Tag: Dorset
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The Journey’s End 3: Inside Wimborne Minster-The Man In The Wall & The Chained Library
[Wimborne Minster. The Church of St Cuthburga. Wimborne, Dorset. Photo is mine.] The day we find the perfect church, it becomes imperfect the moment we join it. ~~Anon Where heaves the turf in many a mould’ring heap, Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. ~~Thomas Gray Elegy…
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The Journey’s End 1: Winchester Cathedral
[In the nave of Winchester Cathedral. A man stands at a mirror, allowing the viewer to study and admire the vaulting of the ceiling without cracking a vertebra in one’s upper neck. Photo is mine.] Winchester Cathedral You’re bringing me down You stood and you watched as My baby left town. ~~New Vaudeville Band It…
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Judge Wyndham’s Oak
[The Celtic Tree of Life. Source: Google search. CelticArtStudio.] Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening earth. ~~Tagore A few days ago, my friend, Tim, asked me if he had ever taken me to see Judge Wyndham’s Oak. I said that I have no recollection of such a visit. He said,…
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Aethelgifu, The Teenage Abbess: A Peak Inside The Walls Of The Shaftesbury Abbey
[Gold Hill, Shafesbury] Silence isn’t empty, it’s full of answers. It was a chilly day, this fourth day of October. Chilly and windy. Mariam and I had just had a very enjoyable lunch with a former student of mine, Sally, and her husband, Matthew. Sally was in my Geography class when I had the joy…
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It’s The End, But It’s Far From Over
I wish, I wish, I wish in vain I wish, I wish I was a youth again But a youth again I can never be Till apples grow on an ivy tree. ~~”Love Is Pleasing” The Dubliners [The Bridge of Sighs, Venice. Photo is mine] I didn’t think I could do it. I worried that…
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A Field Guide To English Hand Signals Whilst Encountering Oncoming Vehicles On Country Lanes
[A typical country lane in Dorset, England. Note the lay-by on the right. Photo is mine] THE ROADWAYS OF ENGLAND The very first thing you need to know about British driving is that they drive on the left side of the road.! This knowledge can help to keep a casual road trip through Devonshire from…
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Seeing Sally Again
[Sally and me at The White Hart Inn, Wimborne, Dorset. Date: June 7, 2023. Photo is mine] This afternoon, Sally took time out of her life to make the trip to Wimborne and meet with me and Mariam. We talked of that year (Mostly I talked). And I finally had a chance to thank her…
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Don’t Be Fooled By Trompe-l’oeil
[Illustration source: Google search. Artist Erik Johansson.] Why did Van Gogh become a painter? –Because he didn’t have ear for music. ~~ Whenever my artistic girlfriend is sad, I let her draw on my body… –I gave her a shoulder to crayon. ~~ I used to do fine arts, until I decided I didn’t like…
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Dorset of My Dreams
“Oh, to be in England…” –Robert Browning It all started on a late winter morning of 1984. I was walking to my office at King & Low-Heywood Thomas School (KLHT) in Stamford, Connecticut. Walking with me was a teacher/administrator. She was going through her teacher-mail regarding microscope sales and Petri dish discounts. She held on…
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Dan & Daughter At Rest
My father is hidden behind everything I am. –Adrienne Egan “Danny Boy” (From a high school essay) I have long dreaded what was about to take place. As I approached the shore of Long Pond, the memories began to weigh heavy on my heart. How often had I stood in the sand since the early…