sábado, 3 de maio de 2008

Dylan Thomas. 1914 to 1953 no portugues











Dylan Marlais Thomas nasceu em Swansea, no País de Gales, a 27 de outubro de 1914. Considerado um dos maiores poetas do século XX em língua inglesa, juntamente com W.Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, T.S. Eliot e W.B. Yeats. Dylan Thomas teve uma vida muito curta, devido a exagerada boemia que o levou ao fim de seus dias aos 39 anos, mas, ainda teve tempo de nos deixar um legado poético que o tornou um dos maiores influenciadores de toda uma geração de escritores."

. clique no titulo para ver poesias seperado


EM MEU OFÍCIO OU ARTE TACITURNA

Em meu ofício ou arte taciturna
Exercido na noite silenciosa
Quando somente a lua se enfurece
E os amantes jazem no leito
Com todas as suas mágoas nos braços,
Trabalho junto à luz que canta
Não por glória ou pão
Nem por pompa ou tráfico de encantos
Nos palcos de marfim
Mas pelo mínimo salário
De seu mais secreto coração.

Escrevo estas páginas de espuma
Não para o homem orgulhoso
Que se afasta da lua enfurecida
Nem para os mortos de alta estirpe
Com seus salmos e rouxinóis,
Mas para os amantes, seus braços
Que enlaçam as dores dos séculos,
Que não me pagam nem me elogiam
E ignoram meu ofício ou minha arte.

(tradução: Ivan Junqueira)

.

ESTE LADO DA VERDADE

Para Llewlyn

Este lado da verdade,
Meu filho, tu não podes ver,
Rei de teus olhos azuis
No país que cega a tua juventude,
Que está todo por fazer,
Sob os céus indiferentes
Da culpa e da inocência
Antes que tentes um único gesto
Com a cabeça e o coração,
Tudo estará reunido e disperso
Nas trevas tortuosas
Como o pó dos mortos.

O bom e o mau, duas maneiras
De caminhar em tua morte
Entre as triturantes ondas do mar,
Rei de teu coração nos dias cegos,
Se dissipam com a respiração,
Vão chorando através de ti e de mim

(tradução: Ivan Junqueira)

.

POEMA DE OUTUBRO

Era o meu trigésimo ano rumo ao céu
Quando chegou aos meus ouvidos, vindo do porto
e do bosque ao lado,
E da praia empoçada de mexilhões
E sacralizada pelas garças
O aceno da manhã

Com as preces da água e o grito das gralhas e gaivotas
E o chocar-se dos barcos contra o muro emaranhado de redes
Para que de súbito
Me pusesse de pé
E descortinasse a imóvel cidade adormecida.

Meu aniversário começou com as aves marinhas
E os pássaros das árvores aladas esvoaçavam o meu nome
Sobre as granjas e os cavalos brancos
E levantei-me
No chuvoso outono
E perambulei sem rumo sob o aguaceiro de todos os meus dias.
A garça e a maré alta mergulhavam quando tomei a estrada
Acima da divisa
E as portas da cidade
Ainda estavam fechadas enquanto o povo despertava.

Toda uma primavera de cotovias numa nuvem rodopiante
E os arbustos à beira da estrada transbordante de gorjeios
De melros e o sol de outubro
Estival
Sobre os ombros da colina,
Eram climas amorosos e houve doces cantores
Que chegaram de repente na manhã pela qual eu vagava e ouvia
Como se retorcia a chuva
O vento soprava frio No bosque ao longe que jazia a meus pés.

Pálida chuva sobre o porto que encolhia
E sobre o mar que umedecia a igreja do tamanho de um caracol
Com seus cornos através da névoa e do castelo
Encardido como as corujas Mas todos os jardins
Da primavera e do verão floresciam nos contos fantásticos
Para além da divisa e sob a nuvem apinhada de cotovias.
Ali podia eu maravilhar-me
Meu aniversário Ia adiante mas o tempo girava em derredor.

