Month: December 2018

Full Circle: Fragments of home

From Sue. Part two of the Penrith weekend The Silent Eye Penrith is a lovely old market town with narrow alleys and some wonderful old buildings. Sadly, we would not have time to do the place justice over the weekend, but at least we had a glimpse as we walked to our next site, the Parish Church of St Andrew. The church itself is … Read More Full Circle: Fragments of home

Full Circle: Finding the way home?

Sue’s definitive introduction to the recent Penrith weekend… The Silent Eye In spite of the rainbow that had greeted our arrival in Cumbria, the skies looked none too promising as we gathered beneath the shelter of the park gate in Penrith. The chill winds of December had brought showers, but at least, for the first afternoon, there would be a little cover. We could … Read More Full Circle: Finding the way home?

The Modern Mysteries

The ‘mysteries’ have been with mankind as long as we have existed. They are a collection of paths that take us inwards; restoring a sense of self deeper than that which reacts, and showing us that mankind is much more than a biological animal – though animals, and their focus on the ‘now’ have much to teach us, too. The reason these paths work … Read More The Modern Mysteries

Hands of the Future

It was cold, very cold on that Friday… just five days ago. Across the road, people were trickling out of the railway station and along the busy main road through Penrith. Three hours from now it would fill with commuters both leaving and arriving in the Cumbrian town on the main west-coast line to Glasgow. But not yet… “Full Circle: Finding the Way Home’ … Read More Hands of the Future

Dear Don: Little John…

From Stu and Sue

Whispers of Babylon

It is unlike anything you’ve seen before. If you were raised, like I was, on sci-fi, you’ll recognise the soaring structures that look like other-worldly trees; whose job is to be a framework for a vast array of green life embedded in the vertical lattices. Those paintings were by Christopher Fosse, whose futuristic artwork graced the covers of many of the sci-fi novels of … Read More Whispers of Babylon

Antipodean Fragments: Harry’s Cafe de Wheels

In the old black and white photo, the colonel is eating… a pie. He’s more associated with Kentucky’s fried chicken, but here it’s a pie. It was taken a long time ago (1972) and the iconic fried chicken man is clearly enjoying himself doing something different. The Colonel’s faded picture is mounted on the silver walls of an amazing creation in front of us … Read More Antipodean Fragments: Harry’s Cafe de Wheels

The love of Winter trees

Returning home after a long trip, I am always taken by the sheer ‘energy’ in a British landscape. It may be adversarial with cold and rain, but it shakes the soul into a different kind of wakefulness. The leaf-stripped trees are the most potent symbol of this for me. There, framed in total contrast, are living symbols of growth, of organic process, of four … Read More The love of Winter trees

Surrender: The Great Mother Speaks

From Jan