tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post3342740496916010804..comments2024-03-27T12:08:02.812+00:00Comments on THE SMALL THINGS: A little bit of a rambleTania Kindersleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-35693574760056349672011-08-30T22:31:03.916+01:002011-08-30T22:31:03.916+01:00I am so glad that the Emerson quote went down well...I am so glad that the Emerson quote went down well. I came back to this post (searched among the last couple of weeks' worth as I couldn't find where it was) because I HAD to see the photo of the pigeon with her bum in the air once more. :DCassiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07531093715654362821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-54599486256943420372011-08-25T20:54:01.204+01:002011-08-25T20:54:01.204+01:00Mona - so agree about Cassie's quote. And clev...Mona - so agree about Cassie's quote. And clever of you to see the collie coming through.<br /><br />Lucille - am laughing and laughing and laughing. Of COURSE wv is word verification. I should have worked that out. And of course you should have mentioned it. It's hysterical. Am only relieved that my poor little cotinus shall live to see another day. :)Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-66303175463463039962011-08-25T20:17:27.651+01:002011-08-25T20:17:27.651+01:00But I must just set your mind at rest. Absolutely ...But I must just set your mind at rest. Absolutely nothing in your garden has the pox, it was just my rather startling word verification. I should never have mentioned it.Lucillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14414527658216916537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-24589731669129164812011-08-25T12:14:32.566+01:002011-08-25T12:14:32.566+01:00cassie, that quote is perfect, thank you.
Tania, ...cassie, that quote is perfect, thank you.<br /><br />Tania, I love, love, love the dear Pigeon. That's her collie-ness showing though.Monahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00690514658812327754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-37372712726393974122011-08-25T10:14:57.069+01:002011-08-25T10:14:57.069+01:00Really overwhelmed by the loveliness of these comm...Really overwhelmed by the loveliness of these comments. Did start off replying to all individually, but it is a mad work day, so please forgive me if to these last ones I just say a huge, collective,heartfelt thank you. THANK YOU. xTania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-57413626782162807422011-08-25T10:03:12.991+01:002011-08-25T10:03:12.991+01:00Meghan O'Rourke. I think it was mainly an extr...Meghan O'Rourke. I think it was mainly an extract from her book, The Long Goodbye. I read the article too, and thought of you and your blog.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12363415888608803422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-81063697635793739392011-08-25T09:26:51.965+01:002011-08-25T09:26:51.965+01:00Tania - the statement on introvert and extrovert -...Tania - the statement on introvert and extrovert - oh how I love that. It made me harumph (much like Pigeon) in recognition. Going mad is one of my biggest fears too...much more heartening to know we can all do it together...on the web if needs be. I like your sharing; it makes me feel there is hope. And hope can only be a good thing can't it? Lou xLouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457538074763854583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-26045787048117857342011-08-25T07:56:42.608+01:002011-08-25T07:56:42.608+01:00If art is something that reminds us what it is to ...If art is something that reminds us what it is to be human and to live in this world (and I think it is) then you are an artist.LizMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-20344658084298875212011-08-25T07:32:55.560+01:002011-08-25T07:32:55.560+01:00I've never commented anywhere before, but I ju...I've never commented anywhere before, but I just have to say - don't worry about turning into Marie of Roumania - your writing is the sanest and most life affirming on the net! a source of regular joyful mutters of agreement.. As for the Pigeon, I have a terrier I adore as much! And take nearly as many photos of... Just keep on doing what you're doing, please...Rosienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-87607350900140940172011-08-25T05:16:59.422+01:002011-08-25T05:16:59.422+01:00Love the Pigeon. just love him.Love the Pigeon. just love him.Mysticahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10941269615559681014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-89496313138112588102011-08-25T04:17:54.570+01:002011-08-25T04:17:54.570+01:00"I think that is why you can read something b..."I think that is why you can read something by someone who lives a distant life in a far country and think, yes, yes, I am not the only one."<br /><br />Yes, yes, exactly! This is the heart of it all.<br /><br />The laurel is so beautiful, and the cyclamen have been stunning all week.<br /><br />Silly Pigeon! You are so funny!Razinahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-30757960554328893202011-08-25T04:10:10.561+01:002011-08-25T04:10:10.561+01:00Big difference between navel-gazing (or status: ge...Big difference between navel-gazing (or status: getting ready to go to church, just ate a ham sandwich, etc etc etc) and what you are doing. It takes no special talent to natter on. It most certainly does to turn out prose that makes your readers think every day. <br /><br />I feel lucky to have found your blog, and on the most insane days, it offers a serenity something akin to your hill and to the Pigeon. On the days when the blog isn't in the least serene, its sanity still makes it seem so. And anyhow, even if one day you turn up illiterate, I'll still read for the Pigeon. ;-)<br /><br />Railbird<br />PS Thanks for some of the best racing stuff I've ever read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-1702809179660525832011-08-25T02:59:21.826+01:002011-08-25T02:59:21.826+01:00But you are ALWAYS my daily dose of sanity! :)