Ao girar me afastava do país em júbilo
E através do ar transfigurado e do céu cujo azul se matizava
Fluía novamente um prodígio do verão
Com maçãs
Pêras e groselhas encarnadas
E no girar do tempo vi tão claro quanto uma criança
Aquelas esquecidas manhãs em que o menino passeava com sua mãe Em meio às parábolas
Da luz solar
E às lendas da verde capela

E pêlos campos da infância duas vezes descritos
Pois suas lágrimas me queimavam as faces e seu coração
se enternecia em mim.
Esses eram os bosques e o rio e o mar
Ali onde um menino
À escuta
Do verão dos mortos sussurrava a verdade de seu êxtase
Às árvores e às pedras e ao peixe na maré.
E todavia o mistério
Pulsava vivo Na água e nos pássaros canoros.

E ali podia eu maravilhar-me com meu aniversário
Que fugia, enquanto o tempo girava em derredor. Mas a verdadeira
Alegria da criança há tanto tempo morta cantava
Ardendo ao sol.
Era o meu trigésimo ano
Rumo ao céu que então se imobilizara no meio-dia do verão
Embora a cidade repousasse lá embaixo coberta de folhas no sangue de outubro.

Oh, pudesse a verdade de meu coração
Ser ainda cantada
Nessa alta colina um ano depois.

.(tradução: Ivan Junqueira)

.

AMOR NO HOSPÍCIO

Uma estranha chegou
A dividir comigo um quarto nessa casa que anda mal da cabeça,
Uma jovem louca como os pássaros

Que trancava a porta da noite com seus braços, suas plumas.
Espigada no leito em desordem
Ela tapeia com nuvens penetrantes a casa à prova dos céus

Até iludir com seus passos o quarto imerso em pesadelo,
Livre como os mortos,
Ou cavalga os oceanos imaginários do pavilhão dos homens.

Chegou possessa
Aquela que admite a ilusória luz através do muro saltitante,
Possuída pêlos céus
Ela dorme no catre estreito, e no entanto vagueia na poeira
E no entanto delira à vontade
Sobre as tábuas do manicômio aplainadas por minhas lágrimas deâmbulas.

E arrebatado pela luz de seus braços, enfim, meu Deus, enfim
Posso de fato
Suportar a primeira visão que incendeia as estrelas.

.(tradução: Ivan Junqueira)

.

MORTES E ENTRADAS

Quase às vésperas incendiárias
De várias mortes próximas,
Quando alguém ante os despojos de quem mais amaste,
E desde sempre conhecido, tenha de abandonar
Os leões e as flamas de sua volátil respiração,
Quem dentre os teus amigos imortais
Elevaria o som dos órgãos do pó inventariado
Para lançar e cantar os teus louvores,
O que mais fundo os invocasse conquistaria a sua paz
Que não pode se afogar ou se esvair
Sem fim junto à sua chaga Nas muitas e alienantes dores
conjugais de Londres.

Quase às vésperas incendiárias
Quando diante de teus lábios e chaves,
Fechando, abrindo, se entrelacem os estranhos assassinados,
Aquele que é o mais desconhecido,
Teu vizinho, a estrela polar, sol de uma outra rua,
Mergulhará em tuas lágrimas.
Ele há de banhar teu sangue chuvoso no másculo oceano
Que percorrerá teu próprio morto
E fará girar sua esfera fora de teu fio de água
E entupirá as gargantas das conchas
Com todos os gritos desde que a luz
Começou a jorrar através de seus olhos tonitruantes.

Quase às vésperas incendiárias
De mortes e entradas,
Quando próximo e estranho, ferido nas ondas de Londres,
Hajas procurado a tua tumba solitária,
Um inimigo entre muitos, que bem sabe
Como cintila o teu coração
Nas trevas vigiadas, pulsando entre furnas e ferrolhos,
Arrancará os raios
Para tapar o sol, mergulhará, galgará tuas teclas sombrias
E fará definhar os ginetes para que recuem,
Até que aquele despojo adorado
Avulte como o último Sansão de teu zodíaco
.

.(tradução: Ivan Junqueira)

.

A LUZ IRROMPE ONDE NENHUM SOL BRILHA

A luz irrompe onde nenhum sol brilha;
onde não se agita qualquer mar, as águas do coração
impelem as suas marés;
e, destruídos fantasmas com o fulgor dos vermes nos cabelos,
os objectos da luz
atravessam a carne onde nenhuma carne reveste os ossos.

Nas coxas, uma candeia
aquece as sementes da juventude e queima as da velhice;
onde não vibra qualquer semente,
arredonda-se com o seu esplendor e junto das estrelas
o fruto do homem;
onde a cera já não existe, apenas vemos o pavio de uma candeia.

