alentejo solstice

Icelandic solstice

The image is on the site of the early "Parliament" I imagine the storyteller/musician standing on the large rock in the forground....

Word below from this website.

Some men could sing and play the harp. This made the stories all the more interesting. People called such men "skalds," and they called their songs "sagas."

Every midsummer there was a great meeting. Men from all over Iceland came to it and made laws. During the day there were rest times, when no business was going on. Then some skald would take his harp and walk to a large stone or a knoll and stand on it and begin a song of some brave deed of an old Norse hero. At the first sound of the harp and the voice, men came running from all directions, crying out:

"The skald! The skald! A saga!"

They stood about for hours and listened. They shouted applause. When the skald was tired, some other man would come up from the crowd and sing or tell a story. As the skald stepped down from his high position, some rich man would rush up to him and say:

"Come and spend next winter at my house. Our ears are thirsty for song."

So the best skalds traveled much and visited many people. Their songs made them welcome everywhere. They were always honored with good seats at a feast. They were given many rich gifts.

Ian of Gort

High Cross and Gum Tree Sunset

At the Equinox Sue from Brisbane made her lovely Celtic cross and paper bark (eucalyptus) collage. After staying here in the forest briefly in April she went on to Ireland and visited some of the places from families' past. The Solstice photo montage above combines the local tree and spectacular sunset with a bit of Ireland. (click on the image to enlarge)

and here is the original collage.

This years effort....Solstice Prayer

Contrary to popular belief in Cannop, I am not taking in washing to pay the bills. Our garden is decorated with Tibetan Prayer Flags which inspired me to create this Solstice painting (probably first of a series).

Sally

Solstices Past

These paintings show the spectacular view from my studio during 2006. This constantly changing landscape was a source of inspiration and joy. I decided to paint the River Severn at a particular time, the Winter Solstice. For me, this time and this pair of paintings represents a time of reflection and cautious optimism.

Sally

Solstice First Serving

Solstice slices the year
we watch as the warm knife of life is changed
easy to forget the light's passion to trick us
bare knucle brass
striding across the furniture
step by step up over the tv
out the window, into the woods
Jingle always, clang clang
turning, twirling
air melting inside their instruments
haunting their playing
finger plunging lungs
pumping dust and ice sugar
setting into voices
footsteps
silence

Roger