The Dragonfly & The Diversity of Reg Meuross
Current mood: loved
Category: Music
Hell's Bells!!
It's just hit me!!!
One month after starting to write about this CD, twice having accidentally deleted hundreds of words about it, then changing my mind, concocting the most elaborate story involving two librarians, Rosie and Muriel, plus the entire contents of the Reading Room of The British Library (??!!!....heck, WHERE did my brain go on *that*one?) and then getting Can't Write Writer's Block which went on for week after week, I have FINALLY realised what the problem has been!
In short, this CD has driven me nuts! You want to know why? Well, I'll tell you.....
Reg has written a CD of songs which covers a little bit of almost everything. He has written something that cannot be defined in any 'music section' of any record shop. You can't put 'Dragonfly' in any *one* section...
So, this CD is *not* for you if you are narrow-minded, closed down, shuttered, blinkered, or have your head so far up your backside that you cannot even see the wood, let alone the trees!
Take it OUT of the 'Folk' section.
Take it OUT of the 'Acoustic' section
Take it OUT of the 'Traditional' section
Take it OUT of the 'Country' section
Take it OUT of the 'Americana' section
And basically, create a WHOLE NEW SECTION for it...
...called....
'DIVERSITY'
Do you remember that word? Do you remember that music? Do you remember the days when we had Diversity on our radio stations, when Diversity ran through our music, as easily as it ran through our minds?
Do you recall how we grew up listening to anti-war songs, alongside pop songs, protest songs, love songs, singalongaMax songs?
Do you remember Bruce Dickinson (sigh) introducing Show of Hands and The Oysterband at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards a few years back, in the days when the BBC had the common sense to put it on TV? Bruce standing there, this 'Iron Maiden' Rock God, asking where the diversity had gone in our music?
Well......it's back.
And Reg is starting the ball rolling.
And so, enough of my rabbitting on...although there will be more mention of rabbits a little later.
Let's get down to Dragonflies & Diversity, at long last.
So, he's written a new CD. I'm still getting over the last two, 'Still' and 'Short Stories' (bloody wonderful) when along he comes, with his new one, 'Dragonfly'.
It's a mixture of country, folk, new traditional (yup, that's on here too ), love songs, ballads and story songs.
He'll take you to America with William Brewster, (one of the founders of The Pilgrim Fathers) his wife Mary and his family, he'll put you aboard ship with them, let you hear their dreams of a new life, as they sail away, whilst Patience, Love, Fear, Wrestling and Jonathan, their children, dance around you, as Reg gently sings you their story. (Hey, how come Jonathan ended up as 'Just John' with all those other wonderful names?)
He'll take you to the hotel of dishonour, with 'Fool's Gold' as Maria, the maid, steals the wedding ring of the adulterous wife, after finding it in the still-warm bed. You'll find out what Maria does with the ring and ponder on whether it will bring her good fortune, or bad..
He will bring you the true story of the love which surpasses everything in 'Until I Hold You Once Again' letting you hear the thoughts of a mother whose daughter was a prostitute. You'll hear her tenderly telling her daughter how much she loves her, no matter what. But, a few years later, that same mother had to live through the dark and distressing loss of her daughter, who became one of five prostitutes murdered in Suffolk.
He will show you 'The Priest' who lost his faith, meeting with the man who lived his life according to what his priest had told him. He returns one day to find this much admired man drunk and utterly lost...and you feel the traveller's pain as he realises he has built his life upon the sand of disbelief.
.
And he'll take you to far more...tomorrow....as my eyes are closing at the moment...so I *have* to stop here, even though I don't want to...
Darn it...
Much more to come, tomorrow.....
Tomorrow is now today, and I'm wide awake and working on it....
Currently
listening
:
Dragonfly Release date: 2008-05-27
Mike Harding’s Deeply Moving Song - ’Bomber’s Moon’
Current mood: blessed
Category: Music
Some songs HAVE to be heard, this is one of them.
And now with the magic of Youtube, I can bring that song to you. It is a song which touched my heart, for many reasons. I wrote about it two years ago, when I was first sent it. Since that time, it has become a part of me, bringing my dear father ever nearer, for he like Mike's father, was also an RAF Navigator, but I was blessed, my Dear Dad came home.
<< "Dedicated to the memory of my father, Flight Sergeant Louis Arthur 'Curly' Harding, a navigator in Lancaster Bombers, who died with his crew when his plane was shot down returning from a raid over Germany. Its also dedicated to the memory my good friend Jurgen Boch of Cologne, who was a small child in a bomb shelter in Germany on the night my father died, and to my mother who was a bride, a widow and a mother within the space of a year" - Mike Harding.>>>
In this link are my words from 2006, together with an interesting discussion, both of the song, the man, WWII and, of course, the music.
