tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post1935408932166736821..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Christmas in Cranford LacockDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-74061687316384705342014-01-07T09:30:01.632+00:002014-01-07T09:30:01.632+00:00Some authorities describe Belinda as Dido's la...Some authorities describe Belinda as Dido's lady-in-waiting; others add that she was also Dido's sister. If sister, the whole plot begins to look sinister ("Pursue thy conquest Love" etc)- for who will rule Carthage after Dido's death or departure?David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-25342490067515276952014-01-07T08:26:26.629+00:002014-01-07T08:26:26.629+00:00Well, wanderer, the programme is certainly eclecti...Well, wanderer, the programme is certainly eclectic, if a bit relentlessly trendy (wot, no room for a string quartet or a song recital?) I'd like to hear the Malian duo. Don't know Sasha Waltz's work.<br /><br />It's glum and grey and wet here, Sue - what was supposed to be the most lowering day of the year (6 Jan) certainly did (or didn't do) its stuff outside. We've been trying to set aside a few more days for walks, but were rained off on each occasion. Will keep trying on free weekends.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-69041995590651030052014-01-06T23:34:50.020+00:002014-01-06T23:34:50.020+00:00This is all so glorious. I've been feeling mor...This is all so glorious. I've been feeling more than a little glum with the bitter cold here, so it's good to see something else. Of course the extreme wet is not fun either--and your comparison to a desolate WWI battlefield is more than a little apt--but still, there is so much beauty here, not to mention a sumptuous feast.Susan Scheidhttp://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-43580526741709537932014-01-06T19:53:37.031+00:002014-01-06T19:53:37.031+00:00More on Dido here.More on Dido <a href="http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2014/Dido-Aeneas-cast-credits/" rel="nofollow">here</a>.wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08196036534397389760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-85072542067497504392014-01-06T19:49:55.020+00:002014-01-06T19:49:55.020+00:00Yes of course. Dido in the Bath. There's swimm...Yes of course. Dido in the Bath. There's swimming or the like. She sings Belinda. Airport calling. Glorious weeks of weather replaced by showers.wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08196036534397389760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-55813679094082383592014-01-06T11:11:03.952+00:002014-01-06T11:11:03.952+00:00The angel wings in: Himmel ueber Sydney. It's ...The angel wings in: Himmel ueber Sydney. It's at times like this I wish I 'did' Skype so I could see you all together. Well, what larks you'll have. Do you get to go to her concert?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-76865434949457270822014-01-06T11:01:49.716+00:002014-01-06T11:01:49.716+00:00More glories from your camera to start the year bu...More glories from your camera to start the year but I must delay the reading and take to my bed cos early in the morning Debbie wings in. More anon. Happy New Year to you both.wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08196036534397389760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-58074020898959790822014-01-05T10:20:13.971+00:002014-01-05T10:20:13.971+00:00I'll admit my attitude on fox-hunting has only...I'll admit my attitude on fox-hunting has only really shifted to 'don't care' since my far too belated activist sense was rekindled (only in the past couple of years). After all, it doesn't affect the vital need to, erm, save the planet. Violent reaction against is surely as parochial as the pastime itself.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-22810152258058541632014-01-05T09:49:05.621+00:002014-01-05T09:49:05.621+00:00The amount of animal cruelty involved in the hunt ...The amount of animal cruelty involved in the hunt ( before the change in the law) was very small - probably more cruelty exists in one abattoir than in all hunting. The moral case is that we should not take pleasure is pursuing an animal to death ( whereas when we eat the meat sent out of the abattoir we are not taking pleasure in the death itself....well, hmm, one can understand the vegetarian case) But country people have for centuries worked with nature and have a different and not necessarily incorrect moral outlook. I fully agree that there are more important things to protest against. And the RSPCA - spending vast legal fees on pursuing hunts that may have broken the law ( even the judge commented on this I think) - seems to have become unbalanced, especially for a national and "official" (royal) organisation<br /><br />"All God's chillun" is a wonderful spiritual. It points to something far more important than the social differences at Downton Abbey - the terrible prison of slavery in the American South.David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-61295647857969641882014-01-04T23:06:35.727+00:002014-01-04T23:06:35.727+00:00Complex chain of thought beautifully expressed aga...Complex chain of thought beautifully expressed again, Elizabeth. Living in the country must change perspectives - I have some left-wing friends who've been surprised at some of the unexpected alliances/friendships they've forged with 'the other side'. <br /><br />As for colours, I promise you I didn't apply saturation to those two pics (of the lichen and the leaves). Sometimes I do if the basic hues seem false to what I saw, but this already seemed a step further from reality.