A good Saturday

It was a great Saturday. Very relaxing. Soft light and the lullaby of rain. I love the rain.

I love the sound as the droplets of water dance on the ground and windows. I love the clean shining look of the world full of reflections and shimmering lights. At one point it rained very hard and the rain waster danced with fury on the ground. So I was sitting on the sofa reading my book while the rain fell. It was very relaxing.

I'm really enjoying the book "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell." It's a real pager turner! Here is the Synopsis:

"Two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me…

Centuries ago, when magic still existed in England, the greatest magician of them all was the Raven King. A human child brought up by fairies, the Raven King blended fairy wisdom and human reason to create English magic. Now, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, he is barely more than a legend, and England, with its mad King and its dashing poets, no longer believes in practical magic.

Then the reclusive Mr Norrell of Hurtfew Abbey appears and causes the statues of York Cathedral to speak and move. News spreads of the return of magic to England and, persuaded that he must help the government in the war against Napoleon, Mr Norrell goes to London. There he meets a brilliant young magician and takes him as a pupil. Jonathan Strange is charming, rich and arrogant. Together, they dazzle the country with their feats.

But the partnership soon turns to rivalry. Mr Norrell has never conquered his lifelong habits of secrecy, while Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous magic. He becomes fascinated by the shadowy figure of the Raven King, and his heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens, not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear. "

It was such a calm day :-) It's so nice to have soft light and rain falling and to spend the day reading. It's great when you are really entranced by a novel. The sent of the rain was so good. The scent of the rain and the tempestuous grey skies reminded me of the ocean. I would have loved to have gone and sat on a cold wind swept beach and watched the waves crash into the shore!

I was too busy reading and enjoying the rain to cook today :-D So I went out into the soft rain and got some traditional English food... namely: Fish and chips :-D

It was a very good Saturday! Hopefully tomorrow is as good and as relaxing. I will be making some Spaghetti Bolognaise and drinking red wine... :-) I hope your Saturday was good!

- Martin 2005

PS: Heather... have some trouble finding that story! It might be on the other computer. I'll post it up as soon as I find it! Might not be Sunday... but it will be, hopefully, be soon! If I can't find it then I will let you know :-)

Chocolate

Mmmm chocolate :-D

This photo was taken while I was in Brugge, Belgium a few months ago. I only had a few hours there, but it was great to be some place I had never been before. All around me towered gothic cathedrals with spiked spires and graceful arches. Everywhere you go there are chocolate shops selling the most wonderful range of fantastic chocolate! It's heaven for a chocolate-holic like me :-D Belgium chocolate is regarded as the best in the world and it's certainly very yum! Although Swiss is just as good. Lindt bars are great and you can find them here with ease in the U.K

YAY! It's finally Friday and I can relax ( at least for 2 fantastic days!!! ) I'm really happy it's the weekend! I got some wine and some chocolate and spent a very relaxing night at home curled up on the sofa reading my book Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" It's a great book. I'm loving it, and am really looking forward to having a long reading session this weekend with some munchies!

Hope you all have a good weekend! Go on... indulge yourself in a small vice! Be it chocolate, wine, or something else :-D I have some more wine ( red ) for Sunday! ;-)

Heather, will post up that story I spoke of on Sunday :-)

best wishes

Martin - 2005

Poem: When?

When?

Oh what when
Discordant love
Breaks you
On a disconsolate shore
With lonely seagull screams
And burning sand?

Oh what when the night is too long
Bereft of all but the saddest songs
And the day is a miser
With charms and alms
- Yet too generous with hateful crimes
Drudgery and death?

Know then, it shall pass
Clasp a bright candle against the wind
Secure a bright candle in your soul
There is the beautiful, the good, the magical in this world
This is what you must believe in
This is what I must believe in.

Something differnt today :-)

It's been awhile since I posted up a poem. I hope you enjoyed the poetic interlude between the photographs. A little something beween the visual moments. As poems sometimes do, it just came to me as I was standing, in all places, in the kitchen doing the dreaded washing up!!! The poem isn't connected to washing up. But there you are, my brain works in strange ways!

In other news: I have created a new blog! It's an idea that has been strolling around my brain for a very long time. In fact, it's been there pretty much since I decided to start this blog up. Recently it's been in my head and I am sure that I want to do it. Also I have been reading "Grifin and Sabine" and the format of telling a story via only the written thoughts seems to work quite well.

The idea is to try and tell a story using the blog enteries as a format. The story is told and unfolded via reading diary enteries placed in a book by somebody called "Anastasia" The person she is, where she is, who else is involved, and so on are revealed by her diary enteries. Hopefully I can tell a full story using this method. The story and blog is called "The Kingdom" and can be found here: http://mysterious-words.blogspot.com/ Any suggestions and comments greatly welcomed! :-)

- Martin 2005

Good Morning Luna

Good morning Luna

My eyes flickered open before the alarm clock had a chance to rouse me. I did my best zombie impression ( Urrraaaaahhh - not a morning person ) and then did all the required things: wash, brush teeth, make coffee! As I always do, I looked out of the window to see what the sky was like. This morning she was there, the moon :-)

I always get a kick out of seeing the moon in daylight. It seems something so magical! She was only there a short moment, as my camera clicked, the clouds devoured her. Only for a moment was I graced. I suppose this is a good metaphor for life. Nature is always trying to teach us this. There is no permanence. The flowers will die, the sunset will vanish, the sunlight fade to give way to shadows and dark places. She was only there for a moment. I am glad that I looked and thank her for the smile. I hope she gives you one too.

