Lodowick Bryskett

The name of this Elizabethan official, who spent many years in Ireland, suggests treatment in a limerick:

An official called Lodowick Bryskett...

Can anyone finish this? A modest reward is offered.

What St Patrick Missed

He forgot to get the girl...

Weeds and Wild Flowers again

Alice Oswald's new book with Jessica Greenman is a series of imaginings of plants as people. Because she's a gardener with long experience of weeds and wild flowers, many of these plants are intrusive, a nuisance, an aberration from the strict economy of gardening. The same is the case with many of the plant poems here: the people they imagine are often eccentric failures, people who have not succeeded in life and lead embittered, marginal existences. The plants on Greenman's etchings do not observe any decorum either, they sprawl untidily across the page in a natural abundance.

Weeds and Wild Flowers

Trees, etc

   Three weeks ago, some fierce winds seared the new growth on oaks, hawthorns and limes; fine weather this weekend has allowed the trees to recover somewhat. 

   A reed bunting is feeding a brood just ten metres from the kitchen window. A sedge warbler pair is established in the bramble patch. Our pair of willow warblers have fledged their young. And yesterday evening we watched the pheasant pair with very young chicks, about ten, in the grass and dock plants in the horse field.

   Hot weather is also silage weather, so the whole place is busy with tractor noise.

   Butterflies are also doing well. A big movement of painted lady butterflies went through from Friday onwards. Now, four days later, there are still lots of them about.   

   As the mind and hopes stretch forward to summer, things get left behind: the hawthorn blossom has peaked by now, and many of the trees look spent.

The Poetry Machine

This is my nephews' and niece's term for an old typewriter in my late father's house. My father had a few verses of poetry hanging above the desk, so the children took this as their cue to write some poetry on the old typewriter. A few examples:

GUN

guns are fun

when you drink some rum

and shot someone in the bum

bullets are fast

and give you a mighty blast

(Bella and Pauli)

CHRISTMAS

christmas is fun

because you get presents of your hun

you eat turkey

and in crakers you get keys

in germany they eat pike

here you get a bike

(Pauli and Seppie)

THE SUN

I think it's a fellow

it's a fact that it's yellow

if I went to the sun would it be fun

I know it's hot

it would probably boil a pot

it melts rubber

it would probably burn blubber

evaporate water

kill my daughter

maybe even me

it would sizzle a bee

roast a chicken yum

(seppi, bella and pauli lysaght) 

Shame

Two sea eagles from the Kerry reintroduction programme found poisoned this week. This project is in dire trouble unless a way can be found to stop the poisoning. Photo: Valerie O Sullivan.