African Ramblings

COME TO ME IN MY DREAMS From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (10 hours old)

LONGING Come to me in my dreams, and then By day I shall be well again! For so the night will more than pay The hopeless longing of the day. Come, as thou cam’st a thousand times, A mess… more

THEY HAVE COME FORWARD From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (11 hours old)

Two lucky winners came forward yesterday to claim their share of a massive £90 million jackpot in Friday night's Euromillions draw. The pair of ticketholders will receive more than £45.5milli… more

SOMEWHAT OF A RARITY? From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (11 hours old)

(Times Online)… more

APOLLO AND DAPHNE From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (11 hours old)

Yesterday Waterhouse presented us with a wood nymph and today he brings us another tree figure - Daphne. The interesting story behind the painting is from ancient Greek mythology. John Wil… more

NOW I GO ALONE From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (11 hours old)

PAST DAYS I. Dead and gone, the days we had together, Shadow-stricken all the lights that shone Round them, flown as flies the blown foam's feather, Dead and gone. Where we went, we … more

DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (1 day old)

HOLD FAST TO DREAMS For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow. Langston Hughes… more

IS IT YOU? From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (1 day old)

FRANTIC SEARCH FOR TWO LUCKY BRITONS Two British lottery players are unaware they are sitting on a record-breaking £90 million ($149,500,000) fortune. They each won £45,570,835.50 ($74,7050,000)… more

MISSED THE BOAT? From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (1 day old)

(Times Online)… more

WOOD NYMPH From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (1 day old)

One traditional symbolic meaning of the female nude is a Nature spirit. One of these, the Hamadryad, represents a stand of oaks. The Hamadryad is noble, robust, and fertile, full of potential: She… more

TRAVELS IN ITALY From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (1 day old)

Swinburne takes us to three Italian cities. THREE FACES I. VENTIMIGLIA The sky and sea glared hard and bright and blank: Down the one steep street, with slow steps firm and free, A t… more

AY, THERE'S THE RUB From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (2 days old)

I said yesterday that from today I would be posting a few poems about dreams and dreaming. However, today's post is not a poem and the comment on 'dream' is only passing and incidental. Having s… more

PERSISTENCE From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (2 days old)

A South Korean woman is celebrating after passing the written exam for a driving licence - on her 950th attempt. After four years of trying, 68-year-old Cha Sa-soon finally managed to secur… more

LIVE AND LET LIVE From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (2 days old)

(The Times) … more

DOWN THROUGH DARKNESS From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (2 days old)

SLEEP Sleep, when a soul that her own clouds cover Wails that sorrow should always keep Watch, nor see in the gloom above her Sleep, Down, through darkness naked and steep, Sinks, … more

HE JUST GETS BETTER From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (2 days old)

This painting by Waterhouse illustrates the poem 'Echo and Narcissus by Ovid. Echo was a nymph. She was in love with Narcissus but he became so enamoured with his own reflection in a stream that he… more

WE ARE SUCH STUFF AS DREAMS ARE MADE OF From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (3 days old)

I am coming to the end of my own work and today's poem is the last that will appear here - at least for some time. It is on the theme of 'dreaming' and from tomorrow I shall post some of the poems … more

IGNORANCE From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (3 days old)

Hitler, the German football coach and other historical 'facts' according to our schoolchildrenIn a survey one in 20 children aged nine to 15 surveyed believed Adolf Hitler was a football coach, not t… more

A STREET BY ANY OTHER NAME From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (3 days old)

Seen in Sandwich, Kent (The Times)… more

ROBERT BROWNING From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (3 days old)

Robert Browning, the English poet and playwright, was born in Camberwell, London in 1812. He died at his son's home 'Ca' Rezzonico' in Venice in 1889, and was buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster A… more

DIOGENES From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (3 days old)

"Diogenes of Sinope, also known as Diogenes the Cynic, was a Greek philosopher, born in Sinope (modern day Turkey) about 412 BC. He was exiled from his native city and moved to Athens, becoming a beg… more

FRUSTRATION From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (4 days old)

Here is another of my own poems. The title says it all! FRUSTRATION A thousand things I want to say, But words won't come to voice them. A million acts I want to do, But action will not … more

THE MAGIC CIRCLE From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (4 days old)

"Miracles, magic and the power of prophecy are common themes in Waterhouse's art. This is one of his earlier works, and reflects his fascination with the exotic. The woman in this picture appea… more

GUNPOWDER TREASON AND PLOT From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (4 days old)

Remember, remember the fifth of November, The gunpowder treason and plot, I know of no reason Why the gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot. … more

JUVENILE DELINQUENTS? From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (4 days old)

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WHEN THE SOUL LEAVES OFF TO DREAM AND YEARN From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (4 days old)

HOPE AND FEAR Beneath the shadow of dawn's aërial cope, With eyes enkindled as the sun's own sphere, Hope from the front of youth in godlike cheer Looks Godward, past the shades where blind men grope… more

GET YOURS HERE From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (5 days old)

(From the Times)… more

THE WAY YOU ARE From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (5 days old)

Another of my own poems. You know who YOU are! THANK YOU Thank you For the things you say. Thank you love For every day You're by my side And in my arms. Thank you For your many charms. Thank… more

A SHOCKING STORY - EXTREME PENALTY, OR JUSTICE? From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (5 days old)

A man in Saudi Arabia is to be beheaded and crucified after he raped five children and left one of them, a three-year-old boy, to die in the desert. An appeal court in the capital Riyadh approv… more

LOVE, SLEEP AND DEATH GO TO THE SWEET SAME TUNE From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (5 days old)

Here is one of Swinburne's longer romantic poems. I am sorry I couldn't find an illustration of an orchard in moonlight. You will just have to imagine that! IN THE ORCHARD … more

WILL YE NO COME BACK AGAIN? From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (5 days old)

Painted by Waterhouse in 1900, this picture was given to the Artists War Fund, in support of British casualties of the Boer War, which had begun the previous year. 350 artists donated works, whic… more