The sparks of inspiration which prompt musicians to produce pieces of music are as diverse and multi-faceted as music itself. Personal experiences, relationships, social issues and events are all possible stimuli for a songwriter’s muse, having the potential to release the flow of creative juices. Unsurprisingly, many iconic songs have their roots in their creators' …
My regular, Tuesday morning nature walks, facilitated by Grimsby Community Hub Centre 4, and hosted by tireless environmentalist Jim Elliott, are not only consistently gratifying, they're educational, too. If you've read my posts, such as 'Lincolnshire's Amazing Blow Wells,' 'Welbeck Spring,' or 'The Silent Sentinel of Welbeck Hill,' you will know that already. The Silent …
I was ten years of age in 1968. Coincidentally, so too was Rob Blaine of Idaho, USA - but I'll come back to him later. Like many youngsters growing up in the 60s, the keeping of a scrapbook was one of my hobbies. Unlike this blog, however, the content of which could be described as …
Last November, in my post titled ‘Hi-bear-nation,’ I presented a music track by Norwegian group, Wardruna. I featured a further piece by them - 'Odal' - in my post of that name in April this year. Wardruna's distinctive style is a blend of age-old Nordic sounds and traditions interwoven within a contemporary acoustic environment. Traditional …
The UK is rightly known throughout the world for its rich and varied patterns of hedgerows, a part of our cultural and landscape heritage which ranks alongside great cathedrals, quaint villages and spectacular coastlines. Hedgelink.org.uk Since discovering the Pickwalks Facebook page recently, aside from prompting me to up my litter-picking game in and around my …
Among the recent posts on the Canoe River Cleaner's Facebook page - all of which are notable in some measure - one in particular has been especially emotive. In keeping with the overriding mission of Jim Elliott (Mr Canoe himself) the subject was wayside litter and its removal. The post centred on one local volunteer …
‘Nothing in the papers, not the most vivid & heartbreaking descriptions, have made me realise war like your letters.’ Vera Brittain, writing to Roland Leighton, her future fiancée, on 17 April, 1915 In his remarkable book ‘On Writing - A Memoir of the Craft,’ author Stephen King states: ‘If you want to be a writer, …
Yesterday, my wife, Julie, and I decided to take advantage of the spring sunshine and go for a walk. Well, actually, it was to be a multi-purpose event. There would be the enjoyable ramble in nature, of course, but this would be combined with some birdwatching, and a litter-pick, too. Having filled six bags last …
For the better part of three years I have been meeting, each month, with a group of friends in a small village in central Lincolnshire. This midmost spot was chosen due to the group’s widespread distribution - attendees travel in from their respective homes in all three of the county’s sub-divisions, Lindsey, Kesteven and Holland; …
In the post titled 'Evolution of (my) Runes', written in July last year, I explained how I made a set of runes for my own use as a divining tool. To give context I added a tightly-abridged history of runes, explaining how this ancient writing system once used by the Nordic and Germanic peoples, has …
RAVEN MOON 