Alphabe Thursday R is for Rain Rain …
This is Brazil where the rain is wet … but it didn’t ever spoil our holiday.
I come from England where it rains a lot, it is not just wet but cold ! It is unpredictable; as grownups we harp on about the importance of rain and bemoan its absence. We are even incline to pray for it, when our gardens begin to wilt and our lawns turn brown However, as children we enjoy endless sunny days and any sign of rain is outrageous. I can remember chanting when clouds gathered over the South Downs!
Rain, rain go away,
Come a again another day.
This little ditty is considered by some to have old roots; Aubrey wrote in 1687 ‘Little children have a custome when it raines to sing, or charme away the rain;thus they all joine in a chorus and sing, viz.
Raine,raine goe away,
Come againe a Saterday.
Some say children in ancient Greece had a similar practice. According to Strattis (c. 409-375 BC when a cloud obscured the sun they would call out ‘Come forth beloved sun!’
In England the old song has some variations such as :-
Rain, rain go Spain;
Never show your face again.
Rain, rain go away,
come again on April day or Midsummer day or Washing day
or
Don’t come back til Christmas day
Little Arthur wants to play.
Rain on the green grass, and rain on the tree,
And rain on the housetop, but not on me.
Rain, rain, pour down,
But not a drop in our town.
Rain, rain come down and pour,
Then you will only last an hour.
I expect there are many more ….
Wednesday’s women wood engravers …
Wood engraving as a commercial trade ended when photogravure was established in the 1880s. Although photogravure line blocks could be made from actual drawings more sophisticated collotype could produce anything captured by the camera.
Wood engraving ceased to be a secure profession and therefore women engravers were no longer a threat.
It was the Arts and Crafts movement that was able to maintain the wood engraving trade and give it life. The private press industry formed in the the late 19th century and flourished.
Presses such as Vale, Eragny, Kelmscott and Ashendene were founded in family homes in which women became involved beside the men. Morris continued to welcome the work of women from his undergraduate days. When he published the first number of the Oxford and Cambridge Magazine in 1856 it included decorated capital letters which had been engraved on wood by Mary Byfield, she was not at the time given credit for the work.
Weekly Photo Challenge … Humanity
I don’t like having my photograph taken; in fact I refuse where possible. My mother was a photographer in the 50s and 60s; she was quite talented. She often took pictures of me and my siblings. We were a motley crew and often needed a bit of airbrushing before the procedures begun. She would scrub us to an inch of our lives, find some clean socks and more difficult an un-crumpled blouse each. Then expect us to smile and looked relaxed! So the result was not always nice. So for me, no humans except my son-in-law; also very camera shy! But if you look closely you might see what is distracting him.
Monday caring for home day ….
Today, I am taking a couple of days leave. Just for me to catch breath; I have neglected things for too long. My home, garden and bike have not been cared for properly. That is to say I am not in the midst of disrepair to the untrained eye there is perhaps no cause for concern. Nonetheless there is some awry … my home has not been cared for. So I am going to begin to address this today. I have replenished my cleaning cupboards and drawn up a short list of jobs that need some attention. But before I start I will have another cup of tea.
Silent Sunday …
Care to join me
Yes!! easier said than done! but here goes
Saturday the ups and downs
This week has been upsy downsy. As you know I have asked my employers to reduce my hours, so I can work a 4 day week. Although I am beyond retirement age I would like to carry on working a bit longer, but in preparation, a shortened week will be nice. Although this plan has been approved in principle the finer details have not been fixed and a contract made. This procedure already has taken many months and I have become increasingly disappointed. This ‘disappointment’ is not having a good effect on my mental state and find myself running out ways to say this is OK, its not the end of the world or life threatening.
On the other hand this week my husband and I celebrated 32 years of marriage; strange that I write a paragraph of grief and a sentence of great joy!
Also my son-in-law had his book of short stories was published recently and this week some copies went on sale in Rio. My claim to fame is the cover design!!
But my congratulations go to Eliezer E Borba.
Friday’s library snapshot …
I came across this little book of stories and wood cuts called Nursery lays of nursery days while research nursery rhymes and hoped to feature it on a Thursday but the opportunity didn’t come up. Instead, today seemed a good time. I know nothing of the author Madeleine Nightingale and Charles T. Nightingale who created the script and woodcuts.
If anyone can enlighten me I will be pleased.
Alphabe Thursday Q is for Queen of Hearts
On the morning after my 30 something wedding anniversary I discover I know nothing about this nursery rhyme. Only that dates back at least until 1782; when the poem was 4 stanzas long, dealing with each of the other suits … there is no explanation as why the other verses have ‘dropped off’.
I did find some nice images by Randolph Caldecott, so it is just as well.
The Queen of Hearts
She made some tarts,
All on a summer’s day:
The Knave of Hearts
He stole the tarts,
And took them clean away.
The King of Hearts
Called for the tarts,
And beat the knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts
He bought back the tarts,
And vowed he’d steal no more.
Wednesday’s women engravers ….
Last week I spoke about Eliza Thompson, being part of a family of successful wood-engravers but being recognised severally. She was not alone, in the William Morris and Edward Bourne circle and those involved in the Arts and Crafts movement, and the revival of the art of wood engraving there were anonymous ladies illustrating books with black line images and wood cut prints. As seen in the illustrations above both designed by Edward Burne-Jones but engraved by women.
It would seem that women of the period were happy to support their fathers or husbands with technical support without pay and recognition.
It wasn’t until much later in the 19th century when women emerged as notable artist-engravers …
Coat Hanger Doll's House 