An Easter poem for you.

Happy Easter! I'm a little late, but better that than never. I love this dialect poem by nineteeth century poet William Barnes! Try reading it aloud:-

 

Easter Zunday

 

'Last Easter Jim put on his blue
Frock cwoat, the vu'st time-vier new;
Wi' yollow buttons all o' brass,
That glitter'd in the zun lik' glass;
An' pok'd 'ithin the button-hole
A tutty he'd a-begg'd or stole.
A span-new wes-co't, too, he wore,
Wi' yellow stripes all down avore;
An' tied his breeches' lags below
The knee, wi' ribbon in a bow;
An' drow'd his kitty-boots azide,
An' put his laggens on, an' tied
His shoes wi' strings two vingers wide,
Because 'twer Easter Zunday.

An' after mornen church wer out
He come back hwome, an' stroll'd about
All down the vields, an' drough the leane,
Wi' sister Kit an' cousin Jeane,
A-turnen proudly to their view
His yollow breast an' back o' blue.
The lambs did play, the grounds wer green,
The trees did bud, the zun did sheen;
The lark did zing below the sky,
An' roads wer all a-blown so dry,
As if the zummer wer begun;
An' he had sich a bit o' fun!
He meade the maidens squeal an' run,
Because 'twer Easter Zunday.

 

 

Moving On

I promised to say a little about the novel that is in the pipeline -

 

 

 

 'Moving On'

 

 

 

 

This story is rather different from the last book. Whilst once again it is based on something that did really happen, I have allowed myself greater play with the story line than I did with 'Someday, Maybe.'  In 'Moving On', not only the characters and the settings are imaginary, but the storyline as it develops is imaginary too, whereas in 'Someday, Maybe', the characters and the settings popped out of my mind but the story and the outcome are true.

To give you a rough idea of what it is about:-

 

 

It’s moving day and a very exciting day, too, for Valerie Bryce! Fancy, not only moving in with their daughter Susie and her family – she’s been expecting that to happen sooner or later now that she and Andy are getting on a bit – but moving from the dilapidated northern seaside town in which they have lived for well over forty years into a wonderful, listed house with a swimming pool, set in extensive gardens in a delightfully pretty village in the rural south of England.  Well, it looks lovely in the brochure, they haven’t actually seen it yet, but still. . .

 

Andy? Well, Andy has his reservations about moving, and the decision to move took a bit of getting to and she is worrying a bit about that, too, but even so!

         All decisions are made with an objective in mind, and Valerie’s objective is a comfortable, peaceful and contented old age in the bosom of her family. Sometimes, though, things don’t turn out in the way anticipated...

 

 

I hope very much that you enjoyed 'Someday, Maybe' (and if you haven't yet read it, it is available now from Amazon and other online booksellers and on Kindle)

 

I'm not sure at the moment what date 'Moving On' is to be released, but I will let you know as soon as possible.