Sepia Saturday 162

A few weeks ago, a fellow Sepian made a post, or comment, that referred to the 1922 Hartlepool Wood Yard Fire.  As I'd never heard of it I decided to look it up and found an image that fits perfectly, well almost,  into this weeks theme.   The theme shows, I believe, the US equivalent of our Telegram Boys.  The liberty has been taken to broaden this to include the postal service because the telegram boys mainly rode motor bikes and now the GPO (or whatever they call themselves today) is phasing out the bike on the grounds of H & S.

Post man delivering to a house destroyed in the Great Hartlepool Fire that saw a large number of  people rendered homeless in 1922.

Postal delivery about 1900

Telegram Boy WW1

The Telegram Boy was simply, too most people, the bringer of good or bad news. Their messages were short urgent and often demanded an immediate reply.  As a consequence, they both delivered and took the message.  Longer more leisurely missives could go by the regular postal service.  In wartime their arrival was feared, as all too often, they brought the first news that a loved one was killed or missing in action.

WW1 took it's toll on the telegram boys to such an extent that women were recruited to take their place.

In the 1920s and 30s, both Postmen and Telegram Boys were expected to be exceptionally well turned.  As a ypoungster in the 1960s I had a short period of unemployment and joined the GPO.  We did 2 deliveries a day, including Saturdays and I worked with old fellows who recalled four a day and a daily inspection by the Postmaster to make sure they were clean and properly uniformed.

The mail must get through

A site to be cherished, a thing of the past done to death by Health & Safety like playing conkers, climbing trees, scrumping or playing "knock-down-ginger"

A Tongue in Cheek Little Offering for the Artistic Welbeing of the Nation

Mainly through involvement with Sepia Saturday, I've come to notice that several Bloggers use their Blogs to show case their artistic endeavours.  In the past I've posted some of my wood turnings and carvings, and intend to do so again in the future, but these I cast as craft, not art.  Whilst, "what is art?" is a vexed question, I intend to use the conventional usage i.e. paintings/drawing etc. and poetry/music etc. as the pointer for today's postings;

So in that order, I give you;

Self Portrait, in Crayon, based an drawing by a friend

 

 

The drive to our little place in the country - I kid you

 

 

 

 

Cello Player, based on something I saw once

 

So much for my drawings, and now to another pretension that struck me once upon a time.

 

Whilst, I rather like poetry, Dylan Thames , Philip Larkin & Thomas Hardy in particular,  and especially when it is read by someone with a voice.  I do not claim to necessarily understand the finer meanings and niceties of the poetic form having only spent about two or three lesson during my emtire school career on the subject.  Indeed when I left school my understanding of Grammer was little more than when I entered 10 years earlier.  When, in later years, I was study for a Degree the discussion got on to Syntax and I had to admit that I knew more about Tin Tacks than I did Syntax,  nothings changed.  I no longer have the urge to write anything more than the odd dirty ditty.

 

At  one time I was particularly attracted to the cinquain as a poetic form.  The cinquain has specific rules

I tend to use the following

Line 1 - 2 Syllables

Line 2 - 4Syllables

Line 3- 6 Syllables

Line 4- 8 Syllables

Line 5 - 2 Syllables



Line1: Two syllables
Line2: Four syllables
Line 3: Six syllables
Line 4: Eight syllables
Line 5: Two syllables
Line1: Two syllables
Line2: Four syllables
Line 3: Six syllables
Line 4: Eight syllables
Line 5: Two syllables

Line1: Two syllables
Line2: Four syllables
Line 3: Six syllables
Line 4: Eight syllables
Line 5: Two syllables
Line 1Read more about How to Write Cinquain Poetry by www.poemofquotes.com

Line1: Two syllables
Line2: Four syllables
Line 3: Six syllables
Line 4: Eight syllables
Line 5: Two syllables

Below

The Feet

Heeled, Soled and Toed

Trod down and stood upon

Keeps mankind upright  - planted on

The ground.

Maturity

Sixty

Wisdom’s ripe age

When pleasures take all day

Satisfying – in all that we

Enjoy.

Beyond Caring

Above

Towers aloft

On creaking scaffold head

The restless man sways to and fro

At peace

Shampoo

Herbal

Extracted oils

Washing all cares away

Says, the label that sells - nought but

Soft soap.