A manhã irrompe atrás dos olhos;
e da cabeça aos pés desliza tempestuoso o sangue
como se fosse um mar;
sem ter defesa ou protecção, as nascentes do céu
ultrapassam os seus limites
ao pressagiar num sorriso o óleo das lágrimas.

A noite, como uma lua de asfalto,
cerca na sua órbita os limites dos mundos;
o dia brilha nos ossos;
onde não existe o frio, vem a tempestade desoladora abrir
as vestes do inverno;
a teia da primavera desprende-se nas pálpebras.

A luz irrompe em lugares estranhos,
nos espinhos do pensamento onde o seu aroma paira sob a chuva;
quando a lógica morre,
o segredo da terra cresce em cada olhar
e o sangue precipita-se no sol;
sobre os campos mais desolados, detém-se o amanhecer
.

( tradução: Fernando Guimarães)

.

E A MORTE PERDERÁ O SEU DOMÍNIO

E a morte perderá o seu domínio.
Nus, os homens mortos irão confundir-se
com o homem no vento e na lua do poente;
quando, descarnados e limpos, desaparecerem os ossos
hão-de nos seus braços e pés brilhar as estrelas.
Mesmo que se tornem loucos permanecerá o espírito lúcido;
mesmo que sejam submersos pelo mar, eles hão-de ressurgir;
mesmo que os amantes se percam, continuará o amor;
e a morte perderá o seu domínio.

E a morte perderá o seu domínio.
Aqueles que há muito repousam sobre as ondas do mar
não morrerão com a chegada do vento;
ainda que, na roda da tortura, comecem
os tendões a ceder, jamais se partirão;
entre as suas mãos será destruída a fé
e, como unicórnios, virá atravessá-los o sofrimento;
embora sejam divididos eles manterão a sua unidade;
e a morte perderá o seu domínio.

E a morte perderá o seu domínio.
Não hão-de gritar mais as gaivotas aos seus ouvidos
nem as vagas romper tumultuosamente nas praias;
onde se abriu uma flor não poderá nenhuma flor
erguer a sua corola em direcção à força das chuvas;
ainda que estejam mortas e loucas, hão-de descer
como pregos as suas cabeças pelas margaridas;
é no sol que irrompem até que o sol se extinga,
e a morte perderá o seu domínio.

( tradução: Fernando Guimarães)

.

A MÃO AO ASSINAR ESTE PAPEL

A mão ao assinar este papel arrasou uma cidade;
cinco dedos soberanos lançaram a sua taxa sobre a respiração; duplicaram o globo dos mortos e reduziram a metade um país;
estes cinco reis levaram a morte a um rei.

A mão soberana chega até um ombro descaído
e as articulações dos dedos ficaram imobilizadas pelo gesso;
uma pena de ganso serviu para pôr fim à morte
que pôs fim às palavras.

A mão ao assinar o tratado fez nascer a febre,
e cresceu a fome, e todas as pragas vieram;
maior se torna a mão que estende o seu domínio
sobre o homem por ter escrito um nome.

Os cinco reis contam os mortos mas não acalmam
a ferida que está cicatrizada, nem acariciam a fronte;
há mãos que governam a piedade como outras o céu;
mas nenhuma delas tem lágrimas para derramar
.

( tradução: Fernando Guimarães)

.

ESTE PÃO QUE VENHO ABRIR

Este pão que venho abrir foi outrora centeio,
este vinho sobre uma ramada desconhecida
ficou submerso nos seus frutos;
o homem em cada dia, em cada noite o vento
arrancaram a alegria dos cachos e derrubaram as searas.

Com o vinho, outrora o sangue de estio
palpitava na carne que ornamentava a videira,
outrora neste pão
era feliz sob o vento o centeio;
mas o homem despedaçou o sol e abateu o vento.

Esta carne que despedaças, este sangue
que traz a desolação pelas veias,
eram os cachos e o centeio
nascidos das raízes e da seiva dos sentidos;
este meu vinho que bebes, este pão de que te alimentas.

( tradução: Fernando Guimarães)

.

