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blackswaneuroparedux · 1 year ago

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‘Pimpernel of the Hellenes’, ‘Major Paddy’, ‘Enchanted maniac’: Will the real Paddy Leigh Fermor please stand up?

Paradox reconciles all contradictions. - Patrick Leigh Fermor

So one evening I was baby sitting my nephews and nieces here in our family chalet in Verbier, high up in the Swiss Alps. It was my turn to baby sit as the rest of my family enjoyed the fantastic classical music concerts and events showcased at the two week long Verbier 30th Festival. The little scamps had gone to bed and my father and I watched an old British war movie on DVD, ‘Ill Met By Moonlight’ (1957). It was filmed by the legendary team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger based on the 1950 book ‘Ill Met by Moonlight: The Abduction of General Kreipe’ by W. Stanley Moss.

I’ve seen the film a couple of times before, but until now never really paid attention to where the title came from. My father said it was from Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream’ And so it was. In the play, Oberon, the king of the fairies and the Queen are having a fairly bitter drawn-out fight over custody of a changeling Indian child, and this is how the pissed off king greets the queen when they run into each other, “Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania”. Oberon is basically saying "Oh Lord, it's you..." and Titania's response is basically a flippant middle finger. One of the best modern reasons to read Shakespeare: to throw playful erudite shade at others.

Anyway, the historical background of the film is the German invasion of Crete in May 1941. After an intense ten-day battle, Allied troops were driven back across the island, and many were evacuated from beaches along the southern coast. Some Cretans and British officers took to the mountains to organise resistance against the occupying forces. The German occupation that followed was especially brutal. Dreadful reprisals followed every act of resistance. The German commander, General Müller, insisted on taking 50 Cretan lives for every German soldier killed; he became known as ‘The Butcher of Crete’.

As a Classicist side note, there had been a close association between Britain and Crete since the early 20th century, when archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans had uncovered the sensational remains of a Minoan palace at Knossos. The headquarters of the British archaeological school in Crete was a large villa alongside the site, known as Villa Ariadne. Several archaeologists, who knew the island and its people well, went underground after the German occupation to aid the Cretan resistance. Continuing in this tradition, scholar and travel-writer Patrick Leigh Fermor, who had got to know Greece in the 1930s, joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

During the German occupation, Major Paddy Leigh Fermor travelled to Crete three times to help organise local resistance against the hated German occupation. On the third occasion, in February 1944, he was parachuted in with a specific mission to kidnap German commander General Müller, to boost morale on Crete along with his erstwhile SOE comrade Capt. W. Stanley Moss MC (aka Billy Moss) of the Coldstream Guards. However, just after they parachute in, General Müller was replaced by General Heinrich Kreipe, who transferred from the Russian Front. Thinking that capturing one general was as good as another, Fermor merrily go ahead with the daring kidnap operation.

It’s at this point that the narrative of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s ‘Ill Met by Moonlight’ (1957) picks up. Dirk Bogarde plays Paddy Leigh Fermor, David Oxley plays Moss, and Marius Goring plays the taciturn German paratroop general. Blink and you’ll miss the late great Christopher Lee making a cameo appearance as a German officer in the dentist’s room scene.

The film naturally takes some liberty with the facts but it’s a cracking yarn of high adventure and drama. Xan Fielding, a close friend of Leigh Fermor from the SOE in Cairo, was taken on as technical adviser. The fact the film was shot in in the Alpes-Maritimes in France and Italy, and on the Côte d'Azur in France, far away from the craggy valleys and mountains of Crete itself. The director Michael Powell spent some time walking in Crete to get to know the island, but decided that, with the confused and volatile state of Greek politics, it was not suitable to film there.

Looking back years after he had directed it Powell didn’t think much of his own film. By contrast, Paddy Leigh Fermor, who was on set throughout the film shoot, was very happy with Bogarde’s portrayal of him with Byronic glamour. Watching the movie again ‘Ill Met by Moonlight’ remains a classic and stands out from many British war films of the 1950s because of its realism. The British SOE men and the Cretan guerrillas look absolutely right for their parts. It is dramatic and full of suspense while filled with much boyish humour.

I was disappointed with one notable omission in the film that did happen in real life. According to Patrick Leigh Fermor, at dawn one day during the journey across the mountains, General Kreipe was looking at the mist rising from Mount Ida and began to recite, in Latin, the opening lines of Horace’s ninth ode:

Vides ut alta stet nive candidum Soracte nec iam sustineant onus silvae laborantes geluque flumina constiterint acuto?

Behold yon Mountains hoary height, Made higher with new Mounts of Snow; Again behold the Winters weight Oppress the lab’ring Woods below: And Streams, with Icy fetters bound, Benum’d and crampt to solid Ground

(John Dryden 1685)

Leigh Fermor picked up on the General, and recited the remaining stanzas of the Ode. ‘Ach so, Herr Major,’ said Kreipe when Leigh Fermor had finished. Both men were amazed to realise they shared a classical education and a love of ancient Latin poetry.

Leigh Fermor later wrote that it was as though the war had ceased to exist for a moment, as ‘We had both drunk from the same fountains before.’ It brought captor and captive together with a strange bond. The scene was not reproduced in the film, as Powell and Pressburger probably thought it would make the men sound too academic for a popular cinema audience.

Leigh Fermor and Kreipe met again in the early 1970s, on a Greek television show, and got on famously together. The General said Leigh Fermor had treated him chivalrously as a captive. They remained friends until Kreipe’s death.

After sharing a late night drink with my father after the film, I began to muse on the figure of Paddy Leigh Fermor, a family friend and someone I met along with his wife, Joan, as a little girl. My grandparents, and especially my grandmother, knew Paddy briefly from their days during and after the Second World War.

My father shared a few stories about him when he and my mother visited his beautiful home in Greece, where even at his advanced age he remained the most generous of hosts and the most outrageous flirt.

One of my memories was getting into his battered old Peugeot in the drive way and trying to drive it when my feet could barely touch the pedals. It wouldn’t have mattered in any case as the brakes didn’t work as he cheerfully said later as we careened around a dirt road to go around the mountains for a drive.

Many years later in April 2022, I tried to visit the home of the late Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor - a sort of pristine shrine to their memory that one can also stay in any of the rooms as a vacation rental - in the coastal fishing village of Kadarmyli in the Peloponnese, as part of a hiking and mountaineering sojourn around Greece with ex-Army friends. We couldn’t stay there as it was already rented out to other guests, and so we stayed higher up the mountain in a villa, but we swam in front of the Fermor’s home which was on the water’s edge.

You could never put your finger on Paddy Leigh Fermor. He hid behind his gift for telling yarns, and pulling Ancient Greek verses out of the thin air, as well as boisterously singing local Greek songs with a drink in his hand.

Even after his death in 2011, the question keeps nagging as to who was Paddy Leigh Fermor?

The Dirk Bogarde film too seems to ask, who exactly is the ‘real’ Patrick Leigh Fermor - or the real anyone? Taking its title from a Shakespearian play concerned with dreams and disguises, magic and power, ‘Ill Met By Moonlight’ is all about questions of identity.

Under the film credits, we see Dirk Bogarde in uniform; then, unexpectedly, we see him in the flamboyant outfit of a Cretan hill-bandit. A title informs us that Major Leigh Fermor was also known by the Greek code-name “Philidem.” In other words, there are two of him (at least), and on one level the adventure the film is about to unfold reflects a conflict in his personality. It’s a conflict shared, unknowingly, by his Nazi opposite number, the fierce, arrogant General Kreipe (an unlikely “proud Titania,” but it’s true that he “with a monster is in love” – the monster of Nazism). Kreipe’s human side is so rigorously repressed by the demands of war and “glory” that he is genuinely unaware of it; ironically, this humanness, which constitutes the true manhood of this Teuton warrior, is revealed by a boy (equivalent to Shakespeare’s Indian Prince?) - who, in turn, is the most grown up person in the movie.

If “Philidem” appears under the credits, caped and open-shirted, a romantic dream-figure out of an operetta or a storybook, he is first seen in the film proper as a coarser, more down-to-earth version of the same thing – an ordinary Cretan peasant in a shabby suit, waiting for a bus. When he makes contact with the Resistance, his personality fragments further.

To some, he is the mystical Philidem, Pimpernel of the Hellenes and righter of wrongs. To others he is “Major Paddy,” the happy-go-lucky Englishman of popular movie myth conducting war as if it were a branch of amateur theatricals, a gentleman adventurer relying on breeding to get him through and making fun of the whole business. To Bill Moss (David Oxley), the newly arrived junior officer sent to assist him, he is the cool, fast-thinking professional soldier. And to himself? In his quietly passionate defence of Cretan life and culture, he seems someone else again: a scholar and aesthete outraged by the barbarism and folly of war, and by the moronic arrogance shown by his captive toward the Cretan people.

Whatever his persona, Leigh Fermor is a chameleon who never seems to change very radically in himself. Perhaps because he has this quality of seeming all things to all men – and being those things - he remains unfazed by the monolithic might of the German military machine. Fluent in Greek, he can also speak German like a German and is easily able to assume another disguise, that of a faceless Nazi officer. Although he and Moss make fun of themselves - “If only I had a monocle!” muses Moss when Leigh Fermor tells him he “looks like an Englishman dressed like a German, leaning against the Ritz bar” - they are able to effect the kidnapping with an ease that seems appropriately Puckish. General Kreipe is ignominiously thrust onto the floor of his own limousine, gagged, and sat upon by a couple of the peasants he so despises. Kreipe’s rage is compounded by his firm conviction that he has been snatched by “amateurs” - a belief Leigh Fermor and Moss slyly make no objection to, knowing how it will gnaw at his already shaky Master Race self-confidence.

Patrick Leigh Fermor, aka Major Paddy, aka Philidem, in the film’s closing moments, is far from being self-assured intellectual or dashing amateur adventurer or legendary outlaw of the hills. He’s just a tired man who wants to go home and rest up. “How do you feel?” asks Moss. “Flat” is the reply. “You look flat!” says Moss. “I know how I’d like to look …” murmurs Leigh-Fermor wistfully. Moss knows what he’s going to say, and joins in the litany: “Like an Englishman dressed like an Englishman – and leaning against the Ritz bar!” It’s easy to imagine them ordering drinks at that renowned watering-hole with all the suavity required by this little fantasy.

Still, the film’s last images of Crete receding in the distance, until all we can see is the sea, suggests that maybe Major Paddy’s heart is really back in those hills in the “fair and fertile” land that has become as much a Powellian landscape of the mind for us as the studio-built Himalayan convent of ‘Black Narcissus’ or the monochrome Heaven of ‘A Matter of Life and Death’. And, as the film POV closing shots departs both Crete and this film, I began to think that being “dressed like an Englishman and leaning against the Ritz bar” would, for Patrick Leigh Fermor constitute yet another disguise. After all, he said he was of Irish aristocratic stock.

Traveller and writer Paddy Leigh Fermor is best known for two events. He’s known for leading the commando group in occupied Crete to kidnap General Kreipe. But he is also known for the boy who, at a mere 18 years old, set off with little money and a lot of nerve in 1933 to walk from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople.

Patrick Leigh Fermor was, in the words of one of his obituaries, a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond and Graham Greene. Self-reliance and derring-do were lessons learnt from the cradle. When Fermor’s geologist father was posted to India, he and his wife left the infant with family in Northamptonshire and did not return until his fourth birthday. In retrospect, he took great delight in being sent to a school for difficult children and getting himself expelled from the King’s School, Canterbury, when he was caught holding hands with a greengrocer’s daughter eight years his senior. His school report infamously judged him ‘a dangerous mix of sophistication and recklessness’.

Sharing a flat in Shepherd’s Market, one of Mayfair’s seedier corners, Leigh Fermor schooled himself in literature, history, Latin and Greek.

He honed his character with the company of extraordinary people and the words of great writers - he had a prodigious memory for prose as well as poetry. He befriended literary lions such as Sacheverell Sitwell, Evelyn Waugh and Nancy Mitford. His travels began aged ‘eighteen-and-three-quarters’ when he rejected Sandhurst Royal Military College in order to walk the length of Europe from Hook of Holland to Constantinople. He took with him Horace’s Odes and the Oxford Book of Verse though Leigh Fermor could recite Shakespeare soliloquies, Marlowe speeches, Keats’s Odes and as he modestly put it ‘the usual pieces of Tennyson, Browning and Coleridge’ from memory.

Leigh Fermor was then a self-made man in the most literal sense.

Setting off from England in 1933, Fermor resolved to traverse Europe living like a hermit; sleeping in bars and begging for food. But his manly charms and boyish good looks found him being passed like a favourite godson from Schloss to palace by European nobility and he developed a lifelong penchant for aristocratic company. I his own words, ‘In Hungary, I borrowed a horse, then plunged into Transylvania; from Romania on into Bulgaria’. Having reached Constantinople in January 1935, Fermor continued to explore Greece where he fought on the royalist side in Macedonia quelling a republican revolution. In Athens Leigh Fermor met Balasha Cantacuzene, a Romanian countess with whom he fell in love. They were living together in a Moldovan castle when World War Two was declared.

Fluent in Greek, Leigh Fermor was posted as a liaison officer in Albania. Recruited as a Special Operations Executive (SOE), he was shipped from Cairo to German-occupied Crete where he lived disguised as a shepherd in the mountains for two years. On his third expedition to Crete in 1944, Leigh Fermor was parachuted alone onto the island and made connections in the Cretan resistance movement. While waiting for his compatriot Captain Bill Stanley Moss to land by water from Cairo, Leigh Fermor hatched a plot to kidnap German Commander General Heinrich Krieple. He liaised comfortably with Cretan partisans and bandits to pull off one of the war’s greatest coups de théâtre.

Disguised as German soldiers, Leigh Fermor and Moss stopped Krieple’s car at an improvised check point en route back to Nazi HQ in Knossos. Abandoning the General’s car after a two-hour drive, Leigh Fermor left a note indicating that the kidnappers were British so that there wouldn’t be reprisals against Cretan nationals. When the abduction of the unpopular commander was discovered, a German officer in Heraklion allegedly said ‘well, gentlemen, I think this calls for champagne’. It turns out that General Kreipe was despised by his own soldiers because, amongst other things, he objected to the stopping of his own vehicle for checking in compliance with his commands concerning approved travel orders. It’s why for instance the German troops, both in the film and in real life, dare not stop the General’s car as it drove through the check points at Heraklion.

Krieple was evacuated and taken to Cairo and Leigh Fermor entered the annals of World War Two’s most devil-may-care heroes. With characteristic panache, when he was demobbed Leigh Fermor moved into an attic room at the Ritz paying half a guinea a night. But his first travel book, ‘The Traveller’s Tree’, was not about the European odyssey or the Cretan escapades and centred on Leigh Fermor’s adventures in the Carribbean. Published in 1950, ‘The Traveller’s Tree’ was an inspiration for Ian Fleming’s second James Bond novel ‘Live and Let Die’ (1954).

