My niece-in-law has just posted on her Facebook page an article about a "Mr Treagood [who] lectured in environmental studies in Yorkshire until he turned his back on mainstream life 40 years ago. He went for a walk one day and didn’t stop and never went back.... He walked to the Westcountry, bought a horse and wagon when he had saved enough money."
I like that. It reminds me of Sebastian Rennet who "the next morning walked [for the first time] on the left side of the street, saw a little path, which he had never noticed before as it could not be seen from the other side of the street. It seemed to lead across the fields up over a little hill and far, far away... and said to himself 'I will follow the little path and see where it leads me' ".
I like that - I figure I could do the same. Indeed if the miracle of falling in love with someone who actually wanted to live their life with me had not happened I think I might have - or else, more likely, become a very boring person. More than I presently am, I mean.
And even now my idea of a good walk or run or panorama is one that reminds me of the little path that leads over the hill and far, far away.
20150215
Did I overstep?
Maybe my reference to Bruckner and praise in my last post was hyperbole but check out this link to see what others say.
In fact I rarely listen to Bruckner, strange though that might seem when the very name of my blog venerates him. But then I rarely eat fish pie or golden syrup filled trifle sponges. For each one the reason is partly circumstantial (I will not listen to good music unless it is quiet and I have some chance of hearing the whole performance, and my lifestyle does not often grant me such conditions), and partly because a great experience repeated too often is in danger of becoming commonplace. Whilst the thought of golden syrup at every meal sends certain thrills, I rather think I might tire at last.
Talking about golden syrup, does anyone else out there venerate evaporated milk as I do? Another family here venerates condensed milk to a similar degree. Whilst both substances start with reduced milk, and the original purpose of each was to preserve milk, they are very different in taste. So I did a bit of research. Condensed milk has, of course, a lot of sugar added and this helps preserve it. Evaporated milk, on the other hand, has no added sugar and thus has a shorter shelf life even when tinned. To help combat this, the process of making evaporated milk raises it to a higher temperature, so high that it starts to caramelise and it is this which gives it its characteristic taste. I should have known, caramel lover than I am. There is no way to start the day quite so pleasing as breakfast cereal with a healthy slosh of evaporated milk added to the normal whole milk and sugar.
And, talking about a pleasing start to the day, I was concocting a new temperature scale (as one does) whilst taking a longer than usual, and rather chilly run this afternoon, barefoot with Meg around the lake shore around by Baltiboys bridge. It goes something like this:
> 25'C is far too hot for life as we know it here in Ireland
20-25'C very hot and rather exceptionable
15-20'C hot: this and above is good for swimming in lakes, rivers or sea
10-15'C warm, OK for Autumn swimming but a bit parky in Spring
5-10'C cool, and most common here in Ireland
0-5'C cold, chilly when wet under-barefoot
< 0'C freezing, barefoot running is OK only if it is dry
A bit of wind-chill factor can be added to this rough guide, but the weather forecasters overdo it. And there is a bit of seasonal hysteresis especially for swimming because of the thermal mass of water.
In fact I rarely listen to Bruckner, strange though that might seem when the very name of my blog venerates him. But then I rarely eat fish pie or golden syrup filled trifle sponges. For each one the reason is partly circumstantial (I will not listen to good music unless it is quiet and I have some chance of hearing the whole performance, and my lifestyle does not often grant me such conditions), and partly because a great experience repeated too often is in danger of becoming commonplace. Whilst the thought of golden syrup at every meal sends certain thrills, I rather think I might tire at last.
Talking about golden syrup, does anyone else out there venerate evaporated milk as I do? Another family here venerates condensed milk to a similar degree. Whilst both substances start with reduced milk, and the original purpose of each was to preserve milk, they are very different in taste. So I did a bit of research. Condensed milk has, of course, a lot of sugar added and this helps preserve it. Evaporated milk, on the other hand, has no added sugar and thus has a shorter shelf life even when tinned. To help combat this, the process of making evaporated milk raises it to a higher temperature, so high that it starts to caramelise and it is this which gives it its characteristic taste. I should have known, caramel lover than I am. There is no way to start the day quite so pleasing as breakfast cereal with a healthy slosh of evaporated milk added to the normal whole milk and sugar.
