Wednesday 30 September 2015
Sunday 27 September 2015
The Immigrant
We arrived in Southampton one April morn
They dressed in thick coats, despite the season
They looked as dreich as the dawn
Not a smile or a laugh, they had no reason
Then travel by train to Edinburgh
Pastures rich and green, the rain drizzling down the window
How I missed the red earth, the searing sun and the
kookaburra
My aching heart, where will it go
Starting school, I couldn’t understand the lingo
Then it snowed for the very first time
Still yearning for Australia, the wildlife, the dingo
The kids were helpful
and friendly, but alien rhyme
We bought a house, if you could call it that
A matchbox, with a handkerchief lawn
Concrete hell, not fit for a rat
Designed by town planners, oh they should mourn
Civilisation, how can they call it that
From school straight to welfare
From children to mothers, why do they do that?
No work, no laughter, no future, no hope, does anybody care?
©Mary Chandler, 2015
Saturday 26 September 2015
Henrietta the Hairy Haggis's Fifth Birthday Party
HENRIETTA THE HAIRY
HAGGIS’s
FIFTH BIRTHDAY PARTY
Page 1 – Illustration of Henrietta with book title.
Pages 3 & 4 – Illustration of Henrietta in her purple
kilt.
Henrietta awoke feeling really excited, it was her 5th
birthday and today she was having a party to celebrate. She’d never had a party before so she put on
her best purple kilt and her mum put a purple ribbon in her hair.
Pages 5 & 6 – Illustration of Henrietta opening her
presents.
All her siblings were excited too and one by one they hugged
and kissed her and presented her with all her gifts. She got purple heather honey, a new kilt, not
to mention lots of chocolates and toys.
Pages 7 & 8 – Illustration of Henrietta’s birthday cake,
balloons and banners.
She couldn’t wait for her friends to arrive for her party,
they were due at 3 o-clock and they were going to have a big cake with candles
on the top and jelly and balloons and streamers. Henrietta had never felt so happy.
Pages 9 & 10 – Illustration of Bertie Badger & Sam
Squirrel arriving.
Bertie Badger and his wife Betty were the first to arrive
with their daughter, Bettina.
Not long after came Sam Squirrel with his son Simon, Robert
the rabbit and the twins Roberta and Robin. Fiona the fox came next with her boy Finlay,
and last but not least, Oliver the otter.
Pages 11 & 12 – Illustration of Henrietta opening her
presents.
They all brought presents: books, jigsaws, clothes and pencils. Henrietta felt so lucky and thanked them all
profusely.
Pages 13 & 14 – Illustration of Henrietta blowing out
her candles and making a wish.
They all sat round the table for her birthday tea, first of
all Henrietta had to blow out the candles on her birthday cake and make a
wish. Everyone knows you’re not allowed
to tell anyone your wish, as then it won’t come true.
They all asked her what she’d wished for but Henrietta kept
schtum.
Pages 15 & 16 – Illustration of Henrietta and her
friends playing games.
Next they played games: blind man’s bluff, pin the tail on
the donkey and last of all hide and seek. Henrietta’s mum insisted that they
could hide anywhere they liked but not down the well as it was too dangerous.
Pages 17 & 18 – Illustration of Henrietta disappearing
down the well.
Henrietta, being a little bit naughty, decided to hide in
the well. She was sure no-one would find
her there. She crawled down and down
into the dark, dark well. It was all
slippery and slimy and it gave her the creeps, but she was determined not to be
found.
Page 19 & 20 – Illustration of Henrietta hiding at the
bottom on the well.
One by one they all came looking for her but she stayed
quiet as a mouse and when they looked down the well they couldn’t see her and
went away.
Pages 21 & 22 – Illustration of Henrietta shouting for
someone to help her.
Eventually Henrietta’s friends gave up on the game and they
all came looking for Henrietta.
They shouted “come out, come out wherever you are” but
Henrietta didn’t appear.
Pages 23 & 24 – Illustration of Henrietta falling back
down the well.
She had been down the well for what seemed like hours, when
she finally decided she must climb out.
She tried crawling up the side of the well but her wee short legs
couldn’t get a grip and she fell, down, down, down into the well.
She was cold and frightened and hungry and shouted for
someone to save her. No-one could hear
her screams, what was she going to do.
Pages 25 & 26 – Illustration of Oliver Otter finding
Henrietta in the well.
Luckily, after a while, Oliver Otter heard her cries and
came running to the well.
“Quick get a rope” shouted Oliver. Henrietta’s dad pulled out a rope and threw
it down the well to Henrietta.
Pages 27 & 28 – Illustration of everybody pulling
Henrietta out of the well.
“Grab hold of the rope” shouted Oliver and we will pull you
up. Henrietta held tight to the rope and
everybody pulled at once.
“Heave, ho” said Oliver and eventually Henrietta appeared
out of the well.
Pages 29 & 30 – Illustration of Henrietta’s mum and dad
thanking Oliver.
Henrietta was so glad Oliver had come to her rescue and her
mum and dad were so glad to have Henrietta back again they couldn’t thank
Oliver enough.
Page 31 & 32 – Illustration of a very glad Henrietta
promising never to go near the well again.
Henrietta learnt her lesson and promised that she would
never go near the well again.
Copyright ©Mary Chandler, 2015
Friday 25 September 2015
Friday 18 September 2015
Wednesday 9 September 2015
Henrietta the Hairy Haggis III
Henrietta the Hairy Haggis III
Page 1 - Illustration of Henrietta with
Book Title
Pages 2 & 3 – Illustration of
Henrietta with her family.
Henrietta lived in a beautiful Scottish
Highland Glen with her mum, Harriet, dad Harry and her 12 haggis brothers and sisters.
Henrietta was the youngest of 13,
unlucky for some, but she felt blessed that she had such a wonderful
family.