A FORÇA QUE IMPELE
ATRAVÉS DO VERDE RASTILHO

A força que impele através do verde rastilho a flor
impele os meus verdes anos; a que aniquila as raízes das árvores
é o que me destrói.
E não tenho voz para dizer à rosa que se inclina
como a minha juventude se curva sob a febre do mesmo inverno.

A força que impele a água através das pedras
impele o meu rubro sangue; a que seca o impulso das correntes
deixa as minhas como se fossem de cera.
E não tenho voz para que os lábios digam às minhas veias
como a mesma boca suga as nascentes da montanha.

A mão que faz oscilar a água no pântano
agita ainda mais a areia; a que detém o sopro do vento
levanta as velas do meu sudário.
E não tenho voz para dizer ao homem enforcado
como da minha argila é feito o lodo do carrasco.

Como sanguessugas, os lábios do tempo unem-se à fonte;
fica o amor intumescido e goteja, mas o sangue derramado
acalmará as suas feridas.
E não tenho voz para dizer ao dia tempestuoso
como as horas assinalam um céu à volta dos astros.

E não tenho voz para dizer ao túmulo da amada como sobre o meu sudário rastejam os mesmos vermes.

( tradução: Fernando Guimarães)

.

Language and the Art of communication










Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig)

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/languages.htm.

It was clear to me when I arrived in Devon after being 18 years in Birmingham that the English language is not something that is taught in schools but rather moderated by the education in school.
Devon had for many centuries a different language as did Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and I felt when I was in the East End of London that they too had a language seperate to others. Devon to London, Weardale to Northumberland, Newcastle and Gateshead to Edinburgh, Edinburgh to Salvador and I have now got France as part of my life, its the same language but with significant differences which can be, inicially, off putting but with a bit of persistance its not impossible to communicate with the world. I have just found this sight and wish to throw its doors open to every one.

There's more to this green and soulful country than just daffodils. In many ways, Wales is just what you picture it to be: rolling moorlands, glaciated mountain areas, mellifluous male-voice choirs, tongue-twisting place names, Rugby Union, 'Bread of Heaven', romantic castles, people with querying lilts, cheese on toast and old mining towns. I have memories of Wales from my youth, my parents had friends of the family that lived there and we would often spend holidays on the coast of Wales at Aberdovey. At school I made one trip to the base of Snowden the Welsh mountain, this was winter time and the area was covered in a blanket of snow, I had gone there with two friends from school with the intention to camp for the weekend at the base of the mountain. It was freezing.

Bagpipes, Braveheart and the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Think you know everything there is to know about Scotland's history, tradition and roots? Think again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8OXbctQwXA for some sounds of Scotland

The prickly purple thistle was adopted as the Emblem of Scotland during the rein of Alexander III (1249 -1286). Legend has it that an Army of King Haakon of Norway, intent on conquering the Scots landed at the Coast of Largs at night to surprise the sleeping Scottish Clansmen. In order to move more stealthily under the cover of darkness the Norsemen removed their footwear.
As they drew near to the Scots it wasn't the only thing hiding under the cover of darkness. For one of Haakon's men unfortunately stood on one of these spiny little defenders and shrieked out in pain, alerting the Clansmen of the
advancing Norsemen. Needless to say the Scots who won the day.

Scottish Gaelic is spoken by about 60,000 people in Scotland (Alba), mainly in the Highlands (a' Ghaidhealtachd) and in the Western Isles (Na h-Eileanan an Iar), but also in Glasgow (Glaschu), Edinburgh (Dùn Eideann) and Inverness (Inbhir Nis). There are also small Gaelic-speaking communities in Canada, particularly in Nova Scotia (Alba Nuadh) and on Cape Breton Island (Eilean Cheap Breatainn). Other speakers can be found in Australia (Astràilia), New Zealand (Sealainn Nuadh) and the USA (Na Stàitean Aonaichte).

Scottish Gaelic is closely related to Manx and Irish and was brought to Scotland around the 4th century AD by the Scots from Ireland. Scottish Gaelic was spoken throughout Scotland (apart from small areas in the extreme south-east and north-east) between the 9th and 11th centuries, but began to retreat north and westwards from the 11th century onwards. All Scottish Gaelic dialects are mutually intelligible, and written Irish can be understood to a large extent.

The earliest identifiably texts in Scottish Gaelic are notes in the Book of Deer written in north eastern Scotland in the 12th century, although the existence of a common written Classical Gaelic concealed the extent of the divergence between Scottish and Irish Gaelic.

