VIZ 601

I am lucky enough to have a few paintings of sailing ships – produced by a great-uncle – on my walls. On the back of one is the second verse of the John Masefield poem Sea Fever.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

So this probably inspired a school project for a ditty about what sounds you hear at the seaside.

As the wind whistles through the rope on the boats
and a gull flashes by with a squawk.
The howling waves crash over the beach – Shouting.
Not wanting to talk.

My Uncle John always took lots of photographs. Nothing was too inconsequential.

A frame from a programme on television, newspaper clippings, hens,  dogs,  cats,  buildings, landscapes. Generous time was also given to his nieces, nephews, brothers, in-laws and friends.

Last week I wondered if there were any photographs of the old National School (st Josephs) in Killasser. It was demolished sometime in the early 1990’s with a new school being built near the parish church. Continue reading →

Letter from the IBTS on the stolen New York Laptop.