test
Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Having a Day Off ...
Having a day off. Sitting in Costas with a large hazelnut mocha latte (skinny of course) and goats cheese panini.
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Spring Greens ...
Green rain
Into the scented woods we'll go
And see the blackthorn swim in snow.
High above, in the budding leaves,
A brooding dove awakes and grieves;
The glades with mingled music stir,
And wildly laughs the woodpecker.
When blackthorn petals pearl the breeze,
There are the twisted hawthorn trees
Thick-set with buds, as clear and pale
As golden water or green hail--
As if a storm of rain had stood
Enchanted in the thorny wood,
And, hearing fairy voices call,
Hung poised, forgetting how to fall
Mary Webb, (25 March 1881 – 8 October 1927)
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Emperor ...
... moths (Saturnia pavonia), newly emerged. With a wingspan of approximately 80mm, the Emperor moth is one of the largest moths found in the UK. It has four very distinctive eye-markings, one on each wing, Emperor moths are the only UK members of the silk-moth family.
... taken last May when in the Caterpillar stage. The female Emperor moth lays her eggs within a few hours after mating. The eggs take about 10 days to hatch. The Emperor moth caterpillars, seen from May to August, are black and hairy when newly hatched. As they grow they change to green with yellow, pink or orange spots. Each spot is covered with short black hairs.
AMx
.jpg)
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Acoustic ....
.... beautiful music by English singer songwriter Ben Howard.
This is "Promise" from his debut album 'Every Kingdom'
It starts only with the sound of falling rain, but be patient and enjoy ...
AMx
This is "Promise" from his debut album 'Every Kingdom'
It starts only with the sound of falling rain, but be patient and enjoy ...
"Promise"
And meet me there, bundles of flowers,
We wait through the hours of cold
Winter shall howl at the walls,
Tearing down doors of time.
Shelter as we go...
And promise me this:
You’ll wait for me only,
Scared of the lonely arms.
Surface, far below these words
And maybe, just maybe I’ll come home
Who am I, darling to you?
Who am I?
Gonna tell you stories of mine
Who am I?
Who am I, darling for you?
Who am I?
Gonna be a burden in time, lonely
Who am I, to you?
Who am I, darling for you?
Who am I?
Going to be a burden
Who am I, darling to you?
Who am I?
I come alone here
I come alone here
AMx
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Snowing ....
Almost Easter and it is snowing here in the UK - at least in my bit of it at any rate. So no White Christmas but maybe we can dream of a "White Easter"....
White Easter
Frozen feathers
Fall from leaden skies,
Trees like lace
Each tiny twig enrobed in white.
Birdsong hushed,
Our footfalls, muffled,
Tread with care
The icy pathways of the town.
Flowers dream, as we,
Of warmer days,
Sun dappled grass,
And hang their heads to wait awhile
Beneath the snow.
Fall from leaden skies,
Trees like lace
Each tiny twig enrobed in white.
Birdsong hushed,
Our footfalls, muffled,
Tread with care
The icy pathways of the town.
Flowers dream, as we,
Of warmer days,
Sun dappled grass,
And hang their heads to wait awhile
Beneath the snow.
Amararti
AMx
Friday, 22 March 2013
Friday, 12 October 2012
Petit d' ....
.... from Carrefour in Bedouin, along with the ingredients to make salade Niscoise later ... tuna, eggs, green beans, potatoes and lettuce.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Łazienki Park
Beneath the trees ....
I held your hand
The path before us straight,
Sun dappled,
Seemed unending.
Beneath the trees ....
We walked,
Thoughts and fingers
Intertwined,
Step matched to step.
Beneath the trees ....
We spoke
Our shared dreams,
And whispered promises.
Beneath the trees ....
Your fingers slipped my grasp.
As the path turned to shadow
I walked a pace behind.
Beneath the trees ....
I followed
As darkness fell between us
Our thoughts unspoken
In the silence
Beneath the trees ....
Amararti, June 2011
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Highworth May Day ....
The most well known symbol of May Day merrymaking is the Maypole. During the medieval period it was traditional for the adults to go to the woods on May Eve where they spent the night in pleasant pastimes. At dawn the following day they returned bringing with them branches of trees, particularly hawthorn, which they used to decorate the door of each house, believing that this would bring good luck and fertility for the coming year. Geoffrey Chaucer refers to this maying in his 'Knight's Tale'.
 |
| Morris Men in the Market Square |
But the highlight of the morning was the bringing home of the maypole. Drawn by oxen, with nosegays of flowers on their horns, it would be decorated with fresch garlands and greenery, flowers and sometimes ribbons and set up to become the focal point for the celebrations. With great joy and merriment people danced round it, but not plaiting ribbons as in the modern revival. In the earlier form, they either held hands in a ring, danced solo in a circle or wove in and out in a circle and there are reports of people kissing each other as they met.
Maypoles were banned under Cromwell but were brought back with great enthusiasm after the restoration of Charles II. Pepys described the beginning of King Charles' reign as "The happiest May Day that hath been many a year in England".
 |
| Uffington White Horse atop the Maypole |
A local story of the Highworth area has it that nearby Longcot's maypole was greatly envied by the inhabitants of the surrounding villages in the Vale and that it was stolen one night by a group of Ashbury lads who erected it in front of the Crown Inn. It was stolen from them in turn by the men of Uffington and then in turn by the men of Lambourn, not without a fight breaking out in which boiling water was used by the Uffington men. Parson Watts of Uffington, was so horrified at this that he ordered that the maypole should be cut up into small pieces and the wood given to the poor at Christmas.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Mothers Day ....
