We had a day out in Lincoln yesterday.
It was a beautiful day, and it reminded us fen-dwellers what hills were all about, especially the one with the unneccesarily descriptive name of ‘Steep Hill’.  There were benches at various points along the way, which was fortunate, and the weather was nice and sunny and dry, which was also fortunate, because if it had been wet I’d have slipped on the cobbles and tumbled all the way to the bottom, where my corpse would have been found and cried over by OH – unless, of course, he’d also slipped and fallen with me. Heaven knows how the young girls were managing to stay upright on their high heels at that angle, but there you go. I was glad of my trainers, that’s for sure.
Anyway. Right at the top of Steep Hill is the cathedral, and we wandered in to enjoy a little stroll on level ground before we hit the slopes again. Right at the back, all by himself, we found Alfred, Lord Tennyson, on a plinth. We didn’t know it was him at first, and OH said that he was ‘an ugly bugger’ whoever he was, but in the interests of knowledge and education I circumnavigated the plinth and discovered his identity. And I found that little verse up there, which is inscribed under his name.
Well, well. Such deep and inscrutable thoughts. And I thought he was probably saying -
‘Here, Fuzz-face – have you been chewing my socks again?’
I’m with you. I think the only one who understands the verse is the one who wrote it. All this they meant this or they meant that, tsk.
Love the photos, hope there isn’t a pub near that lamppost,enough to put you off the drink LOL
Ah, I bet you felt truly virtuous though, when you finally reached the top? I remember being dragged up the summit of Lindesfarne one freezing March morn (it was back in the days when I still made the odd effort to keep up with hubby). My extremities turned blue and (felt as though they had) dropped off. Funny thing is, torture as it was to get up there, I still recall it as one of the best of memories. (Maybe it’s just the senility kicking in?)
One of the reasons I’m not keen on poetry is that, usually it’s the deep thoughts of the writer and only the writer knows what he or she means! It’s like paintings. I’m a painter and graphic designer. When I paint an abstract, I’m asked what it represents. It represents me slapping some colour and shapes on a canvas until I like what I see! I can’t be doing with deep, hidden meanings, that are usually only decided on once the painting is finished! You touched a nerve there ha ha!
Lovely photo of the steep hill :O)
It sounds like pseudo-intelligent drivel to me.
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You have to wonder what drug that particular poet was on at the time.
Love the shot of Steep Hill, I haven’t been in a little village like that since being in Germany. I love them, they are so filled with charm and history.
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I’m all for simple poetry. Someone else’s deep thoughts are often far to deep for me to understand them.
I do like Jinksy’s poems, to be found at:
http://havantaclue.blogspot.com/
The people of Havant should erect a statue of and for her.
Glad you survived the steep hill
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I was also in Lincoln for much of yesterday. My work is based there. In the afternoon I drove through the Wolds and they looked lovely in the spring sunlight. What a beautiful, warm day it was.
PS The Usher Art Gallery on Lindum Hill has a Tennyson room with his pipe and other such stuff in it.
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Susan – I loved that lamppost!! Isn’t it amazing? I’m afraid there are several pubs nearby. We ate lunch in one called Widow Cullen’s Well, and on the way to the ladies’ room afterwards I found the well! It’s under thick glass in the rear corridor and you actually have to walk over it! Lincoln is just full of fascinating history.
Shrinky – Oh, I know exactly what you mean! Yes, we felt virtuous, but we also felt absolutely crippled and exhausted by the time we got home, and I’m still in pain today. However, I had a great time, and I’m sure it will be an enduring and very fond memory!
I will not visit Lindisfarne in March. Thanks for the tip!
Babs – I’m glad to hear you say that! I’m often not popular with serious-minded artists because I’ve always maintained that if I can’t look at a canvas and ‘understand’ it all by myself, then it Hasn’t Worked. Art is visual, and to me, if someone has to carefully explain what a painting or sculpture is about, then it has failed.
Mara – I certainly didn’t find it easy to follow, that’s for sure.
Sistertex – Well, Lincoln is certainly full of charm and history, but it’s hardly a village. It’s a sizeable city – and if I’m not mistaken, the capital of Lincolnshire, which is one of the biggest counties in England! Lincoln not only has a huge 13th century cathedral, but a huge castle too. But I do agree with you, many of the parts we walked around do look very ‘villagey’, and it’s because it’s old and has been preserved.
Carolina – Oh, I like her poetry too! She has some nice stuff there, which reminds me of the sort of thing I used to read as a child.
I’m glad I survived the steep hill, too!
Solitary Walker – It was! It was a beautiful day, really gorgeous! And today was grey and chilly again.
Maybe next time we’re in Lincoln we’ll plan our time a bit better and look for the museums and galleries!
He’d probably had to walk up Steep Hill to pose for his statue hence his grumpy look.
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He’s probably saying to his faithful hound ‘Ye-uk! What’s that on my hand? I’m not patting you again till you’ve had a bath!’