The Scottish Gaelic alphabet

Scottish Gaelic is written with just 18 letters each of which is named after a tree or shrub. The consonants all have more than one pronunciation depending on their position in a word and which vowels precede or follow them.

A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i
Ailm
(Elm)
Beith
(Birch)
Coll
(Hazel)
Dair
(Oak)
Eadha
(Aspen)
Fearn
(Alder)
Gort
(Ivy)
Uath
(Hawthorn)
Iogh
(Yew)
L l M m N n O o P p R r S s T t U u
Luis
(Rowan)
Muin
(Vine)
Nuin
(Ash)
Oir/Onn
(Gorse)
Peithe
(Guelder Rose)
Ruis
(Elder)
Suil
(Willow)
Teine
(Furze)
Ur
(Heather)

A grave accent on a vowel (Àà, Èè, Ìì, Òò and Ùù) indicates a longer version of the vowel, but these are not considered separate letters

The older Gaelic (uncial) script or "corr litir" has not been used for several centuries in Scotland, and has never been used in printed Gaelic. The uncial script is still used in Ireland on road signs and public notices.

The orthography of Scottish Gaelic was regularised in the late 1970s. For details see: http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/goc/

Pronunciation - vowels and diphthongs

Gaelic vowels and diphthongs

Pronunciation - connragan (consonants)

The connragan leathann or broad consonants are those preceded or followed by a, o or u. Connragan caola or slender consonants are those preceded or followed by i or e. Most consonants have different pronunciations depending on whether they appear at the beginning of a word or elsewhere.

The initial consonants of Gaelic words can change in various contexts. This process is known as "lenition" and involves the addition of an after the initial letter. The resulting letters are suathaich or fricatives.

Gaelic consonants

Sample text

Tha gach uile dhuine air a bhreth saor agus co-ionnan ann an urram 's ann an còirichean. Tha iad air am breth le reusan is le cogais agus mar sin bu chòir dhaibh a bhith beò nam measg fhein ann an spiorad bràthaireil.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Longer sample text (Tower of Babel)

Other Scottish Gaelic pages

Links

Online Gaelic lessons
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/alba/foghlam/beag_air_bheag/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/colinandcumberland/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bgfp/

Fuaimean na Gàidhlig - The Sounds of Gaelic (includes audio)
http://www.akerbeltz.org/fuaimean/fuaimean.htm

Online Gaelic dictionaries
http://www.sst.ph.ic.ac.uk/angus/Faclair/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/sbg/lorg.php
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/dictionary/gedt-00.asp

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig - Gaelic College on the Isle of Skye
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/

The Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts, Cape Breton Island
http://www.gaeliccollege.edu/

Radio nan Gàidheal - online Gaelic language radio and news from the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/alba/

Aiseirigh nan Gàidheal (the Awakening Gaels)
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/aiseirighnangaidheal/

Comhairle nan Leabhraichean / The Gaelic Books Council
http://www.gaelicbooks.net

Gaelic Music
http://www.gaelicmusic.com

News in Gaelic in the Scotsman
http://news.scotsman.com/gaelic.cfm

Gaelcast - Podcasts anns a' Ghàidhlig
http://www.gaelcast.com

Gaelic Scotland / Alba na Gàidhlig
http://www.gaelic-scotland.co.uk

Clì Gàidhlig - the Gaelic access and promotion organisation
http://www.cli.org.uk

An Comunn Gàidhealach - an organisation set up to preserve and develop the Gaelic language: http://www.ancomunn.co.uk

An Comunn Gàidhealach America / The Gaelic Society of America
http://www.acgamerica.org

Comhairle na Gàidhlig, Alba Nuadh / The Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia
http://www.gaelic.ca

Links to more online Gaelic resources
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/
http://www.savegaelic.org

