Bluebell Time

Bluebell Time

Million bells waving bright bonnets of blue
Flaunting tall ranks of incredible hue.
Groundbreaking columns of stalks fill the shade
Assailing our senses from every dull glade.

Mid dapple-dim woods we tred without sound
Breathtaking armies of blue all around.
Sun shedding Spring over cold woodland dew,
Highlighting patches of mystical blue.
Sheer seas of colour all billowing there
Dance to perfection their Show of the Year.

 (poem reproduced with kind permission from the poet Fay Slimm)

Bluebells are blooming in the woods again. I've written about them before (click here), but I never tire of them. Every year they are such a joy and their colour remains unrivalled. 

When I was a child I had a dolly called Bluebell. In the days before she arrived my big sister spent a lot of time helping me to choose a name for the doll that I knew was coming. She wrote long lists, but still I could not decide. As soon as I saw her, I knew she had to be Bluebell because of the colour of her coat, dress, hat and shoes. Sadly, the outfit was lost along the way, but Bluebell still has pride of place among my other dollies. 

Writing prompts:

• What is your favourite Spring flower? Write about why you love it. 
• Did you you have a favourite doll, or soft toy as a child. What was it called? Have you still got it? Write about it for a few minutes.
• Names tell us a lot about someone. Write about your own name - how you got it, what it means, whether or not you like it. 
• Make a list of all 'flower' names for girls you can think of. Choose one of them, allocate it to an imaginary character, and write about them.