Category: Love and Poetry

Olivia’s School Days #ShortStory

Olivia constantly jubilant at school. Inside this wasn’t the case. She’d problems at home. School wasn’t an escape either. Because of her big brown eyes and freckles, David Sherlock and his group would chant songs about rabbits most times she entered the classroom.

‘Bright Eyes,’ being the main signature on arrival and exit.

Each time seeming louder. Sniggers shot around the class, alongside sympathetic looks of awkwardness from her friends.

It cut like a knife but Olivia showed no resistance.

She’d blush – never reacting.

She couldn’t tell her mum as she didn’t care much either. And back in those days bullying was regarded an embarrassment rather than a subject to be addressed.

So rather than let it beat her, Oliva decided to always look happy.

This wasn’t too difficult as she knew how to laugh – one of the funniest girls in her class. Quick witted, spontaneous and exceptionally quirky – an answer for everything.

Olivia could also do impersonations of many well-known characters. ‘Mrs Overall ‘from Acorn Antique’s being her favourite.

Quite a few boys crushed on her – so did Ruth Wilkinson whose married to Helen Barlow now.

Olivia had a crush on Jake Manson but he pretended not to like her.

One, he was afraid David Sherlock would throw scorn his way too – secondly, he’d look silly talking to a ‘girl.’

Not many boys in class did that. Apart from Simon Bellows, he didn’t want to be a boy.

Then there was Janet Spiller. She was the meanest of all.

Janet being Good at sports – homework on time. Prefect and bookworm. Yet the smugness never shone in her eyes.

To this day she despises Olivia. Probably because she’s funny and although Olivia’s spelling never really did improve – her imagination not once ‘stopped growing.’

It would be fair to say Olivia could make a silk purse from a sow’s ear and be quite happy at that. Not driven by money nor social approval.

A daydreamer, keeper of crafty bits.

I’m sure she’s a fairy, or some kind of mystical time traveller that brushes off hate like snowflakes to fur of the polar bear.

Janet would send well thought out poison pen letters – creating untrue stories about Olivia. An obsession for which she’ll never recover. Janet, that is.

Olivia uses her childhood days as lessons to learn from now. Nothing changes apart from her, that’s all she can control – ‘Olivia.’

Janet is still with David Sherlock – it’s a hate and date affair under one roof – neither found love. Cowards seldom do.

Tiffany Belle Harper.

photo taken whilst in Amsterdam last year.

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by Tiffany Belle Harper

‘The girl in the cotton gown’

The moonlight caught her breast as she sat near the window in a white cotton gown – adorned with the softest lace. Her child nourished, content … all silent, apart from the distant sound of fish oxidating from the surface of the ovalur, greeny blue pond, then, the feint rustle of perennial fern trees and fine branches creaking, gently in the breeze – just after sunset. It was as though they were dancing for her …The girl in the cotton gown.

She sent love to the stars whilst her child slept softly, still, in her arms … rocking, gently, slowly. A majestic vision of empathy and inclusion for all, reflected in her eyes as she gazed at the meadow, curvy hill tops and pastel clouds before her.

Candles burn incense- ‘essence of history’ – entwined in light, as shadows on the bare brick wall danced for the night, inspiring her dreams for tomorrow. For every flicker belonged to her, she is love.

The girl in the cotton gown.

Candles, many more – lavender, frankincense – geranium – placed alongside the crispest cotton you ever did see. For all that was natural gave her the purest energy, freshly delivered from angels.

Then, the next year they returned to almost the same place. He played Beethoven whilst holding their child safely, as she sat on his knee – they were laughing, scribbling, playing with words and colour – whilst she fed the baby on a linen soft boudoir chair – near the window, over looking the lake. The girl in the cotton gown – ever evolving with love and radiance. She is a healer and so they are, will be and can. For that is what love does.

I would truly die, rather than let anyone hurt them. Family is transmission, love, infinite. It is beautiful and pure. Why would anyone want to unduly harm such beauty with hateful words, jealousy and malice. Yet we must forgive as one. For many others know not what they do. We can make them better. We can send them love. Love is for all – love is one. You are beautiful. The girl in the cotton gown. 

We are healers … it is quiet, still, no effort – love works for us. Let the world hear good words, do good deeds – rejoice in all new life, eternally, like – the girl in the cotton gown.

birchcandles

Tiffy. X

by Tiffany Belle Harper

We’re All Flowers by Tiffany Belle Harper (wrote this last year and re-posted it)

[Just looking through old blogs, wrote this last year and re-posted it today. I like reflection – it enables us to evaluate. Spring 2015]

Well it’s been an extraordinary couple of weeks. Recently starting out on a new journey. We get to points in our life where we need a spring clean. Many of us are afraid of change but we are like flowers we need to fall back in to the soil to regrow more vibrantly.

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For a long time I felt overwhelmed by choice. Rather than make solid plans I sort of dipped in and out many projects and became tired. This is where I had to prioritise between me and my skills/objectives and hobbies. Hobbies being I find great comfort in supporting smaller animal causes. It’s all about balance.

As you may know I help out with Wetnose Animal Aid. I have a lot of time for Andrea Gamby-Boulger. She lost her husband suddenly this year and they had such big plans, so very much in love. My support will continue, but I will be spending less time with the bigger scheme of Wetnose and its future.

I am very lucky to have my own home but my gut reaction led me to continue moving forward. So moving twice in one year has been a little draining. Yet I am happy to announce my house is finished and should be on the market in the next couple of weeks.

I’ve still managed to hold a few workshops despite saying they were temporarily cancelled. I have enjoyed meeting new people and when I carry out a workshop I learn a little more about me too! It’s great to do something that brings joy to others. Happy work makes the world go round.

I sort of tap in to energy and this helps my own intuition to grow with fruition. That is how I met Andrea and Gavin and many others from past to present. I felt a connection and it’s enabled me to help animals in turn. There will be so many connections in my life I am sure. And for all of us there are connections too. They come in coincidental ways. We can find everything we need if we listen to our hearts and trust our judgement.

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We all need interactions on different levels. Loneliness is a dreadful thing and so many people I speak/connect with ultimately are ‘lonely’ in one way or another. It’s part of our genetics. Yet I do believe that the feeling of ‘loneliness’ is a sense of restlessness urging us to go in new directions and this is what we should do!

I am close to my sons. ‘Living here in Leeds near to James my youngest.’ We’ve been on a journey that has taken us through some difficult times. I didn’t know whether  having my own home would give him the freedom to be in his own power and not feel burdened by me.

Yet now we plan to move to Newquay so that I can have my space. We’ve been looking at small hotels. We’ll both have our own lives yet still be close by.

I had a lovely email from my cousin. Sadly my eldest dog ‘Foley’ is not breathing very well. He’s 19. A dog that’s been through so much with me. My sons were only young when he came into our lives.

Our family of 3 became 4 and to some degree he was the ‘man’ of our house. A hound with a heart that smoothed out many an argument just by being around to help us find balance. So that is my little update.

I will make some videos about my holistic stuff if there’s anything in particular you want to hear about. But mostly I will be focusing on my journey.

I know a lot of you liked my quirky blog. I often sit at home playing music, reading articles, looking at posters people send to me.  Follow my instincts during meditation. I tune in to me. But I also felt I was exposing a part of me that is mine, to be kept private. However I do know it has encouraged a lot of you to blog too! So now I often resort to reading yours!

Now it’s time for me to go dancing. Be flowers. Don’t hold on to your petals. They’ll grow back even stronger if you let the wind work it’s magic.

Tiffany Belle Harper.

by Tiffany Belle Harper