tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24487522510538948182024-03-16T18:50:12.257+00:00upside down in cloudflying blind into the future and drawing the map as we goDru Marlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.comBlogger1057125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-42473424921370449382024-01-27T11:01:00.001+00:002024-01-27T11:01:13.539+00:00the Aldermaston Wharf Tea Rooms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2ezh0Pj2U61mVbevqfL0rrs5DSjNd30WvQ03vqgnsTmNaFEh5iuTHQAtSp9DfLIGGlD9ivGoVU1YgTCXSbb0N_ZQFjCvG3_fMiD38iwl5BlwNJaAT76BzUjWJvFdH-BV8WWtMLZh6nFvzywoCahZbd_sVcHZD6KQqOG5Sv948db0vWjnw811SFvC8UoZ/s3299/Aldermaston%20Tea%20Rooms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3299" data-original-width="2150" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2ezh0Pj2U61mVbevqfL0rrs5DSjNd30WvQ03vqgnsTmNaFEh5iuTHQAtSp9DfLIGGlD9ivGoVU1YgTCXSbb0N_ZQFjCvG3_fMiD38iwl5BlwNJaAT76BzUjWJvFdH-BV8WWtMLZh6nFvzywoCahZbd_sVcHZD6KQqOG5Sv948db0vWjnw811SFvC8UoZ/w418-h640/Aldermaston%20Tea%20Rooms.jpg" width="418" /></a></div>Aldermaston Wharf is a lively spot on the Kennet and Avon Canal in Berkshire; ABC hireboats operate from there, and these rather fine<a href="https://www.tearoomsaldermaston.com/"> tea rooms</a>, that I've just done this picture of. There's prints of it over in my Etsy shop, and it's one of six postcards in my latest set. <br /><br /><br /><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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merchant and carry sacks back to their boats. So there are fuel boats
serving the canals. But the West End of the Kennet and Avon, from the bottom of the Caen Hill locks below Devizes to Bath, didn't have a working boat after the last operators stopped, last year.<br /><br />So the folk at <a href="https://bradfordwharf.co.uk/coal-boat/" target="_blank">Bradford Wharf Services</a>,* in conjunction with charity <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Floaty.Boat.Org/" target="_blank">Floaty Boat</a>, have organised fuel runs on Ishtar, crewed by volunteers. Here they are in action; they arrived here in Bathampton on Wednesday, and breasted up on my boat overnight as the light was failing. <br /><br />Shortly after setting off on Thursday morning, they had to stop; the ice was just too thick. We're all waiting for the thaw now.<br /><br />*this is a link for ordering fuel for your boat; there's also an option for 'paying it forward', where you can put in funds for fuel for boaters who can't afford it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-r5pQWsIQizkP8CHCjJg0rb2dlO0oCkyw_IYQtfne4MFk_1xSXDkrvREBeXtsk65LmoChQ0zTmRkgNk_iq3AyYlVz35GeXCLVQ3LsmsJUoUWq-9XW2W-NpknuEX9RJYBOaD2eaMLqk3DpjsU_g780-u93zxsYi_A7BckkI7Fbd884peNwDSPDUMPB5o-/s2048/ishtar%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-r5pQWsIQizkP8CHCjJg0rb2dlO0oCkyw_IYQtfne4MFk_1xSXDkrvREBeXtsk65LmoChQ0zTmRkgNk_iq3AyYlVz35GeXCLVQ3LsmsJUoUWq-9XW2W-NpknuEX9RJYBOaD2eaMLqk3DpjsU_g780-u93zxsYi_A7BckkI7Fbd884peNwDSPDUMPB5o-/w400-h300/ishtar%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrx3zZ2pm1PJtZhoEO5sxXA-isI3E4oGbKGotdifFsnb4_hoGlLcDYQhcjfG5VAwtqIYDH2PuASZW8-8KGeOFVN842lvyh3r9QDBD7tHy1fdmkIOcsT52yeWDQrlCywrm3Tu7g9FS10_XJ5B7ati0Q4bNDU5CjbbsnUZ4lPZtH2ShKrUVTfFKRDhVV-HBf/s2048/ishtar%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrx3zZ2pm1PJtZhoEO5sxXA-isI3E4oGbKGotdifFsnb4_hoGlLcDYQhcjfG5VAwtqIYDH2PuASZW8-8KGeOFVN842lvyh3r9QDBD7tHy1fdmkIOcsT52yeWDQrlCywrm3Tu7g9FS10_XJ5B7ati0Q4bNDU5CjbbsnUZ4lPZtH2ShKrUVTfFKRDhVV-HBf/w300-h400/ishtar%202.