O Tell me the Truth about Love

Some say love's a little boy,
And some say it's a bird,
Some say it makes the world go around,
Some say that's absurd,
And when I asked the man next-door,
Who looked as if he knew,
His wife got very cross indeed,
And said it wouldn't do.

Does it look like a pair of pyjamas,
Or the ham in a temperance hotel?
Does its odour remind one of llamas,
Or has it a comforting smell?
Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is,
Or soft as eiderdown fluff?
Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges?
O tell me the truth about love.

Our history books refer to it
In cryptic little notes,
It's quite a common topic on
The Transatlantic boats;
I've found the subject mentioned in
Accounts of suicides,
And even seen it scribbled on
The backs of railway guides.




Does it howl like a hungry Alsatian,
Or boom like a military band?
Could one give a first-rate imitation
On a saw or a Steinway Grand?
Is its singing at parties a riot?
Does it only like Classical stuff?
Will it stop when one wants to be quiet?
O tell me the truth about love.



I looked inside the summer-house;
It wasn't over there;
I tried the Thames at Maidenhead,
And Brighton's bracing air.
I don't know what the blackbird sang,
Or what the tulip said;
But it wasn't in the chicken-run,
Or underneath the bed


Can it pull extraordinary faces?
Is it usually sick on a swing?
Does it spend all its time at the races,
or fiddling with pieces of string?
Has it views of its own about money?
Does it think Patriotism enough?
Are its stories vulgar but funny?
O tell me the truth about love.


When it comes, will it come without warning
Just as I'm picking my nose?
Will it knock on my door in the morning,
Or tread in the bus on my toes?
Will it come like a change in the weather?
Will its greeting be courteous or rough?
Will it alter my life altogether?
O tell me the truth about love.

WH Auden



HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO ALL!!!

A dry new year?

Kung Hei Fat Choy for the year of the yang wood horse! Here's wishing all peace, love, health, wealth & happiness

And in many ways I am looking forward to a dry new year. Firstly I am hoping for a stretch of dry weather to allow the water levels in the bog we call a garden to drop so I can get out there and tidy, prune, organise & plant. To be able to walk up the garden without needing wellingtons will be a joy & the KC would like to put her water wings & fishing gear away too!

But the oddest thing is that after a month on the cancer research self imposed no booze "dryathalon",  FSHubby and I appear to have lost our taste for alcohol. We have tried to get it back but to no avail. I am beginning to think that all that drinking we used to do, it was the idea more than the reality we liked!

There we were on Saturday 1st February all excited about the notion of a lovely relaxing glass of wine after 31 alcohol free days. We eyed the wine rack - we pondered - I even popped some fizz in the fridge just in case - then we settled on a much loved (when we were drinking) Barossa Valley Turkey Flat Marsanne, Viognier, Roussanne blend and popped that in the fridge. The sun was setting, the FSTeens were nowhere to be seen (it was Saturday night to be fair!) and I started cooking, with Loose Ends on R4 keeping me company in the kitchen.

As darkness fell, I stood at the kitchen window & watched the solar fairy lights that wrap around the garden trellis twinkle on & I thought - 'ooh here we are this is a glass of wine moment!' FSHubby bounded into the kitchen, we chose smallish glasses, popped the cork (oh OK unscrewed the cap but that doesn't sound as lovely!) poured fairly restrained amounts, clinked a "cheers" and sipped.

And then we looked at each other. And sipped again. Hmm. OK but nothing special. In fact it was a bit ... weird. Maybe we needed to get used to it again.... so we agreed to carry on with our activities & have a few more sips. After dinner & after about one and a half hours when in the old drinking days I would be considering opening the second bottle, I was feeling a bit woozy & barely ready for my second glass! The wine sat there unloved & undrunk. So I got myself a large glass of water which I drank with gusto!

I am guessing that we do need to re-educate our palates as alcohol (wine especially) has a distinctive and definite taste. But given that we saved (allegedly) 44,000 calories between us & likely £400 in 1 month, I am asking myself - do I really want to?!