As a host and house guest, Paddy Leigh Fermor was much sought-after. At one of his parties in Cairo, he counted nine crowned heads. He was a confirmed two-gin-and-tonics before lunch man and smoked eighty to 100 cigarettes a day. His party pieces included singing ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ in Hindustani and reciting ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter’ backwards. In Cyprus while staying with Laurence Durrell, Leigh Fermor apparently stunned crowds in Bella Pais into silence by singing folk songs in perfect Cretan dialect. As Durrell wrote in ‘Bitter Lemons’ (1957), ‘it is as if they want to embrace Paddy wherever he goes’.

He struck up a partiuclar friendship with the famous Mitford sisters, especially Deborah Mitford, later ‘Debo’, the Duchess of Devonshire. It was at the Devonshires’ Irish estate Lismore Castle that ‘Darling Debo’ and ‘Darling Pad’ met and began to correspond. A characteristic letter from the Duchess in 1962 reads ‘The dear old President (JFK) phoned the other day. First question was ‘Who’ve you got with you, Paddy?” He’s got you on the brain’ to which Fermor replies of a broken wrist ‘Balinese dancing’s out, for a start; so, should I ever succeed to a throne, is holding an orb. The other drawbacks will surface with time’.

After the war he travelled widely but was always drawn back to Greece. He built a house on the Mani peninsula - which had been, significantly, the only part of Magna Graecia to resist Ottoman colonisation since the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Before his death in 2011 at the age of 96, he wrote some of the most acclaimed travel books of the 20th century.

His books contain some of the finest prose writing of the past century and disprove Wilde's maxim that "it is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating".

Charm, self-taught knowledge and enthusiasm made up for the lack of a university degree or a private income. His teenage walk across Europe and subsequent romantic sojourn in Baleni, Romania, with Princess Balasha Cantacuzene are proof enough of that. But the difficulty of capturing such an unconventional and glamorous life is made harder by the certainty that Fermor was an unreliable narrator.

He was also an infuriatingly slow writer. Driven by a life-long passion for words yet hampered by anxiety about his abilities, Leigh Fermor published eight books over 41 years.

‘The Traveller's Tree’ describes his postwar journey through the Caribbean; ‘Mani‘ and ‘Roumeli’ (1958 and 1966) draw on his experiences in Greece, where he would live for much of the latter part of his life. But it is the books that came out of his trans-Europe walk that reveal both the brilliance and the flaws. ‘A Time of Gifts’ was published in 1977, 44 years after he set out on the journey. ‘Between the Woods and the Water’ appeared nine years later. Both describe a world of privilege and poverty, communism and the rising tide of Nazism, and end with the unequivocal words, "To be continued". Yet the third volume hung like an albatross around the author's neck. As the years passed, Fermor found it impossible to shape the last part of his story in the way he wanted.

Leigh Fermor was that rarest of men: a man determined to live on his own terms, if not his own means, and who mostly - and mostly magnificently - succeeded. Always popping off on a journey when he should have been writing about the last one, always ready to party, he was forever chasing beautiful, fascinating or powerful women, even when with his wife, Joan Raynor. She was the great facilitator who funded his passion for travel and writing, as well as women, from her trust fund. His love affairs were discreet but legendary.

Leigh Fermor was happiest among the rogues. Over a lifetime on the road, he sought them, and in turn they responded to his charm, nose for adventure, and his famous wit. He was a keenly-anticipated dinner guest - once outshining Richard Burton at a London society soirée, who he cut-off midway through a recital of ‘Hamlet’. As Richard Burton stormed out, the pleading society hostess said, “But Paddy’s a war hero!” to which Burton grouchily replied, “I don’t give a damn who he is!”

His partnership with and then marriage to Joan Raynor was an open relationship, at least on Leigh Fermor’s side. Paddy saw in Joan his kindred spirit. Like him, she spent much of her youth travelling to where she pleased; largely in France, where the photographer and literary critic Cyril Connolly became besotted by her. Joan was the daughter of Sir Bolton and Lady Eyres Monsell of Dumbleton Hall, Worcestershire. She was not only stunningly pretty but also 'a beautiful ideal, with the perfect bathing dress, the most lovely face, the most elaborate evening dress', as the Eton educated Connolly described her. Joan also stood out from the upper-class beauties of her day in that she supplemented her mean rich father's allowance by earning her living as a decent photographer.

In 1946, she met Leigh Fermor in Athens, while he was deputy director of the British Institute. Joan met him at a time when he was then in a relationship with a French woman called Denise, who was pregnant with his child, which she aborted. The pair would travel to the Caribbean together under the invitation of Greek photographer Costas, falling madly in love.

She was the only woman that - after decades of sexual scandals - matched his own erratic behaviour. Stories of how they dined fully-clothed in the Mediterranean, dragging a table into the sea, as well as their myriad cats and olive groves, paint a restless couple, who, when not out articulating the peoples of their adopted homeland, kept themselves very busy.

The attraction between Paddy and Joan was instant. So many love affairs that Paddy indulged in seemed about as brief as the flame from a burning envelope and you expected this one with Joan to be too. But somehow, miraculously, it lasts.

The two were apart a great deal, but in their case, absence did make the heart grow fonder. While Paddy was staying in a monastery in Normandy, supposed to be thinking monk-like thoughts that he would eventually put into his masterpiece A Time To Keep Silence, he was also writing sexy letters to Joan: 'At this distance you seem about as nearly perfect a human being as can be, my darling little wretch, so it's about time I was brought to my senses.' And: 'Don't run away with anyone or I'll come and cut your bloody throat.'

She tantalised him with descriptions of Cyril Connolly making passes at her; but she, like Denise, sounded a rather desperate note when she wrote: 'I got the curse so late this month I began to hope I was having a baby and that you would have to make it a legitimate little Fermor. All hopes ruined this morning.'

Fiercely independent - a trait that must have enamoured Paddy - they were best imagined as two pillars of a Greek temple, beside one-another but capable of holding up the roof of the world that they had built for themselves through the lens of ancient history and Hellenic culture. Indeed, it was said that they had a special ‘pact of liberty’. It is this unconquerable aura that led poet laureate John Betjeman to declare his love for her (he called her ‘Dotty’ and remarked that her eyes were as large as tennis balls). For Cyril Connolly, the photographer she shadowed, and with whom she had a scandalised affair during her first marriage, she was a “lovely boy-girl” and Laurence Durrell named her the ‘Corn Goddess’ because of her slender figure and short hair. But of all of these worthy candidates, it was the warrior-poet Patrick Leigh Fermor who finally won her heart.

To Joan, who described herself as a ‘lifelong loner’ in her diaries, her companionship with the uncomplicated Paddy was a relief. They had no children, nor did they want any - or so Paddy claimed. But those who knew Joan suspected she did want children but it never came to pass; and so she became a devoted aunt or dotted on other friends’ children. For both of them their dozens of cats gave them the next best thing to paternal satisfaction. Still, her morbid fascination with photographing cemeteries painted a much darker side.

Joan Raynor’s inheritance subsidised his peripatetic life at least until the enormous success of ‘A Time of Gifts’ in the late 1970s, which in turn created a new market for his previous volumes about Greece, ‘Mani’ and ‘Roumeli’.

With Joan’s tacit consent, Paddy enjoyed amorous flings, discrete sexual affairs with high society women and sampled the low delights of the brothel. This activity rarely made it into his private letters, but the exceptions could be piquant. Writing in 1958 from Cameroon, where he was on the set of a John Huston movie, he told a (male) friend: “ Errol Flynn and I . . . sally forth into dark lanes of the town together on guilty excursions that remind me rather of old Greek days with you.” In a 1961 letter to the film director John Huston’s wife, Ricki, with whom Leigh Fermor had been having sex with (and would die in a car crash in 1969). “I say,” the passage begins, “what gloomy tidings about the CRABS! Could it be me?” Riffing on pubic lice and their crafty ways, he conjectures that, during a recent romp with an “old pal” in Paris, a force “must have landed” on him “and then lain up, seeing me merely as a stepping stone or a springboard to better things” - to Mrs. Huston, that is. As comic apologies for venereal infection go, the passage is surely a classic.

Like most high flying lives, it was far from blameless. Wounded women were littered in his wake. Some British visitors to Athens were less than impressed by this Englishman who posed as “more Greek than the Greeks”.

Some Greeks shared their disdain. Revisionist historians criticised his role in wartime Crete, and warned their fellow Hellenes that for all his fluency and charm, Leigh Fermor was no latter day Byron. His unoccupied car was blown up outside his Mani house, probably by members of the Greek Communist Party which he had vocally opposed. The accidental fatal shooting of a partisan in Crete led to a long blood feud which made it difficult for Leigh Fermor to re-enter the island until the 1970s, and possibly explains why he chose to settle in the Peloponnese rather than among the hills and harbours of his dreams.

His own books had already eclipsed those incidents, not only among readers of English but also in Greece, where in 2007 the government of his adopted land made him a Commander of the Order of the Phoenix for services to literature.

Travel writers such as the great Jan Morris have described Leigh Fermor as the master of their trade and its greatest exponent in the 20th century.

When ‘A Time of Gifts’ was published in 1977, Frederick Raphael wrote: “One feels he could not cross Oxford Street in less than two volumes; but then what volumes they would be!”

They are not for everyone. Leigh Fermor wrote that written English is a language whose Latinates need pegging down with simple Anglo-Saxonisms, and some feel that he personally could have made more and better use of the mallet. His exuberance is either captivating or florid. It is certainly unique among English prose styles.

Artemis Cooper, his patient and careful biographer wrote that “Paddy had found a way of writing that could deploy a lifetime’s reading and experience, while never losing sight of his ebullient, well-meaning and occasionally clumsy 18-year-old self … this was a wonderful way of disarming his readers, who would then be willing to follow him into the wildest fantasies and digressions”.

Those fantasies and digressions took decades to express. ‘A Time of Gifts’ had arguably been 40 years in the making when it was published in 1977. Its sequel, ‘Between the Woods and the Water’, did not appear until 1986. The third and final volume has been awaited ever since. Following Leigh Fermor’s death, a foot-high manuscript was apparently found on his desk.

Once he knuckled down to it, Leigh Fermor loved playing around with words. He was one of our greatest stylists and he was devoted to producing un-improvable books. But writing did not come easily to him, at least partly because it was something of a distraction from the main event, which was living an un-improvable life of unrepentant gaiety and fun.

For forty odd years, a legion of friends and admirers would beat a path to Paddy and Joan’s door. Artists, poets, royalty and writers came, all taking inspiration from their erudite hosts. A visit was an act of communion, a sharing of ideas and stories.

Leigh Fermor influenced a generation of British travel writers, including Bruce Chatwin, Colin Thubron, Philip Marsden, Nicholas Crane, Rory Stewart, and William Dalrymple. Indeed when Bruce Chatwin died, it was Paddy who scattered Chatwin’s ashes near a church in the mountains in Kardamyli.

When I was there in April 2022, I went to that same church to pay my respects.

But some of Paddy’s life energy was sucked out of him when Joan died in Kardamyli in June 2003, aged 91. It was related that Joan said to her friend Olivia Stewart, who was visiting: 'I really would like to die but who'd look after Paddy?' Olivia said that she would. A few minutes later, Joan fell, hit her head - and died instantly of a brain haemorrhage. Joan had often quoted Rilke: 'The good marriage is one in which each appoints the other as guardian of his solitude.' Now Paddy Leigh Fermor was all alone.

Leigh Fermor was knighted in 2004, the day of his birthday which he delighted in like a giggling schoolboy. But he missed Joan terribly.

For the last few months of his life Leigh Fermor suffered from a cancerous tumour, and in early June 2011 he underwent a tracheotomy in Greece. As death was close, according to local Greek friends, he expressed a wish to visit England to bid goodbye to his friends, and then return to die in Kardamyli, though it is also stated that he actually wished to die in England and be buried next to his wife, Joan, in Dumbleton, Gloucestershire. He stayed on at Kardamyli until the 9th June 2011, when he left Greece for the last time. He died in England the following day, 10th June 2011, aged 96. It was reported that he had dined in full black tie on the evening of his death. Paddy had style even unto the end.

A Guard of Honour was formed by the Intelligence Corps and a bugler from his former regiment, the Irish Guards, delivered the ‘Last Post’ at Paddy’s funeral. As had been his wish, he was buried beside Joan. On his gravestone in Dumbleton cemetery is an inscription in Greek, a quote from Constantine Cavafy: “In addition, he was that best of all things, Hellenic.”

Although Joan had passed away at the age of ninety-one, after suffering a fall in the Mani. Her body was repatriated to Dumbleton, the place of her birth - ironic that her dream was to be as far as she could possibly go from the rolling humdrum Worcestershire hills. But perhaps she intended to return all along. When Paddy was buried beside her it seemed that the ‘pact of liberty’ that these two lonely souls had forged themselves could be tested in the great elsewhere. Joan was more than his muse (as many of her obituaries were at pains to declare) but his greatest adventure.

To come around full circle from the movie ‘Ill Met By Moonlight’ (1957) that I saw that night in Verbier, my father told me that rather poignantly, General Kreipe, the German commander Leigh Fermor had captured - once an enemy, and later a friend - left behind notes and photographs from across his life. On one of those notes, it was discovered, the following was scribbled from a brief visit to Greece: “Somewhere, amidst all the disarray, was the story of Joan and Paddy, and” it concluded, “…of their lives together.”

His life with Joan and all that she meant to him was one part of the mosaic of who Paddy Leigh Fermor was. But it’s incomplete.

Paddy didn’t like the idea of a biography, and neither did Joan when she was alive. But friends had persuaded them that unless Paddy appointed someone to write his life, he might find himself the subject of a book whether he liked it or not. In Artemis Cooper they couldn’t have chosen a better writer to chronicle Paddy’s life as a man of action and letters. Cooper, was the daughter of another accomplished diplomat and historian, John Julius Norwich, and grand-daughter of Duff and Diana Cooper. As the wife of the historian Antony Beevor, she became a trusted friend of the Leigh Fermors. Cooper was too good of a historian to let her friendship lead her astray from being a faithful but serious biographer. Knowing this, she was told she could go ahead, but she had to promise not to publish anything until after they were both dead.

Paddy did not like being interviewed, and would keep her questions at bay with a torrent of dazzling conversation. He was the master at deflecting discussions away from himself.

He was also very unwilling to let Cooper see many of his papers, though the refusal always couched in excuses. ‘Oh dear, the Diary…’ It was the only surviving one from his great walk across Europe, and I was aching to read it. ‘Well it’s in constant use, you see, as I plug away at Vol III,’ he would say. Or, ‘My mother’s letters? Ah yes, why not. But it’s too awful, I simply cannot remember where they’ve got to…’ It was quite obvious that he and Joan, while being unfailingly generous, welcoming and hospitable, were determined to reveal as little as possible of their private lives.

While they were more than happy to talk about books, travels, friends, Crete, Greece, the war, anything - they would not tell her any more than they would have told the average journalist. But she persisted and got closer than most. He showed particularly gallantry in not talking about his romantic entanglements. But she soon twigged that anytime he described a woman as ‘an old pal’ it was a sure bet that he had an affair with her.

