Artist

Alexander Averin

Sunday 15 June 2008

How Can I Keep From Singing?



Dear Diary,

For Christina.


My life goes on in endless song
Above earth's lamentations,
I hear the real, though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation.

Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear its music ringing,
It sounds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?

While though the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth, it liveth.
And though the darkness round me close,
Songs in the night it giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm,
While to that rock I’m clinging.
Since love is lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?

When tyrants tremble in their fear
And hear their death knell ringing,
When friends rejoice both far and near
How can I keep from singing?

In prison cell and dungeon vile
Our thoughts to them are winging,
When friends by shame are undefiled
How can I keep from singing?


Robert Wadsworth Lowry


It will be a quick little blog today. It is a sunny day and not the weather to be stuck at the computer. I have just spent three hours in the garden and it was so enjoyable. I imagine it to be how Heaven would/should be. Sunshine, flowers, birds, bees, butterflies and animals for company. Pottering is one of my passions, wandering from one job to another and I would be quite happy to be a gardener in the next world.

I have been planting my three new rambler roses, (David Austin’s of course). Also another hardy fuchsia to remind me of the west of Ireland as my soul is feeling just a little bit homesick. And finally I have planted a little salvia from the plant sale last week.

This is an clready- established climber rose in the front garden.



My study window is the upstairs one.


I could spend all day pottering outside but I am stopping myself from doing so as I always overdo it and consequently I wear myself out. So I have come up the wee cottage stairs and am sitting by my window; my desk has a spectacular view out over green fields and my beloved little river of course, she is quite low at the moment. The dogs love to go and stand in it and drink the pure mountain spring water.

I’ve spent another hour digging out a bit more of the blasted ground elder that has taken over one of my large flower beds. It is exhausting toil in this heat so I only do an hour at a time before moving on to the ‘lighter’ and more pleasant tasks.

As I type this I am listening to my blog music and it is so wonderful. Alison Crowe is singing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and I am very quietly singing along (M is downstairs watching the tennis). Safin isn't playing otherwise I would be watching too :-). When I am alone I'm always singing; I don’t hold back then but wouldn’t inflict my full volume on anyone else’s ears. I so love to sing: when alone in the house, out walking, or driving in the car and I have to stop myself at work or when I am idly wandering round in shops!

Apparently I used to sing all the time when I was in a cot.

Ah well, nothing changes.

But if I have to come back to Earth again then in my next life I want to have a really wonderful singing voice, perhaps like Enya?

I did a bit of research on the J Haptogroup last night. (see previous blog). Seems we came from Syria and we are one of the younger groups being a mere 10,000 years old. Some are 45,000 years old. What that means I don’t know.

Here is a pic M took the other day. Cloudwatching is one of my passions too.




Hope you like all the photos; they are M’s work so I can’t take the credit.

The kite was in the sky today and the sky, well it was above us.




I hope the sun isn’t shining on Bush and Brown in London today.

I nearly typed Bush n’ Blair. Isn’t it funny how those two surnames seemed to be joined at the hip?

All three are ‘B******’s’ if you ask me.

Here is a quotation for each of them.

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.
- Moshe Dayan

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

- Dwight David Eisenhower

Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind...War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.
- John F. Kennedy

I will love you and leave you and hope you are all enjoying sunshine, cloudless skies and peace today.

Bye for now,
Go mbeannai Dia duit,
Caitx

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have been enjoying blue sky and sunshine all day, though a bit nippy up here in the North!!

Lovely words as always, Cait. And the picture of the climbing roses is simply beautiful.

Thank you for sharing your lovely day.

CJ xx

Inthemud said...

Love the photo of the Kite.
I like to sing to and today have been invited to join the Church singing group with the young people, they want me and Lucy to sing on the 1st Sunday of month.
Been enjoying the sunshine here too

Lovely blog.

Frances said...

Hello to you Cait.
Thank you for the beautiful roses, the poetry, and all your wise thoughts.
xo

Kim said...

Those are really beautiful climbing roses. When I plant my raised bed, I'd like to put a bush like that next to my bedroom window.

I love working in our yard and garden, too. I can spend hours out there and not realize it. Such a nice way to waste time.

Exmoorjane said...

I wish I could potter....I'm too hasty and lacking in patience...I flit too much. But reading you always makes me feel serene and I loved the pics (the cloud one is incredible - I thought at first it was wool). Halleluyah - oh just makes me nearly cry without even hearing it or singing it. Just a favourite song. How lovely it would be to have an effortlessly lovely voice, wouldn't it?
I shan't say anything about the three Bs - want to keep that mellow mood going!

CAMILLA said...

I so love reading your blogs Cait, so calming.

What a wonderful moment for those hostages to be freed. Watching the video I must admit I did get a tad tearful, Camilla the ever so emotional one, and the poem so poignant.

The song I absolutely adore, one of my all time favourites, thank you Cait for placing this request for me onto Purplecoo Playlist.

Gorgeous Roses, and the description you paint of Heaven would be indeed my sort of Heaven too.

Lovely photo's that 'M' has taken, and from the big sky's here in Norfolk I often watch the clouds.

Very true the quote by JF KENNEDY.

Camilla.xx

Pipany said...

Gorgeous blog and gorgeous pictures Cait. The roses sound wonderful - there is something about the Austen collection isn't there? How lovely to have the perfume drift through your study window as you cloudwatch. I can almost see you doing it.
I love that song so much too. very beautiful xx

Carah Boden said...

Delightful blog as ever Cait. I agree with so much - the pottering in the garden, drifting from job to job. I too have ground elder to clear. Funnily enough I find that quite therapeutic, pulling out all those long roots, so carefully so you don't break them and leave bits in the soil to flourish again! Did two hours of weeding and clearing yesterday, much needed. Everything has gone mad.

Always love your music too. Like you, I always used to sing around the house. I do it less so now and sometimes have to kick myself to remind me to do so again. Buy lots of song books but still never seem to find the time to warble....

Am off to see Leonard Cohen at the MEN in Manchester tomorrow. Old friends coming up from London specially - has gone through hoops to get tickets for us all. He is SO excited - waited 15 years for this, so I am under a lot of pressure not to make us late for the show!!! (leaving 6 kids behind with a babysitter so it will be a bit stressy at 5.30pm tomorrow!).

Love tennis too. Looking forward to Wimbledon starting next week (but it always clashes with so many school activities which I have to attend I often miss the best matches...like Tim Henman's last ever Wimbledon match last year which clashed with sports day!)

Great quotes too.

(Sorry, this post is almost a blog!)

x

LITTLE BROWN DOG said...

Beautiful, beautiful photos, Cait - I love that one of the clouds and the kite is just amazing.

A wonderfully thoughtful blog, as usual. I'll bet you do have a beautiful voice, too.

xx

DJ Kirkby said...

I adore Enya's music however I couldn't ehar the video clip as I do not know how to turn your radio off. The pictures are beautiful as usual. I've posted some very exciting (for me anyway) news on my blog today.

Milkmaid said...

My pottering days are a bit limited too. So much to tackle now when I get a day in the garden. Love the song, my son wanted to know why i was listening to some Shrek music - kids!