Pylon in the mist

Forget these club-foot underpinnings. My mind is somewhere higher. Can you follow

me up to where I strip down to geometry?
To where the proof of a theorem must be true

because elegant. Not a nut or bolt for show, but each pleat and dart of the stress field

traced on the mist in rust- painted steel, like an intellectual necessity. Essential

me, out in all weathers wearing nothing but my purpose - an ascetic, ideal

and myself as a bare tree in winter. Possessed by a certain charisma - can you hear it,

power,  everywhere and nowhere, its dry crackling in the cloud around my head?
      **************
Reference;
I Spy Pinhole Eye
Poems by Philip Gross, Photography by Simon Denison.

Some good news! Renewable energy projects are rising in number worldwide

According to estimates by the International Energy Agency, more than 1.6 trillion euros is going to fund renewable energy (solar and wind) and electric vehicle projects this year, a 24% jump compared to 2021.

By Adrien Pécout
Published on May 28, 2023, (Paris) le Monde

Unfortunately too much Fossil fuels are still in production!

For more news on the climate lemonde.fr

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.lemonde.fr/&ved=2ahUKEwiw84LL5d-CAxUdXUEAHT5QDR4QFnoECAYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1mI-cPIQr3docEINuU9JU2

In search of some interesting literature in the local charity book shop,  I scanned the book shelves for something a little bit different or unusual, then a book of poems caught my attention.
The title of this little 'gem' of a book of poems was;
'I spy pinhole eye'
Poems by Philip Gross with photography by Simon Denison. I Spy Pinhole Eye, a collection of poems accompanying Simon Denison’s pinhole photography, Philip Gross won the Wales Book of the Year prize in 2010. He received a Cholmondeley Award in 2017.
The first poem that drew my eye was this one,  where the writer was comparing a man- made electricity pylon to a tree. This was an interesting idea I thought!
(Yggdrasil is an important feature of Norse mythology. 'World tree' It is the Norse tree of life, encompassing all nine worlds that are part of the ancient Norse view of the cosmos. It is an ash tree in which all of the worlds, including the world of humans and the world of the heaven. The tree that stretches between heaven and hell with earth being its lower branches)

            Yggdrasil 🌳

Planted here (where else?) the world-tree, its roots in a boule of concrete, its planet of boulder, the split nut from which it sprouted, its tendrils unfurled

to wires and hardened to girders,  while high in its branches what roosts - what migratory angels, decommissioned souls or, with just enough charge in them to fly

off like swarf from a lathe, our under-lived slivers of lifes? What, not dead? What now? they say, or less: a whicker

in the air, an overcast, like thunder in the offing, close: a flickering on the optic nerve, a pressure in the head.

      **************

An excellent good quality poetry book and the photography is very good too. It has quite a gritty contemporary look about it.

Ref.

'I Spy Pinhole eye' by Philip Gross and Simon Denison/CinamonPress

                ❤

Matthew 12:30-32:

God said  "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

"Love Thy Neighbour"

Do no harm to your neighbour who dwells beside you in peace.

1 Corrinthians chapter 13 is best understood as a way of life, lived in imitation of Jesus Christ, that is focused not on oneself but on the “other”.

I find this is a difficult commandment to live by as not everyone is lovable! but it is one commandment, that in the end, brings about peace. We need a lot of help from the Holy Spirit to achieve this. It is all about respect and acceptance for others. 🙂

I have just been reading on le Monde news, an article about 'carbon bombs'

Did you know 10 countries control more than half of the highest carbon emitting drilling sites in the world. They need to stop granting permits for fossil fuel exploitation if the world is to limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century.

By Perrine Mouterde

Published on November 2, 2023, at 4:00 am (Paris)

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2023/11/02/carbon-bombs-10-countries-account-for-7of-emissions-linked-to-major-extraction-sites_6221017_19.html
SOLèNE REVENEY / LE MONDE

So what are 'carbon bombs' ?
They are the "bombs" that are fossil fuel  emissions that threaten the climate, who built them? Although much of our attention is focused on energy giants, governments are also responsible for oil and coal extraction projects, because they authorize drilling.

