lost love’s journey’s ending
the heart’s darkest wilderness is not a place of this Earth
~
I have journeyed far
through Xanadu, Samarkand, Shangri-la, and Elsinore
I traveled not for love alone
but to fulfill my quest, meet my fate, and free my soul
my heart torn apart by ardour
I wandered by the mountains of the moon’s raging river
in darkest passion’s burning fervour
I could take the pain and stand the rain as should warrior
a warrior proud, steadfast, alone forever
I wouldst take you far to Shangri-la, a land of never never
so join me, my princess most proud and fair
be my Lady, my Goddess, Queen of Camelot and Elsinore
to be together, as it ’twere long ago and before
lost love’s journey’s ending, together now and forevermore
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
darkness cannot drive out darkness
only the dawn’s early light can do that
Songs on Saturday ~ Sting
a lost man, in a lost world, on an endless quest for faith and truth
This song is for a friend of mine, who oft gives me the faith and strength to carry on when all seems lost. When I’m down and troubled she lends a helping hand, she helps me to get up again, and strive once more to be a really great guy, living a very cool life.
A bit of Shakespeare, some Thomas Malory, and a reference to Alfred, Lord Tennyson in the video accompanying this song. Who knew that Sting was educated and well-read?
King Canute’s real name was Cnut. What a great T-shirt logo, if you were brave enough.
Please listen as you look to see if you have any great literature on your Kindle.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
knighthood’s dauntless deed
beauty’s matchless eye
Food on Friday ~ Rosehips
rose hips are the fruit of the flower of love
no matter what they say, rose hips are indeed a fruit
High summer presses its heat and humidity down on us, and yet in England the hedgerows are already beginning to ripen with wild harvest. One of the hedgerow’s natural bounties is the false fruit of the dog rose, (rosa canina), more commonly known in England as rose hips.
You can do a lot of stuff with rose hips, from making syrups and jams, to my preferred use which is to make a tincture of rose hips and rosemary in apple cider vinegar. As well as sweetening and adding taste to the cider vinegar. the rose hips also add diuretic, lithontriptic, and mild laxative qualities to your brew. As for rosemary, this stuff is almost a cure-all. I just add an odd number of fresh sprigs to the bottle, (for good fortune it must be an odd number.)
The finished product, (ready in about 6 weeks and will keep for a year or a lot longer), is a great basis for a salad dressing. Diluted in water it is also a first class tonic and as part of a whole-body cleanse. There may be no truth whatsoever in the persistent rumour that this concoction is a very potent female aphrodisiac. However, it is well known to be a cure for practically whatever that ails you.
You can also make a true tincture of rose hips using medicinal alcohol, (or vodka). For those of us with a real taste for booze, just make a rose hip brandy or vodka. I have even heard of rose hip gin, and although I’ve never tasted it, I have it on very good authority, from a very close friend, that this booze is the bomb.
The dog rose is an important plant to the herbalist, because the leaves, petals, and hips all have their uses. In a hedgerow, the plant may reach six feet or more in height, its flowers can be anything from white to a delicate pink, and if will guard its bounty with some particularly persistent thorns. (You can also use the hips, leaves, and petals of the cultivated rose, but I would look for a rose variety that’s as close to the wild rose as possible.)
Some say that you must be very careful when picking fruits, berries, and salad leaves from the wild ~ the uninitiated may pick themselves a deadly poison. And that everything belongs to somebody, so be discreet. All I know is that the mixture of rose hips, rosemary, and organic apple cider vinegar is as near to a sorcerer’s brew as anything I know.
~
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
a rose by any other name is still as sweet
even if it’s a dog
Random Jottings ~ Mad Scientists
and so he created a woman, who got angry when her batteries ran down
~
he was smart, but he could never get a girl
so he made one
~
every mad scientist dreams of playing God
the really crazy ones believe they are God
~
keep you arms in the time machine at all times
~
‘that’s strange perfume…..’ he said
‘that’s not perfume, it’s formaldehyde…..’ she answered
~
they had solved the theory of everything
and after a few bottles of booze they thought it was a good idea to build a time machine
things went downhill after that
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
she must be a scientist
she’s wearing a white coat
Monochrome Monday ~ Film Noir
you just put your lips together and blow
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
he was a big hairy guy you said?
give me the facts ma’am
just the facts
Tunes on Tuesday ~ Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Zulus to the Southwest ~ thousands of ’em
In all the turbulent history of the Natal in Southern Africa, one thing stands out, the respect the British have for the wider Zulu nation. I think this is a fabulous track. Tremendous bass baritones.
