'Sick' by Shel Silverstein

Shel Siverstein was famous for writing songs which tend to have unusual and humourous lyrics. He is best known for the songs he wrote for Dr Hook and The Medicine Show, such as Sylvia's Mother and The Cover of Rolling Stone. He also wrote The Ballad of Lucy Jordan. However it is less well known that he wrote children's poetry and this is a lovely example.
All the song titles link to You Tube for your listening pleasure!

'Sick' by Shel Silverstein (1930-1999)

"I cannot go to school today,"

Said little Peggy Ann McKay,

"I have the measles and the mumps,

A gash, a rash, and purple bumps.

My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,

I'm going blind in my right eye.

My tonsils are as big as rocks,

I've counted sixteen chicken pox

And there's one more--that's seventeen,

And don't you think my face looks green?

My leg is cut, my eyes are blue--

It might be instamatic flu.

I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,

I'm sure that my left leg is broke--

My hip hurts when I move my chin,

My belly button's caving in,

My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,

My 'pendix pains each time it rains.

My nose is cold, my toes are numb,

I have a sliver in my thumb.

My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,

I hardly whisper when I speak.

My tongue is filling up my mouth,

I think my hair is falling out.

My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,

My temperature is one-o-eight.

My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,

There is a hole inside my ear.

I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?

What's that? What's that you say?

You say today is---Saturday?

G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

Painting of the Month (19) July 2011: Frans Hals

www.backtoclassics.com

This is, of course, a very famous painting. Frans Hals painted it in 1624 and but the Title 'The Laughing Cavalier" is a Victorian invention. The man is actually smiling enigmatically and is no more laughing tha the Mona Lisa. Both paintings have in common that the eyes seem to follow you around the room. The painting is in the Wallace Collection in Manchester Square, London. It's a free museum (like all public museums in Britain) and I often pop in if I'm shopping in the West End because, believe me, this one of those pictures that will always make you feel good; you can't help smiling back at him.

Look at that wonderful expression. Doesn't he just love himself and he invites the viewer to do the same! The treatment of the lace and his clothing is superb. The suprise is that the 'detail' of his clothing appears the be quite loose impressionistic brush strokes on close impression.

Cockney Rhyming Slang

As I am away again this week (explanation in a later post!), I am repeating this post of five years ago from my previous blog. Cockney rhyming slang together with US Versus UK English were always the most popular topics.

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/

The true definition of a Cockney is someone born within the sound of Bow Bells. That specifically refers to the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow church in the East End of London, however it’s a term generally applied to indigenous working-class east enders and sometimes, loosely, to any working-class Londoner. The word itself originates from fourteenth century English meaning a cock’s egg; a term used by country folk to refer to town’s people. I imagine the implication was that town-dwellers, being unwise to country ways, would not know that hens, not cocks, lay the eggs!


Cockney Rhyming Slang (CRS) is not a language because all of the words used are clearly English, neither can it be called a dialect because those who use it are perfectly capable of not using it. Here’s how it works: Words, usually nouns, are substituted by a pair of words, the second of which rhymes with the original word – but, usually, only the first word of the pair is used. Confused? Read on.


The best way to illustrate the above is by example. The CRS for stairs is ‘apples and pears’, so the word used is ‘apples’. “I’m just going upstairs” becomes “I’m just going up the apples”!


Here are some other CRS words that are still in common use:


Arse= Khyber (Khyber Pass) so “Stick it up your khyber.”


Mate= China (China Plate) so “ How are yer, me old china?”


Phone= Dog (Dog and Bone) so “ I’ll give him a dog tonight.”


Look= Butchers (Butcher’s Hook) so “Take a butchers at Tom’s new jam jar [=car].”


Things can get really obscure sometimes when a double link is used. For example, Arse (again!) can sometimes be Aris. This is from Aris being short for Aristotle, which rhymes with bottle for which the rhyming slang is ‘Bottle and Glass’ and glass rhymes with arse! There are no rules!


