LOOK OUT!



I found out how to do it! For those of you that were unlucky and missed out on the wonderment that was 'Tales Of The Unexpected', here is the oh-so-familiar opening sequence. It was an early 80's weekly TV drama, each one from a Roald Dahl short story, and had a (terrifying to a little Pod) twist. I remember one had the lovely Joan Collins in it even! I wanted to play the music to open the post below, so this will have to do. Was anyone else frightened by the music? And where is the dancing lady now I wonder?

TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED



If I had the wherewithal I would have somehow incorporated the music of 'Tales Of The Unexpected' to accompany this piece (perhaps even with a little avatar of me swirling around behind the flames).......hopefully you all know what I am talking about?

Anyhow, I took this about two years ago, on my then local beach, Raglan NZ. There was a really low tide, and all these little pools were scattered around, the sun shining in all of them. It reminded me a little of 'The Wood Between The Worlds'. If you have never read it, it is in 'The Magician's Nephew', the first book from 'The Chronicles Of Narnia' (you should, it is beautiful). It is a magical in-between world in a silent wood, with pools everywhere, and each pool is a gateway to another world.

I only had my old camera with me, for some reason, so excuse the poor quality, but I felt I had to show this. I am not sure how this happened; some strange polarising effect. Isn't it weird? What is it? The mountain in the background, Mount Karioi, is believed by some Maori to contain a portal to another dimension..........

Make your choice, adventurous stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger,
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

(The Magician's Nephew - C.S.Lewis)

FOR MOLLY

I wanted to post this before I left for Tokyo, when the 'Save Molly' massif was welling up. I wrote this in response to a piece that Molly had written for me, but hers has since been lost somewhere in blogdom. I am not totally happy with the accompanying photo, as I'm not sure it really conveys the intensity of the emotion in the words. I wanted something more fierce and 'elemental', but surprisingly I couldn't find a photo of mine that was of stormy seas, though I am sure I have one somewhere. Anyhow, I just wanted to get this out there.





MY ROSEBUD, MY SPECIAL
(also titled 'Laughing')


As the few dash home to escape the storm

I sit here atop my dune

Giggling at the joy of the sand as it surrenders in dance to the wind


A flicker of ancient familiarity

Have I been here before?

Waiting


Waiting?


The flax creaks behind me

And for a moment I hear your footsteps as the bedroom door closes

I turn, but of course you are not there

I laugh again, throwing my head back

Reveling in the elements

My toes tingle all at once

Sand and tiny tiny shells swirl in my already salty hair

Golden against the dark grey sky

That same grey as your old school skirt

That comforting smell of Rose


Alone I search the waters

The horizon jagged and blurred

Briny spray in my eyes and mouth

The white tips of the waves chase each other

Excited by the storm

Did I see a piece break off?

I squint trying to make sense of it

A lonely feather racing towards me

I reach out to catch it

But it has already slipped into my hand

Tickling my palm

I stamp my feet and laugh even harder

I hear your soft voice gently calling my name

Pressing the feather to my lips I whisper

'My Rosebud, my special'

Then return it to the wind

Off you go little one!!

Watching, dizzy with laughter, as it circles my little head once

Or was it twice?


A happy tear blows from the corner of my eye and rushes toward the sea

I look up but the feather has gone

'Find her! find her!' I wish

I clasp my hands to my chest

Did I hear you call my name?

Tears fill my eyes


Laughing

PODU

Hello all, i am shortly to wing my way to Tokyo, where i will be known as Podu. I am taking my camera of course. I will be away for a week, so i will continue to post on my return. Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that has been looking in, and leaving comments. I have been taken aback by the warmth of your reception.

Whilst I am away, please help yourselves to tea (some of us need a cup of tea and a sit down to recover from Molly's departure.....she will be back, have no fear).



Oh, and here's a few bikkies for you all to share.



Have fun!

ALONE



Even when you feel really alone, there is always someone out there wishing hard for you, or wishing they were there with you. Maybe there is even somebody watching you and thinking how beautiful you are, but you just can't see them, or you turned away just at the wrong moment.

RUNAWAY LOVE - PREFACE

Just a little note to say that this story sprung from the original photo (Act One). I only intended to post the picture, but the story spontaneously appeared in my mind's eye, and then the other photos jumped out and became part of their journey and eventual transformation.

How funny that this happened. It almost took on a life of its own, as if the story had to be told. I have tried to rearrange the posts so that they can be read down in sequence, but i couldn't seem to do this, and so unfortunately they are in reverse order, from end to beginning. I guess you can choose which way round to read them, but it may make more sense to scroll down to act one and read backwards (which doesn't quite work...grrr). Sorry about that.


Funny also, how now I can see the moral of the story, though this wasn't (consciously) intended.