Intriguingly, Paddy liked to claim he was descended from Counts of the Holy Roman Empire, who came to Austria from Sligo. Paddy could recite ‘The Dead at Clomacnoise’ (in translation) and perhaps did so during a handful of flying visits to Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s, partying hard at Luggala House or Lismore Castle, or making friends with Patrick Kavanagh and Sean O’Faolain in Dublin pubs. He once provoked a massive brawl at the Kildare Hunt Ball, and was rescued from a true pounding by Ricki Huston, a beautiful Italian-American dancer, John Huston’s fourth wife and Paddy’s lover not long afterwards.

And yet, a note of caution about Paddy’s Irish roots is sounded by his biographer, Artemis Cooper, who also co-edited ‘The Broken Road’, the final, posthumously published instalment of the trilogy. “I’m not a great believer in his Irish roots,” she said of Leigh Fermor in an interview, “His mother, who was a compulsive fantasist, liked to think that her family was related to the Viscount Taaffes, of Ballymote. Her father was apparently born in County Cork. But she was never what you might call a reliable witness. She was an extraordinary person, though. Imaginative, impulsive, impossible - just the way the Irish are supposed to be, come to think of it. She was also one of those sad women, who grew up at the turn of the last century, who never found an outlet for their talents and energies, nor the right man, come to that. All she had was Paddy, and she didn’t get much of him.”

And I think that’s the point, no one really got much of Paddy Leigh Fermor even as he only gave a crumb of himself to others but still most felt grateful that it was enough to fill one’s belly and still feel overfed by him.

Paddy never tried to get to the bottom of his Irish ancestry, afraid, no doubt, of disturbing the bloom that had grown on history and his past, a recurring trait. “His memory was extraordinary,” Artemis Cooper noted, “but it lay dangerously close to his imagination and it was a very porous border.”

Within the Greek imagination many Greeks saw in Paddy Leigh Fermor as the second coming of Lord Byron. It’s not a bad comparison.

Lord Byron claimed that swimming the Hellespont was his greatest achievement. 174 years or so later, another English writer, Patrick Leigh Fermor - also, like Byron, revered by many Greeks for his part in a war of liberation - repeated the feat. Leigh Fermor, however, was 69 when he did it and continued to do it into his 80s. Byron was a mere 22 years old lad. The Hellespont swim, with its mix of literature, adventure, travel, bravery, eccentricity and romance, is an apt metaphor for Leigh Fermor’s life. Paddy Leigh Fermor was the Byron of his time. Both men had an idealised vision of Greece, were scholars and men of action, could endure harsh conditions, fought for Greek freedom, were recklessly courageous, liked to dress up and displayed a panache that impressed their Greek comrades. Like a good magician it was also a way to misdirect and conceal one’s true self.

What or who was the true Paddy Leigh Fermor?

Like Byron, Leigh Fermor appeared as a charismatic and assured figure. He was a sightseer, consuming travel, culture, and history for pleasure. He was an aristocrat moving in the social circles of his time. He was a gifted amateur scholar, speculating on literary and historical sources. Leigh Fermor, Byron’s own identity, is subject to textual distortion; it emerges from a piece of occasional prose in his books and is shaped by the claims of correspondence on a peculiarly fluid consciousness.

There is no hard and fast distinction to be drawn here between real and imagined, only a continuity of relative fictions that lie between memory and imagination as his biographer asserted. If there is a will to assert identity here, to disentangle fact and fiction, to give things as they really are and nail down the real Leigh Fermor then it is somewhere between the two. This is where we will find Paddy.

For many his death marked the passing of an extraordinary man: soldier, writer, adventurer, a charmer, a gallant romantic. As a writer he discovered a knack for drawing people out and for stringing history, language, and observation into narrative, and his timing was perfect. Paddy often indulged in florid displays of classical erudition. His learned digressions and serpentine style, his mannered mandarin gestures, even baroque prose, which Lawrence Durrell called truffled and dense with plumage, were influenced by the work of Charles Doughty and T.E. Lawrence. But one can’t compare him. I agree with the acclaimed writer Colin Thurbon who said, “There is, in the end, nobody like him. A famous raconteur and polymath. Generous, life-loving and good-hearted to a fault. Enormously good company, but touched by well-camouflaged insecurities. I would rank him very highly. ‘The finest travel writer of his generation’ is a fair assessment.”

As a child I didn’t really know who Paddy Leigh Fermor was other than this very cheerful and charismatic old man was kind, attentive, and took a boyish delight in everything you were doing. Only later on in adulthood was it clear to that Paddy was not only among the outstanding writers of his time but one of its most remarkable characters, a perfect hybrid of the man of action and the man of letters. Equally comfortable with princes and peasants, in caves or châteaux, he had amassed an enviable rich experience of places and people. “Quite the most enchanting maniac I’ve ever met,” pronounced Lawrence Durrell, and nearly everyone who’d crossed paths with him had, it seemed, come away similarly dazzled.

I am equally dazzled - more smitten in retrospect - for alas they don’t make men like Paddy any more. But every time I dip back into his books I think I discover a little bit more of who Paddy Leigh Fermor was because I find him some where between my memory and my imagination.

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tiodolma · 1 year ago

Note

According to the Welsh Triads (a poetic compilation in groups of three), Uther Pendragon is said to be the creator of one of the three great enchantments of the Island of Britain, which he taught to Menw ap Teirgwaedd. While the enchantment itself is not described, Menw appears in other stories as a magician-knight in Arthur's court, most notably "Culhwch and Olwen". The Other Great Enchantments were created by Math ap Mathonwy and Rudlwm the Dwarf. Notably, Merlin is largely absent in these triads except as a bard. It seems Uther was originally a Wizard-king (per Celtic Standards of Heroism) like his brother, Aurelius Ambrosius.

oh wow this is fascinating

http: //norin77.50megs.com/triads.htm

Uther is in

TRIAD 28

Three Great Enchantments of the Island of Britain:

The Enchantment of Math son of Mathonwy (which he taught to Gwydion son of Don), and the Enchantment of Uthyr Pendragon (which he taught to Menw son of Teirgwaedd), and the Enchantment of Gwythelyn/Rudlwm the Dwarf (which he taught to Coll son of Collfrewy his nephew).

http:// mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-transformation-of-uther-pendragon_9.html

so there is a piece of work which said Uther Pendragon taught magic/enchantment to Menw

Moreover Book of Taleisin clues us that he was probably a shapeshifter who could turn into some kind of fox or comet "gorlassar" or gorlois

We need to take another look at the relevant lines of "Marwnat Vthyr Pen" (Elegy of Uther Pendragon, Book of Taliesin), where the hero calls himself gorlassar: It is I who commands hosts in battle: I’d not give up between two forces without bloodshed. It’s I who’s called the very blue [or, given the context, 'the great blaze, conflagration'; cf. Irish forlassar, from the intensive prefix plus lasar, 'fire, flame']: my ferocity snared my enemy. It is I who’s a leader in darkness: Our God, Chief of the Sanctuary, transforms me. It’s I who’s like ['eil' here means like/similar to, not 'second' - unless God is to be considered the 'first'] a candle/luminary [transf. star, sun, moon; fig. leader, hero] in the gloom: I’d not give up fighting without bloodshed between two forces.

sourced from this blog:

http:// mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/02/uthers-star-and-comet-of-442-ad.html

there's a suggestion that "gorlassar" could be linked to Gorlois.

.........

tbf i wouldnt be suprised if merlin got reinvented by monmouth by merging the welsh triad (possible actual shapeshifter) uthyr pendragon + aurelius ambrosius + the warlord bard Myrddin who famously got mad in the forest.

#arthuriana #uther pendragon #this is so cool tho #uther

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book--brackets · 7 months ago

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BCW Preliminary Round Results

Poll 1: Camp Half-Blood from Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Eliminations: Alternate Chicago from Divergent

Poll 2: The Secret Garden from The Secret Garden

Eliminations: none

Poll 3: The World of The Princess Bride

Eliminations: none

Poll 4: Wonderland from Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland

Eliminations: none

Poll 5: Kyrria from Ella Enchanted (and other works)

Eliminations: none

Poll 6: The Moving Castle from Howl's Moving Castle

Eliminations: none

Poll 7: The Hundred Acre Wood from Winnie-the-Pooh

Eliminations: Digitopolis from The Phantom Tollbooth

Poll 8: The Old Kingdom from Abhorsen

Eliminations: none

Poll 9: Fablehaven from Fablehaven

Eliminations: none

Poll 10: Tortall from Song of the Lioness (and other works)

Eliminations: none

Poll 11: Discworld from Tiffany Aching

Eliminations: none

Poll 12: Wayside School from Wayside School

Eliminations: none

Poll 13: The World of Dragon Rider

Eliminations: Linderwall from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Poll 14: The Lost Cities from Keeper of the Lost Cities

Eliminations: none

Poll 15: 35 Portland Row from Lockwood & Co.

Eliminations: none

Poll 16: The Barbaric Archipelago from How to Train Your Dragon

Eliminations: none

Poll 17: The Tree House from Magic Tree House

Eliminations: none

Poll 18: The House from The Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix

Eliminations: none

Poll 19: The Great Ga'Hoole Tree from Guardians of Ga'Hoole

Eliminations: none

Poll 20: Stain'd by the Sea from All the Wrong Questions

Eliminations: none

Poll 21: Namorn from The Circle Reforged

Eliminations: none

Poll 22: Deltora from Deltora Quest

Eliminations: none

Poll 23: Carpet from The Carpet People

Eliminations: none

Poll 24: Biddle from The Princess Tales

Eliminations: none

Poll 25: Mars from Red Planet

Eliminations: none

Poll 26: The World of Igraine the Brave

Eliminations: none

Poll 27: Everworld from Everworld

Eliminations: none

Poll 28: Nim's Island from Nim

Eliminations: The Tree from Toby Alone

Poll 29: The World of The Power of Three

Eliminations: none

Poll 30: Meridian from W.I.T.C.H.

Eliminations: none

Poll 31: Camelot from Arthur, High King of Britain

Eliminations: none

Poll 32: Eldritch City from The Order of Odd-Fish

Eliminations: none

#best childhood world #results

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mehmetkali · 1 year ago

Text

AnadoluJet Adds Ankara-London Route to Its Flight Network

Turkish Airlines’ successful brand, AnadoluJet has commenced flights from Ankara to London, the capital of the United Kingdom, in line with its goal of connecting Anatolia to the world.

The reciprocal flights between Ankara Esenboğa Airport and London Stansted Airport will operate three days a week (Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday).

Commenting on the new route, Turkish Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Kerem Sarp stated: “Today, with the launch of Ankara-London flights, we are delighted to establish a new air bridge between the two countries. We are diligently working to meet our guests’ expectations with our expanding flight network and competitive pricing policy under the privilege of AnadoluJet. I firmly believe that we will continue to crown these efforts with our successes.”

London, situated on the Thames River in the southeastern part of the Great Britain island with a history spanning two millennia, stands out as one of the world’s prominent cities for arts, commerce, education, and healthcare. With its iconic “London TUBE,” the world’s oldest metro system, this enchanting city awaits exploration with the hospitality of AnadoluJet.

For detailed information about AnadoluJet’s Ankara-London flights, you can visit anadolujet.com or contact the call center at 0 850 333 2 538.

About AnadoluJet:

Established in 2008 in order to offer more inclusive and advantageous options to meet the air travel needs of Anatolia, Turkish Airlines’ successful brand AnadoluJet, with its fleet of 81 aircraft, currently operates in 168 routes to 95 destinations in 32 countries. Starting its international flights on 11 June 2020, AnadoluJet operates its flights to numerous destinations both locally and abroad from İstanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport and Ankara Esenboğa Airport along with from destinations such as Antalya, Bodrum and Dalaman.

Operating its flights with experienced Turkish Airlines cabin and cockpit crew, AnadoluJet will continue to serve in a wider flight network in numerous countries with its new initiative. Successful brand provides a comfortable and affordable travel experience to its valuable guests with its free catering and free luggage services along with car rental options. Adding to its value with innovative approach to developing technologies, our brand continues to increase its service quality with options such as “extra seat choice” and “food selection” options. For more information on AnadoluJet, please visit; https://www.anadolujet.com/en

The post AnadoluJet Adds Ankara-London Route to Its Flight Network first appeared on 0 554 1730000 I [email protected] / Güncel Havacılık Haberleri.

source https://www.aeroportist.com/anadolujet-adds-ankara-london-route-to-its/

#AnadoluJet Adds Ankara-London Route to Its Flight Network https://www.aeroportist.com/anadolujet-add

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ltwilliammowett · 4 years ago

Photo

The "Resolute" abandoned and drifting out (H.M.S. Resolute was one of the five vessels in search of Sir J. Franklin, abandoned in 1854) by J. Hamer 19th century (c) Christie’s

HMS Resolute was on Commander Edward Belcher's disastrous Franklin Search Expedition, 1852-54. Captain Kellett's ship, a barque strengthened for Arctic work, was frozen in in August 1853 off the shore of Viscount Melville Sound and abandoned in the spring of 1854. The ghost ship was recovered adrift off Baffin Island by an American whaler in 1855, its extraordinary discovery reported in the New York papers in October 1856: Everything wore the silence of the tomb. Finally reaching the cabin door they broke in, and found their way in the darkness to the table. On it they accidentally turned on a box of lucifer matches; in a moment one was ignited, the glowing light revealed a candle; it was lit and before the astonished gaze of these men exposed a scene that appeared to be rather one of enchantment than reality. Upon a massive table was a metal teapot, glistening as if new, also a large volume of Scott's family Bible, together with glasses and decanters filled with choice liquors. Near by was Captain Kellett's chair, a piece of massive furniture, over which had been thrown, as if to protect this seat from vulgar occupation, the royal flag of Great Britain. She was returned by the Americans to Queen Victoria in 1856, and broken up for timber in 1879. Three desks were made at Chatham from the timbers, one known as the Resolute desk presented to the American President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880s, and reinstated in the Oval Office by John F. Kennedy in 1961.

#naval art #HMS Resolute #ghost ship #1854 #searching for franklin #age of sail

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hogwartsfirebolt · 5 years ago

Photo

Hello there! I’m finally here with the third and last part of my favorite drarry fics I read in 2019!!! In the first part and in the second part I recommended 10 stories that made my year, and in this post I’m recommending 10 more that I absolutely adore. The banner art is by @spielzeugkaiser who was really kind and let me use this GORGEOUS piece, which you can (and totally should) reblog right here. Now, without further ado, here’s my,

FAVORITE FICS I READ IN 2019 PART THREE

1. The Company of The Rose - @lower-east-side - 31k - E - Six years after the war, Draco Malfoy has been restoring magical estates, while sidestepping his mother’s plots to marry him off and resolutely avoiding his issues. An advert in the Prophet takes him to a remote island, where a mysterious stranger has purchased an abandoned retreat. But the house has a few secrets of its own, and Draco will be forced to deal with not only his past, but the possibilities of the future.

We’re starting out this list with one of the last fics I read last year, and undoubtedly one of my absolute favorites. It’s gorgeous, sweet, breathtaking, a dozen other adjectives I can’t even think of. Stories that take place in beautiful, secluded places have a special place in my heart, and with a sure hand the author leads us through some of my favorite aspects of the trope: slow forming friendships, the feeling like they’re living in a world of their own as they get to know each other for who they really are, wonderful, delicious sexual tension keeping me breathless until the moment it snaps. The sex pollen element is also worked in a way I had never read before, with an exploration of what happens in the aftermath, addressing the issue of consent it creates. It’s just absolutely phenomenal, every single word of this.