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdPuB0ViLPK26ADxTHhvvlLkuFOMXTKdhxJtOK2_KEsXghSK5A5bcS-lLA726MgrOwx-iNzfYI8QAhcGZvBi3DzVohy_xDU2BXTUDv0eWPrpFKEuoWxD4gXkX8GLb6lLv-PP6U1VjaGy-vHJUN2STzt9F7b1citrBrkYRZhpywtRvmO75Q3_7MVBrbvYN/s2048/ishtar%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdPuB0ViLPK26ADxTHhvvlLkuFOMXTKdhxJtOK2_KEsXghSK5A5bcS-lLA726MgrOwx-iNzfYI8QAhcGZvBi3DzVohy_xDU2BXTUDv0eWPrpFKEuoWxD4gXkX8GLb6lLv-PP6U1VjaGy-vHJUN2STzt9F7b1citrBrkYRZhpywtRvmO75Q3_7MVBrbvYN/w400-h300/ishtar%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Dru Marlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-68873877220389681032024-01-04T06:14:00.000+00:002024-01-04T06:14:58.251+00:00Saint Roch in the forest<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcd9zmWyJ4JD343Hl4VWqTZXJLXZ2DwqusyoIC-XJoKH3MUEsYJS-hTxeDAXRJ6o6LNeTumNr38qiL0H69rwkrl3Ryyfbdlgs0aa-AMvFNR4nvL7AizXl49A0h-FcanhF3GhRqE-aCpf2VWftlLabd9fm4hQlJ1YxMmB1RbMEml9pdEKbZkYk2O3aCBUG/s2352/St%20Roche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2352" data-original-width="2098" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcd9zmWyJ4JD343Hl4VWqTZXJLXZ2DwqusyoIC-XJoKH3MUEsYJS-hTxeDAXRJ6o6LNeTumNr38qiL0H69rwkrl3Ryyfbdlgs0aa-AMvFNR4nvL7AizXl49A0h-FcanhF3GhRqE-aCpf2VWftlLabd9fm4hQlJ1YxMmB1RbMEml9pdEKbZkYk2O3aCBUG/w356-h400/St%20Roche.jpg" width="356" /></a></div>Saint Roch caught the Plague while ministering to its victims in Piacenza, Italy; he retired into the forest, where a virtuous dog brought him bread and licked his sores until he was healed. So Roch ended up beatified, but nobody remembers the dog's name. Unlike Saint Guinefort, a greyhound whose story is very similar to that of the welsh dog Gelert, and who became a folk saint (that is, popular with the people, not so much with the Church).<br /><br />I based Roch on a person who lived in the woods on the canalside until recently; and the dog is Bobby, another boaty neighbour's companion. I like the idea of using rather more contemporary models for saints; like my version of Melangell, who was a bit of a hunt sab in her day, but is usually portrayed a bit drippily.<br /><br /><br /><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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Contains twelve whole months, with a wide variety of wildlife, including the beavers that have taken up residence on the Avon! <br /><br />Here's what the layout looks like</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgdcp3tqVdeKuX08tdJXtnTe3UGikeEsIOTTxs3C6pxMdX5GwuzM4T8Eym3kGshfepKh10h-_XhyphenhyphenosAarVpK0g2xqZrlqw5GYwgZLedw6iAhEkVv0V-LyWcTKVaHQAbKZB69MtVHTvSYiZ_mgYSZEevbpMgk4NwRP4QTJ_qWxyl1dBgvDnC9T2sge_BkR/s642/Screenshot%20(56).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="459" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgdcp3tqVdeKuX08tdJXtnTe3UGikeEsIOTTxs3C6pxMdX5GwuzM4T8Eym3kGshfepKh10h-_XhyphenhyphenosAarVpK0g2xqZrlqw5GYwgZLedw6iAhEkVv0V-LyWcTKVaHQAbKZB69MtVHTvSYiZ_mgYSZEevbpMgk4NwRP4QTJ_qWxyl1dBgvDnC9T2sge_BkR/s320/Screenshot%20(56).png" width="229" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FGwVP2iOFrjsODQpBfa27Q25CxANe2zQ1Fs4VZPn7e7O1H-R6X_Ouva-IUNQDWVHOBeR-iTCIYzEzE1_nCe_lEAFCuO7SVjBMA77U5qOv5jpnZ1uISWpHL8aL0d820bwOM9l3qZPtL3ttBcciKB6GuVFj5MCmpbdVV6eXaPBSgEQ7UgM7L8fVXY_zHM3/s636/Screenshot%20(55).