Skipton

We headed down to Skipton this morning as Frank wanted to go to the music session at The Boat House. It’s lovely to be here on a sunny day.
There was a Sunday market at the canal basin so there were lots of people about and it was a nice atmosphere.
At some point though someone far away let fireworks off and Bella was petrified and wouldn’t go outside for the rest of the day. 
Frank went to his music session and I stayed on the boat for some me time. Then at about 4.30 I thought I’d take Bella over to the pub for the last hour of the session. The pub is her favourite place because she gets a treat there but she was still so scared I had to drag her off the boat. Eventually I got her there and she just lay on the floor. There were some really good singers there and also a guy called Roland - who goes to my Tap Dance  class - he played saxophone and he’s moored up next to us!
 The collage shows the farm to the north of our mooring - they own the moorings and a campsite, then the boats along our stretch. We were turning the boat to head south to Skipton which is only a couple of miles away. The man under the bridge is magnet fishing and was laughing because he only fished a coin and a spring out of the canal. The lady with the blue hair caught my eye because I thought she was supporting Ukraine but she said she didn’t realise it was the flag colours.
The other extra is of the gorgeous Hellebores at the mooring.

I wrote my poem as I had been thinking about how we have to pack up things when we come to the boat and it made me think how it would be to have to pack my belongings to escape a war situation. I could do that if I had time to think about it - but many had to just grab what they could in a hurry. It’s quite a long poem today, don’t feel obliged to read all my poems they are mainly for my record of the year ;-)

65/365 
An Exercise in Escaping

I pride myself on travelling light
But if I needed to leave very fast
Say, to save my life, what would I take?
What would I leave in my past?

I’d have to start by making a list
Of essentials I’d likely need
Undies, socks, toothbrush and wipes
Pills, head-torch, phone and lead

Food and water to keep me going
(And a little bit extra to share)
Oh, I nearly forgot my glasses
Without them I’d get nowhere

I’d like to take some face cream
Foundation and my lipstick
I know that may seem extravagant
But for my well being it’s quite basic

I may have room for some treasures 
A few old family photos and a book, 
My Granddad’s wee purse and old coins,
Mum’s pearls, some wool, a crochet hook

I’d wear as many layers of clothing,
As would allow me to move quite freely
And my good, strong walking boots,
I think my list is done now, well, nearly.

I couldn’t go without my husband
Or without our precious dog - Bella
But everything else that I value
I would box up and put in the cellar.

Now I’ll look at the list I made
And as an exercise I’ll try to pack
To see if I could carry my worldly goods
In a  rucksack upon my back.

For me it is just that - an exercise
And I hope it never becomes real
But for those escaping war just now
How must it really feel?


That’s it for today Blippers.
I hope you’ve had a good weekend :-)X