Today was Mothers Day here in England, or "Mothering Sunday" to be more correct.
Mothering Sunday has been celebrated in the UK on the fourth Sunday in Lent since at least the 16th century and it was a day when the fasting rules were relaxed, perhaps in honour of the 'Feeding of the Five Thousand'.
No one is absolutely certain exactly how the name of Mothering Sunday began, however, one theory is that the celebration could have been adopted from a Roman Spring festival celebrating Cybele, their Mother Goddess. As Christianity spread, this "pagan" festival was adopted by Christians and it is known that on this date, about four hundred years ago, people made a point of visiting their nearest big church (the Mother Church) or the church in which they had been baptised.
Young girls and boys 'in service', as my own maternal grandmother was as a teenager, at the local Manor House or in a Mansion, were only allowed one day to visit their family each year. This was usually on Mothering Sunday. For some this could be a significant journey since their mother may have lived some distance away, indeed another town altogether from the Manor where they were put in to service. Often the housekeeper or cook would allow the maids to bake a cake to take home for their mother. Sometimes a gift of eggs; or flowers from the garden (or hothouse) was allowed.
The most favoured cake was the 'simnel cake':
‘I’ll to thee a Simnell bring
‘Gainst thou go’st a mothering,
So that, when she blesseth thee,
Half that blessing thou’lt give to me.’
Robert Herrick 1648
The Simnel cake is a fruit cake. A flat layer of marzipan (sugar almond paste) is placed on top of and decorated with 11 marzipan balls representing the 12 apostles minus Judas, who betrayed Christ. It was not eaten on Mothering Sunday because of the rules of Lent, instead it was saved until Easter.
Herrick’s poem (quoted) is of particular interest to folklorists, being one of the earliest references to the Post-Reformation celebration of this festival.
AMx
(Sent from Samsung mobile)
Mothering Sunday has been celebrated in the UK on the fourth Sunday in Lent since at least the 16th century and it was a day when the fasting rules were relaxed, perhaps in honour of the 'Feeding of the Five Thousand'.
No one is absolutely certain exactly how the name of Mothering Sunday began, however, one theory is that the celebration could have been adopted from a Roman Spring festival celebrating Cybele, their Mother Goddess. As Christianity spread, this "pagan" festival was adopted by Christians and it is known that on this date, about four hundred years ago, people made a point of visiting their nearest big church (the Mother Church) or the church in which they had been baptised.
Young girls and boys 'in service', as my own maternal grandmother was as a teenager, at the local Manor House or in a Mansion, were only allowed one day to visit their family each year. This was usually on Mothering Sunday. For some this could be a significant journey since their mother may have lived some distance away, indeed another town altogether from the Manor where they were put in to service. Often the housekeeper or cook would allow the maids to bake a cake to take home for their mother. Sometimes a gift of eggs; or flowers from the garden (or hothouse) was allowed.
The most favoured cake was the 'simnel cake':
‘I’ll to thee a Simnell bring
‘Gainst thou go’st a mothering,
So that, when she blesseth thee,
Half that blessing thou’lt give to me.’
Robert Herrick 1648
The Simnel cake is a fruit cake. A flat layer of marzipan (sugar almond paste) is placed on top of and decorated with 11 marzipan balls representing the 12 apostles minus Judas, who betrayed Christ. It was not eaten on Mothering Sunday because of the rules of Lent, instead it was saved until Easter.
Herrick’s poem (quoted) is of particular interest to folklorists, being one of the earliest references to the Post-Reformation celebration of this festival.
AMx
(Sent from Samsung mobile)
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Springtime . . .
First daffodils blooming in my garden. Spring is here, or at least on the way. Here are some positive thoughts as the year turns from the cold dark days of winter to the brighter, lengthening days of springtime.
“Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.”
~ Robert H. Schuller
“One swallow does not make a spring, nor does one fine day.”
~ Aristole
“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”
~ Hal Borland
"In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours."
~ Mark Twain
AMx
(Sent from Samsung mobile)
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Flippin' Marvellous . . .
Shrove Tuesday ... Pancake day ... Mardi Gras ... Fat Tuesday ...
Mix a pancake,
Stir a pancake,
Pop out in the pan,
Fry the pancake,
Toss the pancake,
Catch it if you can.
Christina Rosettei (1830 - 94)
AMx
(Sent from Samsung mobile)
Monday, 6 December 2010
Snow Days ....
The winter has brought snow to the UK early this year. Heavy snowfalls in mid November brought parts of England to a near standstill and the sub zero temperatures have continued for more then three weeks now with little respite.
But will we be treated to white Christmas in southern England this year .... ?
AMx
(Sent from Samsung mobile)
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Samhain ....
Samhain
Summer's end
Is laced with woodsmoke
Accented by frost
Leaves are crisp underfoot
The light has fled
Early from the sky
The darkness of the year
Begins tonight
Amararti
Happy Halloween
AMx
(Sent from Samsung mobile)Saturday, 30 October 2010
Autumn Colour ....
The autumn colours here are stunning at the moment,
and the weather warm and sunny.
But tomorrow could be cold and frosty,
ah .... the excitement of the English climate.
AMx
(Sent from Samsung mobile)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
