Hotel Chiqui, where I recently stayed with my mother, who was born in Cantabria.

The monument is right behind my head in this picture!

A tiny little bit of history: According to legend, Tubal, who appears in Genesis, travelled west towards what is Spain today and settled there, giving it its present geographic and historic name, Iberia.

The Iberians were said to have merged with the Celts, who were the previous inhabitants of the region, leading to Celtiberian tribes, who fought fiercely against the Roman invasions during the first century BC.

This monument might be based on a first century warrior called Corocotta.

According to Roman accounts, a large reward was offered for his capture, and Corocotta himself came forward to claim it! Augustus was so impressed that he reportedly gave him the money and allowed him to leave s a free man.

The plaque at the foot of the monument, attributed to Horace, reads something like ‘The people of Cantabria cannot be chained’.

Cantabria is a beautiful region to visit and there are frequent ferries to and from Portsmouth, UK. It also has an International airport.

What can I say? It’s one of my favourite places, but don’t take my word for it, check it out yourselves!

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Would you like to take part? The rules are simple.

Use synonyms of Colleen’s two-word prompt, this week, joy and fury, write blog post using one of the following poetic forms: haiku, tanka, Haibun, cinquaine or senryu.

Add a picture if you like. Pingback to Colleen’s blog post.

#CarrotRanch #FlashFiction Challenge: The Exam

Here’s my ‘sun silly’ story in response to Charli Mills Carrot Ranch flash fiction weekly 99-word challenge. Drop by and join this supportive community of writers!

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The Exam

“Come outside and watch our dance!” Beth called waving her arms in the air.

Sister Mary looked out of her open, classroom window, squinting at the blaring midday sun. “Play in the shade, the sun will make you frisky.”

“We’ve been rehearsing a dance!” They shouted in unison, twisting and turning rhythmically.

“You’d better study for this afternoon’s biology exam.”

“Please, sister, just five minutes!”

She sighed. “Very well, but afterwards you’ll sit in the shade and revise.” They nodded.

As their teacher walked out, Susan crept inside, opened her drawer, snapped a photo of the exam and grinned.

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I went to a convent school, many years ago, when there were no mobile phones, but the events described in my flash could have happened, the old-fashioned way, memorizing or jotting down the exam questions! Perhaps something similar even did happen… My schooldays are a blur.

What is true is that my teachers, mainly nuns, would say ‘the sun made us frisky,’ so they tried to convince us to sit in the shade. The school was in North London, so every single ray of sun, and believe me there were very few, was sought after and cherished. We would never sit in the shade, much to our teachers’ dismay!