He does look a bit peeved don’t you think?
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Truthfully . . I can’t stand poetry. Very sad cos a lot of the blogs I visit are very keen on their verse and worse but each to his own I guess. As for plucking the flower that was growing quite happily in the crannies! Well I think he’s a cantankerous old bastard frankly! (I had to look up ‘fen’)
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How does that get to be ‘proper poetry’ ? If I’d written that they’d lock me up…
I like Steep Hill. There’s poetry in that
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Hmmm awful lot of crannies in that poem. And talk about owners ending up looking like their dogs!!!!
I love Lincoln.
Believe it or not, I used to live at a hotel in Lincolnshire where Sir Alf used to stay – and the garden there was said to have inspired one of his most famous poems – ‘Come into the garden, Maud.’
In spite of her immortality in that poem, Maud remains a very unfortunate name don’t you think?
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Liz – If he had to walk up Steep Hill, I’m surprised he didn’t insist on posing in a seated position!
Or maybe the dog helped to pull him up?
Granny Grimble – Hahaha! Yes! I didn’t think of that! LOL!
Baino – I feel the same, really. And also I feel guilty for feeling that way since a lot of the blogs I visit are full of poetry too, and I don’t know what to say. Frankly, since I don’t pretend to understand it or even like it over-much, I always feel a bit of a fraud even attempting to comment. I like some poetry, but for me it has to be instant appeal, and preferably rhyming.
I like Pam Ayres, for heaven’s sake!
Somnambulist – I dunno … I’ve always thought of Tennyson as ‘proper poetry’. I used to love it, and I bought myself a book of his poems when I was about thirteen. I found it the other day and read one and I thought .. what did I see in them? That poem up there is quite succinct (unless it’s an exerpt) but in the book, they really ramble.
EM – I know! Although for the first few years after getting my first greyhound I hoped and hoped, but never did get to look svelte and elegant. *Sigh* LOL!
JJ – It was the first time in Lincoln for me, but I thought it was lovely, and I’d happily go back and spend longer there!
It must have been interesting in that hotel. Did you often find yourself going out into the garden and singing? I think I would have done! I looked up the meaning of the name ‘Maud’ and it says ‘strength in battle’. I begin to wonder what happened in that garden! LOL!
Well he was complimentary to the little posey, ‘rot’ and all. Jay, you must put Lincoln on my ‘to do’ list when visiting. Sounds like a great day.
I’ve taken poetry classes and I’m convinced it’s all crap, LOL! It’s like a secret group of people decide what it means and the rest pretend in order to fit in.
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you made me laugh in a week where laughs havce been very few and far between thanks so much Sandy
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What an extraordinary economy of bronze in the plaque! Could they not have made it a bit bigger? Size MATTERS?!!!
~heh heh~
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Very pleasant place, Lincoln, though you could never call in on someone saying “I was just passing through – - ” because you never would be. I don’t think “proper poetry” should be difficult to understand – - and I hate it when poets are deliberately obscure.
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Sandy – You coming over?
Lincoln is gorgeous. I’d happily go back for another day out! We did Cambridge today, which is also gorgeous, but in a totally different way.
DM – It certainly does seem like that at times, doesn’t it?
Sandy – I’m glad to have brightened your day! I wish I could wave a magic wand, too, and put a few things right for you.
Jenny – Yeah. After reading it several times over, it occurred to me that it doesn’t say ‘rot and all’, it says ‘root and all’, but they’ve chosen a typeface which overlaps double letters! For sure, a bigger plaque would have helped, there!
And yes, size matters. Tee hee.
Daphne – I don’t think proper poetry should be difficult to read, either, but I don’t think poets are deliberately obscure, I think that’s just how their minds work. LOL!
So that’s what he looked like – yes a bit grumpy! Couldn’t read the verse properly – I probably need new specs. A x
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SJ Anne – I’m sorry, I probably made it a bit too small. Here it is -
Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies.
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower – but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.
Jay…
Have you been to my blog. There’s a reason I haven’t been around…
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Well, I do like poetry, but I’ve never been a Tennyson fan. He’s a bit maudlin at times.
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River Poet – I shall pop over, sweetie, and see what’s been happening.
Ruth – He is. And he rambles. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing, to me it should not have superfluous content or you run the risk of boring your audience. Repetition in poetry is (of course) permissible for effect, and that can be true for prose too, but on the whole, just say what you intend to say and keep it tight. That’s just my opinion, of course, but anything else bugs me.
I didnt quite understand that poetry. But your interpretation I liked
Jay – thank you for the large print version – no, I don’t understand it either. A x
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Jeeves – I’m glad you liked my interpretation. It just seemed logical to me! LOL!
SJ Anne – You’re welcome! I’ll try to remember to make things big enough in future!
Hah! What Drowsey said…
Never could get into poetry.
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Oh! Glad I read the comments.. I also thought it said ‘rot and all,’ and thought it was a really bizarre thing to write about a flower ;P
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