This was taken on one of our trips to Glasgow, a favourite city. We love the Rennie Mackintosh buildings and discovered this very pleasing sculpture on one of our many walks. The word Peace is all over it in many different languages. I’m sorry I don’t know the name of the sculptor. If any reader can help out, I’d be delighted.
Oct 2009 Glasgow peace sculpture
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1 Our Callianthus Acidanthera are coming into bloom just as some of the other flowers are fading. They are very elegant and lovely.
Callianthus Acidanthera
2 We went sailing today knowing that the wind was going to change and it did but we had a lovely sail and it was just a bit exciting!
Just a bit choppy for beginners!
3 This beautiful and moving poem came my way today. Thank you Bob #irememberthechildren
Travel Tickets
By Samih al-QasimTranslated by A.Z. Foreman
The day I’m killed,
my killer, rifling through my pockets,
will find travel tickets:
One to peace,
one to the fields and the rain,
and one
to the conscience of humankind.Dear killer of mine, I beg you:
Do not stay and waste them.
Take them, use them.
I beg you to travel.
1 I have a new project! I heard about Wool against Weapons yesterday and have spent much of the day knitting my first 100cm contribution to seven miles, yes, seven miles of knitting! As a supporter of peace and yarn bombing, this project immediately appealed to me so I sorted out all my pink wools (they don’t mind a bit of other colour) and started!
If you would like to join me, click on the link above and get knitting!
My pink wools
2 Yesterday, I made a video of the beautiful Shire horses ploughing in The Lost Gardens of Heligan and I’ve uploaded it to YouTube. It sounds a bit windy but you can see how it works and see the turfs being turned over. Here’s the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBTp1OiiNME&feature=youtu.be
3 I made some delicious American Spiced Carrot Cakes, some for us and some for my good friend whom I am to visit on Tuesday.
Carrot cakes ready to bake
1 We’ve been looking for a new bird table for some time and yesterday found one we both liked. It has already attracted a couple of small visitors.
New bird table
2 Amy Witting / Joan Levick wrote this evocative poem, Peace. I was delighted to learn that this Australian writer chose the surname ‘Witting’ because of a promise she made to herself to never be ‘unwitting’, to always remain conscious of everything in her life – which is what I try to do here in my blog. I can’t put the whole poem here because of copyright but here’s the link so that you can read all ten lovely lines.
Peace
At the ship’s bow. It was my eye that drew
the perfect circle of blue meeting blue.
……………
……………….Stillness all around.
Only the perfect circle and the mast.
That moment knew no future and no past.
3 L gave me this beautiful embroidered little container but neither of us could think how I might use it. Then I thought – a jam jar of water and a bunch of Cornish daffodils so here they are!
Flowers and bees
1 This delightful card arrived this morning from my cousin, S. It was designed by a primary school child and spreads the message beautifully. I wish you all and all your loved ones a happy, peaceful and love-filled festive season and New Year.
Peace card designed by a child
2 One of my favourite poets, Robert Frost, wrote this poem, ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’. Until today, I had always thought he must have written it on 21st December, the darkest day of the year. Here, you can hear the poet reading his own poem and hear the story of how he was inspired to write it one mid-summer day!
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
3 Today we have celebrated the Winter Solstice. From tomorrow the days will start getting longer. I took a photo at dawn and another at sunset to mark the day and we went to our friends’ new woodland where they are creating a stone circle to start a new tradition. G had placed the first stone at sunrise and he and the lovely Mr S set the sunset stone in place and we all sang ‘May this stone be filled with love and harmony’, new words to this song with which we started our concert in Truro Cathedral last week. Click on any image for a bigger picture.
and just come in from a young friend, Natalie – “Tonight’s triple whammy! At the exact time as winter solstice, the #iss passes over the UK while the astronauts do a space walk!” Brilliant! Thanks, Natalie.
1 My lovely little 10 year old Beetle passed its MOT with no trouble today.
My Beetle
2 Today I have posted a delightful little pumpkin hat for our hat-loving Granddaughter, just in time for Hallowe’en.
Pumpkin hat
3 I have ordered my white poppies today from The Peace Pledge Union. I wear a red poppy to commemorate the dead, including civilian casualties, in current and past wars wherever in the world that might be. I wear a white poppy to indicate a commitment to peace in the future.
As an English teacher, words matter to me! This display was in my classroom and given the potentially very disturbing news re Syria from our Government, one of the quotations, that by H.C.Longuet-Higgins, seems particularly apt.
Words in my classroom
Language can alter human ideas
On the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jnr’s ‘I have a dream’ speech, the Dalai Lama here pays tribute
1 The golden glow of the duck eggs I was about to use for lunch was very beautiful.
Glorious golden Duck eggs
Naturekitchen Herb Salt
Duck eggs with Cornish Herb salt
2 An omelette with the duck eggs and mushrooms and salad was our simple lunch today.
Light lunch
3 The lovely Mr S has finished sanding the 100+ year old floor in the dining room, removing years of grime and varnish and it looks so softly beautiful. Now to decorate and then to put the furniture back.
Gorgeous floor
P.S. You will all, no doubt, be aware of the terrible murder of a young soldier in London last week. Such hatred has been stirred in some people by this. Russell Brand has written with eloquence, love and tolerance here and I thought you might like to read his words that I echo. With love to all my readers of all religions and none, wherever you are in this beautiful world that we share.
1 I am fascinated by reflections as you may have guessed. First thing this morning with the sun streaming in, the colours of the glass in the back door were reflected in the windows. I wish I understood how reflections work!
2 Driving through our lovely Cornish lanes to Penryn to choir for the first time in three weeks, the trees are developing that lovely haze of colour – greens, pale yellows and pinks – that mean Spring really is on the way.
3 We drove down to Loe Beach for the early evening sunshine. I just love being there, listening to the wavelets coming onto the shingle, finding tiny yellow shells and finding a very special sense of peace.
A wavelet coming in
At the edge of the water
Vivid rusty chain links
Teach Peace from Hippie Peace Freaks with thanks
1 I just want to say how much I loved teaching and teaching peace is surely the most important thing we could all do…….
2 This is a delightful combination of colour, music and creativity. (Photo not mine, sent to me via Fb.)
Rainbow notes in crochet
Creating makes me happy, be it cooking a meal for family or friends, knitting or sewing clothes for little people, writings of various sorts, designing in the garden, playing music …….
3 These are the powder colours which I bought from a beautiful girl in Varanasi, India, on our way back from watching the sun rise over The Ganges. She made lovely patterns on my hand with them before we negotiated a price and she told me how she was selling things to raise money for her school books. She then walked beside me protecting me from the traffic (cows, cars, Tuktuks, scooters, coaches and cycle rickshaws) until we reached our bus. A beautiful memory.
Pastels and stamps for decoration
Beautiful young woman who sold me the pastels
Having my hand decorated
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