2. I could be wrong, I could be ready - @harryromper - 57k - M - At first Harry wonders if they’ve managed to destroy his vaults and are trying to tell him in the most oblique way possible. But when he turns the page he realises they’ve found a vault. A vault in the name of Lily and James Potter.The parchment trembles a little in Harry’s hand. He takes another gulp of wine. Harry Potter left Britain after the war and didn’t look back. Ten years later, when Gringotts discovers a vault containing his parents’ belongings—including their badly spell-damaged wedding rings—he’s forced to face up to friends and family who’ve grown in ways he could never imagine, a wizarding London rebuilt beyond his expectations, and the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s the entirely unforeseen problem of Draco Malfoy. Featuring pureblood wizarding traditions, ancestral magic, open mic nights, marriage equality, a diner in Brooklyn, and the return of Fleamont Potter.

Explorations of Harry as a character and his post-war issues never fail to hook me right in, and this beautiful fic takes us with him on a journey where he changes so, so much, and at first he does it by running away, thinking everything will remain unchanged as long as he doesn’t acknowledge it, which, of course, isn’t the case. We see him having to face his past, reconnecting with his friends, finding and coming to terms with pieces of himself that he forgot about, or never knew existed in the first place, and it’s absolutely exquisite. The tremendous amount of character development, the regaining of trust in himself and others, the way we can witness a love story blooming slow and steady, and see Harry grow into a confident, wonderful man. God, I have feels for this one, for every detail, every character and setting and emotion. It’s absolutely fantastic.

3. What Real Thing? - @l0vegl0wsinthedark - 12k - E - They don’t cuddle, they don’t talk about their relationship (or lack thereof) and they certainly never fall asleep in each other’s arms.

This was my year of falling in love with l0ve’s fics. I had read some of her work before, but it was a few months ago that I found myself deep into her ao3 page, nearly weeping with the amount of emotion every single one of her stories stirs up within me. Picking just one was extremely difficult, but I finally chose this one, because the way she paints the relationship between Harry and Draco is masterful, their dynamic shifting and changing little by little, baby steps that become full-on sprints, single-minded and hesitant all at once, until we see them elbows deep into a feeling they don’t even know they’re experiencing, and it’s just brilliant, scorching hot, all-encompassing in a way that made me feel caught up in the whirlwind that is their relationship. If you haven’t yet read anything by l0ve, then I strongly, strongly recommend you start right about NOW. You won’t regret it.

4. Teeth - @amelior8or - 5k - E - Potter’s been practically begging for it, for months, constantly staring until the air crackles with the intensity of it. Draco always stares back, until all it takes is a brush, a spark, before they go up like flash paper. The crash into each other is inevitable. Draco’s heart has got teeth. And there is nothing he won’t do to keep up the fight with Harry fucking Potter.

I am absolutely, 1000% weak for werewolf stories, and in just 5k words this one managed to enchant and entrance me. It’s hot and fast-paced and intense in the way I love, with their relationship charged with emotion and intensity that transform bickering into passion in the blink of an eye. The moment I reached the end, I went back to the top of the page and reread it that very second, because I had to experience it all over again. Amazing characterization, banter to die for and explosive chemistry are all present in this gem. I kid you not, I’ve read it about six times at this point and just keep going back to that moment in the showers because THAT DIALOGUE IS JUST- wow.

5. Hush, darling - @magpiefngrl - 23k - E - Draco is in trouble. To get out of it he needs to seduce Harry Potter.

My god what a story this is. Absolutely unique, 23k words that felt like so, so much more because of everything they made me feel. There isn’t a single line of dialogue in this story that doesn’t feel purposeful, the characterizations constructed with such skill that every step the characters take rings true to their essence and gives us another clue to add to the puzzle that is Harry Potter, vulnerable man, powerful man, and Draco Malfoy, in all his darkness and his light. It also features some of the best sex scenes I have read, EVER. I could go on and on about this one, so let me just refer you to my long, individual rec for some more flailing.

6. The Pirate and the Prince - @nerdherderette - 49k - E - Draco can't believe that fate and circumstance have made him a stowaway on the Master of Death's ship. He doesn't know what's worse: the dread pirate's legendary vendetta against the aristocracy, or the fact that his captor is the most infuriating yet irrefutably fascinating man Draco has ever met.

YES!!!!! YES!!! The moment I saw the cover art for this fic on tumblr my entire being just screamed YES, and it was everything I could’ve hoped for and more. Listen, there is nothing I love more than fics where I get to see Harry as a powerful, ruggedly handsome man who’s not afraid of getting his hands dirty, and in here there’s some of that and MORE, because he’s a freaking PIRATE. And not only did I adore that aspect of it, but the writing pulled me right in, the setting so vibrant I could feel it in my bones, and I just genuinely enjoyed every second of reading this so, so much. There’s ships and adventure and fighting for what’s right, there’s lovely kisses, heated kisses, secret identities and parrot Hedwig. Just, all in all, a great freaking time.

7. Falling for a Golden Boy - @rockmarina - 44k - E - Merlin. Why couldn’t Draco have moved to a forgotten village in the Alps? He could have turned into a shepherd, learned to make his own damn cheese and given up his damn magic. But no, he’d had to come back to his Eighth year, hadn’t he? And this was his life now. Draping himself over Potter to hear words from him that he knew Potter wouldn’t ever mean.Great. The school year ahead of him looked simply great.“All I know is—when I’m with you, I…” Potter, the heathen, grunted when he read the rest of his line. “Do I really need to say this?”“What, scared of believing your own words, Scarhead?” Draco spat.“Boys,” O’Neill warned them.“All I—all I know is you’re the most amazing person with weak ankles that I've ever met, Meg.” Potter scowled. He was blushing again. “And when I’m with you, I feel less alone.”

My favorite eight year Drarry of all time, probably. I had never before experienced such a beautiful balance of the aftermath of the horrifying events of the war and how they impacted each character, and the light feeling of youthful fun. There are so, so many things to love in the 44k words that make up this masterpiece, so many details that warmed my heart and made me melt inside, so many moments that had me laughing or clutching my chest. In here, you’ll find quite a lot of Hercules references, wonderful teachers, drama club, healing, characters learning to trust, learning to love, learning to cope, beautiful friendships, hopeful romance. It is everything. I talked more about this fic in this individual rec, and I will absolutely talk MORE about it if given the chance. Everyone should read this.

8. Tease Crossed, Eyes Dotted With A Little Heart - @diligent-thunder - 18k - M - Draco's a curse-breaker, Harry's an Auror, and they're... something? Maybe? It depends. Harry definitely wants to get laid, Draco wants to follow procedure, and their work wives just want them to stop hiding from the truth.

I hope you’re not sick of my rambling yet because oooooh boy, THIS ONE. It’s funny, in the way that makes you cover your mouth because you’re about to burst out laughing on the bus, it’s hot, in that casual way that makes you clear your throat and shift your phone just a little, just so the screen can’t be seen by the person sitting beside you because like HELL are you going to stop reading now, it’s sweet, in the way that makes you smile so hard your cheeks hurt, and it’s so detailed and all around so, so much fun to read, in the way that grips you and doesn’t let you go, only to release you when it’s over so you can go and recommend it to your friends, IT’S. SO. GOOD. Real quick: auror + cursebreaker pairing, are-they-friends-with-benefits-or-more, guess-they’d-have-to-actually-TALK-to-know-that, teasing each other in public, getting trapped together for a bit there, powerful female characters, should you guys really be flirting right now? and MORE. Listen, just go read it now and thank me later.

9. That which hurts (and is desired) - @shealwaysreads - 19k - E - Draco was lying still, and pale, on a bed in a private room in St Mungo’s. The sheets were white, clean, enchanted against stains, vanishing the blood that kept spilling out of him. He hadn’t moved in two days. Not a twitch of his elegant fingers. Not a blink of his fierce eyes. Harry couldn’t even see the faint flutter of his pulse in his throat from where he stood at the foot of the bed, helpless, impotent, furious.

This fic is written so, so beautifully that it aches and leaves such an impression that, thinking back on it, every emotion hits me just as hard as it did when I was reading it. Everything Harry felt, I felt, every moment where he found himself just a little bit more in love with Draco, I was there, every moment of his frustration when Draco is hit with a curse nobody can decipher, I was there for it. With non-linear storytelling, it is evocative, a masterclass in narration, pacing, characterization and beautiful, lyrical writing. I nearly have no words for it. It features: auror partners that work together seamlessly, a dash of pining, a helping of very, very hot sex, and a love story that feels soft like a dream and thrilling like a race. This was the very last story I read in 2019, and I could not have ended the year on a better note. Definitely check this one out.

10. For Thine Is The Kingdom - @kedavranox - 66k - E - On a secret mission, Draco is Turned. With no memory of what happened, he learns that to save his missing Auror partner and regain what he’s lost, he must uncover the long-buried secrets of the vampire covens. To do that, Draco must open his mind and heart to what he has become, the new-found family that surrounds him, and the man who has remained steadfast at his side through it all.Harry spent five years avoiding the man he fell in love with, but when Draco needs his help, he cannot refuse. As they race against the clock to find Draco’s partner, Harry discovers that the bond they share is nothing to hide from, and that he'll never outrun the pace of his own heart.

And last but absolutely not least, there’s this freaking diamond of a story. I swear I want to squeal whenever I remember it. I’ll be brief: it is one of my absolute favorite fics of all time. In here, there’s vampires, unspeakables, a big investigation, wonderful side characters and information given in small little doses as we learn alongside the characters and piece together an entire picture. It’s dazzling, incredibly detailed in every way, with shades to each character and nuances to every interaction and bit of magic we get to see. I feel like anything I can say is not enough, I can never do this story justice. I have tried before, and written the gushiest individual fic rec of my LIFE but just- I honestly have no more words to express how much I think everyone needs to read this. Please, check that rec out, please, check this story out. There is absolutely nothing like it.

----

And that wraps it for 2019! Thank you to all who take the time to check out my lists, and THANK YOU specially if you give these incredible stories a chance, because they deserve all the love in the world. Once again: All the way from here, behind a username and a few tumblr posts, I can honestly say that these 30 stories made my year. I hope they can make yours, too ❤️ If you ever want to discuss these (for tag concerns or plain flailing) (or any story really) my DM’s are always open!!!

#drarry #drarry fic #drarry fanfic #drarry fic recs #draco malfoy #harry potter #drarry fic rec #drarry rec list #2019rec #ficrec

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rpgsandbox · 4 years ago

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Mock-ups for the Legends of Avallen rulebook, artbook, and playing cards

"From that island at the end of the world, no soldier returned without tales of wonder – walking forests, talking fae, enigmatic shapes half man and half beast: things that you ought not to believe unless you see them yourself.” — Kaato the Sage, writing on the invasion of Avallen

Legends of Avallen is an indie tabletop RPG inspired by Celtic mythology and Roman-occupied Britain. In this fantasy world, players and gamemasters alike will play out tales and themes of humble beginnings, the clash of cultures, and the mysteries of the Otherworld.

Where other games skip the origins of your character, Legends of Avallen starts from the very beginning: you're an ordinary townsperson looking for an excuse to adventure. From those humble origins, you will quest out into Avallen, growing both in character and in power as you discover its magic. Soon you'll choose to follow a legendary path, learning the ways of the Bard, the Gladiator, the Magister, or many more. You will seek out lost relics, slay terrific beasts, riddle with the Gods, and change the fate of Avallen forever.

Avallen needs legends – how will you forge yours?

Illustrations of a humble shepherd, a Vallic druid, and a Raxian slayer

What makes this game different? You do not begin as a great hero; instead, you have humble beginnings as a shepherd, blacksmith, scribe, or other base profession before rising up to become an adventurer with your friends.

Designed to be quick to pick up for new players and RPG veterans alike, Legends of Avallen uses regular ol’ playing cards instead of dice. Players flip cards from the top of the deck hoping that they'll match the colour of their attribute, with face cards and aces helping you get critical successes—or a critical failure if they don't match!

The system pushes gameplay away from the rules and into the players’ imagination, emphasising creativity, teamwork, and resourcefulness. Players that make the most of their surroundings, narratives, and set up team plays gain advantages (more cards to flip!) while failure leads to interesting decisions instead of the end of play.

Gamemasters can handily make adventures with scene templates, a mix-and-match monster maker, and Fate Cards that add tension, risk, and a ticking clock to scenes.

And of course, the Celtic-Roman inspired lore!

Legends of Avallen will release as a full coloured and illustrated rulebook containing a player guide, a gamemaster guide, and a lore guide. It will be approximately 150-250 pages in length, depending on what stretch goals are reached. It will be available as a PDF and hardback book through DriveThruRPG.

Legends of Avallen is set in an ancient world but is designed with a modern system

Exclusively available for this Kickstarter we are producing a full regular deck of Celtic themed playing cards featuring illustrations from the mythos of Avallen. These cards are not necessary to play Legends of Avallen but they will definitely look amazing and complement the experience!

Ace of Clubs featuring Llyr-Don the Ever Elder and Jack of Hearts featuring a Bwbach

We don’t know about you, but we love art and have a large collection of artbooks ourselves. We want to share that joy of art and the thought that goes into its creation, so we are also producing an artbook for Legends of Avallen. Exclusively available for this Kickstarter, it will show off the concepting and designs that create the world of Avallen.

Preliminary sketches and concepting for Eilir, the daughter of a minor Vallic noble who sided with the Empire. She gave up her birthright to follow visions that lead her to the path of the Druid.

The Pen-Coed clan worship the Ever Mother and revere the forests, building their hillforts around great oak trees.

Avallen, the main setting for Legends of Avallen, is a mystical island home to the Vallic, a divided Iron Age people. The Vallic clans each claim ancestry to a different kind of Fae, and historically have been in constant conflict. These clans are scattered across Avallen’s diverse biomes, worshipping gods that embody the lands—enchanted forests hosting mischievous Fae and druidic rituals; rolling meadows scattered with earthen fortresses and cattle-raiding Vallic queens; mountains shrouded in mist, hiding ancient sanctuaries and terrifying beasts, and so many more.

But let’s not forget the Otherworld, a place of legends that lies parallel to Avallen, it is the domain of their gods, the Ever Ones. It serves as the final resting place for the spirits of the dead, but also as the birthplace of creatures of myth such as the dreaded Ffieidd-Dra (Feithe-Dra) and the tricksy Fae. The Vallic people are cautious in their dealings with the Fae, and there are many stories of unwitting travellers who wander into this unearthly realm never to be seen again… or so rattled they never wish to speak of their experiences so long as they live.

Stepping into the Otherworld often leads to great fortune, as long as you can find your way back.

Magic is also bountiful on the island, running through it like a roaring river. It is powerful, flexible, and vicious; the average person would do good to avoid it most of their life. The Vallic have a natural affinity for the spiritual magic of the mystics, those that channel the natural forces of the Otherworld.

