Nude Woman Ascending the Staircase by Salvador Dali by Colleen Keating

colleen General 08/09/202408/09/2024Nude Woman Ascending the Staircase, Parview Square, Saladore Dali and Snails, salvadore Dali, Singapore, Singapore snail scultpure, Snails and Saladore dali

A good thing about getting lost is you find the unexpected. This was our luck on our first morning in Singapore. We had studied the map to know we could walk out of our luxurious quiet hotel and down town to the Hop on Hop off bus depot. We looked forward to the walk after the long flight the day before and seeing Singapore. We did not expect the chaos, the heat, the rush and bustle , the noise, the complicated roads, the building sites and hence were quickly lost. That’s when I heard a fountain playing and noticed a calm square between towering building and curiosiously we decided to investigate.

Nude Woman ascending Staircase

We discovered a haven of sculptures . Workers whisked past gobbled up by the buildings, locals hurried by heads down about their business. We, like the pilgrims we wanted to be rather than tourist, we looked, stopped and enjoyed the experience. That is when Nude Woman Ascending the Staircase caught my attention. I loved the paradox of softness (the animal and hardness (the shell ) and the sculpure of the soft body of the female figure climbing
and the message of portraying helplessness by her body being headless was powerful for me.
It just blew my mind. I would like to say she climbed into a ceilingless sky
but a canopy of unbroken glass was part of the building was obviously in the way.

There were quite a few other installations and scuptures set up by the owner of the Park View Square set up as a tribute to elegance and humanity Parkview Group was established by the Hwang family, Several embassies are on different floors and the Ground floor is a very popular baar which we did not get to see

nude woman ascending.jpg

Parkview Square is located in Bugis area. Singaporeans have dubbed it the “Gotham Building” because its dark, imposing design looks like it’s been conceived in Batman’s Gotham City.

I first visited this place a few years ago for drinks at the lobby bar. What intrigued me the most, is the fact that this building seemed rather out of place. It’s so sombre and opulent that I thought it only belonged in another era, a difference country. Looking around, you could feel the total devotion, an enormous sense of pride and perhaps even some self-indulgence (i say this with the utmost respect and envy) of its architects and designers, under a no-expense-is-spared commission of their visionary client, the late Mr. C. S. Hwang, founder and chairman of Chyau Fwu Group.

(Image source: parkviewsquare.com.)

Unlike many contemporary office buildings that emphasize the application of steel and glass in minimalistic fashion, Parkview Square (Year 2002) was built in the classic Art Deco* style, similar to the Chanin Building (Year 1929) in New York. The facade of this building is mostly clad in brown granite, bronze and lacquer.

(* Art Deco is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. It combined modernist styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. Influenced by bold geometric forms and bright colors of the art movement then, it often draws inspiration from the exotic art of ancient China, Japan, India, Persia, Egypt and Maya.)

The night view. Image source: Meinhardt Singapore.

(Image source: Steve Taylor, flickr.com)

There are many statues and sculptures both outside and inside the building, here I will only highlight the more prominent ones. Let’s start from the top (shown in the above photo.) Actually, there is a story/urban myth behind these statues sitting atop the building which can hardly be seen from the ground level. If you take a look at the first photo in this post again, you will notice there are 2 diamond-shape buildings behind Parkview Square, which are The Gateway (Year 1990) designed by the world renowned architect I.M. Pei. (I’m a huge I.M. Pei fan, too. He just turned 100yr old this April!) However, many local Feng Shui masters speculate that the design of The Gateway is considered “bad luck” for any other buildings to be near it, because of its dagger-like appearance. People believe that it would “cut through” all the other buildings, and the tenant companies in their building will be doomed to fail (“cut to pieces”.)

So for many years, the area around The Gateway remained undeveloped. That is, until 2002.

In 2002, Park View Square was built, and it was specially designed in the classic Art Deco style to protect itself from the “daggers” of Gateway. The 8 gigantic statues of men holding a light ball in their hands, 4 of them standing on each broad side of the building’s crown, were crafted to “guard” Parkview Square against “bad luck.” Believe it or not, this story does show you that it’s not uncommon among Chinese property developers to consult their trusted Feng Shui masters before committing to a project.

This photo is taken by me, so is the next one.

Now we have come to the ground level. Standing in the center of the plaza, facing the main building, you could see there is a statue of a golden crane with its head lifted, pointing towards the direction of mainland China. On the pedestal, a Chinese poem is written:

黄鹤楼 Yellow Crane Tower (Referring to Parkview Square)

故国旧有黄鹤楼 There is a Yellow Crane Tower in my homeland,
北望神州几千秋 Looking in the North direction (towards China) for many years,
黄鹤展翅飞万里 Yellow Crane spreads its wings to fly tens of thousands of miles,
伟哉狮城见鹤楼 The great Lion City (Singapore) sees this Yellow Crane Tower.

