Ramblings
This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/02/11/a-knights-tale-101-we-are-quite-similar-really/
This afternoon I scanned
the next six pages of Charles Keeping’s illustrations to ‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes.
(Look away, Yvonne.)
This evening we dined on tender roast lamb; crisp roast potatoes and parsnips; crunchy carrots; firm Brussels sprouts, and meaty gravy, I finished the Douro while Jackie abstained.
This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/02/08/a-knights-tale-100-commuting/
After lunch I scanned the next eight pages of Charles Keeping’s illustrations to ‘The Highwayman’.
Frances e-mailed me a photograph to print for Elizabeth’s birthday today.
Here she holds Grandson Jack. We gave it to her this evening when dining at The Filly Inn outside Brockenhurst. Jackie and I started with tasty French onion soup. Elizabeth didn’t opt for a starter; Jackie’s main course was a pulled beef burger with chips, onion rings and salad; my sister’s choice was a lamb shank with Dauphinoise potatoes and vegetable. I settled for steak and ale pie with chips and vegetables after the chef had declined to cook rib eye steak because he decided the meat was not good enough. Jackie’s dessert was sticky toffee pudding; mine and Elizabeth’s poached pear. Having drunk two glasses of very good Merlot I was beyond registering the beers for which the ladies opted.The service and cooking was excellent.
This morning I scanned
the next six pages of Charles Keeping’s version of ‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes.
By mid-afternoon Jackie finished the first stage of her planting of the new raised bed – by replacing the bulbs and primroses which had to be dug up to make space for it.
Afterwards she drove me to the Ear Clinic at Milford on Sea where a build up of wax was successfully removed. We travelled back
along the coast. The temperature was much colder than of late, the bright sunshine sparkled on the sea; gulls zoomed low; sailboarders skimmed against the backcloth of the Bournemouth skyline; dog walkers silhouetted; and a little boy scooted.
We travelled on to Barton on Sea. A cyclist rested on a bench while I walked down to water level and wished I could have a rest on the way back up. The bench half way down the steep slope was already occupied.
Before going home we diverted to Ferndene Farm Shop for various items.
Elizabeth came to dinner this evening, when we enjoyed second helpings of Jackie’ s casserole from yesterday with fresh vegetables. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden while my sister and I finished the Douro. We spent the rest of the evening sorting out English politics.
After lunch I published https://derrickjknight.com/2022/02/02/a-knights-tale-97-i-branch-out/
I then wandered around the garden with my camera and photographed
The mimosa in the last picture was planted in the North Breeze garden by the last resident, who kindly gave us the benefit of its hanging over our back drive fence. These are the burgeoning blooms.
Lichen is snowballing in more than one sense of the word.
Seedpods and heads linger from last year; fallen twigs remind me of the clearing up that must be done.
Into which category should be placed this pelargonium and a similar one having bloomed continuously since last spring?
Finally, I offer the next four pages of ‘The Highwayman’ featuring Charles Keeping’s marvellous illustrations:
This evening we dined on succulent roast lamb and mint sauce; crisp roast potatoes and parsnips; crunchy carrots; and tender runner beans, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank Azinhaga de Ouro Reserva 2019.
I have come to the end of my Keeping/Dickens series, but I do have more of the artist’s works. For those who would like to see some I will begin with
This is the cover of a large format book.
My scanner cannot manage a double page spread so I will have to do my best to match up the pages, as in these front endpapers.
Here is the title page,
and the first two pages of text.
Alfred Noyes’s romantic ballad, first published in the August 1906 issue of Blackwood’s Magazine is, according to Iona and Peter Opie writing in 1983, reputed to be “the best ballad poem in existence for oral delivery”.
As is his wont, Charles Keeping, in his own inimitable style, releases the grisly reality of this ghostly tale.
Adding no further analysis as I present segments in forthcoming posts, I will allow the pages to speak for themselves.
There is a triangular section of land at the bottom of our drive which borders onto the care home next door. Vehicles are constantly driven over the beds we plant there. Because of the nature of the establishment neither we nor the residents can know whether the culprits are staff members or any of a range of visiting tradespeople, suppliers, friends, or relatives. Having decided that the time has come for a deterrent, we engaged Martin Bowers to build us a raised bed.
Having prepared the area for its placement Martin cut the heavy timbers with a handsaw.
Holes were then dug for the galvanised pins which will hold the frame steady against buffeting from visitors. Note the solid clay that our craftsman needed to penetrate and remove.
The end grain of the sawn timbers were smoothed
and sealed with a protective coat.
The last stage today was to cut and fit the second level beams.
This afternoon Joe and Angela visited and my brother and I corrected the Probate application forms for resubmission which I will carry out tomorrow. The ladies visited Mr Chan and brought back an excellent range of food from Hordle Chinese Take Away with which they both drank Bucks Fizz and I drank Hardy’s Crest 2020.
This morning I finished reading my Folio Society edition of ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens.
I will adhere to my normal practice of not giving away the story, despite its great reputation. The book is very well crafted, displaying a number of developing relationships in a young man’s transition from humble origins to gentrification. There is plenty of humour in this otherwise tragic, yet romantic, tale. Two major characters are unforgettable, and “What larks” is a phrase still enjoyed. Dickens’s descriptive powers of place and scene are at their height. Much of the action is carried along at a fast pace; its dramatic opening and penultimate sequences are gripping.
Christopher Hibbert’s erudite introduction puts the novel into the context of the author’s life and work.
I scanned the last seven of Charles Keeping’s emotional, detailed, illustrations which demonstrate his mastery of line.
