Parham Deer

Parham House was closed today
and the deer they knew it well
For they were out and evident
and contented, you could tell
Grazing ‘neath the leafy oaks
in groups and sometimes more
It was quite magical to see
and well worth coming for

With no-one else about but us
the Sussex countryside
exuded quiet and peacefulness
in which you could confide
And certainly the herd of deer
were confident that they
had the place ‘most to themselves
on this quiet late summer day

©Jemverse

Photo – wild deer, the grounds of Parham House, Sussex, UK – Jempics

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A place in the sun

Our new bench sun trap captures the sun
right at the end of the day
Surrounded by lavender, it’s just what we need
for a rest from the frack and the fray

As we’re north facing, the sun to the rear
leaves when it’s low in the sky
So it’s great to have somewhere to sit and enjoy
it now until evening comes by

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Tangible

I was only away for just over a week
But that’s enough to get used to the heat
And enough now I’m home to feel at a loss
And that somehow things aren’t quite complete
It was tangible there, like something you touched
and present by day and at night
But back home in England, there’s a chill in the air
even though the sunshine’s still bright

Part of me thinks I could live with a summer
that in essence is with me all year
But I know I’d miss Sussex, the place I call home
as I really do love living here
Yes, tangible heat all year round would be great
But of course there’s always a price
For there’s nothing to better the green I have here
In Sussex, my home, which is nice

©Jemverse

Photo – the expanse of Sussex green – Jempics

Sixteen hundred

Part 20 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

And of the sixteen hundred
just one-thirty occupied
Five this week we’ve been to
many more of which we’ve spied

Corfu, Kefalonia
Crete, Santorini, Rhodes
Five islands we’ve just been to
Though Greece, of course, has loads

It’s been a superb holiday
and though we’re homeward bound
we’re far from disappointed
with the joy there that we found

©Jemverse

Photo – the Thomson ‘Dream’ cruise liner – Jempics

[This is part 20 of a 20-part series charting a seven-day cruise with Tui from 11-18 August 2017, travelling from London to Corfu, then Kalamata (Greece), Santorini, Rhodes, Crete, Piraeus (Greece), Kefalonia, Corfu and London, some 3,870 nautical miles]

Three Fortresses

Part 19 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

Corfu and three fortresses
to complete our holiday
The sea one and the land one
in the old town on the bay
And then through cobbled streets
to the new one on the wall
(The amount of steps I’ve climbed today
I’d rather not recall)
But the climbs were really worth it
as, rewarded with a view
Such as to take your breath away
‘neath Aegean skies of blue

©Jemverse

Photo – the view from the New Fortress across Corfu Town, Corfu, Greece to the mount of the Old Fortress on the coast – Jempics

[This is part 19 of a 20-part series charting a seven-day cruise with Tui from 11-18 August 2017, travelling from London to Corfu, then Kalamata (Greece), Santorini, Rhodes, Crete, Piraeus (Greece), Kefalonia, Corfu and London, some 3,870 nautical miles]

Argostoli Bay

Part 17 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

Walked up Antoni Tristi
on the wall beside the sea
Watched the turtles playing
as they swam around quite free

Had an ice-cold beer
close to De Bosset bridge
Admired the soaring mountains
and the pine trees on the ridge

Watched boats on Koutavos Lagoon
looking for turtles, they
But all the turtles were with us
In Argostoli Bay

©Jemverse

Argostoli (Greek: Αργοστόλι) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Turtles swim freely in the Koutavos lagoon in the bay, although on 17th August this year (much to our pleasure), most of them seemed to be out in the bay itself. Photo – Jempics

[This is part 17 of a 20-part series charting a seven-day cruise with Tui from 11-18 August 2017, travelling from London to Corfu, then Kalamata (Greece), Santorini, Rhodes, Crete, Piraeus (Greece), Kefalonia, Corfu and London, some 3,870 nautical miles]

Perfect Day

Part 13 of 20 in ‘The Aegean Shores’ series

Today has been just perfect
with walks beside the sea
Here upon the isle of Crete
in the sunshine, Sal and me

And the clarity of the water
as it captures glinting light
Ever present as we sail
makes everything just right

©Jemverse

Photo – the Vamos headland in Souda Bay, Crete, Greece, Tuesday 15th August 2017 – Jempics

[This is part 13 of a 20-part series charting a seven-day cruise with Tui from 11-18 August 2017, travelling from London to Corfu, then Kalamata (Greece), Santorini, Rhodes, Crete, Piraeus (Greece), Kefalonia, Corfu and London, some 3,870 nautical miles]