RUNAWAY LOVE (The Final Act)

The night slowly lifted as the heavy fog descended. Their dewy bodies gently twinkling in the first blush of dawn.

R: Wake up. Its time.
L: Time? Time for what?
R: Time for us to go.
L: Time for us to be together? Forever?
R: Yes
L: And ever?
R: Yes, forever and ever. Come on now, follow me.

Whilst the rest of the world still slept, the lovers turned themselves around so that they pointed towards the lake. Slowly they gained speed, side by side, chinking and chonking, clinking and clonking, as their bodies raced down the hill. Giggles, filled with trepidation for their imminent freedom, echoed around them so that they were escorted down the slope in a cloud of jingle-jangle and laughter. As they gained speed , the racket became louder and louder, like the clanging of church bells telling them that something good was about to happen. They looked at each other and smiled, knowing that from that moment on, nothing would ever be the same again. And all of a sudden the hard steely clanging of metal ceased.

Silence.

The damp heavy fog.

Then came the flapping of wings and the warmth of soft flesh.

And splash.



The End

RUNAWAY LOVE - THE DREAM SEQUENCE

They fell quickly into a deep sleep after a long day on the run. In the dead of night their bodies jingle-jangled as they started to dream of their previous lives......

Row upon row of coloured bottles fluttered through their minds as they raced down the aisles...............



Blurry images of things they didn't quite understand, but knew were somehow wrong. Places where they made their wheels go faster.............



Places where they made their wheels point in different directions so that they could peek at pictures that they liked, but were unsure as to why..........



The place where they would jam their wheels, refusing to budge, and just sit and stare, whilst shoppers cursed.



And then there was She! She that grasped them tight with icey fingers! She with the hair!



The hair!



Metallic wheezes and silvery whimpers filled the night air, until slowly the nightmares faded, and the warm light that was hope for the future began to ease their tired minds.

"I think about us diving. Diving off a rock, into another moment"



And slowly, as the globe turned its shadowy face away from the moon, the fog descended............................

RUNAWAY LOVE (Act Two)



After a whole day on the run, the lovers finally came to settle away from the hustle and bustle of the shoppers and the streets and the automobiles. They stopped under a huge tree, huddled together in the dark, where only a moth and a curious snail noticed them. As they started to drift off, flickering in and out of dreamland, their steely minds inevitably wondered onto what tomorrow may bring.

L: Where will we end up?
R: (smiling) Together. Don't worry your little head.
L: Really?
R: Really. Where do you think we will end up?
L: (pausing) I think about us diving.....diving off a rock, into another moment
R: (smiling) Hmmm. Snuggle up now.
L: When will we go?
R: (yawning)We have to wait for the fog. Things will be different soon.........

And so off they dozed, dreaming of the old days, when briney fingers wheeled them around the supermarket. When all they heard were stories of the sea and stories of the lake. And the moon shone down on them and onto the lake below.

RUNAWAY LOVE (Act One)




L: Do you think they'll come looking for us?
R: (Reassuringy) No, i don't think they will
L: I love the feel of the sun on my legs, don't you?
R: (smiling) Hmmmm
L: I want to stand here next to you in the sun forever
R: (smiling)
L: I love you
R: (smiling)

LE PETITE POUPEE



Hello. Here is another beautiful thing I found whilst wandering around New Zealand (remember you are looking through the eyes of Pod). Le Petite Poupee was living on a shelf in a little orange shop in Levin (it was painted orange, not a greengrocers). She reminds me of my friend Fru Fru, whom I miss very much. Fru Fru is very pretty too. A few weeks later I returned to the shop in Levin, but the shop had closed down. I sometimes wonder where she went, and if someone rescued her. She is so hip. I hope she doesn't live with anybody too dull.

TWISTED WOOD AT RUAKOREKORE



Hello one and all. Here you are looking through my eyes, the eyes of Pod. But, of course, what you make of it is up to you, and that is another matter. I have just left little ol' New Zealand for the bright lights of Sydney. I wonder what I shall find here? All I want to do really, is share some of my photographs with you. I haven't quite figured out how often to post, or really how to post. You can make the pictures bigger if you click on them. I hope you like some of them. This is all new to me, so please be patient whilst I get used to how it all works.

This photo was taken on the East Cape of the north island, New Zealand. It was very stormy and moody. There is an old white clapboard church behind it on a dark and rocky promontory. Penguins were nesting under the floorboards, so the church smelt all fishy and penguiny. One of the gravestones had a hand of aces and a jockey riding a horse on it. She must have been an old gambler. I thought it was funny. I took a photo of it, but I think it might be disrespectful to post it here?

Thanks for taking a peek. Be nice to each other.

Pod