You can read about Mike, and buy his CDs on this link, but...do not be fooled by the 'Groucho' glasses and moustache, for this intelligent and caring man is far more than *just* a comedian.
With thanks to Nigel, who so painstakingly and empathetically put this beautiful video together. You do much justice to both the song, and to the people in the photos.
..
I have no doubts at all that Mike's father is immensely proud of his son.
'Bomber's Moon'
By Mike Harding:
"'44 in Bomber County Young men waiting for the night In the hedgerows birds are singing Calling in the falling light
And the Captain says "Tonight there'll be a bomber's moon We'll be there and back Underneath a bomber's moon A thousand bombers over the Northern Sea Heading out...out for Germany"
Chalkie White stands at the dartboard Curly Thompson writes to his wife Nobby Clarke and Jumbo Johnson Are playing cards and smoking pipes
And over the hangars rises a bomber's moon Full and clear, rising as the engines croon And the planes, they taxi out on to Runway Five And sail off out, into the silvery night
Sandy Campbell checks his oil gauge The Belgian coast is coming soon Curly Thompson lifts his sextant And lines up on the bomber's moon
And the waves are shining there Beneath the bomber's moon Lancasters flying high Below the bomber's moon Rumbling in along the Belgian coast A thousand silver shrouded ghosts
Flak flies up around the city Jumbo Johnson banks his plane Goes in low and drops his payload Turns to join the pack again
And people are dying there Below the bomber's moon The city's a raging hell Below the bomber's moon The planes head out Towards the Northern Sea Young men coming home from victory
Over Belgian came the fighters Flying high against the night Curly Thompson saw them coming Closing in before he died
And the young men shot them down Below the bomber's moon Shot them down in flames Below the bomber's moon
Young men sending young men To their graves Saw them down Into the North Sea waves
'83 in Bomber County Mrs. White dusts the picture and she cries Chalkie White in uniform Looking as he did the day he died
For God's sake, no more bomber's moons! No more young men growing up to die too soon Old men sending young men out to die Young men dying for a politician's lies
For God's sake, no more bomber's moons! No more young men growing up to die too soon Old men sending young men out to kill! If we don't stop them, then they never will
No more, no more bomber's moons No more, no more bomber's moons No more, no more bomber's moons No more, no more bomber's moons
No more, no more bomber's moons No more, no more bomber's moons No more, no more bomber's moons No more, no more bomber's moons
And here are Tom's own words, taken from the link above:
"As I sat and watched the horror unfold on 9/11, I could smell the acrid smoke drifting south from the Pentagon. There was a never ending line of cars heading away from Washington. With the rest of the world I watched the towers come down and among the victims were 343 New York firemen. I'll never be able to look at a fireman or woman again without knowing that he or she would lay down their lives for me without ever knowing my name. We can never thank them enough."
It reminds me of when my son was about to be born, and the nurse was giving the tour of the maternity unit to all the new mums-to-be. She turned to us and said "Never forget this, you are not *only* giving birth to a baby, you are giving birth to another human being, one that will soon grow to be an adult. You have a great responsibility"
A very wise woman...and here are Bill's words of wisdom.
YOUR CHILDREN ARE ALWAYS YOUR CHILDREN
In your eye's the child never ends, nor should it Oh the limbs grow, the body matures to adulthood But in your eyes and heart the child remains The laughter though a deeper tone Still holds that joyous golden ring of Christmas presents or a birthday game The hair now full and Silky Still holds the urge to touch and stroke The smile though older still makes the heart leap The body may be tall and lithe and grown But in your eyes the outline of the child is still seen Though they are grown and flown Never does a day pass without the same worry how are they, where are they though they may be grown In your eyes the child never ends nor should it
Well, back on the old BBC Folk and Acoustic board, Ian A. and I were at loggerheads, almost every day, mainly due to the fact that I apparently loved the ’wrong’ kind of music. This was music which it appeared wasn’t appreciated by those at fRoots, Ian’s music magazine.
The two main contenders for the fRoots ’Seriously Bloody Awful’ Award (that name made up by me, for Ian’s lawyers)..were SHOW OF HANDS and.....SETH LAKEMAN!
Pause, whilst she smiles, somewhat broadly.
So, we argued and bantered back and forth, with Ian telling me over and over, in ever-increasingly angry tones, how Show of Hands and Seth Lakeman had apparently ’got in under the radar’ of English folk music. I assume he meant the ’radar’ which HE had placed around HIS English folk music world.
Of course, I’d often wondered why Seth and Show of Hands had *always* chosen to dress in black, and this had made it clear..it had all been part of ’Getting In Under The Radar’ totally unnoticed. Damn clever of them I thought! There they were, singing, playing, bringing in the crowds, by the thousand, and Ian Anderson obviously hadn’t noticed, because they were dressed in black against the evening sky! Thus allowing our three troubadours to perform across the nation, before Ian got wind of ’em!