Ten countries alone are home to more than three-quarters of these coal, oil and gas mega-extraction sites, according to data compiled by the NGOs Data for Good and Eclaircies as part of the CarbonBombs.org survey, revealed by Le Monde and a consortium of international media outlets on Tuesday, October 31.
Behind the leading trio of China, the United States and Russia, the main countries where carbon bombs have been identified include the Gulf States (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Iran),

The Guardian also has this;

" The UN secretary general, António Guterres, rightly warned world leaders in April: “Our addiction to fossil fuels is killing us.”

So what is the answer? How can we can we  turn back the tide and change to alternative cleaner power?

Ref;

lemonde.fr/economy/carbon-bombs-10 countries

The Rose

The lily has a smooth stalk
Will never hurt your hand
But the rose upon her briar
Is lady of the land

When with moss and honey
She tips her bending briar
And half unfolds her glowing heart
There's sweetness in an apple tree
And profit in the corn
But lady of all beauty
Is a rose upon a thorn

When with moss and honey
She tips her bending briar
And half unfolds her glowing heart
She sets the world on fire.

Christina Rossetti.

(from The Rose &The Lily)

Mary the mother of Jesus is often called the rose.

Ola Gjeilo the Norwegian composer has composed music called 'The Rose'
Which takes inspiration from Christina Rosetti.
Poem.


https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DPh44oJ7WpGU&ved=2ahUKEwispvy4rZeCAxV9QEEAHQP2DAcQwqsBegQIDBAB&usg=AOvVaw1QzT1EJnsuOdolvRLiHe4d

A Red Rose from my garden.

⚘In Memory of my sister on her birthday.⚘

I went for a country walk today.
Taking a long walk in Autumn is a very different experience from taking a walk in summer.
In autumn there are more smokey bonfires, as people tend to burn their garden waste 🧹🍃🍂at this time of year. They make fires in Chimineas in old metal dust bins, fire pits or they may have a large open bonfire🔥 at the end of their gardens. The smell of the bonfire may be quite pleasant.(or not depending on what is rubbish is placed on the bonfire!)           While walking outside in autumn, there is a much softer diffused sunlight that passes through the low hanging clouds.

The changing colours of autumn are awesome 🍂The leaves are so colourful, with all the reds, the 🍁 browns, the yellows, the greens and the gold colours of the leaves. The fallen leaves lie like a quiet carpet that covers the earth or like a cheery 🍂multicoloured blanket that the children will love to run through on the village green!

Watching the leaves falling, floating down, can be calming to look at, or can be sad, depending on the mood you are in at the time. The end of the summer can be a relief, a joy because it is the start of something new, a new season, the change is welcome. The air is fresher, it is reinvigorating and it's   cooler and chillier ❄ Time to put on a jumper or warmer jacket and scarf when going out walking!
👢🧣🧥

The sounds of autumn are different too. There is more of an echo, a vast emptiness, a quiet surreal stillness, sounds are subtle more distant and sparse especially out here in the fields far from the busy traffic!

Sometimes you can hear a loud screech of a bird or the cry of a fox, 🦊then suddenly there's a complete silence. Whereas in the 🌞 summer the air is filled with birdsong and  Bees are humming loudly,🐝 flies buzing noisly, there's more birdsong in the trees 🌲and generally more activity!
Now that summer is finished autumn brings its own calmer songs, a solitary  bird 🕊singing rather melancholy in the tree top, 🌳 🦅crows cawing loudly, flapping their wings noisily. A collared dove🕊 coos peacefully, a branch creaks, twigs snap, the sight of a young deer 🦌 in the early morning mist. A lone barn owl 🦉 calls as it flies out from the tree tops, he circles around, then flies slowly down, keeping low, scanning the fields looking for small prey to catch. Sheep bleat contentedly in the🐑distant meadows, a cow moos deeply, in a nearby farm barn, and a dog🐕barks somewhere in a tennants cottage. 

