We met when we were 17. When we were 18 or 19 she dumped me for a few days. I wrote this then.
To read the poem click below
http://www.authspot.com/Poetry/My-High-Priestess.256599
Fingal’s Cave and the Incredible Architectural Rock Formations of Staffa
The amazing rock formations on, under and around the Hebridean Island of Staffa. Measuring only one km by half a km, this rugged, uninhabited island got its name from the Vikings. Staffa means stave or pillar.
From volcanic origins this Island, ‘discovered’ by Sir Joseph Banks in 1772 and later visited by Samuel Johnson amongst others, amazes, with its rising columns of three to six sided basalt columns.
These were formed by the cooling lava shrinking and cracking vertically. Weather and sea erosion now leave us with what appears at first glance to be man made columns.
There are several caves on the island amongst which are Clamshell Cave and Cormorant Cave.
MacKinnon’s Cave, in a list of the world’s longest sea caves (by Dave Bunnell and Bob Gulden) is shown as being the twentieth longest at 180 meters long.
But perhaps the best known of all the caves on Staffa is Fingal’s Cave.....
But perhaps the best known of all the caves on Staffa is Fingal’s Cave.....
To see all the images and read the article click below
Diary From a Greek Island
The beauty, pleasure, and fun of a Greek Island.
A 1:45am taxi pick-up, a 5am flight from Manchester Airport and a trouble free shuttle-bus got us to our hotel, in the resort of Nidri, for 11:30 am.
The room hasn’t got the premier view, but it’s clean and modernized (by island standards) and if you stand on tiptoe and crick your neck you can get a sea view. However the views of the shrubs and trees in bloom against the backdrop of the mountains are pretty impressive.
The local comedy builders have been involved in the modernisation and up to now they have forgotten to put the screws in the room’s inside door handle and the unfixed toilet seat has decided that its real calling in life is as a genital removing toboggan.
I don’t think that the hotel’s Mr Fix-it is a local because he repaired the door handle within 20 minutes of reporting it, but the seat remained a challenge for the rest of the week.
I’ve been told that the hotel doesn’t have safety deposit boxes because “it is safe” here on the island of Lefkas.
Mrs is asleep after the journey and I’m on the balcony – it’s very hot – but I’m in the shade and that is very pleasant. Perhaps I shouldn’t be eyeing up the lemons on the tree opposite and wondering if they’re ripe.
I’m restless and want to go and orientate myself with the area – perhaps I’ll accidentally cough very loudly to see if Mrs is awake.......
To view the article cick below
Mosaics: The Decor of Bygone Civilizations
For most, with the wide range of materials and colours available, home decoration consists usually of a trip to the shop for paint or wallpaper, tiles, floor boards or carpets.
In bygone times this was somewhat different and archaeologists are uncovering mosaics from all over the world. We have been left with a wonderful legacy of wall and floor art.
To see more images and read the full article click below
The Mystery of Bedlam Revealed
If you ever heard the phrase "It’s like Bedlam in here", you may wonder what the expression really meant or where it came from. Is it a mystery to you? Here's the scoop.
If you look up Bedlam, most dictionary definitions include: Bedlam: ‘(fig) uproarious assembly, pandemonium. (adj) fit for a madhouse, resembling a madhouse’. However in the 1932 ‘The New Standard Encyclopaedia and world atlas’, published by Odhams press Ltd., it gives only the following definition:
Bedlam: "Popular name for Bethlem or Bethlehem Hospital. It was founded in London in 1247 as a religious house and went on to become a home for the insane, the first one in the country, in 1403. In 1676 it was moved from Bishopsgate to Moorefield and in 1815 to Lambeth. There it remained until 1930, when new buildings were erected at Monks Orchard, Beckenham….”
No mention of ‘pandemonium’ or ‘state of wild uproar and confusion’.
So how did ‘bedlam’ come to mean uproar and confusion?
It is most probable, and widely believed that over the years there has been a verbal corruption of Bethlehem to Bethlem to Bedlam. The word was used in the 1500s by William Tyndale.....
So how did ‘bedlam’ come to mean uproar and confusion?
It is most probable, and widely believed that over the years there has been a verbal corruption of Bethlehem to Bethlem to Bedlam. The word was used in the 1500s by William Tyndale.....
To read the full article click below
http://www.socyberty.com/History/The-Mystery-of-Bedlam-Revealed.260403
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