If you are new to this try translating the following and I will post the answers next weekend:


1) She’s got beautiful minces.


2) She may be his skin and blister but she’s nothing like him.


3) I can’t see. Where’s me gregs?


4) I bought a new whistle for me wedding.


5) What a lovely pair of bristols she’s got!


It’s a living culture and new slang for modern words appear all of the time. Have some fun by making up your own!
Answers now posted in the comments!

Painting of the month (18) June 2011: Raoul Dufy

The Casino at Nice by Dufy 1877 - 1953

The paintings of the French artist Raoul Dufy (pronounced: doofee) may not be the most technically proficient but I find them hugely enjoyable to look at. This one is typical in style; it has been heavily 'drawn' and painted in large blocks of single colour. This makes the paintings often look like poster art as used in advertisements but I can say that these are pictures that one can live with and never tire at looking at them.

Dufy was born in 1877 and was influenced by the impressionists and, later, the Fauves (Matisse and Derain)who were strong colourists. His ever-present optimism lives on in his work.

 How gorgeous is the colour in this picture?

Exmouth, Devon, UK (100th Post)

The unspoiled seafront at Exmouth

Exmouth is a beautiful old town situated at the mouth of the  estuary of the river Ex, on England's south coast in the county of  Devon. It's about 150 miles from the centre of London and ten miles south of Exeter.

My cousin and his wife have just celebrated a big wedding anniversary. They ran away to Gretna Green (really) to get married when he was 16 and she was 17 years old. Despite all the predictions the marriage has lasted and they have four grandchildren now. That part of the south coast is very wealthy and it would help to be quite rich if you want to live there.

Exmouth Marina (http://www.cherrybees.co.uk/)

We just got back from a wonderful long weekend of celebration there and on Thursday we are off again for another long wekend in Bournemouth further up the south coast and only a hundred miles from London. It's a tough life n'est pas?

Brussels, Belgium

1. I have just returned from a brief vacation to Brussels with three friends.
2. Brussels is the capital of the European Union.
3. Brussels is jam-packed with beer-cafes, pubs, bars, restaurants etc etc.
4. In Belgium they make up to five-hundred different bottled beers.
5. My friends and I have been making this pilgrimage for twenty-one straight years now.
6. My head hurts.

The Art Deco Movement

The ever-popular Art Deco movement succeeded Art Nouveau roughly in the period between the two World Wars. It is characterised by three main points: geometric shapes, bright colour schemes and a 'decorative' finish. It tends to be uncomplicated and influenced architecture, art, furniture and jewellery design, clothing and living style in general.
This post is mainly a sumptuous visual feast!

artstyleonline.com

http://data.greatbuildings.com/



4interior-design.com

wwwdelivery.superstock.com

http://cdn.lightgalleries.net/

Quiz Questions (16): A Pot Pourri

Uniquely this time my quiz is not about literature or art but instead, a range of new topics:
Q1: Apart from being the plural of 'utopia' what is Utopias?
Q2: Lloyds of London, the financial institution, was founded in 1688 by Edward Lloyd as..... what?
Q3: What is the strongest muscle in the human body, relative to it's size?
Q4: Which modern English word derives from the old Persian phrase. "Shah mat", which means "the King is dead"?
Answers to follow after a few guesses have been made!

Painting of the Month (17) May 2001: Georgia O'Keeffe

http://www.lilithgallery.com/

You may notice that this image is shown a little too big to fit the space it's in. That's deliberate because I wanted to demonstrate the large scale of her work. This painting of a poppy is typical of her output. She made highly technical paintings which made her famous from the 1920s onward. Some of her large flower paintings vere towards the abstract and often have anthropomorphic quality. I think there is an almost sinister quality to this painting.
The painting below, left, is clearly referencing female gentalia - this is not accidental.(Image removed, not by me July 2011)
She was of the school of American Realism so any feelings of abstraction can only be hinted at.
She died at the age of 98 in 1986 and is one of the major figures of American 20th century art.

