1 Sad to hear today that Pete Seeger has died but what a legacy of music he has left behind. I just love this one, probably not one you will have been hearing today. Do click on the link and listen to his interpretation of ‘Forever Young”, a Bob Dylan song, recorded just a couple of years ago for Amnesty International. He was such a campaigner for peace and this one, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” is an anthem that will live on and on…….
Under the second video there are these words:
“The song was stirred by a passage from Mikhail Sholokhov’s novel “And Quite Flows the Don”. Around the world the song traveled and in 1962 at a UNICEF concert in Germany, Marlene Dietrich, Academy Award-nominated German-born American actress, first performed the song in French, as “Qui peut dire ou vont les fleurs?” Shortly after she sang it in German. The song’s impact in Germany just after WWII was shattering. Its universal message, “let there be peace in the world” did not get lost in its translation. To the contrary, the combination of the language, the setting, and the great lyrics has had a profound effect on people all around the world. May it have the same effect today and bring renewed awareness to all who hear it.”
2 Our Hyacinths in the glasses are flowering just one at a time. In some ways that is lovely as they come in sequence and their gorgeous scent pervades the room – but I do miss the whole glorious display of flowers all at once as we had last year.
Hyacinth in blue glass 28.1.14
3 Friends and I have been discussing favourite words today. Lynne mentioned ‘nincompoop’, such a delightful onomatopoeic word, and I was reminded of a word one of my brothers found in the Oxford Shorter English Dictionary – ‘shittlewitted’. It’s not as rude as it sounds, meaning scatterbrained or flighty but it makes a splendid expletive! For those who don’t know, the Shorter Oxford Dictionary is no such thing. It comes in two enormous volumes and the writing is so tiny that the pair come with a magnifying glass! I’d love to hear of your favourite words.
