no awkward questions now SP!! and he cannot receive PM’s yet!!
Terrific poems and stories Ciderman, very enjoyable.
Looking forward to more.;-)
1963 London. My flatmate and I had aquired a couple of Peyote cactus plants. We fed and encouraged them and then very scientifically tried them. As the original source of natural LSD we treated them with care. Only one of us at a time so the other could look after him if he looked like doing anything silly. Our flat was on the second floor so we didn’t want anyone jumping out of the window. All conversation was taped and this was mine!
The parrot closes his one good eye
He is the blue of sapphire
From deep inside the stone
Where the light starts.
(Pause)
It almost hurts to look at him
His colour is his thing
He is nothing else
(Pause)
There is nothing but the window
And the parrot and his blue
No room-No people
But beautiful faces
I love you
(Pause)
I can see so far- so far
Seeing is happiness on a cloud
My cloud is soft and blue
With spectrum edges
(Long pause)
People-people
Way down below my blue cloud
All looking up
All slack jawed
(Pause)
I can see so clearly
I can recognise them almost every one
They see me
But they don’t know me
I am their sun
So bright
I hang in their sky
Smiling to them
Closer, closer
(Pause)
They are dead I know
And I cry for them
I can feel tears on my face
The world cries -
So many tears
(Pause)
Sparkle……sparkle
I know your face
I love you
You are happy like a lover
Oh you’re beautiful to see with
(Pause)
The evil fades
By smiling at it
It is green and is nothing
I smile- I love you, evil
Even you
It melts to oil bubble colours
Stretch and squeeze
Stretch and squeeze
(Pause)
I wish I was a soap bubble
And I am
My feet and my hands
I can’t see
But I feel the inside
Of the bubble
It is soft but strong
Oh God oh Ottawa
It’s a long way down
I’m not here am I
Worry? No!
(Long pause)
I know where I am
But my senses don’t
I smile and say I love you
I’m not afraid
Not now because I know.
You are VERY VERY CLEVER. X
I promised a thread about homemade wine, you have just reminded me.
I will start it now. Gosh, I am a little tipsy mind. x
Written for the Hawkes Bay Hereld Tribune newspaper as Chairman of Hawkes Bay Vintners.
“Lets do the wineries this weekend!”
A phrase to make the most hardened winemaker cringe! In the 60’s and 70’s the phrase meant just that and the winemakers didn’t object too much because sherry and port were the order of the day and not much reference to grapes was required. We could make more sherry from a ton of grapes than God could put into them! Customers would sit in the cellar’s convivial atmosphere and tipple for an hour or two before wending their way home with enough under their arm to last until next time. It was a way of life in Auckland’s western suburbs and to a lesser extent , in Hawkes Bay, but times were to change.
Someone noticed that the climate of Hawkes Bay was not too different from that of Bordeaux and winemakers arrived from other parts of New Zealand as well as Australia and France and their interests were in quality table wines . In the late 70’s and early 80’s wines were produced on a small scale which astonished overseas experts with their ripe fruit character and long lingering finish… In the early 80’s regulations were installed that forbade the addition of water to ‘stretch’ wine quantities, and , wonder of wonders, it tasted better!
The people of Hawkes Bay are fortunate. They have on their doorstep, the opportunity to aquire some of the finest wines in the world; not only that, but frequently the chance to taste before they purchase. What other business does this as a matter of course, (except for cheese- another fine art!) . No winemaker that I know will expect you to buy a wine that you dislike, but all would like to think that you will buy it if you like it. The intention is the crucial issue. Bear in mind that the winemaker, or his staff, know his wines well and can guide you in the logical sequence of tasting. He or she may ask questions regarding your preferences, not to be nosey, but to avoid assaulting your palate with a wine style which you may find unpleasant. Not only will your palate be offended but an automatic Government “donation” will be involved in the form of excise tax, as well as the commercial cost to the winemaker. The taster who asks to try the ‘Chardon’ will be told that Chardonnay is not Chardon, and with all due respects to Penfolds Wines both wines are unlikely to be appreciated by the same palate!
Only the consumer can tell a good wine. To paraphrase the poet, beauty is in the mouth of the beholder, and this is how it should be. A dusty bottle of Chateau Petrus may set you back a small fortune, but to one who dislikes a dry red wine it is a ‘bad’ wine, best taken to the nearest Hawkes Bay winemaker, who will probably give you a half a dozen bottles of anything you like to make you feel better! French champagne makers, when not sueing Antipodean bubbly makers, produce a wine considered over rated or even unpleasant by some, but fortunately there is still a hardy band of us who would drink enough to float the Rainbow Warrior if the opportunity is offered.
