A Rondel of Merciless Beauty – The Original I. 1. Youre two eyn will sle me sodenly I may the beaute of them not sustene, So wendeth it thorowout my herte kene. 2. And but your words will helen hastely My hertis wound, while that it is grene, Youre two eyn will sle me sodenly….
Let’s Play, Play, Play The Game
If you have read Kim by Rudyard Kipling you will be aware of the long and testing spy war fought alongside the military wars between Russia and Britain over Afghanistan. This was brought to mind today when Russia stood firm against UN declarations against Assad in Syria whilst people died, and my thoughts went once…
The Cold
According to the news two hundred homeless people are now dead in Europe from the cold, frozen to death on various streets along with a few tragic people too poor to heat their homes. More are going to die, thousands are suffering. And all governments can say is this would not happen if they had…
When In Rome
The recent revenge on a few bankers is almost too ridiculous to mention for the panaceas thrown to the people have always been the way of tyrants and despots and I am sure a few hundred years ago a few men would be without their heads today. What was more interesting was a contrite business…
Birthdays
You can’t wait for them when you are young and you dread them when you are old. There is however something perverse and self-consuming in the idea of yearly celebrations for like all habits they have a function both to cement our idea of ourselves and our acceptance of the community. But with birthdays comes…
Wang Wei
Returning to Songshan Mountain Clear river belt long thin Cart horse go idle idle Flow water like have desire Dusk birds another with return Desolate town face old ferry Set sun whole autumn hills Far successively Song high down Return come for now close shut The limpid river runs between the bushes, The horse and…
The Facts Are In The Fiction
Every writer will tell you that they cannot think of plots as convoluted, outrageous and bizarre as the things that happen to people in real-life. The old comic line ‘you couldn’t make this up’ has made people roar with laughter on more than one occasion. In fact sometimes we go so far as to say…
The Wizard of ID
I have a small collection of what we lovingly call in this house ‘American funnies’, cartoons which have appears as series in the newspapers in the US. Amongst them The Wizard of Id is hilarious, populated by a medieval townsfolk lead by a corrupt king, a cowardly soldier, a fairly inept wizard, a drunk juggler…
Internet Privacy
There has been a lot said this past week about Google changing its privacy policy and I thought I would share with you thoughts that were taught to me ten years ago. If you go on the world wide web, there is no privacy. None. Anyone who wants to find you will be able to….
Gerard Manley Hopkins
As Kingfishers Catch Fire As king fishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame; As tumbled over rim in roundy wells Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name; Each mortal thing does one thing and the same: Deals out that being indoors each one…