Hatshepsut - I declare before the folk who shall be in the future ...

For anyone who hasn't seen this on Facebook 

Hatshepsut was the daughter of an 18th Dynasty King called Thutmosis I. She married Thutmosis II her half brother who died after a 14 year rule. They had a daughter, Neferure. Thutmosis II had a son by a concubine who was a child at his death, so Hatshepsut, his stepmother, became regent. She reigned until her death in1428 BCE more than 20 years later. She took on full royal male titles.

After she died, her stepson who became Thutmosis III, had her name chiselled out of many monuments ...

The wonderful Hatshepsut Temple was built by her and her architect/consort Senenmut at Thebes.

The inscription always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up becase it's as if she's talking directly to us today ...

This is another of the keyboard exercises I used to set in HMP Holloway, to type up the inscription.

Amun is Amun-Re King of the gods. The king she refers to is herself.

The photo (above) is from a wall painting of Anubis, god of the underworld, from Hatshepsut's temple. I took it in the late 80's when I was employed by Hayes and Jarvis to travel by boat down the Nile and give lectures about Ancient Egyptian history to tourists annually.

The Obelisk Inscription

Next Poetry Performance is at Forty Hall Farmer's market, Enfield on Sunday 14th Aug

 Last Sunday at Edmonton 7th August went well!  Enthusiastic audience turn out for the Poetry pagoda tent and great poets.

Next Sunday !!! Poetry ...live and free !!! 14th Aug

Farmers Market, Forty Hall, Enfield - it's in the Open Barn tea area.

I'm doing two slots 12.30 noon to 12.40 and 13.00 to 13.10 p.m, but there's an excellent line-up of poets including Mary Duggan, Chrissy Evangelou, Julian Bishop,  Rob Saunders, Lenny Varvarides, Anne Alexander, Ayfer Orhan

All kinds of poetry from comedy to climate change, from mental health to buying new shoes.

Not to be missed.

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A trip to Ramsgate

I have three favourite south coast places I visit, to escape London - Littlehampton, Ramsgate and Shoreham on Sea. Since I grew up on the south coast of Wales and spent all my teenage years in summers on the beach, I have to escape London regularly,  especially in summer, to breathe some ozone and hear the seagulls crying.  

Catching the breeze

Standing by the harbour,

the summer wind blows through

the cobwebs in my brain,

 

scouring Indra’s net strand by strand,

shaking it down, scrubbing off

the dust of life and London.

 

I breathe in a blast of ozone

and the net sparkles with colours,

reds, greens and amethyst blues,

 

I’m waking up to this moment,

watching a pure white seagull,

wings outstretched, surfing the wind.

 

He swoops low over the water then

whips up over the harbour wall,

high above my head. 

 

It’s a game he’s playing

a game of nothing but what it is –

riding the wind.

 .........

 Littlehampton, 2018

This poem was blown up and displayed in the window of the Dugdale  Centre, Enfield, 2019.  It will be the title poem of my next collection, out soon.

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Back to Ramsgate where I went last week for a few nights - an expensive time of year to stay at the Ramsgate Harbour Travelodge, but hey I wasn't paying - the insurance company overseeing the building works for subsidence in my flat were.

I've been a nomad for 3 weeks - staying here and there and finally at the Travelodge. So carrying belongings with me, clothes and toiletries and trying to get used to other people's dietary habits, bathrooms, kitchens and rules for living.  How kind and generous they all were. So grateful.

Now I'm back in my own place - still dealing with residual builders, building problems etc for another week, but so nice to have my own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom back: my own food in the fridge, my own cooking etc. What a joy!  Still dealing with boxes all over the kitchen and bedroom but it's MY space at last. 

My Travelodge room overlooked the 'Royal' Harbour

My Travelodge bed

Entrance to the beach at Ramsgate

View across the harbour

Ramsgate beach by the Weatherspoons.

and the weather was hot - had to have the fan on all the time, day and night. 

Evenings were spent with daughter and partner and stepson (17) who cooked for us one night - time spent walking round the harbour,  along the beach to Broadstairs eating chips and ice cream, another visiting a vast antique's emporium, catching up with all their news. 

White cliffs on a walk to Broadstairs.

 

Ramsgate