Breaking Bread...

A quote from John Stewart Collis's 'The Worm Forgives the Plough' (1973) - his observations and ruminations on agriculture after working on the land in England's South during World War  2:

When I got home I heard John Barbirolli conducting Beethoven's 'Seventh Symphony' over the air.  What was agriculture for, it seemed to me, except that such a thing as that symphony and the playing of it should be made possible?  To make bread so that it shall be possible for mankind to have more than bread and hear the scripture of the kings; to listen to a Beethoven, a Sibelius, a Tchaikovsky, uttering some far message to paradox and joy.


This book came recommended; it has had many reprints and the review on the link above is glowing.  Have you read it?  I think I'd enjoy it.

Pic: Arthur Rackham

Old Sarum & Pillars of The Earth

This week we watched a fantastic episode of the English "Time Team" at Salisbury Cathedral. The Team was there in October 2008 and were digging right at the footings of the Cathedral.

'The Team opened a trench right next to the Cathedral to uncover the Beauchamp Chapel, built for one of Salisbury's most colourful Bishops, Richard Beauchamp but demolished hundreds of years ago. A trench was also opened up to explore the site north of the Cathedral where the original Bell Tower and spire once stood, also now long since disappeared.

Following their usual action-packed three day schedule the team digging the Beauchamp Chapel trench uncovered a mystery skeleton, as well as other finds which help shed light on the Cathedral in Beauchamp's time and the actions of subsequent generations. There was disappointment though as the Bishop's own tomb was discovered and found to be empty - robbed centuries ago with the Bishop's bones probably moved to the Cathedral's main Nave in 1789.' - Salisbury Cathedral.org.uk

Time Team at Salisbury Cathedral

About twenty years ago I borrowed a book, "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. I really became engrossed in this historical novel about Old Sarum, the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, the building of a cathedral, the beginning of Gothic architecture, the loves, the losses.

Ken Follett says: 'When I started writing, back in the early Seventies, I found I had no vocabulary for describing buildings. I read a couple of books on architecture and developed an interest in cathedrals. I became a bit of a train spotter on the subject. I would go to a town, like Lincoln or Winchester, check into a hotel and spend a couple of days looking around the cathedral and learning about it. Before too long, it occurred to me to channel this enthusiasm into a novel.'

In November 2007 The Pillars of the Earth was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as the 60th Oprah's Book Club selection and is #1 on the The New York Times trade paperback list and #8 on its mass market paperback list (9th December 2008).

The Pillars of the Earth is one of the '101 Books to Read Before You Die' chosen by patrons of Exclusive Books - it is 27th on the list and is one of the top 100 books chosen by British readers.

Salisbury Cathedral From the Meadows - John Constable, 1831

The landscape around Salisbury was captured by the artist John Constable in several paintings.

I now have my own copy of Pillars and look forward to reading it again.

MY LIBRARY

This is my Library (1877), 25km or 15.5 miles away in the delightful country town of Alexandra. The modern building to the left is an annexe, completed about three years ago. One thing I love about the old part is the comfortable club armchairs and couches provided for one of my vintage, browsing and reading for a couple of hours. It was closed when I took these pictures, maybe another time I can get interior shots.

Inside the Mobile Library

The mobile library comes to our town twice a week, all day Wednesday and Saturday morning. Up one end is an area with a computer and bench seats. The books are rotated constantly. As with most libraries these days, the service is topnotch; if they haven't got a book, they'll get it for you. Vicki, I've ordered 'My French Life' and will get a letter when it arrives - looking forward to it.

A closer view of the lovely old building

EDMUND DULAC

Edmund Dulac

 

As a child I'd be fascinated by the drawings in books and listen to the unfolding story, usually sitting in bed with Grandma.  She'd point to the pictures and explain what they were depicting.  The story was all important but I also loved the pastel drawings.

One of the illustrators was Edmund Dulac, though I didn't know that way back then.  Born Edmond Dulac in Toulouse France in 1882, he went to London in 1904, was naturalised in 1912 and I don't think he was out of work until his death in 1953, as his art was extremely sought after.  Hodder & Stoughton snapped him up in 1907 when Arthur Rackham went to Wm. Heinemann.