Avallen is not all nature, magic, and mysticism, though—a new kind of people have settled on their shores. This is the Raxian Empire, whose concrete buildings, urban living, taxes, and other cultural oddities made landfall on Avallen from the mainland to the south a generation ago. As the Vallic always have been, their response was divided. Some welcomed the Empire onto their land, while other clans put aside ancient rivalries to stand up against the invaders.

Port Magnus, a Raxian town on the south coast of Avallen.

The arrival of a new culture also means a new way of looking at Avallen’s magic and gods. The Raxians consider the magic of the mystics far too unpredictable and dangerous; they much prefer the more logical spells of the mage, those that shape reality to their whim. And while the Empire exiled their own gods back on the mainland, there are a number of Raxians in Avallen willing to worship the Ever Ones. For strategic reasons, of course—worship means protection, favour, and influence over the Otherworld.

Your character will start with very little, the basic skill their Profession grants them and a pouch of coppers to their name. But as they venture across Avallen and have a hand in solving local problems, they’ll come to learn new talents. From their Profession school, a character will go on to select a base Class, and their world will be opened up to the arcane arts and styles of martial abilities.

Valens is an apprentice smithy and part of the first generation of Raxians to be born on Avallen.

With your adventure rising to more epic heights, so will your character’s abilities—as they begin to make a name for themselves across the island, your character will begin to walk one of the Legendary Paths, like the Druid or the Gladiator. These Paths offer even more powerful, more specialised skills and abilities that will change how you approach the game both in and out of conflict. Your talents certainly won’t go unnoticed by the residents of Avallen.

After his border town was ruined by war, Valens followed the path of the Slayer, vowing to hunt warmongers on both sides of the wall.

Finally, in the most legendary tiers of play, as your character finds mastery at the end of their Legendary Path, they will be forced to face their own flaws as they contend with the powers that be in both the mortal realm and in the Otherworld. Both your fate and Avallen’s will rest in the palm of your hand. How will you change Avallen forever? How will your character arc end? Will yours be a legend of redemption, or tragedy?

You can check out the Rules Summary here!

Legends of Avallen is designed to be approachable for new players and gamemasters alike, with over 20 of our playtesters having never played a TTRPG before! The game rules are introduced gradually as your characters advance, opening up new lines of strategy and deeper interactions for RPG veterans to master.

The simplicity starts right off the bat with character creation. You first determine your key personality traits, your starting Profession school—the job by which your humble townsperson makes a living—and finally, your score in four attributes—Vigour, Agility, Wit, and Spirit. That’s it! You’re ready to play.

When faced with a challenging situation your character needs to overcome, you will make a check with an attribute by turning over two cards from the top of the deck. Cards of the correct colour will add one to your attribute, while cards of the opposite colour subtract one. You'll be on the lookout for face cards and aces though as they add or subtract more, with faces worth two and aces worth three!

You’re not always confined to turning over just two cards, though. Interacting intelligently and creatively with your environment can grant you Advantages—extra cards to turn over. And when you’re at an advantage, you’ll take the two highest cards of all the ones you turn over, which means the better chance you have of achieving a critical success! Your allies can always help you in ways that give you Advantages, too. This will prove particularly useful for tough foes—it's better to work together to get one key hit in than have everyone chip away in futility.

Llysaera, Valens, and Eilir face off against a Draig. Overcome terrific foes using teamwork with a few decisive actions rather than many repeated ones.

But you can always find yourself on the flip side of a situation—at a disadvantage. In this case, you’d take the two lowest cards you turn over. While that means a greater chance of failure, there’s no need to worry—failure doesn’t mean the end of play.

When faced with failure, you have a choice: either sacrifice equipment or yourself to force a success, or choose to accept failure and take an Edge. Edges are face down cards, that can buildup through a scene, representing progress despite failure. You spend Edges when you like, adding them to your own checks or passing them around to your allies.

By the end of an adventure, your character and your companions will be exhausted, and their gear will be broken down, but they will be triumphant, and you will have many a thrilling tale to tell.

Don’t worry GMs, we've been thinking about you as well. While the players rise up to become legends, you are the hidden hero weaving the strands of fate to make it all possible. Legends of Avallen will come with GM tools that will help you focus on storycrafting, worldbuilding, and play.

Quickly create compelling content by adding your ideas to Scene, Quest, and Campaign templates that will be built to support Avallen lore and faction guides.

Find out what your players' characters care about most by raising the stakes with Fate Cards. Fate Cards represent risk and a ticking clock in tense situations such as sneaking through an Imperial camp, or exploring an opening to the Otherworld. When a player tempts Fate, the cards will decide if there are consequences.

Concept art for a Vallic town, get ready to bring it to life with your own NPCs and story hooks!

The system is designed so that so you can come up with NPCs and enemies on the fly, because let’s face it—the players always find a way to throw you a curveball! Use the personality system built into social encounters to come up with deep and interesting characters at a moment’s notice, and see how your players use those aspects to their advantage. And quickly slap together fiends, when your players unexpectedly wander into places they shouldn’t be, with the mix-and-match monster maker.

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Kickstarter campaign ends: Sun, September 20 2020 7:53 PM BST

Website: Legends of Avallen

#RPG #kickstarter #Legends of Avallen

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architectnews · 4 years ago

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Iona P&O Cruise Ship Interior

Iona P&O Cruise Ship Interior, Marine Architecture, Spa Interior Design, Commercial Boat Architecture

Iona P&O Cruise Ship Interior Design

25 May 2021

Iona P&O Cruise Ship

Architects: Jestico + Whiles

British cruise ship operator, P&O Cruises, has launched the latest addition to its fleet, Iona, with interiors designed by hospitality experts, Jestico + Whiles.

Britain’s largest and most environmentally friendly ship, powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) will accommodate up to 5,200 guests.

Iona was named in a spectacular ceremony broadcast to a virtual audience on Sunday May 16 and the ship’s maiden voyage will be on August 7, sailing the UK coast and up to her namesake island.

The award-winning interior design and architecture studio has designed most of the food and beverage spaces throughout the ship and the most spectacular space of all, the soaring triple-height Grand Atrium which captures unprecedented panoramic views across the ever-changing seascape, as far as the horizon.

The Grand Atrium is the heart of Iona, a lively focal point that encapsulates the spirit of the ship, with spectacular views and natural light. This special space is designed to ‘draw the outside in’ and, accordingly, Jestico + Whiles has made the sea the hero of the space, allowing guests to connect with the seascape around them.The Grand Atrium will be, according to the occasion and time of day, either playground or sanctuary.

It a key entertainment space, designed meticulously to effortlessly accommodate a wide variety of experiences, from musical performance to thrilling aerialists.

At other times it will attract guests throughout the day for convivial repose, offering from morning coffee as the sun rises and sundowners at dusk.

An elegant, gravity defying, arcing staircase of Italian marble with a filigree, bright silver serpentine balustrade serves as the centre piece to the space, evoking the glamour of the iconic cruise ships of the early 20th century. Designed as a sculpture, its swooping form leads guests on a journey through the decks offering ever changing views.

The unifying experience of the atrium is always the view to the sea that provides an enchanting, captivating backdrop to the activity within.

Jestico + Whiles’ Associate Director, Jennifer de Vere-Hopkins said: “Despite the challenge of such a large space, we have worked closely with P&O Cruises to create a unique Grand Atrium that is harmonious with the separate venues, making the space both open and intimate. The refocusing of the guest experiences on the sea is the heart of an entirely new brief. The sea becomes the focus of the triple-height space; the sinuous curves are shaped around it, framing and complementing the views to the outside.”

P&O Cruises senior vice president, Paul Ludlow said: “We’ve set out to make sure the sea is the star on Iona, and the design of the Grand Atrium tells you so much about how special she is going to be. Balancing intimate spaces with larger social areas, guests will be wowed by the three storey high glass walls and the ever-changing view they reveal. From the moment they step onto the staircase, I know guests will be swept away by the beautiful design.”

Jestico + Whiles has designed P&O Cruises first ever ‘gastro pub’ – The Keel and Cow – on Deck 8, with views over the Grand Atrium and the ocean. The Glass House on Deck 7 will include an impressive wine list and menu curated by award-winning wine expert Olly Smith, wines from around the world are served by the glass. Wine connoisseurs will be well taken care of with a new experience, Cellar Door at the Glass House will offer wine talks, tastings and wine-pairing dinners. Guests can relax with unbeatable views as they watch impromptu aerial and circus performances in the three-storey high space.

On Deck 6 at the Vistas Cafe Bar there is a unique offer from P&O Cruises Food Hero and master pâtissier Eric Lanlard. The nearby Emerald Bar will evoke the glamour of a 1920s cocktail bar.

Iona was constructed at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. She holds 5,200 passengers and is the largest cruise ship for the British market.

About Jestico + Whiles Jestico + Whiles is an award-winning architecture and interior design practice working from London and Prague. The practice incorporates a specialist and highly respected hotel and hospitality design studio of experienced and accomplished designers including architects, interior designers and FFE specifiers.

Jestico + Whiles has earnt an international reputation for excellence in hospitality design and is currently working on the new five-star W Edinburgh, the Mandarin Oriental Lucerne and the Kempinski Palace Engelberg.

Their portfolio includes the Zuri Zanzibar eco hotel resort, Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza; W London, Andel’s Hotel Lodz (Poland) and the interior design of the extraordinary Yas Hotel, a 500-key contemporary ultraluxe hotel which straddles the Formula One Grand Prix racetrack in Abu Dhabi.

The practice has completed Alston Bar & Beef in Glasgow and, most recently a sister restaurant in Manchester, as well as the restaurant at The Lansdowne Club in Mayfair (in a space originally conceived by the designers of the famous Queen Mary, the famous ship from the golden age of cruising), Shilling Brewing Co. in Glasgow; and Aqua Shard in London.

The Jestico + Whiles team has earned a global reputation for excellence in this field, supported by a great number of international awards, including the European Hotel Design Award, BD Interior Designer of the Year Award and FX International Design Awards. Jestico + Whiles won the MIPIM Award ‘Special tribute to Country of Honour’ in consecutive years, a unique accomplishment, and both for hotel projects.

About P&O Cruises P&O Cruises is Britain’s favourite cruise line, welcoming guests to experience holidays with a blend of discovery, choice, relaxation and exceptional service catered towards British tastes. P&O Cruises fleet of premium ships combine genuine service, a sense of occasion and attention to detail.

In 2021, P&O Cruises will launch Iona its first Excel class ship. The new LNG-powered ship, with 5,200-guest capacity, will be the largest ship built to serve the UK market. Iona will feature enhancements to already successful brand signature venues from the existing fleet, as well as features newly developed for Iona. P&O Cruises second LNG-powered Excel class ship and sister ship to Iona is named Arvia, meaning from the seashore, and will join the fleet in December 2022. Arvia is an innovative and future-focused ship and will offer outstanding, varied and contemporary holidays. Arvia has been designed to travel to the sun all year-round and to maximise views of the ocean and the seashore from everywhere on board.

With over 200 destinations worldwide, P&O Cruises itineraries are carefully curated to inspire discovery, and are varied to suit newcomers and experienced guests alike. With a wide choice of holidays from two days to three months there is something for everyone. P&O Cruises sails to Australia & New Zealand, Baltic, the British Isles, Canada, the Spain, Portugal & the Canary Islands, the Caribbean, Central America, the Far East & Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, Scandinavia, South America, the South Pacific, the United States and Western Europe.

Iona P&O Cruise Ship Interior images / information received 250521

Boathouses

Boathouse Articles

Community Rowing Boathouse, Boston, USA Design: Anmahian Winton Architects photo © Jane Messinger Community Rowing Boat House in Boston

The Houseboat, Poole Harbour, Dorset, England Design: Mole Architects and Rebecca Granger Architects photo © Rory Gardiner Houseboat in Dorset

Boat House McMahons Point, lower North Shore of Sydney, NSW, Australia Design: TW Architects photo : TW Architects Boat House NSW

Takapuna Beach Boatsheds, Auckland, New Zealand Design: Strachan Group Architects in association with Rachael Rush photography : Patrick Reynolds Auckland Boat Sheds

WMS Boathouse, Chicago, Illinois, USA Design: Studio Gang Architects photo : Steve Hall © Hedrich Blessing Boathouse Building in Chicago

Parry Sound District Boathouse, Ontario, Canada Design: Weiss Architecture & Urbanism Limited photo : Arnaud Marthouret Boat House in Ontario

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Oyster’s Sub 60ft Sailboat image courtesy of article provider The Oyster 565 60ft Sailboat

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Superyacht design for Blohm+Voss Design: Zaha Hadid Architects render © Zaha Hadid Architects Zaha Hadid Yacht – Blohm+Voss Boat

Z-Boat – limited edition of 12 boats plus 4 prototypes image courtesy of ZHA Zaha Hadid Boat Design

Se77antasette yacht for Benetti Design: Fernando Romero, FR-EE image courtesy of architects Yacht for Benetti

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Comments / photos for the Iona P&O Cruise Ship Interior page welcome

The post Iona P&O Cruise Ship Interior appeared first on e-architect.

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alexllove-blog · 5 years ago

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Lit by early-morning sunshine, the country lane ahead of me is enchanting.

One side is hedge, sweetly fragrant with white hawthorn blossom, and the other, old dry-stone wall, covered in emerald moss, moist and springy to the touch. Every now and then a wren darts in and out of the wall, looking for the perfect space to nest-build. On the ground, life is also starting to fizz. Fresh, tender shoots are emerging. The broad dark-green leaves of foxgloves spread themselves out and a pair of golden brimstone butterflies flutter around the mauve petals of common dog violets.

A misty valley in Borrowdale in the Lake District National Park

I stop for a moment and take a slow, deep breath –thankful to be back in Lake District National Park in North West England. It’s not just me that finds these landscapes so irresistible. Just over 114 kilometres from the thriving metropolis of Manchester, Lake District National Park, at around 2,362km2, is England’s largest, and more than 19 million people from all the over globe visit it annually. Just like me, visitors here are thrilled not just by the region’s spectacular scenery, but also by the rare creatures that live in its ancient oakwoods and the birds of prey that majestically soar the skies.

At springtime, the Lakes – as the area is better known – are especially magical, but it’s a place that beguiles at any time of the year. The otherworldly beauty of its windswept mountaintops, dramatic valleys criss-crossed with idyllic country lanes, sparkling waterfalls and deep, clear lakes often haunts me long after I return home.

Path from Stonethwaite to Rosthwaite

But of all the region’s valleys, it’s Borrowdale that casts the strongest spell on me. The picturesque area, which is situated in the green heart of the Lake District, is a haven for some of Britain’s most endangered flora and fauna. It’s where I am now, and the country lane I’m passing through is in the small village of Rosthwaite, some nine kilometres south of Keswick, the valley’s main town. This is the start of one of my favourite walks, which will take me through a myriad of arresting landscapes, from craggy fells to wild moors, from mountain tarns to oakwoods and, finally, from river valley to lakeshore. It’s a beautiful microcosm of all that the Lake District has to offer.

