tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post6601778855703244404..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Estonia's first spring flowerDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-28345982214015153052017-04-21T22:15:58.057+01:002017-04-21T22:15:58.057+01:00I didn't respond earlier, as it was hard to kn...I didn't respond earlier, as it was hard to know what to say, and, anyway, I preferred simply to savor the flowers! But just to say, it was not so much any particular news as frustration at how hard it is for people, even of good will, to grasp the magnitude of this and come together in a constructive way. Some days seem more hopeful; others seem Sisyphean. Now, we are actually off to a protest, as our horrid Congressman, who has refused to hold even one town hall, is gathering not far from us with a bunch of right-wing bigwig donors. We've got home-made signs made up and all.Susanhttps://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-9627838199418378222017-04-15T15:52:46.312+01:002017-04-15T15:52:46.312+01:00A rose by any other name would smell as sweetA rose by any other name would smell as sweetDavid Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-22817278515412661942017-04-15T12:30:38.924+01:002017-04-15T12:30:38.924+01:00Your flower meadows are amazing. Is a lawn with co...Your flower meadows are amazing. Is a lawn with cowslips so bad? Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-56439659689969352652017-04-15T12:29:53.978+01:002017-04-15T12:29:53.978+01:00What a horrid name for a lovely flower! Beautiful....What a horrid name for a lovely flower! Beautiful. Here, the primroses are amazing. Every year more and more. And now cowslips – which I grew, painstakingly from seed, are seeding themselves into the lawn en masse. Am contemplating what to do: move them? Change lawn?Deborah van der Beeknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-53775161706370268542017-04-15T11:51:46.862+01:002017-04-15T11:51:46.862+01:00Absolutely right on all counts - though I am optim...Absolutely right on all counts - though I am optimistic; they've seen how getting rid of red tape has allowed the economy to flourish. It depends on successive governments, of course. But for the time being I see Estonia as the Utopia of the European project.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-35647765070253041452017-04-15T11:48:38.216+01:002017-04-15T11:48:38.216+01:00I went to the Baltic States, including Tallinn, fo...I went to the Baltic States, including Tallinn, for some years after the collapse of communism, and there was an air of release - rather as if they got up every morning and suddenly thought - "We're free !". Perhaps they did. This freshness will probably be affected by the failings of human nature as bourgeois influences grow ( and I appreciate that music is some protection against that.) Also the tensions that arise naturally in societies are less in small societies - more like city states. David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-17499375108498191122017-04-15T09:14:39.184+01:002017-04-15T09:14:39.184+01:00Will, thank you too for such kind words. Always a ...Will, thank you too for such kind words. Always a support in the strange e-world. The Church of the Holy Spirit has the most beautiful interior of the Tallinn churches, no doubt - lots of tourists stand and gape at the lovely clock outside, but few go in. This year's trip to Estonian Music Days started with a concert in St Nicholas Church - the Niguliste Museum, chokka with altarpieces and religious art as well as the famous panels of Notke's Dance of Death; by serendipity I hadn't been able to get in before, so to launch my time with a top notch concert in there was bliss.<br /><br />David - flowers! But while I think no diplomacy is going to work with a leader as lying, deceitful and hostile to the good running of other countries as Putin, I agree that megaphoning, and megabombing, is only going to make things worse. And when it's done by a #fakepresident as erratic and capricious as Trump, WW3 could indeed be on the cards. International diplomacy has essentially collapsed.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-21980996846136149612017-04-15T07:59:42.277+01:002017-04-15T07:59:42.277+01:00Remember that the media report only the bad and d...Remember that the media report only the bad and dramatic news !! .......As regards Syria, I can only wish for a return to secret diplomacy - private approaches to Putin ( by the G7 as well as Trump) might have achieved something, especially as Trump had made favourable mentions of Russia earlier, but doing everything through a megaphone only makes things worse.David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-35304199275917788612017-04-15T01:48:34.814+01:002017-04-15T01:48:34.814+01:00Thank you dear heart for reminding me that there i...Thank you dear heart for reminding me that there is beauty in the world. Sadly only spent a day in Tallinn and strangely I was looking at some photos today of the Church of the Holy Spirit that I took on our all too brief visit there. <br /><br />You do know that you are an exception photo journalist don't you? Willymhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652532356102638621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-14992182552153879262017-04-14T19:05:47.187+01:002017-04-14T19:05:47.187+01:00Hoping this isn't an especially bad morning fo...Hoping this isn't an especially bad morning for you. Every day brings some new horror, so you may be referring to the big bomb which blew the equivalent of a huge budget. Must admit that I hadn't seen any news for over 24 hours when after the lovely day judging Orkestival I looked, and couldn't believe my eyes. Above all because nothing (Trump and Syria, the poor man battered about and pulled off the plane, various Brexit nonsense) made any sense. <br /><br />Happy walking! We may or may not get to Norfolk, but at any rate we have to do a big ramble tomorrow or Sunday. Just back from an extraordinary Good Friday liturgy at Westminster Abbey (plainsong, Victoria, Lotti, Bruckner, Lutheran and Anglican hymns plus some weird 'Veneration of the Cross' which I just don't get - nor does J, despite his Catholic upbringing).Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-81838316111201997482017-04-14T15:59:46.198+01:002017-04-14T15:59:46.198+01:00I'm particularly grateful this morning for the...I'm particularly grateful this morning for these many reminders of the beauty that still exists in the world. Our daffodils are out, a happy sign, and we are about to go for a walk on the Rail Trail.Susanhttps://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com