And, talking about a pleasing start to the day, I was concocting a new temperature scale (as one does) whilst taking a longer than usual, and rather chilly run this afternoon, barefoot with Meg around the lake shore around by Baltiboys bridge. It goes something like this:
> 25'C is far too hot for life as we know it here in Ireland
20-25'C very hot and rather exceptionable
15-20'C hot: this and above is good for swimming in lakes, rivers or sea
10-15'C warm, OK for Autumn swimming but a bit parky in Spring
5-10'C cool, and most common here in Ireland
0-5'C cold, chilly when wet under-barefoot
< 0'C freezing, barefoot running is OK only if it is dry
A bit of wind-chill factor can be added to this rough guide, but the weather forecasters overdo it. And there is a bit of seasonal hysteresis especially for swimming because of the thermal mass of water.
20150214
Essence
Essence: (n) - the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, which determines its character.
I have a book on my shelf "The essence of Bruckner" by Robert Simpson. I purchased it whilst a student and it has stayed with me all this time because it is sacrosanct. But I regret I have tried hard to appreciate his analysis of the symphonies but largely failed. But then must I understand the details in order to enjoy music? Or know the recipe and underlying food science to enjoy a meal? Thus I lost his "essence" in the detail. I love being alive and nature (watching films like the Lord of the Rings I want to stop the plot and enjoy the fantastic scenery) and, for me, the essence of Bruckner's music is that it evokes all that is best in life. It doesn't need analysis. It doesn't need a plot.
The concept of, for example, "essence of vanilla" - the ability to reduce something large down to the only part that matters - has always intrigued me.
I was in a meeting recently: so called "praise" was going on all around me (I often find it too loud so that it distorts in my ears). And I thought - did I sign up for this? When all the tangibles are noise and rote I wonder - what is the essence of Christianity? Is it not "to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? To share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" and how much of that do I do? Mind you, I'm not agin praise and worship but, for me, it is closer to the music of Bruckner than to the all-loud-volume songs accompanied by heavy drum-beat that is so common now-a-days. If, so saying, I tread on your toes then I apologise - but we are not and do not need to be all the same.
I have a book on my shelf "The essence of Bruckner" by Robert Simpson. I purchased it whilst a student and it has stayed with me all this time because it is sacrosanct. But I regret I have tried hard to appreciate his analysis of the symphonies but largely failed. But then must I understand the details in order to enjoy music? Or know the recipe and underlying food science to enjoy a meal? Thus I lost his "essence" in the detail. I love being alive and nature (watching films like the Lord of the Rings I want to stop the plot and enjoy the fantastic scenery) and, for me, the essence of Bruckner's music is that it evokes all that is best in life. It doesn't need analysis. It doesn't need a plot.
The concept of, for example, "essence of vanilla" - the ability to reduce something large down to the only part that matters - has always intrigued me.
I was in a meeting recently: so called "praise" was going on all around me (I often find it too loud so that it distorts in my ears). And I thought - did I sign up for this? When all the tangibles are noise and rote I wonder - what is the essence of Christianity? Is it not "to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? To share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" and how much of that do I do? Mind you, I'm not agin praise and worship but, for me, it is closer to the music of Bruckner than to the all-loud-volume songs accompanied by heavy drum-beat that is so common now-a-days. If, so saying, I tread on your toes then I apologise - but we are not and do not need to be all the same.
20150209
Silent film
Tonight the rest of the family are watching I film. I started off watching it but then the phone rang so I went out to answer it and then came upstairs - because I couldn't distinguish what was being said in the film. I know my hearing is not the best, but why is the audio on films so poor and why, oh why, do people have the sound so low when watching home videos? They don't talk to each other that quietly.
20150208
Here comes the fog
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| 5pm - Fog descends |
Accuweather said it would be cold to start with, but mostly sunny and rising to about 8degC by early afternoon. Armed with this prophecy I took to the road on my trusty velocipede intending to visit the Curragh and Corbally harbour and maybe explore the Liffey and its various nearby canals. Leaving at 11:30 the weather looked promising, but half way between Ardenode and Brannockstown I hit a wall of fog and the temperature dropped and I got exceedingly cold. So I shortened my route and basically chased the fog back home for a late lunch.
Later in the afternoon I took Meg for my usual constitutional and hit the wall of fog again, this time only a mile away. On returning and after a hot bath I checked Accuweather again. By 5pm the fog had reached home.
It now said "fog will clear by lunch". My calculation is that the wall of fog was actually travelling towards us all day from the west at about 2mph. So much for forecasts.
Sausages and chips soon - that'll drive the fog away!.
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