It’s time I shared a few more of my mysterious notes. I started jotting things down – things observed, things overheard, things imagined, because so often brilliant ideas occur and my memory files must just about be stuffed full, and are in terrible disorder, so noting what I’ve noticed is the only way to keep hold of them. I’ve mentioned before that my handwriting is so shocking that’s it’s barely legible or understandable, so my phone is the answer. It is not a complete answer, because I mistype and sometimes what I correctly type is so enigmatic I can’t fathom it.
Here are some October jottings (I’ve saved the best until last):
- Retning – the Danish word for ‘direction’. I have no idea why I should note this down, although I am attempting to learn Danish
- Der Titel war meine Idee – goodness knows why I wrote this in German, I can’t remember what the title was, nor what it was the title of
- shanty schmoozing – we were recently at the Mevagissey shanty fest, and this is when different bands get chatting to each other, comparing shanties, and sharing stories
- the ball-less balladeer – I dread to think!
- you can smell the weirdos – this must also refer to the shanty-fest
- rolling kings/rolling pins – another shanty comment. ‘Rolling pin’ is a mistake – it should be ‘rolling king’, as in the shanty ‘South Australia.’ (No-one is sure what a rollin’ king is) –
In South Australia I was born,
Heave away, Haul away!
In South Australia, round Cape Horn,
Bound for South Australia
Haul away, you rollin’ king!
Heave away, Haul away!
Haul away, Oh hear me sing!
We’re bound for South Australia
- It’s the same mistake I made with the thermal underwear
- Some of us are born tarted up, some of us are just born tarts
- It’s not the distance, it’s how far it is to get there
- “I did like it, but don’t get carried away, Jeanette.” “Why don’t you get carried away, Jeannette? You deserve it!”
- Are your boobs ok on that Keith? Do they need a few stitches, we don’t want them dropping off!
The image shown is not Jeanette but a selection of buoys from the Beach’d Buoys shanty band, as appearing in the Mevagissey Shanty Fest, at Into the Woods in Pentewen.
Lois Elsden 