FRIDAY 7TH AUGUST

There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as if everything is. (Albert Einstein)



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All the breath and bloom of the year in the bag of one bee;
All the wonder and wealth of the mine in the heart of one gem;
In the core of one pearl all the shade and the shine of the sea;
Breath and bloom, shade and shine -
Wonder, wealth and - how far above them -
Truth, that’s brighter than gem,
Trust, that’s purer than pearl -
Brightest truth, purest trust in the universe
All were for me in the kiss of one girl. (Robert Browning 1812-1889)

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"Madame Moitessier" by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)
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Something to think about -

ONCE UPON A TIME a traveller was journeying across the desert when he met two strange men. As they were all going roughly in the same direction, they chatted as they walked.

The men told the traveller that their names were Fear and Plague and they were going to a big city where they intended to kill 20,000 of the inhabitants.

Shocked, the man asked Plague if he would do all the work.

Plague shook his head, “No, I’ll kill only a few hundred. My friend Fear will do the rest.”

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This piece of music is a particular favourite of mine - Romance from the Gadfly Suite by Shostakovich.



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Finally, a haiku -

stillness of twilight
the aspen leaves quivering
in eerie silence

[In the Scottish Highlands the aspen tree, also known as the trembling poplar, is said to have magical powers]

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