Pardon my plain and literal translation of this poem. It was composed by the late Mr. C. S. Hwang himself. This is the most personal and meaningful art piece at Parkview Square because of Mr. Hwang’s life experience. He was born in Teochew, China in 1926. During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) he joined the Kuomintang/Nationalist Party (as opposed to the Communist Party) army as a reporter. After the Japanese surrendered in 1945, and the Communist Party won the Chinese Civil War in 1949, he retreated to Taiwan along with the Kuomintang army. While in Taiwan, Mr. Hwang started a construction business that became very successful, and he had since established himself as an influential property developer in Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China, France and Singapore. His company earned a reputation for top-end landmark projects that set new benchmarks for quality and innovation.

For someone who traveled extensively and lived in different countries, Mr. Hwang always had a longing for his hometown in China. This poem expresses his feelings deeply. Parkview Square was his final project, as he passed away 2 years later in 2004.

(Image source: Andrew Boyd, flickr.com) These are the bronze statues on both sides of the plaza. From left to right: Sun Yat-sen, Churchill, Lincoln, Plato. There are another 4 which are not shown here, they are Dante, Dali, Newton, and Chopin.

Mr. Hwang (and his eldest son George Wong’s) love for Dali’s art is quite evident as there are 2 sculptures by the Surrealist artist installed in the garden, and another 4 in the lobby. They’re part of George Wong’s personal collection. I like Dali’s paintings much more than his sculptures, to be honest. Because they are way more imaginative, expressive and magical.

Snail Queen (1974), by Salvador Dali. Bronze, 180 x 290 x 87cm. (Image: tsingapore.com ) I quite like how they digitally added a giant canvas behind to showcase each piece, eliminating background distraction.

Naked Woman Climbing A Staircase (1974) by Salvador Dali. (Image: tsingapore.com )

There is also a sculpture by Fernando Botero, Dressed Woman. (Image: Choo Yut Shing, flickr.com) It’s always pleasant to look at Botero’s distinctive voluptuous sculptures because in reality most people are attracted to slim bodies. There is another sculpture by Botero (titled Bird) in Singapore as public art, it’s installed outside UOB building along Boat Quay.

Ok, it’s time to go inside for a drink now!

(Image source: atlasbar.sg) The lobby is majestic! However, it’s never this bright. Even in daytime, it’s still pretty dark and chill indoor. Excellent ambiance! Very cozy and relaxing.

The newly renovated Atlas Bar is known for its very special champagne and gin collection, and it’s helmed by one of Europe’s leading bartenders, Roman Foltan, who previously worked at Artesian at The Langham, which is voted the World’s Best Bar four times consecutively.

My friends and I had enjoyed the cocktails very much, even though i usually prefer plain alcohol served as it is, or maybe just add water/ice.

Launch of Tintinnabulum by Judith Beveridge

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Tintinnabulum by Judith Beveridge

Tintinnabulum was launched by poet Audrey Molloy at Gleebooks on a delightful warm winters Sunday afternoon. 25th August 2024.

It was done in a conversational mode. Audrey’s questions helped Judith to open up about her writing .

Firstly the title. Judith explained, it is always difficult to come up with an interesting title.

Tintinnabulum means ‘little bell’ in Medieval Latin . As a verb it refers to a ring or sound like a small bell, peal, ring, sound sonorously . eg the tintinnabulation of wind chimes blowing in the breeze. or I always look forward to the joyous tintinnabulation at church during the christmas season.

Judith makes a list of possible names for a title and slowly narrows it down. In this book she explores what poetry can uncover through musicality and analogy and how these elements can open up sacred space . The title Tintinnabulum is an onamatopeia word ( the naming of a thing or action by imitation of natural sounds as buzz or hiss ) and that title became the final choice as one or two poems include that word . Robert Frost says, ‘sound is the gold in the ore of poetry’

“I chose the title meaning ringing of little bells to suggest celebration and to indicate that many poems in the collection, engage in almost ritualised observance of precise aspects of the physical world .

Judith would like to be called an imagist poet.

In this book she looks specially at animals, landscape and at people in certain environments.”

Sacred space comes into being with the idea of relationships and the idea of apprehending the interconnections with them especially through the use of metaphor.

Walking with the poet captures this. A poem in memory of Dorothy Porter. She often uses water landscape . Rilke says ‘praising is what matters ‘

Judith is interested in the ways which simile and metaphors can create relations that previously might have been unnoticed.

“My poetry centres around this core aspect of poetic language. ‘

She has been influenced by Seamus Heaney , Robert Frost, Hopkins, Amie Clapton , Walcott, Plath .

Sound

Sound affects the reader – when it hits our gut our feeling centre. For a poet human emotions are full of potential.

Love the sound of Plath “A bird flits nimble-winged in thickets” Sound is a great tool to get feelings rippling through the poem.