Today morning was wonderful! It's been so hot recently. You wake up and are blasted with hot light. Temperatures have been 20.c in the morning! Today was the first morning that actually seemed like morning! Cool wind like having silk caressed across your skin. The sky full of clouds, and the light soft and inviting. I want more mornings like this! :-)

This post was created and posted using blogging software called Qumana! You can download it at their web site: It's a really great bit of software. It's very easy to use! It's so much better than Blogger's clunky interface. I have been looking for a replacement for some time now. It features lots of things. Just a few are: WYSIWYG editing and post creation, spell checker, thesaurus, wide range of fonts and sizes, easy image integration, lots of formatting options, and much more. ( Is it me or do I sound like an advertisement? :-D ) But really, I found it great and easy to use! I'm happy to find it because Blogger's own posting area is so clunky and limited.

Martin - 2005

Cloud Factory

Cloud Factory

They were sitting watching the cloud factory make beautiful white clouds. "I like Van Gogh's," She said unexpectedly.

He didn't take his eyes off of the clouds that were floating into the sky like crazy balloons. "What do you mean?" He asked as he watched.

"I Liked the way that he painted the clouds. All swirls and twirls."

The last of the Canary Wharf photos that I wanted to post up ( for now ) and hope you like it. The clouds look great reflected in the windows of the glass tower :-)

Martin - 2005

Bathe in Blue

Bathe in Blue

She threw her head around, brown hair flying, to look back at him with a mischievous grin on her face. "Come on," she said.

He trailed to the edge of the sky pool with his hands dug deep into pockets of faded jeans, his shoulders slouching, and with apprehension in his eyes.

The sky pool shimmered with light and looked so beautiful blue. Like fish the clouds floated along in it's deeps. She grinned as she tore off shoes and socks. With an even bigger grin she dipped her toe into the blue sky with clouds that sent ripples of light outward.

"You see," she proclaimed! "It's lovely! The sky is so warm and bright" He still looked doubtful. "The trick is to just jump right in. If you go deep enough you can touch a cloud." Her small face then took on a look of exaggerated shock... "you aren't scared. Are you?"

"Of course I'm not!" He said, taking his hands out of his pockets.

"Well then," she drew him right to the edge, "Lets just jump right in together and the first one to touch a cloud can be king or queen of the hill for a day"

After counting to three, they both jumped right in leaving blue ripples in their wake as they dived deep for clouds...

This is another photo that I took while visiting Canary Wharf area of London. I was really hoping to get the sky reflected! And as you can see I have! I was lucky to have day with a beautiful blue sky and clouds too! This is the second of three Canary Wharf photographs, at least for now! More to come soon...

Best Wishes

Martin - 2005

Silver

Silver

Silver light

& the

Windows with stories

All of their own

With reflected clouds

Drifting like dreams

Another shot from last Sunday's photo shoot. This was taken at Canary Wharf. It's a very new part of London. The whole place seems very futuristic with a new high tec train system that passed between great silver sky skyscrapers. I love the way the light hits the side of this building and blazed with silver light. More to come :-)

Hope everybody out there is enjoying the weekend. Yesterday went out to see a movie. I saw "War of the Worlds" and can't say I am impressed with it. I also got another travel book to read! This time it's a "Rough Guide to Andulacia" book. It has lots more information in it. Already it's proved useful to me. I have scratched off a place from my list of places to see ( a national park ) as it's quite dififcult to get to visit and also you are forced to go with a tour bus. I much prefer to make my own way :-)

Today It's another hot one here. No photo taking today, just chillin out and reading :-D "Marijose" and "Just Me" Gazpacho today!!! I am going to try some Tabasco and Lemon juice in this one...

Martin - 2005

The Hunter

The Hunter...

Old gnarled forest oaks are silent and watchful! The leaf scented night is full of tiny rustling. The owl that clutches the branches with long curved and wicked talons sits and waits for it's moment with fierce burning eyes knifing the blackness.

It all happens in the instance of a few heart beats, it all happens in the moments between life and death, and then it's over. Ghost white mouse moves with all fast fearful haste, but not not fast enough. The owl lunges into the night, his great wings smashing the air, before holding them as he swoops into a dive. Three heart beats have passed and the mouse knows his mistake far too late. In eight heart beats it's all over.

Another shot of the owl. This time you can see how whole body. Again, eyes are great. This one you can really see just how big this bird is! I was so amazed at it's size. I don't think Harry Potter would want that landing on him :-D Those talons are huge...