Borrowdale has thrilled me since childhood. A huge, wild, living playground, it was the perfect antidote to the grey shades and straight lines of school and suburbia. With my parents, brother and sister – as well as our dogs, a young and exuberant Irish wolfhound and a sensible, much older border collie – many happy summer days were spent here. In the meadows, we searched for daisies, buttercups and forget-me-nots for my flower press. And, in the woods, with socks and shoes off , we chased each other around huge oak trees, picking up acorns, throwing them for the dogs to catch, always saving a few to play wonky marbles with later. Then we’d find a clear stream to cool down and clean our hot little feet before starting our adventures all over again.

A ram near Watendlath

Of course, some four decades on since playing in the woods here, it’s sturdy boots, rather than bare feet, for me on my walk today. Now reaching the end of the lane, the view opens out and my climb up Great Crag, a steep fell-side, begins. The colours are different here – less verdant, more of an autumnal palette of faded-purple heather, burnt-brown bracken and grey rocky knolls. The colour of storm clouds. Now, some 200 metres above sea level, I turn around and marvel at the classic Lakes view. The valley floor – which in the summer months is ablaze with wildflowers – is strikingly green, intersected by the shimmer of the River Derwent that snakes through Borrowdale like a silver ribbon.

Turning back towards Great Crag, I follow the bridleway until a large whitewashed farmhouse and a small cluster of stone cottages come into view. This is the secluded picturesque hamlet of Watendlath that nestles on the shores of the tarn here. Apart from a mewing buzzard above me, enjoying the warm thermals, and a gaggle of honking barnacle geese, it’s incredibly quiet.

A blackbird on a wall near Stonethwaite

I take the path around the water’s edge, passing a flock of free-roaming sheep. Huge moss-covered oaks, with branches outstretched like arms and twigs pointing like fingers, cast their shadows. As the terrain turns to moorland, damp and peaty in places, I spy the yellow-green heads of bog myrtle popping above the scrub.

I scan the sky, hoping for a sight of another buzzard or maybe a falcon. It is empty. If I’d been standing here three or four years ago, though, I might have seen England’s last golden eagle, known as Eddie, filling the void. Up until the early 1800s, golden eagles – Britain’s second-largest bird of prey with a wingspan of around 1.8 metres – were numerous in the Lakes. But regarded as a threat to new-born lambs, the birds’ eyries (nests) were systemically destroyed by local sheep farmers – causing such a catastrophic decline in their numbers that golden eagles became locally extinct by the 1850s.

A pair of keen ramblers taking in the scenery

Since then, only very occasional pairs have settled in the Lakes. The last known couple were Eddie and his mate. He is believed to have died in 2016, some 12 years after the female. Fortunately, conservation measures have been put in place to encourage the return of these iconic birds. It’s hoped that chicks from successful populations in southern Scotland will be introduced here soon, turning the Lakes’ skies golden once again.

“Rare creatures live in its ancient oakwoods and birds of prey majestically soar the skies”

After two and half kilometres or so, I see Dock Tarn, one of the Lake District’s most beautiful mountain lakes. Circled by a small ring of tor-topped hills, covered in heather and bilberry, the tarn is aglow in the sunshine. On the surface, some yet-to-flower waterlilies shiver slightly as a light breeze brushes over them. Come high summer, orchids can be found among the grasses, and when the heather blooms, the tarn will reflect their hazy-purple hues, as if in perpetual twilight. It’s not just Dock Tarn that mesmerises. From here, I can also admire the summit of Glaramara and enjoy take-your-breath-away views of other mighty fells, including Haystacks, Honister and Pillar.

An arresting view of Derwentwater as seen from Catbells fell

The Lake District’s natural beauty has quickened people’s hearts for centuries. During the 1800s, some of England’s best-known Romantic poets and writers – including William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge, Thomas de Quincey and John Ruskin – were particularly enamoured. They celebrated the Lake District’s sublime beauty in their writings, often elevating the region to a heaven on earth, a wild Eden where man could achieve spiritual harmony with nature. William Wordsworth – probably the most famous Lakes poet, and author of the love song to the Lakes “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” – in his great autobiographical work The Prelude, published in 1850, described the region as a place where:

“The solid Mountains were as bright as clouds, Grain-tinctured, drench’d in empyrean light; And, in the meadows and the lower grounds, Was all the sweetness of a common dawn, Dews, vapours, and the melody of birds, And Labourers going forth into the fields.”

A bridge in Rydal

Turning away from the “bright as clouds” view of the summits, I trace a stone-pitched track to the hanging oakwood at Lingy End and begin my descent. The climb down through the ancient wood is steep, and I’m kept company by the babbling Willygrass Gill stream. Originating at Dock Tarn, it cascades gently down the valley, eventually joining the River Derwent. Shoots of pungent wild garlic sprout between rocks and stones, joined by butter-yellow, star-shaped celandine flowers.

“A wonderland I first visited as a girl, I am lured back to the Lake District year after year”

I scan the trees for red squirrels, an endangered native species. Thanks to special conservation programmes, Borrowdale’s woods are one of the best places in England to spot this rare and elusive creature. I also look out for red and roe deer, but as with the squirrels, I am out of luck. I do, though, sight a great spotted woodpecker drilling into a tree, its distinctive black, white and red markings glimmering softly in the dappled light.

A cottage in Stonethwaite

Borrowdale’s oakwoods are the remnants of the temperate “rainforests” that once flourished on the western seaboard of Britain. They are the precious last habitat of disappearing moss and liverwort species and support an incredible variety of ferns and fungi, as well as butterflies, moths and other insects. That’s why Borrowdale’s oakwoods – over 500 hectares, home to more than a hundred bird species – are afforded the highest tier of protection available to habitats in Europe.

After an hour or so, the steepness of the slope eases and I’m back on level ground in the village of Stonethwaite, just next door to Rosthwaite. The wide walled and pretty path here runs parallel to the River Derwent, considered one of the purest rivers in Europe. Freshwater shrimp, lamprey and salmon thrive in its protected waters – even sleek-haired otters, once locally extinct, are back and can sometimes be spotted on the riverbanks with freshly caught fish in their paws.

Two people fishing at a reservoir in Watendlath

Back at Rosthwaite, I jump on a bus and less than 10 minutes later find myself on the shores of Derwentwater, one of the Lake District’s fi nest glacial lakes. In the afternoon light, the water reflects the shape of the mountains that circle it. A swan glides by, heading towards Lord’s Island, one of the lake’s four main islands. Once inhabited by the Earls of Derwentwater, the island is now a desirable residence for nesting birds and primroses only. During the winter months, the secluded bays and headlands here provide shelter for many wildfowl, including greylag geese, mallards and moorhens.

The Queen of the Lakes, as Derwentwater is also known, is the only place in England – apart from Bassenthwaite Lake about 16 kilometres further north – where vendace, a rare Arctic fi sh species dating back to the Ice Age, survives. Bassenthwaite Lake is also the place to see the Lake District’s only ospreys. These spectacular birds of prey, with a wingspan of almost 1.5 metres, returned to breed in 2001, after an absence of almost 150 years, and during the summer months can be seen diving for fish in Bassenthwaite’s pristine waters.

A river scene in Rydal

Two years ago, in 2017, the Lake District National Park was designated a Unesco World Heritage site. It became a National Park in 1951, one of the first established in Britain after the passing of the 1949 Act of Parliament. This year marks the 70th anniversary of that Act, without which the UK wouldn’t have its 15 glorious National Parks to explore and enjoy today.

That the Lake District is – and remains – a protected place is important to me. The Lake District is a gift. A green refuge where once-lost species have returned; a precious jewel of a place where I, and countless others before me, have felt at peace and been inspired, and found gentle reminders of a more natural past. A wonderland I first visited as a girl, I am lured back to the Lake District year after year. And each time I return, I fall back in love – bewitched all over again by the “empyrean light” of the Lakes that shines forever bright, captivates completely and re-wilds my heart.

SEE ALSO: Why Manchester is the UK’s next creative powerhouse

This article was originally published in the June 2019 issue of SilverKris magazine

The post Over vales and hills: The enchantment of the Lake District appeared first on SilverKris.

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taycofftoadventure · 6 years ago

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Road Trip Through the UK Part 2: Scotland

Scotland is a wild and magical destination. Even more beautiful and mountainous than I imagined- the land in this region is a feast for the eyes and the soul. I was so thrilled to get to explore the country by the roadside. I only wish I’d more time. There is a wealth of things to do and see.

We drove over the border of Great Britain and headed toward the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. Still early spring, we landed on the Easter holiday, but the town was vibrant. Once parked at our hotel, we eagerly headed on foot toward the Royal Mile- the definitive main drag. People were bustling about the famous Witchery and sights, but we dove off the beaten path down a small passageway between the buildings to dine at The Devil’s Advocate . Great gastropub food but very Scottish, with a good whisky selection. We definitely warmed up and had plenty to walk off, as we headed to the iconic Edinburgh Castle. The castle is a must-do and it’s chock full of royal treachery, intrigue, and history. We really enjoyed seeing where the royals lived as well as the jail in the castle depths that held American prisoners of war. The walls speak volumes via the etchings of the prisoners or in the mysterious bones discovered inside. Don’t miss the Soldier’s Dog Cemetery, which takes up prime real estate with a view of the city. It’s a bit of heart in a place that feels a pretty dark in its history.

After the castle, we wandered down the Royal Mile to St. Giles Cathedral. We took in their Easter concert while marveling at one the most beautiful cathedral ceilings I’ve come across. Founded in 1124, the church is quite busy and offers tours and music regularly. Following a much needed nap, we had excellent seafood and service at Fishers in the City .

Driving into the Highlands of Scotland is unforgettable- but be warned, not a ton of gas stations on our route. Be sure to fill your tank when you can. As Macbeth fans, we headed toward Inverness. It’s conveniently by Loch Ness, which I’ve always wanted to see since childhood. No Nessie sightings, but it’s a beautiful region. We drove by Castle Urquhart and took some photos without going in- I think as castles go, it’s a little more limited. Along our route, we did stop by Eilean Donan Castle dating back to the 13th century. It’s a much more picturesque fully restored castle stop with tours. It’s on an island where three lochs (or lakes) meet, so it’s a prime location.

We traveled west to the great Isle of Skye. It feels like the edge of the world. A rugged landscape surrounded by wide waterways- this region feels like it’s the land of giants. We stayed at Sconser Lodge, a former clan hunting lodge built in 1871 that sits a few yards from the water. The accommodations are lovely, and it’s run by a kind family. The pub is quite cozy, the whisky is on point, and if you miss the fresh scallops (fished right outside)- I’ll be sad.

The quaint village of Portee is nearby and we drove through on our way to see the Old Man of Storr. The view from the hike is sublime as you go up the rocky hillside of the Storr. The trail isn’t particularly easy, so bring your water and good shoes- but it’s worth it. The land feels unchanged from the past and the view is enchanting and primordial. As you drive around, keep an eye out for the Highland cows that are especially bred to endure the cold with their long hair.

The next morning, we hiked The Fairy Pools on the edge of the Black Cuillins. The cold pools are a vibrant blue-green and look like portals to Narnia. There is talk of them being swimmable in warmer months. The trail meanders through a series of waterfalls and its rocky landscape is quite dramatic. They shot the Michael Fassbender Macbeth nearby.

As you head back down south, keep your eyes peeled for the Hogwarts Express or the Glenfinnan Viaduct portion of the railway. It’s located just outside Fort William and there are some trails in the area to snap a good photo. Nearby, we stopped for lunch in Glencoe and got a glimpse of the great, snow-capped Ben Nevis. It’s the highest peak in the UK and attracts hikers and sightseers.

If you have the time, Glasgow is a worthy stop. We missed it on our trip sadly, but I do hear wonderful things- especially about the people of Glasgow. Glaswegians say the town is a people’s city with amazing music, shopping, and architecture.

Scotland is enchanting and I fell utterly in love. If you venture there, don’t miss the Highlands where there seems to be more mountains than people. Driving through the rugged landscape allowed us a great deal of freedom and, while it’s tricky to drive on the other side of the road, it was worth it to reach these far-flung places. You’ll feel a long, long way from home, but that’s the idea- right?

#scotland #road trip #travel #travel tips #travel blog #isle of skye #edinburgh #highlands

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piratequeenofpixies · 6 years ago

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“Excalibur”

Writing Prompt: “‘The hills are alive, and they’re eating people...so it is advised that you avoid hills. If you insist on going near hills, it is advised that you go armed and be prepared to fight hill monsters...that is all.’”

“The hills are alive, and they’re eating people...so it is advised that you avoid hills. If you insist on going near hills, it is advised that you go armed and be prepared to fight hill monsters...that is all.”

Avery stared, dumbstruck, at the television screen, which had now returned to the blithering gossip channel her aunt liked to keep it on.

“Aunt Amy,” she called, her voice pitched higher than usual. “Did you see the broadcast?”

“Whah broahcass?” her aunt slurred, raising her head to gaze blearily at Avery. Her arm swung around jerkily, sloshing the sherry in its bottle. Only a few sips remained of the bottle’s contents, and it showed in the older woman’s actions.

“Never mind,” Avery mumbled, hugging her knees to her chest and slumping forward against them. Shouldn’t have expected her to notice, she scolded herself, and closed her eyes, deep in thought.

A few moments passed before she came to a decision.

“I’m going out, Aunt Amy,” she announced, swinging her legs off the couch and jumping to her feet. Aunt Amy only snored in reply.

“Well then,” Avery continued, swinging her arms back and forth at her sides. “Sweet dreams. And good luck with the incoming hangover. You’re going to need all the luck you can get,” she added under her breath, and turned away. Her aunt wouldn’t be awakening any time soon, and Avery’s absence would go unnoticed, perhaps indefinitely.

In her bedroom closet, on the highest shelf, lay a silvery sword, gleaming dully in the dim light. Avery pulled it down and examined it.

“Well, Excalibur,” she murmured, tracing a finger across the intricate swirls carved into the blade, “it’s time to wake up again. A new quest awaits.”

...

A blinding blue flash erupted on the empty hillside, spinning and morphing into a tunnel-like opening. Avery stumbled out, gripping Excalibur tightly with one hand and fisting the other at her side.

“So, where might our quarry be?” inquired a chipper voice, sounding vaguely feminine and emanating from the sword itself. “I see nothing but grass and blue sky.”

“It’s out here somewhere,” Avery answered confidently, her gaze sweeping their surroundings. “But I can turn around. See if you can see anything I might miss.” Knowing Excalibur could only see as far as her bearer could--given the enchanted weapon saw through her bearer’s eyes--Avery turned slowly in a full circle. No visible threats appeared, but Avery kept her sword at the ready, just in case.

“On it.” A moment of silence before Excalibur spoke up again. “Nothing. I hope you’re right; I would hate to have teleported for nothing. It drains too much of my energy.”

“I know,” Avery said sympathetically. “And I’m sorry I had to put you through that. But most sightings have taken place on this hill, and I could never have gotten us here on my own.”

“I know, I know,” Excalibur sighed. “I’ll stop griping now. It’s time for girl power to save the world!--again.”

