“Only through time time is conquered” T. S. Eliot It’s been a while since I last wrote a piece for my blog. I seemed to be busy doing things. Perhaps I was expecting a return to the ways of years gone by in which I was striving for some kind of recognition, standing out from […]
Category: Musings

ॐ सर्वेषां स्वस्तिर्भवतु ।सर्वेषां शान्तिर्भवतु ।सर्वेषां पूर्नं भवतु ।सर्वेषां मड्गलं भवतु ॥ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः Om Sarveśām Svastir BhavatuSarveśām Shāntir BhavatuSarveśām Pūrnam BhavatuSarveśām Maṇgalam BhavatuOm Shanti, Shanti, Shanti May there be happiness in allMay there be peace in allMay there be completeness in allMay there be success in allOm Peace, Peace, Peace The above was copied […]

I’ve been doing quite a lot of research recently on how to enhance my website and blog and while doing this I revisited the Botanics Sparrowhawk blog I used to write when I worked there. I really enjoyed doing this especially as it meant I was able to spend time observing the sparrowhawks that live […]

Today is National Poetry Day 2020 and the theme this year is “Vision”. I thought that this would be a very timely opportunity for me to share with you a poem which is called “A Vision” (a nod to W. B. Yeats) that I wrote quite a few years ago now and was included on […]
It’s sad to say it but I think I’m going off dance music. Perhaps it’s just because I’m getting older but I also have been thinking today about music and the way it is created just now and I’m thinking that it’s time to totally reassess this situation. It’s time to create a new music […]
Many, many years ago I wrote a series of seven stories about Merlin and self-published them in a little pamphlet that I made myself. I still have a copy and the rest I put into book shops. So there are copies out there somewhere. Anyway I thought I would add them to my website for […]
Limitations in Nature
I was looking up at the moon this evening which is rapidly coming up to the First Quarter and it got me thinking about the notion of limits. The moon is a brilliant teacher of this because it grows larger and smaller but it never goes outside its own limits when it is at its […]
Today is the 30th day of the lunar cycle and unless I see the new moon tonight it will be the first day of the new lunar cycle tomorrow. If I see the New Moon tonight then today is the first day of the new lunar cycle but we shall see. I’ve been keeping track […]
Mental Health Awareness Week
As it’s the start of Mental Health Awareness Week I thought I would share this poem I wrote earlier this year. 2020 has been a challenging year hasn’t it. Threshold At the threshold of sleep Falling asleep and waking I encounter the biggest challenge. To step over that threshold Is like a giant leap for […]
I was just reading an article in the Atlantic Monthly about an American academic at Oxford who used his position to steal and sell fragments of papyrus to an American collector. It’s a fascinating story and I was drawn to it as I’m currently staying in Oxford. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/museum-of-the-bible-obbink-gospel-of-mark/610576/ It made me wonder though why there […]
After seeing one of my friends post a fundraiser today I was inspired to do one myself. I have been really wanting to do a new album of poetry and music for a long time and just recently I started thinking about it again. I have definitely written enough poetry to do one and I […]
Happy Earth Day! The place where I’m staying just now has an excellent view over a river and I’ve been watching the fish swim in it, some of which must be about half a metre in length, maybe more, as they can be seen from my room in the top floor. As the window is […]
There seem to be quite a few people, some of whom I know, doing live streaming on-line just now as a means of reaching out while we are in this state of self-imposed (or in some places state-imposed) isolation. This got me thinking that I could myself do something along these lines, however after pondering […]
As we are having to stay indoors right now which is a bit like being in a cocoon I thought I would share this poem I wrote which was very beautifully illustrated and written in calligraphy by Anna Dorward. You can have a look at Anna’s Etsy page where you will find a lot more […]
I went out for a walk today while the wild winds were blowing because I wanted to see some trees and the nearest ones to me were down at Leith Links. Even at this time of year when their life-force is at its lowest ebb trees still fascinate me. In fact this might even be […]