Come To My Sun–land!

 

 

    Do the first, second, and third words or lines of poems and books capture your imagination when you first read them? 

    Yes, it is a rhetorical question, I know. For many of us, that's why we keep reading an author’s work. It reminds us of something we've already experienced or want to add to our bucket lists.

    Today, I've included an excerpt from a poem written by Joaquin Miller, which reminds me of the  sights I've seen on my trips around Tenerife.

    I've also included a collage of some of the pictures I've taken along the way. Hoping that if you haven’t already visited the island, you will definitely want to add it to your travel bucket list.

Come to my sun-land! Come with me,

To the land I love; Where the sun and sea

Are wed forever; where the palm and the pine

Are filled with singers; where tree and vine

Are voiced with prophets! O come, and you

Shall sing a song with the seas that swirl

And kiss their hands to that cold white girl,

To the maiden moon in her mantle of blue.

The Arizonian by Joaquin Miller

The Bells Are Ringing

 

     All over Puerto De La Cruz, the name of Tomas De Iriarte is celebrated, with a street, a school and a library bearing his name. Born in the city in 1750 the poet was educated in Madrid under the supervision of his uncle Juan De Iriarte, who was librarian for the King of Spain.

    Every time I visit the city, I can't help but take photos of the cathedral and churches of the city and surrounding areas. Since it's the time of year when church bells ring out regularly, I've included a fable by the poet and some of my photos.

   

The Cathedral Bell and The Little Bell

In a certain cathedral a huge bell there hung,

But only on solemn occasions was rung;

It's echoes majestic, by strokes three or four,

Now and then, in grave cadence, were heard never more,

For the stately reserve and its wonderful weight,

Throughout the whole parish, its glory was great.

In the district the city held under its sway,

Of a few wretched rustics, a hamlet there lay;

And a poor little church, with a belfry so small,

That you hardly would call it a belfry at all,

There a little cracked cowbell, that in it was swinging,

For the poor little neighbor who did all the ringing.

Now that this little belfry might ape in renown,

The cathedral's huge tower, that loomed up up over the town;

That briefly and seldom on festivals noted,

The safe little bell should be rung it was voted,

By this cunning device, and their rustical eyes,

It's tinkle soon past for a bell of great size.

 

A fable by Tomas de Iriarte

#NoExcuse

    

    International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women was marked on the 25th of November all over the world.  

    Violence against women and girls continues to be a problem in our world, and the UN wants us to join together to show that we do care. We are asked to remind our worldwide governments that there is no place for violence in our societies in any way we can.

    The UNiTE campaign, incorporating this violation of human rights commenced on the same day and will last for 16 days, their slogan this year is #NoExcuse.

    Today I've included a poem By Lord Byron from the early 19th century. I've included this because I want to celebrate women for their beauty inside and out. Women deserve to be respected for who they are and there is #NoExcuse.

 

She Walks in Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more,  one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens over her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and over that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days and goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent!

George Gordon Byron 1814

    

Water, Water, Every where!!

 

 

Santa Cruz

 

    The  world we live in as we know is made up of land and vast areas of water. Unfortunately, the water we’re surrounded by is not always easily available or, drinkable.

    Through the ages, man has continued to pursue different ways to provide us all with this vital drink for life.

    Our supply in Tenerife comes from the island's own water resources and desalination plants. Whilst the water is  not harmful to drink, I can't say it is very pleasant to taste. There is a high mineral content because much of of it is desalinated sea water and therefore like most of the population I choose to buy bottled water.

Dripstone

 

   There are still various reminders dotted around the island in the towns and cities of how the population accessed and cleaned their water. I've included some photos of a dripstone used for purification in times gone by and some of the public wells that are still dotted around.

 

Puerto de la Cruz

   I hope and pray that one day everyone will be able to turn on a tap and obtain clean drinking and cooking water throughout the world.

 

Water, water, everywhere,

And all the boards did shrink,

Water, water, everywhere,

Nor any drop to drink.

 

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner  by Simon Taylor Coleridge .

Hunter’s Moon

 

In the distance what can the father and son hear?

They hope it is the grunt or snort of a deer.

Without the last of the season’s hunt, there will be no food.

For the boy’s siblings, and the rest of the man’s hungry brood.

 

The vegetation is now laid bare.

Through the darkness the two can with little hindrance stare.

 

The passing clouds  cause the night shadows to deceive.