The town of Ladysmith on the Klip River in Natal also has a special place in British history.
The Ladysmith Black Mambazo featured prominently on the Paul Simon Album ‘Graceland’.
Please listen with respect.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Zulu singers at Drakensberg Mountains
Songs on Saturday ~ Lies
the most dangerous liars are those who think they are telling the truth
The lies, misdirections, obfustications, manipulated statistics, and scare stories surrounding COVID-19 continue. This time it’s from Professor Robin Shattock at Imperial College, (that high-profile home of liars and adulterers), who says that we will all need an annual booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccination, (when there is one), along with our annual booster shot of the flu vaccination. This guy should learn a better delivery when it comes to cautionary tales. It might be helpful if these academics actually knew the difference between vaccination and inoculation.
~
~
Do they seriously believe that anyone with a mind of their own is going to submit themselves to an annual inoculation to supposedly protect themselves against a relatively harmless virus? Probably they do. BIG Pharma rolls on and on towards….. mind control, a totally obedient global population, or just untold billions of dollars? Strange how there is now an ongoing news story that smokers are less likely to die from COVID-19 than are non-smokers….. I bet the big tobacco companies like that one.
You know something? The coronavirus pandemic, in real terms, it’s all lies. But nobody believes the plain and simple evidence of their own eyes any more.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
we must all carry a big stick to scare away non-existent dragons
News and Current Events
April 18th 1930, ‘this is the BBC news, there is no news tonight…..’
What a difference from today, on that day 90 years ago the 15 minute BBC news slot was filled with piano music because the BBC didn’t believe there was anything worth reporting. To be brutally honest, for all there is in most of the news media today, there is no news worth reporting.
Or, is it that there is a moratorium on bad news? And we all know there is no news like bad news.
What we are hearing today is;
- Prince George has turned seven years old
- More on Princess Beatrice’s ‘modest’ wedding
- That the disgraced Prince Andrew was not seen at his daughter’s wedding
- Donald Trump has offered his support to Epstein’s ‘madam’ Ghislaine Maxwell
- More about the seemingly crazy rap artist Kayne West
- More about the divorce of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
- A report on the best beaches in the UK, which is useful as travelling abroad is fraught with problems
- That there is endless corruption in US politics from the President down to the speaker of the Ohio House
- New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut now require travelers from 31 states to self-quarantine on arrival That travel regulation covers about 75% of the population of the USA.
- Meanwhile the BLM protests go on and on and on
Of hard news and useful information there seems to be very little. I would suggest that the news media across the world has been tricked or induced into becoming mere propaganda mouthpieces for governments who haven’t a clue what to do in the face of total global chaos. Civil liberties have been taken away on a scale that wasn’t even seen in WWII, the global economy has tanked, and there is increasing tension between Russia, China, and the West. Some places, such as Hong Kong and Chicago are on the verge of anarchy. Meanwhile our esteemed ‘leaders’ are washing their hands while the world burns. At least they could be photographed wearing face-nappies, since they are forcing the useless face-covering rules on the rest of us.
Some say that a free press is the last bastion of liberty and justice. And, that the BBC can always be trusted. All I know is that I can gather all the news I need from the weather reports.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
it’s always wine o’clock somewhere
and skinny wine is good for you
or so the papers say
Random Jottings ~ Witches
she walks barefoot in the moonlight and whispers magic to the wind
~
magick is not something she does, magick is who she is
~
lie awake in the night and listen for the witch’s promise
~
loving a witch is difficult
it’s no picnic breaking up with one either
~
don’t wish for a kiss from a witch in the moonlight
it might ruin your whole evening
it might ruin your whole life
~
love a witch
it’s a short life filled with incident
and slimy things in jars
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
she has something very much darker than ice-water in her veins
Random Jottings ~ Dragons
great big mouth and great big teeth and great big goggly eyes
~
evening, not always the best time of day when the dragon lurks in the gloom
~
when you dance with a dragon don’t expect to escape without being burned
~
it was Monday, it was midnight, and the dragon was feeling very annoyed
well, nobody likes being woken up by a knight errant
unless you’re a Lady Fair
~
never stroke a dragon, it might get you very dead
~
‘aww isn’t he cute’ she said
right before the baby dragon turned her to toast
~
love me, love my dragon
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
dancing with dragons
