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Until the spellchecker intervened Bach had intended to be a composer.

Image credits

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach#/media/File:Johann_Sebastian_Bach.jpg

The object below is an Iron Age (Celtic or early Roman) brooch that was found near here.

It's actually bronze—not gold as the photograph makes it appear—and about 30 mm across. The style is 'La Tène III', named after La Tène in Switzerland where an enormous cache of artifacts in this characteristic style was excavated in the 19^th century.

It took me a long while to work out what the geometry would have been but after looking at lots of pictures and consulting a friend I now have a reasonable idea. There would have been a pin, wound round one end to make a spring, and at the other end a catch for the pin, something like this

The missing parts being more fragile have broken off, or possibly just corroded away. Indeed it's possible the clip breaking caused the brooch to get lost, or perhaps when it broke the owner simply slung it away. It would have been the budget-friendly jewellery of its time, and very large numbers of similar brooches are found.

All the same I felt a thrill to handle it and reflect that until a few days ago no other human being had touched it for two thousand years.

Today I caught a snatch on WKSU radio

Therapy...Japanese...Forest...

I found this is 'forest bathing', Shinrin-yoku. The idea is that visiting a forest may calm and relax us, as we breathe the woodland breeze.

It seems intuitively plausible that this might be therapeutic, and there is some scientific evidence of the beneficial effects. I'm biased-pro though, because of my love of trees. Here's a thought I have had many times but only now expressed.

My life coach said I should take stock. I was like "Whose?" and "Should I take shares also?"

'Alla barnen = 'All the kids' is a children's humorous verse form, from Denmark and Sweden. Like Scandinavian detective writing it can be a bit dark. But still funny.

Below are some classics rendered into English. Google Translate did the heavy lifting but I applied some finishing touches, here and there, such as making the rhymes work.

And here is a distasteful one of my own.

I was grilled about my favourite cheese. I had to answer carefully.

"Time, why do you hurt us so?"

"It is my fate. And you would never wish to share it."

If you wish to learn

The indescribable beauty of snails

Just cast your eyes humbly down.

Go for chicken stir-fry? Defrost some fish? I was stuck between a wok and a hard plaice.

Tonight's connecting theme will be obvious. Sleep well!