SCAM WARNING!

URGENT SCAM WARNING! :

If a man comes to your door and asks you to show him your bottom (backside) as part of a nationwide health survey,
DON'T DO IT!, it's a scam. The man is entirely unauthorised.
I wish I had recieved this email yesterday.......

(ps: You woudn't believe the trouble I had trying to get a picture for this post. If one goes to Bing Images and types in "Man's bare bottom" a lot of very unsuitable pictures appear!)

Music Choice (1)



http://www.mystictracks.com/



Just for the hell of it here are five pieces of music I like with You Tube links:

1) Belle and Sebastion: The Boy With The Arab Strap. (2003)



Turn the sound up and try not tapping your feet and getting up and dancing - it can't be done! And for good measure here is a terrific live recording of the same song.

2) The Grateful Dead: Uncle John's Band (1970)

The best of the best!

3) John Williams: Natalia by Antonio Lauro



I really enjoy proper classical guitar music (not flamenco)and this tune has long been a favoutite. This is also known by several other names principally Valse Criollo.

4) Helen Shapiro: Little Miss Lonely (1962)



Recorded when she was seventeen, this was the last of her top ten UK hits. They started when she was thirteen years old! For me, she is one of the finest British popular singers of all time and she should have been a world wide star. And if you like it check this out!



5) Czech Symphony Orchestra: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves by Guiseppe Verdi (1842)

Although sung in the original Italian you do not need to understand the words for the emotion to come crashing through. It makes my skin tingle and I think I've got smoke in my eyes.....

My Heroes (32): Sir Patrick Moore

Patrick Moore with Dr (of Astronomy) Brian May. Yes, the guitarist from Queen!.

 Patrick Moore is a truly remarkable man for several very different reasons. He is a real British eccentric, who always wears a monocle and is about the size of a dirigible these days. At eighty-eight years old he is the presenter of the world's longest running TV show (with the same presenter). 'The Sky at Night' is an astronomy programme that has been broadcast once a month since 1957. He only ever missed one episode due to a near-fatal food poisoning incident involving a goose egg!
He thinks he is the only man to have met the first man to fly (Orville Wright), the first man in space (Yuri Gagarin) and the first man on the moon (Neil Armstrong). Before the war he played piano with Albert Einstein in New York. He is also a very skilled composer and plays jazz on the xylophone.
He lives alone on Selsey Bill on England's south coast which is probably the most cloud free spot in Britain. He has a garden full of telescopes, some of which he built himself.
'The Sky at Night' recently celebrated it's 700th edition and in this clip  you can see him surrounded by professors and doctors of astronomy who look like nervous schoolboys next to him.
During the war his fiance, a nurse, was killed when a bomb struck the ambulance she was in. He later remarked that he never married because "there was no one else for me...second best is no good for me..."

I once heard a producer of his show saying he was the most amazing broadcaster because he spoke on cue without notes or hesitation for exactly the number of minutes required. This clip from 1960, over fifty years ago, shows him in action. You can't see the pupeteer who seems to be working his eyebrows! He has written over 70 books (all on a 1908 typewriter) but, remarkably, is a self-taught amateur astronomer, however, in 1969 he was invited to NASA for the moon landings. They said they could not have gone to the moon without Sir Patrick's highly detailed maps.
When he passes away every broadcaster on this planet will move up one place.

One in Five by Paul Curtis

http://www.thechildmindingshop.co.uk/

One in five in
The world today
Are apparently
Chinese they say

Now we have five
In our family
So one is Chinese
I know it’s not me

Well it’s not mum
Or my dad even
So it must be one
Of my brothers then

Now is it Colin
Or Lee Woon Jae
I think its Colin
I have to say
                             Copyright © Paul Curtis.
I love the simple humour and the lovely twist at the end of this poem. I have read it many times and I always have to smile!