BUT..get wind of ’em he did...and how he seemingly tried so very hard to do them down! How he, in my opinion, raged against their music, in the most erm...unpleasant manner, as he also raged against me.
But of course, it made no difference, for Show of Hands and Seth just kept on playing, getting stronger and stronger, as the steam, I’d imagine, rose deliciously out of Ian’s ears, in ever-increasing amounts...
Well, the Mercury Awards came along for Seth, and this young lad put all his savings into entering himself into it. His savings were in almost as bad a state as mine at the time (his got better, mine er...haven’t!)....but..he bravely went ahead and found himself in the competition. He didn’t win it of course, being a ’folk’ artist...but heck, did he get noticed! And before long, Seth Lakeman had been taken up by EMI.
Yes, this young lad who came out onto that Mercury stage, with just his fiddle, and dressed in his usual black jeans and black T shirt (even then, taking care over the radar)...had blasted that hall apart with ’Kitty Jay’
I’ve known about Seth’s talent for a long while now, praised him to the roof on so many occasions. There’s a long blog on here about his superb gig at the Exeter Great Hall....but here is the quick way to find it, should you want to, on the BBC F&A board, the ’banned’ member who started that thread, and who is now just ’a number’ is me, as the BBC, in their Devout Wisdom and Deep Belief in Freedom of Speech, have taken my name away.
He’s like a firework when he plays, sparkling and lighting up the place like a thousand stars!...And he’s bringing young people into folk music by the THOUSAND! His sound is highly original, his stories based on West Country Legends, particularly those around Dartmoor, where he lives....and the story of his song ’Kitty Jay’ is on the link above.
And so, Seth Lakeman had finally ’arrived’....seemingly everywhere, apart from......the fRoots fRont oFfice! Oh yes indeedy...for here, it would seem, they were still simmering and seething.
In fact, so simmering it would seem, that they that they even tried to get Seth’s entry into the Mercury Awards discarded, because his CD had, according to them, come out at the wrong time. It was all on Ian’s board, and on the BBC board too.
Bloody appalling...in my view that is (for Ian’s lawyers)
It didn’t get them anywhere of course, and Seth has continued to sell out halls as never before. Q Magazine have, just this month, said that Seth Lakeman is the hottest thing to hit the music scene in a very long time.....YESSSSSSSSSS!
And what has happened over at the fRoots fRont cOntrol rOom????
WELL!
She pauses, to smile quietly to herself again...
Well.....they seem to have had a Religious Conversion! Not far short of St. Paul, on the road to Damascus!
How do I know this?
Well....(she says, putting her hands up to hide her Cheshire Cat Grin).....because in the last 12 months Seth Lakeman has been on the front cover of fRoots not once...but TWICE! Possibly a first, I’d imagine, for any artist? Could be wrong though....
Now of course, the wickedly wicked part of me would say that this may have happened because Seth will possibly sell more fRoots magazines than any other artist ever....but...that is just the wicked part of me assuming something, which I’m sure isn’t true at all, for I’m sure Ian has merely just put Seth on twice, as a coincidence, and that’s the end of the story.
Well....not *quite* the end! (she puts both hands up to hide her )...because it gets even more delicious! Just take a look at Ian’s words here, taken from the fRoots article below:
"There are those in the folk community, often to be found vociferously parading their prejudices on internet message boards, who illogically resent the success that some of these artists have enjoyed, particularly Lakeman and Rusby.
But by revealing these musicians’ true personalities, backgrounds and motivations, the genuine hard work and strong beliefs that have got them where they are, the thought and craft that goes into their music, I defy anybody to not find themselves saying "Actually, I like these people, I understand them". Hopefully more will be proud that they are the ambassadors for our music in the wider world".
Did you notice the apologetic manner that those words are written in? Now to you, they may say, "fRoots has done it again, we knew right from the start that Seth was amongst some of the best artists in the folk world. We’ve been backing him the whole way through, so ecstatic have we been over him from the start!"
....but to me?
...well...it says:
"Ye Gods and Little Fishes! We have SO severely f**ked up here! How COULD we have been so bloody arrogant, pious, narrow-minded and TOTALLY WRONG! Quickkkk! We need to back-pedal faster than a monkey on a unicycle!
Get Seth in, take his photo, yes...stick it on the front cover..YES..TWICE..YESSSS! TWICE IN THE SAME YEAR, Don’t ARGUE! Just DO IT!...Yes, write up some folly fallutin’ fabulous f**kin’ words to impress folks, but for Goodness SAKE....DOOOOO SOMETHING, before we are left with fEgg all over our fFaces!"
