A small tribute to the world’s disabled
athletes; more than most, they give of everything they have...
'Some, as great
forest trees stand well above the rest; men and women of courage and
forethought, those who start with little and often die with less – those who dare
to dream.'
*
Well,
that’s it. What little summer there was has most definitely come and gone, and
like some ignominious lover, left most of us unimpressed.
Watched the last gathering of Africa-bound
swallows rev up their engines, lift en
masse and with a final, farewell tip of their wings to us on the ground,
twitter off to warmer climes.
Die-hard
stalwarts; chaffinches, tits and robins grin at me through the kitchen window. Don’t forget our nuts and seed! they
shout, and I grin back and give ‘em a thumbs-up. For those who stay behind, winters
are hard out here in the sticks.
Already
the wind is howling around the chimney pots; hawthorns and blackthorns bend
their backs and like little old men cling tenaciously to sodden hedgerows. But
all of this is England, my home and though the wind still howls, the world
outside my study window is now at peace. I know where I stand. Without rancour,
I look forward to our next snow-covered Christmas Day...
*
