2022年4月1日
I don't watch television. Well, in fact I haven't even got one. They are too black when they are not switched on - like having a big black hole in your living room. But I do listen to the radio occasionally. So it was yesterday, when I stopped in my tracks as I heard the composer Paul Rissmann say (on BBC Radio 3) "......so you are composing a symphony and times are bad. What do you write?.....?"
The British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams knew what to write around the year 1939. A dark year in Europe. In the 3rd movement of his 5th symphony he gives the listener comfort, warmth and hope. He divides the strings of the orchestra into many more parts than were normal, creating a lush rich carpet of sound, and lets the Cor Anglais take the floating melody on top. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN3QPVcExZ8
An escape from reality you could say. And why not.
Today I took my bicycle out into the warm March weather and saw this on my way......
and this.....
Pretty damn good if you ask me. Your spirit rises.
🗼
And then a quick leap to the other side of the world, to the Yushimaten Shinto temple in Tokyo where this happy event took place......
Yes, a friend's wedding. How marvellous. More hope and good vibes!
And now more from nature......
and more...!..here we could say "German Sakura" ドイツのさくら. Not much opportunity for Hanami 花見...though, the traditional japanese custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, in this case cherry blossoms. You would need a few friends, a blue sheet to spread on the ground under the tree, and a picnic. Invariably washed down with some nice Sake 酒.
I think that this bush is called Blackthorn. You see these white blossoms everywhere, especially in hedges on farmland. From afar they seem like explosions of white fireworks.
I know that this idyllic weather cannot last long -" April, come she will " - hence this riot of photos....including some curiosities....
Now what is this? Did I go for a weekend to north Africa or something? No, I was walking in the Eifel north of Koblenz. These caves are called Trasshöhlen. The material is made up of lava ash deposited millions of years ago when the nearby volcano erupted. A bit like Pompeii I suppose, but here there was no town thank goodness. In the 17thc. the Dutch discovered that it was ideal for the building of dykes, because it solidifies like cement even under water. The Romans used it as well. (well, the Romans used everything didn't they......😅)
and now walkers like Nigel and friends explore them 😉......
It was deliciously cool inside......
Wonders never cease, as they say. There is always something new to discover not far from home.
Back in Langen the reeds are pushing up out of the water.......
Then more joy - now in Frankfurt - as a happy mum from Ukraine re-unites with her daughter for her birthday......
A birthday which should have taken place in Lviv. And thank you 日本🍣 for the food.... mmmmmm........美味し 😋.
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p.s. just one more photo for fun. Seen today - 珍しです! 😲! I wonder what the story is behind this?
THE END