K. Morris's Blog, page 461

Sunday Evening Humour

There is a young lady called Irene
Who I have never seen.
She has a son named Mike
Who looks very like
Me, and that young lady I’ve never seen …

I know a young lady named Moore
Who all the men adore.
She works in a club
Called the Back Rub
And the police they bang on the door …

The Great Panjandrum Himself: Nonsense Literature Before Carroll and Lear

I am a big fan of humorous verse, particularly the limerick so was interested to read this post on Interesting Literature.

Interesting Literature

In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle explores the eighteenth-century origins of nonsense literature

When did the tradition of English nonsense literature arise? Who invented nonsense literature? Although Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear are the names that immediately spring to mind, several eighteenth-century writers shou...

Acorns

As a child I took the acorn
From where it lay
On the forest’s lawn
As by way
Of the woodland path I went
Content
In my harmless play.

Shall I take
The acorn today
And break
The shell
I know so well?
The truth forlorn
Is that many an acorn
Have I broken in play.

The Myth of “Free Will”

According to the author of this article, (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/14/yuval-noah-harari-the-new-threat-to-liberal-democracy) “free will” is a “myth”. While we can choose who to vote for, our choices are, for the most part products of our biology and societal influences (E.G. family upbringing). The author contends that governments and corporations will, in the future be able to “hack” us and know us better than we know ourselves for, in his view we are “hackable animals”.

Th...

Each Night

Each night

I turn out the light

To sleep.

But in does creep

Miss White,

Every blooming night!

Guest author: Kevin Morris: Heartless, witless nature…

My thanks to Sue Vincent for publishing my guest post.

Sue Vincent's Daily Echo

In his fine poem (one of my favourites), “Tell me not here, it needs not saying”, A. E. Housman beautifully expresses his love of nature while (in the final verse) acknowledging that Mother Nature is, when all is said and done “heartless and “witless”:

“Possess, as I possessed a season, the countries I resign, where over elmy plains the highway would mount the hills and shine, and full of shade the pillared fores...

There Was A Young Lady Called Anna

There was a young lady called Anna
Who lived in a haunted manor.
A ghost named White
Sang at night
In a most delightful manner …!

There was a young lady called Anna
Who lived in a haunted manor.
A ghost named Ria
Filled her with fear
So she left that haunted manor!

Guest author: Robbie Cheadle ~ Churchill’s War Rooms

They don’t make them like Churchill anymore, unfortunately. I very much enjoyed reading this post. Kevin

Sue Vincent's Daily Echo

Background

World War II was the first time in its history that Britain faced a concentrated threat from the air. This aerial threat necessitated some discussion about how the British government would run the impending war and from where. Initially, there was some talk of evacuating key personnel out of London and, if necessary, to the West Country. This was dismiss...

A Short Analysis of the ‘Thirty Days Hath September’ Rhyme

I have often wondered about the origin of this rhyme.

Interesting Literature

As Groucho Marx once said, ‘My favourite poem is the one that starts “Thirty Days Hath September”, because it actually means something.’ The meaning of ‘Thirty Days Hath September’ is self-evident and straightforward. But what are the origins of this famous rhyme? ‘Thirty Days Hath September’ runs, of course:

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting February alone....

The Bird Of Ill Omen

At about 8:30 pm, on Sunday 9 September, I was strolling through All Saints churchyard (https://newauthoronline.com/2018/09/09/graves-and-poems/). As I passed through the graveyard, I heard a voice loud and clear. It was that of an owl, although I was unable to determine whether he was in the churchyard or somewhere close by.

We humans have a great capacity for attributing to living creatures (other than man) significance. On seeing a black cat we think of witches, of bad luck and the horned...