Ian Anderson HAS seen the LIGHT! YES!! He has become a Seth Lakeman fFFFAN! He has taken down his radar, cut down his fence, realised the error of his ways....AND....he has deigned to let Seth Lakeman into HIS world!
So...isn’t that WONDERFUL!!
Now all that’s needed is for Ian Anderson to finally realise how wrong he’s been about Show of Hands for the last 15 years as well...and...he’ll have finally reached The Promised Land itself!
Except, possibly, HE may have to ask to be let into Show of Hands World...
But you know something, he’ll be welcomed, just as he has been into Seth’s, for these men have no radar, no fences, no rules or regulations, no artists who are ’acceptable’ or ’unacceptable’ They are just an open world of music where ALL are welcome.
And...all who are welcomed into Show of Hands and Seth’s World don’t have to dress in black either!
So, A Very Warm Welcome to The Wonderful World of Seth, Ian....and this is especially for you....with love and hugs
Lizzie
Kitty Jay (with Kitty’s hair dangling from the end of Seth’s fiddle bow!)
Wow!
And THAT Ian, is why I KNEW right from the very start that this young man was going to be a star!
I’ve ordered you an ’I LOVE SETH’ t shirt by the way, it should be with you very shortly!
Currently
listening
:
Freedom Fields
By
Seth Lakeman
Release date: 17 October, 2006
WHY ARE OUR CHILDREN SO UNHAPPY? Teachers speak out
Current mood: loved
Category: Life
Following on from my rant of yesterday about 'Time' and how our children are being robbed of their childhood, I thought some of you may like to read this, from today's Independent Newspaper, a link to which I've put below the article.
My answer to this, part of it at least, is not only in my 'Time' blog but also in the insightful and wise words of Harry Chapin's beautiful song 'Flowers Are Red' which tells the oh so common story of a child's mind being turned off by an education system who only want to teach ONE way. Those lyrics are beneath the article below.
The anxiety epidemic: Why are children so unhappy?
By Richard Garner, Education Editor Tuesday, 11 March 2008
"Teachers are to take the extraordinary step of calling for an independent Royal Commission to investigate why so many of Britain's children are unhappy.
The unprecedented move by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers follows a welter of evidence highlighting the fragile states of mind of many of the country's seven million primary and secondary school pupils.
A motion to be debated at the ATL's annual conference in Torquay next Tuesday says: "Conference notes with deep concern that many children in our schools appear unhappy and anxious." Over the next two weeks, ATL members will discuss several topics relating to the mental health of primary age children and the pressures they face in modern society. Another motion on the ATL's agenda warns that "social dysfunction and family breakdown are damaging the educational attainment of children and the performance of schools and colleges", while a third speaks of the growing number of pupils being driven to suicide by "academic, social and peer pressure". The recent spate of teenage suicides in Bridgend, South Wales, is symptomatic of the unease felt by today's children, delegates will hear.
Dr Mary Bousted, the ATL general-secretary, said yesterday: "There is rising concern that more and more children are coming to school unable to learn because their lives are so dispirited and they are under stress."
Numerous recent studies have identified a growing malaise among children, particularly in primary schools. In February 2007, the United Nations Children's Fund reported that British pupils were the unhappiest in the western world because of the lack of social cohesion in the UK.
That was followed by the most in-depth study of primary education for 40 years, which claimed that 3.5million younger children were affected by a worrying "loss of childhood".
The inquiry, led by Professor Robin Alexander of Cambridge University, said primary schools were engulfed by a wave of "anti-social behaviour, materialism and the cult of celebrity".
A separate report blamed this anti-social behaviour on the Government's rigid system of testing and its constant drive to meet targets.
Many pupils felt alienated at school because lessons were boring and their teachers spent too much time "teaching to the tests", the study said. Just before Christmas, the National Association of Head Teachers accused ministers of presiding over the death of fun and play in the primary school curriculum.
The ATL, in its call for a Royal Commission, will blame homework for heaping further pressure on children and making them "unhappy and anxious".
As a first step towards easing the problem, conference delegates will be asked to back the scrapping of compulsory homework for the nation's three-and-a-half million primary pupils, as well as stricter limits on the amount set by secondary schools.
Dr Bousted added: "I think a lot of homework is a waste of time. It puts a huge amount of stress on disadvantaged children. Middle-class children can go home and get help from their parents to do their homework. Disadvantaged children do not necessarily have the extra learning support that the middle-class children have and consequently it doesn't tell you much about the relative abilities of different children."
The motion to be put to the ATL conference next week says: "Children should be able to explore, experiment and enjoy their learning without feeling pressured. Homework has become an increasing pressure placed on children in primary and secondary schools."
The proposed motion also expresses "deep concern" about the situation.
The pressure to set more homework came soon after Labour's election to power in 1997, when the party's first Education Secretary David Blunkett for the first time published Government guidelines on the amount of homework to be set for children between the ages of four and 16.
