The Wikipedia says W.H. Auden is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century.

Like a lot of people, I’d never heard of him until I saw the film Four Weddings and a Funeral back in 1994. In the film, actor John Hannah recited a segment from one of Auden’s poems. It was at the funeral of his screen lover and partner and was a very touching scene. When my wife and I got home we looked on the Internet and found the poem and some information about Mr Auden.

W.H. Auden Society | Link

Some things I just don’t understand…

Norway may be a great place to live, but it seem like one hell of an arrogant nation, especially where whales and whaling are concerned. I mean come on guys, tell me why is it so important to hunt and kill minke whales with big harpoon guns and powerful ships? Why not join the Canadian seal hunt — then you can really have some fun clubbing a few hundred-thousdand baby harp seals to death each year, as well.

Norway is not bound by the 20-year-old commercial moratorium administered by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) because it objected to the ban’s introduction.

In total, nearly 800 whales are to be caught by the Norwegians between now and the end of the season; and there are plans here to increase the total whale catch to 1,800 every year.

David Shukman | BBC | Link

This will make my wife happy — she’s Norwegian. Well half Norwegian and half Danish to be exact — but it’s the Norwegian flag that is nearest to her heart. Even though she disagrees with them killing hundreds of whales each year.

Norway tops a 2005 UN ranking as the best country to live in for the fifth year in a row.

Rich from North Sea oil and with a generous welfare state, Norway has led the world ranking since it topped Canada in 2001. Last year, Norway was followed by Sweden, Australia and Canada at the top, while Sierra Leone was the last of 177 countries listed.

Sunday morning is a great time to reflect. This morning I walked the dog, ate an egg and bacon roll and am now on my second coffee. I don’t know why I suddenly remembered, but I did…

I remembered, oh so many years ago, sitting on the floor of a small apartment with my first wife. We were eating a couple of wild ducks cooked in a great orange sauce by an American guy who had shot them just a few days before. There was still buckshot under the skin.

We drank cask wine and he talked to us about his travels and recited this piece from a short story by W. Somerset Maugham. I’ve always remember the piece and when I started this blog I found the short story and posted it here.

The taste of the duck still lingers as does the my memory of his exotic travels and his ability to spin a wonderful yarn… pity, I can’t remember his name.

I am of a roving disposition, but I travel not to see imposing monuments, which indeed somewhat bore me, nor beautiful scenery, of which too soon I tire; I travel to see men. And I avoid the great. I would not cross the road to meet a president or a king; I am content to know the writer in the pages of his book and the painter in his picture;

Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep…

Why do all the good guys die so young?

Mo Mowlam: Her personal charisma, reputation for plain speaking and successful fight against a brain tumour made her one of the most popular politicians in the UK during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

 

David Lange served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. He headed one of the most reforming administrations in his country’s history and was renowned for his cutting wit and eloquence.

 

 

I just bought myself a new toy. What happened was the wife took our Nikon Coolpix (now her Nikon Coolpix) camera away with her and that left a sort of vacuum. Since the law of physics says that a vacuum always seeks to be filled, I reckoned I had no choice but fill it.

Anyway, this thing rocks. Here’s the bumph.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 is a 5-megapixel digital camera with a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit F2.8 to F3.3, 12x optical zoom lens. It’s like having a 35mm camera with a bag full of lenses from 36 – 432mm, except the whole thing just fits in the palm of your hand — incredible. More incredible is Panasonic’s optical image stabilization system that allows you to take handheld 432mm telephoto shots or shots in low light without a tripod.

Give me a few days and I’ll post some new beach shots…

I know this isn’t a poem, but the words and the song haunt me. I first heard it some months ago when my wife bought the soundtrack of the movie Shall We Dance. An ordinary film but, in my opinion, a movie with some really interesting music.

The film stared Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon and was based on a 1997 Japanese movie of the same name.