Using poetic devices to give surprise and visceral response

Peppertree Bay is pure adventure using metaphor, simile and imagination. They are tools to connect – dissolve boundaries to connect things in our gut – healing, restoring, and helping to open up sacred spaces .Pictures in your head she wants them to curl into your imagination and stay. eg Breakwall octopus and ballet shoe,

a kite letting down . . .

A writer needs to balance imagination and reality.

“You can have an imaginative garden but you need real toads in it”

The poem The Light on Marine Bay began with something real. Light on water at North Parramatta Park !

James Dickey says it is alright to lie in poetry . It is a literary strategy to delve deeper into deeper truth .

Empathy

is an important quality. eg Cruelty of animals is appalling

However sentimentality can undermine the real feeling of a poem . and sentimentality can be caused by a lack of attention. Read The Dancing Elephant There is an iron bell resonance between the animal and reader.

Attentiveness is the natural prayer of the soul.

Assonance

She loves Wallace Stevens and works with his poetry in one section.

His poems Snowman and 13 Ways to look at a Black Birds.

“One must resist the intellect almost obsessively . Forget the context, get the music . Failed poetry is when the content takes over.

JUDITH SIGNING MY BOOK > I BELIEVE SHE IS ONE OF OUR GREAT LIVING AUSTRALIAN POETS .

Judith Beveridge: a note on Tintinnabulum

The renowned Australian poet Judith Beveridge reflects on her much-anticipated new collection of poems Tintinnabulum (1 July 2024), the first since her prize-winning Sun Music in 2018. Read an extract from the book here.

Tintinnabulum explores what poetry can uncover through musicality and analogy, how these elements can open up sacred spaces. I have chosen Tintinnabulum as the title (which means the ringing of little bells) to suggest celebration and to indicate that many poems in the collection engage in an almost ritualised observance of precise aspects of the physical world. I look specifically at animals, landscapes, and at people in certain environments.

Sacred spaces, I believe, come into being when we perceive relationships and apprehend interconnections. I have always been interested in the ways in which similes and metaphors can create relations that formerly might have been unnoticed. My poetry has centred around this core aspect of poetic language and Tintinnabulum continues this with perhaps more urgency and power, but also with humour and surprise.

I also love to use language that is distinctly focussed on sound as a way of enhancing meaning and providing pleasure for the reader. My animal poems, which make up the book’s first section, delve into how we often interact with cruelty and insensitivity to non-human animals, but I also look at ways in which encounters with animals throw their ‘otherness’ into stark relief such as the distinctly alien lives of cicadas, leeches, bluebottles.

The second section focusses on the human world and brings to bear a sense of compassion for the difficulties that people encounter: surfers on a high sea, a waitress unhappy in her job, two brothers suffering racist cruelty, as well as elegiac poems about friends and family members.

The third section consists of imaginative/hallucinogenic scenarios, and is my most poetry at its most weirdly inventive. This section culminates in a joyous romp through sonic repetitions and is a homage to the poetry of Wallace Stevens.

The poet Edward Hirsch has said that ‘Attentiveness is the natural prayer of the soul.’ I believe the final section of the book attempts this level of worshipful attention evoking the beauty and awe to be found in landscapes. It is my aim that readers, after reading Tintinnabulum, will find the world less fragmented and more interconnected, that language can be felt as an activating mechanism for wonder, joy and revelation.

— Judith Beveridge, May 2024

Mosaics in the portico of the National Art Gallery London by Colleen Keating

colleen General 24/08/2024mosaics., National Gallery, The Labours of Life., The Pleasures of Life

Mosaics in the Portico

tread gently
you walk
on sacred ground

The first picture that greets visitors to the National Gallery is not an Old Master, nor an Impressionist. Nor does it even hang on a wall. Set into the floor of the first landing in the Gallery’s Portico entrance is ‘The Awakening of the Muses’, a marble mosaic laid in 1933 by the Russian-born artist Boris Anrep (1885-1969).

Between 1928 and 1933, the National Gallery commissioned Anrep to lay two mosaic pavements in the vestibule of the Main Hall to illustrate ‘The Labours of Life’ and ‘The Pleasures of Life’. In 1952, Anrep laid a third pavement, ‘The Modern Virtues’. The resulting mosaics are a celebration of everyday life, which lies underfoot in a busy public place.

Anrep was an associate of the Bloomsbury Group of artists and writers, who notoriously championed modern art and modern attitudes. His Muses are not heavenly immortals, but portraits of people from his own world. Many of the characters are played by Anrep’s Bloomsbury friends. I love that. And the photos dont do justice to the beauty of all these fine old tiles that people walk on and many not even noticing .

Lucidity, Astronomy, Compromise, Delectation,

Humour, Folly, Dance, Sixth Sense,

Pursuit, Art, Football, Defiance.

