Tonight I am lying prone on a comfy bed in a Travelodge at Sleaford, recovering from the night driving to which my eyes no longer adapt well. Tomorrow will be a relatively short ride across the Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire fens, once the most fertile vegetable-growing land in England.
An area where some of my Haynes ancestors laboured, on the land or as skilled leather workers. Then migrated to Northampton (a centre for the shoe trade), via Cambridge where I studied Natural Sciences a century later.
My father’s cousin Edie Spencer, like him born in Northampton, was active in the Girl Guide movement in the twentieth century, and maybe that’s why I’ve responded like this, below, to the quadrille challenge set by Lillian of dVerse tonight. (We are to include the word ‘promise’ in our 44 word poem.)
Guiding promise
As a Girl Guide in 1964, I promised on my honour
to do my duty to God and the Queen
and to obey the Guide Law.
The laws changed over the millennia, and the Queen of England died; maybe England’s God too.
Promise me…
© Kathy Labrum McVittie 28 October 2024
writingpresence 
Those promises… we remember them, but sometimes things change so much so they are no longer valid.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Bjorn – that comment is so helpful in my current situation x
LikeLike
Ah how time can change the meaning, depth, and sometimes tenure of a promise! When circumstances change, especially when they profoundly change, in my mind, that means the “restrictions” or “constrictions” of a promise must also be dissolved and perhaps, resolved or edited or simply be done.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your understanding about the grounds of yesterday’s quadrille! And for your patience, Lillian, over my struggles with Mr Linky this time. Memo to self: only use laptop, not “smart” phone (dumbphone), for blog posts…
LikeLike
Kathy, I really enjoyed how your reflections weave personal history and poetic challenge together—it feels like a heartfelt journey through time that’s both introspective and evocative!
~David
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you friend x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember that promise well, Kathy! I used to have a photograph of me getting my badge, but I can’t find it anywhere.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There was a little song too: “Whene’er you make a promise/ Remember well its importance/ Then when it’s made/ Remember it in your heart”. I kept the fabric flashes and sew-on badges for decades, longer than my trefoil, and still remember doing my hostess badge, cooks badge and First Class hike (where we dined on pancakes and stewed gooseberries and felt queasy afterwards!)
Then I left becasue there was a Friday night clash between Guides (all female, like school) and Wind Band (which was mixed) – I played the trumpet.
LikeLiked by 1 person