Islands and Rivers is a partnership of two independent film-makers: Liberty Smith and Sophie Windsor Clive.
Last year they captured on film the amazing phenomenon of starlings in flight - murmuration.
You may have already seen their video as it has had a massive number of hits on Vimeo. If not, here it is (top left):
http://www.islandsandrivers.co.uk/portfolio.html
For a poetic reflection in English on this, see in the 'press' section of their website, at the end of the Guardian article, an extract from the poem 'Starlings in winter' by Mary Oliver.
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Abbot Christopher Jamison: Finding sanctuary
A bit later than planned....
'Finding sanctuary' is a book written to accompany a TV series (The Monastery: BBC2, 2005 - I've never seen it). The monastery was Worth Abbey:
Christopher Jamison was, at the time, its head (Abbot).
The series involved (to quote CJ) "five very modern men living the monastic life for 40 days and 40 nights while TV cameras tracked their progress".
The book involves (again in CJ's words) "learning how to build a sanctuary in the midst of everyday life". The author invites the reader to "consider the busy-ness of modern life and what causes it". Then he asks: "What steps can somebody take in order to find sanctuary there?"
He chooses seven steps from the monastic tradition, each of which leads to the creation of a particular part of the sanctuary. Entering through the door (virtue/integrity - this seems to be a preliminary step not counted in his seven), he describes:
* the floor/silence
* the floor/silence
* the carpet/contemplation
* the walls/obedience
* the roof/humility
* the windows/community
* the furnishings/spirituality
* the altar (? - this isn't as clearly stated)/hope
There is an accompanying website: http://www.findingsanctuary.org "designed to sustain the task begun in this book" (CJ).
In the last post I suggested that that one and this should maybe be considered together. This was because I began to think that 'Gift from the sea' might be seen as a 'woman's book'. Conversely, this could be viewed as a 'man's book'.
What is striking, however, is that (despite the different contexts and use of language) the objectives and some of the conclusions are, in fact, more similar than you might expect.....
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Gift from the sea
In 'Gift from the sea' Anne Morrow Lindbergh, writer, pilot, wife of aviator Charles Lindbergh and mother of six reflects on time spent alone on an island off the coast of Florida in the mid '50s. She selects certain shells during her walks along the beach, finding each of them symbolic of an aspect of her simpler lifestyle there.
As the book draws to a close she summarizes these "Island-precepts...signposts towards another way of living" she hopes to take home with her:
"Simplicity of living, as much as possible, to retain a true awareness of life. Balance of physical, intellectual, and spiritual life. Work without pressure. Space for significance and beauty. Time for solitude and sharing. Closeness to nature to strengthen understanding and faith in the intermittency of life: life of the spirit, creative life, and the life of human relationships. A few shells.
Island living has been a lens through which to examine my own life in the North. I must keep my lens when I go back. Little by little one's holiday vision tends to fade. I must remember to see with island eyes. The shells will remind me; they must be my island eyes."
Maybe this should be read in conjunction with tomorrow's post.....
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Paul Kingsnorth: Real England
An important and challenging book on the impact of globalisation and some attempts to limit/counteract its effects. I won’t write much as the author speaks for himself on his website (see below).
Maybe two things:
1. - - This is Real England. But it could equally be Real CR/Spain/Germany/Finland. The details may vary but the same process is affecting all of our communities....
2. - - I think the particular appeal/success of the book lies in the fact that it reaches beyond the generalities of economic/sociological theory and statistics to examine in detail seven specific contexts (pubs, waterways, local shops, farms, markets/public spaces, villages & orchards) and in each one focuses on a limited number of individual ‘case studies’. To me this makes a large scale and abstract problem very concrete and human.
Thank you for your insight(s), Paul, and over to you.....
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Dylan Thomas: And death shall have no dominion
I was going to post something else today but hearing the news of (in alphabetical order...otherwise which to put first?):
- the conviction of two men for the murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993:
http://stephenlawrence.org.uk/about-us/stephens-story#
and the deaths of:
- cartoonist Ronald Searle:
and the deaths of:
- cartoonist Ronald Searle:
Instead the line in my head was one from a poem by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Maybe because of the work they leave behind them (RS & JS) or, in the case of SL, the impact on the criminal justice system and the achievements of the Stephen Lawrence Trust set up in his memory (http://stephenlawrence.org.uk/).....in some way..."death shall have no dominion”.
This is the Dylan Thomas website: http://www.dylanthomas.com/
This is the text of the poem: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178637
SL, RS, JS, DT.....RIP
Monday, 2 January 2012
Nigel Slater: Tender
I admire a lot of British chefs. What I especially appreciate about Nigel Slater is he is not just a brilliant cook but also a beautiful writer. It's like one of those special offers in the supermarket:
Buy one, get one free. You buy a cookery book and you get literature for free:) This is his latest book which Father Christmas kindly delivered on Christmas Eve.....
Buy one, get one free. You buy a cookery book and you get literature for free:) This is his latest book which Father Christmas kindly delivered on Christmas Eve.....
And here is a sample of his writing (the first and last paragraphs of the introduction to the first volume):
"I keep lists. Some copied into notebooks in neat italic script in blue-black ink, others scribbled almost illegibly in soft pencil on the back of an old envelope. Most remain in my head. There is the usual inventory of things I need to do, of course, but also less urgent lists, those of books to read or read again, music to find, plants to secure for the garden, and letters to be written (few of which will ever see the light of day). One list that has remained in my head is that of favourite scents, the catalogue of smells I find particularly evocative or uplifting. Snow (yes, I believe it has a smell), dim sum, old books, cardamom, beeswax, moss, warm flapjacks, a freshly snapped runner bean, a roasting chicken, a fleeting whiff of white narcissi on a freezing winter’s day.....
....Right now I have come in from the vegetable patch – a romantic mingling of vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers – and feel elated. There is an unusual abundance, even for midsummer, and a sense of energy in the garden. I have just picked the first tomatoes of the year. Tiny green-shouldered Sungold, no bigger than a Malteser. They are sweet-sharp and burst refreshingly in my mouth. Almost best of all is the deep, herbal scent of tomato leaves on my fingers. Another one for my list."
All that and more before you get to the first recipe.....
Sunday, 1 January 2012
New year, new name, new mascot......
Two years after the last post.......Happy New Year!New title.....reflecting the less hectic pace of life at the Coach House these days...
New mascot....Mandra the tortoise (named after one of Anna and Jose's turtles)...
The plan is to post some "good English": songs, books etc....and (mostly other people's)
photos of this part of the UK...we'll see how it goes...
First posting - a review of 2011 from my favourite photo website of the Lakes
(www.StridingEdge.net):
Happy viewing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)