Defiance

Compromise

Rest

Curiosity

Winchester Cathedral in 10 Picutres by Colleen Keating

colleen A Spring Journey to see Family in N Hemisphere, General 09/06/202409/06/2024a war and a metaphor, A window, created glass window, stained glass window, Winchester Cathedral

Visiting Winchester Cathedral in 10 Picutres

A tree lined park leads us to a staggering cathedral of wonderful proportions built in 1079 and expanded after that over 5 centuries with 7 different designs of architectural styles. it has had countless restorations over the centuries .

After entering the Cathedral the first site that stopped me was the west wall stained glass window at the back of the cathedral.

It has a n interesting story.

The mosaic stain glass window was not the intended design but an assortment of broken fragments collected and repaired after all of the stain glass windows of the cathedral were smashed on 12 December 1642 after the army burst through the doors rode their horses into Winchester’s historic cathedral.. Then those with guns used the windows as target practice. The ground was splattered with coloured glass.

When the angry soldiers left, the townspeople came around and picked up as much of the glass as they could. They stored it all in boxes tucked safely under their beds in hopes that when things calmed down, the windows could be reassembled and the bones could be reburied.

Oliver Cromwell, died in 1658 and within two years, the monarchy was restored. But the war had left Winchester Cathedral in a sorry state. In an effort to get things back to normal, the citizens of Winchester set about cleaning up and repairing their cathedral.

Everyone brought out their boxes of glass to see if they could be put back where they belonged. However, recreating the beautiful Biblical scenes that had once graced the windows proved to be an impossible task. So they repaired many of the broken windows with clear glass.

A Window as a Metaphor

For the huge west window, they came up with a special plan. They gathered all the bits of broken glass and made a mosaic. The result was a beautiful window.

It doesn’t have images representing stories from the Bible as it once did, but it still tells a story. It tells a story about a war and of people putting broken things back together. And maybe there’s still a spiritual message in it for us. Perhaps it’s a metaphor for life and teaches us that no matter how shattered things seem, they can still be put back together. They might not look like they did before, but they can still be beautiful.

(adapted from The Curious Rambler – Margo Lestz)

A Window, A War, and a Metaphor in Winchester Cathedral

Heard melodies are sweet,
but those unheard are sweeter; Keats

Stained glass stories with ornate tales
saints and heroes and biblical scenes
summon us to stand and wonder

imagine the emptiness of frame
when in rage men lifted muskets
shattered story and beauty reigned terror

how many brave hands were cut by shards of glass
how many pockets and boxes of glass collected
hidden for 20 years in hope of restoration

impossible to recreate the ancient windows
to their seventeenth century former majesty
yet a sense of people-power gave hope

a multicoloured mosaic of salvaged shards
with additional clear glass to fill residual gaps
makes luminosity of light live once again

a reconstructed window
its kaleidoscopic splendour tells a new story
a story of salvation and resurrection

Colleen Keating

Marvellous archetecture. We could spend hours walking around this beautiful 12th century structure.

“Winchester Cathedral is one of the most historically significant buildings in Britain.

It is located at the heart of historic Winchester, once the seat of Anglo-Saxon and Norman royal power,

on the site of an early Christian Church. Today, Winchester Cathedral stands beautifully

in the idyllic green spaces surrounding it,

boasting the title of Europe’s longest medieval Cathedral.

The Old Minster, a Benedictine monastery, was the home of St Swithun and the present Cathedral was built

on the orders of William the Conqueror. Begun in 1079, Winchester Cathedral

has been a place of welcome and worship ever since. “

A place of prayer and a prayer for PEACE

We all wanted to visit King Arthur’s Round Table of Camelot that his knights used to sit around?

Here in Winchester the Round Table is part of Winchester Great Hall. a short walk from Thre cathedral.

Although it’s not really the legendary circular table, it is a medieval recreation that dates back to the 13th-century!

As a huge fan sof the Arthurian Legends and anything to do with Merlin,we just had to check this table out for myself.

Pa and Elizabeth getting into the mood.

The architecture of the Hall was breathtaking as the Cathedral .

Finally attached to the hall was Queen Eleanotr’s Garden with its fountain, long walking trellis for ladies to walk and care fot their complexion and a mediatation corner of peace.

Pa and Eleanor sitting in the meditation corner but not really mediatation

Thomas and i walking under the long trellis way.

And so after a long drive home thanks to William we arrived with a new story and much beauty that feeds our soul.

Drives into the English Countryside in 10 Pictures by Colleen Keating

colleen A Spring Journey to see Family in N Hemisphere, General 09/06/202409/06/2024All Saints Church Tudeley, Chagall, Dag Hammarskjöld’s book, English countryside, Marc Chagall, Markings., medieval wall paintings, Norman Wealden Church, St. Thoamas à Becket, stained glass windows, Tudeley, united Window Peace Window

Several drives into the Countryside in 10 Pictures

One of the creative moments feeding our souls

We set out to find a mystery country church that we had heard of worth visiting as it is said to have 12 beautiful Marc Chagall stained glass windows . It was about an hours drive to All Saints Church Tudeley .

