Leitha Martin's Story Blog: June 2021

Out soon!

THE SAVAGES ARE BACK! The ongoing navenchas (adventures) of Sadie Savage still include Angie, her Sensitive New Age Grandma, her parental units Delia and Phil, the snotty-nosed, squabbling twins, Peas and Mash, Toddy the bounding Irish wolfhound and Splendour the splendid cat. New entry: Sadie’s right hand friend, Roof. From teaparty shambles to runaway alpacas, booby-trap toffee apples, gatecrashing dogshows, we’re-in-this-together talent contests, high jinks at the art gallery and rocking through the Stone Age, there’s fun and mayhem for all tastes in The Savages Are Back!

Professor Ambrose Marvell was a Wandering Inventor, a Roving Impresario and Master of Ceremonies for Marvellous Spectaculars and Scientific Demonstrations. His daughter Fleur was clever at selling her father's products, for she knew everything about his inventions. She was too loyal to admit that sometimes these inventions went wrong. Each time there was a hiccup, Fleur and Ambrose were obliged to pack their bags and rattle around once more in search of new patrons. When we take up their story, they have just reached their latest place of call: Foffon Manor in the sleepy valley of the Lazeron. The ancient seat of the Count of Foffon looked such a wonderful place to live. Fleur hoped passionately everything would go well this time.

...Lily was not called Lily by anyone, not since her parents, two adventurous but rash explorers who had settled on this very small island in the Windy Western Ocean, had gone missing on an expedition to map the rest of the route to the Other Side. The Other Side of the Western ocean had yet to be discovered, but they were convinced it existed. Once they went missing this theory was left unproven, alas. Since their mission had presumably failed, and they had apparently disappeared from the face of this earth, nobody but Lily knew that they had left behind a daughter (Lily, her very own, lonesome self) on their island of Lonestorm.

Some common expressions from Shakespeare

as luck would have it; not slept one wink; as white as driven snow; give the devil his due; one fell swoop; hold a candle to; seen better days; be all and end all; in a pickle; sharper than a serpent's tooth; blinking idiot; it smells to heaven; stood on ceremony; laugh yourself into stitches; the more fool you; laughing stock; too much of a good thing; dead as a doornail; make a virtue of necessity; tower of strength; elbow room; vanish into thin air; for goodness sake; my own flesh and blood; what the dickens; foul play; without rhyme or reason

One day when he was waiting on his Lordship in the library, Barnaby obliged the Baronet by climbing to a high shelf to hand down a weighty tome. His eye happened to fall on a nearby volume. Embossed in gold and emerald on red leather gleamed the promising words:
'The COMMEDIA in FOLLEZIA'
As he removed the book a shiver of joy ran through him. When he peeked inside he seemed to hear laughter and music, as from far away. ... A whole world of humour opened up for our apprentice entertainer. The city of Follezia, it seemed, was the heart of laughter: a city of carnivals, theatres, parades, balls, festivals and joie de vivre and the book itself seemed to burst with excitement at its treasures.

Oltre la spera che più larga gira
Passa ‘l sospiro ch’esce del mio core;
Intelligenza nova, che l’Amore
Piangendo mette in lui, pur su lo tira.

Quand’elli è giunto là dove disira,
Vede una donna, che riceve onore
E luce sì, che per lo suo splendore
Lo peregrino spirito la mira...

Beyond the sphere that wheels most widely
passes the sigh that issues from my heart;
a new perception grieving Love imparts,
a new Intelligence, leads higher sweetly.

When it has reached the goal of its desires,
it sees a lady who is bathed in honour,
and such light that, amidst her splendour,
the pilgrim spirit gazes and admires...

Dante Alighieri from 'La Vita Nuova'
trans. A.S. Kline

The theme of this poem is at the heart of Dante's Gift

Tuesday, 15 June 2021