TRAVEL TUESDAY 452 - ASWAN, EGYPT

“Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was, 'Did you bring joy?' The second was, 'Did you find joy?” -  Leo Buscaglia

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 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.

Aswan, formerly spelled Assuan, is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dams on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city has expanded and includes the formerly separate community on the island of Elephantine.

Aswan is the ancient city of Swenett, which in antiquity was the frontier town of Ancient Egypt facing the south. Swenett is supposed to have derived its name from an Egyptian goddess with the same name. This goddess later was identified as Eileithyia by the Greeks and Lucina by the Romans during their occupation of Ancient Egypt because of the similar association of their goddesses with childbirth, and of which the import is "the opener". The ancient name of the city also is said to be derived from the Egyptian symbol for trade, or market. 

Because the Ancient Egyptians oriented toward the origin of the life-giving waters of the Nile in the south, Swenett was the first town in the country, and Egypt always was conceived to "open" or begin at Swenett. The city stood upon a peninsula on the right (east) bank of the Nile, immediately below (and north of) the first cataract of the flowing waters, which extend to it from Philae. Navigation to the delta was possible from this location without encountering a barrier.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY #109 - INVERNESS, SCOTLAND

“Scotland should be nothing less than equal with all the other nations of the world.” - Sean Connery

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 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.

Inverness (from the Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Nis [iɲɪɾʲˈniʃ], meaning “Mouth of the River Ness”) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Inverness lies near two important battle sites: The 11th-century battle of Blàr nam Fèinne against Norway which took place on The Aird and the 18th-century Battle of Culloden which took place on Culloden Moor. It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom and lies within the Great Glen (Gleann Mòr) at its north-eastern extremity where the River Ness enters the Moray Firth.

At the latest, a settlement was established by the 6th century with the first royal charter being granted by Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim (King David I) in the 12th century. The Gaelic king Mac Bethad Mac Findláich (MacBeth) whose 11th-century killing of King Duncan was immortalised in Shakespeare’s largely fictionalised play “Macbeth”, held a castle within the city where he ruled as Mormaer of Moray and Ross.

The population of Inverness grew from 40,949 in 2001 to 46,870 in 2012. The Greater Inverness area, including Culloden and Westhill, had a population of 59,910 in 2012.  Inverness is one of Europe’s fastest growing cities, with a quarter of the Highland population living in or around it, and is ranked fifth out of 189 British cities for its quality of life, the highest of any Scottish city. In the recent past, Inverness has experienced rapid economic growth: Between 1998 and 2008, Inverness and the rest of the central Highlands showed the largest growth of average economic productivity per person in Scotland and the second greatest growth in the United Kingdom as a whole, with an increase of 86%.

Inverness is twinned with one German city, Augsburg, and two French towns, La Baule and Saint-Valery-en-Caux. Inverness College is the main campus for the University of the Highlands and Islands. With around 8,500 students, Inverness College hosts around a quarter of all the University of the Highlands and Islands’ students, and 30% of those studying to degree level. In 2014, a survey by a property website described Inverness as the happiest place in Scotland and the second happiest in the UK. Inverness was again found to be the happiest place in Scotland by a new study conducted in 2015. 

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

POETS UNITED - THE SONG OF A SINGLE WORD

“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.” - Rainer Maria Rilke

For this week’s ‘Midweek Motif’, Poets United explores the topic, ‘The Song of a Single Word’. The challenge to participants is: “Choose a word which sings to you. Write a poem from its lyrics – or write a lyrical poem in answer to it.” My word is ‘Celandine’, which I think is a beautiful sounding word describing two different flowers (Chelidonium majus and Ficaria verna), both a sunny yellow colour. My poem below:

Celandine

The longer days of warming breezes

Are days like draughts of heady wine;

No more the icy Winter freezes –

Now blooms the yellow celandine.

The cellar door will open wide,

The sun will heat the greening vine;

As hands in labour useful guide,

Smiles happily the golden celandine.

The swallows build their nests

And ondines sport in seaside brine;

Hearts faster beat, with cupid’s jests,

While blossoms sunny celandine.

I feel my quickened pulse and try

To utter now to the love of mine:

“You are my sun and apple of my eye,

You are my blonden celandine…”

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016

As the old year goes out and the New Year comes in, here are some thoughts and wishes for you!

“In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, never in want.” - Irish toast.

“Resolve to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you may have made three thousand, six hundred and fifty persons happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment.” - Sydney Smith.

“The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.” - G. K. Chesterton

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” - T. S. Eliot.

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man.” - Benjamin Franklin

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them. May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.

Happy New Year, everyone!

