Frivolous and Soul Searching

As this is the first entry, it is best to explain very quickly that I have intentions of making some frivolous entries, as well as, exploring a few deeper themes.

This one is not merely frivolous, it is also drawn from some of my writing a long time ago.

It's a nursery rhyme which I have called...
Old Mother Hubbard Revisited

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard
To fetch her Doggy a bone
But when she got there
The cupboard was bare.

So she sat down to eat
With the dog at her feet
And with her dog
She wasn't alone.

****** (written in 1984)******

You can notice the change from the orginal (first published in 1805). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mother_Hubbard)

As you can see, the original rhymed bone & none, which is an Eye Rhyme. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyme)

Now, I am NOT saying that my version is an improvement on this very well established nursery rhyme, but I DO think that I made that first verse slightly more moral and sympathetic to her plight, simply by adding "the solace of companionship". (Note: I only revised the first verse because at the time of writing it in 1984, I didn't know there were multiple verses!)

I admit, a Nursery Rhyme is surely an unusual way of beginning my series of frivolous and/or soul-searching blogs, and begs the question how this fits in with the theme of A Camera Eye? Well... I have named it that, because I intend to look at how we view things, how we perceive, how we (maybe) take certain things for granted or perhaps gloss over them...

Interestingly, according to this web page (http://www.rhymes.org.uk/old_mother_hubbard.htm) Origins of Old Mother Hubbard lyrics in British history, it is claimed that the words to Old Mother Hubbard allude to Henry the Eighths' attempted divorce from Queen Katherine of Aragon. Old Mother Hubbard is supposedly Cardinal Wolsey who denied the divorce, and Henry VIII was the "doggie". I was certainly ignorant of that historical perspective when I did my version.

One more thing, (in the form of a disclaimer)... there has been activity called "nursery rhyme revisionism" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursery_rhyme) which apparently 'improves' nursery rhymes. (ie: reforms involving violence & crime, political correctness, racism, sexism, etc) To the best of my knowledge, I am not associated with any of those.

Finally, lastly, and in conclusion, I notice this ended up a bit too scholarly, so rest assured, there will be other entries that will ignore facts entirely.