There were no cars as we drove into the car parking area in the country side. No line up of people queued to enter as there was at the hot bread shop yesterday. There was a country peace and quiet so quite the swaying hum of barley in the field next door could be heard.

Elizabeth was the first to pull the very old wooden door to enter and I heard her gasp ‘O my goodness’ I followed and stopped in awe catching my breath with ‘O my ‘ The small church was full of scintillating mood of coloured light the ancient flood and wall stones were shimmering in swaying light and the windows , with the luminosity of Marc Chagall work waited for us .

All Saints Church in Tudeley, Kent, England, is the only church in the world that has all its windows in stained glass designed by Marc Chagall. “When Chagall dies Matisse will be the only one left that knows what colour is “ Picasso

One of the wonders of the Tudeley windows is that they are at eye level: one can go right up to them and see the marks of Chagall’s hands. He would scratch and mark his windows right up to the final stage of making – some say even after they were installed. This distinguishes the Tudeley windows from most of his other stained glass, which tends to be high up and hard to see.

(Some of his finest work in the medium is at the synagogue of the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem, depicting the Twelve Tribes of Israel – the Reuben window, in particular, prefiguring the east window at Tudeley and in a Zurich Cathedral. The most interesting window at present with thoughts of Gaza , according to my friend Andy . . .is at the is the Peace Window at the United Nations building in NY. a

How did Chagall happened to be present here in this tiny unknown church in the countryside.

The story goes a young jewish girl Sarah and her mother had seen and admired the Chagall designs for the Hadassah windows at an exhibition in the Louvre in Paris in 1961, and had been enthralled by them.

After the sudden death of Sarah in 1963, in a sailing accident, her parents living in the area of Tudeley, Sir Henry and Lady d’Avigdor-Goldsmid commissioned Chagall to design the magnificent east window. In commemorating the daughter of a Jewish father and an Anglican mother Chagall was an inspired choice. Chagall was a Jew, but one who often included Christ in his work, and who spoke of him as “the radiant young man in whom young people delight”.

Chagall was initially reluctant to take on the commission, but was eventually persuaded – and when in 1967 he arrived for the installation of the east window and saw the church, he said, ‘It’s magnificent. I will do them all.’

And over the next 15 years, Chagall designed all the remaining eleven windows, collaborating as usual with glassworker Charles Marq of Reims. The chancel windows were finally installed in 1985, the year of Chagall’s death at the age of 98 (replacing Victorian glass, now artfully backlit by a specially designed light-box installed in the vestry, at the suggestion of Sir Hugh Casson).

For myself I have always been curious of the famous Chagall windows at the Hadassah Synagogue in Jerusalem and the ones at The Fraumunster Church Zurich. I had accepted not to experience them and here I stand before 12 Chagall windows the east window inspired by the famous Reuben window in Jerusalem . What a beautiful gift to our world.

My favourite window is in the SW corner ( for the English where the su light gets in )

It is all golden and called the Resurrection window. It echoes the other windows as it also has birds of the air , beasts of the field and an angel albeit less obvious.

Picnic in the ancient peaceful cemetery

Country walks around the churches down in a barley field, path under the birch trees to a secret garden.

Kids and Michael enjoying the country side

With our spirits full I felt close to Heaven having been in the presence of Chagall I felt as if I could not take in any more when we read another tiny church i and half miles away across the field there was another country church –St. Thomas à Becket, Capel has a notable 13th century wall paintings and a yew tree under which Becket himself is supposed to have preached. It is a small Norman Wealden Church.

The tower was partly rebuilt after a fire in 1639. Inside, the crown-post roof is striking and there are some interesting fittings. Most significant however, are the extensive medieval wallpaintings which cover most of the nave.

Having been hidden by plaster for hundreds of years, evidence of these treasures was first discovered in 1868.

The north wall is a reminder of the colour and artistry which adorned England’s mediaeval churches before the Reformation. These paintings provided a kaleidoscope of visual aids to teach the Christian faith to ordi- nary people, who could neither read nor understand the Latin of the services and scriptures.

There were two tiers of scenes on the north wall. A horizontal frieze of zigzag riband pattern, about 4 feet (1.2m) from the floor, marked the bottom of the lower tier, and a frieze of scroll-work further up, divided the two tiers. These friezes, together with the lines which cover the wall and also the wide splay of the Norman window and the arch of the blocked doorway, with a masonry pattern, are thought to be the work of c.1200. and it reminds me of the work in the original Church in Hildegard’s Church which tells the biblical stories.

