Saturday Spotlight.

For this week's spotlight we are going back to the beginning in the sense that here are two more David Roberts engravings from the Middle East. The first one doesn't show a title and is simply described as Plate 65, dated 15 November 1855. By doing some research online, I have just discovered that the scene is of St. Jean d'Acre, an important port city of the eastern Mediterranean on the Bay of Haifa. During the Crusades it changed hands many times between Christians and Muslims. I'm very happy to have learned this. I have visited modren Acre or Akko as it is known in Israel, which may be the same spot.

This second picture is the 'Temple on Gebel Garabe called Surabit el Khadim'. This is in the Sinai; a temple dedicated to the Egyptian Goddess Hathor. Amongst many other titles, she was the patron of miners and this area of the Sinai was the site of famous mines, including turquoise and copper. As always seems to be the case with Roberts' work, this engraving depicts the temple site in a state remarkably similar to its appearance today, which is part of the fascination that I have for his work.

Cocktails For Two.

Pour yourself a drink while you're waiting!

This week, my friend Willow posted a chicken recipe, so when another friend, Lyn, over at Two Ghosts, posted her Wednesday 'Chocolat Sin', I joked with her that I needed only to find a blog offering starter recipes and she wondered why I didn't do the starter, or at least the cocktails. Your wish is my command, Lyn!

I have had a book for many years, titled as in the title of this post, with text by Helen Spence. The image above and the cocktail recipe that follows are taken from it. This drink is delicious and very moreish. We have served it on many occasions and never found anyone who disliked it. As it's the end of the week, give yourself a treat.

Silver Sunset.

2 parts vodka, 1 part apricot brandy, 1 part lemon juice, 6 parts orange juice, dash of campari, dash of egg white (adds richness and froth).

Shake it all together with ice and pour.

Some nibbles to serve with this would be mini 'peppadew' peppers (sold in jars; hot or mild, available from most supermarkets). Fill with your favourite cream cheese (plain, garlic & herb, cracked black pepper etc). You can also use the cheese to fill pitted dates, into which you then push an almond (or a walnut or just top with chopped mixed nuts, to add a crunch). Both easy to make and to eat.

For a super starter, how about Potted Champagne Prawns?

Put 500gms raw, shelled prawns in a pan with 2 chopped shallots, 2 pinches ground nutmeg, half teaspoon sea salt and 150ml champagne (or sparkling wine). Cook over medium heat until prawns turn pink and firm. Drain, reserving the liquid. Add juice of half a lemon to liquid and reduce to 45ml (3 tablespoons). Chop prawns and divide among 6 or 8 ramekins. Pour over reduced liquid and leave to cool. Melt 100gms unsalted butter then allow to cool until warm. Add 25gms total weight of freshly chopped parsley and dill (or tarragon if you like the aniseed flavour). Spoon over each ramekin and chill. Can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, which will allow flavour to develop. Serve with melba toast, brown bread or whatever you prefer.

So, there you have it. Don't say that I never spoil you!

Destiny.

This week, Read, Write, Poem's challenge (#99) was to "write a poem that tells a narrowly focused story — a “scene” — without telling the story. Instead, convey the essence of the scene through your description of the world in which it takes place and the “characters” (who don’t have to be human or even “alive”) that inhabit it."  This is my contribution.

Setting: Osborne House, Isle of Wight, 1901.

Decades of mistrust and frustration, hurt and humiliation
Fell away as he hurled the figure towards the ground.
He was a child again, tossing toys
From the pram. She could not chastise him now.
The freedom was real, so real he could taste it,
He breathed it in, exulting in the euphoria.

He had begun to believe the day would never come.
Always, her light shone brightest, even as it dulled,
Her presence surrounded him but her shadow
was gone at last; “Mrs Brown” was no more.
He would banish every vestige of that upstart ghillie;
The figure was simply the first casualty.

This mausoleum for the living was about to change;
Hers was the sunset, his the dawn
Prince Albert Edward was now reborn.

Girls Allowed!

Durham Cathedral choir.

On Sunday, 1 November, for the first time, girls took part in the choir for the Evensong service at Durham Cathedral. This ended an all-male tradition dating from 1640. The group of twenty girls will alternate with the existing twenty boys and will only be combined for larger services, such as at Easter and Christmas.

James Lancelot, master of the choristers at Durham Cathedral is quoted as saying, "The arrival of girl choristers is an exciting and momentous development into which have gone years of planning.

"Durham will continue to cherish the English cathedral tradition of boy trebles and men whilst celebrating the opportunities that girl trebles and men's voices will allow.
"I am delighted for the cathedral and for the young people who are able to experience this unique musical training."