The snap of a twig, the hoot of an owl, the eager hunters could easily misconceive.

The moon rises high.

The clouds disperse from the sky.

 

The prize of the night, is now visible and in their sight.

Thankfully this winter, the family's table can be laid with both bowl and spoon.

Thanks to nature and the Hunter’s moon.

 

 By Christina Rowell

 

 

Pictures of exhibits in National Museum Edinburgh, photographed by Christina Rowell

Heebie–Jeebies

     

    It will soon be Halloween, and depending on how fertile the imagination of an individual kid is, it can be a scary time.

    As a child, I loved reading scary books and poems at this time of year. My imagination ran amok, and of course, it still does.

   Books by Lewis Carrol gave me the heebie-jeebies, following Alice as she tried to decide what path to take in her life, amongst other things. 

    In reality, navigating from childhood to adulthood can be tricky and frightening occasionally with Carrol portraying the darker-side perfectly. 

    I enjoyed his nonsensical poem, Jabberwocky and being someone who loves anything about good versus evil, especially if the protagonist is slaying mythical creatures, it’s perfect.

    Extract: Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

   One, two! One, two! And through and through

The vorpel blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, the beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”

He chortled in his joy.

Alice in Wonderland books by Lewis Carroll

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground

Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There

(Sorry, I didn’t have any pics of the Jabberwocky) he was a little camera shy!!

Prickly Heat

 

    The weather here in Tenerife has been on the hot side the last few weeks, today for example nearer forty than thirty degrees Celsius. Trying to keep the plants on my terrace alive has been near impossible as the heat has been relentless.

    It’s not a huge area by any manner of means, but it is nice to surround yourself with a little greenery. So, the other day we traveled 7 kilometers to our nearest garden center.

    To be honest the center itself isn’t so different from the ones there are in the UK. Lots of accessories for around the home as you enter. Including rugs, throws, mirrors and terrace furniture. Not forgetting seasonal items, Halloween and Christmas are the stars of the show at present.

    Leaving the homeware behind you enter a vast area filled with all kinds of plant life. The air is humid and very warm, some of the plants and trees have shade others just love to soak up the sun.

    After walking around for a good hour or so, I still didn’t make my mind up. However, I have decided that cacti and other succulent plants are best for my outside space. 

    Until we head back to the garden center I’ll just have to make do with the local park and other beautiful areas that are in my community.

   

Hope In The Heart

 

 

 They cram together sometimes one hundred or more,

In search of another shore.

They have said their farewells,

And risk the ocean’s perilous  swells.

A mixture of races including African and Asian,

Longing for a safe haven.

Seeking shelter from dangers and distress,

With a heartfelt hope of protection and even success.

It’s All In The Way We Say It

     

 

     Language is complicated, many words have multiple meanings and of course, some words are different but sound the same (homophones).  

     Everything can change when we use an incorrect term in a sentence. That one wrong pronunciation can change a simple turn of phrase into something vulgar or uncouth. 

    This I have learned to my detriment when speaking Spanish. I’ve asked all sorts of strange questions over the years, some have been answered politely, others have received a quizzical look.

    On Saturday night my partner and I went out to eat, my bulging waistline is a testament to that. The restaurant was busy and we were seated close to the next table, where two English ladies in their senior years were seated. They had finished their meal and were in the process of getting their bill. 

    When the waiter arrived with the itemized check, one of the ladies looked it over and questioned an item. The waiter who spoke perfect English answered clearly and with precision. However, the lady didn’t quite understand and after some discussion, both became a little frustrated. Wanting to put her at ease he asked her if she would like him to copulate it again. At this point, my ears pricked up. 

    Initially, I thought I had misheard, but after he repeated the sentence 3 or 4 times over, I realized I hadn’t. Of course, he had meant to use the word calculate. Yes, a slight faux pas on his behalf. I'm ashamed to say I did chuckle at the time and I still am.  

    Do you think after a few gin and tonics, the word may become a homophone?

    Cheers folks have a great week!

 

Seeing Nature's Gold

     

 

    OMG, where has the year gone? It’s Autumn already. The colors of the flora and fauna don’t change a lot here in the south of Tenerife as the seasons change. That's because our climate doesn’t fluctuate as much as it does in other parts of the world. However, when the sun disappears early in the day we know Autumn has arrived.

    While I was never a lover of the plummeting temperatures and rainy days in Scotland, I miss the changes in the color of the flora when Autumn arrives.

