byronic moment

flow gently, sweet Afton among thy green braes

flow gently, i'll sing thee a song in thy praise

my Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream

flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream

thou stock-dove, whose echo resounds thro' the glen

you wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den

thou green-crested lapwing, thy screaming forbear

i charge you disturb not my slumbering fair

i chance upon these words again and am wondrously swept into rolling green fields and braes and echoing glens and waiting to be picked up at my piano teacher's home. redintegration is real.

why Q needs U - danny bates (2025)

sweeping fascinating amazing breathtaking and all manner of other superlatives.

once in a while you find a non-fiction book about a topic people don't look twice at that holds you in thrall and teaches you gasp-worthy bits of stuff every chapter and this is one of them.

we like real words to have at least 3 letters. semivowels are consonants that sound like vowels. the great vowel shift is responsible for a lot of inconsistencies. americanisms are older than britishisms! (that's reverse snobbery for you)

totally worth reading even if you can't remember most of it eventually.

home grounds

back and what i find i miss the most is the auto-flush in the loos.

final excitement

sitting in the airport lounge and witnessing a grown tattooed man throw a tantrum at the wait staff over his repast and thinking that a tantrum sits poorly on a grown tattooed man. especially with a BMI in the region of 35 to 40. although to the wait staff's credit he is mollified and becalmed quickly enough. if you ask me he is a little bit of an ass.

GZ quickie

 

our quickie weekend in GZ is done and dusted. up and down the walking street and around to the cathedral and the river and serendipitously meeting a choir singing we are the world and lots of lovely grub including freshly pressed soy milk and much shopping.

it's back to the grind tomorrow.

last dinner before home

HOM finds this spot, resourceful fellow that he is. the name 情深翅海 does not even appear on english language searches. 

the buddha here is to die for. 

i tell HOM he needs to remember the next time we are in the 'hood and i say i want to go to that buddha place.

ravaged

HOM and i go up to the hotel reception and ask if our parcel has been delivered. the young man turns to his colleague and says, can you help these two old people with their request?

we look at each other in shock, my beloved and i. our hair may be gray, young man, and our faces may be lined but we'll have you know we are spring chickens inside!