Oh to be in England

[johnalison]

Now that summer's here. Well. Not quite.

I was prevailed upon by my daughter who has been suffering from boat withdrawal symptoms for me to take her out to make up for the work she did last year helping me with the polishing. It may have rained, but it was a decent day to take her and a novice teenager for a sail. It was a bit of a drift into Harwich harbour but a bit of wind got up and we made good speed back to Walton.

 

[Wansworth]

Here in Galicia not much better,rain and greyness and thoughts of lighting the wood stove?

 

[pvb]

It was a filthy morning today; we packed up and came home early from our "summer holiday" on the boat. We were supposed to be in Spain...

 

[johnalison]

It was a filthy morning today; we packed up and came home early from our "summer holiday" on the boat. We were supposed to be in Spain...

Wow. A semicolon. I thought that the EU had banned them, or summat. I don’t know where you trapped it but it was nice to see it let loose on the world.

 

[Caraway]

It was a filthy morning today; we packed up and came home early from our "summer holiday" on the boat. We were supposed to be in Spain...

Unlike Rum Pirate I won't gloat about our weather in the North Country at the moment.

 

[pvb]

Unlike Rum Pirate I won't gloat about our weather in the North Country at the moment.

Oh, please do! Can we see a photo of your infinity pool as well?

 

[pvb]

Wow. A semicolon. I thought that the EU had banned them, or summat. I don’t know where you trapped it but it was nice to see it let loose on the world.

I'm quite attached to semicolons, they seem to be greatly ignored these days. Having earned a living from writing for some years, I suppose I owe them a bit more exposure.

 

[Sailing steve]

We had a sleepless night bouncing about on the anchor followed by a long slog against tide and a F5 with heavy rain showers on Sunday.
My OH asked what I was even thinking of by wanting to go out over the weekend and I honestly couldn't tell her

 

[SaltIre]

NotEngland

 

[DavidonMersea]

It was a filthy morning today; we packed up and came home early from our "summer holiday" on the boat. We were supposed to be in Spain...

I am in Spain (Ibiza) and it is hot hot hot

 

[Wansworth]

Hot is awful?

 

[pvb]

I am in Spain (Ibiza) and it is hot hot hot

I'm jealous - we should have been in Spain now, but it got cancelled.

 

[seivadnehpets]

Hark, that's the wise thrush
He sings each song twice over
Lest you should think he never could recapture
That first fine careless rapture.

Should there be some sort of punctuation after thrush?

 

[Caraway]

No, but some better rhymes would help.

 

[Hydrozoan]

I'm quite attached to semicolons, they seem to be greatly ignored these days. Having earned a living from writing for some years, I suppose I owe them a bit more exposure.

I recall a quote (though not the author) to the effect that appropriate use of semicolons was the sign of a good writer, but many writers - and not only contemporary American writers - do not like them. This short article is interesting: The Fascinating History of the Controversial Semicolon | by Melissa Gouty | The Writing Cooperative

 

[escapism]

No, but some better rhymes would help.

A quatrain is a four line poem. The syllable count may be regular, or it can follow any consistent pattern. The rhyme pattern may be aabb, abab, abcb or abba. Although rarer, a pattern of abcc is also valid, as in the example above. It's probably the syllable pattern that jars a bit.

 

[johnalison]

I recall a quote (though not the author) to the effect that appropriate use of semicolons was the sign of a good writer, but many writers - and not only contemporary American writers - do not like them. This short article is interesting: The Fascinating History of the Controversial Semicolon | by Melissa Gouty | The Writing Cooperative

Americans can be very stylish writers, if not always. The New Yorker, for example, is very prescriptive about what they will publish. On the whole, I think the semicolon should be used sparingly, preferably for effect rather than as a routine alternative to a full stop, but my own training in such matters ended in about 1955. With regard to another matter of style, I find such phrases as "lots of authors" from your link sound awkward to me. I would prefer "a lot of authors" but I have no idea whether correctness comes into the matter.

 

[johnalison]

A quatrain is a four line poem. The syllable count may be regular, or it can follow any consistent pattern. The rhyme pattern may be aabb, abab, abcb or abba. Although rarer, a pattern of abcc is also valid, as in the example above. It's probably the syllable pattern that jars a bit.

I find the syllable pattern rather appealing. there seems to be an extra one in the last line that delays the resolution. To my untutored ears, a regular pattern always sounds like doggerel, especially if iambic.

 

[Marmalade]

There was an old man from Japan
Whose limericks never would scan
When asked why 'twas so
He replied "I don't know"
But I always try to fit as many syllables into the last line as ever I possibly can

 

[Caraway]

A quatrain is a four line poem. The syllable count may be regular, or it can follow any consistent pattern. The rhyme pattern may be aabb, abab, abcb or abba. Although rarer, a pattern of abcc is also valid, as in the example above. It's probably the syllable pattern that jars a bit.

Probably. I think recapture and rapture are clunky rhymes, as well.