Pages 4 & 5 - Illustration of Henrietta in a lovely Highland Glen eating heather.
Her life was blissfully happy and carefree. Every day she would play in the sunshine and forage for purple heather, a favourite feast for a haggis.
Pages 6 & 7 - Illustration of
Henrietta running clockwise round the hill.
She was a left-legged haggis as her two left legs were longer than her right. This allowed her to run clockwise round the hill without falling off.
Pages 8 & 9 - Illustration of Henrietta eating her porridge with her 12 siblings
On the morning of August the 12th Henrietta woke up to glorious sunshine. She sat down at the table to eat her mother’s porridge sweetened with purple heather honey.
Pages 10 & 11 - Illustration of Mr & Mrs Haggis lecturing Henrietta of the dangers of leaving the den after the hunting season had started
Her mum and dad insisted that, as the hunting season started today she wasn’t allowed out of the den.
Pages 12 & 13 – Illustration of Henrietta sneaking out off the den
On the whole Henrietta was a good haggis but sometimes she ignored her parents’ advice.
She couldn’t resist the bright summer sunshine and, in a fit of rage, sneaked out of the den even though the hunting season had already started.
Pages 14 & 15 – Illustration of Henrietta gambolling in the heather
She gambolled and munched on the heather and harebells full of the joys of summer until she came across a haggis hunt.
Pages 16 & 17 – Illustration of the lots of huntsmen and hounds
There were, what seemed like, 100’s of hungry hounds and big burly huntsmen. Henrietta was terrified because she knew if they caught her they would eat her for dinner.
Pages 18 & 19 – Illustration of Henrietta cowering in the heather.
She cowered in the heather quiet as a field mouse but, unfortunately, one of the dogs saw her.
Pages 20 & 21 – Illustration of a hound coming after Henrietta
It came running after her at breakneck speed and, in her fear and confusion, she ran the wrong way round the hill.
Pages 22 & 23 – Illustration of Henrietta running the wrong way round the hill and rolling down the hill
This was a nigh on impossible feat for a left-legged haggis and she lost her balance and tumbled over and over and over down the hillside.
Pages 24 & 25 – Illustration of Henrietta stopping with a bump outside Bertie’s badger set.
She kept rolling and rolling until she landed with a bump at the bottom of the hill right outside a badger set.
Pages 26 & 27 – Illustration of Henrietta knocking frantically on the door of the badger set.
She knocked frantically at the door, screaming that the hounds were after her. The door was opened by Bertie the badger.
Pages 28 & 29 – Illustration of Bertie talking to Henrietta
“What’s all the noise about” said Bertie.
“The hounds are after me” shouted
Henrietta
“Come in quickly” says Bertie and
promptly shut the door behind her.
Pages 30 & 31 – Illustration of the dogs digging at the door of the badger set.
The hounds dug at the door of the set, howling loudly, but luckily they couldn’t get in and soon gave up.
Pages 32 & 33 – Illustration of Henrietta crying
Although safe, Henrietta started sobbing.
“What’s wrong” asked Bertie.
Henrietta explained that, even though
she was safe from the huntsmen and their dogs, she would never be able to climb
back up the hill to her home with her wee short legs. Bertie comforted her and promised to take her
home.
Pages 34 & 35 – Illustration of Bertie climing the hill with Henrietta on his back.
True to his word Bertie climbed the steep hill with Henrietta clinging on tightly to his back and returned her to her family.
Pages 36 & 37 – Illustration of Henrietta reunited with her family
Henrietta and her family were overjoyed and couldn’t thank Bertie enough. Henrietta learnt her lesson and never left the den during the hunting season ever again.
© Mary Chandler, 2015
Monday 31 August 2015
OLD COCKY
Old Cocky was short and stocky and walked past my gate in
his ancient tartan slippers, with his usual shuffling gait that is reserved for old
folk. With his bulbous nose and wild
eyebrows peeking out of his bunnet, he stooped as he walked past me with his
stick. His grey-blue eyes looked sad and
tired, it wasn’t the first time he had told me he wished he was no longer here.
I wondered what snippet of gossip he would have for me
today, probably the same as yesterday. Cocky
has early stage dementia and unfortunately tells you the same story every day,
except when talking about his life down the pit many years ago.
His memory for the past is as sharp as the knife I sliced my
finger open with this morning. He could
tell you all the minutiae of all the neighbours’ lives, going back to before my
estate was built. I always used to rely
on Cocky to find out what the neighbours were up to.
For the last 18 years Cocky has told me, in no uncertain
terms, how things should be done when I’ve been doing up my house and garden. He was the font of all knowledge and reminded
me somewhat of my dad. With the same
bigoted, sexist and dictatorial attitudes, I looked on him as a father figure,
but, like my dad, he could also turn his hand to almost anything. He knows everyone and nobody can walk down the
street without being accosted by old Cocky and, once he strikes up a
conversation, it’s impossible to get away. Perhaps that’s why he has no true friends,
nobody but me will put up with him.
There’s another side to Cocky though, he’s very generous
and I can’t leave his house without him giving me something: a piece of fruit; a saw or a newspaper. He’s always giving things away and his ‘advice’,
which can be annoying, but is always well meant.
He has no children of his own and his wife died of cancer a
good few years ago, along with his precious black Labrador, bramble. Even his girlfriend, Anne, has given up on
him, as her health isn’t too good either and she lives too far away. One by one all his old ‘friends’ are popping
off. He must be very lonely and isolated
but, if you mention him going to an old folks club or getting a befriender, he
says he’s too ‘shy’ and digs his heels in.
I’ve given up trying to advise him as he never takes any heed.
It’s sad to see how such a proud and capable man could crumble in front
of my very eyes and I hate to think what the future holds for him.
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