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Littlestone 5386 posts |
Feb 10, 2007, 09:43
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slumpystones wrote: Silbury Has time stood still? I wondered As I gazed upon that hollow hill Exposed to howling wind and rain Yet silent, still unmoved Do spirits sleep within its heart? I wondered Looking back into the dark Where bone is old as stone And legend first drew breath This Moon upon the Earth Once shining bright Now dulled by soil and turf With beliefs so long forgotten Those treasures hidden deep within. This is a place Of wonder Of a celestial embrace Where the Gods touch the Earth And the Earth meets the Sky slumpy Nice one slumpy - will put it up on http://megalithicpoems.blogspot.com/ in the next week or two if that's OK (have a nice image to go with it :-)
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slumpystones 769 posts |
Feb 12, 2007, 17:58
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Littlestone wrote: slumpystones wrote: Silbury Has time stood still? I wondered As I gazed upon that hollow hill Exposed to howling wind and rain Yet silent, still unmoved Do spirits sleep within its heart? I wondered Looking back into the dark Where bone is old as stone And legend first drew breath This Moon upon the Earth Once shining bright Now dulled by soil and turf With beliefs so long forgotten Those treasures hidden deep within. This is a place Of wonder Of a celestial embrace Where the Gods touch the Earth And the Earth meets the Sky slumpy Nice one slumpy - will put it up on http://megalithicpoems.blogspot.com/ in the next week or two if that's OK (have a nice image to go with it :-) Please do. Any image of Silbury looks pretty good to me.
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Littlestone 5386 posts |
Feb 12, 2007, 19:05
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Please do. Any image of Silbury looks pretty good to me. tis done at http://megalithicpoems.blogspot.com/ Let me know if you want to change anything.
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Littlestone 5386 posts |
Feb 13, 2007, 16:51
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Merlin Six centuries, twice told, are now complete, Since Merlin liv'd on this terrestrial seat. Knowledge appear'd but dawning to my sight; She blazed on Newton with meridian light. Yet the faint glimm'rings which my genius taught, Beyond the ken of human thought. What I by mere mechanic pow'rs achiev'd, Th'effects of magic, then most believ'd. To Stonehenge let the sons of art repair, and view the wonders I erected there; Try, if their skill improv'd, mine e'er can foil; Restore the giant's dance t'Hiberian soil. Nor in geometry excell'd alone; But other sciences to me were known. I study'd Nature through her various ways; And chaunted to this harp prophetic lays. To Cader Ydris oft I took my ways; Rose with the sun, toil'd up th'ascent all day; But scarce could reach the mountain's tow'ring height, E're radiant Vesper usher'd in the night. The summit gain'd, I sought with naked eye, To penetrate the wonders of the sky. No telescopic glass known in that age, To assist the optics of the curious sage. Though lov'd astronomy oft charm'd my mind, I now erroneous all my notions find. I thought the bright sol around our globe had run, Nor knew earth's motion, nor the central sun, And had I known, cou'd I believe have gain'd, When Ignorance and Superstition reign'd? Unseen my me, attraction's might force, And how fierce comets run their stated course; Surprising scenes! by Heav'n reserv'd in store, For its own fav'rite, Newton, to explore. With faculties enlarg'd, he's gone to prove, The laws and motions of yon worlds above; And the vast circuits of th'expanse survey; View solar systems in the Milky Way My spirit too through ether wings its flight, Discovering Truths deny'd by mortal sight; Transported, hovers o'er my native isle, Where arts improve, and Peace and Plenty smile. Ann Finch (1661–1720)
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Littlestone 5386 posts |
Feb 15, 2007, 23:03
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'You won't see Stonehenge every day, young man' said the custodian, a little piqued. 'It's only an old beach,' said the small boy, with extreme conviction. 'It's rocks like the seaside. And there isunt no sea.' :-)
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nigelswift 8112 posts |
Feb 17, 2007, 10:50
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In the afternoon come to Abebury, where, seeing great stones like those of Stonage standing up, I stopped, and took a countryman of that town, and he carried me and shewed me a place trenched in, like Old Sarum almost, with great stones pitched in it, some bigger than those at Stonage in figure, to my great admiration: and he told me that most people of learning, coming by, do come and view them, and that the King did so: and that the Mount cast hard by is called Selbury, from one King Seall buried there, as tradition says. I did give this man 1s. So took coach again, seeing one place with great high stones pitched round, which, I believe, was once some particular building, in some measure like that of Stonage. But, about a mile off, it was prodigious to see how full the Downes are of great stones; and all along the vallies, stones of considerable bigness, most of them growing certainly out of the ground so thick as to cover the ground, which makes me think the less of the wonder of Stonage, for hence they might undoubtedly supply themselves with stones, as well as those at Abebury.