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="442" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FGwVP2iOFrjsODQpBfa27Q25CxANe2zQ1Fs4VZPn7e7O1H-R6X_Ouva-IUNQDWVHOBeR-iTCIYzEzE1_nCe_lEAFCuO7SVjBMA77U5qOv5jpnZ1uISWpHL8aL0d820bwOM9l3qZPtL3ttBcciKB6GuVFj5MCmpbdVV6eXaPBSgEQ7UgM7L8fVXY_zHM3/s320/Screenshot%20(55).png" width="222" /></a></div>And if you can't find me on my boat (I'll be at the floating Fayre in Bradford on Avon on the last weekend of November, otherwise somewhere in the wilds of Wiltshire) you can get one from Devizes Books, or my <a href="https://drumarland.etsy.com/uk/listing/1592939540/2024-calendar-kennet-and-avon-canal" target="_blank">Etsy shop here</a><br /><br /><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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Not the original pear tree, which would have been about a thousand years old by now. But still, unimpeachably peary.<br /><br />Going in, you immediately see the original saxon door to the church, from back when it was smaller, now beached in the middle of the nave.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCm37ZVMUEMRgnckhk1ktPCjtQfPuPfscJof_a1orkv8dM8X320sHodtizjFrhJCHtNToyfh5LnnXfSjLTm2OdFVJORJTdxfJC6zBxaw57Vuz6Qj22rBdL1JoC7kynYUc3C8utRw8dZXH9IOa0IcMwpcKxJIhhK7PnZmVbtp8pnORMfUpg6pspAUSSiaTr/s2048/saxon%20door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCm37ZVMUEMRgnckhk1ktPCjtQfPuPfscJof_a1orkv8dM8X320sHodtizjFrhJCHtNToyfh5LnnXfSjLTm2OdFVJORJTdxfJC6zBxaw57Vuz6Qj22rBdL1JoC7kynYUc3C8utRw8dZXH9IOa0IcMwpcKxJIhhK7PnZmVbtp8pnORMfUpg6pspAUSSiaTr/w300-h400/saxon%20door.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>A memorial slab on the floor of the nave was so worn that it was hard to make out what it was; if you squint a little, you may see a manatee there.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIf9DuTg8hrbyhM5H35Wp5Sa9EM6KVuyC7Lez46OPTC8__8vN-zG2K4A5i-YfrpTWoh4Zoe90z9ONlgar21CMNdFSU6wP1ihxgRoExc4VHtRL2Biu_h6XYAVrwngxwol76gheczSm8PgvgdM79rxnWb3qkSaUyzjHs-DthepTh-oI1KUbKbG7UrcTf2nGs/s2048/manatee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIf9DuTg8hrbyhM5H35Wp5Sa9EM6KVuyC7Lez46OPTC8__8vN-zG2K4A5i-YfrpTWoh4Zoe90z9ONlgar21CMNdFSU6wP1ihxgRoExc4VHtRL2Biu_h6XYAVrwngxwol76gheczSm8PgvgdM79rxnWb3qkSaUyzjHs-DthepTh-oI1KUbKbG7UrcTf2nGs/w400-h300/manatee.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Outside, I nibbled blackberries, while a dog walker told me that this was originally a Knights Templar place and the coffin lids in the churchyard dated from then. Not sure how reliable that gen was, tbh.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeURJyx8X8d-k-auajOJ4k8e7rX0s-CSQETZjBlvq3McOELyXfwYAvDBmvVn1iXFmHMZ_Tp7i9zR0PTXbEauYhVGodE5vVBHT9w0ZdGExkxJouNWzdixbKv9CyePE-rLUvAROZga5pCvY6UzipGicnS-_0vSXnDDShY8uKmW4J18lsDY1WihCkd0CWyUU/s960/slab%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeURJyx8X8d-k-auajOJ4k8e7rX0s-CSQETZjBlvq3McOELyXfwYAvDBmvVn1iXFmHMZ_Tp7i9zR0PTXbEauYhVGodE5vVBHT9w0ZdGExkxJouNWzdixbKv9CyePE-rLUvAROZga5pCvY6UzipGicnS-_0vSXnDDShY8uKmW4J18lsDY1WihCkd0CWyUU/w300-h400/slab%201.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />The walker followed his dog down the field and out of sight. I picked two pears and put them in my pocket to take home.