     I've included some photographs from Scotland that capture those Autumn moments and a short poem by, American poet, Robert Frost. 

     I would also like to thank the loyal readers of my blog which is celebrating its eleventh year this month. THANK YOU.

     Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour,

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Robert Lee Frost 1874-1963

   

Saving our World

   

   
In the last few years, the world has suffered many major ecological disturbances. Here in Tenerife for example this year we have experienced the worst forest fires in 40 years. 

    In 2021 the lives of our neighbors on the island of La Palma were turned upside down when the volcano, Cumbre Vieja erupted. It had been nearly 50 years since another one of the island’s volcanoes, Teneguía had spewed lava over the islanders and this new eruption came as a surprise to the islanders. It was known Cumbre Vieja was active as the old ridge groaned and moaned regularly, similar to my old spine. However, it never was imagined that these threats of eruption would come to fruition.

    Many of you reading this may have experienced a natural ecological disturbance first-hand in the forms I have mentioned above, or caused by ocean currents, and in the Earth’s  orbital changes.

 

    Then again we also now know that many disturbances are brought about by us humans ourselves. Whether, through industrial development, deforestation, and pollution we now know that certain actions are destroying the atmosphere around us.

    Today September 16 is International Day For the Preservation of the Ozone Layer the theme this year is, fixing the ozone layer and reducing climate change.

     

   I want to finish today with an extract from the poem, There Will Come Soft Rains by, Sara Teasdale. She wrote this poem with the Great War in mind but I believe her words are pertinent today.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,  

If mankind perished utterly;

 

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn  

Would scarcely know that we were gone. 

   

   

Little Treasures

 

 

    Here in the Canary Islands, potatoes play a huge part of the everyday diet. Due to high tourism and local love for these little treasures, the island’s locally produced supply can’t keep up with the demand. 

     Therefore, 80-90% of this versatile vegetable, the King Edward variety to be exact, is supplied from Kent, England. Unfortunately, imports have had to be suspended because of a plague of the Colorado beetle having been found recently. 

     Meaning, that to a nation of spud lovers there is now a shortage, caused by a potato rush. Of course, these greedy profiteers have been buying in bulk, which has now led to supermarkets and wholesalers limiting purchases.

     Hopefully, new trade deals will be made and new imports will begin soon, but this quote from Louisa May Alcott says it all, ‘Money is the root of all evil, and yet it is such a useful root that we cannot get on without it any more than we can without potatoes.’

 

 

 

    

Magical Moments

  

    When I lived in Scotland, for many years I worked in Edinburgh. For me, it was anything from a twenty to fifty-minute commute each way by train, to earn my daily bread. By car, hmm, how long is a piece of string?

     Yes, it could be quite a drudge to get to and from work. However, in the months of August and September each year, the daily trip never seemed so bad. That was because, the Edinburgh Festival which attracts huge crowds to the city, enlivened the streets and I found being there exhilarating.

 

     The city has celebrated this International Festival since 1947 and draws in excess of 4 million visitors to the city each year. There is something for everyone there, whether you’re interested in films, books, art, culture, or just want to tap your toes to the sounds of an army pipe band at the Tattoo, it’s the place to be.

    

No, I can’t be there this year but I can trawl through some old photographs to relive the magical moments.

Hemingway’s Way With Words

 

 

    I’m a lover of Hemingway’s work, and, A Farewell to Arms, plays a part of the story in my book, No Kissing Required. This poem of his I’m featuring today, I find kind of sexy. The man most definitely had a way with words. 

 

Oily Weather

The sea desires deep hulls,

It swells and rolls.

The screw churns a throb,

Driving throbbing progressing.

The sea rolls with love,

Surging, caressing.

Undulating its great loving belly,

The sea is big and old.

Throbbing ships scorn it.

Ernest Hemingway  (Stories and Ten Poems, 1923)

 

Pied Beauty, a Poets Thanks

     

      I love colors, the brighter they are the better. Anything that has bold color combinations, from lipsticks to clothes. I can't walk by without admiring.

    These  all of course depend on a little human intervention. However, I adore the nature that surrounds us. It's ever giving contrast of colors, in the way of wildlife, our skies and seas. They all give us variants of color that change without notice, in a blink of an eye.

    I found a sonnet by the poet, Gerard Manly Hopkins, which I want to share with you today on the anniversary of his birth.

