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The Greeks were revelling in sporting euphoria. Just a month earlier from underdog status they had triumphed for the first time in the European football championships and now Olympic fever had gripped the nation as the games returned to their birthplace.
It was my first visit to Greece and though the flight was relatively short, the bus journey to my hotel seemed long and arduous despite the pleasant scenery. Winding our way through the rugged hills of the North West mainland, Albania just a little further North and just a short paddle west across the Ionian, lay the island of Corfu.
Travel fatigue well and truly set in, I staggered down the steps of the bus, my legs weak as they were finally able to unfold. Darkness had fallen but the air stifled. Despite the heat, the tiredness, I bathed in the knowledge I was on vacation. Two weeks of relaxed bliss lay in store.
Groggily entering the hotel grounds, eyes bleary, I noticed a sign. Gently lit and in large letters read, "BEWARE OF THE TURTLES!" Somewhat puzzled, I crashed onto the bed and switched on the air conditioning. My mind suddenly harassed with images of giant man eating turtles! Was this a Greek myth that I had not read about during childhood? Some half man, half beast thing to rival the minotaur?
Throughout my fortnights stay in idyllic surroundings of crystal blue seas, rocky coves and quaint harbour towns, I had kept my eyes constantly peeled for these killer creatures!
Wild goats, fish a plenty and an occasional enormous bumble bee later, still no sighting of the turtle monster.
On the day of my departure as I waited in the hotel gardens for the bus to arrive, I finally spotted it! A very small tortoise crawling in the grass, oblivious to the world and extremely vulnerable. I felt conned yet mildly relieved.
My eyes rested once again on the sign, it read, "BE AWARE OF THE TURTLES".
28 August 2009
Beyond That Wall: A Villanelle Tribute to World War 2 Veterans
My Great uncle is now 93 years old. He has been happily married for more than 63 years and has lived an active and full life. His body is finally beginning to grow frail and the years have caught up with him but his recollection of those days is still as clear as ever, days of war and of mass bloodshed on the battlefields of Europe more than 60 years ago.
He tells this story as if it were yesterday, vivid recollections of an Italian beach. Not the Italian beaches of sunbathing and glorious sunny days on the Riviera but the beaches of death and of loss and of fear. The shrapnel still lodged in his neck a constant reminder.
The situation the allied soldiers found themselves in was precarious. They had landed on an Italian beach and were being machine gun strafed by enemy fighter planes. There was a wall between them and relative safety and they either had to make a run for the wall or die where they stood.
When you live to be as old as my Uncle, it is inevitable that the story gets told and re told. I have heard it at countless family gatherings over the years and each time it sends a chill down my spine and now the story stays with me to pass on to others, for there will come a time when there are no veterans of this war left to tell their own tale.
What follows is a poem, a villanelle in fact that I wrote with my uncles experience on that Italian beach being played movie like in my mind.
I hope that I have captured its spirit, I hope I have captured their (the veterans and heroes of World War II) spirit and bravery in these words.
An ending too swift for those that stall.
Machine guns rattle, spewing forth fire.
Another day lies beyond that wall.
Heart pounding, sprinting, afraid to fall.
Forever entombed, hellish quagmire.
An ending too swift for those that stall.
Blood washed sand, images that appal.
Must scramble, climb, higher still higher.
Another day lies beyond that wall.
Screaming agony, slowed to a crawl.
Burning comrades, most hideous pyre.
An ending too swift for those that stall.
Fizzing bullets, they beckon and call.
Seducing souls beginning to tire.
Another day lies beyond that wall.
Battered, yet not beaten, crimson squall.
Surging on, straining, life's great desire.
An ending too swift for those that stall.
Another day lies beyond that wall.
For those of you who are interested to know what a villanelle actually is, it's a form of poetry that has only two rhyming sounds. The first and third lines of the first stanza are repeated alternately as the third line of each following stanza throughout the poem until they meet to form a couplet at the end. You will see that the villanelle is 19 lines long, constructed of 5 tercets and an ending quatrain.
He tells this story as if it were yesterday, vivid recollections of an Italian beach. Not the Italian beaches of sunbathing and glorious sunny days on the Riviera but the beaches of death and of loss and of fear. The shrapnel still lodged in his neck a constant reminder.
The situation the allied soldiers found themselves in was precarious. They had landed on an Italian beach and were being machine gun strafed by enemy fighter planes. There was a wall between them and relative safety and they either had to make a run for the wall or die where they stood.