These recommended 20 minutes a night for four- and five-year-olds, increasing to 30 minutes for six- and seven-year-olds and between 90 minutes and two hours for 16-year-olds studying for their GCSEs.
Dr Bousted argues that teachers feel under more pressure to set homework because of the Government's rigid targets and testing regime – which culminates with league table of the performance of all primary schools, highlighting their results in the national curriculum tests for 11-year-olds. The union's move comes after a series of reports – notably from the Cambridge-based review of primary education (the biggest inquiry into sector for more than 40 years) – warned that today's children are more stressed than their predecessors and bored with lessons constantly focussing on teaching to the tests. As a result, standards have declined, the review has argued.
To combat pupil stress, Dr Anthony Seldon, the headmaster of Wellington College independent school, has introduced lessons in "happiness" for his pupils.
Last night, a spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "Homework is not compulsory but we do encourage teachers to set children work to do outside the classroom.
"A good, well-organised homework programme helps children and young people develop the skills and attitudes they will need for successful, independent lifelong learning."
He rejected claims by the union that today's youngsters were "unhappy and anxious", saying: "Research shows that, for most children, 2008 is a great time to be a child.
"Most children are happy, most are achieving to a higher level than ever before, enjoying better health, more opportunities to travel, to engage in sport or cultural activities than was the case for any previous generation."
Unhappy times for children
*Global Report on Child Welfare and Happiness by UNICEF
Just over a year ago, this report by Unicef, the UN children's agency, revealed the results of a survey which showed that UK schoolchildren were the unhappiest of 21 countries surveyed in the Western world. The report blamed a lack of social cohesion and poor parenting for its findings.
*A Review of Primary Education by Professor Robin Alexander
Two reports from this Cambridge-based review of primary education – the biggest inquiry into the sector for 40 years – highlighted similar concerns. One revealed a worrying "loss of childhood" among today's youngsters. This, it said, had led to schools being engulfed by a wave of "antisocial behaviour, materialism and the cult of celebrity". The second warned that constant interference by politicians in the primary school timetable with the stress on tests and league tables had put pupils off lessons and damaged their learning.
*An Inquiry into Testing and Assessment by the National Association of Head Teachers
After taking evidence from a range of academics and writers, it said that ministers had presided over the death of fun and play in the primary school curriculum. It, too, argued children's education had been damaged by putting them off learning through too much repetitive teaching for tests."
The little boy went first day of school He got some crayons and started to draw He put colors all over the paper For colors was what he saw And the teacher said.. What you doin' young man I'm paintin' flowers he said She said... It's not the time for art young man And anyway flowers are green and red There's a time for everything young man And a way it should be done You've got to show concern for everyone else For you're not the only one
And she said... Flowers are red young man Green leaves are green There's no need to see flowers any other way Than the way they always have been seen
But the little boy said... There are so many colors in the rainbow So many colors in the morning sun So many colors in the flower and I see every one
Well the teacher said.. You're sassy There's ways that things should be And you'll paint flowers the way they are So repeat after me.....
And she said... Flowers are red young man Green leaves are green There's no need to see flowers any other way Than the way they always have been seen
But the little boy said... There are so many colors in the rainbow So many colors in the morning sun So many colors in the flower and I see every one
The teacher put him in a corner She said.. It's for your own good.. And you won't come out 'til you get it right And all responding like you should Well finally he got lonely Frightened thoughts filled his head And he went up to the teacher And this is what he said.. and he said
Flowers are red, green leaves are green There's no need to see flowers any other way Than the way they always have been seen
Time went by like it always does And they moved to another town And the little boy went to another school And this is what he found The teacher there was smilin' She said...Painting should be fun And there are so many colors in a flower So let's use every one
But that little boy painted flowers In neat rows of green and red And when the teacher asked him why This is what he said.. and he said
Flowers are red, green leaves are green There's no need to see flowers any other way Than the way they always have been seen...
All That We Are Missing - Through Time
Current mood: loved
Category: Life
Last night the house shook with the rage of Mother Nature outside. She rattled the windows, bent the trees, sent the waves crashing wildly upon Sidmouth's normally calm shoreline. Her anger carried on throughout the darkness, abating only with the coming of the sun, who dried the night's tears away, replacing the storm with a peaceful calm.
I lay there, listening, at times cowering from the rage of Mother Nature's voice, yet it was her gentleness that woke me this morning. Many thoughts tumbled through my mind last night, but the one that was uppermost, was how distant we have become from nature these days, in this crazy world of ours, where, since the concept of 'time' was invented, we have gradually filled every waking moment with activity.
24/7 it now goes on, shopping, eating, drinking. partying.....And we have now raised two generations who have no concept of 'peace', who have never been allowed to just 'be'.
