This is in response to Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt #327 where the given word is MAGNILOQUENT, and the word count is 26.
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Magniloquent Roger
Artful dodger
Grandiloquent coaster
Natural boaster
Incessant bragger
Lofty lagger
Ornate orator
Quite a slater
Useless prattle
Ends in battle
Never clever
Turgid ever
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Isn’t this a wonderful word!
Every year on 25th January, people all over the world celebrate #BurnsNight, usually with a Burns Supper. The occasion is more than just a meal. It is a celebration of the life and works of Robert Burns. Read the story of Scotland’s National Poet, here: http://ow.ly/bYVF50Mslua. It is also President Zelensky’s birthday, who is reputed to be a fan of Burns.
There are so many Burns poems and songs to choose from. He wrote in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a “light Scots dialect” of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest.
Nicola Sturgeon, The First Minister of Scotland, chose the following to include on her Twitter account this morning:
“But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flow’r, its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white – then melts for ever”
This is a very brief extract from the epic poem Tam o’Shanter
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I am also sharing a rare photograph of a Haggis in flight. They are very timid creatures so I was very lucky to capture this image.
Happy Burns night!
An occasional post of my music choices. No analysis, or explanation, maybe just a few words to say why!
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I hope you enjoy listening to Julie Fowlis singing Hug Air a’ Bhonaid Mhoir in Scottish Gaelic.
The lyrics do not make sense, nor do they need to. It’s all about the relationship of sounds, and the tune and the rhythm. It’s more of a tone poem, and a fun one at that.
However, should you wish to know what the song is all about, here is a version with subtitled lyrics in both Gaelic and English. Good luck in your speed reading adventure!
This is in response to Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt #265 where the given word is BREVITY and the word count is 12.
We all know that written and spoken words can be:
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Beautiful
Relaxing
Exhilarating
Vital
Interesting
Therapeutic
Yet are often best kept brief
This is in response to Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt #240 where the given word is PAVONINE and the word count is 81.
You can find all of the great entries here.
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Peacocks are really the male of the species, but both cocks and hens
Are often referred to by the common term of peacock. They are
Very beautiful birds but they can be scary to humans despite their
Ornate plumage which the males use to great advantage when displaying to the hens.
Nesting on the ground, but roosting
In trees, they will happily live singly, or in quite large flocks. They are often to be seen
Near large country houses and
Estates
§ Plus an extra 41 words §
A flock of peafowl is known as an ostentation, a pride, or a muster.
Blue (or Indian) peafowl, which are normally the most admired, most commonly live in India and Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, green peafowl are found in Java and Myanmar.
This is the fifth post in the series. Previous posts can be found by clicking on #PETER’S PONDERING PIPES.
We have moved from Ireland, via Northumberland, Wales, and now move down to Cornwall.
I am learning as much about pipes as you are so I shall ask an expert, Dr Merv Davey, to tell us a little about Cornish Pipes. Every 5th May might be the only time of year you get to hear any Cornish being spoken, so remember to join in and say Gool Peran Lowen (Happy St Piran’s Day) to your nearest and dearest each year!
Another name that constantly crops up when researching bagpipes is Julian Goodacre. He is a maker and researcher of the historical bagpipes of the British Isles, and is based in Peebles, Scotland. He has particularly specialised in reviving the extinct English bagpipes, Scottish bagpipes, and Cornish bagpipes.
Here he can be seen with THE CORNISH BAGPIPE SEXTET playing Shepherds Hey. Julian Goodacre – High G Cornish Double Pipes Callum Armstrong- low G Cornish Double Pipes John-Francis Goodacre- Cornish Double Pipes “This is the first video of my low G Cornish Double bagpipe, recorded by Ria Strangneth in The Great Hall of Elcho Street. Peebles. Jan 3rd 2019.” You may wonder where the other three players are! Well, each bagpipe is, in effect, two instruments, hence three players equals a sextet!
And here they are playing Half my Life by Julian Goodacre High G – Cornish Double Pipes Callum Armstrong- low G Cornish Double Pipes John-Francis Goodacre- C Cornish Double Pipes The Wiston Lodge Sessions Recorded at Wiston Lodge, Biggar, Lanarkshire, ML12 6HT. Scotland January 1st 2020.
This is the fourth post in the series. Previous posts can be found by clicking on #PETER’S PONDERING PIPES.
We have moved from Ireland, via Northumberland, and now journey to Wales.
The Pibgorn is a Welsh reed-pipe (a kind of ‘bag-less’ bagpipe, if you will, similar to the Basque alboka), with a long history of use in Wales going back to the Middle Ages. There is a Pibgorn revival at present, and some makers have ‘re-bagged’ the pipe to recreate and revive the equally ancient Welsh Bagpipe.