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglF7du3LM2R4gzD7Yhc5HgNpKxeL75mIawh-le2JeypSnc8rmObEhkhQvsB8ShFVm-Y6lBGS9vxD5WcYeU4UFj9BiVH3MYgQJD_6z3Hl9E8cD8u1KbAdZC3VcKACB3jHX53C2dDCy41e7yo65VgJlXeD9q07Ho-S8yA7GhuyyT4DDs_3IcpE-F44vwgqM9/s2048/kissing%20gate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglF7du3LM2R4gzD7Yhc5HgNpKxeL75mIawh-le2JeypSnc8rmObEhkhQvsB8ShFVm-Y6lBGS9vxD5WcYeU4UFj9BiVH3MYgQJD_6z3Hl9E8cD8u1KbAdZC3VcKACB3jHX53C2dDCy41e7yo65VgJlXeD9q07Ho-S8yA7GhuyyT4DDs_3IcpE-F44vwgqM9/w300-h400/kissing%20gate.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br />Dru Marlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-36177310413958976132023-07-21T05:48:00.003+01:002023-07-21T05:48:38.559+01:00wasps and cider<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1U9pDIaoahBmqoSmOhELBrkh5j4tpCqIyMggK3CqwhRFdMbJAXUoZUWB1G5ENOGtkSrffTxP4i0mA2XMzy7_QQsv5MtPsd7X3UGfvV3wL8QXxi_GV-zN0s1-Af5cGAz-OM2GeJLsJHVahyA1XGIxxsfXAz_a5R4ARAaccpJq5KdEGVK4jjT_58djWPLWp/s2048/postcard%20set.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1820" data-original-width="2048" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1U9pDIaoahBmqoSmOhELBrkh5j4tpCqIyMggK3CqwhRFdMbJAXUoZUWB1G5ENOGtkSrffTxP4i0mA2XMzy7_QQsv5MtPsd7X3UGfvV3wL8QXxi_GV-zN0s1-Af5cGAz-OM2GeJLsJHVahyA1XGIxxsfXAz_a5R4ARAaccpJq5KdEGVK4jjT_58djWPLWp/w640-h568/postcard%20set.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>I've got enough new pictures to put together another set of postcards, which cost £5 and can be found <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/DruMarland/listing/1512096918/even-more-wildlife-on-the-canal-set-of-6?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1689914698659" target="_blank">here in my Etsy shop</a>.<br /><br />I'm slowly heading westward, my favourite direction. In a week's time I should be in Bath, for the Floating Fair. But this morning I'm out in the wide open Avon valley, near Melksham, and the mornings are chilly and misty, and rather nice to wander out in.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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The birds of prey, you understand, not the table football. I saw one last year, as we approached Day's Lock on the Thames, and it was breathtaking in its swoopiness as it chased swifts around the trees.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Are there, I wondered, any round here, at Sells Green? I've heard reports of them, but not from very reliable witnesses. But sometimes nature comes up with the goods most obligingly; two friends moored up here were rather excited to spot one, hawking around <span><a tabindex="-1"></a></span>the reed beds here.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">So that was a good reason to add one to a picture, and here it is, though I've drawn it as I remembered it on the Thames, because despite my standing around with the binoculars, hoping for a sighting, it hasn't reappeared, or at least not while I was watching.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And I've added my friends on their boat, too.</div></div></span></div></div></div></div><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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Trust have made some effort to respond to local wildlife needs by
adjusting the mowing schedule, and places with known glow worm
populations are marked by posts, so that the contractors can avoid them.