PS A footnote:

Hi Colleen,

Great to hear you were able to visit that church in England where Chagall designed/painted a beautiful stained-glass window. Elaine and I made a point of seeing his windows in a church in Zurich and a synagogue in Jerusalem on our pilgrimage to the ‘Holy Land’ in 2016.

As witnesses to Gaza’s unholy war, you and Marg may be interested is Chagall’s magnificent ’Peace Window’ at the United Nations building in New York.

Blessings and Love to all

Andrew

I have copied the image and description of the window from the UN website. [Photo in separate text]

“Peace Window” – Marc Chagall (Marc Chagall and the United Nations Staff Members – 1964)

The memorial, a stained-glass window about 15 feet (4,6 meters) wide and 12 feet (3,7 meters) high,

contains several symbols of peace and love, such as the young child in the center being kissed

by an angelic face which emerges from a mass of flowers. On the left, below and above, motherhood

and the people who are struggling for peace are depicted. Musical symbols in the panel evoke

thoughts of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which was a favourite of Mr. Hammarskjöld’s.

Chagall’s own handwritten dedication (15 May 1963) reads:

“A tous ceux qui ont servi les buts et principes de la Charte des Nations Unies et pour lesquels

Dag Hammarskjöld a donné sa vie.”
[“To all who served the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations Charter,

for which Dag Hammarskjöld gave his life”.]

PSS a further footnote

Ah that’s so interesting, beautifully moves me to tears.

One of my treasured possessions is a copy of Dag Hammarskjöld’s book, Markings.

It’s old and brown. His words have been a comfort to me over the years,

he was and is an inspirational icon of goodness for me.

I’m sending a little of his words in the foreword. His death was so untimely,

believed perhaps to have been killed! Marg xx

An English Spring in 10 Pictures by Colleen Keating

colleen A Spring Journey to see Family in N Hemisphere, General 09/06/202416/07/2024'No Mow May', An English Spring in 10 pictures, Buttercups, Liz smelling the roses, rewilding, spring

An English Spring in 10 Pictures

Out walking in the English fields the idea of rewilding England is in full bloom

spring pond
two green-headed drakes
flaunt with a duck

a blue dragonfly
rests on a pond reed
a piece of sky

from the dark
to full light
white lotus blooms
showing me
the way forward

the unkept park
rewilding nature
we wander amid
a bevy of birds, insects
and blossoming weeds

dandelions, red clover,
buttercups, bees
insects on daisies and song birds in trees
tadpoles dancing
amidst flowering lotus

And ducklings we watched them just born run all over the lotus leaves . Life was wonderful. But the next day they are gone.

Story of the tiny Englash Blue Tits that nested in our back yard. An exciting observation.

And then they fledged, played in the apple tree for a little while and were gone, leaving the back yard soquiet and lonely .

I can go back to concentrate on sparrows and magpies and look for wrens .

Catching up with family in England in 10 pictures by colleen Keating

colleen A Spring Journey to see Family in N Hemisphere, General 09/06/202409/06/2024archery, English spring, karate, Our family in Northern Hemisphere, spring, Welcome May 2024

Our second leg of the journey and reason for our journy

Up at 4.30 am, down in foyer for Uber to the airport and flying at 9am for London. A 15 hour trip which gave us a chance to see lots of movies and listen to music. Arrived late for London into the loving arms of Elizabeth,, Thomas and Eleanor . William had a wonderful chicken green curry cooking for us on arrival at Burgess Hill. A great evening with the family. Wonderful fresh flowers greeted us – gold arum lilies, roses and wonderful mauve tulips. Just beautiful to be with our two grandchildren. Over the next weeks picking them up from school, experiencing the swimming, karate, archery, nett-ball gymnastics, ballet explorers club, doing lots of craft with them, walking around the Dragonfly Park, walking the sea front on a sunny spring day,

a long way from home
unfamiliar sounds
entertain my night

at the crack of dawn
strange bird song fills the air
jet lag

Catching up with family in England in 10 pictures

At the airport , very moving experience after a gap of 8 years.

Experiencing school in Burgess Hill ,England bu picking grandchilren up after school.

Some of the English roses with Eleanor coming home from Netball training.

A historic moment for the family and a wonderful celebration

Some fun activities we enjoyed watching

Singapore in 10 Pictures by Colleen Keating

colleen A Spring Journey to see Family in N Hemisphere, General 09/06/202409/06/2024Merlion, National Orchid Garden, Peace crane in Singapore, Raffles Hotel, Saladore Dali, Singapore Botanical Gardens, Singapore in 10 Pictures, Singapore pictures, Singapore Sling

Waking up in Singapore. Out the window from our 16th floor window the world is alive as moving white twin lights coming towards us and red lights moving away.

It is a world of high rise and many parks which ironically one must book for a table or for a barbecue on weekends.