In ‘She withdrew her hands from the dish and fell back a step or two’ the artist faithfully portrays these hands as the author describes them.
‘I saw her running at me, shrieking, with a whirl of fire blazing all about her’
‘Mr Jaggers stood before the fire. Wemmick leaned back in his chair, staring at me’
‘I saw in his hand a stone hammer with a long heavy handle’
‘We went ahead among many skiff and wherries, briskly’
‘I laid my hand on his breast, and he put both his hands upon it’
‘What I had never felt before was the friendly touch of the once insensible hand’
Late in the afternoon the lingering pall draped over our land gave way to a sunny period, so we drove into the forest to enjoy it. Given the hour, we could take just one option before the light failed.
We settled on Highwood Lane in the north.
Ripples and reflections supplemented the stream running alongside;
smoke spiralled into the atmosphere redolent of burning leaves;
working horses some in rugs, were fed or rested.
I wandered about the woodland, so different from yesterday’s murky scenes. A touch of the sun makes all the difference.
This evening we dined on Mr Chan’s excellent Hordle Chinese Take Away fare, with which Jackie finished the Chenin Blanc and I drank more of the Shiraz.
Yesterday evening I read more of ‘Great Expectations’ and can now post five more of Charles Keeping’s superb illustrations.
In ‘Wemmick’s arm was straying from the path of virtue’ the artist uses a double page spread to indicate space between the elements of the scene.
‘He hugged himself with both his arms, looking back at me for recognition’
‘We sat down to consider the question, What was to be done?’. Here space is indicated by a significant empty chair.
‘I looked stonily at the opposite wall, and forced myself to silence’ might be seen as an example of passive aggression.
‘All that water-side region was unknown ground to me’, nevertheless, it is not beyond Mr Keeping’s imagination.
On what was probably the gloomiest day yet of our current stretch, we took a forest drive after shopping at Tesco.
Given that the camera usually picks up more light than does the human eye I have chosen not to brighten any of today’s images from mid-afternoon. Jackie parked the car along Forest Road while
I wandered about a stretch of woodland the images of which reflected the mood of the day.
The last of these carries the reflection of the Modus which Jackie had brought down the sloping road to pick me up.
This was Burley Road at 3.30 p.m.
Back along Forest Road ponies remained unperturbed by the cars or their headlights.
One we had seen earlier planted firmly across the road had turned her attention to the other side of a plastic fence.
More lichen brightened a stone on the opposite side of the road.
Further along ponies partook of provisions of hay.
This evening we dined on roast lamb; mint sauce; Crisp Yorkshire pudding; perfectly boiled potatoes, carrots , and cauliflower; and tasty gravy, with which I drank more of the Shiraz, and Jackie drank more of the Chenin Blanc.
This was another dreary day outside so we stayed in and I read more of “Great Expectations” and scanned a further 7 of Charles Keeping’s outstanding illustrations.
‘Mrs Pocket falling into discussion with Drummle’
‘Wemmick’s House’
‘The weather was miserably raw, and the two convicts cursed the cold’
‘She held her dress in one hand, and with the other lightly touched my shoulder as we walked’
‘The prisoners were buying beer, and talking to friends’
‘Rattling up Newgate-street’
‘The six bearers shuffled and blundered along under the guidance of two keepers’
Although I have completed the probate forms and presented them to Mum’s other joint executor for signature, I realised this afternoon that we probably had the seniority in this instance the wrong way round.
Eighteen years my junior, my brother Joseph is the acknowledged best mathematician among the siblings. He has now demonstrated a superior ability to decipher probate forms and worked out what is required to prepare another set. We will deal with this next Saturday.
This evening we dined on succulent Hunter’s chicken served with crisp chips and plump garden peas. Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Chianti.
This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/01/15/a-knights-tale-92-violence/
After lunch I read more of “Great Expectations” and scanned more of Charles Keeping’s inimitable illustrations.
‘It is a most miserable thing to be ashamed of home’
‘Joe and Orlick went at one another, like two giants’
‘Biddy turned her face suddenly towards mine’
‘Mr Trabb’s boy was the most audacious boy in all that countryside’
‘Barnard’s Inn’
Our dinner this evening consisted of well-cooked roast beef, potatoes, and parsnips; tender cabbage; crunchy carrots, crisp Yorkshire pudding; and meaty gravy, with which Jackie drank Carlsberg and I finished the Faugères.
This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/01/13/a-knights-tale-91-tennis/
This afternoon, having made good headway with
I scanned this frontispiece featuring “Miss Havisham”,
and the next six of Charles Keeping’s illustrations.
‘A man whose teeth chattered as he seized me by the chin’
‘He was gobbling mincemeat, meat bone, bread, cheese and pork pie, all at once’
‘Dragged out separately, my convict and the other one’
‘Estella seemed to be everywhere’
‘The Three Jolly Bargemen’
This Christmas Mrs Santa Claus placed a silver cigarette case in my stocking.
The present bears hallmarks stating that it was assayed in Birmingham in 1925, and bears an inscription for Xmas 1926. I may have smoked cigars or a pipe on and off over the years, but have never tried cigarettes. So, why this case?
The answer is contained in
The card case featured therein has always been just a little small to take the individually guillotined cards without shaving their edges.
Having today printed another stock to place in my new container, I will be able to use it for the first time.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s spicy paprika pork topped with mixed peppers and served with boiled potatoes, cabbage and carrots, with which she drank Carlsberg and I drank Tesco’s finest Faugères 2019.