https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-dRf7Zxf8Q We write to taste life twice...in the moment and in retrospection. Those few moments of communion with the world are worth the pain. Writing is worth it for others. It's an inheritance for others. A gift to others in the end. One has to create a world in which to live. I could not…
Tulip Fever is one of the most captivating historical fiction reads I have had the pleasure of enjoying in recent years. Tulip Fever takes place in Amsterdam in the 1630's during a time of immense wealth that is brought into the country by merchants and tulip sellers. If you enjoyed that other iconic historical novel…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
Apricity was a term originally coined by English lexicographer Henry Cockeram to denote the "the warmeness of the Sunne in Winter". This photo I took during a particularly chilling end of autumn day in Japan in Ginkaku-ji Temple, Kyoto. Note how the sun falls in cascades of enveloping warmth onto the golden tinged leaves. Apricity…
*No spoilers Recently translated into English from German, The Pine Islands tells the story of Gilbert Silvester, a stuffy middle-aged lecturer in Germany. His area of academic specialisation is beard fashions in film. One day he finds out his wife is cheating on him (or so he believes, we never discover the truth). So he…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann
1. Olan Ventura's surreal splashes of colour in Still Life With Golden Goblet Here is a quirky kaleidoscope of things that inspired me this week, I hope you enjoy them. Let me know if you have any things of your own to share...Much love Olan Ventura, Still Life With Golden Goblet, 2019, acrylic on canvas,…
Continue reading ➞ 10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet this Week #9
Wherever you are, whatever stresses you are feeling, just remember the free and beautiful moments and memories from your world, relish and collect them and hold them close to you. They will sustain your heart when it feels fragile and sustain your soul when you are riven with fear. You have oceans of love inside…
Continue reading ➞ Hold the shell of your consciousness to your ear
Kate Atkinson achieved great fame for her book Life After Life. This is one of her earlier and lesser known collections of short stories. I have to admit I never got into Life After Life, so I was a bit dubious about whether or not I would like this one. However, I was absolutely transfixed…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson
Here are some randomisities both old and new that I found this week and wanted to share with you. Take 1 or two with a cup of tea and a few buttered scones and have a good lie down if you want to have a break from the world for a while. 1. In the…
Continue reading ➞ 10 Uplifting Things I Found on the Internet This Week #8
According to the Romans, every sound and motion the bird made had a different meaning according to different circumstances, times of the year and other factors.
Detail of ‘Smell’ c1500, from The lady and the unicorn series. wool and silk, 368 x 322 cm. Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris Photo © RMN-GP / M Urtado Mark De Vitis, University of Sydney The arrival of The Lady and the Unicorn tapestry cycle at the Art Gallery of…
Continue reading ➞ The symbolism of The Lady and the Unicorn tapestry cycle
Today is the longest night and the shortest day in one of the most southerly capital cities in the world. There rain and hail is incessant and the amber glow of my salt lamp guides my thoughts towards reflecting on life, love, and the progress of time. Yule is a time to give thanks and…
Art Historian Jake Hartnell takes us on a macabre and enthralling journey from head to toe in the medieval human body. This is fascinating because, even though we share the same bodies as our medieval ancestors, we had wildly diverging beliefs about the inherent symbolic power of parts of our bodies and what could heal,…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Medieval Bodies Life and Death in the Middle Ages by Jake Hartnell
Book Review: Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl Roald Dahl may be the writer of gross-out and macabre tales for children but he also wrote darker, more delightfully grotesque and adult short stories such as this collection Kiss Kiss, along with his other adult short story collection Tales of the Unexpected. Written in 1960 – there…
Sometimes you want to be right there at the edge of an icy cliff staring death right in the face. But not really, just in your imagination. Here are some poetic, beautifully written and profound adventure and survival stories that will take you to dangerous places, without having to leave your sofa. To the Bright…
Continue reading ➞ Six Exciting Frontier Novels Set at the Extreme Edges of Civilisation
This is an incredible book. Written by Desmond Morris who is a prominent Zoologist and well-known for his book The Naked Ape. It's possibly less widely known that Morris was himself a surrealist and knew many of the prominent surrealists in the art movement. I have to admit not knowing much about Surrealism prior to…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Lives of the Surrealists by Desmond Morris
1. Moons of Nirn: A 90 minute atmospheric ambient mix An epic and transporting mix of emotional ambient music, along with stunning footage of the Aurora Borealis. This makes for an awe-inspiring background soundtrack to the rest of my top ten. https://youtu.be/U9Phu1vCUVE 2. Wycrow: Finding Stillness Inspiring fellow blogger Wycrow talks about how to find…
Continue reading ➞ 10 Uplifting things I found on the internet this week #7
The Book of Symbols is a masterpiece of art history, philosophy, mysticism, psychology, anthropology, biology and spirituality. It brings together the history of various symbols, concepts and objects from many cultures and civilisations.
*This is not a paid promotion – I’m just a fan of this brand. I found this non-descript, non-advertised, old-fashioned brand of organic skincare at an annual street festival in Wellington called Newtown Festival, where the friendly owner/creator was selling her wares. Kereru's market stall I tried Kereru's skincare without expecting much and was completely…
An epic story of a mining family at the beginning of the 20th Century by Scottish national treasure William McIlvanney. The Dochertys live in the fictional town of Graithnock in Ayrshire, Scotland. The clan are headed by Tam, a hard man but a good hearted one who lifts up his son on the day he…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Docherty by William McIlvanney
1. A book diorama of Georgian Dublin 2. Bunraku's atmospheric and chilled mix of ambient tracks inspired by different parts of Tokyo https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXYvr4JfdB5wNi2fBnotikIu3wXMxwDcg 3. The world's smallest and deadliest cat https://twitter.com/wonderofscience/status/1185331394332880896?s=20 4. Tree trunk landscape art by Alison Moritsugu https://twitter.com/ivanik_oksana/status/1261668587384823810 5. A recipe for salted caramel matcha latte by Cooking with a Wallflower https://cookingwithawallflower.com/2020/05/20/salted-caramel-matcha-latte/ 6.…
Continue reading ➞ 10 Uplifting things I found on the internet this week #6
