What a post (office)

Sometimes I am sad that I can't write in English as fluently as I'd like, 'cause there's so much I'd like to write.

Sometimes .... sometimes I think my readers are lucky that ...

Anyway, here I am back again.

Thanks to those who left kind comments; thanks to those who sent kind and encouraging emails.

Well, once being told 'Sean you are either a genial slob or chaotic genius' - and I am taking this for one of the best compliments I ever got - I'd of course not be writing all the time.

Suddenly I thought of all those thousands of photos waiting to be scanned. :)

Why wouldn't I digitise them years ago? Answer: Look above. :)

Anyway, while scanning each photo brought memories back; all the thoughts I had while taking the pictures.

Amazing.

To give you a glimpse here are some (random) photos I took when striving through the Wicklows in Ireland, in 1985:

As my English is so bad, when reading 'Collier' I did, 'of course', think of the French meaning (jewelry); anyway, what a shop! Two pages in my diary. :)

Opposed you'd found this idyll.

Getting a bit closer ...

... and closer ...

Now, is this a post office?!
And now I wonder if any visitor is able to show me what those two spots in Redcross are looking like nowadays. :)


PS (especially for my dear watchdogs): While writing (not in English) I might bore you with posting some light 'Irish posts'. Don't give up. Stand by. One never knows when I am fancy of writing that Monsanto et al seem to be bucking fastards.

The peace of the night.

Hilarious hiatus

To cut it short:

I am enjoying a lovely little writing frenzy; not in English, though. :)

Won't take too long.

Until soon. Enjoy life.

More Dickens

Today is the 531st birthday of Thomas Morus (Thomas More) and the 197th of Charles Dickens.

There'd be much to tell.

The first an interesting man, the second made my boyhood interesting.

That's why, as I am presently re-reading a fascinating book and thus want to cut this post short, here's a bit more Dickens:

Lucy's Song

How beautiful at eventide

To see the twilight shadows pale,

Steal o'er the landscape, far and wide,

O'er stream and meadow, mound and dale!

How soft is Nature's calm repose

When ev'ning skies their cool dews weep:

The gentlest wind more gently blows,

As if to soothe her in her sleep!

The gay morn breaks,

Mists roll away,

All Nature awakes

To glorious day.

In my breast alone

Dark shadows remain;

The peace it has known

It can never regain.

Ah, the book I am reading: The Praise of Folly.
Erasmus of Rotterdam, by the way, dedicated it to the beheaded author of 'Utopia'.
So, chin up, Thomas.

Friday is Poet's Day

Well, as I've learned that quite a few amongst those inhabitants of the United (?) Kingdom who still have a job do think of Poet's Day as 'Piss off early, tomorrow's Saturday', I decided to post this on Friday night.

Of Petrarca I was thinking, of Hafis and - ha ha, of course: Dafydd ap Gwilym, but although I tried (relatively) hard I did not (yet) find in English what I love in German.

So help me Ringelnatz!

And if it were to prove that not only some caterpillars, but also some ants are pretty clever.

Enjoy:

In Hamburg lebten zwei Ameisen,
Die wollten nach Australien reisen.
Bei Altona auf der Chaussee,
Da taten ihnen die Beine weh,
Und da verzichteten sie weise
Dann auf den letzten Teil der Reise.
Joachim Ringelnatz

And here's the glorious free translation by John Brough which I found at Brian Cole's Brindin Press website.

Two ants who lived in London planned
To walk to Melbourne overland,
But, footsore in Southampton Row
when there were still some miles to go,
They thought it wise to not extend
The Journey to the bitter end.

Tricky caterpillar: Dining like an ant-queen

Now, that's clever:

A kind of European caterpillar can garner royal treatment from ants by mimicking the ch-ch-ch-ch of their queen, says an international research team.

Ants of the species Myrmica schencki can be fooled into carrying certain caterpillars into the colony nurseries where the fakers enjoy full care and five-star dining, explains Jeremy Thomas of the University of Oxford in England. An interloper caterpillar gains most of its body mass while luxuriating in ant care, and then turns into a Maculinea rebeli butterfly.

Learn more 'antazing' details at ScienceNews.

And don't miss hearing the caterpillar and ant sounds

Njam njam njam: Living like god in Ants.

Laughing Lhursday

Typo in the title?
Nah. It's just that I would not let a tiny T spoil an avantgardistic alliteration.

Hard news first.

According to Tetrapilotomos a most reliable deep throat of his eminent trustworthy source has off the records been told by General İlker Başbuğ, the Commander of the mighty Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), that the Turkish military is going to marginally change its device, by changing 'at home' to 'in bed'.

Peace in bed, Peace in the World.

Asked for the reason, after sipping a drop of coffee and reaching for a fig the Commander reportedly said: Sorry, I am urgently awaited at home. You'll find all details at Internation Musing.

Another good news:

Ardent has not got lost in The Numinous Vacuum.

Well, and all good things come in threes:

Especially Asterisk- respectively *-afficionados will enjoy Bock the Robber's 'very open letter' to the PC-Brigade.

I am sure, even if you happen to be a most sensitive contemporary like I am, you'll be *ucking amused.

Personal note to my various Nonsanto watchdoggies: Choose the attributes you like best at Bock's and let me know, so that I may be able to address you in the way you like best.