Painting of the Month (16 ) April 2011: Samuel Palmer



In a Shoreham Garden. Probably painted around 1830

Samuel Palmer was a British painter who was influenced by Turner and William Blake. The reason for the uncertainty of the date of this picture is that he kept his work private after some heavy criticism; that's often the fate of those trying to change the boundarys of art.

Samuel Palmer, self-portrait.

The painting has a mystical quality and is very stylised and heavily 'designed'. One's eye is taken to the female figure walking across the lawn but the subject really seems to be the tree in full blossom. But it has been depicted in an unrealistic, 'modern' way. Cascades of blossom hang down and overflow in huge bunches in a style that pre-figures Van Gogh. Palmer's work was not recognised in it's day and was rediscovered in the 1920s when modern taste had caught up with it. He would have been around 25 years old when he painted 'In A Shoreham Garden'.
Incidentally the title refers to Shoreham in Kent, very near to London and not to Shoreham in West Sussex as popularly believed.
I find it to be very beautiful and a pleasure to look at.

Spotlight on a Website (4): Spotify

OK, Spotify is not a website as such although it does have a site. According to Wikipedia "Spotify is a proprietary peer-to-peer music streaming service and application software from a Swedish based company. It allows instant listening to specific tracks or albums, with virtually no buffering delay".
At present it is only available in the Scandinavian countries and a few others including Great Britain. It is scheduled to become available in the US during 2011 but probably with no free version.
While writing this I am listening to Muddy Waters in the background. I also have Loudain Wainwright II lined up. I have the free version so get a few 30 second ad breaks every now and then.
You download an application (takes one minute) and it sits on your desktop and you get access to 10 million tracks which are being added to at the rate of 10,000 every day! The only exceptions I have found is no Beatles and no Dylan. In my 'library' I have everything by Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Paul Simon, The Beach Boys, Tom Petty, The Grateful Dead and hundreds of other artists. I also have several thousand classical, folk, jazz and blues tracks but I can search and play any artist I can think of almost instantly.
You could try Spotify but don't know if the link works in all countries.

Quiz Question (15): Quotations from two American novels.



Q 1: From which 20th century novel is this an extract? "Take most people, they're crazy about cars. They worry if they get a little scratch on them, and they're always talking about how many miles they get to a gallon, and if they get a brand-new car already they start thinking about trading it in for one that's even newer. I don't even like old cars. I mean they don't even interest me. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake."
Q 2: And from which other 20th century novel is this qoutation taken?
"Teachers of children in the United States of America wrote this date on blackboards again and again, and asked the children to memorize it with pride and joy: 1492. The teachers told the children that this was when their continent was discovered by human beings. Actually, millions of human beings were already living full and imaginative lives on the continent in 1492. That was simply the year in which sea pirates began to cheat and rob and kill them."
I will give the answers in the comments after a few attempts have been made. It's quite difficult, although both the novels are very famous, so please have a guess even if you don't know for sure!

The final Sonny Report.



Mum, Dad and Sonny leaving Great Ormond Street Hospital this afternoon after fifteen weeks! They are all back home now and beginning to rebuild their family life. There's nothing more to say except to express sincere thanks for all the wonderful support from fellow-bloggers!



Painting of the Month (15) March 2011: Bazza





View of Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC, at night 2010 in a sort od Cubist style.

I have imodestly included myself among the other greats of world painting history to show this picture, based on a photograph of a night-time view across English Bay with West Bay, North Vancouver in the distance.

You can see the incompetent photographer's shadow (mine) across the picture. It's a beautiful city in a lovely part of the world.

I had done a regular painting of the view which is not very good (see below) and decided to re-do it in a different style which I prefer. I have been dabbling with watercolours for some years and it's a hobby I greatly enjoy.

The medium of watercolour painting was established by three English artists; JMW Turner, Thomas Girtin and the lesser known Paul Sandby and it has remained a strong Britsih tradition. It is often regarded as the most difficult of mediums because of the problem of 'controlling' the wet paint. The colours are mostly translucent and, in the right hands, can reach a standard of brilliance that is

unique to this style.