POETS UNITED - RIVER

“Summer is a promissory note signed in June, its long days spent and gone before you know it, and due to be repaid next January.” - Hal Borland

Poets United this week is all about rivers. And poets have been waxing lyrical about these ever flowing watercourses since ancient times. Here is my contribution, as Summer approaches us Downunder!


By the River

At last, the warming rays have bleached the day

And skies are blue, with wisps of summer cloud;

The gentle breeze makes leaves dance and play,

While dragonflies dart about the blossoms proud.

The river slowly flows and water sparkles, shines

The crowds loll about the grassy shores, with laughter

Toasting, drinking, picnicking, beneath the shady pines;

Relaxing, dozing, counting dreams for a long time after.

The day is perfect: Warm, lazy tender, balmy, sweet

Our time of rest inviting idleness, persiflage, banter.

Enjoy this gem of a day, take it as given, a rarest treat;

Our summer’s over soon, gone as horses in a crazy canter.

POETS UNITED - HAPPINESS

“Be happy for this moment, for this moment is your life.” - Omar Khayyám

This week Susan of Poets United has set the theme of “happiness”, on which participants are to contribute a poem.

Defining happiness can be difficult as it means many different things to different people. Some people say they are happy if they are experiencing well-being, have a high quality of life and if they are flourishing. Some equate happiness with contentment. Other people take a more hedonistic approach and say they are happy when they are successful in their search for pleasant (and avoidance of unpleasant!) experiences.

Some of us, look at happiness in a more holistic way, believing in living life fully and in a deeply satisfying way. This may include unpleasant experiences together with the pleasant ones, but happiness implies that we can cope with the unpleasantness, being able to make positives of negatives and being content knowing that one has done the right thing at the right time, and that one has acted with consideration for others, has been kind, compassionate and selfless. It is a case of living one’s life with virtue and probity and being rewarded with happiness.

If this sounds too philosophical for you, then you can simply think of happiness as being a string of moments of feeling good because you are pleasing yourself, and at the same time not only not displeasing others, but also making them experience good feelings as well. And this for me is paramount – happiness is not a solitary feeling to be experienced by me alone, it is a feeling that I need to share with others – it is its inclusiveness of others that multiplies the positivity of experience for oneself.

Here is my poetic contribution:


My Happiness

When I work with others

And all of us, we toil united

To make of this world

For everyone a better place,

That is when happiness is born.

When I can help to build,

Rather than raze, demolish;

When I can say a kind thing

Rather than search for bitter criticisms,

My happiness multiplies and grows.

When I can right a wrong,

Ask for forgiveness, genuinely;

And when I can make amends

Discreetly, from my heart, without effort,

That is when my happiness is most keenly felt.

When I am with you

And I make your eyes smile,

That is the moment

That will live on in my memory,

My life coloured by my happiness.

POETRY JAM - JOY

“Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” - Joseph Campbell

The last Poetry Jam of this year has set the theme of “Spread the Joy” for participants. It is a busy time of the year for everyone and more so for me as I have been trying to finish a couple of work projects before Christmas. I dug into my poetry archive for a joyful poem and here is one, that foots the bill.

Have a wonderful Festive Season with health and happiness in 2015, fellow poets of the Jam, and I look forward to seeing you and your work again next year!

The Coming of Spring

A roseate dawn appears
While birds a-flutter sing.
Night swiftly flies and in mid-flight
Lets drop a star so shining bright
On the horizon-shell’s pink lip.

The sun comes up
The day is near.
Blossoms with sparkling dew bedecked,
Unfurl, offering precious gifts
Of multicoloured jewels.

Shimmering heat
And waking world.
A bright new day - promise of joy,
Spring passes by scattering perfumes,
Colours bright, new hopes, illusions...

The evening comes
A welcome guest.
The rising moon tempers the heat of day
And nightingale murmurs an evensong
A blessing uttered in the rite of spring.

POETRY JAM - HOW TO

“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” - Charles Spurgeon

Poetry Jam this week asks participants to: “…write a ‘how-to’ poem. The tone and intention of your poem are yours. What you write can be serious or lighthearted, genuinely helpful or even intentionally misleading.”

Here is my contribution:

How to be Happy

You start each day being thankful
For what you have,
No matter how meagre, or how inconsequential.
You offer up your gratitude
As if you were grateful for a treasure trove.

You keep yourself occupied,
In that which must be done,
No matter if it be work, a chore, or even a pastime.
You are gainfully employed as if your life depended on it,
As if you were performing the most momentous task.

You eat your meals, slowly,
With measure and moderation,
No matter how much is spread before you.
You eat only that which will just sate your hunger, and no more,
And feel as though you have partaken of a banquet.