Our uber driver said Singapore people are a people of work and sleep and work again. Every body is caught in a cycle of getting somewhere. Maybe we thought we saw another side of Singapore as we were seduced by the sounds of prayer from the Mosque near our motel, and the aromas – sweet spices – rich, fragrant with garlic, saffron, fresh herbs , mint, and roasting lamb in the Turkish quarters with the black robed women and the biked men and families, all smiles meeting in festive eating, laughing and enjoying each others company. Amazing Lamb dishes, our main connection of conversation: targine, kebabs , ali nasik, lamb with smoked aubergine, lamb shanks ,Turkish shish on skewers, spiced lamb mince in wraps. Tables lit by Istanbul coloured glass lights and shops selling coloured lights nearly as beautiful as the one Michael gave me once now hanging catching the light each morning in Normanhurst., The fun we had with one man showing us through his photos of dishes proudly exclaiming with a laugh ‘our lamb is from Australia’

Changi airport
friendly, shining and clean
how different
this word from our history books
of suffering and bloodshed

lost
up-graded deluxe
king size bed

a multi-domed mosque
kaleidoscope of colours
evening walk

holding hands
a reminder
to the uneven pathways

Back to the hotel
lost in a king size bed
we fall asleep
after a great adventure
of straying from home

Singapore in 10 pictures

Our hotel

Out first day outing finding the Crane for Peace

While we were wandering rather lost ,we found two marvellous sculptures of Salvador Dali

I really do not understand Dali so whenever i engage with his work I i just let my imagination run away, unrestrained.

The first Dali was titled, Nude woman Ascending the staircase

The second Dali is titled, Snail Queen

Traditional drink The Singapore Sling at the famous Raffles Hotel. Just sitting back at The Raffles Hotel and pondering the many famous people who have stayed or ate or drank or wrote or filmed here on this spot. A great energy . A two hour wait to get into the Long Bar but the Garden Bar where we are is just as interesting and we got the same bowl of unshelled peanuts.

A glimpse of some of the Modern Singapore

A visit to the famous Merlion . The fish-like body symbolises Singapores origin as a fishing village and the lion head represents the city’s orinal name of songapura (lion city in Sanskrit)

An iconic photo tsken of the Merlion

Interesting photo. These artificial trees (electrified) is an iconic Singaporean scene . . very stunning when lit up in the evenings.. Just one I took on our extensive walk on our exploration of the Garden by the Bay. It was very hot and we are not getting any younger so we didn’t do the park justice . It was extensive and very green and well kept.

Our most beautiful morning was walking around the Singapore Botanical Gardens and especially the extensive and famous Nationl Orchid Garden so I popped 4 photos in to try and capture the day. We had a two day hop on hop off bus which we used for transport – a successful way to get around the city, when you didn’t get lost looking for the bus stop and when you didnt get on the wrong bus ( two legs of the bus and not clear which colour route caught us out once ). However we looked at our three days in Singapore as a great adventure and very much about the journey not the destination.

Our second leg of the journey and reason for our journy

Sydney Anthology Launch 14th April 2024 by Vanessa Proctor

colleen General, Poetry, Poetry Awards 24/04/202405/08/2024Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology, Gavin Austin, Haiku, photos by Gavin Austin, Under the same moon, Vanessa Proctor

Sydney Anthology Launch 14th April 2024

On a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon 25 haiku poets and poetry lovers met in the Gallery, a heritage room in the Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre to celebrate the Sydney launch of under the same moon: Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology (Forty South, 2023).

Poets travelled from all over Sydney and from as far afield as the Central Coast, Bathurst, Canberra and Coffs Harbour to attend the event.

Vanessa Proctor acted as the MC, introducing the incoming president of the Australian Haiku Society, Leanne Mumford, to speak about haiku and the AHS. Three AHS presidents were present, one current and two past presidents: Vanessa Proctor and Beverley George. Lyn Reeves, who has recently retired from her role as Vice President after 24 years service to the AHS, was recognised for her tireless work for the Society and for Australian haiku.

L to R, top row: Leanne Mumford, David George, Laurel Astle, Rohan Buettel, Beverley George, Vanessa Proctor
L to R, bottom row: Colleen Keating, Carol Reynolds, Barbara Fisher, Margaret Mahony, Kent Robinson, Jane Gibian

Vanessa Proctor then spoke about the editorial process with co-editors Lyn Reeves and Rob Scott, the aims for the anthology and the process of selecting the haiku. She examined how the strength of this anthology lies in the quality of its work and the way in which it offers a distinctly Australian view of the world.

As the anthology is dedicated to John Bird and Beverley George, Beverley began the readings with Max Ryan’s haiku in tribute to AHS founder John Bird. David George then read Gregory Piko’s haiku celebrating Beverley’s contribution to Australian haiku.

Contributors went on to read their featured haiku and those of poets who were not able to attend.

