Island of the Dead

Island of the Dead

Went to the cemetery today
The boat dropped me off at the pier

It was very quiet
Except for the birdsong 
And the gentle gusts of wind in the trees

As you might imagine
There was a lot of marble —
Tombs, crosses, angels, portraits in relief
Plastic flowers, inscriptions
Dates from, and until.
Fading photographs of people with dated hair styles
Grief, stillness, absence 

I liked the Cypress trees though
They had a nice fresh pine smell
Looked so fantastically green against a backdrop of the deepest blue,
And another boat would soon arrive—
To take me back to the mainland. 


Isola di San Michele, Venezia, 22/V/19

Cows

Such wonderful creatures, cows
We all like to see them
Chewing grass, in the fields
Looking at us as if to say —
           funny old life isn’t it . . .

They look so natural
In the landscape of grassy fields and hedges
Their black and white camouflage a bit eccentric 
And entirely useless 
Yellow plastic tabs stapled to their ears
Swishing their tails to keep the flies away
Udders swollen up with milk
For our Cornflakes, muesli, and cappuccinos 
Very pastoral
Seeing cows
In fields

Another year of Photos

Another year of photos...
The weird, the wonderful and the mundane — plenty of art, travel and inspiration. The occasional patches of darkness but a healthy smattering of blue skies. 
Still casting a shadow . . .

Diary of a Madman

Alarm went off at 5:30
Snoozed for twenty minutes or so . . . 
Fading dreams alternating with . . .  
Fuck! Shouldn’t have finished the wine!
M25 is going to be crap.

Stood under the shower until I could open my eyes
Made a cup of tea
Fed the cat
Ate a bowl of cereal
Listened to the news 
Air strikes over an already pulverised city
Somewhere comfortably far enough away
Not to care too much
Unfortunately there was some ‘collateral damage’…
But the pilots made it home safely.

Drove 40 miles to work 
The traffic was terrible
On the radio they said that the traffic was completely SOLID between junctions 11 and 14 on the M25
I should know, I was stuck in it.

During the morning I found it difficult to concentrate on the screen
At one moment I imagined my legs had become tentacles 
Snaking out along the floor, under the desks . . .

At lunchtime I had a couple of pints (4) with Joe from Accounts
Could hardly keep awake during the afternoon
At 3:30 I had a meeting with Baxter
He said I showed great promise. 

Drove home
The traffic was terrible
On the radio they played 'Road to Nowhere' by Talking Heads.

When I finally got home there was a pile of bills on the doormat.
Fed the cat
Sat on the balcony
Had a couple of cold beers.

My neighbours were having a row
Sounds like he’s having an affair.
Stuck a frozen pizza in the oven
Washed it down with half a bottle of Tesco’s Merlot
Watched an interesting documentary on the box,
But fell asleep half way through. 

Woke up at half past midnight
Had a quick swipe through Tinder
Finished the wine
Brushed my teeth
Had a pee
Set the alarm
Climbed into bed

Dreamt I was an octopus who had its own TV show
There was lots of laughter from the audience
Oh God! Surely that can’t be the alarm already!!!?

Whatever the question, Love is the answer...

Whatever the question — Love is the answer...

Earthling

I don't want to go to Mars
Don't want to go into 'space'
Where you have to wear space-suits
and drink your own pee.

I like it here on Earth
It has a great atmosphere 
With the vast blue ocean at my feet
And all these weird and wonderful creatures
Of which I'm one
An Earthling.

Them bones them bones them, dry bones...

photo by C Z

Inside the Capela dos Ossos (Bone Chapel)

This extraordinary building is situated in the courtyard at the rear of the Igreja do Carmo church in Faro Portugal. 

I'd heard about this chapel, but had previously seen no images, so it was a complete surprise to walk through the doors and enter this unique space.

It was made from the exhumed bones of long dead Carmelite monks who had once served the city. It was inaugurated in 1816.

It's made from the bones of over a thousand monks.

Parallel lines of red bricks and even spacing of the skulls forms a strong geometric design.

The chapel is entirely made from bones, skulls and mortar.

Even the arched ceiling...

Macabre on one level, but also fascinating and humbling. There seemed to be little need for the inscription over the entrance: Pára aqui a considerar que a este estado hás-de chegar, which translates as: 'Stop here and consider, that you will reach this state too.'