Barges, Pigs and Gypsy caravans




















I do not know if you all remember the tinkers. Every week they would arrive and tap the door to give fortune telling or pieces of lavender for lucky charms, if you did not accept them with grace they would spit on the ground and wish the family harm. There was the tinker that rode around on a modified bicycle wich had a grinding wheel attached so he could sharpen knives and scissors, there was the rag and bone mens horse drawn cart and the tinkers wagons that could be heard two streets away as the pots and pans clattered inside. I was thinking about the time when Andrew Saunders rang me to ask if I had ideas for how to construct some giant inflatable pigs that were to be used by the pop group 'Pink Floyd'(in actual fact it was two pigs, a couple and their two and half children along with a flying TV set) when I arrived to see him he had in fact worked out a method for making the patterns. They were to be constructed from heavy duty fabric that was coated with plastic, similar to the lorry tarpaulin.
The first job was to make large polysterene(isopor for my Brazilian friends) scale models of the objects and then wrap them with cling film(food wrap) and clear selotape. A case of good judgement was then applied as you had to mark the position, with a felt tip, for the seams and the cutting lines to create the best visual impression. The lines then were cut with a scalple and the pieces coded and marked with jointing positions, transfered to squared paper and the whole of the pieces then marked out on the canvas full size.
A fair bit of work and required about 10 of us to do the different parts . After the cutting out of the full size pieces they were sown together on some industrial overlockers, heavy work and requiring about three people for each sowing machine.
The finished articles were a success and surprising to me I cannot locate any photos of them on the web, so I have just put the pig that was made by the German company for the Battersey power station photo shoot in 1977. During the time I helped with these inflatables I came in contact with a man that was restoring and painting gypsy caravans, he lived and worked somewhere in Norfolk and along with him met another chap that restored and carved wooden horses for the old fun fair rides.
The other connection to these caravans, remembering that barges were always visible on the canals in Birmingham and too in London on the converted barges, was with two friends, David Mclwain and Rose Gray, who had a French stove restoration company in Little France, London. David and Rose were a bit like gypsies in that that they had spent many of their younger years in France selling crepes that they made to the French.
I made patterns for restoration castings and also the patterns complete for a wood and coal burning stove called the 'Poppy', interestingly the Hunter company bought the rights to all David's stoves and they still produce my stove but sadly I have never received any commision from David or the Hunter company.
David and Rose had a fabulous collection of wood/coal burning stoves that they had collected all over Europe and restored to sell. There were many completly ceramic stoves, stoves with wheels to move the burning fire from room to romm(no need to relight the fire) stoves with chimneys that were like palm trees and tiny stoves that were for use on boats and caravans. I too for many years had a collection of stoves and fireplaces but my divorce from Jacky saw me lose all but a few items.

sexta-feira, 2 de maio de 2008

Grace within Graca






























There is something soft and decadent about falling in love again, rediscovering the ability to trust someone as well as be paxionate for them, the remembering of recipes and the tidying of the bed before sitting down to breakfast, the fact that you sit in a restaurant and do not spend the time gazing at the couples on every other table but rather spend the time chatting together about the day so far, that you no longer are viewed as a lone threat at parties thus become invited to Graca's friends parties but my lady friends have rather decided the cold shoulder approach, to go to exhibitions and hear Graca have opinions that I share but have not spoken before, the same with wishes for a style of house or decoration, its amazing! long be it lasting and I am starting to see the future double not single.
Graça amo-o, diário que passa encontro que o amo mais, cuido dirigindo e cruzando o caminho para que eu não o sofra sofrendo um acidente e logo serei sem você. beijos.

