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| Those little boxes still keep coming! |
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
ROCKERS WE’VE LOST IN 2014
As we pass into a New Year let us not forget those great
spirits of Rock who have passed this year. Let us remember:
Joe Cocker
Jack Bruce
Johnny Winter
Rick Rosas
Dick Wagner
Phil Everly
Jimi Jamison
Ed Gagliardi
Pete Seeger
Bobby Womack
Jesse Winchester
Raphael Ravenscroft
Alvin Stardust
Clive Beer-Jones
Tommy Ramone
Bob ‘Devo’ Casale
Acker Bilk
And many
other great singers and musicians who brought us all
joy through the years.Dreaming of the Ice Queen.
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| Tilda Swinton by Dave Piper #snow queen |
Through the snow-bent evergreen,
An endless tunnel of muffled silence,
In my dreaming spell -
The Ice Queen makes her entrance.
She is coming to claim a shivering spirit
On this frosty night.
She is a million years of starlit nights,
The blue of planets bathing in silver light
Vigilant in the muteness of space.
She gathers pale moonlight in the fields,
Wraps ice around the twigs, brittle as death.
She is the breeze from a flying swan’s wings,
The soft hush on a frozen lake; Dianna’s reflection
Trapped below blurring ice. She moves in a flurry of snow
flakes.
She freezes thoughts and vision, blurs consciousness;
Mocks the smouldering sacred springs and freezes their flow.
She paints the trees in black and white;
Freezes birdsong into frail breath.
In her eyes there flickers a cold fire
Like Aurora ,
the Dance of the Spirits.
She rides winter winds on a sleigh of frozen breath:
The Milky Way her cloak, Orion her crown.
She is the snow ghost, the polar spirit,
Revelling in summer’s demise,
Tormenting the spirits hidden in the green,
Enticing them from their hidden bowers.
O’ spring we cry, O’ summer!
Melt the icy veil from our eyes,
Let us see the green things again,
Watch the sun dance on the oak
The queen bee taste the celandine.
O’ let me dream of summer now
And the cooing of the doves.
Saturday, 27 December 2014
Wednesday, 24 December 2014
Christmas Eve.
The rain has finally ceased. The garden is like a bog. It is bitterly cold but the sun is shining. There are pheasant feeding in the garden and a large flock of redwings are abroad in the back field: I think Christmas could be here!!!
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Lud's Church in the Staffordshire Peak.
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| Lud' Church is now thought to be the Green Chapel featured in the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Read the book and do the walk over Christmas! |
A good Christmas read: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Preserved on a single surviving manuscript dating from around 1400, composed by an anonymous master, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was rediscovered only 200 years ago, and published for the first time in 1839. One of the earliest great stories of English literature, after Beowulf, the poem narrates the strange tale of a green knight on a green horse, who rudely interrupts the Round Table festivities one Yuletide, casting a pall of unease over the company and challenging one of their number to a wager. The virtuous Gawain accepts, and decapitates the intruder with his own axe. Gushing blood, the knight reclaims his head, orders Gawain to seek him out a year hence, and departs. Next Yuletide Gawain dutifully sets forth... His quest for the Green Knight involves a winter journey, a seduction scene in a dream-like castle, a dire challenge answered - and a drama of enigmatic reward disguised as psychic undoing.
Sunday, 14 December 2014
Saturday, 6 December 2014
Peregrines in the Peak.
Birdwatch News Archive
Peregrine Falcon has returned to the Peak District following conservation efforts to protect the species. Photo by MPF (commons.wikimedia.org).
New project brings hope for birds of prey in the Peak District
Birdwatch news teamPosted on: 23 Aug 2014
Peregrine Falcon is on the rise in the Peak District thanks to conservation efforts to protect the species, the National Trust has revealed.
The north-east Peak District welcomed the return of Peregrines in June 2014, having been a black spot for this species and birds of prey in general for many years. A pair nested at Alport Castles, a breeding site that had been unsuccessful for several years, and two chicks hatched and fledged.
The National Trust has claimed this as an early sign of success for the Peak District Birds of Prey Initiative, a joint project between the trust, Natural England, the RSPB, the Peak District National Park Authority and the Moorland Association. Conservation efforts to protect the birds have involved monitoring and protecting the nest sites.
Under the initiative, a core team of volunteers has contributed invaluable experience, expertise, time and equipment to monitor and protect Peregrine nest sites, resulting in the successful breeding in June.
“We’re thrilled that the Peregrines have returned to their traditional nesting site near to the Snake Pass,” said Tim Birch, Conservation Manager for the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. “We really hope that they come back safely next year and that this site and other traditional breeding sites are occupied in the coming years.”
The north-east Peak District welcomed the return of Peregrines in June 2014, having been a black spot for this species and birds of prey in general for many years. A pair nested at Alport Castles, a breeding site that had been unsuccessful for several years, and two chicks hatched and fledged.
The National Trust has claimed this as an early sign of success for the Peak District Birds of Prey Initiative, a joint project between the trust, Natural England, the RSPB, the Peak District National Park Authority and the Moorland Association. Conservation efforts to protect the birds have involved monitoring and protecting the nest sites.
Under the initiative, a core team of volunteers has contributed invaluable experience, expertise, time and equipment to monitor and protect Peregrine nest sites, resulting in the successful breeding in June.
“We’re thrilled that the Peregrines have returned to their traditional nesting site near to the Snake Pass,” said Tim Birch, Conservation Manager for the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. “We really hope that they come back safely next year and that this site and other traditional breeding sites are occupied in the coming years.”
Monday, 1 December 2014
Romany of the BBC. His Vardo.
Wilmslow Council should be ashamed of themselves. They should be proud to host and look after this wonderful morsel of history. Romany has more followers now than ever, and not only is his vardo well worthy of care and attention, but it is also a great tourist attraction for the town and a great way to endow local children with a sense of history and education - after-all he was an author of some repute. Shame on you for wishing to abandon such a beloved treasure!!!
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