The Greenwich Meridian

At the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, south London, there is a metal line set into the floor which marks the 'Prime Meridian', zero degrees longitude. Of course, this imaginary line extends beyond Greenwich and right around the planet but it seems more significant here at the 'Home of Time'.


Photocredit: http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/

 It is possible to stand here with one foot in the eastern hemisphere and one in the western, as I have done.
The significance of this site dates from 1884, when the Prime Meridian was defined by Sir George Biddell Airy, the seventh Astronomer Royal, as a reference point for astronomical observations and time itself.
This is a fascinating place and the whole of Greenwich is a very poplular tourist destination not only for the old observatory, beautiful Old Royal Navy College and Hospital (laid out by Wren and Hawksmoor in the 17th centuty) but also an interesting Arts and Crafts weekend market. The sad news is that formerly one could straddle the line free of charge but from today (Tuesday March 9th 2011) a charge of £10 is introduced! Perhaps I should have posted this earlier. Sorry.

The Old Royal Observatory (Photo credit: naveenin.wordpress.com)

For the information in this post I am indebted to the interesting website Tired of London, Tired of Life.

The Sonny Report (6)

Lovely news for our family: Sonny had his second MRI scan today and has been told he is now free of any cancer cells!
He has to have one more course of chemotherapy and in two weeks or so he will be able to come home.
This will probably be the penultimate Sonny Report and I would like to thank everyone in the blogosphere for all of your continuous good wishes, kind words and prayers. Believe me - every one of them was very much appreciated.

The BBC

Lord Reith 1889 - 1971
(img.dailymail.co.uk)

John Reith is regarded as the founding father of the BBC. This is not because he conceived or pushed for the idea but because he single-handedly was responsible for it's early success and many innovations and 'firsts'.

Reith was a dour puritanical Scotsman of a 'high moral standard', (his words!) Early announcers on the radio had to wear full evening dress and adhere to an extremely strict code of practice. His methods were to become imbued within the ethos of the BBC and, to this day, it is a by-word for unbiased straight reporting. It carries no paid advertisements on any of it's TV or radio stations.  

Although it is a public body, financed mainly by a license which British television viewers must purchase at a cost of £145 (about $234) per annum, it is independent of the government. This had led to conflict on several occasions notably during the General Strike of 1926 and again during the Falklands War in 1982.

Alexandra Palace overlooking  north London
(yourlocalweb.co.uk)

In 1936 regular TV programmes began to be broadcast from Alexandra Palace set in Alexandra Park high above north London, but they were interupted by the Second World War and resumed afterwards. It is now the world's largest broadcasting company employing 23,000 people. It's original aim was to "inform, educate and entertain" and that aim has not changed to this day.

It has been responsible for many breakthroughs in broadcasting and it's doubtful that anything so 'off the wall' as Monty Python's Flying Circus would have been made by any other TV company in the world. At present it's website gets 3.6 billion hits per month! In the UK the organisation is affectionately known as the 'Beeb'. Millions of people around the world depend on it's broadcasts, in many languages, to learn what their governments deem not to tell them.

The BBC's motto is "Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation".

Amy Winehouse where are you?

photocredit :www.startrip.tv

I don't know how well-known Amy Winehouse is around the world. She is an English singer of bluesy rock and pop music and one of the great talents of her generation. She has had severe personal problems in her life with drink,  drugs and boyfriends.

Her songs are often personal and sometimes x-rated and can be very funny (see 'Fuck Me Pumps'). Fittingly, her biggest hit was called 'Rehab'. There was a CD called Frank released in 2003 and Back to Black in 2006 and the only thing since then is a boxed-set of those two albums although she was the featured vocalist on Mark Ronson's 'Valerie'. There have been rumours for sometime that she is 'turning her life around' and about to launch a new recording. Nothing has happened yet but I hope it's true; her kind of talent is in short supply.

For an up tempo reggae beat try 'You're Wondering Now'.

And, finally, if you are in a mellow mood try 'Love is a Losing Game'.