<br /><br />I'm assuming - maybe wrongly - that yours is the American version of church and hunt country? Does it differ, I wonder? There's such an entrenched sense of privilege in the country here, which I imagine is a bit more shaky/theatrical in the States.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-61927074095914628822014-01-04T20:31:58.124+00:002014-01-04T20:31:58.124+00:00David, your always beautiful photos! Is the color ...David, your always beautiful photos! Is the color of the lichen true? It appears other-worldly! And I suppose that your mention of frost on the field, just before the picture of blue-looking leaves, means that they aren't really blue. I would almost be ready to move there right away, if you had trees growing blue leaves!<br /><br />Pink jacket: I think you may have seen the term before, and here is why. In "Brideshead Revisited," Charles compliments Sebastian on how nice he looks in his Pink jacket. For those of us who don't hunt, the term was odd and memorable and caused us to try to find out why he called it that, if possible. That was all before Google, of course, and not as easy to research, especially over here. I am long since transplanted to hunt country, and hereabouts there is a church offering an annual blessing of the hounds. They claim also to bless the fox, though the fox probably doesn't feel so. Your last post had quite an effect on me - especially the comments exchange, which continues growing, as recently as just yesterday.<br /><br />I began by mulling over my resistance to Steinbeck (except for "Travels with Charley") but was quickly taken by David Damant's remark, and your response: "I should tell the world that you really do practise what you preach with the motto 'all God's chillun got wings'. I have seen you expostulating vehemently at behaviour, but never known you to kvetch about the person." So struck by the phrase, which I had not heard in a long time, and by the equally strong visual image it calls forth, I even had a dream about it. It really is a challenge, separating the outer behavior from the inner being. So now I can relegate the hunt to where it belongs, in your terms, "all part of the 'Downton' false nostalgia." It remains in its place in literature (thinking of "Downton," but moreover of "The Shooting Party") as the venue, even means, for important personal exchanges, where true character is revealed, and relationships are forged or altered. I am determined to continue being against the hunt, and to continue seeing the hunters in wings. -- ElizabethAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-60409869276295616332014-01-04T18:00:09.685+00:002014-01-04T18:00:09.685+00:00Together the bloggers' league can solve any qu...Together the bloggers' league can solve any question. I stuck in the 'pink' only after J had read the piece and told me the jacket wasn't called 'red'. I said, of course it's red, but I'll put 'pink' in parantheses. And then along you come to provide the answer.<br /><br />You are right. Fairly easily checked on Google, but I hadn't dreamed of doing so. An American firm selling nostalgic repros has this: <br /><br />'Why is the traditional red hunting coat called a "pink"? the name derives not from the coat's color but from the name of the late 18th century London tailor who specialized in sewing the popular field coat. The coats made by Thomas Pink were of rain resistant scarlet cloth, tightly woven and durable enough to be immune to thorns and branches` on the chase. A Pink hunting coat was a mark of distinction in the 18th century, implying the wearer was a person of affluence and taste, and today the coat carries much of the same cachet.'<br /><br />So there. The redcoats want to show they are the masters still. The beaters remain apart at table. Class distinctions are still alive in the good old English tradition, reminding those of us who milled around that we'd have been slaving for some of those on horseback a century ago. All part of the 'Downton' false nostalgia.<br /><br />But on a cheerier note, I reciprocate your wishes to your retired diplo-mate and, of course, the (non-hunting) hounds from hell.<br /><br />Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-79407044332432675732014-01-04T15:11:52.861+00:002014-01-04T15:11:52.861+00:00As always your words and pictures captured the moo...As always your words and pictures captured the mood and occasions perfectly. Such glorious countryside so gloriously caught.<br /><br />I had heard that the term Hunting Pinks is used because the preferred tailor of hunting jackets was Thomas Pink on Jermyn St. True or urban legend put forth by their marketing department?<br /><br />Wish you and the dipolomate all happiness, good health - especially good heath - and if possible a bit of wealth in 2014.<br /><br /> Willymhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652532356102638621noreply@blogger.com