But it doesn't always work, and now and then the old fashioned scorched
earth policy is enacted. Though in general, this year, the towpath has
been left to run wild, which is very nice for the environment, but
annoys people who like to have a manicured lawn to step out onto from
their boats. Guess they'd better get used to it, though; money is tight,
and it's cheaper to not mow than to mow.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWBsZzKdAtuyJETXq_a1UvhWagoDdvUwyP6rrp4VtboBtPuKHPQemMW62vizWhlCeWmWIlguNjl9b8dwh88QDdEnLCMwHhWpem790iWQl9IUek1GrRovtb3x7iVlyhfsJN5yeXICM7RupRhpBStR4FEwl-qMACAGW6R4M7QpyFUY8efCj9Tg91tR0X6GW/s2048/bernie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1560" data-original-width="2048" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWBsZzKdAtuyJETXq_a1UvhWagoDdvUwyP6rrp4VtboBtPuKHPQemMW62vizWhlCeWmWIlguNjl9b8dwh88QDdEnLCMwHhWpem790iWQl9IUek1GrRovtb3x7iVlyhfsJN5yeXICM7RupRhpBStR4FEwl-qMACAGW6R4M7QpyFUY8efCj9Tg91tR0X6GW/s320/bernie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />This painting is another for the calendar, and is set at Widewater, near Wilcot, where the canal briefly becomes a lake, because the landowner wouldn't let the canal through her land unless they made it picturesque, and paid her £500 too.<br /><br /><br /><br /><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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You can get hi res versions both on quality paper or as a download, on my Etsy shop, which you'll see linked over there on the right hand toolbar. Probably. Or <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/DruMarland" target="_blank">here</a><br /><br /><br />Dru Marlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-22859692962867085582022-12-26T06:41:00.006+00:002022-12-27T05:49:05.722+00:00a midwinter song for Saturnalia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDgfImhsfIY5Sb1Ln_N4LDuOBVZ0cu6dLO7iQxI941AdBtJbzt_BOaXUNKu1A_MQgcTEcPrChJ3l5Jfy3Bjt8qf_m_YLDiDzUsvwbUgPKQh01UDhzpqOu99e3zQQY6LtgstiGQ6yMX4bgZ57ASJncUtDWNT9GLZAWVjfVrsCzi9mOy4Iu9YVwQpfu2Q/s957/51738260466_496be68834_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="957" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDgfImhsfIY5Sb1Ln_N4LDuOBVZ0cu6dLO7iQxI941AdBtJbzt_BOaXUNKu1A_MQgcTEcPrChJ3l5Jfy3Bjt8qf_m_YLDiDzUsvwbUgPKQh01UDhzpqOu99e3zQQY6LtgstiGQ6yMX4bgZ57ASJncUtDWNT9GLZAWVjfVrsCzi9mOy4Iu9YVwQpfu2Q/w400-h279/51738260466_496be68834_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Happy St Stephen's Day! Just as a change from Christmas, Yule, or indeed Solstice ('bright blessings' etc), here's a song for Saturnalia, the old feast of misrule held at this time of the year, when things were turned upside down and masters waited on slaves. It also references Mithras, who was born from a rock about now. Io Saturnalia, by the way, was the greeting or invocation they used,like we'd say Merry Christmas.<br /><br /></span></span><div><div dir="auto"><div class="x1iorvi4 x1pi30zi xjkvuk6 x1swvt13" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_jf"><div class="x78zum5 xdt5ytf xz62fqu x16ldp7u"><div class="xu06os2 x1ok221b"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xdj266r x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">A midwinter song (to the tune of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen)<br /><br /></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Gaudete omnes per Iovem </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Nil desperandumque</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Memete Mithras salvator </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Natus est hodie</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">De profundis hiberniae </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Aestati ducere </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Cantate io Saturnalia,</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Saturnalia</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Cantate io Saturnalia <br /><br /><br /></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> In tempi tenebrissimi</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Furibus regimur </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Contentio sollicitant</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Mendaci loquatur</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Hi porcos nunc deicere </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Debemus igitur</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Cantate io Saturnalia...<br /><br /><br /></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Quamvis panem et circenses</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Habemus hodie</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Sed modo faenerantur sunt</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Quiescens emere </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Imperia delenda sunt</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Pro orbis restite </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Cantate io Saturnalia... <br /><br /><br /></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">(Translation, singable)<br /><br />Jove keep you merry, everyone,<br />Let nothing you dismay<br />Cos Mithras the unconquered sun<br />Came down to us today<br />From depths of winter to the spring<br />To show us all the way<br />Singing Io Saturnalia...<br /><br />Although the times are at their darkest<br />And we're ruled by thieves<br />Who'd have us at each other's throats<br />If we their lies believed<br />Remember they're just greedy swine<br />And give the sods the heave!<br />Singing Io Saturnalia...