So...But you are ALWAYS my daily dose of sanity! :)<br /><br />Sometimes I think all writing is about the human condition, it's just the scale that varies and the emotional depth. And I get furious at the idea that somehow emotion is a bad thing and everything should be looked at coolly and remotely. Ditto personal.<br /><br />Maybe, just maybe, the ramblings of our minds as we try to make sense of the world - maybe these <i>are</i> the jewels of our life. Sometimes we can compress them later into elegant writing. Other times, it's the immediacy and personal slant that makes them so recognisable, so potent.<br /><br />Quite apart from those thoughts - oh, the Pigeon! There is a wonderful vitality when a dog does that rolling scruffle, and the happy glint in their eyes! Best of hugs to her.<br /><br />There is something exquisite about white geraniums. The coloured ones just don't do it for me. Damned if I know why. p.s. I think the wv means cotinus. Some of the leaves look a little ruffled, as if they have leaf curl.Erikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08181307209370955942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-37920237037969072172011-08-24T23:58:13.965+01:002011-08-24T23:58:13.965+01:00As everybody else has already said eloquently, we ...As everybody else has already said eloquently, we come here because we love the words and we love the connection (I love, too, that I am very familiar with many of the commenters and smile to see that they have dropped in and left a note). For me, and many others I am sure, I also love to see the photos of a country I adore more than any other and am very far from, and the excellent Pigeon brightens me every time. I think the rolling pictures are the most delightful yet.Elliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04888019230555832929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-13459499362656272122011-08-24T23:02:35.493+01:002011-08-24T23:02:35.493+01:00I came to your blog after a followed a link about ...I came to your blog after a followed a link about a brave horse or racing on some other blog and I'm so happy I did! I've been meaning to write something along these lines for ages but I did not want to appear stalkerish or something - today you've presented me with the perfect opportunity. I'm by no means insecure about myself but I live very differently from most people around me and it was certainly a 'relief' that there's someone else in the world whose life is probably very similar to what mine will be in a few years from now, and that it is a good life that can be lived well. I'm quite sane I promise and not in love with you or anything :-) but a big thank you!sabinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-59671531690489448162011-08-24T22:20:54.584+01:002011-08-24T22:20:54.584+01:00ooops i meant the white geranium!ooops i meant the white geranium!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-59224409536377725612011-08-24T22:19:31.521+01:002011-08-24T22:19:31.521+01:00Tania, what beautiful words. Your fears are our f...Tania, what beautiful words. Your fears are our fears - its the human condition - but how comforting to know one is not alone.... I love the snowdrop...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-32227235009914816992011-08-24T22:08:30.434+01:002011-08-24T22:08:30.434+01:00Tania: thank you, as ever. You so often reach plac...Tania: thank you, as ever. You so often reach places I wasn't even aware of, but today is especially right.<br /><br />The basic needs: so true. They are summed up in my own favourite quotation - this time Ralph Waldo Emerson: <br /><br />"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded."<br /><br />*** <br /><br />And the Pigeon's expression is quite priceless.Cassiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07531093715654362821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-19713548625351789542011-08-24T21:16:56.410+01:002011-08-24T21:16:56.410+01:00Lucille - you are a genius. It IS pittosporum. I k...Lucille - you are a genius. It IS pittosporum. I knew one of the Dear Readers would know. Thank you so much. But what is this pox of which you speak?Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-38798846578852780142011-08-24T20:59:25.704+01:002011-08-24T20:59:25.704+01:00I wonder if the lovely shrub is a pittosporum?
(O...I wonder if the lovely shrub is a pittosporum?<br /><br />(Oh dear! the wv is poxed - is that allowed?)Lucillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14414527658216916537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-12590161548605064222011-08-24T20:00:48.332+01:002011-08-24T20:00:48.332+01:00Oh Helen - what an incredibly, incredibly touching...Oh Helen - what an incredibly, incredibly touching thing to say. Here's to you and your friends. Thank you.Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-66662341720492306292011-08-24T19:45:22.037+01:002011-08-24T19:45:22.037+01:00But you are clean and true and it is about identif...But you are clean and true and it is about identification. Your posts are so beautiful and brave and inspiring. I have told told so many of my friends about you - including a writer friend in LA who had got stuck until she read you and a bereaved friend who couldn't get out of bed. LA friend started wring again and the other one got out of bed. Just not gracious enough to thank you . Missed you last week - all week was wondering when you were coming back. thank you from me and on behalf of my radio 4 listening, soup making, should know better than not to say thank you friendshelenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793869938801088266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-63717816870208092522011-08-24T19:39:20.025+01:002011-08-24T19:39:20.025+01:00Marnilla - you are brilliant. It WAS Glenn Close. ...Marnilla - you are brilliant. It WAS Glenn Close. So glad there is someone else out there who can quote great chunks of The Big Chill. :)Tania Kindersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18355967725006605825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365244084462704027.post-18414319868179196402011-08-24T19:16:05.223+01:002011-08-24T19:16:05.223+01:00I had almost forgotten that William Hurt line (bec...I had almost forgotten that William Hurt line (because someone - I think Glen Close - replies, "yeah that was a real class act he pulled off in our bathroom" referring to the suicide.<br /><br />I have a 6-lb Pom-chihuahua mix (Moose) that rolls around like that. It's the most joyous thing I've ever seen. <br /><br />Thanks as always for this post!marnillanoreply@blogger.com