Thursday 7 October 2010

The Quangle Wangle's Hat

 

events_logo

Today, October 7th is National Poetry Day.  To celebrate we are all supposed to write a poem about home.  Since I haven't had time to pen some prose, I'll just leave it to one of my favourites - the delightfully weird and whacky Edward Lear. 

What I did manage to do a couple of days ago was paint a picture of a hat.  (After all, home is where the hat's at...right?)  Although it is by no means as wonderfully beribboned or jangly and jaunty as Quangle's, it is rather fitting, I feel, for the approach of Autumn.  One must not have a chilly pate.  Not under any circumstances.

 

facebook.sept 002

 

 

The Quangle Wangle's Hat

by

Edward Lear

On the top of the Crumpetty Tree

The Quangle Wangle sat,

But his face you could not see,

On account of his Beaver Hat.

For his hat was a hundred and two feet wide,

With ribbons and bibbons on every side

And bells, and buttons, and loops, and lace,

So that nobody ever could see the face

Of the Quangle Wangle Quee.

The Quangle Wangle said

To himself on the Crumpetty Tree,--

'Jam; and jelly; and bread;

'Are the best food for me!

'But the longer I live on this Crumpetty Tree

'The plainer that ever it seems to me

'That very few people come this way

'And that life on the whole is far from gay!'

Said the Quangle Wangle Quee.

But there came to the Crumpetty Tree,

Mr. and Mrs. Canary;

And they said, -- 'Did you ever see

'Any spot so charmingly airy?

'May we build a nest on your lovely Hat?

Mr. Quangle Wangle, grant us that!

'O please let us come and build a nest

'Of whatever material suits you best,

'Mr. Quangle Wangle Quee!'

And besides, to the Crumetty Tree

Came the Stork, the Duck, and the Owl;

The Snail, and the Bumble-Bee,

The Frog, and theFimble Fowl;

(The Fimble Fowl, with a Corkscrew leg;)

And all of them said, -- We humbly beg,

'We may build our homes on your lovely Hat,--

'Mr. Quangle Wangle, grant us that!

'Mr. Quangle Wangle Quee!'

And the Golden Grouse came there,

And the Pobble who has no toes,--

And the small Olympian bear,--

And the Dong with a luminous nose.

And the Blue Baboon, who played the flute,--

And the Orient Calf from the Land of Tute,--

And the Attery Squash, and the Bisky Bat,--

All came and built on the lovely Hat

Of the Quangle Wangle Quee.

And the Quangle Wangle said

To himself on the Crumpetty Tree,--

'When all these creatures move

'What a wonderful noise there'll be!'

And at night by the light of the Mulberry moon

They danced to the flute of the Blue Baboon,

On the broad green leaves of the Crumpetty Tree,

And all were as happy as happy could be,

With the Quangle Wangle Quee.

quangle

12 comments:

Holly said...

As to that hat? My dear, I'll take that!

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

It's ages since I read that. I had quite forgotten it and it's great! as is your hat. I would want one if I didn't know it would make me look like a mushroom.

rossichka said...

What a lovely day indeed! You did celebrate it, drawing such a charming hat and representing us this whimsical and funny poem!:0) I keep a very precious gift from my English pen-friend Fiona (from the time we were schoolgirls) - "The Oxford Book of Children's Verse". So I took it and read some other poems by Edward Lear. I like his style and sense of humour! Here's again the HAT theme...(from Mr. and Mrs. Spikky Sparrow)

Mrs.Spikky Sparrow said,
'Spikky, darling! In my head
Many thoughts of trouble come,
Like to flies upon a plum!
All last night, among the trees,
I heard you cough, I heard you
sneeze;
And, thought I, it's come to that
Because he does not wear a hat!
Chippy wippy sikky tee!
Bikky wikky tikky mee!
Spikky chippy wee!'...

Have a lovely weekend, dear Tessa!!

Lori ann said...

heeheehe,
love the quangle wangle and your hat. SO cute!

Tessa said...

Hello lovlies all..glad you enjoyed this little fandango into frivolity!

Bee said...

I was talking to a friend this morning about National Poetry Day, and about how our children's school had missed an opportunity to celebrate poetry. This Lear poem would have been a good one!

Your hat is really adorable. The shape, and the red lipstick, are very Chanel. (Have you read Picardie's new biography of CC? I keep eyeing it in the bookstore.

I've been thinking about you a lot, Tessa. I had a very vivid dream about you the other night! Funny, eh, that blogfriends can penetrate our subconsciousness and get into the dream world.

karen said...

I had forgotten about that old poem! I just love the Crumpetty Tree, and the Blue baboon!!

Amanda Summer said...

tessa - i love that hat -- in fact, the texture on it was such that i felt i could almost touch it --looks exactly like suede - marvelous!

Cheryl Cato said...

What a great story/poem! I have never read it before now. I love your autumn hat; it is beautiful. Have you made it as yet?

Tessa said...

Hollyness, a poet of note!

Hi there Carol…waving madly from under my hat.

Elizabethm, The Quangle Wangle Quee is wonderful and nonsensical and fun. Good old Edward!

Hello Rossichka! Oh, I too have – and love – The Oxford Book of Children’s Verse’! There is also ‘A Child’s Garden of Verse’ which is lovely as well. Just LOVE Mrs Spikky Sparrow…thanks for reminding me. I shall be saying ‘chippy wippy sikky tee’ all day long, I just know it!

Lovely Lori…I like Quangle’s hat better than mine! Much more fun – and eye-catching.

Bee, how lovely to see you – I think you’ve been travelling quite a bit, right? Paris et al…wonderful! I’ve not read Picardie’s bio of CC, but I saw the marvellous Coco Avant Chanel (with subtitles of course, as I can only speak and read English..just!) Yikes, I wonder what the dream was about…do hope it wasn’t a nightmare!

Hello Karen….it’s just all such fun and can’t fail to bring a smile to the face of the reader. Blue baboon …..Lear left out the bottom bit!

Amanda, lovely to see you again. Thank you for your compliment about my new autumn hat. I’m trying to steer myself away from those very saturated African colours, so it’s good to hear that this sketch has a textural quality to it. The suede look required lots of scrumbling…swishing a dry brush round and round until you get the required effect.

No, Lizzy, I can draw or design all sorts of imaginary things, but I am a hopeless seamstress! So pleased you like the poem…Edward Lear always cheers me up if I’m feeling a bit blue!

zXc said...

Gucci black bag
Another important thing that makes baby clothing ideal is when they are made of pure natural fabric. Organic baby outfits are highly recommended by most experts as they are safe and soft on infants' delicate skin. They are organic as they were crafted with 100% natural fabric that comes from plants grown without using any
order burberry check tote
order bottega
buy anya hindmarch
pesticides, antibiotics, and other chemical-based solutions.
purchase dolce & gabbana bag
purchase miu miu red wallet
buy valentino beige snakeskin
2. Consider the size of clothing. Sizes of baby clothes vary different manufacturers that specialize on baby apparel. When buying, choose a size that is bigger than
buy chanel bronze
order marc jacobs
buy salvatore ferragamos
buy mulberry grey hobo
his/her infant age. This would also make sense if here's a lot of clothing the mom has received from other guests. This simply means yours will definitely get used a
purchase balenciaga purple
buy jimmy choo
baby couldn't have too many bigger sizes of clothes given during the baby shower

Lori ann said...

I have heard some news. Dear Tessa and family, if it's true, please know that my prayers are with you all. I can't believe it. I am so very sorry. I love Tessa and her exuberant nature and her loving soul will always live on with me. God bless you all.
Love Lori