When next you visit a Hawkes Bay Winery, spare a thought for the winemaker. He loves his product and wants you to love it too but does not expect miracles. He frequently lives in the winery during vintage, when his hands are stained purple and grapes won’t stop fermenting because it’s Sunday, he labours at the mercy of the weather , like any farmer, the government does not love him and never has. Even after all this, he will try to recommend another winery, if you don’t like ANY of his wines, but he may cry after you have gone!
Michael Bennett
Little Gentleman
We mustn’t blow our nose, you know
In public it’s not nice.
We mustn’t take a sweetie, till
The giver asks us twice.
We mustn’t say a naughty word,
We mustn’t do a thing.
One never knows when one may meet
A Duke, an Earl, a King.
We must be good and always be
Alert for social graces,
What would a titled lady think
If we had dirty faces?
When we grow up to be a man,
We’ll know how we should act,
A perfect little gentleman
With manners, dear, and tact.
Not one of mine but I have experienced this and find it very moving. Author unknown…
From Your Canine Friend
You’ve given me a special gift so sorrowfully endowed
And through these last few cherished days your courage made me proud.
But really, love is knowing when your best friend is in pain
And understanding earthly acts will only be in vain.
So looking deep into your eyes beyond, into your soul
I saw in you the magic that once more has made me whole.
The strength that you possessed is why I looked to you today
To do the thing that must be done for it was the only way.
That strength is why I found you and chose you as my friend
And why I’ve loved you all these years my human 'til the end.
Please understand just what this gift you’ve given means to me
It gave me back the strength I’d lost and all my dignity.
You took a stand on my behalf for that is what friends do
And know that what you’ve done is right for I believe it too.
So one last time, I breathed your scent and through your hand I felt
The courage deep within you to grant my last request.
You said “Goodbye my dearest friend“, and let me run
Once more a strong and steady dog, my pain and struggle done.
But don’t despair my dying for I won’t be far away
Forever there, within your heart and memory I’ll stay.
I’ll be here watching over you, your ever-loving friend
And in your memories I’ll be a young dog once again.
A Childhood in the sun.
Bermudian Love Song
The coral scars upon my hands,
Smooth patches cutting lines upon my palms,
Are witness to our childhood in the sun.
Your hands, so dark, have paler scars than mine.
Time long has passed since speckled dragon fish
Moved warily through grottos we had made
Painstakingly among the warming pools,
The while we talked of what we both should do
When we were old enough to join the world.
I wept with you when far beyond the reef,
Your father’s boat became as kindling wood.
We both threw flowers out into the sea,
Bright messengers of memory and love.
And now you look into my eyes
But neither you nor I will dare to speak,
Or join the jagged marks within our palms.
Ciderman an age old question which I know you have the answer to!
does adding water to an alcohol drink either wine or spirit reduce it’s overall alcohol content going into the body?
My take is NO!
It reduces the % but you drink more so, no- it’s the same.
Do you think like this everytime you have a glass?
so?? - if I have a glass of 30 mls of spirits which is considered one standard drink in OZ then add another 30mils of water - are you saying I have diluted the spirit but I will still consume a standard drink anyway?
Yep!
bingo finally I’ve got through to ya - stop drinkin the port laddie!
I was arguing with someone the other day and of course it’s all a matter of semantics - he was saying - you’ve diluted ya whiskey adding water and I was say NO it;s still a standard drink ya drinkin - and bye gum be jesus wez were both damned right!
but who was the rightest do ya fink?
The one on the left!
So? - haven’t finished yet! - if I was offered a 30ml spirit drink ‘laced’ with 30mls of water and only drank half of it - would I have drunk the full amount of spirit to reach a standard drink?
silly question heh?
No you’d start shaking then gulp the rest of it!
I’m a bit lost here. Is it men only?
Not quite! When I go to U3A meetings I am usually the only male present and when I went on a bus tour in Turkey I was the only male apart from the driver! It was really good at the ‘comfort stops’. Ladies queued but we went straight in!
now ya gettin silly CM - not called for from the land of the low lying cloud!!
Nothin silly about getting into a toilet when it’s urgent!