Sharville Christmas Newspoem 2007
It's Christmastide again - and time to write of
The story of our year in verse, (with rhyme).
A generally good one, in despite of
The weather, trying to spoil it all the time.
So not much changes. Cricket Ruth is watching
While starting over this year's words to pore.
And Gloucestershire as usual have been botching
Their chances of a yet half decent score...
A major milestone caused the springtime season
To be one of extended celebration,
For in March Ruth hit 50 - a good reason
To treat ourselves to cultural delectation,
An operafest: The Royal Opera House bid
"The Tempest" rage - by Adès - it was brill.
Then Dresden Opera who, by Richard Strauss, did
"Der Rosenkavalier" - a marvellous thrill.
And Ruth "met" Bach - what glory of all glories!
As Leipzig we enjoyed for just one day.
We saw the churches and we heard the stories,
And best of all we heard the organ play!
May saw us up in Scotland, for a wedding,
But not without adventure was this run:
Our faithful car rebelled: as we were heading
For Stonehaven, the gearbox "came undone".
Ruth drove the Astra, with no fifth nor first gear,
At fifty max, and made it, somehow, there,
The local garage soon confirmed our worst fear:
The car's worth less than costs of the repair.
But we consented to the operation,
The Astra got a transplant, and is fine.
We got the train home, which, to our elation
Diverted down the Settle-Carlisle Line!
But first with dear friends we did some "wine tasting"
(The car was ill, so what else should we do?
The opportunity was not for wasting.)
We saw a sumptuous sculpture garden too.
Car mended, Adrian went back up to get it
Ready for weekend outings in the sun.
But June she came and went. Days out? Forget it!
We can't recall a sunny day - not one.
Before it flooded, Worcester's ground provided
Our one day out in June - it was a treat.
But so fed up with summer, we decided
To take a few days in some warmth and heat.
Croatia ended up as destination,
Opatija the town. The sea was warm.
The sun shone, we relaxed, it's a location
We'd recommend for scenery and charm.
Soon after was another celebration
As Adrian's Mum, Joan, reached her eightieth year.
The family all met; felicitation
Was wished upon her from both far and near.
We have enjoyed the usual music mixture
James Taylor; such a joy to hear him sing,
Some local; plus the annual Proms fixture -
Some Schoenberg and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.
The Last Night of the Proms marked "summer's" ending
Then Vera's eighty-sixth arrived a-pace;
She celebrated with some major spending
And now a bright new kitchen is in place.
Then off to Andalucia in October
With Mum. We had the rain as well as sun.
Ruth loved the z-bend driving - staying sober
So small a price to pay for such good fun!
The Alpujarra region is inspiring,
With villages perched high on hillsides rough
We swam, we drove; we spent some time admiring
Granada's Gardens and the local stuff.
Flash keeps us on our toes, she hates it clearly
When we go off and leave her "home alone".
But kindly friends and neighbours love her dearly
So she is never really on her own.
And now the clocks are back, the nights are longer,
Ruth only sees the garden at weekends.
She really loves her job, her health is stronger,
And how she values the support of friends!
While Adrian continues as a carer,
Still happy in his work from day to day,
Still trying to make things a little fairer
For people needing help along the way.
Now Christmas is upon us, so we wish you
God's love and joy and peace, and Christmas cheer.
And with this poem comes the usual issue
To all of you - "Come visit us next year!"