When you live to be as old as my Uncle, it is inevitable that the story gets told and re told. I have heard it at countless family gatherings over the years and each time it sends a chill down my spine and now the story stays with me to pass on to others, for there will come a time when there are no veterans of this war left to tell their own tale.
What follows is a poem, a villanelle in fact that I wrote with my uncles experience on that Italian beach being played movie like in my mind.
I hope that I have captured its spirit, I hope I have captured their (the veterans and heroes of World War II) spirit and bravery in these words.
An ending too swift for those that stall.
Machine guns rattle, spewing forth fire.
Another day lies beyond that wall.
Heart pounding, sprinting, afraid to fall.
Forever entombed, hellish quagmire.
An ending too swift for those that stall.
Blood washed sand, images that appal.
Must scramble, climb, higher still higher.
Another day lies beyond that wall.
Screaming agony, slowed to a crawl.
Burning comrades, most hideous pyre.
An ending too swift for those that stall.
Fizzing bullets, they beckon and call.
Seducing souls beginning to tire.
Another day lies beyond that wall.
Battered, yet not beaten, crimson squall.
Surging on, straining, life's great desire.
An ending too swift for those that stall.
Another day lies beyond that wall.
For those of you who are interested to know what a villanelle actually is, it's a form of poetry that has only two rhyming sounds. The first and third lines of the first stanza are repeated alternately as the third line of each following stanza throughout the poem until they meet to form a couplet at the end. You will see that the villanelle is 19 lines long, constructed of 5 tercets and an ending quatrain.
20 August 2009
Cow Jumps Over Moon - The Future of the News
The future is never very far away and as each day passes we see another medical breakthrough or a new discovery in the world. Disaster co exists with miracles, life co exists with death and there is change around us, everywhere, all the time.
One thing that does remain constant however, (although its delivery methods evolve constantly) is the news. Many believe that the news operates with far more sensationalism than it ever did and at least on the surface this seems to be the case, but if we had access to all the current technology way back when, surely the delivery of news would have always been this way?
I am convinced that in their own way, the big stories of yesteryear were just as dramatic to the people of the day. They didn't have images of death, destruction and flashing lights streaming into their homes, granted, but big news has always been big news!
With the aforementioned technology improving apace, perhaps my dream of seeing some of my favourite nursery rhymes fulfilled isn't as far fetched as many would think.
The following could easily be a press release of tomorrow, twittered to bits, "digged/dug" to death, mixxed to the max, not to mention searchwarp saturation!
The Headlines
"Tommy the Jersey Cow Jumps Over Moon"
"Disbelief as millions see bovine wonder!"
"Tommy causes twitter to crash!"
"June 23 rd 2023 will be written into history books and fulfil the prophesy of the famous nursery rhyme.
Astonished onlookers up and down the West coast were still rubbing their eyes on Sunday morning as the night before they had witnessed the first cow ever to successfully jump over the moon.
Tommy the cow had been promising fans for years that one day he would achieve the so called impossible and sail over the surface of the moon. Millions of people are already clogging up the social network sites, sharing their stories of the most amazing thing they have ever seen.
The event, planned by Tommy's ambitious management for 3 years was heralded as a great success and Tommy is already planning his next jump, with Mars as the planned target.
Bridgette from Gooseville enthused, "It was fantastic! I never believed Tommy (adorned in his special, sleek, silver outfit) could do it. He proved us all wrong!" Bridgette added, "I got it all on video, wait till the kids see this, they will love it!"
YouTube are already inundated with images from the event and a commemorative dvd will go on sale later in the year.
There are also reports of several of the paparazzi being slightly injured in their clamour for the best pictures."
A little far fetched? Possibly, but who would have believed many of the events we have already witnessed just 20 or 30 years ago? At least if my story comes true, it will be fun sensationalism rather than the dark news we are used to.
Fingers crossed for Tommy!
One thing that does remain constant however, (although its delivery methods evolve constantly) is the news. Many believe that the news operates with far more sensationalism than it ever did and at least on the surface this seems to be the case, but if we had access to all the current technology way back when, surely the delivery of news would have always been this way?
I am convinced that in their own way, the big stories of yesteryear were just as dramatic to the people of the day. They didn't have images of death, destruction and flashing lights streaming into their homes, granted, but big news has always been big news!
With the aforementioned technology improving apace, perhaps my dream of seeing some of my favourite nursery rhymes fulfilled isn't as far fetched as many would think.
The following could easily be a press release of tomorrow, twittered to bits, "digged/dug" to death, mixxed to the max, not to mention searchwarp saturation!