All present celebrated the occasion with food and wine and enjoyed the views from the balcony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Books were bought; old connections between poets were rekindled and new connections made. Plans were set in motion for future gatherings of NSW haiku poets.

Vanessa Proctor
All photos courtesy of Gavin Austin

A great write up by Vanessa and I just want to add I was proud to read my three published haiku and I enjoyed the beautiful venue of the neighbourhood centre. From the old laced wrought iron verandra we had views of the Opera House and the Harbour bridge. as we sipped our red wine (well some of us ) and we discussed poetry and friendship..

And we connected with old friendships once again

The Rajah Quilt from a play by Cate Whittaker

colleen General 19/04/2024Cate Whittaker, Jane Franklin, Lady Franklin and the Rajah Quilt, playwright, Riverside Theatre, The Rajah Quilt

One of the joys of being part of a writing community you get to enjoy writing events more personally as you know writers. And so attending an afternoon play, written by fellow writer Cate Whittaker called Lady Franklin and the Rajah Quilt at The Riverside Theatre with my writer friend Pip Griffin was no exception.

The play titled Jane Franklin and the Rajah Quilt was based on an early AUSTRALIAN story of the convicts being shipped to Australia

THE PLAY

This moving and tragic play tells of the unjust dismissal of the highly-efficient, effective and extremely clever Governor’s wife, Jane Franklin, after working tirelessly to change Tasmania’s penal colony into a cultural centre, where girls were state educated; and convict women removed from the abuse of assignment to be taught skills.

Boarding the Rajah for home Jane faces her worst nightmare and nemesis- the reoffending convict woman, in Betsy, the Captain’s wife’s maid. The two clever women in opposite corners of life spar continually, with Jane methodically processing Betsy’s pardon, Betsy telling her, “Treat me like a person, not a problem.”

The tables are drastically turned when Jane discovers her name is notorious, being blamed for her husband’s dismissal. Unable to face life Jane is saved by Betsy, who teaches her to sew. Sitting together stitching the Rajah Quilt they share life stories, laughter, and finally their sorrows. Its Betsy’s arms Jane cries in –- a recognition of shared paths of unjust disgrace.

Cate Whittaker, the playwright and writer friend was born fifteen-kilometres from the Brontë home in Haworth and has been steeped in their legend and legacy. Cate had a successful career in Secondary Education and continue her writing in an academic field. Her MA (Thesis SYD) is in Colonial History and her research focuses on female social history.

Her play, Forgotten performed to sell-out audiences at the Parramatta Riverside Theatre in 2019, and is on the Female Convict Rebellion at the Parramatta Factory 1827. The Lost Voice of Anne Brontë, dedicated to women killed by their partners, recognises Anne’s courage in writing about the abuse of wives. Premiering last January, Sydney to encouraging reviews, “a solidly engaging play” (SMH), it will be performed in Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne, before the UK in 2022 for Anne’s extended bicentenary.

The RAJAH QUILT

The story of the Rajah Quilt is fascinating because it is the only known surviving patchwork by women convicts, created on their voyage to Van Diemen’s Land in 1841.

The 180 women convicts were transported on board the ship Rajah from England to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) While it is a compelling document of convict life, it is also an extraordinary work of art―a product of beauty from the hands of many women who, in the most abject circumstances, were able to work together to produce an object of hope.

Most of the time it lives in controlled conditions in the National Gallery of Australia textile archive. It is displayed on occasions in exhibitions commemorating the history of Australia, and the history of Quilting.

The Rajah Quilt was only possible due to the work of Elizabeth Fry and the British Ladies Society for the Reformation of Female Prisoners. Like so many other caring acts of awareness it was the Quakers who were alert to the suffering of the women and looked for practical ways to assist. Elizabeth Fry was very moved by the terrible conditions , overcrowding,and the general ‘Dickensian image of English Victorian prisons. Being aware some of the convict girls were needlework trained they sprovided bundles of sewing kits for the girls: and communal sewing supplies including tape, 10 yards of fabric, 4 balls of white cotton sewing thread, red, black,and blue thread, black wool, 24 yards of coloured patch work fabric 100 needles, thimbles, pins, scissors and 2 ponds of patchwork pieces.

On the trip with maybe the leadership of a woman Kezia Hayter, who helped run the prison and decided to come as maybe (this is questioned) she was interested in the captain of the Rajah. This was lucky for the girls. Their work turned into a quilt, embroidered and appliqued coverlet a tangible evidence of cooperative patchwork

Being at sea for 3-4 months this sewing could have had a calming effect on the group that worked together, transcended their conditions to work together in the service of art. and would be something to give them a sense of hope.

The Rajah Quilt consists of 2,815 pieces and made in the old English medallion style or framed quilt style. The English paper oieced applique called ‘Broderic perse’ a type of applique chinz