Wednesday, August 22, 2007

A few of my favourite things!


I quite like raindrops on roses, but whiskers on kittens don't do a lot for me. I can take or leave brown paper packages tied up with string, but I must admit to finding girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes very appealing.
A recent visit to the London Palladium to see The Sound Of Music got me thinking about what exactly are my favourite things.
Some mornings, I wake up, look and my bedside clock, and suddenly panic because I think I'm late for work. The feeling of euphoria that drifts over me when I realise that it is my day off if one of the most satisfying sensations I ever experience That definitely qualifies as a favourite.
Speaking on the phone to my kids and grandchildren is very special - email just isn't the same.
I love flying. I am one of the few people who can list an airport as one of my favourite places. A complete melting pot of nationalities and cultures. The thrill I get when a plane rushes down the runway then rises into the air is indescribable. The feeling that your stomach has stayed on the ground, along with a slight dizziness, gives an amazing adrenalin rush. And the free bar on long haul fights is great!


I belong to the Friends of Cathedral Music, and whenever I can, I attend concerts by Winchester Cathedral choir. When I sit with my eyes closed and hear the magnificent organ and the voices of the choristers fill every corner of that ancient building I feel transported to another place. When the music stops, the sound just hangs in the air then slowly fades away before the silence is replaced by rapturous applause.


When I'm tired, hot and thirsty, my first sip from a freshly pulled pint of Harveys Sussex Bitter is satisfaction personified. The frothy head, and the aroma from the hops and malt. Bliss!


Walking on the beach, strolling across the hills and wandering through the forest. Getting soaking wet in the warm Summer rain, and throwing snowballs in Winter. Daffodils in Spring and golden Autumn leaves.


France is just a fifty miles or so across the water, yet the way of life there is so different from that which I lead. My favourite way of spending a day is to drive onto an early ferry - the Eurotunnel just isn't the same - then drive a few miles South for a few kilometres and simply soak up the atmosphere of the tiny rural villages. Men in the square playing boulle, and others sitting around outside scruffy little bars. Huddles of ladies passing the time chattering and tiny children chase each other and roll in the dust. Then lunch at my favourite restaurant, the Bon Aberge in Ardress. Ah, the french lunch. Not so much a meal, more of an event! No hurry, no rush! Then back again along roads lined with tall tress as straight as soldiers, dotted with chateau and farmyards.


'When the bee stings, when the dog bites, when I'm feeling sad. I simply remember my favourite things, and then I don't feel so bad!

14 comments:

  1. Ahhh what a great article sir. Sounds so relaxing just thinking about those favorite things and not having to rush. Also looked at the rest of the pics from the airshow gorgeous thanks for sharing them. Also wanted to let you know I have a new poem up please check it out.

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  2. Very enlightening Cheffie. Now I know who your eally are. Beautiful thought from a beautiful person!

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  3. Thanks for sharing Keith. A insight full write you have made. Wonderful and light there are still some good things out there.

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  4. You sure you didn't pinch this outa my brain? Could easily have done so. Brill.

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  5. I just did the tagging game which forced me into these thoughts as well. I had simular ideas about what I liked. Yours are beautiful and I share with you simular ways to spend a day and the beach, forest, flowers and the way to soak in music and flying.

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  6. Hello Keith, thankyou for dropping by and leaving a comment...and also hello to a fellow Helium writer,,(although early days for me)...Looking at your blog I think I have a long way to go...but 'tis a lovely journey.....My Favourite things..Too many to name...but one of them My Border Collie Sasha....
    Lovely reading.......Sheena.

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  7. Jadey,Gimme ,Shari - thankyou so much for your comments! What can I say!
    Dickiebo - when I crept into your mind I didn't realise you had spotted me!
    Marja - don't mention the word tag! It might give someone an idea for a new one!
    Missy - Paris IS beautiful in the Spring. It's also beautiful the rest of the year!
    Sheena - thanks for dropping by. We Heliumites need to stick together!

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  8. Brown paper packages tied up with string are one of my favorite things.

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  9. Morgy babe! I feel cheated! My parcel arrived in a brown paper package stuck down with sticky tape!

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  10. Keith you live an enchanted life!
    You take the time to smell the roses, that's fantastic!

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  11. Hey Keith - so long since I've had time to visit everyone's blogs - my how you have changed LOL Very posh!

    Maybe the lyrics of..and the times they are a changing?

    Love the new look you :)

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  12. Awww Keith I loved this one. Made me sit back and think of my favourite things.

    Thanks

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  13. The string must've fell off in transit.

    ;P
    -J

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  14. You really know how to conjure up beautiful pictures in the minds of your readers.
    I just want to be there!
    Thank you so much
    Tory

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