You love with all your heart,
And let those around you feel wanted, needed,
Even if they do not reciprocate your affections.
You give of yourself liberally,
And feel your stores of good humour replenished endlessly.

You accept that which is offered you,
Willingly, gratefully, with deep appreciation,
For many will give you freely what they can ill-afford to give.
You accept lovingly, humbly,
And feel as though you have earnt heaven;
For truly you have, and you shall then be happy.

MOVIE MONDAY - IN HER SHOES

"Before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes" – Anonymous

I had a pleasant and an unpleasant surprise this weekend as far as movies go. A couple of acquaintances of ours had recommended the 2005 film “Elizabethtown” as a good movie to watch. I did and I was not terribly impressed. Supposedly it was touted to be a wonderful “road movie” but I found it trite and annoying with sub-standard performances by the leads, Orlando Bloom (who spent most of the movie looking like a stunned mullet) and Kirsten Dunst (who was cloyingly, annoyingly, saccharine sweet throughout). Susan Sarandon was at a loss on how to deal with her role and must have been quite embarrassed with the result when she looked at the finished product. This was Hollywood at its sentimental worst and Cameron Crowe’s direction was pedestrian to the point of hobbling. The plot predictable, the characters worn and uninteresting and the whole movie trying: Trying to be funny, trying to be profound, trying to be original, trying to be witty, trying to be sad, trying to be poignant and never getting past the trying part.

On the other hand, the pleasant surprise was a movie that I had thought was going to be mushy and a typical “chick flick” was very good and a pleasure to watch. This second movies was Curtis Hanson’s “In Her Shoes” (2005) with Cameron Diaz, Toni Colette, Anson Mount and Shirley Maclaine.  Firstly, let me say that this was typical Hollywood too, but also was a movie that attempted to inject some character into its characters and tried to make the plot a little three-dimensional.

The plot revolves around two sisters, Maggie (Cameron Diaz), the almost illiterate, bubbly, party girl and Rose (Toni Colette) who is plain but intellectually brilliant. Maggie is unemployed, a petty thief, promiscuous and superficial while Rose is a lawyer, organised, busy and has a problem with attracting men. Add to that the tragic loss of the women’s mother while they were still girls, a stormy relationship with their stepmother and conflict over the man that Rose finally manages to get into her bed. The sisters’ relationship breaks down and Maggie disappears, going to Florida to visit (read ‘sponge off’) her recently discovered grandmother (Shirley Maclaine) that neither of the sisters knew was still alive.

This is a movie about self-discovery, as much as it is about the relationship between the two sisters. The screenplay is well adapted from the best seller by Jennifer Weiner and the direction is excellent. The actors revel in their roles and Toni Colette once again proves her mettle in this difficult role where she needs to express an inner warmth and beauty that her external very unglamorous appearance has to radiate. Cameron Diaz has been well cast as the flighty Maggie and there are also some very good supporting role performances throughout.

As far as the shoes in the title are concerned, there is a very obvious sexual symbolism in that the two sisters wear the same size shoes, and also the fact that Maggie constantly wears her sister’s shoes. The fact that the grandmother also wears the same size shoe is significant and through the story, the women in the family have to be in each other’s shoes in order to experience life from that perspective.

Chick flick? Yes, it was. Did I enjoy it as a guy? I sure did. Why? Because of a good plot and screenplay, great characterisation with believable characters, excellent direction and good development. Yes, there are flaws, yes the film is slightly longer than optimal, yes the male characters are a little underdeveloped, but overall, I would recommend it highly. If you haven’t seen it, well worth getting hold of the DVD and seeing it (don’t be misled by the rubbishy blurb on the cover).

OUR GLOBAL VILLAGE

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.” - Les Brown

If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:

• 58 Asians
• 21 Europeans
• 17 Africans
• 4 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
• 52 would be female
• 48 would be male
• 70 would be non-white
• 30 would be white
• 71 would be non-Christian
• 29 would be Christian
• 98 would be heterosexual
• 2 would be homosexual
• 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from USA
• 80 would live in substandard housing 
• 70 would be unable to read 
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition
• 1 would be near death
• 1 would be near birth
• 1 would have a university education
• 1 would own a computer...

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent. The following is also something to ponder...

• If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week. 
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ...you are ahead of 500 million people in the world. 
• If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death ...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world. 
• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep ...you are richer than 75% of this world. 
• If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy. 
• If your parents are still alive and still married ... you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.
• If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all. 