The Headlines
"Tommy the Jersey Cow Jumps Over Moon"
"Disbelief as millions see bovine wonder!"
"Tommy causes twitter to crash!"
"June 23 rd 2023 will be written into history books and fulfil the prophesy of the famous nursery rhyme.
Astonished onlookers up and down the West coast were still rubbing their eyes on Sunday morning as the night before they had witnessed the first cow ever to successfully jump over the moon.
Tommy the cow had been promising fans for years that one day he would achieve the so called impossible and sail over the surface of the moon. Millions of people are already clogging up the social network sites, sharing their stories of the most amazing thing they have ever seen.
The event, planned by Tommy's ambitious management for 3 years was heralded as a great success and Tommy is already planning his next jump, with Mars as the planned target.
Bridgette from Gooseville enthused, "It was fantastic! I never believed Tommy (adorned in his special, sleek, silver outfit) could do it. He proved us all wrong!" Bridgette added, "I got it all on video, wait till the kids see this, they will love it!"
YouTube are already inundated with images from the event and a commemorative dvd will go on sale later in the year.
There are also reports of several of the paparazzi being slightly injured in their clamour for the best pictures."
A little far fetched? Possibly, but who would have believed many of the events we have already witnessed just 20 or 30 years ago? At least if my story comes true, it will be fun sensationalism rather than the dark news we are used to.
Fingers crossed for Tommy!
17 August 2009
When Left Is Always Right - An Ambidextrous Argument
Which side of the page did you start reading this article from? Well, my case is almost won already!
Unfortunately I am a little short sighted and so from time to time I have to go and get a new prescription for my glasses and contact lenses. Each time I do this, the optician informs me that my left eye has better vision than my right.
I am very much right handed. I write with my right hand, I ring a doorbell with my right hand and I reach out with my right hand before my left. However my left hand/arm is much stronger. I cannot open brand new bottles of soda with my right hand, yet it is simplicity itself with my left! Gripping is much easier with my left hand too and I am pretty sure my left hook could put my right to shame!
My head seems to turn to the left much easier than the right. I don't have any particular neck problems, it just easier to turn to the left.
Here in the United Kingdom (and a few other countries) we drive our cars on the left hand side of the road. In the USA and the rest of the world, you drive on the left side of your car!
For many hundreds of years, in many countries (there are exceptions) the wedding ring is worn on the left hand. Reasons for this seem to stem from traditions both religious and medical. It was once believed that the "vein of love" was found in the ring finger of the left hand because before we knew how the circulatory system worked it was thought that a vein of blood ran from this finger right to the heart.
Here is the, (clears throat) science bit! Seen as we are all (or perhaps its just me) reading this on a website, research has shown that we as the people generally prefer our websites to have the "clickable" stuff on the left hand side of the pages. The research showed that when all the navigation and clicking was on the left hand side of the page, then the site was usually more successful and popular.
So, what is left to say about left? Well, probably plenty but you get the picture; I just happen to think left is right! Discuss.
Unfortunately I am a little short sighted and so from time to time I have to go and get a new prescription for my glasses and contact lenses. Each time I do this, the optician informs me that my left eye has better vision than my right.
I am very much right handed. I write with my right hand, I ring a doorbell with my right hand and I reach out with my right hand before my left. However my left hand/arm is much stronger. I cannot open brand new bottles of soda with my right hand, yet it is simplicity itself with my left! Gripping is much easier with my left hand too and I am pretty sure my left hook could put my right to shame!
My head seems to turn to the left much easier than the right. I don't have any particular neck problems, it just easier to turn to the left.
Here in the United Kingdom (and a few other countries) we drive our cars on the left hand side of the road. In the USA and the rest of the world, you drive on the left side of your car!
For many hundreds of years, in many countries (there are exceptions) the wedding ring is worn on the left hand. Reasons for this seem to stem from traditions both religious and medical. It was once believed that the "vein of love" was found in the ring finger of the left hand because before we knew how the circulatory system worked it was thought that a vein of blood ran from this finger right to the heart.
Here is the, (clears throat) science bit! Seen as we are all (or perhaps its just me) reading this on a website, research has shown that we as the people generally prefer our websites to have the "clickable" stuff on the left hand side of the pages. The research showed that when all the navigation and clicking was on the left hand side of the page, then the site was usually more successful and popular.
So, what is left to say about left? Well, probably plenty but you get the picture; I just happen to think left is right! Discuss.
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