Under Construction 2

You may remember I posted a picture about the site being 'under construction'
well, the photograph featured there was taken from my bedroom window. I am currently living next to a building site. However, that was the view a few weeks ago.

This is the view now:

This is the 3rd house to be built so far. It's amazing how quickly these guys can throw together a 'luxury villa' for someone to live in. Believe it or not, there are 16 luxury villas bein built on this site, so my family and I will have to adjust to having neighbours. We had gotten so use to being quite isolated and surrounded by open space. But now, it feels like nothing is going to be private anymore.

It will take some getting used to!

You may also notice that the beautiful, old beech tree has gone too. This saddened me the most. I love to rejoice in the beauty of the world, I think that is the reason that God created the world to be so amazingly diverse and rich in nature and colour and beauty, but it upsets me when something so beautiful can be destroyed in only a few seconds. And believe me it was detroyed! I guess that goes for a lot of things in the world though. The most beautiful and innocent things are the first to be destroyed and eliminated by man's destructiveness. I hope that out of this destructiveness can come some creativeness.
I plan to plant some tree seedlings in my garden after all my uni work is finished to try to restore some of the earth's beauty. Wish me luck!

cherry blossom and pigeons

As promised, a photo of the beautiful cherry blossom trees that I have the pleasure of seeing on the walk from the train station to my university campus.

Something I also had the 'pleasure' of seeing on the way to uni was a rather unfortunate dead pigeon. I happened to be looking up as I was passing under the railway bridge - you see, if you don't look up, you run the risk of being 'splatted' by the pigeons sitting there, as they tend to use people for target practice - and there was a pigeon lying belly-up in the net under the bridge.

It inspired this poem:

'Ode to a pigeon'

Oh dear pigeon, so grey and white

If only you knew of your terrible plight.

Maybe it's wrong, or maybe it's right,

that you should have died there some time in the night.

How did it happen? Did you die of fright?

Or did you get caught up in somebody's kite?

Who would have thought that your final flight

would have ended sadly in this awful sight

Oh dear pigeon, grey and white

I hope that you flew towards the light.

(c) Ailsa Cunningham, 2007

An old man sat in a chair

I recently visited an elderly care home as part of my uni course. When I was there I got to know some of the residents and learned a bit about their histories.
This story is adapted from something that happened while I was there.

An old man sat in a chair. He didn't speak for he had no need. He passed the time watching television or slipping quietly into his memory. He dreaded mealtimes. Incapable of feeding himself, he had to face the embarrassment and frustration as piece by piece fell into his lap. Then came the 'thickened fluids', like drinking wallpaper paste. All to ensure he stayed healthy.
An old man sat in a chair. No family, no friends, and only the nurses to pretend to care. He waited. Every day he waited for the monotony to end. Endless games of bingo, old music,and made-for-tv movies. No longer able to wear smart trousers and shirts, he was forced into jogging bottoms and mismatching sweatshirts, as the end of his dignity crept nearer.
An old man sat in a chair and his world went dark.
An old man sat in a chair surrounded by old men and women. All huddled around one bright light as the room got colder and darker. Men hammered and drilled in the darkness as food and drinks were distributed among the rest. Heat escaped and the daylight faded as his hope began to fade. He drank his wallpaper paste and ice cream, for sandwiches and cake would choke him.
An old man sat in a chair.
A young man sat on a chair striving to restore the power. Darkness seeped in as heat escaped and hope began to fade. And then a spark as light returned, power had been restored.
An old man sat in a chair as a young man entered the room. The old man looked and a spark ignited a fire in his mind. The young man looked at the old man and joy beamed from his face. For this young man was the old man's son, hope had been restored.

Sometimes, when we think that all our hope is gone and we have nothing left to do, God will show us that there is always something left to hope for.
This story was based on an actual event. I cannot describe the look of joy on the old man's face when he met the young man. It will live with me forever.

foxes and cats

I saw two foxes crossing the raiway line today while I was waiting for my train home.

I also saw a really big siamese cat crossing the railway line. It jumped off the platform at one side and leapt easily onto the platform at the other side. It seemed completely unphased by the train rapidly approaching...

cherry blossom

i love this time of year because the cherry blossom is so beautiful. walking up to uni in the morning is not a fun task, especially when there is so much work to be done but the cherry blossom makes me happy, cheers me up and calms me down, ready for a hard day's work!
it is also a great stress reliever on my way home from uni after working really hard.

also, the chestnut trees are green. the leaves have grown from buds to nearly full leaves in the space of a few days, making the world so much more green and luscious.

it's amazing to stop and look. to see the beauty of nature, the simplicity of leaves and cherry blossom.

you should try it.

stop and look at the cherry blossom

(*picture to follow when I remember to take my camera with me)