Photo credt: images-mirror.co.uk

The Sonny Report (5)



Laura and Sonny

At last some good news! Sonny is in remission. Halfway through his chemo they did a scan and there were zero cancer cells found. He has to continue the treatment, of course, to ensure it doesn't return and there are complications which are temporary and minor by comparison. We are not getting carried way but are causitiously optimistic for his future.
Oh sod it, we're bloody ecstatic!
The Facebook Support Group now has over 360 members and the benefit of that and other support has been invaluable. Thanks to everyone who gave support!

Painting of the Month (14) February 2011. Severini (and update on Sonny!)



The Dance of the Pan-Pan at the “Monico” 1909-1911 http://www.all-art.org/

 The Futurists were directly inspired by Cubism. It was primarily but not exclusively an Italian movement that pervaded all parts of life from architecture, music and politics to painting and design. They loathed all forms of previous expression and the movement's manifesto is a bit scarey and pre-echoes sentimments of Fascism. However, not withstanding that, a lot of the painting is very attractive and beatifully designed.
This picture reveals more the longer you look at it and takes obvious influence from Cubism. Gino Severini knew Pablo Picasso and was a link between the French and Italian avante garde.
The surface of the picture almost resembles an abstraction but of course to be truly abstract a painting must be representative of nothing!
The size of the work is monumental (roughly 9 by 13 feet!) and it dominated the Futurists' 1912 exhibition. The idea was that the viewer would feel as though they were in the scene themself as the foreground characters were life-sized
***********************************************
Update on Sonny (4)

He is losing his lovely thick black hair but it will soon grow back
To prove he hasn't lost his sense of humour, he is quick to point out that mine won't!

I am happy to say that Sonny is now at the halfway point of his chemotherapy and it's going well. There have been one or two complications and setbacks but generally it's going in the right direction. He, and the family, continue to recieve the most amazing support from charities, friends, other family members, strangers and, most importantly, the nursing and medical staff of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Quiz question (14): Name the play/film/group



 The origin of this title is inspired by Cervantes' Don Quixote. You may be familar with the passage where DQ challenges a windmill to a fight when mistaking it for something other. When his lance gets caught in the sails of the windmill he is tossed aside and thinks he has been beaten by his 'foe'.
The phrase which forms the answer to this question was first used as the title of a play performed in London but never in the US. It later became a successful film starring Joanne Woodward and George C. Scott. Scott's character believes himself to be Sherlock Holmes. Woodward is a psychiatrist who becomes his 'Dr Watson'.
Now the name is known as an American alternative rock group formed in 1982 and still around. Name that play, film and group! (It's the same answer of course).

Art Nouveau c.1890 - 1905

Poster by Alphonse Mucha (http://www.pixelparadox.com/)

The Art Nouveau style flourished around the turn of the twentieth century. It pretty much began with an 'overnight sensation' when Alphonse Mucha designed a poster for the actress Sarah Bernhart in a style that was a reaction (as all new movements in art are) to the strongly academic and classical Victorian style that was prevelant at the time. It is characteriesd by flowing lines, violent curves and use of nature and organic influences.
The architecture of Gaudi and Charles Rennie Mackintosh was very much Art Nouveau in style as was the work of Gustave Klimt.  It was an art 'of the people' using everyday materials and was seen in all aspects of life and design. It's history is often eclipsed by the popularity of Art Deco (which I will be blogging about next month) but it is well-worthy of examining and very rewarding and often very beautiful.
I have shown, below, a selection of Art Nouveau design. Enjoy it!

Blue Flower Bowl (http://www.allcostumejewlery.com/)

Barcelona house by Gaudi (library.thinkquest.org)

Art Nouveau writing desk (http://www.macklowegallery.com/)

Gustave Klimt, sold for more than $100 million! (http://www.qualityjunkyard.com/)

(http://www.fabulousmasterpieces.co.uk/)

The Secret Nuclear Bunker

A real road sign, in the County of Essex, UK

The road sign is real and the bunker is real. In the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, several emergency regional seats of government were built in Britain and this was one of them. It is now a tourist attraction, of course - even our government would not be so stupid as to pin-point it's location. I think.