Beamish Open Air and Aberfan disaster. Y dyddiau du. Taith trwy luniau









After moving from London and not finding a house to buy straight away, Jacky and I stayed at Hillhead Farm house, Westerhope, the family home of our friends John and Jenny Arthur, on the outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne, I reckon that all the North of England towns are named after the location or the dire state that people found themselves in the location. County Durham for example as the town of Pitty Me and it certainly as nothing to make you want to stay there. Although the barn that we eventually bought was at Shotley Field near Snods Edge, so its anyones guess over these names.
Whilst at Hillhead and later at Shotley Field, friends from London would stay with us and the attractions for the guests were usually a trip to the Roman Wall, Hadrians encampments on the wall or the ones that are near to the wall, like Chesters, the other big attraction was the reconstruted village at the Beamish Open Air Museum. I cannot do justice to Hadrians Wall or to Beamish with the small space here but it is well worth a few minutes to visit the sites that have both. There are many buildings buildings at Beamish that remind me of the house at East Black Dean, County, Durham where Jacky and I first stayed after London, also farm stable buildings that are very similar to the barn we bought at Shotley and therefore give a good idea of the inside of the barn when we first bought it.
There are also trains and rail stock there, of which the small wagons used for transporting coal make the memories of three small boys hitching a lift on the slow moving convoy of these wagons and dropping off at one of many small lakes, that the coal mines formed where we would build rafts for fishing and moar them in the centre of the lake to stop others using them. The coal mines had a rail system for moving the slack waste from the pit to a distant location where the spoil gradualy built moutains, the sad case of Aberfan in Wales on the 21st October 1966,was the result( much like cities on the falt line) of waste being tipped next to houses and a school. Photos can be seen at http://www.rapo.com/icrgallery/Aberfan.htm and it is something that I think can be best appreciated with the photos of Aberfan that my childhood was also near the pits and the whole area of the West Midlands had relied for many tears on the mines for jobs, folks were born, lived, married and died all within a miles radius, the dialect of the midlands was so varied that I as a child would have difficulty understanding neighbours. English is a broad and varied language and is still changing faster than other languages. For info and photos of Beamish go to http://www.beamish.org.uk and http://www.bpears.org.uk/Beamish/index.html. This site is a good simple one for explaining and showing Hadrian's Wall http://www.aboutscotland.com/hadrian/index.html. There is one other museum at Birmingham which is much like Beamish but with that twist of the Brummy angle on life and that is the Black Country Living Museum which is possibly best seen at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Country_Living_Museum as the Midlands are incapable of creating good designed sites.

just Campbell and Muriels ideal






























This is really just a lazy way of giving an idea to C and M for their roof terrace so when I am next in Scotland I can redo the garden without too much discussion. Campbell and Muriel have a mews house in Edinburgh, lovely setting but was without a garden, Campbell has leaded part of the roof above the kitchen and utility room to allow him to have decking and a fence to cover the roof slates of his neighbours. It is very much as these photos show but is in need of a face lift at the moment. I am due to return to Scotland and he as asked me to give a couple of days for work on the terrace.
The other photos make me think of France and my new aquaintance with the country, Michaels Bergerie conversion is to have one bedroom ensuite with my name tacked to the door, also I have a workshop being built there at this very moment. The French affair and my 'novo amor' with Graca makes the future quite exhilarating and I now feel much like I did in the early 70's with opportunities there for the taking and passing age not as yet a problem. It seems that age is another part of the learning process and we do with it what we want and not always what we expect.
The photos are from a nice garden blog called http://gardenrooms.typepad.com and it too as a good selection of feeds to other worthy sites. This is something that I like about blogs, they are personal but open and have your requirements at heart as well as clearing the throat of the writer, they give better information and take you on a trip that you may not of thought about before.

quinta-feira, 1 de maio de 2008

Trees and their life





































































Whether it is the rain forest , mangrove in Brazil, brush, copse or orchard in England and France or the Caledonian forest and heathland of Scotland, the diversity of cover allows for a huge mixture of animals and insects to thrive and the general well being of the country can be much affected by this mix or balance. It is important to take an interest in the treatment of waste and the life cycle, as it were, of your rubbish bin as well as the rogue merchants that are cutting huge sways through the forests in Brazil. It is so clear that the main problem in Brazil is the lack of education and therefore the lack of desire to save the forest but a desire to save plastic bottles. Brazil is so lucky with its resources that its goverment are blasé about taking protective measures and caring for the natural world as they would for the farmed land, somehow the idea of sugar cane giving alchol for the use in cars gets far more attention here and even more so when its exportable, cash in hand I suppose is worth more than the forests area value.
There are a lot of sites for Brazilian trees here are a couple http://www.arvores.brasil.nom.br http://www.trees.com.br and http://www.treesforlife.org.uk for Scotland also for the States there is http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/index.html and a world site with http://www.globaltrees.org
This is a very interesting site for the trees that are now in danger.
There is one tree that brings back memories of the theatre and props, the
Dracaena draco The Red Data Book of Cape Verde classifies the species as "Endangered", while it is known to be extinct in the wild on Brava and Santiago where only planted specimens exist today; it is also at severe risk of extinction on the island of S. Vicente where it is classified as Critically Endangered. The Guanche people of the Canary Islands used the sap in their mummification processes. In Ancient Rome Sangre de Drago was used as a colourant and across Europe it has been used as a varnish and anti-oxidant for iron tools.