Quill of the Hill

The whole of January is gone so it really is time to at least make a stab at those New Year Resolutions.

Rezzy is a "heaps and piles" organizer if there is such a thing. One pile is hereby reduced by sharing all the "goodies" for future Quills that clutter nearly every pile.

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

Did you know:

Many churches in England were once available to rent for lectures. The income made the survival and maintenance of the buildings possible.

When times got better and the buildings no longer needed that income, a hymn of thanksgiving was written. It begins:

"Lord, let those ransomed halls rejoice .."

Do you cry at weddings? People used to, including the bride in some instances.

Time was when the bride's weeping freely was thought most reassuring for the groom. Why? Because a witch could weep only three tears; therefore, no matter what the bride's condition or however she had lured him, the groom was not taking a witch "for richer, for poorer, for better or worse" until death did them part.

Cursing and swearing were once outlawed in England. Fines were imposed according to a man's social station. So many false swear words evolved.

When you were a kid do you remember how wicked you thought the story of the little boy who insisted he hadn't been swearing? He'd

only said, "Cheese 'n crackers got all muddy!"

!!#@@** *()(!!*^)&^ (*&^&*( !!%$##$!@

In an old letter from England, a friend wrote:

"I've bought an English book on birds so my host and I will stop arguing about the names of the birds we're seeing and hearing. It's a source of great amusement and reminds one that this is the country of Shakespeare. For example, the description of the song of the Great Tit:

"high pitched 'song', often rendered 'Teacher! Teacher!' has been likened to the sharpening of a saw and pumping of a bicycle tyre."

Ah, there will always be an England! ---and how long is it since you heard a saw being sharpened or a bicycle tire being pumped up?

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

If you get a Valentine that pleases you, bring it to lunch that day and share it with your table mates. Rezzy has seen one from about 1912 or 1913 that is a treasure.

Which valentines do you remember best? The ones made for you? The sarcastic put-downs of grade school? The edible ones? The fragrant ones? --- yes, yes, yes.

"To everything there is a season and a time for everything under the sun."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Mary Gray shares her weekly New York Times. The Large Type Weekly for January 6-12 had a splendid article on "Lost Eloquence" by Carol Muske Dukes.

Get hold of a copy if you loved poetry and memorized lots of it. Dukes makes a splendid case for the life-long resource and source of pleasure it was for most of us. Will any of our grandchildren have that experience?