Thursday, 4 December 2025

BLOW, WIND...

“The man who has experienced shipwreck shudders even at a calm sea.” -  Ovid

Poets and Storytellers this week invites us to find inspiration in the titles of Florence + The Machine’s latest album, 'Everybody Scream'. I was not aware of this group’s music until I read the prompt and I had to go and listen to a few songs. Even though theirs is not a genre that I am particularly fond of, the setting of some of the video clips was particularly inspiring. And Love of course is always a good prompt. The wild Northern landscapes inspired my poem as a folk song, and it is set as such in my appended song…

Blow Wind…

Blow, wind, blow gently
Sweet zephyr, blow…

My fairest love is far away,
And far from her I have to stay;
I long for her caresses
The perfume of her tresses…

Her eyes wide open smiling
Her ruby lips beguiling;
I long to have her in my arms,
Surrender to her charms…

Blow, wind, blow tender breezes
Caress her as she pleases;
Shine sun, and gentle moon,
And give to her my boon:
My earnest kiss so sweet
Tell her that soon we’ll meet.

My fairest love is sleeping,
And in her dreams is keeping
Our sacred, solemn troth
Embroidered on rich cloth.

Her breast is gently heaving
In sleep she is believing,
That soon we’ll be together
Despite the raging weather.

Stop, wind, stop storm and gale
My ship do not assail,
Rain, woeful waterspout,
My ship don’t knock about;
My love is dreaming, waiting,
This storm need be abating.

Wind, why do you blow so wild?
Why have you sea defiled?
Why waves so high you raise,
Why do my craft you raze?
In the blue ocean depth,
Tell her I love, even in death.

The poem is set to music, and you can find all my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel or listen to it on YouTube, SpotifyAmazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.
Please note that there is delay between my uploading the music and your being able to access it. YouTube is generally the fastest to release the song.

Tuesday, 2 December 2025

TRAVEL TUESDAY 526 - RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

“No matter how powerful, countries cannot rule the whole world. The world is ruled by brains, by justice, by morals and by fairness.” - Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_of_Saudi_Arabia


Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and then share it with the rest of us.

Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in the 1950s as an offshoot of the 18th century walled town following the dismantling of its defensive fortifications.

It is the largest city on the Arabian Peninsula, and is situated in the centre of the Nafud desert, on the eastern part of the Najd plateau. The city sits at an average of 600 meters above sea level, and receives around 5 million tourists each year, making it the forty-ninth most visited city in the world and the 6th in the Middle East. Riyadh had a population of 7.0 million people in 2022, making it the most-populous city in Saudi Arabia, 3rd most populous in the Middle East, and the 38th most populous in Asia.

Riyadh is the political and administrative center of Saudi Arabia. The Consultative Assembly, the Council of Ministers, the king and the Supreme Judicial Council are all situated in the city. Alongside these four bodies that form the core of the legal system of Saudi Arabia, the headquarters of other major and minor governmental bodies are also located in Riyadh. Out of the 24 ministries of the Saudi government, 23 are headquartered in Riyadh, further reinforcing its status as the nation's administrative capital. The city hosts 114 foreign embassies, most of which are located in the Diplomatic Quarter in the western reaches of the city.

The city is divided into fifteen municipal districts, which are overseen by the Municipality of Riyadh, headed by the mayor, and the Royal Commission for Riyadh City which is chaired by the governor of the province, Faisal bin Bandar. As of July 2020, the mayor is Faisal bin Abdulaziz. Riyadh will host Expo 2030, becoming the second Arab city to host after Dubai in 2020.

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