Battered, Bedraggled, Bejewelled

I began a thoroughly wet morning by posting: https://derrickjknight.com/2021/07/27/a-knights-tale-5-that-heady-optimistic-summer/

During the afternoon the rain eased off and I wandered round the garden with my camera, photographing

battered, bedraggled, and bejewelled blooms, each of which is separately titled in the gallery.

Later, I read more of Charles Dickens’s ‘David Copperfield’ and scanned four more of Charles Keeping’s inimitable illustrations.

‘The younger sister appeared to be the manager of the conference, inasmuch as she had my letter in her hand’

‘The whole of his lank cheek was invitingly before me, and I struck it with my open hand’

‘Kneeling down together, side by side’

‘Jip lay blinking in the doorway of the Chinese House, even too lazy to be teased’

This evening we dined on an excellent takeaway meal from Red Chilli with which Jackie drank more of the Rosé and I drank more of the Shiraz. Mrs Knight enjoyed her sag triple: namely bhaji, paneer, and chicken; as I did my Naga Chilli Lamb, special fried rice, and plain paratha. There is enough left over for tomorrow.

73 comments

  4. Your bejeweled garden is beautiful. Raindrops on blossoms always catch my eye.
    The Keeping illustrations are so evocative, as usual.

    Your dinner has be craving Indian food. 😀

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  7. We are still waiting for our rain to come. There was a warning of thunderstorms today but as it covered almost all of Scotland it was a bit hit or miss.. We missed. You conveyed your bedragglement very well, I thought,

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  8. Ah, a day in the life of a flower. They are so beautiful bejeweled with raindrops today! 🙂
    We all need a shower once in awhile. 😉 😀
    Raindrops on Schoolgirl and Raindrops on SweetPea are my faves today! 🙂

    HA! on the sisters! Aw! on the the kneeling couple…and little Jip in the “doghouse”! 🙂
    I think part of the joy of takeaway meals is the leftovers for another meal! 🙂
    (((HUGS))) 🙂
    PS… “Around us, life bursts with miracles…a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops.” – Nhat Hanh

    Wishing you and Jackie MANY miracles today! <3

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  10. Bejewelled but not too bedraggled. Some flowers are much more impervious to rain than others. The rudbeckias might have been baking in the sun all day from the way they look.

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  11. Those illustrations have so much peculiar character to them that they really seem contemporary, don’t they?
    The flowers!!!! Now those inspire me to go to the art journal!!!!

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  15. Raindrops on roses are always some of my favorite things.
    In the first plate you are showing today, Derrick, Mr Keeping depicts both the family resemblance of the sisters, emphasized by identical hats, as well as the difference in age and the rigid formal manner. Extremely emotional slap in the face, with distorted features, sharply contrasts with the idyllic church scene and home tranquility in the last two illustrations.

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  17. My poem ‘Icy Rain Again’ seems very appropriate today Derrick .. and heading over to check out your earlier post ..

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  19. Beautiful captures of rain beaten flowers, poetically posted. Keeping’s illustrations capture the soul of the narrative as well as the mood.

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  27. Oh this has to be one of the best titles ever
    battered, bedraggled, and bejewelled blooms
    So good!!
    And for the beautiful images so well
    —
    Also – I am coming back to read the Dickens
    😉

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