    He is believed to be thanking and praising God for the creation of the world Gerard lived in. Whatever any one of us believes in, is up to us as individual humans. But, it is nice if we can stop to admire the beauty and be thankful for what is around us, in any which way we can and if we can. 

    Today I'm writing about the beauty I have experienced and I'm featuring some photos, in my way of thanks.

    Have a great weekend people.

Pied Beauty

Glory be to God for dappled things

For skied of couple color as a brinded cow

For rose-moles all the stipple upon trout that swim

Fresh-fire coal chestnut-fall, finches' wings

Landscape plotted and pierced, fold, fallow and plough

And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow, sweet, sour, adazzle, dim

Her father's-forth whose beauty is past change

Praise him.

                              Gerard Manley Hopkins 

                              (28 July 1844-8 June 1889)

A Queen's Poetic Retreat

    

   July 24th 1567, following a year of imprisonment in Loch Leven Castle in Perth and Kinross, Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate. 

    Her time as queen was tumultuous, and she escaped from the reality and skullduggery that surrounded her by writing poetry.

     Today I've included a short sonnet of hers, believed to have been written about the Earl of Bothwell to whom she later married. A marriage that would throw her life into further turmoil.  

    Please enjoy and thanks for visiting my blog today.  

Lord, grant your mercy unto me:

Teach me some way that he may know

My love for him is not an empty show

But purest tenderness an constancy

For does he not, alas, ev'n now possess

This body and this heart which would not flee

Discord, dishonour, nor uncertainty,

Nor family hurt, nor evil's worst distress.

For his sake, I value all my friends as dust

And in my enemies I seek to place my trust,

For him, my concience and good name to chance I've cast;

I would renounce the worls, were it his whim:

I'd gladly die if it should profit him,

What more is there to prove my love steadfast.

Mary Queen of Scots (8 December 1542-8 Feburary 1587)

Giant Leap for Mankind

      

   

 

       OMG, where do the years go? Fifty-four years ago, Apollo 11 landed on the moon. I can remember watching, Neil Armstrong taking one step for man and one giant leap for mankind. (Yes, I am that old, and remember a lady never discloses her age.)

 

   My mother and I watched the scratchy black-and-white transmission of this historical moment. Yes, I know that many believe that it never happened. However, this gal believes it did, and I wanted today to relive that short time I felt was special in my life. 

 

    Another historical event that happened on that date was that UK TV transmitted all night. This was also a momentous moment for the UK. 

 

   While I give some further thought to that day, I've included a poem by US poet, Emily Dickinson called, The Moon. Hoping you enjoy.

The moon was but a chin of gold

A night or two ago,

And now she turns her perfect face

Upon the world below.

 

Her forehead is of amplest blonde;

Her cheek like beryl stone;

Her eye unto the summer dew

The likest I have known. 

 

Her lips of amber never part;

But what must be the smile

Upon her friend she could bestow

Were such her silver will!

And what a privilege to be

But the remotest star!

For certainly her way might pass

Beside your twinkling door.

Her bonnet is the firmament,

The universe her shoe, 

The stars the trinkets at her belt,

Her dimities of blue.

 Emily Dickinson 1830-1886

Taking Time to Commemorate

 

    I have been a great admirer of the author, Ernest Hemingway, since high school and since my early teens I have read the book, For Whom the Bell Tolls, numerous times.

   Like many great authors of that time, Hemingway took part in the Spanish civil war, spreading propaganda for the Republican cause, aided by the Russian army.

  He was not the only author who joined the fight against the Nationalist army, led by Fransisco Franco Bahamonde. UK writer, W.H. Auden and U.S. writer, Malcolm Cowley were amongst the many who took to arms. 

   While I haven't read much of their work, I have read, Homage to Catalonia, by the British Indian author, George Orwell. Orwell's book is an account of his service in the Republican Army. Like the Hemingway book, it is a timeless read, considering the war started eighty–seven years ago. Similar to the Hemingway book it was also censored by the Franco regime.

    The Canary Islands, and the island of Tenerife in particular play a part in this piece of history, that many Spaniards wish to forget. General Franco met here on the island with his other conspirators to plan the uprising against the democratically elected government. With the help of, Nazi Germany, Franco took the lead and the Spanish Civil War commenced, on 18 July 1936. His dictatorship did not end until his death, on 20 November 1975.

     Today is not a day to celebrate, but a day to commemorate the fallen on both sides of the fight.