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The Wool-gatherer is the pseudonym of Hugh Parry. I have taught literature courses in adult education for around 30 years. A few of my victims have been with me for much, or even all, of that time. Leaving aside the personal pleasure of this, a professional advantage is that I have always needed to look …

J IS FOR:

(Going over the top – from ‘In Parenthesis’) Across upon this undulated board of verdure chequered brightwhen you look to left and rightsmall, drab, bundled pawns severally make effortmoved in tenuous lineand if you looked behind – the next wave came slowly, as successive surfs   creep in to dissipate on flat shore;and to your front, …

I IS FOR:

... how this same Death doth scoff us,Cozening our minds with sweet delusive thoughts,Binding round our temples the glittering crown,Whilst we (short-witted fools) accept the task,Dream but of smiles, look but for golden joys.Now mark the chastisement of our conceits:This regal gem becomes a galling thorn;Treason, and a whole catalogue of illsThat are attendant on …

H IS FOR:

Blessed be the man who first invented chairs!And doubly blessed, the man who beds invented!But blessed above them both and praised for ever,By sick and well, young, old, and rich and poor,By grave and gay, and ignorant and learned,By lazy and by idle and by tired,And most, by all who love, like me, to loll,The …

G IS FOR:

THE LODGING-HOUSEWhen up the fretful creaking stairFrom floor to floorI creepOn tiptoe, lest I wake from their first beauty-sleepThe unknown lodgers, lying layer on layerIn the packed house from roof to basementBehind each landing’s unseen door,The well-known steps are strangely steepAnd the old stairway seems to soar,For my amazementHung in air,Flight on flightThrough pitchy night,Evermore …

F IS FOR:

STONY ACRES Something is gaping like a broken wallIn vacant fields. It must be the heart’s spillage.Yes, they’ve been down and up and down before,These stones. This fresh collapse will take some clearing:Migrant pieces needing to be flung backIn flinty protest; muddy chunks, and brokenTrapezoid wedges broadening to the shapeOf plates or blade bones; wandering …

PLEASANT PLUCKERS

We begin this programme of plucked strings with the oldest record. This is a mandolin solo by Professor Angelo Alfieri (1855-1925), who was obviously well-known and highly regarded, but about whom facts on the Internet are elusive. He actually conducted a mandolin orchestra in Italy. This is a single-sided disc from 1902, a ‘Gramophone Concert …

E IS FOR:

(from ‘THE VILLAGE PATRIARCH’)Here, Enoch, flaunts no more the wild brier rose,Nor basks the lizard here, or harmless snake,No more the broom, in spring, all golden glowsO’er the clear rill that, whimpering through the brake,Heard thy blithe youth the echoing vale awake.All that was lovely then is gloomy now.Then, no strange paths perplexed thee, no …

A SERIOUS BLOW, Part 2

A different instrument is featured in each clip, and once more we open with a cornet – perhaps the most famous of all, as blown into by Louis Armstrong in 1926, recording with his Hot Five:MUSKRAT RAMBLENot ‘Muskat’, as on the record label! The muskrat is a rather cute beaver-like amphibian. A bonus instrument on …

D IS FOR:

(Actually:)J IS FOR JEALOUSYI praised the daisies on my lawn,And then my lady mowed them down.My garden stones, improved by moss,She moved – and that was Beauty’s loss.When I adored the sunlight, sheKept a bright fire indoors for me.She saw I loved the birds, and thatMade her one day bring home a cat.She plucks my …

A SERIOUS BLOW, Part 1

The following tracks cover diverse genres, but all require serious lung power from the soloist(s). Each track features a different instrument – ‘woodwinds’ and ‘brass’ are included, but there are mavericks as well.We begin with the oldest record (not, however, the oldest recording) which I possess. This is a disc on the Columbia label – …