From the moment they are born, our children are put on the Corporate Industry Treadmill. Pre-school learning groups (whatever happened to PLAYgroups?) where they are now assessed, tested, watched, written about. Into main school as fast as possible, Before School Breakfast Clubs, After School Tea Clubs, 'Quality Hour' with Mum and Dad, then bed, SATS tests, CATS tests, GCSEs, A Levels, School Proms, Gap Years, University Degrees, Financial Loans, Low Paid Jobs, High Credit Payments, Alcohol, Illness, Misery, Depression, Despair and in some cases, these days, far too often, Suicide.
And that is Life?
Is that truly....Life?
Whilst on this hideous conveyer belt that the Corporate Soul Eaters have created, where all of human nature is dissected, financially assessed and then put back together in the most broken of ways, are they ever given the chance to have TRUE TIME?
THIS is the time which Mother Nature gave us, and from which we have turned away in our millions. THIS is the Time which belongs to our children!
Time to watch the sun rise and set.
Time to gasp at the beauty inside a raindrop
Time to marvel at the spider web, glistening on a frosty morning, in the hedgerow.
Time to sit beside the water, as a pair of swans dance their everlasting love upon it.
Time to feel sorrow for the solitary swan, grieving for his lost love.
Time to listen to the magical music that comes from flowing rivers.
Time to search for robins, hiding in the branches.
Time to hear the squirrels chittering in their trees.
Time to lie on their backs upon warm, sweet-scented grass, making pictures from the clouds.
Time to taste the sea.
Time to wonder, whilst watching the bird make her nest
Time to see the young soul who lies within the wrinkled appearance of an elderly person.
Time to just sit under the cooling shade of a tree and simply 'be'
Time to empty their minds of all stress.
Time to absorb all the beauty that is around them.
Time to realise that school is such a small part of your life and that Mother Nature is the best edcuation you can have.
So many have robbed our children of True Time, and we have sat back and let them do it. It is causing many children such terrible suffering. You cannot be a child without a childhood and you cannot have a childhood without Time.
It is time to give our children back what has been stolen from them.
Corporate Industry will not do it, for they want every second of our children's lives. Politicians will not do it, for they are too busy being crooked, greedy bastards, with time for no-one but themselves.
Only WE can give our children back their Time.
WE are their parents, the carers, their nuturers. WE are the ones who are supposed to Love them, yet so many have turned away, become caught up in their own Headlong Rush through Time.
It is time for US to change it for Them.
It is time for US to say "Enough!"
It is time, once again, for our children to be able to know that they have OUR permission to have that time to stand and stare......
Leisure - by W.H. Davies
WHAT is this life if, full of care We have no time to stand and stare
No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep and cows
No time to see, when woods we pass Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass
No time to see, in broad daylight Streams full of stars, like skies at night
No time to turn at Beauty's glance And watch her feet, how they can dance
No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began
A poor life this if, full of care We have no time to stand and stare
Below is a beautiful video of nature on River Torridge, in Devon, set to 'Fantasia On A Theme' by Ralph Vaughan Williams. So please, find time to:
STAND & STARE
"I'm just a human being trying to make it in a world that is very rapidly losing its understanding of being human." - John Trudell
THE TRUE SPIRIT OF ’CHRISTMAS ETERNAL’
Current mood: blessed
Category: Life
In his book, 'A Christmas Carol' Charles Dickens wrote of three spirits, those of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Come....but there is one he forgot:
The Spirit of Christmas Eternal.
Below is a story called 'Surviving Christmas' Unlike Dickens' story though, this is real.
It is the true story of how three spirits, who have become very dear to me, have found Christmas again.
Together.
When I read Charlie's blog the other night, it moved me to tears, so I wanted to share it with others, because of the important message held within the words of Peter's father. A link to that blog is to be found at the very bottom of this page.
The story of Gloria, Charlie and their beloved only child, Peter, is to be found in my blog 'In The Footprints Of A Boy Called Peter'....and the river of beautiful words that are now flowing out of his father, is to be found in the second part to their story 'In The Footprints Of A Boy Called Peter...Walks His Father, Charlie'
"ETERNAL, EVERYTHING TURNS ETERNAL,
NO ENDING FOREVER, ETERNAL!!!" - Peter Thomas James
Those words above were written by Peter, part of a vast amount of words he left behind, secretly left behind. His words were discovered only after he had passed on, following a tragic accident. Those words have now been published in three beautiful books, books for which his parents fought hard to get out to the world, because of the wisdom and inspiration that lie within the words of this remarkable young man.
The Spirit of Christmas Eternal
It is something that many people may never find, no matter how hard they search, because it is not 'out there'...it is only 'in here'
Inside each of us.