Stifling a smile, Avery turned and began to hike towards the hill’s summit, extending her left arm to balance out Excalibur’s weight on the other side. Just as they reached the top, however, Avery caught the slightest sound down behind them, like a yawn and a growl all at once. She whirled around, planted her feet firmly amidst the tall,wispy grasses, and raised Excalibur with both hands.

“Ready?” she whispered.

“Ready,” Excalibur assured her, and together they gaped down at the massive creature several meters below and in front of them.

The monster was large, almost eight feet tall, and roughly sculpted so that he--at least, Avery was assuming it was a he--resembled a brawny bodybuilder, times two or three. Other than his size, the creature’s features were vaguely human. A squashed pug nose, square chin, and tiny caverns for eyes detracted from his otherwise impressive appearance, not to mention his lack of a neck. Club-like fists and limbs like tree trunks didn’t help matters either, but altogether he looked like a friendly fellow.

“An earth golem, I think,” Excalibur reported. “One of the fae’s various pets, and a favorite of their queen’s. Arthur and I dealt with them a time or two.”

“Great,” Avery, replied, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Any weaknesses?”

“Not that I remember,” Excalibur answered. “I do seem to recall them being rather fond of treacle, however. Does that help?”

Avery frowned, disappointed. “Remind me to add treacle to my questing kit,” she muttered, and raised her sword again.

...

The battle was short and sweet, the golem coming straight to the point--of Excalibur, of course. The blade wedged between his stone pecs and, with Avery hanging off the other end, drove straight through into the dirt clod the creature called a heart. With a heavy thud, the golem fell to its rocky knees--probably leaving marks in the ground beneath it, Avery reflected--as the golden, fae-enchanted light faded from its eyes.

“You know,” panted Avery, tugging Excalibur out of the now-crumbling body of the golem and wiping the blade clean on the leg of her jeans, “we make a pretty good team.”

“I’ll say,” agreed Excalibur. “And you’re getting better every time--those fencing lessons must come in handy. You’re almost as good as Arthur was.” The sword’s voice dropped in volume and pitch on the last words.

“We’ll wake him up someday,” Avery comforted the blade, glancing to the northwest towards Bardsey Island, the legendary king’s resting place. “You’ll see. We just have to find Merlin’s resting place. And I’m not sure, but--” she spun on her heel, raising her left hand to point to the west-- “I think I might have found him. Our next stop is Crychan Forest.”

“Oh, I hope so,” sighed Excalibur. “I miss Arthur so much. We were the perfect team. No offense,” she added hastily. Avery laughed.

“No worries,” she promised. “We’ll find your king. And save Britain.”

In the distance, thunder rumbled, an odd occurrence given the absence of clouds overhead. Excalibur suddenly hummed in Avery’s hands, a faint blue light shimmering in the emblems carved into the blade itself.

“What is it?” Avery asked, concerned.

“That sound...something is coming. Something big.” Avery had never detected a hint of fear in Excalibur before, but now--now there was awe and terror.

“Do you recognize it?”

“N-no. It is an ancient power--Merlin dealt with them before.”

“Them?!”

A roar and a scream echoed through the sky, and then Avery felt it: a growing darkness, a cold, clammy feeling on the back of her neck. Instinctively, her head snapped to face the southwest. A hot, heavy wind nearly knocked her off balance, its appearance sudden and without warning. Another scream, and then they appeared over the horizon, far, far off by the water.

“Are you seeing this?” Avery’s teeth clattered with fear as she mentally cursed the enhanced vision the sword gave her.

A brief pause. “Yes,” Excalibur said simply, dread evident in her tone.

The red dragon screamed again as the white one bit deep into its neck, scattering bright sparks that Avery assumed to be scales. The two beasts rolled in the sky, fighting and clawing and shrieking out their fury.

The red dragon symbolized Britain, Avery knew, and the white, invaders.

“We must hurry,” Excalibur murmured distantly. “These drakes appeared once before, as an omen of Arthur’s birth. There’s no telling what they mean now.”

“If Britain is in danger, then we must save it,” Avery insisted fiercely.“By any means possible.” She raised her sword. “Merlin awaits us in Crychan Forest. Let’s go!”

#writers of tumblr #my writing #writing #write #writer #writers #writers of the world #writers on tumblr #writings #scribblings of a teenage girl #my writings #writes #she writes #writeblr #writblr #original #original work #original story #from a prompt

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wind-singer · 7 years ago

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The 50 Most Beautiful Words in the Irish Language

Aimsir (AM-shir) – Weather, time, season. THE ELEMENTS THAT SURROUND US.

This is the Irish word for an ever-popular topic with which to make small talk in Ireland. Its earlier meaning, ‘time’, occurs in a proverb which translates as ‘time is a good storyteller’.

Aisling (ASH-ling) – Vision, dream, apparition. OUR DESIRE AS IMAGE.

This word is used of a popular eighteenth-century poetic genre in which Ireland appears to the poet in a vision in the form of a woman who speaks to him of the current state of the nation. The word is now popular as a personal name.

Aoibhneas (EEV-nass) – Bliss, delight. FILLING OUR SENSES.

This word generally refers to the joy we feel from external things such as music, song, scenery and good weather, and may be contrasted with áthas (AW-hass), which is joy arising from internal considerations.

Baile (BAL-yeh) – Place, home, homestead, farmstead, village, town. WHERE WE COME HOME.

This Irish word is probably the most commonly occurring term in Irish placenames and is usually anglicized as Bally.

Bean an tí (BAN-a-TEE) – The woman of the house. SHE WHO CARES FOR EVERYTHING.

Schoolchildren who lodge with families in Irish-speaking parts of Ireland quickly learn the centrality of this person in their life. Her counterpart, fear an tí (FAR-a-TEE) ‘the man of the house’, may also be encountered. Both terms can also be used to denote ‘the master of ceremonies’ at an event.

Beatha (BA-ha) – Life, livelihood, food, sustenance. THAT WHICH SUSTAINS US.

One of the uses made of this Irish word is in salutations, such as ‘your life and your health to you’. It also occurs in a surname meaning ‘a son of life’, one variant of which has given us the anglicized form Macbeth, as found in Shakespeare.

Blas (Bloss) – Taste, flavour, accent. BEAUTY THROUGH TASTE.

This Irish word is used in a proverb that translates as ‘a small amount is tasty’, a notion perhaps better suited to a country like Ireland than the concept that ‘bigger is better’. The word can also be used of speech – one says in Irish that there is a lovely flavour on a person’s speech if their accent is good.

Bó (Boe) – Cow. PARTNERSHIP IN NATURE.

The cow has been central to Irish rural life for many centuries and the Irish word for it occurs as an element in many place and river names. Looking up at the stars, the Milky Way is called ‘The Way of the White Cow’ in Irish.

Bua (BOO-a) – Victory, talent, virtue. CARRYING THE DAY.

One of the sayings in which this Irish word is used may be translated as ‘Bring victory and a blessing!’, in other words, ‘Best wishes!’

Cara (KA-ra) – Friend. OUR CONNECTION TO ONE ANOTHER.

This Irish word occurs in the quintessential way of addressing someone at the beginning of a letter – the formula may be simply translated as ‘O friend!’

Ceol (Kyol) – Music, song, vigour. THE RHYTHM WITHIN US.

This word conjures not only music but the conviviality that is a central element to Irish life. The idiom ‘you are my music’ essentially means ‘Bravo!’

Comhaltas (COAL-tas) – Co-fosterage, friendship, membership. LEARNING TOGETHER

This word is used in the title of the Irish traditional musicians organization Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (COAL-tas KYOAL-tory AY-ran) ‘Association of Musicians of Ireland’, which is very often referred to, by way of a blend of the first two words, as Ceoltas (KYOAL-tas).

Comhar (Core) – Combined work, mutual assistance, partnership. THE POWER OF WORKING TOGETHER.

Originally meaning co-operative ploughing between neighbours, this Irish word now evokes the general notion of co-operation and shared work.

Comhluadar (CO-loo-der) – Company, family. THE HARMONY OF BEING TOGETHER.

This Irish word primarily describes convivial company, namely people conversing pleasantly together, but may also refer to family.

Craic (Crack) – Entertaining conversation, high-spirited fun. THE SERIOUS WORK OF PLAY.

Although originally a borrowing from Middle English, this word has been borrowed back into the English of Ireland in its Irish-language spelling, and is felt to denote a uniquely Irish variety of boisterous fun.

Dáil (DAW-ill) – A coming together, a consultative gathering. A MEETING OF MINDS.

This word can denote a tryst or a meeting of various sorts but is best known now as the title of the principal chamber of the national parliament, Dáil Éireann (‘the Assembly of Ireland’) or simply the Dáil.

Dathúil (DA-hoo-il) – Good-looking. A PLEASURE TO THE EYES.

This Irish word literally means ‘coloured’ or ‘colourful’, and is used to describe beauty and comeliness of appearance.

Dóchas (DOE-hass) – Hope. BRINGING FAITH TO THE FUTURE.

This Irish word conjures a sense of trust, belief, confidence and optimism, and is used in the title of a number of Irish organizations and institutions.

Draíocht (DREE-oct) – Magic, enchantment. THAT WHICH IS UNSEEN.

This Irish word for magic once specifically denoted the secret lore and arts of the druids of pre-Christian Ireland and Celtic society.

Dúchas (DOO-hass) – Birthright, heritage, native place, innate quality. THE DRIVE WITHIN .

This Irish word sums up what we are born with. One of the many proverbs in which it occurs translates as ‘instinct is stronger than upbringing’.

Éire (AY-ra) – Ireland. OUR ISLAND HOME.

The name of the country. The English form ‘Ireland’ derives from it and the poetic form ‘Erin’ is based on its dative and genitive forms Éirinn and Éireann. The land-goddess of the country had Éire as one of her names in medieval tradition, and writers represented Éire as one of three sisters, the others being Banbha (BAN-va) and Fódla (FOE-la), who also appear as personifications of the country, and are occasionally encountered in Modern Ireland in titles etc.

Fadó (Fodd-Oh) – Long ago. WHAT CAME BEFORE.

This Irish word is used in a variety of phrases that can be used to begin a folktale, and corresponds to the English ‘Once upon a time’.

Feis (Fesh) – Feast, celebration. REJOICING TOGETHER.

Etymologically, this denotes the act of spending the night, especially with another person, hence ‘espousal’, and by extension was used of a festival held in honour of the marriage of a king, including symbolic marriage to the sovereignty goddess. The most famous of these in early Ireland was the feast of Tara. The word is now generally used with reference to festivals or competitions of music or dance.

Fios (Fiss) – Knowledge. KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING.

If you want to say you know something in Irish you say you have its knowledge, namely knowledge of it. If you leave out the ‘its’, the sense is ‘prophetic knowledge’. The word is used in the title of Geoffrey Keating’s monumental history of Ireland (1634), which translates as ‘A foundation of knowledge about Ireland’.

Flaithiúil or Flaithiúlach (Fla-hool, Fla-hool-ock) – Generous, princely. THE GIFT OF GIVING

This word, which is still often used in the English of Ireland, contains the element flaith ‘lord’, who in medieval times was expected to be munificent. Nowadays, generosity is not confined to the upper echelons, and it may be noted that Ireland was ranked the most generous country in Europe and fifth most generous in the world in the World Giving Index 2013.

Foinse (Fwin-sha) – Fountain, spring, source AT THE BEGINNING

This evocative word was used as the title of an Irishlanguage newspaper, which is currently only available online.

Gael (Gale) – An Irish person, a Scottish highlander THE ESSENCE OF IDENTITY

This word speaks to the shared heritage of Ireland and Scotland – and indeed to our more distant Celtic cousins, the Welsh, as the word itself is thought to derive from the Welsh word gwyddel ‘raider’, a sense which resonates with the fact that our patron saint, Patrick, was abducted as a slave from Britain in the fifth century.

Gaisce (GOSH-ka) Weapons, feat (of arms), bravado AT OUR BEST

This word is used as the title of the President’s Award, Ireland’s national challenge award earned by young people between 15 and 25 for participating in several activities, in which context it is best translated as ‘great achievement’.

Inis (IN-ish) – Island THE LAND SURROUNDED BY WATER

No longer the common Irish word for ‘island’, this word survives mostly in names, such as Inis Fraoigh (‘Heathery Isle’, anglicized Inishfree), County Sligo, made famous by the poem ‘Lake Isle of Innisfree’ by William Butler Yeats. The word occurs also in the old appellation Inis Fáil, a poetic name for Ireland, a term that was used in a speech by US President Bill Clinton in Dublin in 1995.

Fáilte (FALL-tcha) – Welcome OPENING UP WITH ENTHUSIASM TO THOSE WHO APPROACH

This Irish word, originally meaning ‘joy, bliss, happiness’, occurs in a traditional salutation which translates as ‘a hundred thousand welcomes’.

Leannán (LAN-awn) – Lover PERFECTION IN OUR HEARTS

To say that love is blind in Irish, one says ‘a lover sees no fault’. This was one of the words used by the professional poetic class in medieval times to metaphorically describe their noble patrons.

Meitheal (MEH-hull) – Working party JOINING OUR EFFORTS TOWARD A SHARED GOAL

This Irish word refers to the tradition of a group of neighbouring farmers coming together for a number of days to reap corn, pick potatoes, etc. No pay was involved but the recipient of the help was expected to provide hospitality.

Meas (Mass) – Estimation, opinion, esteem, respect A SENSE OF GRAVITAS

This Irish word is still encountered in the English of Ireland. ‘They have great meas on him’, for instance, means ‘they have great regard for him’. It is also used in a formula for signing off a letter, namely Is mise le meas (ISS-MISHa-leh-MASS), which translates as ‘It is I, with respect’, and which may be seen occasionally in the letters pages of English language newspapers in Ireland.

Misneach (MISH-nock) – Courage, spirit, hopefulness PUSHING FORWARD THROUGH UNCERTAINTY

This popular word occurs in a proverb meaning ‘The man of courage has never lost’, in other words, ‘fortune favours the brave’. The word itself seems to have the effect of adding encouragement to a conversation when introduced.

Muiceanach idir Dhá Sháile (MWICK-in-ock-idder-gaw-haw-lya) – A hog-backed hill between two arms of the sea IDENTITY IN A NAME

This west of Ireland placename is impressive in both its original Irish form and in its anglicized dress, Muckanaghederdauhaulia, a form which appears in Georges Perec’s 1978 novel, La Vie mode d’emploi (the English translation is entitled Life, A User’s Manual), where it is visited and painted by the hero, who believes it to be the longest port name in the world.

Pléaráca (PLAY-raw-ka) – Revelry, boisterous merrymaking A PARTY YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS

This word speaks to an element of Irish culture that goes back a long time. It occurs in the title of an eighteenth-century poem which was set to music by the famous harper Turlough O’Carolan and translated by Jonathon Swift as ‘O’Rourke’s Feast’. It begins: O’Rourke’s noble fare / Will ne’er be forgot / By those who were there / And those who were not.

Plámás (Plaw-mawss) – Flattery, soft talk, cajolery A FEW SWEET NOTHINGS

This is the art of flattery, Irish style. It may sometimes involve empty praise but it’s still nice to be on the receiving end of it.

