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Thursday 11 July 2013

LAND'S END at 11a.m.

 
 
 
Human feet have trampled this land
down to bare, uneven stone
the colour of ageing bone.
 
Rocks jut out into choppy sea:
a jagged brownness bathed in sun,
rising steeply from deepest blue.
 
Seagulls fight over crumbs
the tourists drop, their constant laughter
mocking the folly of mankind
 
who'll part with a small fortune
just to prove they've been here:
to stand beneath the sign
 
and have their likeness captured,
then buy mug, tea towel or postcard
to commemorate this day forever;
 
along with stories they'll tell back home
in native tongue, while fingering their treasures -
matching each with a memory
of Land's End that day, at 11a.m.

18 comments:

  1. I think it might be priceless to stand there myself :)

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    1. It is a beautiful place, Keith...not inexpensive to visit, but worth it I think!
      Many thanks:)

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  2. My last visit to Lands End was in '79, a drenching wet day, and the day of the Fastnet Race in which many yachts and small boats were lost in the gales and high seas. Thanks for reminding what L.E. is like in saner times.

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    1. That is really interesting, Dave.
      I think that Fastnet Race would have proved too unnerving for me to watch.
      Fortunately for me, I missed it by one year...I was there in '78.
      It has changed quite a bit since then.

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  3. Wonderful words. I would cherish the whole experience.. A destination someday..

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    1. It is well worth the trip, Anthony...but then I would say that! I adore all of Cornwall.
      I would truly love to see what your amazing talent would sculpt from this landscape...
      Many thanks:)

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  4. I so much like the opening stanza and "Land's End 11am" sings.

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  5. I love this so much..I've read about it in books, if I had to choose a place I'd choose this

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    1. Oh I so hope you can visit someday, Lorraine!
      The whole of Cornwall is steeped in ancient myth and legend...you can actually FEEL it, just beneath the tourist trappings. It is amazing.
      Thank you so much:)

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  6. Beautiful place I've heard it is, and I have been ever so close to it. Lovely poem, many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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    1. Thank you!
      Do hope you can visit someday.
      It is so beautiful there:)

      Hope you're enjoying the sun!:)

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  7. indeed I feel it in my bones and owe this to the great author Rosamunde who wrote all her books from Cornwall, lands' end, she wrote Winter Solstice, Shell Seekers, Coming Home, September or something like that and it was completely in Cornwall, Land's End and I've see it in my brain so many times Rosamund Pilcher wow I have a blank something like that anyway if you see any of her books grab it, although you probably have already lol

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    1. Wow, that is amazing...thank you so much Lorraine!
      I haven't read any of her books, but I will be now!
      I have seen Winter Solstice on TV. I'm not sure if it is the same story, but I think it may well be. There was also a Summer Solstice in the series.
      I am watching the Wycliffe stories over and over at the moment on ITV3, just for the stunning Cornish locations. Think I must be a sad case! haha:D

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  8. Beautiful imagery Ygraine! I love Cornwall too.

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    1. Thank you, dear lady!
      Perhaps we will meet there one day...would be really nice...:)

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  9. If I were able to I'b buy a ticket and hide in Cornwall, I wonder how long it would take them to see me, see that I'm Canadian see that I have no passport...see that i fell from the sky

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    1. If you picked your spot carefully, they'd probably never find you! lol.
      There are so many beautiful, wild places on the peninsular...you could hide indefinitely!!
      I'd love to meet you there someday too...:)

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