Consider donating some money to charity, because you are able to and because there are millions upon millions of people on earth who need support in order to survive just another day…

POETRY JAM - PATH

“Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility.” - Oprah Winfrey

Poetry Jam this week has the theme of “Path” as its stimulus for all contributors who choose to respond to this creative writing challenge. While lots of ideas came into my mind when considering the topic, the most obvious is what generated the poem you see below as my contribution (with obvious inspiration from Robert Frost):

The Path not Chosen

And I wonder what would have happened
Had I taken that other path?
A life lived differently, is another life,
Another's life, after all.

Would all have been better, brighter,
And the other me, happier?
My memories different, memories strange
A stranger's memories, after all.

Would I still be living or now dead,
Had I trodden a different path?
My choices disparate, a wealth of options unexplored,
Someone else's selections, after all.

And yet the path I follow,
Has given joys, as well as sorrows;
I've stepped on roses, not only thorns,
I've heard sweet songs, not just dirges,
After all, my path has been eventful.

The path not chosen, may have promised much,
But life is a great leveller,
And mixes dark and light, honey and poison;
It's up to us to make of our path a smooth one,
After all, I am grateful for my choice.

TECH JUNKIE

“The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.” - Karl Marx

Do you like gadgets? I do! Are you a technology junkie? I am! Do you spend time looking at new developments in electronics, look for labour-saving devices, enjoy finding snazzy new thingamajigs, doodads, thingamabobs and doohickeys? I do! Whether I end up buying any of these is a moot point. However, I do so enjoy window-shopping! Technological developments nowadays mean that whatever we use in our home is rapidly become obsolete and we are often forced to keep up or risk being left on the wayside.

An acquaintance was describing to me the odyssey she had experienced when she was trying to find a new ‘walkman’ to replace the one that went bung on her. She went into many shops looking for it and after talking to the salespeople, she got blank looks, incredulous gawking and snide remarks about “antiques”. I had to explain to her what mp3 files were and that nowadays it was all to do with computers, ripping, downloading, ipods and mp3 players and the such-like (she ended up finding a walkman, by the way, and she was so very pleased!).

In the kitchen, the situation is not much better. We are besieged by all sorts of technology to make the cook’s life “easier”. Don't get me wrong, I love my toaster, the dishwasher and the electric mixer… But one has to draw the line somewhere. Visiting an appliance shop where kitchen doodahs are sold can be a frightening experience. Let me see if I can give you a (of necessity, partial) list of what is available: Jaffle makers, pie makers, bread machines, waffle makers, hot dog machines, popcorn makers, vegetable steamers, soda makers, electric woks, fairy floss makers, cappuccino frothers, crepe makers, rice cookers, electric frying pans, electric pizza makers, ice cream makers, electric whisks, mixers, cocktail stirrers, coffee machines, toasters, grillers, sandwich makers, egg coddlers, egg poachers, egg boilers, omelette makers, electric pans, skillets, steak cookers, rissole makers, chip machines, chip makers, chip cookers, deep friers, food processors, liquidisers, juice extractors, citrus squeezers, electric can openers, knife sharpeners, etc, etc… And yes, people are buying all of  these things, otherwise they wouldn't be making them and selling them, would they?

Add to that several amazing gadgets that you simply can’t live without: For example, apple corers, cherry pitters, egg separators, banana slicers, bean destringers, cake done-ness skewers, wine thermometers, turkey basters, cookie cutters themed for all major holidays of the year, melon ballers, butter curlers, citrus zesters, garlic presses, waiters’ friends, bottle openers of the most intricate designs, several astounding models of bottle resealers, etc, etc…

Do you get my drift? To fully equip your kitchen and be a mastercook you need to probably quadruple its size so all of these wonderful machines can be stored in it and also be conveniently at hand. You need to mortgage your house or sell your children (probably both) in order to buy all of these things and then of course, you need to spend all of your day in the kitchen cooking and using these infernal machines so that you get value for money out of them!

Seriously now, one of the best meals I have ever had in my life was as a guest in the house of relatives of a friend that I visited in Crete. It was in a small village halfway up a mountain. The kitchen was very old, the cooking utensils sparse, the conditions Spartan. A wonderful impromptu omelette was prepared with freshly laid eggs, cheese, prosciutto (the Cretan equivalent thereof) and some wild herbs. A green salad, fresh from the garden was complemented by freshly baked bread and all washed down with a home-made fine red wine. Good dinner etiquette and silver service, white damask tablecloths, embroidered linen and crystal glasses? Well this meal was nothing like that. However, the company was delightful, the hospitality heartfelt and genuine, the meal simple and delicious. It was prepared easily and with the minimum of utensils in primitive facilities, but consumed with gusto and enjoyed by everyone.

Aren’t we making our life more and more difficult as time goes by? Aren’t our “labour-saving” devices getting to be anything but? Aren’t we becoming slaves of the technology? Don’t we have to draw a line of reason somewhere?