{"id":10639,"date":"2022-04-27T20:47:02","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuartpoetry.art\/?p=10639"},"modified":"2022-04-27T20:47:02","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:47:02","slug":"catholic-town-and-other-poems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/27\/catholic-town-and-other-poems\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Town and other Poems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Catholic Town
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Its spire was never completed you know
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Neither was the central tower
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Pretty was walking on the wide path that separated the wall of Pugin\u2019s garden and the west cliffs that fell deeply into the sea<\/p>\n

Solange was a few steps behind her and was holding an umbrella tight against the fierce wind<\/p>\n

Give me a hand I want to look over the wall
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

You will fall and be blown over the cliff silly
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

No I will not
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

And what about my umbrella?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Put it down
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

And get wet
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

We are wet already
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Solange cupped her hand and let Pretty place her boot into the sling<\/p>\n

No I think you are right let us look at the building from another vantage
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you know that the word cloister comes from the Latin?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

No
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes it comes from the Latin
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Really and what is the Latin for rain?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

It comes from the word Claustrum which means enclosed
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

You are a mine of information today Pretty
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Pretty smiled and lightly touched her friends arm<\/p>\n

It is not like Majorca is it?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Not in the slightest
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I do not know why I am wearing this coat as I am soaked to the skin
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Me too
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Let us walk towards the road to see if we can get a better view and then we can visit the church
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Cloisters often featured in monastic houses
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t say
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

It was a place where the monks could work and pray
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

They were usually open on one side but here in Ramsgate the cloister was enclosed
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

And dry
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

And dry although I imagine it would not have been very warm
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Well if the church is open then we will find out
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Solange looked at the deserted footpath which was almost flooding due to the ferocity of the rain and wind<\/p>\n

Just think we are standing here on a cold January day and there is nobody else around
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

There are few dog walkers and joggers
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

They are as mad as we are
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

And to think this used to be a place of hope and devotion
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

It still is
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Pugin\u2019s vision was that of a Catholic town here on the edge of town with an aspect to open fields
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

There are no open fields within view
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I know they were being sold off even in Pugin\u2019s time
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I can only see houses and even more houses and the grey grey sea
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

As I said it was once a place of hope
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1856 Thomas Grant invited monks to make a foundation here in Ramsgate
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

An English monk called Wilfred Alock who had been in Italy was sent by the Subiaco Congregation to form a monastery here in Ramsgate
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

There were high hopes
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Where has it all gone?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

This place is so godless now
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Holy Ramsgate
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Beloved Catholic Town
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

What a vision these people had
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Are there any monks left?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Not to my knowledge
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

And what is Pugin\u2019s house used for now?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Is it a hotel?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Sort of it is owned by a trust that helped to save it from demolition and it does take visitors
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The girls reached the busy road which dissected the holy and secular buildings<\/p>\n

They found that both the house and church were closed to visitors<\/p>\n

Suddenly a passing van splashed them as it ran through a puddle that had formed<\/p>\n

Uh what a liberty
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Typical one gets wet and wetter still
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

They both looked towards the town<\/p>\n

Let us visit Julie Doo on the Plains of Waterloo
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

How Beautiful it is
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

About an hour after Pretty and Solange walked away<\/p>\n

To visit their dear friend in Waterloo<\/p>\n

A frail middle aged man walked into his church and remarked<\/p>\n

How beautiful it is
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

This was his final visit to the church<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ramsgate Margate Sister Towns
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Both Ramsgate and Margate are very similar
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

What do you mean?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

They\u00a0 faded and became infested as the decay set in
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

And then they were rescued
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I wished that was the case
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Explain
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Both towns are improving but there is a long way to go
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

As you have seen they are both sisters who are wearing pretty dresses but their knickers are soiled
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Hidden and unseen and that in my view spoils everything
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

They should be wearing dirty dresses and clean underwear you know
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Then nobody would visit them<\/em><\/p>\n

Clean dresses are a must even if their underwear smells
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wine Cold Wine
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The acrid taste of the dying night fires<\/p>\n

Hung rigidly and quietly in the fret frost air<\/p>\n

\n

My town is sleeping<\/p>\n

The morning is frigid<\/p>\n

Only the night owls are awake<\/p>\n

And they are busy watching the early creatures<\/p>\n

In the dark lanes and hedgerows of the hour<\/p>\n

As I walk away from you a curiosity haunts me<\/p>\n

Are you still wearing my favourite shirt?<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wet Paint on a Blue Billboard
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The blue billboard was vacant apart from a message that had been daubed roughly in blue paint<\/p>\n

WET PAINT
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The instruction was ignored by most people with the exception of Meret Oppenheim who had never visited the railway station where the billboard was situated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catholic Town Its spire was never completed you know Neither was the central tower Pretty was walking on the wide path that separated the wall of Pugin\u2019s garden and the west cliffs that fell deeply into the sea Solange was a few steps behind her and was holding an umbrella tight against the fierce wind […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10639"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10640,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10639\/revisions\/10640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}