A Cotswold Poet

                                                                                        A Tudor Gentleman

Dear Reader,

Earlier this week I went to a talk on "Elizabethan England" which was mostly about what the people then wore, what they ate, and how they lived - stories of the aristocracy, gentry and peasantry alike. These are some of the things that I found to be interesting and hope you do too, if you don't know them already!  Apparently only four out of every ten babies born survived, and you were very lucky to be alive after the age of 45.  Your clothing was designed to keep out the extreme cold in your house, so it had to be very substantial.   For men, in the trunk hose you can see in the picture above, wool was stuffed so that when you sat down your nether regions kept warm on stone seats or chairs.  You always wore a hat of some sort to stop the lice and bugs from your hair falling into your food, and everywhere and everyone smelt horrific.  Nobody had their teeth pulled out unless it was too painful to carry on, so mouths were full of putrefying stumps. These are just a few things I can remember,  but it makes me think how lucky we are to live in the 21st century in a beautiful and civilized land.  Perhaps Emma Thompson should think more carefully when she describes her dislike of this "emerald isle".


                                                                              *

Suit, Waistcoat, Tie


Why wear his best suit, waistcoat, tie
at a talk on Nuclear Waste?
The village hall crumbles,
lit by dusty neon lights,
tea is served from cracked cups
and dull biscuits offered.

The rest wear jumble-sale clothes,
too dispirited to care,
their appearance long abandoned.

But is there someone there
who has stirred his heart,
made him feel alive again?
The reason for his best suit,
his waistcoat and his tie,
his winning smile, his bright eye?


I like to think so,
hope so.

                                                                               *

Very best wishes, Patricia