The hands on the watch revolve at breakneck speed.
When you’re busy, time seems to slip through the fingers rather quickly – the hands on the watch revolve at breakneck speed, the ‘To Do’ list disproportionately longer than the length of time available. The pace of events during this last week seems to have been rather rapid for some other folk too.
Walking the Wessex Ridgeway with a couple of old school friends we were struck by how green and lush the Dorset countryside was looking in the middle of October – surely the golden hues of Autumn must be on their way? With a little warm sun, it felt more like Spring than the closing months of the calendar. But sure enough, all of a sudden the leaves have turned and fallen almost as fast as a Prime Minister.
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, was well known for his nonsense writing. The chaos of Alice’s world is beautifully accompanied by the lyrical nonsense of his poetry, much of it written just down the road from here in Oxford. A little nonsense poetry seems quite appropriate for a nonsensical week.
The Jabberwocky
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
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