Make the most of it - I thought - catch up with OU homework - bah! Try writing a 40 line poem with a headache! Not a hope!
The biggest laugh we have had over the past three days was when the cat decided to join me in the bath. There I was up to my neck in Radox bubbles - in swaggers Dudley, never far from me when at home. He decided to jump up onto the bath which is curved and slippy but he has done it before. This time he slipped and jumped straight in - straight from a cartoon comes the tableux of me naked, desperately trying not to get scratched or bitten by very nasty cat, whilst trying to rescue said cat from rather hot bathwater. I grabbed him and hurled him out onto the floor whereupon he hissed and spat at me like a demented cat would do. I yanked the door open and pushed him out whereupon he proceeded to do circuits of the house leaving a wet trail behind him. He jumped on every bed! Two were occupied and the occupants could be heard a mile away cursing one extremely wet and extremely nasty cat.
All attempts at drying him with a towel failed miserably as he threatened to bite anyone with a towel in their hands. He lay in front of the log burner all morning and is now a very glossy if rather tetchy cat!
Somehow I doubt that 40 lines about a sopping nasty cat will be what the OU ordered so its back to the drawing board - big sigh!
I have never really been 'into' poetry. I think I was put off at a very early age - infant class to be precise. We were given the task of writing a poem about the seasons. I can still remember mine - it is etched on my memory for ever -
Spring is when the flowers start to bloom
Summer is when the roses come
Autumn is when the leaves begin to fall
Winter is when the birds have no food at all.
Not bad for a six year old but waspy teacher went right up the wall! I was truly mortified.
a) she was convinced I had copied it from somewhere - well I hadn't
b) that my parents had done it - but we did it in the lesson - I hadn't actually been home!
The only time a teacher smacked me and that was enough to turn me off poetry for life.
It was to be a crotchety english teacher, bless him, some years later that introduced the class to Dylan Thomas, John Betjeman, Ted Hughes and WB Yeats.
Don't think anything I write now will have such an effect as that first little poem in the infants - oh well here goes 40 lines to go and counting.
19 comments:
you;re not serious? you were HIT for writing that poem. Well blow me down. Maybe some of the softly softly approach we've all had to adopt in recent decades is not without its cause. But ouch! a panicky cat landing on you in a bath could be PAINFUL. Hope you're getting better now, SBS.
Rotten teacher, she should have been praising you and rushing to develop this talent.
Hope the bug has well and truly departed.
OHHHHHHhhh yes I am serious Milla! My husband was similarly put off Sunday school and religion for ever after being repeatedly hit over the head with a bible each week.
Laughed so much over the cat so unable to appreciate the poem fully as too many joyful tears so I couldn't read.
Sending commiserations over the WVB... nasty.
Just off for my bath, will look out for stray animals...
Hope everyone better now.
So you're not interested in doing mine for me, then? I've got terrible stage fright about it... every time I sit down to look at the blank page all I get is a blank page. I think reading all the technical stuff has been a bit intimidating - and I've never got slapped for writing poetry (have been rulered for talking though - at junior school!!). You've had quite an eventful start to the new year, now you deserve some better luck.
Wet cat - no thanks! I guess you'll be closing the bathroom door when you're in the tub from now on.
What a horrible experience you had in your first attempt at writing poetry. I hope that teacher is in the same horrid place I wish on the dentist how slapped me hard for crying at age six.
Sounds a bit grim on your side of the valley - wild evil bugs and wild wet cats. Lifestock eh?
Hope you are feeling better and have ticked off some of you 40 lines. Why 40? Is it a special poetic number? what if the 'muse' feels satisfied at 38? Rapped knuckles again perhaps.
Loved the demented cat story... we had to have our pusscat of the last fifteen years put to sleep last week as many of my ladyfriends on here know, and your post put me in mind of her in a hissy spitty fit. Lovely post, thanks for sharing and hope all are recovering?
Love the cat story SBS. Had me chuckling though I would have probably murdered said cat in your place! x
We had a cat that looked just like that and it was also very tetchy.As a child I wrote a poem for a competition and came second. The judges said I would have won it, but there was some disputing whether I'd written it withought parental help.My mother had insisted she type it up for me because it "looked much neater". The winner's of course,was hand-written.
Your cat in the bath story really made me giggle! Well done Dudley. I did read once that you're supposed to leave the room before laughing at a cat. Poor things can't take it, they're all ego.
I can't believe the teacher hit you because of a poem! That's terrible. My maths teacher once hit me over the head with an SMP maths book which rather turned me off the subject too. Good luck with the 40 lines!
40 lines does indeed sound like punishment. I can't 'do' poetry, or even appreciate much of it, I'm too literal and not imaginative enough.
That cat in the bath episode is priceless.
Hope you've recovered from the bug - very nasty indeed.
Oh I think your cat and mine may be related. That is so likely to happen to Sydney! Loved it. Hope you didn't get scratched to bits.
I was spitting myself at the story of the teacher hitting you. Just dreadful and incredible - astonishing you can write anything at all.
winter vomiting and swimming cat all in one day, wow so envious - NOT.
Quite horrified by that teacher! That was a fabulous poem for a six year old - well, not bad for someone of any age, to be honest. Not surprised you were put off.
Very funny story about your cat - Dudley is such a great name. Let's hope he's learned his lesson.
xx
Very funny about that cat SBS, and the teacher smacking.... eek, no, not allowed.! Reminds me of the Infant school teacher I had, Miss Bell, horrid horrid woman, and all because I loathed school milk.
I hope you are feeling much better SBS, lots of nasty flu-bugs still around.
xx
Catching up slowly SBS. What a lovely cat & a great name, all of our have 'proper' names too.
We used to have two- 'Cressida' and her daughter 'Tessa' - who would sit on the side and pat the bubbles but they never went in thank goodness. 'Archie' comes to say hello to me and stands with his paws resting on the side but wisely doesn't try to jump up.
Horrid, horrid and very stupid teacher.
Hope you found some words some where
CKx
Stayed away this long in case vomiting bug was transferrable on line.. hope you are better. I loved writing poems as a child and carried on doing so for most of my life but have lttle time at present alas. Hope you get a gold star for htis latest poem, its OK I think OU has outlawed slapping!
Ditto to the poem comments and eeeeekk to Dudley. My old cat used to tightrope-walk around the bath and my fear was always that she would slip in one day. Love that image of you and the cat grappling. Typical about the getting dry via every bed in the house...
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