A Postman BIG up and Dylan Thomas

weaver of grass. sent me a much welcomed belated donation to our open day this week.
She addressed the envelope in a somewhat interesting  way.

John Gray (Sheffield !)
"Organiser of the Allotment Day"
Trelawnyd
Flint
Wales

so fair do's to my postie.....he delivered the letter safely yesterday!!!
Thank you again Weaver
x

When we went to my Sister's Flower Show yesterday, I was stopped by a lady from Prestatyn, who had come up to our open day last Sunday.
She was very sweet, and waxed lyrically on  about the pigs and the turkeys and before she turned to go she asked me suddenly if I liked Dylan Thomas.
I told her that apart from Under Milk Wood ( which I remember reading in school) I was afraid that I had not really studied any of his work at all.
She seemed surprised.
"I thought your blog was named after one of his poems!" she said and when I asked her which one she recited the first three verses of "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" a poem she said she remembered from her college days.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day; 
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.



I told her that it sounded like some sort of rally cry against giving up when death approaches, which she seemed to agree with but assured her that My "Going Gently" was purely about living, albeit living is a plodding , benign kind of way.

It seemed just  a little surreal that I was listening to an stranger quoting me Welsh Poetry on a sunny afternoon under the vicarage trees....

ps. The phrase "Going Gently" actually comes from the title of a novel by David Nobbs. It is one of my favourite books , which   tells the story of 99-year old Kate Copson's life, in flashback form, while she lies paralysed in a hospital bed after a stroke. From her upbringing and sexual awakening in a Swansea suburb, through the marriage of her five husbands to the murder of one of them by her son. It is a book of great charm, warmth and humour

26 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:04 pm

    Isn't that funny? That's where I thought you got your title from as well.

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  2. I also did 'Under Milkwood' for A'level English, many moons ago.
    I quite liked it,
    'down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea':)

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  3. I hadn't made the connection althoug Dylan Thomas is my favorite "english" poet. For the french-canadian I am, it's quite unusual! Nobody knows about Thomas over here, except scholars (and I'm not one of them)!
    Hugs
    Jon

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  4. I always assumed that you got the quotation from there too John.

    Glad my donation arrived. It is such a worthy cause and your 'do' looked so enjoyable, I just wished I could have been there.

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  5. Okay, I hereby admit that I am not a huge fan of English literature, prose and poetry, and am very illiterate when It comes to such things. I thought "Going Gently" was like treading carefully through life and not stepping on toes.....

    :-)

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  6. Hi John, not many people around here know Dylan Thomas but I loved this post and the connection (by the sweet lady) and I simply love that your posties delivered the envelope with the quaint address. Hope you're having a great weekend. Greetings from Jo.

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  7. I'm another who assumed it was a tribute to Dylan Thomas and Wales. perhaps it was subliminal.

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  8. Add me to the list of people who always thought that your title was from Dylan Thomas, too.

    We got quite a bit of him in high school because one of our English teachers was Welsh and a real fan. He was a good teacher and certainly kept our interest, but had the unfortunate habit of spitting when he talked, so you never wanted to sit in the front rows in his class.

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  9. I thought it was just about living peacefully...
    Have a blessed Sunday, all. :)

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  10. Somewhere I have a vinyl recording of DT reciting Under Milk Wood. It's quite magical.

    Me too, I'd imagined your blog title was a DT reference!

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  11. Finally have a chance to stop in and see what is going on with you and the brood.
    My goodness as usual you are always doing something!
    Dylan Thomas never crossed my mind.
    I am going to make it a point to drop in more often! You do have a way of cheering me up!
    xoxo

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  12. I love Dylan Thomas's work, I treated myself to A Child's Christmas in Wales this past Christmas, and admit to listening to the CD even during these HOT summer days.
    My thoughts on Going Gently were that you approached your daily walk through life with compassion and trod softly on this planet we call 'home'.
    What a sweet lady.
    I 'spect if a body mailed you an envelope adressed to 'John the Dogs...Wales' it would find it's way, news travels far and wide especially in little Welsh villages. !
    ~Jo

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  13. Although I love the Dylan Thomas poem, it always brings tears to my eyes. I hadn't made that connection with your blog title, which gives me "warm fuzzies." But what a charming woman!

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  14. I never made the connexion, either; i always thought it was a soft step sort of approach.

    The poem makes me cry, too, especially in light of the fact that one of my three cats has gone missing; SHE may have gone gently, but I am raging against the dying of the light...

    megan

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  15. Bloody typical!

    I could drag the postman, holding the letter, to the actual destination itself, to the bloody doorstep, and it STILL wouldn't arrive!

    I could put 'John the Dogs' on a scrap of posted paper (without a stamp mind you) and I could guarantee you'd receive it yesterday, such is your fame...

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  16. ...Yes but where did Nobbs get his title from? The lady from Prestatyn's assumption about your blog title mirrors my own suspicion. My favourite place in Wales is Laugharne, largely though not entirely because of its association with Dylan Thomas. Try reciting/reading/ considering "Fern Hill" and "Poem in October". These poems should be required reading for all Welshmen (and Welshwomen).

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  17. I have to admit, I too thought that was where the name had come from.

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  18. yes Nobbs I am sure got his quote from the poem... the story of kate is basically the story about a woman who is fighting off the moment of death until she is ready....
    so YP you ARE right!
    it was me that didn't make the connection

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  19. I always thought it was a reference to David Nobbs, at least I hoped it was and now you've confirmed it. He is one of my favourite authors and "Going Gently" is my favourite of his books. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it, it's a lovely book. Nobbs should be much better known than he is. After all, he invented Reginald Iolanthe Perrin!

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  20. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  21. Yes, along with others, I thought your title was taken from Dylan Thomas. I have loved that poem since I was a child. I learned it from my mom who always used to quote poetry.

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  22. Like many others, I, too, thought your blog title came from that poem. The fact that your letter made its way to you with such an abbreviated address on it reminds me of an amateur radio operator I spoke with in Andorra. After we hams make contact, we often exchange cards with each other, so I asked the gentleman about how to get one to him. All I had to put on the envelope was his first name and the name of his country. And by golly, he got it!

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  23. That takes me back John, when I was just a gel, I did a post round and I remember one letter being passed round the sorting office, addressed simply "Geoff and Simone" Wooburn Green.
    Yes, they were my customers and I safely delivered their mail.
    Isnt it funny how these things stick in the mind 3o years later?

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  24. Like the masses John...I thought the title was in reference to DT's poem.
    This Christmas, do yourself and Chris a favour, after the turkey and pud, when you are snuggled up on the couch by the fire and the wind is howling outside, read A Child's Christmas in Wales, by DT...hilarious!

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  25. Having spent a little time "on the post" I can tell you that that letter was one of the better addressed items . we often had just a name and a town and had to guess at the rest and Christmas was a nightmare!!
    I hope that when my time comes I "Rage against the dying of the light" rather than "Go Gently". Not ready for that yet( though STILL coughing!!!!)
    Open day looked great by the way.

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  26. I aLwAyS think of that Dylan Thomas poem when I see your header. Get those DARN birds off of there and put some dogs up!!! They are frightening looking to me! Okay, that said, how cool is that that your postman got the letter to you? Ask him what he did with the book I sent that you never got 2 years ago! I'm in a wierd mood. Better go now. Take care. Be well. xc

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