Martin - 2005

Eagle Owl

Eagle Owl

Something special today!!! :-) Sunday I headed out to take some photographs ( hoping to find some angels ) at 2 places in London: Canary Wharf and Greenwich. It was a good day and I had lots of wonderful opportunities for photos. THIS photo you see here is the favourite of them all and I was SO glad that I had picked this day to go out with my camera!

In Greenwich they had a display of Elizabethan falconry. There was a small tent set up where you could view the birds. Later on they did a demonstration of the birds flying. The tent was great because you were standing very close to the birds. The kestrels and falcons were awesome but this guy was by far the best! He is an Eagle Owl. It's huge! I will post another pic soon with a shot of his whole body so you can see just how large he is. There was me thinking owls were small!!!

Great isn't he? Such eyes! Really wonderful and magnificent creature. He was sitting there doing the head turning thing that owls do. He was like a king his orange eyes gleaming as he sat there, great talons gripping his perch, and looked back at us with serenity and superiority.

It stayed for a long time in dream like wonder at this amazing bird. I looked into his eyes and tried to imagine his dreams of sky and hunting. All the while I was there, of course, I was shooting pics like a maniac. And of course, I had a big smile on my face. I was happy that I got to see him and happy that I can share him with you now. I hope this pic gives you a smile too.

Martin - 2005

I saw the angel...

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. " - Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Isn't that what all creation is? Isn't that the blank page thirsting for words? Isn't that the white canvas waiting for colour? The empty room waiting for the sounds of music to give the silence shape and hold our heart for awhile? This is what creativity is all about. It's about finding that angel and setting it free. It's the quest for something beautiful and giving it shape and form.

This is photography, for me. This is what I like the best. I'm walking around and looking for those angels. Those hidden angels! Views that show you the essence of a moment or a thing - it's very soul. That's the trick with photography. A glass bottle laying in the grass is just a glass bottle. This is the object. This is the thing. But if you look just right, you notice that star of sunlight trapped in it's bottom and the way the grass whispers at the side as it's moved by the wind.. There, that's the angel. That's the essence, the soul, the angel. This is what I like about photography. Everywhere there are angels.

As I pass through the world, I have, and always do look for those moments. When you take up photography it makes you think even more about those hidden angels. Those exquisite angels, those beautiful moments that you could find with the lens. I like the fact that photography reminds and trains me to look and reminds me that beauty is everywhere even in the ugly and mundane places.

I spent the day taking photographs. It was warm and sunny and I got some great shots that I am happy with. I hope I have some angels for you to see :-)

Now go... go free some angels. Go write, go paint, go draw, go photograph, go play some music, or go sing!

Best Wishes
- Martin

A feast for the senses

Books and fruit

Soul and my senses enchanted

Hungry to devour.

Here is a shot of one of my favourite places. It's a fruit and vegetable shop near me that also sells second hand books! What a wonderful combination! A riot of colour, a collision of wonderful contradiction. It's nice to be standing in the sun with the perfume of fruit around you as you trace your eyes and fingers over once orphaned books seeking a literary treasure to take home with you.

I hope you are all having a good weekend. If you have any interesting/unusual shops where you are, be they book or otherwise, then please do let me know about them :-)

Wishes & Dreamings

- Martin.

Destino Sevilla y Andalucia

Yes! My holidays are booked! In just about 2 months I will be travling to Sevilla - Spain where I will be exploring the city and the region of Andulacia! I'm very excited. As you can see from the picture I have brought a travel book... well, travel book(s) :-D and am busy devouring all the facts and information that I can on Sevilla and Andulacia! I already have so many I want to visit!!! I have only 6 and a half days so no way to visit them all!! The region sounds so beautiful and interesting.


I think I am going to love it and shall be returning to explore much more. I already am thinking that I would love to do a walking tour of the Sierra Nevada. Ah, so much to experience and so little time! Of course, I will document my travels on my blog and share it with you. The hotel where I will be staying has internet connection there so I will try to blog my travels every day! I will probably have to wait until I get home again to load up photographs.


In the run up to my trip I will put up a few posts of places that I am interested in seeing! Also, I will post up some photograhs of my last trip to Spain when I visted Barcelona! I have lots of nice photographs sitting on my hard drive gathering virtual dust...


So... Now all I have to do is wait till it comes around and hope it does not fly away too quickly when it finally does! I am excited! And of course Andulacia is the home of flamenco! I really like flamenco and very much like Camaron De La Isla ( born in Cadiz ) and of Jose Merce. The two greats! I'm looking foward to see flamenco performed live and live it's passion! My quest is to find some good flamenco and not tacky tourist flamenco!


Best Wishes
- Martin

Flying

"It's easy to fly," he stated with an impish grin and dreams in his eyes.

"...How?"

"Well," he said with a smile, "You just hold out your arms."

"Yes? Go on." She said looking intently at him and licking her lips.

"Gaze into the sky. Don't look at anything else. Everything else is just a dream."

"What's next?"

"You hold out your arms..."

"Yes?"

"And then..."

"You?"

"You RUN till your hearts laughing and all the time keeping your eyes fixed on the sky!"

"That's it? That's flying?"

"Oh yes," he said, "that's flying."

Best Wishes

- La Luna -