The Glimmer of Hope

The Glimmer of Hope

Taking their place in the silver lagoon,

Coffee stains sit upon two teaspoons

Best make sure to use the facilities,
Exposed right now are my vulnerabilities,

The road shall be long 'til our paths next cross,
I don't like this feeling this deep sense of loss,

First come the lights in the night's sky,
Then come the footprints something to buy,

December twenty first and soon things will change,
Presents wrapped up 'round the tree to arrange,

Twelve chimes of Big Ben they ring out so loud,
A list of things to change we hereby do vow,

Minute by minute and day by day,
Cross off my calendar 'til I say hurray,

Memories of you have kept me alive,
Comforted in the knowledge that you'll soon arrive,

After hoping and yearning I celebrate this day,
I've just received your text you are on your way!

Explanation

I took this photograph today. 

It was the sun bursting through my lounge window for the first time since October. For now, the glimmer lasts only a moment. But that shall increase. Very quickly, it went behind the buildings, but just for a moment, it burst in and hit my eyes and to me felt just like when you get a text from a visiting friend that you've not seen for a long time to say "don't worry, I'm on my way"

Taking their place in the silver lagoon,
Coffee stains sit upon two teaspoons

This suggests a meeting between two good friends that aren't going to see each other for some time - just like how I won't see the sunshine coming into my flat for some time. I'm imagining here the time together coming to a close where the friend must leave, and so the empty cups of coffee are placed in the sink (the silver lagoon) with coffee stains on the teaspoons.

Best make sure to use the facilities,
Exposed right now are my vulnerabilities,

As the friend prepares to leave, s/he decides it's best to avail herself/himself of the facilities (the loo basically!), but relating back to the sun leaving, and winter beginning, it exposes a feeling of vulnerability in me, both emotional and physical - for a variety of reasons I'm not a particularly big fan of winter.

The road shall be long 'til our paths next cross,
I don't like this feeling this deep sense of loss,

This just continues the narrative really of not really liking the time of year. A sense of loss for this friend.

First come the lights in the night's sky,
Then come the footprints something to buy,

Each of winter's landmarks come and pass. First, bonfire night, then people out shopping for Christmas presents, perhaps making footprints in the snow.

December twenty first and soon things will change,
Presents wrapped up 'round the tree to arrange,

As December 21st arrives, as the shortest day, you know it can only get lighter. Quickly, this is followed by Christmas Day itself.

Twelve chimes of Big Ben they ring out so loud,
A list of things to change we hereby do vow,

Then, onto new year, where we all await the chimes of Big Ben to signal in the start of the new year, and so many people make new year's resolutions.

Minute by minute and day by day,
Cross off my calendar 'til I say hurray,

Noticing the days beginning to get longer. At first, it's frustratingly slow, but it does soon pick up. The friend in spring is coming bringing with a sense of renewed strength and opportunity.

Memories of you have kept me alive,
Comforted in the knowledge that you'll soon arrive,

For me, but many others too, the winter period is harder to survive, but the memories, whether it be in the mind, or perhaps photographs of a better time keep you going, along with the knowledge those opportunities shall soon be on the horizon.

After hoping and yearning I celebrate this day,
I've just received your text you are on your way!

After struggles, hopes that you'll survive and get through a more difficult time, that moment that confirms spring really is on its way (the sun bursting through the window, albeit, briefly), tells me that my friend, the spring (and real friends!) are well on their way.

The Pendolino

The Pendolino

So hail this down,
To Euston station

I bid farewell,
To pastures green,

This big red ensign,
She is my carriage,

I'm northern bound,
Await my hugs,

These fields of yellow,
All shapes and sizes,

Cut their way,
Through this green land,

Send out a signal,
To silver chariots,

Soon I'll be,
Right back with them.
Explanation

I was listening to Fare Thee Well Northumberland by my favourite ever musician, Mark Knopfler. It got me thinking about a train ride back home to my parents that I did in the spring of 2011.

The scenery was so beautiful.

In fact, I recorded about a minute of the journey on my phone (it's not too shaky either).



Since then, the experience of that has just been in the junkyard of my brain waiting for some lines to come into my head. Now, after listening to that song a number of times, they have.

So hail this down,
To Euston station,

This refers to hailing a taxi to get up to Euston Station.

I bid farewell,
To pastures green,

Where I live in London, is near several lovely squares (in fact, London is very lucky to have such a large number of green spaces considering it's a big city). So until returning, I bid these scenes farewell.

This big red ensign,
She is my carriage,

To get back to my parents up in the north, I'd use Virgin Trains. The big red ensign is their logo and of course, the train is my carriage.

I'm northern bound,
Await my hugs,

I think this is probably self-explanatory, but if not it's basically saying that I'm off up north to see my lovely family and give them a hug.

These fields of yellow,
All shapes and sizes,

As you can see from the video, the countryside can look beautiful when the fields are glazed in the colours rapeseed. Different trees of all shapes and sizes line the route too. It's really a great way to see the English countryside.