It always makes me smile when I drive past this sign which is not far from where I live. I am still not absolutely certain that the joke was obvious to whoever put the sign there. (Epping Forest District Council I believe).

As an afterthought, I wonder.....if there had been a nuclear war how would they choose who gets a place in the bunker? What's that you say? Politicians? Surely not!

Barnes Wallis and the Bouncing Bomb

Sir Barnes Neville Wallis in 1942. The National Portrait Galleery, London

In May 1943 one of the most daring actions of World War Two took place. The allies (that's us) wanted to destroy the dams on the Ruhr which supplied hydo-electric power to the highly industrialised Ruhr Valley in Germany.
Direct drops onto dams were difficult and they were protected by torpedo nets in the river. The dams were superbly constructed and only very accurately placed depth charges would have any chance of success. What to do?
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Barnes Wallis was a British inventor of aircraft and military weapons who conceived the idea of a 'bouncing bomb' which would skim across the water surface thus avoiding the nets.
On the night of 16th May RAF 617 squadron, led by the heroic figure of Guy Gibson launched the highly risky night-time raids. The mission had to be flown at exceptionally low-level, meaning that, from the outset, it was thought that only half of the aircraft would return.

The Eder Dam on 17th May 1943

It was an audacious mission and, although two of the three target dams were seriously breached, which flooded the Ruhr Vally and disrupted German military production for a while, the raid was on balance probably not worthwhile except in terms of morale.
From that time on 617 Squadron became known as 'The Dam Busters'.

Hope (plus update on Sonny, 3)

Hope by Friedrich von Schiller

We speak with the lip, and we dream in the soul,

Of some better and fairer day;

And our days, the meanwhile, to that golden goal

Are gliding and sliding away.

Now the world becomes old, now again it is young,

But "The better" 's forever the word on the tongue.

At the threshold of life hope leads us in--

Hope plays round the mirthful boy;

Though the best of its charms may with youth begin,

Yet for age it reserves its toy

********************************************************************************

Update on Sonny (3)

Sonny on 5th January 2011. He can't always raise a smile like this!

Sonny has had his first course of chemotherapy successfully. He is beginning to loose his lovely thick black hair. He has good days and not-so-good days but the medical staff are pleased with his progress so far. His second round of chemotherapy will begin as soon as he is recovered from the first one. The support of family and friends and various children's charities has been wonderful and we are so thankful and grateful.
The Facebook group has now passed 300 members: Supporting Sonny Through Lymphoma 

Quiz Questions (13 ): Origin of Book Titles

californiahistorian.com

Name the source of these book titles, firstly two by John Steinbeck and then two by British writers:

1) East of Eden
2) The Grapes of Wrath
3) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
4) Diamonds Are Forever

The answers are now published in the 'comments'. See how well you did (or not!)

Painting of the Month (13): January 2011, Dignity and Impudence, Landseer



Dignity and Impudence, Sir Edwin Landseer, 1839

 The Victorians were extremely fond of sentimental and 'moral' paintings. Generally I am not, but this picture is an exception. Landseer was a skilled painter and was often commissioned by Queen Victoria to make family portraits but his greatest talent was as a painter of animals. His most famous works are The Monarch of the Glen and the sculpture of the lions at the base of Nelson's column in Trafalgar Square, London. These two dogs belonged to Jacob Bell, a friend of the artist who commissioned the picture. Rather unusually, what makes the painting really work, for me at least, is the title.
I think 'Dignity and Impudence' sums up these two so perfectly that a layer of depth is added to the viewing experience.
Here are links to the first 10 Paintings of the Month.
February: Cezanne
March: Turner
April: Hockney
May: Giotto
June: van Gogh
July: Constable
August: Cezanne
September: Vermeer
October: Géricault
November: Bonnard
December: Banksy