In the Dark

The Mole

Scampers  Tiptoe

Somewhere, down there, below

Lest that he is    trampled under

The hoof.

Rewrite

Below

Quiet     humming

Mozart decomposes

Variated sonatas in

B Flat

 

I'm not sure what the purest will make of the form I've adopted, or not, but would appreciate any comment or criticism you may wish to make.

 

Sepia Saturday 161



 

For the main part, I've gone with shop fronts for this week's posting.  For someone who is not much of a shopper, I find shopfronts quite fascinating.  They , or should I say used to, add character and interest to our towns and cities.  Unfortunately all too often towns contain the same shopping centres with the same shops, selling the same, or they consist of Estate Agents, fast food joints and charity shops. 

 

 

 South Parade, Matlock Bath in Derbyshire, C1900. It is when I would liked to go there.  Unfortunately, I can only go now

 

 

North Parade, Matlock Bath,taken a few years ago.  Whilst, it is more attractive than many towns, it is still over-run with cars 

 

 

This is included, not because of any charm, but almost for the opposite reason.  I think they are probably celebrating the end of the Great War - hence the garish display.  The reason for it's inclusion is that a distant cousin was living in Paradise Row when the 1891 Census was taken

 

  

 

As I've done the Yorkshire part of the family, I better do the Hampshire bit as a matter of balance.  The above are two Victorian images of Winchester where my Isle of White ancestors settled after leaving the Island  a few decades earlier.  They lived in a street just behind these shops where genteel folk would hesitate to go.  In the mid 1800s, small terraced houses were often occupied by two or more families living poverty and squalor. Today, the remaining properties now go for £350,000.00 or more

 

So much for family connection, the rest have been gleaned from searching the Web and are included because....

 

 

If it hadn't been for Charlie's middle initial he would have missed out on his appearance in SS.  Chas.  Foote, is not quite the same as Chase Foote (sounds like a racing game) when I was a youngster I seem to recall that people often spoke a a foot chase - the expression doesn't seem to be used today.

 

This is entitled country store - it strikes me as being a bit Hill-Billy (no offence meant to our American Country Cousins) or somewhere in the Appalcian Mountains.

  

Not only does this deserve to be included because it scores on several of the suggested themes, it's location. in Snohomish, demands an appearance.

 

The Corner Book Shop

 

 

Silver Surfers?
 

And, inside for the sweet-toothed

 

 

All Front

 

I went away from the Introduction to this week's piece, with the Idea that Alan's curved legs were bowed and thought of doing something along those lines.  After looking at a few images, I decided it would be just too cruel.

 

I did include this from a collection of Glasgow cuttings held by parkheadhistory.com.

 

And, finally for the poetic and mathematical minded amongst us;

 

As I was walking by St. Cleggs,

I met a man who had Bow Legs,

Forsooth what kind of man is this

who wears his balls in Parenthesis

 

 

Sepia Saturday 160

This week's SS has caused no end of problems and highlighted shortcomings in my own photographing and collecting of images.  Alan's theme promotes the accidental candid shot hidden beyond the subject of the picture.  I always try to make sure that casual and wandering people do not get mixed up in the picture unless it cannot be helped.

I saw the main theme has being the candid within the picture and looking.  Looking for what is not clear, and after some thought (a slow and torturous process these days) I concluded that it did not matter  as long as they were looking.

So vigorous have I been in removing, cropping, or simply waiting for them to get out of the shot, that I found it difficult to find a picture within, but try I did, and.....

 Eyes Right

Across the Mersey 

 

Looking Happy

 





 

 

Looking Enquiringly and Urgent

(Is it there?)

 

 

I know old Josh as made a previous appearance, but he is looking and he is capped.

 

 

A lesson has been learnt, and hopefully penertrated deep in the cerebral bone.  In future I will look to include picture within as a candid.

 



Sepia Saturday 159

A nice short one for this week's Sepia Saturday contribution.  It shows the contrast with the modern visitor to the seaside.  No chance of being scorched lobster pink in Union Jack shorts or less.

Great Uncle Jack and his cousin Billy Agars on an outing to the coast - probably Scarborough - some time in the early twenties I guess.

I don't know if they were on a flying visit because they haven't bothered with removing their shoes and socks and rolling up their trouser legs.  No knotted handkerchiefs either, or was that a post WW2 thing?

Perhaps they were waiting for the Pubs to open.