Dating from 1093, Durham Cathedral has a rich history. It is one of the greatest Norman buildings in England and still retains most of its Norman craftmanship. It was built to house the shrine of St. Cuthbert (who had also been Prior of Melrose Abbey). Along with the neighbouring castle, it became one of Britain's first World Heritage sites. It is also a potent symbol of the prince-bishops who wielded great power in the north.

I did take a couple of photographs of the cathedral several years ago but rather foolishly don't have access to them today. I will post them for you another time.


Image: from The Journal

A Day in East Lothian.

I have just been celebrating a birthday weekend, which was fun as long as one doesn't think about age! Yesterday, we had a drive towards Edinburgh and stopped off at the town of Haddington. It is an ancient Royal Burgh and, as a gateway to Edinburgh, could once boast being the fourth largest town in Scotland - how times change! The population now is less than 10,000. Haddington sits on the River Tyne but this is different to the Tyne in  Northumberland, England.

These first two shots were taken from the Victoria Bridge, on the edge of the town centre. There is a second, Nungate Bridge, from which criminals were hanged once upon a time.

This is the Mercat Cross, surmounted with a ram. Haddington at one time thrived on cloth making and you can see one of the old mills, which has been converted to housing, in the second photograph. Mercat crosses are an attractive, historic feature of small Scottish towns. Sadly, the town centre was looking rather depressed, with several empty shop units but there were also signs of improvement taking place to buildings which, hopefully, signals a revival.

In front of the council offices is this memorial to Field Marshall George Hay (1787-1876), 8th Marquess of Tweeddale. He had also been the Governor of Madras, India (1842-48) and was the Lord Lieutenant of East Lothian (1823-76). He was also a Knight of The Thistle, Scotland's highest order of chivalry. He and his wife, Lady Susan Montagu, had fourteen children, the majority of whom lived into old age.

It proved to be a pleasant day out and the weather was significantly better than the awful rain of Sunday that has caused flooding in parts of Scotland.

Saturday Spotlight.

Today is Halloween and I thought it would be good if I could find a picture which had appropriate connections. However, as we do not have any ghoulish images I have chosen this hand coloured engraving of The Eastern Pass of Glencoe.

Glencoe is always dramatic and can look beautiful on a sunny day but can also look bleak and threatening when shrouded in mist and rain. It is a sombre place. This provides a fitting reminder of the Glencoe Massacre that took place in 1692. When William of Orange was invited to accept the English throne in equal partnership with Queen Mary II, the Scottish Parliament did not immediately agree and wondered if they might encourage the deposed catholic King James (II of England) to become James VII of Scotland. James responded in rather haughty terms and so the Scots chose William. This incited Jacobite uprisings which eventually failed.

William agreed to pardon the participants but required them to take oaths of loyalty before 1 January 1692. For a variety of reasons, the chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe was a few days late taking the oath but he was assured that there would be no recriminations. This turned out to be untrue and in February, after offering two weeks of hospitality to soldiers from the Earl of Argyll's Regiment of Foot, the order was given for them to massacre their hosts! 38 men were murdered in their homes or as they tried to escape and a further 40 women and children died of exposure after their homes had been burned. This was one of the most shameful episodes in Highland history. The glen is often referred to as the Glen of Weeping but this has no direct relationship to its Gaelic name, which is taken from the river that runs through it.

Purple Patch.

Some of you may be wondering what this photograph has to do with the title. Not a lot, is the answer! It is just that we have a lovely bouquet of flowers at the moment, in shades of pinky-lilac through to deep burgundy and I love this rose, which fits the lilac end of the spectrum. It caused the purple patch/purple prose idea to pop into my head. Then I had to look up those terms to make sure that I did understand their meaning. And the truth is that, at the moment, rather than feel as if I am "on a roll", ideas and words flowing wonderfully, it is the exact opposite. I wonder what on earth I might post.

Tomorrow is easy: Saturday Spotlight. Thursdays are also spoken for with my Read, Write, Poem contribution, always presuming that I have managed to pen something. A void seems to loom in between! When I first began blogging, I aimed to post daily as a sort of discipline but the old noggin only retains a certain amount of information! I'm rather envious of the many friends who seem able simply to sit down and write; such as Weaver, bringing the country lanes to life as we join her on a walk or drive. Or Willow, who seems capable of writing on just about any subject under the sun with skill and charm. While I sit with my brow furrowed, waiting for inspiration to strike and wondering if I dare post yet another selection of holiday snaps!

So, for now, I'll gaze into this patch of purple petals and see what dreams may come.