The Fish Market

If you are a Pirate and you are short of Pieces of Eight

You sell fish in the Fish Market at Catania.

And, because being a pirate is much more interesting than selling fish,

You liven up the experience by shouting ferociously,

Chopping up fish with razor sharp cleavers,

Scowling at passers by, swilling out tubs of bloody water

and adjusting your hat to look as piratical as possible.

Then you go back to your Pirate Ship moored in the Aeolian Sea.

********

MasterM and I walked around together
and I said "Look at this, and this, and this"
MasterM said "I know ...it is a photographer's paradise"
Later, we compare photographs
and it is fascinating to see the difference.
We agree that the fish photos are boring;
they are wonderful but too easy, too photogenic.
It is the pictures of people that win prizes
and MasterM's are better than mine - no question.
He waits patiently for the right moment
when I just snap and move on.
I wish I could show you an example
but you will just have to believe me.

Catania

Catania is a rackety, raffish city
sprawled between Mount Etna and the sea.

Tourists pass through without stopping,
on their way to fashionable coastal resorts.

It is crowded with noisy scooters,
dented cars and fearless pedestrians.

The pavements are hard black lava
but the walls are pistachio, apricot, lemon.

For a short while I have had breakfast
on the terrace among the pale domes,

wandered through back streets of tiny shops,

sat in the Piazza Duomo watching the world go by

and, standing on the balcony outside my room,
I have wondered at the cloud of swallows,
pausing on their long migration north.

Off Gallivanting

Plan A
Volcanoes, sunshine and cassata.

Plan B
Scenic tour of Terminal 5, Fish & Chips and ironing.

It all depends on Alitalia.

Back next week.

Grape Hyacinth

I take them for granted,
these obliging little blue flowers,
that colonise patches of sunshine.

Spring Vanities

Spring Vanities

Stored twisted in the atelier of winter,
crushed by the white spring snows,
it is displayed, pressed and pleated,
for my pleasure.

taffeta, tussah, shantung

This, the acid green,
beaded with morning mist,
fringed, tasselled, embellished,
I consider.

sateen, cretonne, chenille

How quickly the ochre and tawny brown
have been discarded, shabby in the bright light.
And yet, even as I smile, I plan
my fall collection.

hessian, worsted, tweed

Hat Love

Which member of Team Magpie got this text this morning?

A. The Handsome MasterM and his dark green beanie

B. The Gorgeous MissM in a tasteful, cream cable model

Or neither of the above?

It was

C. The Cheeky MrM wearing a green beret

Never underestimate the power of a beret.

p.s. MrM assures me it was a wrong number...
And as it was from David ---
I am hoping he is right...

Snow in April

Unexpected snow,
which falls so thick, so fast.

The Tree Paeony, broken by the weight,
will not flower this year.

Ah! The grief of it.

The Facts of Life

Visit to Dentist 2007

MrsM
What did the dentist say to you?
MasterM
She said my teeth were perfect and...
MrsM
And what?
MasterM
She asked me if I was flossing.
What's flossing?
MrsM
Welcome to the adult world.
Once a year you will go to the dentist
and she will ask you if you floss.
And you will say 'Yes!'
- even though it is not true -
And then you will buy some floss
And for the next two weeks you will be very good

And then you will forget all about it.

Visit to Dentist 2008

MrsM
What did the dentist say to you?
MasterM
She asked me if I was flossing.
MrsM
What did you say?
MasterM
I couldn't say anything...
I was laughing too much.

We need to talk about Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a very serious offence in the academic world that I work in. All assessed work is submitted electronically and compared to the vast data bank for matching phrases. If you are accused of plagiarism you are required to attend an interview with the Head of Department and the Chair of the Examinations Board. If found guilty your work is zero rated, you fail the course and it is noted on your file with a Formal Warning.

We all read many blogs and I think that most people are fairly good about not taking photos or texts without permission. However, I think we need to examine our consciences about two areas that are more difficult to pin down as plagiarism.

The first area is Ideas.

I have been made painfully aware of this because in this post I took a thread from another blog and did not attribute it. I have apologised to the blog author and made sure that she is credited on the post. It was due to carelessness rather than malicious intent.

The second area is Style.

I read many, many blogs before I started The Magpie Files and as far as I am aware there were no other blogs like mine in June 2007. I have tried to create a distinctive, unique style which is carefully designed and coherent. I have thought very hard and the only posts that might infringe other authors are this one which is similar to posts by Carolyn at Willow House and this one which uses a trademark monkey – it was a deliberate homage and I acknowledged bb at the time. If there are any other posts where you feel that I might have unintentionally copied your blog style please contact me.

I would be grateful if you would think about the above points in relation to your own blog and ask yourself if aspects of your blog design imitate other people’s work.

It is much more satisfying to create something unique than to copy other people.

Try it.

Fish Pie

In which MasterM REQUESTS his mother's Fish Pie
and his mother realises
that she has waited
her WHOLE life for this moment
and has to resist the urge
to leap off the sofa and HUG him.