Antiquity Verses

The Regatta Poetry Competition was such a success and the book of entry poems such a nice keepsake, that we have decided to make this a regular monthly practice. It is not going to be a competition, as sometimes this can put people, new to poetry writing, off taking part, and we want EVERYONE, residents and friends of antiquity alike, to feel confident about submitting their work. The closing date for entries will be the last day of every month. Following which time, a book of poems will be produced of ALL poems submitted. The books will be entitled 'Antiquity Verses - October 2007' and so on. (My thanks to Lord Dusty Merlin who came up with the title after a succession of ummm somewhat odd titles were suggested). It is our intention that a library of poetry books will be built up, produced entirely by the good people of Antiquity.

Theme: Poems should be on ANY event that has taken part in Antiquity during that month. This leaves your choice of poem wide open as there are so many things happening in Antiquity Cove. You may choose to write about an art exhibition, the Grand Ball, a Meet and Greet, the forthcoming Haloween Party, or maybe a relaxing night at the Japanese Tea-House stirs your imagination. A picture of the event, attached to the poem, would be appreciated but this is not compulsory.

Closing Date: Poems should by typed on a note-card and sent to, Hope Coakes, or e-mailed to hope.coakes@gmail.com no later than the last day of each month. As the book of Regatta poems has already been produced for the month of September, the next final day for submission will be October 31st.

We encourage everyone to take part and look forward to reading your entries.

victorian etiquette

I am so pleased to be able to expound upon the virtues of our fair Antiquity, that I thought perhaps I should relay the proper way for Gentlemen and Ladies to behave in accordance to the times. The following are excerpts from a site, which address shall follow:

Gentlemen On The Street

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Street manners-Male A real gentility never swears or talks uproariously. He should never fail to raise his hat politely to an acquaintance of either sex. If he should bump into someone or step upon a lady’s dress he must "beg their pardon", and at no time should he lose his temper nor attract attention by excited conversation. It is proper to offer a lady his arm, particularly in the evening and it should always be the right arm. People passing should observe the law of "turn to the right" and in this way the lady would not be jostled. It is always proper for a gentleman walking alone to give the lady or a gentleman with a lady, the inside of the walk. Lady On The Street Street Manners-Lady The true lady walks the street, wrapped in a mantle of proper reserve, so impenetrable that insult and coarse familiarity shrink from her, while she, at all times, carries with her a congenial atmosphere which attracts all, and puts all at their ease. A lady walks quietly through the streets, seeing and hearing nothing that she ought not to, recognizing acquaintances with a courteous bow, and friends with words of greeting. She is always unobtrusive, never talks loudly, or laughs boisterously, or does anything to attract the attention of the passers-by. She walks along in her own quiet, lady-like way, and by her preoccupation is secure from any annoyance. A true lady in the street, as in the parlor is modest, discreet, kind and obliging. It is proper that the lady should first recognize the gentleman. A gentleman will never fail to bow in return to a lady; but a lady may not feel at liberty to return a gentleman’s bow, which places him in a rather unpleasant position. Therefore, a lady should give the first smile or bow. She must refrain, at all times, from using the gentleman’s Christian name. http://www.victorianstation.com/lifestylemenu.htm A most advanced and exciting time We reside in!!! I, for one, find excitement at every turn with the advent of electricity and numerous other inventions designed to ease our lifestyles! I hope that in future writings to expand upon the glories of our our accomplishments and until that time, dear readers, be well! S.R. Beaumont

Results of the Poetry Competition

I would like to extend a huge thankyou to all that took part in the competition. The poems were of such a high standard, and so diverse in content and form, that it was a great pleasure reading them. So much so, that a book of poetry has been produced of all the entries. Copies of the book will be given out to residents of Antiquity and one will be placed in the new Antiquity Library so that it can be read by our visitors .

I would also like to thank Dr. Rafael Fabre for giving his time to judge the entries. The standard was so high that it could not have been an easy task.

The results of the Competition were:

First place: 'Moonlight Regatta' by Molly Underwood
Second place: 'Antiquity Regatta Day' by Clapper Winkler
Third place: 'All at Sea' by Hope Coakes

Submit your poems, inspired by the Regatta

Don't forget to submit you poems on the Regatta by Thursday 13th September. Here are some pictures taken on the day.

An evening of dance and poetry at Duchess Slade's Tea House

A wonderful evening at Duchess Slade's tea-house

We had a wonderful evening at the tea-house on Wednesday evening. After being entertained by the lovely geisha dancers we sat around drinking hot saki and reading the beautiful Japanese poetry from the box on the table. This stimulated our creative juices and we decided to write some of our own. I was not familiar with this kind of verse, but was told that it is composed in a strict 3 line stanza of 5,7,5 syllables. Not as easy as it seems, but here is an example of our humble offerings.

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In the warmth of tea stream

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In a breeze of gentle sounds

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Four spirits of old

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(Team Okiya)

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Horse Race at Antiquity Cove

What a wonderful day we all had at the horse-race at Antiquity Cove on Saturday. A big thank you to Duke Barrymore and Duchess Magellan for providing us with such excellent horses and for allowing us to ride throught their beautiful sim. A very big thank you also to Baroness Joselyn McMillan, who worked tirelessly organising this event.

I took some pictures of the event and Lord Ceawling and I added our favourite horse poems. Hope you enjoy them.