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Littlestone 5386 posts |
Feb 17, 2007, 11:07
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But, about a mile off, it was prodigious to see how full the Downes are of great stones; and all along the vallies, stones of considerable bigness, most of them growing certainly out of the ground so thick as to cover the ground, which makes me think the less of the wonder of Stonage, for hence they might undoubtedly supply themselves with stones, as well as those at Abebury. Wonderful, especially the, "...stones of considerable bigness, most of them growing certainly out of the ground..." Have you noticed wysefool's post here http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/3080 by the way?
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nigelswift 8112 posts |
Feb 17, 2007, 11:47
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Yes, Jeffries should be given a much higher place amongst British poets IMO. What's a good poet? Someone who says to you - look, here's an account of how YOU feel but haven't quite put your finger on it. Eg. Rhiannon's quote from him - "By the time I had reached the summit I had entirely forgotten the petty circumstances and the annoyances of existence."
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Littlestone 5386 posts |
Feb 17, 2007, 23:40
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nigelswift wrote: Yes, Jeffries should be given a much higher place amongst British poets IMO. What's a good poet? Someone who says to you - look, here's an account of how YOU feel but haven't quite put your finger on it. Eg. Rhiannon's quote from him - "By the time I had reached the summit I had entirely forgotten the petty circumstances and the annoyances of existence." Aye, true enough. Richard Jefferies was an extraordinary figure but his friend, Alfred Williams, was in some ways even more extraordinary. Born in 1877 Williams was the fifth of eight children and the son of a carpenter and farmer's daughter. "His education was poor, despite his mother's efforts. When he was only eight he became a 'half-timer', working part of the day on a farm and the rest at school, and left school altogether three years later to become a farm labourer. This suited his love of the countryside, but, as with many young men in the Swindon area at this time, the prospect of much better pay at the GWR railway factory easily persuaded him to go 'inside' when he was fifteen. Two of his brothers were already employed at the factory, four miles away, and he, too, made the daily walk into town. "Alfred's heart, though, was always in the countryside and he spent time learning its ways and painting its landscapes. He was also determined to educate himself and in 1897 began reading in earnest, even utilising his dinner hour, to the amusement of his colleagues at the factory. In 1900 he embarked on a four-year English Literature course with Ruskin Hall, Oxford, even learning Latin to aid his studies. "Fascinated by the country, at one stage he moved to Ranikhet, within sight of Mount Everest and his experiences refuelled his thirst for writing. He even considered settling in India, but returned to South Marston in 1919 - to a life of poverty. Only a grant from the Royal Literary Fund helped him through these difficult times. "Now almost forgotten as a writer, Alfred still had not lost the taste for all the things he had done before. He continued to write, publishing 'Round about the Upper Thames' and 'Folk Songs of the Upper Thames' and taught himself a new language - Sanskrit. "The frienship of a hill I know Above the rising down Where the balmy southern breezes blow But a mile or two from town; The budded broom and heather Are wedded on its breast, And I love to wander tither When the sun is in the West"* Extract from Liddington Hill published in Songs in Wiltshire, 1909.* * http://www.swindonweb.com/guid/peopwill0.htm See also wysefool's post at http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/3080
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Littlestone 5386 posts |
Feb 18, 2007, 21:06
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Postscript Still to find and still to follow, joy in every hill and hollow. Company in solitude.* Also, at the Richard Jefferies Museum, Marlborough Road, Coate, Swindon on Saturday, 3rd March from 2pm: "Short readings from the works of Richard Jefferies and Alfred Williams. Select your own five minute extract to read out to others or just come along and listen. Museum open from 1pm. The event is hosted by the Friends of Alfred Williams and the Richard Jefferies Society. Entrance is free. More information from Jean Saunders on 01793 783040."** Jean Saunders has been an active campaigner against plans to develop the area between Coate Water and Barbury Castle. * http://www.geograph.org.uk/photos/32/69/326934_990b3f2a.jpg ** http://www.talkswindon.org/index.php?topic=1260.0
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