It was unbelievable at the end of January to see Greek Islands, as well as the mainland of Greece and Turkey, covered with thick snow. It seems as if the weather is going haywire. We also in this country have had some strange weather as during January we had little rain, no snow or ice but it was bitter cold. Then when the rain did start it didn’t know when to stop and we had 3 named storms, with terrible winds and now many floods. I feel sorry for the children looking forward to half term as they couldn’t go out in the fresh air as the winds were so rough and the rain torrential at times.
Those of us of a certain age will remember going to the children’s matinee at the cinema on Saturday afternoon and munching liquorice stick. It was lovely but stained your mouth and teeth. There were liquorice fields in Pontefract where there were 16 liquorice factories where hundreds of local women, called ‘Thumpers’, rolled out the liquorice onto trays to make Pontefract tea cakes and other sweets. There are only 2 factories left in England as we import liquorice from Turkey and Spain.
With all the technology at our finger tips, I still think that the human brain is by far the best computer. All we need to do is to use it – it doesn’t need booting up in the sense of computers but it does need human fuel and use. My Dad used to say that “fish makes brains’ and we had fish twice a week. We all thought this was a load of rubbish but now physicians have found that oily fish does help the brain and I must admit that being made to eat fish has not stopped me loving it, especially Kippers and Mackerel.
If I could advise someone which flower to grow in tubs and containers I would say, without hesitation, ‘Violas’. They withstand any weather and come back again when you think they are finished. When the wind was blowing and I couldn’t keep any washing on the line, these pretty, brave little flowers stood up against all odds.
Now Spring brings forth her jewels of flowers,
From Pearls of Snowdrops in shady bower.
To Daffodils of golden hue,
So enjoy these days of sunshine and showers.
New life, new growth, where all seemed dead.
A promise of birds’ song and flowers ahead.
Marie Cove.