A place where only we can go, with the help of those Spirits who love us dearly, and who never, ever leave us. But we have to choose to go there first ourselves, to allow ourselves to be guided by those gentle, loving, invisible hands that surround us. Without that choice, that knowledge, then we remain outside this special place.
As you will see from Charlie's words below, all three of them have found that place now. For despite the tears and the sorrow which will, I'm sure, still flow on Christmas Day, a sorrow which so many of us can only begin to imagine, there is now the understanding and knowledge that the word 'death' does not mean 'the end.' It means a new way of life begins, one that tears you apart at times, that will always leave an aching sorrow, always, but a life that becomes filled with an unexpected love, an unimagined love, a unique and very spiritual love.
The Spirit of Christmas Eternal
A love that will be there on Christmas Day especially, for Gloria, Charlie and Peter, but also throughout every day of the rest of their lives too.
My Christmas wish for you all is that you too will be blessed with a love that has 'No Ending Forever'
No more words from me are needed. Time now to hand you over to Charlie.
With Love To You All
Lizzie
SURVIVING CHRISTMAS
Christmas was coming, regardless of how we felt about it.
It was everywhere! On the streets, in the stores, on television and the radio.
How would we make it through that day?
Knowing that our son would never celebrate Christmas with us again.
The hell with Christmas, we thought!
We will turn out the lights, pull down the shades, and hide until it goes away!!
Wasn't it bad enough in July, when his birthday came, and there were no gifts, no cake,
And no smile from our son?
We thought that we would never survive that day
But somehow, we did.
We made it through Mothers Day and Fathers Day!
It was far from easy, but we made it.
Much relieved, when those days were over.
Now there was Christmas to deal with, would the pain never end?
I listened to people I work with complain, that they couldn't find the gifts that they wanted for their children, because the stores were all out of this or that!
Give me a fucking break! I'm giving my son a blanket for his grave!
I couldn't really blame them though
They were just living their lives, not mine.
My wife and I sat and talked long and hard about Christmas
And about our son, Pete.
We remembered just how much he loved Christmas.
We thought about how sad he would be, if there wasn't a Christmas tree in our house.
We talked about how upset he would be to see us trying to hide from Christmas.
We remembered that he said he wanted a blue Christmas tree.
My wife found a small one, and put it up that year, along with a bigger one
Covered in beautiful blue lights.
We still have the last gifts that he gave us.
My wife loved the movie "Dumbo" because of the mother and son bond in it.
Pete gave her a big plush Dumbo! He was so proud of that gift!!
Being a big Yankee fan, I got a Yankee pillow, which has helped me through some sleepless nights.
We get through all of the holidays now. We are always amazed, when we do.
FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS AND RESCUERS - THE SHOUT
Current mood: sad
Category: Life
Today I was up early, as I am most mornings, doing a paper round with my young son. We were watching the news and the desperately sad scene of 200 Firefighters, heads bowed in sorrow and respect, as the bodies of four of their colleagues were driven past them.
Their friends had gone 'missing' after attending a fire in Coventry a few days back...and they had been desperately searching for them ever since, refusing to give up until they found them.
My son was saying how brave you have to be, to be a firefighter, and soon we were talking about many things that are wrong in our society..but mainly we spoke about how those who put their lives at risk to rescue us, are often so overlooked, not thought about in 'normal' circumstances, until something goes wrong...when of course..we simply 'expect' them to be there...
Our firefighters, our ambulance men and women, our police force, our lifeboatmen, mountain rescuers, RAF search and rescue crews, doctors, nurses and so many more...
All There
Always There
For Us
They get paid a pittance for it too....Many do it for nothing whatsoever, other than to 'be there' for others.We never ask for their help, we so often take it for granted, so often simply expect it, so often get cross when they're not there, or when things go wrong.
All those incredible firefighters on 9/11 who went up those stairs knowing that they'd probably never come down.....but they did it....in the hope they'd be able to save some of us.
Oh! How have we come to this!
HOW have we come to a society that deems Britney Spears to be more important for our children to look up to, than those men in the back of that black car this morning!! That car which drove so slowly and so silently along that road of sorrow this morning!
Well, I delivered the papers today and there was no mention of those firefighters on most front pages....but Britney was splashed across the front pages of more than a few!! Britney, and the Queen in her carriage going to Parliament, to deliver the speech from her Crooked Governement, filled with (imo) Crooked Men and Women, and a gruesome murder, carried out by young people on another young person, terrible....
But our firefighters?
Yesterdays News...
We need to bring our heroes back!
And we need to teach our children about them!
Forget Britney Spears or Posh Spice and David Beckham!
Forget teaching our children scientific maths!