Cut their way,
Through this green land,

This refers to the canals and rivers that can be seen along the way.

Send out a signal,
To silver chariots,

Once I'm on my way, I would always text my Dad to let him know so he can be at the station to meet me and take me the rest of the way to home. At the time he had a silver (or it might've been grey, but silver sounds better!) car.

Soon I'll be,
Right back with them.

Not long now until I'm back home (and can eat proper food!)

Pancake Day

Pancake Day

Upon the horizon,

The dishes emerge,

A thousand flying saucers

Awaiting our welcome,

Settling down on terra firma,

The locals pick up their pitch forks,

First comes the water cannon,

Then a mass of mortars,

Charging forward to devour,

Scoop, fold and tear,

The battle over in minutes,

The invaders never stood a chance,

Satisfied and in need of rest,

The victors await their next fight.

Explanation

Upon the horizon,

The dishes emerge,

Laying out the ingredients to make the pancake. The dishes here are both the frying pans, and also the invading "alien dishes" as a metaphor.

A thousand flying saucers

Awaiting our welcome,

The flying saucers are the stereotypical round shape just like the shape of a pancake. Waiting for the eater/earthlings to meet them.

Settling down on terra firma,

The locals pick up their pitch forks,

As the pancakes are ready and placed onto the plate (terra firma), the eater picks up his/her fork (and probably spoon too)

First comes the water cannon,

Then a mass of mortars,

The water cannon is a metaphor for the lemon juice that will be squirted onto the pancake. Then the mortars would be the fruit to compliment it.

Charging forward to devour,

Scoop, fold and tear,

With the warm, dressed pancake waiting, it's time for the eater to fold it in half, cut it, and nom nom nom.

The battle over in minutes,

The invaders never stood a chance,

Pancakes are yummy so are likely to be eaten quickly!

Satisfied and in need of rest,

The victors await their next fight.

Stuffed and waiting for next year's pancake day!

Holidays in Menorca

Holidays in Menorca

Cotton wool balls and carpets of green,

Seat belt signs, chicken or beef cuisine

The mother gives birth one by one,

Which baby is which, here comes the fun,

Climbing the steps, we await our tales,

Working our way through stoned walled trails,

The aroma rises up and pulls me in,

This big boy's adventure about to begin

Around the windmill and up the steep slope,

The next obstacle I set out to scope,

He's about my age, I'll go say hi,

Guten tag and eins zwei drei,

Going through the motions,

Time for calamine lotion,

The arms and the pages continue to turn,

Remember that cream Phil or you're going to burn,

The teeth come together and pack up those adapters,

These wonderful memories close this latest chapter.

Explanation

This one is about family holidays to the Spanish island of Menorca that I went to three times with my family as a kid - twice to the same place because we loved it so much!

Cotton wool balls and carpets of green,

Seat belt signs, chicken or beef cuisine

This describes the plane journey to get from Manchester to Mahon. I always think that when you push through the clouds that it's like being surrounded by cotton wool. As the skies clear a sea of green fields emerges.

The mother gives birth one by one,

Which baby is which, here comes the fun,

This refers to the baggage carousel at the airports. As the bags come through onto the conveyor belt, everyone realises that despite their best efforts to personalise their own bags that they ultimately all look the same - just as babies do to me!

Climbing the steps, we await our tales,

Working our way through stoned walled trails,

This is about the coach trip from the airport to the hotel. To a little kid, the steps up the bus are quite big and steep. As with these package holidays, there's always a tour guide to chaperone people and tell them information (and usually a story from their lives) during the trip.

The aroma rises up and pulls me in,

This big boy's adventure about to begin,

I remember where we staying that there were a couple of bakeries that sold delicious bread. It really was yummy (well it must have been if I still remember it 20 years later). I was sometimes entrusted to be a big boy and go collect the fresh morning bread. Magical smells and taste!

Around the windmill and up the steep slope,

The next obstacle I set out to scope,

Opposite our apartment complex was a crazy golf course which I played on quite a lot.

He's about my age, I'll go say hi,

Guten tag and eins zwei drei,

It's always nice for kids to make friends on holidays. I was no different. Oddly enough, I always used to make friends with German kids. The one I remember, probably because for a while we stayed in touch was a boy called Marcus. He was about the same age as me - so around 10 maybe? We got on pretty well and would go off swimming/playing golf etc! Guten tag and eins zwei drei is about all the German I learnt.

Going through the motions,

Time for calamine lotion,

I always used to suffer quite badly with prickly heat when abroad. Fortunately, I don't remember it stopping me from enjoying myself though.

The arms and the pages continue to turn,

Remember that cream Phil or you're going to burn,

Luckily, I didn't burn either. Probably because I was made to wear lots and lots of sun cream. So while I was swimming (arms turning) and my parents reading (pages turning), I'd be fully protected against the sun's rays.

The teeth come together and pack up those adapters,

These wonderful memories close this latest chapter.

As the holiday came to a close, the bags would be packed, filled with dirty washing and zipped up, complete with those special plugs you need when traveling abroad. And so ended the great holiday.