<br /><br />We like the bread and circuses<br />They throw us now and then<br />But they're just crusts they throw to us<br />To keep us in our pen<br />Destroy all empires, and create<br />A Golden Age again!<br />Singing Io Saturnalia...<br /><br />(Translation, literal)<br /><br /></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Everyone rejoice, by Jupiter,</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And don’t despair</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Remember that Mithras, the saviour,</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Was born today</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">From the deepest bit of winter</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">To lead us to summer </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Sing io Saturnalia...<br /><br /></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">In the darkest of times</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">We’re ruled by thieves</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Who seek to create disunity</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">With the lies they speak</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Now therefore we should </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Overthrow these swine</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Sing io Saturnalia...<br /><br /></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Though bread and circuses</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Are what we’ve got today</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">They’re only loaned to us</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">To keep us peaceful</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Destroy the empires</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">And restore the world</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Sing io Saturnalia...</div></div></span></span></span></div></div></div></div></div><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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We’d shared a couple of adventures, and were friends, I thought. Then, about 18 months back, she posted up an article which praised Maya Forstater and JK Rowling for their plucky work against the transsexual menace.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">It came as a bit of a rude shock, coming from that quarter. I asked if she really believed the stuff in the article; she didn’t respond. I unfriended her shortly after that; there was enough negativity going on around then already; another poetry friend-on-Facebook had just posted up a fundraiser for a poet who had apparently lost bookings because of her anti-trans activities; but the friend-on-Facebook also said he had a friend who’s trans, so he couldn’t possibly be transphobic.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I unfriended him too. I would hate to think that someone could use a supposed friendship with a trans woman to bolster their liberal credentials while supporting a cause that evidently contradicts that.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">There is quite a strand of anti-transerie in the poetry world. It would maybe be overly simple to describe the average poet as being slap bang in the middle of the demographic most susceptible for recruitment to that particular mindset; and there’s lots of poets who have got not time at all for that shit. But there you go, sometimes it happens.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Anyway, recently my ex-friend got in touch to ask about commissioning some work from me. I replied that we needed to clear the air over the matter of why I’d unfriended her; because if she still subscribed to those views I would find it impossible to work with her.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">She said that she quite understood, and would write soon to describe why she isn’t bigoted.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">But then she just deleted the messages, so I guess I won’t hear that explanation.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I know she isn’t bigoted, though. She told me so, after all. She’s just a nice person, with legitimate concerns. And she shares those concerns with other nice people. Just not with me.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">It’s a shame that she felt happy to share that article, but not discuss it. I could, for instance, have agreed that it was bad that JK Rowling should have received some abusive tweets. And suggested that in the great scheme of things, a millionaire with 14 million Twitter followers getting nasty tweets from a few random People On The Internet is perhaps less damaging than her words having huge weight in the culture war, and being quoted by Republican legislators trying to pass laws to have trans children removed from their parents, in the USA.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">But there’s really no point in my responding to articles like that. They represent one position. I could spend a lot of time and energy in picking through it, and pointing out the lies, distortions, and fabricated narratives, and suggesting that It Really Isn’t Like That. But my ex-friend had obviously decided that this is a position they want to take, rather than examine it critically. And that I, as a trans woman, with expert and informed knowledge of these issues, am an unreliable witness to my own experience.