Treasures from the Towers of Hanoi

[shewhomust]

One week today, durham_rambler celebrates a significant birthday; and six days from today, there will be a significant party. In the interim, we are doing significant housework. Furniture is being moved (and in extreme cases, disposed of). The linen press has been moved from the hall, but can't be put in the bedroom until the dresser from the bedroom has been moved to the spare room, which can't be done until the surplus furniture from the spare room has gone, and the items which are blocking the hall have been shifted. These items naturally include the linen press. And so forth. But progress is being made, much has been taken to the tip - and the pile of books has been moved from the foot of the stairs.

That particular pile consists of books which have not yet been read, and therefore cannot be shelved. It would be easier, in a way, if sorting through them had revealed that many of them were no longer wanted; but it was quite gratifying to discover how many books I have that I want - that I am impatient - to read. There is a rather beautiful copy of The Wizard of Oz, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. There is the copy of Ann Cleeves' The Crow Trap that I was looking for. There is another copy of Flecker's Hassan (I swear I'm not trying to corner the market in this book; I just have trouble leaving it in booksales).

There are several books of Eleanor Farjeon, including The Children's Bells: I sat on the stairs and turned the pages, and kept finding things I wanted to post here. I'll settle for the title poem :

The Children's Bells

(When the half-muffled City Bells rang in commemoration of the Bell-ringers who fell in the First World War, the bells of St Clement Danes could not take part owing to damage.)

Where are your Oranges?
Where are your Lemons?
What, are you silent now,
Bells of St Clement's?
You, of all bells that rang
Once in old London,
You, of all bells that sang,
Utterly undone?
You whom all children know
Ere they know letters,
Making Big Ben himself
Call you his betters?
Where are your lovely tones
Fruitful and mellow,
Full-flavoured orange-gold,
Clear lemon-yellow?
Ring again, sing again,
Bells of St Clement's!
Call as you swing again,
'Oranges! Lemons!'
Fatherless children
Are listening near you -
­Sing for the children,
The fathers will hear you.

Comments

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

You bring memories back. I love Eleanor Farjeon's work. The only book I have, though, is The Silver Curlew. It took me years to find a copy of that and I still read it and think how faded and pale a lot of fantasy is by comparison.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Do you know her poetry, too?

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

Only the poems that made it to anthologies in our school library. Enough to know I would like it as much as I liked everything else I could find of hers. Now I need to rediscover her :).

silver curlew

[koonjblog.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

The only book I read as a child growing up in Pakistan was "the silver curlew." It was in the library and I fell in love with it. I'm almost 40 and now I'm trying to track it down. Thats how I found your entry! :( It's hard to find in the US though.

Re: silver curlew

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

It's hard to find anywhere, now. It's such a beautiful book, too.

Re: silver curlew

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

It's currently listed (at Amazon.uk (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silver-Curlew-Eleanor-Farjeon/dp/0863910122), who will probably ship to the US, and including one Marketplace seller who says "international delivery available". They might be worth trying. Good luck!

[sovay]

Eleanor Farjeon

Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard!

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

And Martin Pippin in the Daisy Field.

And Perkin the Pedlar, which is the one I knew as a child and lost, and had to find another copy.

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

That's what happened to me with The Silver Curlew. I've never read Perkin the Pedlar, though. I'll watch out for it.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Have you ever come across Susan Cooper's talk about trying to find a copy of Perkin the Pedlar, in Dreams and Wishes? Seems to be a rare book.

Living in Bristol, I often pass through Patchway and Sea Mills, and never without a thought of the busy stitching gnome or the soul-grist.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

What lovely heaps of books you have!

Nine

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Are you implying that you have spare copies of Hassan? Such that, f'rexample, an indigent friend who has long lost his own might be able to beg one from you...?

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

That's what they're for.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Oh, goodie. Write me as one who loves his fellow Flecker fans...

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

>The linen press has been moved from the hall, but can't be put in the bedroom until the dresser from the bedroom has been moved to the spare room, which can't be done until the surplus furniture from the spare room has gone, and the items which are blocking the hall have been shifted. These items naturally include the linen press. And so forth.

You're not living in our house, by any chance, are you? I hadn't noticed, but hey - you could hide an army in my house and I wouldn't notice.

Seriously, we have the same problem with book shelves.