Edition 15 Monday 6th July 2020 Welcome to the Fifteenth Edition of our Newsletter Another fabulous edition with lots of interesting reading and fun things to do. A huge thank you to all the contributors of this edition and if you are still thinking about what you can send in to share with all our members, here are some ideas - Have you seen a good film recently? I know we can’t get out to the cinema but maybe you have seen a film on television you could review. Or perhaps tell us about a book you have read recently and would recommend. Have you been sent a funny story or a joke you would like to share? I am sure we all have our 8 Desert Island Disc choices in our heads – if you do, and you are not sure how to go about writing about your choices we can help! Have you got a favourite recipe that our members would like to try? As I have said many times before, the newsletter is totally dependent on you, the members. Without your contributions, your stories, poems, jokes, news, gardening tips etc, there would be no newsletter so please keep sending in anything you think would be of interest to other members. Please send any contributions to Karen: [email protected] 1 Music in Our Time This is a regular item so if you have a relevant piece of music which reflects either the season, an event or our wonderful land, please email [email protected] Music Inspired By Summer by Alan Malloy Well, it’s raining again as I contemplate writing about Summer-inspired music. I thought of abandoning this idea again, but was worried that it would rain every time I thought about it, so I’ve decided to just carry on regardless in the hope that the sun will return soon. ‘Here Comes the Sun’ by the Beatles. This song is more of a prayer than an observation. The song was written by George Harrison in 1969, while he stayed at his good friend Eric Clapton’s country house, Hurtwood Edge in Surrey. George wrote the song to reflect the arrival of Spring rather than Summer, but I think it’s still a very appropriate tune for our theme today. This song is one of the most popular Beatles’ tunes, being streamed more than 50 million times. Harrison was at a low ebb when he wrote it, having left the Beatles temporarily, as well as having other ‘issues’. He says: “I walked around Eric’s garden with one of his guitars and wrote this song.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQetemT1sWc ‘Sunny’ by Bobby Hebb. While Hebb’s name may not be familiar, this soul/jazz song, written in 1963 is rated one of the top 100 songs of the last century, coming in at 25. It has been recorded by many artists, but I think that Bobby Hebb’s own version is the best. It is, as you might expect, an optimistic song as its first line says: “Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain.” Hebb wrote this song immediately following the assassination of John F Kennedy and the murder of his brother Harold that same day in 1963. It is very revealing that Bobby chose to write about happiness, not grief and loss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubvYQxTXO3U ‘Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Felix Mendelssohn. Felix wrote his Overture when he was just 17 (in 1826). This music has happy memories for me: we watched the ballet of the same name in Milton Keynes - a Mother’s Day present to Rhoda from our daughter Claire. Mendelssohn was probably the greatest child prodigy since Mozart. He didn’t start playing the piano until he was six, but by the age of nine he made his first public concert appearance. The music is based on Shakespeare’s play of the same name. It is about love and marriage. As often happens, the course of true love never runs smoothly, so this comical play involves fairies who try unsuccessfully to help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEkcP8lZvZA ‘Summertime’ George Gershwin. This song was composed for Gershwin’s opera ‘Porgy and Bess’ in 1935. It was inspired by the blues and spiritual styles of the southern states of America. One can easily imagine the hot, oppressive summer days of Alabama and Tennessee. The song is sung several times in the opera. By the time Gershwin wrote ‘Porgy and Bess’, he had already written several successful compositions including ‘Rhapsody In Blue’, ‘An American In Paris’ and the song ‘I Got Rhythm’. ‘Porgy and Bess’ is considered to be one of these most important American operas of the Twentieth Century, enabling Gershwin to move to Hollywood. Sadly, he died at the age of 38. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7-Qa92Rzbk 2 Karen’s Crafty Corner Please remember to send in your craft ideas!! Pebble Painting Pebble painting is great fun and a very effective way of expressing your artistic talents! You can decorate them and keep them for yourself or give them as gifts. They look great displayed on shelves or as paperweights. They also make lovely garden ornaments. Somebody even used them as place names for guests at their wedding. One idea is to decorate the pebbles and leave them in locations for others to find as a ‘random act of kindness’. It is a lovely to think of making someone happy with a pretty painted rock. In a world where we’re just looking for a little something to brighten our days, these rocks are perfect! This is a lovely craft for all the family and I think it would be fun to do with grandchildren. Here are the materials you will need: Small rocks or large pebbles Acrylic or waterproof craft paints Large & small paintbrushes Sharpie pens 1 1 3 1) The first thing to do is choose your pebble, preferably one with a smooth flat surface. If you can’t find any suitable pebbles in the garden or on the beach then you can buy bags of large pebbles from garden centres. Hobbycraft also sell bags of pebbles for painting. 2) Then wash your pebbles and thoroughly 8 dry them. 3) The next step is to seal the pebbles with a clear primer if you wish. This is not essential but pebbles can be porous so may absorb the paint. 4) Then paint your pebble, it is completely up to you whether you paint the whole pebble or just the top. Use one colour as a base, you will probably need two coats to ensure good coverage, ensuring each coat is completely dry before decorating. The best paints to use are waterproof craft paints or acrylic paints. 5) When your base coat is dry you can start decorating your pebble using a fine brush. You can also use a Sharpie to decorate your pebble. 6) If you are putting your pebble in the garden or leaving it for someone to find outdoors then it is a good idea to varnish your finished pebble. This will also give your pebble a lovely shiny finish. When it comes to how to decorate your rock it’s really up to your imagination! Sometimes the shape of the pebble might lend itself to a particular image – an animal or insect or a leaf or flower. The list is endless - faces, cars, birds or just design your own pattern. You could also write a message or saying on your pebble. One wonderful thing with pebble painting is if you make a mistake you can simply wipe it off or wash it away while the paint is still wet. 4 Foxgloves - also known as Goblin Gloves, Witches’ Gloves and Dead Men’s Bells By Rhoda Malloy This beautiful army of foxgloves has recently appeared in all its splendour at the edge of woodland to the rear of our house. They just had to be chosen as ‘Plant of the Week’. Their colours range from ivory through to the softest pink, then lilac through to the deepest purple, with every shade of mauve in between. The origins of the name foxglove are unclear, but can be traced all the way back to the Anglo Saxon period. It is thought that the ‘glove’ part of the name is simply due to the flowers looking like glove fingers. Less certain is the connection to foxes. One theory is that people believed foxes wore the flowers on their paws to silence their movements when hunting. Another is that these flowers are often found growing close to the earths where foxes raise their young. Foxgloves contain a chemical called digitalis that can be used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure, however the plant is poisonous if consumed directly and can cause a number of serious health problems. 5 Please email your 8 record choices and your book and luxury item you would take to your desert island to Karen [email protected] Letters to the Editor Every week I am delighted/moved to tears/astonished/pleasured immensely by the gifts of our members in their ability to so wonderfully express themselves (Dan's poem this week) - always by the pets and their pictures - Hector and his pals, Lavanja, Sufi - all of them. I append a little 'Dog's Prayer' for all the dog lovers: Treat me kindly my beloved friend, for no heart in the entire world is more grateful for your kindness than mine. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as a punishment.