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">After all, I’m not a nice person with legitimate concerns. <br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">So I watch things like the institutional capture of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission by Baroness Falkner, who consults with the LGB Alliance, a group who, despite the name, are a single-issue anti-trans pressure group, such that the EHRC have begun issuing guidance which is in direct contravention of current equality law. There’s the surprisingly well-funded attacks on Stonewall. And the Keira Bell case which damaged the system of help for trans youth. And so on and on.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">It’s notable that the anti-trans activity owes far more to the far right than to anything approximating to feminism, not least because so much of it, and so much of the funding, comes from the same place.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Maybe they’ll succeed, and prevent social transition for young children, and medical assistance for older children (moving the age of that group up to 25 because why not?); and legal recognition and protection for trans adults too. And trans folk will be forced to go into hiding for self-protection, and just to survive.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">We’ll still exist though, because it isn’t a lifestyle choice, it’s what we are. And if gender non-conforming cis people get attacked too, in this newly intolerant world, because of their appearance, that’s acceptable collateral damage and serve them right for not making more of an effort. We’re all asking for it.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">At least it won’t affect nice people with legitimate concerns. As long as you dress right and keep your hair neat, you’ll be fine. At least for now.<br /><br /></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> And you only want to smilingly usher us out of the the room while you decide what’s to be done about us. It’s not as though you’re actually pushing us off the top floor, though you support those who would like to. Why can’t we be friends?</div></div></span></span></div></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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weeks or so ago, I'd joined Kit and Lesley as delivery crew of Netty,
the narrowboat home of Chris and Jinny of Skyravenwolf (if you don't know
their work, then let Google be your friend. Or click on <a href="https://skyravenwolf.bigcartel.com/" target="_blank">this link</a>). Chris is in
hospital in Stoke, and it seemed like the best thing to do to move the
boat there from their mooring in deepest Shropshire, or possibly
Montgomeryshire.<br /><br />So that's what happened. And this is the map I did of how we got there and what happened along the way.<br /><br />Several
people have expressed an interest in the first map I did before we set
off, so this is the full version. I'm selling prints of it, and 50% of
the proceeds go to Jinny and Chris.<br /><br />They cost £5 for an A4 print, and £10 for an A3 one, which is the same size as the original.<br /><br />You can find them in my<a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/DruMarland" target="_blank"> Etsy shop</a>! <div class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 oo9gr5id lrazzd5p" role="button" tabindex="0"><br /></div><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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</script>Dru Marlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-962973870402980252021-12-01T05:20:00.003+00:002021-12-01T05:21:11.984+00:00a ship in the air<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8owL_EqrfPKuwjTeIcfJfwf9pxXBjvCfLyU_AAqzAVROeCHujhW5llIxIDiYmGFQqUjo1tTUaD_9j0OAioY5bKCm0dytKUXxMHZ_Lw2IzjHawFKtCOVNg6GNT9JyXGjuCxXYwxbgu_hZ/s960/cloud+ship.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8owL_EqrfPKuwjTeIcfJfwf9pxXBjvCfLyU_AAqzAVROeCHujhW5llIxIDiYmGFQqUjo1tTUaD_9j0OAioY5bKCm0dytKUXxMHZ_Lw2IzjHawFKtCOVNg6GNT9JyXGjuCxXYwxbgu_hZ/w400-h300/cloud+ship.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />There's always something new to see in the sky if you're lucky. This appeared over Devizes the other day as I was cruising along the canal. You don't get the full 3D effect in the photo, but it was like the hull of a ship seen from underneath, cruising in turn along the sea of cirrocumulus stratiformis, or mackerel sky. <br /><br />In vaguely technical terms (thank you, Richard Hamblyn's Cloud Book) the cloud layer is composed of ice crystals and supercooled droplets. Locally, the droplets are triggered to form precipitation, which falls as streaks - 'fallstreaks' or 'virga'. Hence, the description of what you see here as fallstreak or punch hole clouds.<br /><br />But it does remind me of a boat. And particularly the one in Seamus Heaney's poem from his collection 'Seeing Things', where he talks of crediting marvels, a mission statement I could entirely go along with when I first read it, and indeed still do<br /><h3>Lightenings viii</h3>
<p>The annals say: when the monks of Clonmacnoise<br /> Were all at prayers inside the oratory<br /> A ship appeared above them in the air.</p>
<p> The anchor dragged along behind so deep<br /> It hooked itself into the altar rails<br /> And then, as the big hull rocked to a standstill,</p>
<p> A crewman shinned and grappled down the rope<br /> And struggled to release it. But in vain.<br /> ‘This man can’t bear our life here and will drown,’</p>
<p> The abbot said, ‘unless we help him.’ So<br /> They did, the freed ship sailed, and the man climbed back<br /> Out of the marvellous as he had known it.</p><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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