TEACH OUR CHILDREN ABOUT THESE BRAVE, UNSELFISH, CARING, INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE WHO WILL LITERALLY LAY DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR US
TELL THEM OF THOSE WHO GO **INTO** DANGER WHEN THE REST OF US RUN AWAY FROM IT...AND LET THEM LEARN ABOUT REAL PEOPLE WHO COUNT, WHO ARE HERE TO MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE!
THEY are the ones who should be our children's heroes!! Not these vacuous pop singers, footballers or actors, who care not a fig for anything, apart from where their next £500 handbag is coming from, or their new £100,000 car to add to their collection!
TEACH THEM ABOUT PEOPLE WHO MATTER!
Below are the words from Show of Hands song 'The Shout' which is about these brave men and women. It is a song which should be being played right across our airwaves today, to make us all think about those who are there for us...but sadly, it won't be....because the BBC is far too busy playing music to keep the masses happy, unthinking...unfeeling..and bopping around to Britney's latest song.
'The village that lies to the west' which Steve talks about below, is the small coastal village of Mousehole, in Cornwall. In 1981 their lifeboat, the Solomon Brown was launched from the Penlee lifeboat station in the village, to go to the aid of The Union Star, which was in major trouble in truly horrendous seas.
It was just before Christmas, and I remember seeing the Christmas lights around Moushole harbour shining out, later that evening, when the news broke...
All men were lost, on the Union Star and all eight of the lifeboatmen too. The nation went into mourning back then, as the full horror hit home...and Mousehole was numbed with shock, as a community united to try and cope with the loss of so many of its menfolk.
I only hope and pray that tomorrow, when I deliver those papers, they will be filled with pictures of that road of sorrow, lined with those 200 firemen and their families, all of whom turned out from many miles away, to be there for their friends. And I hope that many parents will talk to their children about bravery and selflessness and tell them what is really important in this life,
All those firefighters were there because it was SO important for them to be there, it was SO important for them to show they care.....
And SO VERY important for them not to miss 'the shout' for their friends.
This song then is dedicated to those four firefighters, whose bravery moved me to write this, this morning.
Darren Yates-Badley
Ashley Stephens
Ian Reid
and
John Averis
THE SHOUT
(by Steve Knightley of Show of Hands)
Only three minutes and I couldn't get out
Car box dead, no-one about
I ran through the town and got there too late
The first time I'd missed the shout.
Cars in collision way up on the downs
Front wheels were spinning
And the grass all around
Starting to smoulder
And when they came back
In silence, making no sound
I knew just what they had found
Someone was calling
But they never pass by
Or close their eyes
There's a village it lies to the west,
They went to the aid of some in distress
Put to sea in the heart of the storm
When half of the world was at rest
In the darkness they gave it their best
Someone was calling
But they never pass by
Or close their eyes
Oh where were you on that day?
You know that the water it's no place for play
But you watched them leaving the shore
And the sun slipped into the bay
And the tide slowly drifted away
Someone was calling
Oh but you passed by
You just didn't try
Someone was calling
Oh but you passed by
You just closed your eyes
And you can hear a slightly muffled version of that song here in Section 3:
THE SANTA ANA WIND - AND SHEER JOY
Current mood: loved
Category: Music
The Santa Ana Wind blew this to me the other day...so I thought I'd gently shoosh it over to all of you..
For those who have woken up feeling miserable this morning...or who've forgotten the sheer joy of being alive.....
Let the people get onto the stage first..then, sit back to listen and watch them all singing their hearts out....and I bet you'll be joining in by the end of the video...dancing round with a whole new lease of life....and a beautiful smile on your face...
Oh...and whilst you're listening...you can learn all about it too..
(which has nothing to do with the song really, as that's about General Santianna, or sailors leaving Liverpool to seek gold, or whaling ships or..well...all sorts..depending on which version is being sung of course..or..how much grog you've drunk..,but hey....ALL knowledge is grand!)
Hope you enjoy it
Lizzie
SANTIANO
And here you can read all about the history within Santiano, the song...
Finally, just to show that our younger generation are carrying on the songs of the past, a more rocked up version, which differs from the above.....which I happen to love also..but...you'll need to dress up in your dashing pirate costumes for this...(Charlie..are you listening over there in New Jersey!)
Personally, I think the world would be a far happier place if we all dressed like pirates again......Shiver Me Timbers!
Right...I'm off to put my long skirt, low cut blouse and very tight corset on now...
SANTIANO EN FRANCAIS
Currently
listening
:
Sway With Me
By
Judy Dunlop & Ashley Hutchings
Release date: 08 April, 1996
loved
introducing Show of Hands and The Oysterband at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards a few years back, in the days when the BBC had the common sense to put it on TV? Bruce standing there, this 'Iron Maiden' Rock God, asking where the diversity had gone in our music?
blessed
)...because it gets even more delicious! Just take a look at Ian’s words here, taken from the fRoots article below:
sad
