Write-Place

I wasn't exactly inundated with poetry after my request on World Poetry Day, but I am grateful for those who found the time. Here - published as promised and donation to  Cancer Research UK  made. Strictly Drip-stand Dancing with a drip-stand, it ‘aint easy, its tubes and wires threaten to impede attempts at forward motion; Bloody-minded it has five wheels so thinks that it should lead. It helps a lot if you pick the right tune for your vaguely ballroom progress to the loo, something like a graceful waltz or foxtrot (a Charleston, jive or quickstep just won’t do). There’s just one more thing that you should remember, to avoid an unexpected tango dip, don’t forget to take the damn thing’s plug out before you set off upon your trip! Samantha Newbury Bramingham Woods – May The tide of Spring has broken in the woods and now the blackthorn drips with foaming spray. Wide pools of bluebells lap the beeches’ roots; Legacy of t...

I shall probably be in major bother when Jane finds that I have posted what she has written here. But her thoughts and words are too powerful for my eyes only, so here it is : How Can I Be Beautiful ? How can I be beautiful with this "Thing" inside me ?! How can I be beautiful with this frumpy, short, boy hair ? How can I be beautiful with these needle marks, holes and bruises ? How can I be beautiful with these tired tear stained cheeks ? How can I be beautiful when crying and feeling so weak? How can I be beautiful when I'm so vulnerable and needy ? How can I be beautiful with these poisons and toxins inside me ??!!!!!! I am beautiful! ................ I am beautiful to my young boy who says I'm gonna be a princess in my new hair I am beautiful to my husband who every day treats me so tenderly like a precious gem that mustn't break I am beautiful to my parents who would literally die if they could to stop me being in any pain  I am beautiful to my si...

Today, 21st March is World Poetry Day  To mark World Poetry Day, over 1000 coffee shops around the world will use poetry as currency today. Julius Merinl, a coffee roasting company is marking Unesco's World Poetry Day with a promotion in 1100 cafes, bars and restaurants across 23 countries. Most of these are in Europe but theres 5 around London and 1 near Winchester UK. Watch video here :      World Poetry Day - Julius Merini     As there aren't any participating places  near me, I will donate the cost of a cup of  coffee  for  every poem that's  sent to me to  Cancer Research UK      and I will publish them on this blog.  Either post as a comment on the blog, or email to brendagunning15@hotmail.com It's also the first day of Spring today, so that may inspire you, but any form and any theme is fine. Get writing and sending now !  Look forward to receiving your p...

Today, 21st March is World Poetry Day  The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry and was declared by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) in 1999 :  "to give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements" To mark Wor To mark World Poetry Day, more than a thousand coffee establishments around the world will use poetry as their currency this Saturday

Today Jane starts on the chemotherapy treatment that

It's Wednesday again, a week since Jane had the third biopsy and this afternoon's appointment at the breast clinic will hopefully give us a treatment plan. I was going to wait util after this appointment to post here, but am like the proverbial "cat on a hot tin roof" As I write this, Jane has

According to an article in the Telegraph, if you remember this post, the memory of another one will die off.  Not just this post, of course, but all memories. A study by researchers at  University of Birmingham   and  the  MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit  in Cambridge have shown that remembering  makes us forget as the process of recall actually causes us to lose other memories. Doesn't seem a bad thing, does it, if we could actually choose which memory we wanted to ditch when the new one was formed, but I don't think it works quite like that.  It's the 'intentional recall' apparently that leads us to forget other experiences which interfere with retrieval.  The research is published in the  Nature Neuroscience . and is the first to isolate this 'adaptive forgetting mechanism' in the human brain.  We often say "the more I try to remember, the more I forget" and this research more or less sums this up. ...

Start of another week  and another stage in our moving forward and getting to know what's what with Jane's diagnosis and treatment

It's been a very long week.  Can it really be Friday today, and not only Friday but the 13th too ?  Yes it can and it is, and whether the superstition of today being unlucky is true or not, I don't think it's going to make much difference to us as a family. The news that we have had to digest is, almost, digested and I had a bit of a crash in my car yesterday (no one hurt) so am not expecting anything major happening or any news that will unsettle us further. Of course, we weren't expecting this either.  From an appointment with the GP to a diagnosis of breast cancer five days later - with mammogram, scan, biopsies and CT scan in between - is pretty fast moving. The emotional and physical stress that Jane has gone through in that time is immense. Added to this is the experience and memories of her eldest child , my eldest grandson now 14, having non Hodgkinsons - T Cell Lymphoma, when he was 2 years old. He is now well and ready and able to support his Mum...

Today is International Women's Day Over the past week I have read numerous articles and discussions on International Women's Day  which has been celebrated annually since 1909, when it was first organised by the Socialist Party of America. This was in remembrance of the strike the previous year instigated  by the International Ladies Garment Workers union.     There have been events to celebrate and applaud women's success in all walks of life, including Business, Science and Technology, the Arts, Sport and Equality. The theme this year is "Make It Happen". Amongst the discussion has been the question of whether we really need the day anymore - we have after all come a long way since 1909. Though progress has been made in many areas there are women in the so called "most developed" countries who do not have equal pay, are subject to exploitation and violence and and are far from equal   even in the basics of human rights.  In my own to...