Only some of his work:

The collected works of the Bronte sisters

Arabian Nights 1907

Sleeping Beauty 1910

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 1909

Stories from Hans Andersen 1911

Tanglewood Tales 1918

The Bells & Other Poems by Edgar Allan Poe 1912

LE PLAISIR DES MOTS

The pleasure of words, Le Plaisir Des Mots, the title of one of Georges Jean's (b.1920 Besancon, France) books which was awarded the 1980 Fondation de France prize.

The little book now in my possession, Writing: The Story of Alphabets and Scripts, thanks to a stall at the Easter market, was also penned by Jean and the English translation published by Thames & Hudson, London, in 1992.

Inside the front cover he writes about Jean Froissart, the 14th Century cleric, who decided that his vocation was to "celebrate the great deeds of princes and to sing of courtly love".

Statue of Jean Froissart, Chimay, Belgium

This from Wikipedia:

Jean Froissart (c.1337-c.1405) was one of the most important of the chroniclers of medieval France. For centuries, Froissart's Chronicles have been recognized as the chief expression of the chivalric revival of the 14th century Kingdom of England and France. His history is also one of the most important sources for the first half of the Hundred Years' War.

Battle of Poitiers 1356 - Miniature of Froissart

The pleasure is now mine to open this little book, gaze at the coloured plates of the illuminators' works and read about the art of writing. Thanks to Royal Armouries for the following video.

COOTAMUNDRA WATTLE

I took this pic last August when our Cootamundra, Acacia.baileyana, was looking its best.  The Cootamundra has a short lifespan, 7 to 20 years, and this one has been there for ten.  Sadly, shortly after flowering, the tree split in two, leaving one side dead.  Today we have a wonderful neighbour coming with his chainsaw and a team of his Easter weekend visitors to put it to rest.  

I made some patty cakes for my family visitors and later this morning will make a carrot cake, which will go nicely with the hot Earl Grey on their break.

We all ventured up the street yesterday to the very popular Easter market.  I bought some novels and a delightful little handbook, Writing, The Story of Alphabets and Scripts by Georges Jean, published by Thames & Hudson, London, on which I'll elaborate at a later date.

DICKENS

John Charles Huffam Dickens 1812-1870

The former seaside home of English novelist Charles Dickens, where he wrote part of his classic David Copperfield, is for sale at $A4.1 million.

The cliffside house in Broadstairs, Kent, was built in 1801 and has six bedrooms and its own cells. It was the residence of the fort captain during the Napoleonic Wars and originally named Fort House.

This was later changed to Bleak House - the name of another famous Dickens work. He is thought to have planned that novel there and part-written David Copperfield in the sea-facing study.

Bleak House, Broadstairs, Kent

His later house, at Gad's Hill Place, Higham, Kent, is now a Visitors' Centre. There is a delightful story written in the early 1900s about Gadshill, as it is sometimes spelt, at this link.

Gad's Hill Place, Higham, Kent

As an aside, I remember my Mother saying to us children, "What the dickens are you doing?"; so I went to look up the saying and found this -

What the dickens - exclamation of surprise or puzzlement.

This has nothing to do with Charles Dickens, as is often assumed. Dickens actually comes from a 16th century euphemism for the Devil. It may be an altered pronunciation of devilkin, meaning related to the Devil and it was certainly in use long before Charles was born. Shakespeare's 1601 play The Merry Wives of Windsor contains the words 'I cannot tell what the dickens his name is.'

READING

This is just a bit of trivia, really. For a long time I've loved pictures of people reading. It all started many years ago with the one above, which is one of many I have on a wall in my sitting room. Below is a shot of that wall with me bottom left and my late mother-in-law, Kitty, bottom right, both reading.

Not a very good pic but you get the picture. There is also one by Goya, called 'Young Women' -

The next two by Vermeer -

I love them all.