Saoi (SEE) – Wise and learned person WISDOM THROUGH INSIGHT

Though this word is rightly reserved for the more eminent among us, a proverb reminds us that a saoi is not wont to be without fault, or, to put it another way, ‘Homer sometimes nods.’

Saoirse (SEER-sha) – Freedom, liberty BEING WHO YOU ARE

This word, which expresses a noble idea, originally referred to the privileges enjoyed by the nobility. Nowadays, it is an ideal sought after and expected by everyone and has become popular as a first name.

Scéal (Shkayle) – Story, account, narrative, tale, piece of news, state of affairs TELLING THE TALE

Storytelling – scéalaíocht (SHKAYLE-ee-ockt) – is an art that has always been appreciated in Ireland. Long-windedness, however, is not, and there are several intriguing ways that describe narratives that suffer from this ailment, one example being ‘the story of the eight-legged dog’.

Sceitimíní (SKETCH-a-meeny) – Excited feelings, fits of rapturous excitement BUBBLING JOY

If you are really excited in Irish, you say that these are on you!

Sláinte (SLAWN-tcha) – Health, soundness, completeness MAY YOU BE WELL

This Irish word can be used in various ways when making a toast, one of which is simply to exclaim Sláinte!

Slán(SLAWN) – Health, soundness; healthy, safe GO IN SAFETY

This Irish word can be used in various ways when saying goodbye to someone. One may simply exclaim Slán!, or Slán agus beannacht! (Slawn OGG-uss BAN-ockt), which means ‘farewell and a blessing’.

Sona (SUN-a) – Happy, lucky, fortunate MAY FORTUNE SMILE

The primary sense of this word is ‘happy’ and may be used, for instance, in wishing someone a happy birthday. Its less dominant sense is found in a proverb indicating that luck is largely a matter of opportunity and may be translated as ‘the lucky man waits for the lucky moment.’

Spleodar (SPLYO-dar) – Glee, joy, vivacity, exuberance PLAYFULNESS

One of the many Irish words for fun, this one seems to exude its sense and has been used for the title of a number of organizations and events.

Suaimhneas (SOO-iv-nass) – Peace, tranquillity, quietness, rest CALM COMFORT

This popular Irish word encapsulates the sense of serenity that is much striven for in modern life.

Taisce (TASH-ka) – Store, treasure, hoard THAT WHICH WE VALUE

This Irish word can be used as a term of endearment, as in A thaisce! (a-HASH-ka), meaning ‘My darling!’. It is also used with the definite article, i.e. An Taisce (un-TASH-ka), as the title for the National Trust for Ireland, an NGO with a public interest mandate relating to the environment.

Taoiseach (TEE-shock) – Leader, chief, ruler, prime minister FIRST AMONG US

In origin, an adjective meaning ‘first’, it came to denote a chieftain in medieval times. Nowadays, it is used exclusively as the title of the Irish prime minister.

Uachtarán (OOK-ter-awn) – President ONE WHO RISES THROUGH EXCELLENCE

This word contains the element meaning ‘cream’, that which rises to the top.

Uisce (ISH-ka) – Water THE SOURCE OF LIFE

Something which seems to fall from the sky endlessly in Ireland. Naturally, it has captured the Irish imagination. Its flowing underground has given rise to a metaphorical term for ‘intrigue’. Uisce beatha, ‘the water of life’, was originally anglicized to usquebaugh and variants thereof, and later shortened to ‘whiskey’.

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#language #favorite #gaelic #irish #could be useful for #one word spells

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lids-flutter-open · 7 years ago

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Books for the 11 yr old girl I babysit based on her interests (I’m gonna give her this list)

Prominent girl protagonists

Realism:

-one crazy summer / three girls go to San Francisco in 1968 to live with the mother who abandoned them and learn about her work as a poet and about the civil rights movement

-journey to the river sea / an orphan named Maya is claimed by distant relatives who live in Brazil and run a rubber plantation. They only adopt her to get their hands on the stipend/trust fund she was left so she spends her days avoiding them and learning about the country. In Brazil she meets a miserable boy actor and an heir to an estate who doesn’t want to inherit and instead wants to find his mother’s village far up the Amazon River.

-the star of kazan / in Russia/Austria, an orphan inherits jewels and a lot of adults attempt to get their hands on them.

-going going / a teen girl tries to save the small businesses of her city in Texas in the face of depressing corporate expansion and boring retail .

-habibi (naomi shihab nye)/ a Palestinean-American girl and her family move back to Palestine after decades in the United States and the girl encounters the politics of her father’s country and family plus the beauty of Palestine+Israel.

-island of the blue dolphins (survival) /an indigenous girl is abandoned on an island and lives alone for decades by herself , surviving off what she was taught as a young girl

Fantasy:

-the anybodies / a girl finds out she is not the child of her boring parents and is instead has magical powers that allow her to shapeshift into anybody or anything .

-Kiki Strike and the Shadow City /five middle school girls with special skills discover a network of old tunnels deep underneath manhattan that were built by criminals and they explore them together—notes of ninjas, royal intrigue, real NYC History sometimes thrown in but it is more of a cartoon version of NYC .

-the school of good and evil / two girls who are best friends are abducted from their town and sent to fantasy academies that shape students into heroes or villains . The girls end up in different schools; if they want to be together again they have to break a curse.

-may bird and the ever after / a ten year old and her cat fall into a pond and emerge in a deep netherworld

-inkheart / the daughter of a bookbinder discovers that characters from a fantasy novel are wandering around the real world and tries to put them back into the book.

-akata witch / an albino Nigerian American girl learns she has ancient powers to fight evil.

-the mysterious benedict society / a number of brilliant children with various skills are summoned to a very eccentric school by an organization whose intent is unclear.

-monkey beach (more adult but generally appropriate tho there are references to domestic violence happening to side characters; mixes realism and myth)/ a girl growing up in an alaska native community encounters residue of her people’s myths and history in the form of visions and eventually unearths buried secrets about her family

-east / an adaptation of beauty and the beast but features a tomboy protagonist and takes place in fifteenth or sixteenth century Norway and France . The beast is a polar bear who narrates parts of the book in poems.

Specifically alternate dimension because she liked Wrinkle In Time:

-witch week by diana wynne jones /six eleven year olds in an alternate 1980s Britain discover they are witches and try to survive in a world where witchcraft is illegal and they could be burned if found out .

-charmed life+the lives of christopher chant / a boy finds out he is an enchanter and heir to a position of great power where he will moderate disputes in many different dimensions. He tries to learn the powers he will need to do his job

-interworld by Neil Gaiman (boy protagonist)/different versions of the same boy from different dimensions join together to fight evil

-his dark materials by Philip Pullman / a series dealing with different worlds . Generally is about a tomboy whose father is trying to rip a hole in the universe. the actual first two books are about her trying to rescue children whose souls are being cut from them by a secret organization. She rescues them with the help of wandering travelers and a giant bear. And the second book is about her and her new best friend wandering through several dimensions together on the run from mysterious people chasing them down.

Survival (some boy protagonists)

-hatchet /teen boy has to survive in Canadian wilderness

-my side of the mountain /kid runs away and is shockingly effective and making himself a little DIY shelter in the woods

-island of the blue dolphins again -it’s pretty good.

-two old women by Velma Wallis -two indigenous women abandoned by their tribe survive a whole winter alone in the Alaskan wilderness

-holes by louis sachar - a child whose family is supposedly cursed ends up at a reform camp for boys in a desert that’s run by an evil warden. Eventually involves a myth and a curse and survival on top of a mountain.

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ramajmedia · 5 years ago

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Harry Potter: 5 Best Wizarding Schools (& 5 Worst) | ScreenRant

While the Harry Potter books and movies are mostly set at Hogwarts in Great Britain, it isn’t the only Wizarding School. For instance, the first mention of other Wizarding Schools came with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire where Harry finds himself participating in the Triwizard Tournament alongside representatives from France’s Beauxbatons Academy and Eastern Europe’s Durmstrang Institute.

RELATED: HARRY POTTER: 10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT WIZARDING SCHOOLS (THAT AREN'T HOGWARTS)

Then in the Fantastic Beasts films, America was revealed to have its own Wizarding School called Ilvermorny. Additionally, J. K. Rowling announced that there are 11 Wizarding Schools in the entire world. Of course, not all of them are the best.

10 Best - Mahoutokoro School of Magic

Despite having the “Smallest student body of the eleven great wizarding schools” in the Harry Potter world as Pottermore states, Japan’s Mahoutokoro School does make up for it by having some really amazing features that are up there with the best. For instance, students get to fly on the backs of giant birds (specifically Storm Petrels) to the school itself which resides on a volcanic island as well as receive enchanted robes that change size and color overtime.

Additionally, the school’s Quidditch players are said to be incredibly good which carries over into the national team known as the Toyohashi Tengu. The main reason for this is the intense training that involves flying over stormy seas.

9 Worst - Bothwell School of Witchcraft

Though this school is technically not part of the Harry Potter world, it does bear mentioning among the worst due to how much it derives from Harry Potter. Located at the real-life Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England, Bothwell is an annual live-action roleplaying experience where one can go to a fictional magic school as a student and attend magic-related classes while solving mysteries on the side.

RELATED: HARRY POTTER: 10 FACTS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE DURMSTRANG INSTITUTE SCHOOL

Sound familiar? While it’s not officially related to Harry Potter nor uses actual names and lore from the franchise, the similarities pile on as one not only receives a letter once accepted by the school but also students get sorted into one of four Houses represented by different colors and animals. Students even receive robes and neckties with the latter relating to the colors of their designated House.

8 Best - Uagadou School of Magic

Pronounced ‘Wag-a-doo,’ this Wizarding School located in Uganda within the African continent is considered to be “The largest of all wizarding schools” in the Harry Potter world according to Pottermore making it arguably one of the best. Instead of getting a letter via owl, future Uagadou students receive inscribed stones from Dream Messengers (though what they look like is unknown) sent by the Headmaster/Headmistress which sounds incredibly convenient.

Then while Uagadou students do use wands, Pottermore claims most spells are cast using hand gestures or finger pointing which makes getting out of an International Statute of Secrecy violation easier (which is the law that keeps the presence of the Wizarding World hidden from Muggles). Among the subjects that are specialized in Uagadou include useful ones like Self-Transfiguration Alchemy and Astronomy.

7 Worst - Castelobruxo

Now this Wizarding School in the Harry Potter world isn’t bad for the things it offers, including exchange programs for European students as well as specialization in subjects like Magizoology and Herbology, but it’s arguably among the worst in terms of its environment. Appearing as an ancient ruin to Muggles, Castelobruxo (which is pronounced as ‘Cass - tell - o - broo - shoo’) resides within a Brazilian rainforest and is protected by mischievous creatures called Caipora that are said to resemble small dark-skinned humans with red hair though their description varies mythology-wise.

Aside from the recent fire that’s been affecting Brazil’s rainforests as of late, which would certainly pose an environmental hazard if this school existed to this day, rainforests are generally humid hot and full of poisonous creatures that are even parasitic in some cases. Now Pottermore says the students at Castelobruxo wear “Bright green robes” that wouldn’t feel great in contrast to the heat and humidity, plus one wouldn’t be able to go anywhere outside of the school without considering the natural dangers of the rainforest both big and small.

6 Best - Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Much like Hogwarts, Ilvermorny is known for being more democratic than most Wizarding Schools within the Harry Potter world in terms of admitting students of Muggle-Born and Pure-Blooded heritage. Though the school’s early history was plagued with tragedy, it grew in popularity during the early Twentieth Century particularly in the 1920s when the first Fantastic Beasts movie takes place making it one of the best.

RELATED: HARRY POTTER: 10 THINGS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN BEFORE THE FANTASTIC BEASTS SERIES ENDS

While new students are sorted into different Houses, they are also given their first wands at the school as well. The reason for this is that until 1965 “No child was allowed a wand until they arrived at Ilvermorny” as stated by Pottermore. The school even teaches unique subjects, including Xylomancy (a type of Divination that uses twigs).

5 Worst - Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts

Given the wide variety of topics and career options that are present in most Wizarding Schools in the Harry Potter world, who would go to one that offers a singular topic and career path? Well, apparently some as there is a Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts available in Great Britain.

As the name implies, it’s a school where wizards and witches can study theatre or performance arts in general for a career in it. While magic and theatrics certainly can go in hand, given the history of stage magicians and illusionists, it seems like a limitation of one’s magical abilities. For this reason, it is arguably one of the worst schools to go to for general education.

4 Best - Beauxbatons Academy of Magic

Compared to the other Wizarding Schools discussed so far, this one gets top marks for being one of the prettiest schools in the Harry Potter world. Situated in the Pyrenees Mountains along the border between France and Spain, Beauxbatons (pronounced ‘Bo - batton’) is described by Pottermore as being “A chateau surrounded by formal gardens and lawns created out of the mountainous landscape by magic”.

RELATED: HARRY POTTER: 10 FACTS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BEAUXBATONS ACADEMY OF MAGIC

It is even said to have a beautiful fountain with water that has magical properties in healing and beauty, named after the famous alchemist Nicholas Flamel and his wife Perenelle. With famous alumni like that, it’s certainly one of the best Wizarding Schools there is.

3 Worst - Koldovstoretz

Though not much is known about this school situated somewhere in Russia, Koldovstoretz does offer a more extreme version of Quidditch where the participants “Fly on entire, uprooted trees instead of broomsticks” according to Harry Potter Wiki. Despite sounding more cool, it doesn’t seem very comfortable from a practical perspective.

Another factor to consider is the environment, which would be far from pleasant given how cold it typically gets in Russia. So it doesn’t sound like an interesting school to go to, unless one enjoys living in extreme environments and being tough for the sake of it, which would put Koldovstoretz as one of the worst schools to attend in the Harry Potter world.

2 Best - Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Despite all the times this school has been proven to be unsafe for kids, from having trapdoors guarded by three-headed dogs to chambers with giant snakes in them, it is the most widely recognized school in the Harry Potter world and therefore the best. Located in Scotland, the environment is lush and green while being consistently cold though not uncomfortably so.

Plus, it’s got a rich history with so many parts that are unexplored. Then there are the ghosts, whose presence certainly makes things more interesting on a daily basis, and the most likable teachers that are present at Hogwarts where there’s always something exciting to witness.

1 Worst - Durmstrang Institute

In spite of being one of the three largest schools on the European continent, with Hogwarts and Beauxbatons being the other two as claimed by Harry Potter Wiki, Durmstrang has a dark legacy that arguably makes it the worst in the Harry Potter world. Pronounced as ‘Doorm - strang’ despite what the spelling implies, this Eastern European school is so secretive that no one actually knows where it is.

This is largely due to the fact that those who visit Durmstrang “Must comply with memory charms to erase their knowledge of how they got there” Pottermore says. Durmstrang is also known for not admitting Muggle-Borns and having Dark Arts taught as a subject-matter, which ties into its history of being run by notorious wizards including a former Death Eater and having former students like Gellert Grindelwald.

NEXT: HARRY POTTER: 10 CHARACTERS WHO WERE FORGOTTEN AS THE MOVIES WENT ON

source https://screenrant.com/harry-potter-best-wizarding-schools-worst/

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