Unique amongst British pipes in having a single reed, Welsh Pibgorn Pipes tend to be in D, have an eight note scale, use open fingering and have a single drone on the shoulder. Drones can usually be retuned up a tone, so that minor modes can be played. The chanter usually ends in a piece of carved horn, projecting forwards and amplifying the sound.
With a repertoire drawn from traditional Welsh sources (and even hymns) they sound ancient and very different from all other British pipes.
If we first look at the Pibgorn reed pipe it is obvious that it was a fairly simple instrument that could be made by a shepherd, or stockman, to entertain himself during brief interludes of rest from work. It has a limited musical range but can, with practice, achieve quite sophisticated sounds. Here it is described in the marvellous Welsh language.
Again, in Welsh, we have Gavin Morgan now describing his experience with the Welsh Pipes.
And now, at Cuffern Manor, on 2/3/2011, we hear John Tose, on Pibau cyrn (hornpipes) and daughter Micky Tose on Ukulele. He apologises for a slight fluff on the first tune and says “ah well, no-one’s perfect.”
He goes on to say: This is a bellows-blown bagpipe set that I made from soft maple. The chanter is a pibgorn (Welsh hornpipe) which I also made from soft maple and cow horn. Chanter reed is cane (phragmites australis) and the drone reed is a very steady metal body/ plastic tongue reed, both of which I also made. Plans for the chanter itself comes from Gerald KilBride’s Website http://www.pibgyrn.com/ The drone, reeds, bag and bellows are my own design. Gerald’s website is a great resource for instructions on how to reconstruct the ancient Welsh Pibgorn. Please forgive the lack of skill in playing…..and also forgive the fact that I have taken a little bit of “creative licence” in my interpretations of these three traditional Welsh tunes. For example in the first tune (Hyd y Frwynen) I made up the C part of the tune while I was learning it. In the second set of tunes (Llongau Caernarfon and Mopsi Don) the drone started to drop in pitch a few cents due to the reed being nearly brand new and it has not really settled in. Hope you like the pipes.
And, finally, here is an example of more commercial Welsh bagpipe music, by Estron, (mostly comprising the Tose family – see above) showing some of the fantastic Welsh countryside with images taken during a walk over the Preseli hills, early May, 2016.
There are many things in life that make me smile, and I like to smile! It is so much easier than frowning, or grimacing.
I have decided to, occasionally, pass things on that I happen across that have made me smile. The first is something that I included in a comment on Colleen Brown’s lovely blog, The Chatter Blog. If you’ve never read any of Colleen’s words, or seen her delightful drawings, I can guarantee that you will find many a smile amongst her wise words and insightful sketches.
So, without further ado, here is my very first Smile time! The Ging Gang Goolie song.
It’s a gibberish song, widely spread around the world and popular among Scouts and Girl Guides as a campfire “round”. Originally Scandinavian. Sounds as though these are East European children. I bet you smiled!
It’s time again, for Kat Myrman’s wonderful challenge, to write a story, inspired by her picture prompt, in 280 characters or fewer.
Here is this week’s prompt and my contribution.
Check out all the fabulously creative entries here and, if you’ve never had a go, why not try a story of your own? You may surprise yourself!
Photo by Ryan McGuire at Pixabay.comSimon forced his eyelids apart, licked his dry lips, and looked down, with a sigh, at his wallet, now devoid of cash!
The last thing he remembered was staggering out of the club.
He looked up, and could see, immediately, that he and the Beetle had an identical problem.
Piston broke!
(280 characters)
If you have to explain a joke, it ceases to be a joke, but I’ll risk that.
In British English:
“Pissed” does not mean “very annoyed”, but it does mean “drunk”.
“Broke” means “having completely run out of money”.
There, one joke ruined, just like the piston!
It’s time again, for Kat Myrman’s wonderful challenge, to write a story, inspired by her picture prompt, in 280 characters or fewer.
Here is this week’s prompt and my contribution.
Check out all the fabulously creative entries here and, if you’ve never had a go, why not try a story of your own? You may surprise yourself!
It starts with one word bt can’t contine mch frther becase this keyboard is tterly seless.
Jst how can I seflly se it?
Have yo not heard? Some stpid person called Trmp has decided to ban one of the letters!
He says it is nconstittional, and shold not be sed.
It’s jst pre rbbish.
Fck!
(279 characters)
It started when I gave up smoking and went from there!
The opinions expressed are those of the author. You go get your own opinions.
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