Streams flowing fast , gushing, splashing down the hill after a heavy rainfall, 💧as they race playfully downhill under the foot bridges and alongside green fields fields. 🟩
The Lake ripples outwards in the strong breeze,🏞  empty of any swans or ducks, who are now found sheltering in hollows in the grassy river banks under trees.🦢🦆🌲🌳
Other birds are now leaving the country, those birds that will soon fly away to warmer climes, but for now, some will linger a while longer.

Book review - The Bible "Genesis 12:1-7 is the beginning of Abraham's story.
From Abraham-  to recent times.

What we are witnessing today with the war between the Jews and the Palestinians, can be traced a long way back !  through to Biblical times and Abraham.

Abraham had two sons named Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was born from the women Hagar and Isaac from the women Sarah.

Sarah had been barren for many years and was unable to conceive a child for Abraham, so being impatient, she persuaded her husband to sleep with Hagar her servant girl,  in order for them to have a child that they could bring up as their own child,  so that is how Ishmael was born.

Between Sarah and Hagar some rivalry broke out so she begged Abraham to drive Hagar out into the desert.

He did so but God soon saw Hagars distress and sent the angel Gabriel to protect her and help her.  God spoke to her through the angel, he said not to be afraid and that  he would also make Ishmael a great nation too one day with many descendants.

In the meantime God had finally allowed Sarah to bear Abraham a child, a son who they named Isaac.
Isaac was of Jewish descent (from Sarah) and Ishmael was Arabic descent (from Hagar) They became 2 seperate nations of peoples.

This then was how it all began, and from then thats when the sibling rivalry started between these two brothers(or tribes)

It was also about land and establishing a state of Israel for Jewish people and for Palestinian people.

In more recent times after World War 2 for example, the land
since 1948 has been divided into Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

The land of Israel is also the birth place of  the three great world religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It has been ruled over by many kingdoms and powers throighout history,including Ancient Egypt, Ancient Israel and Judah, the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great and his successors, the Hasmoneans, the Roman Empire, several Muslim caliphates, and the crusaders. 

"The area was ruled over by the Ottoman Empire, then the British Empire.
Going back even further the land was annexed and the area in 63 BCE. Roman Judea was troubled by large-scale Jewish revolts, which Rome answered by destroying Jerusalem and the Second Jewish Temple."
*
"In the 4th century, Palestine became a center of Christianity, attracting pilgrims, monks and scholars. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in 636–641, several Muslim ruling dynasties succeeded each other as they wrestled control of Palestine."
* 

"In more recent history, relations between Israel and Palestinians have been marked by many conflicts, especially with the Islamist group Hamas, which also rejects the PA. In 2007, Hamas won control of Gaza from the PA, now limited to the West Bank.
In November 2012, the State of Palestine (the name used by the PA) became a non-member observer state in the UN."
* 

These clashes of ideology has remained critical ever since and pose very difficult theological issues and unsurmountable debate. Pray for peace for all tne people of Israel and Palestine.🙏

References-
The Bible(Old Testament Genesis)
*Wikipedia*

I am reading about different faiths and cultures at the moment and was interested to read that Muslims believe that Jesus (called “Isa” in Arabic) was a prophet of God and was born to a virgin (Mary). They also believe he will return to Earth before the Day of Judgment to restore justice and defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal, or “the false messiah” —  known as the Antichrist. This is also similar to what christians believe as found in the New Testament.

  ☪️✝️✡

I am soon hoping to get involved in a project in a voluntary capacity with the church support team, within the community, that are welcoming refugees into our area. I am so glad that my language and cultural studies, achieved with the Open University will soon be put to good use!

 Good luck to everyone this new term,  whatever course you have chosen, enjoy your journey and may you be successful!

Best wishes Gill

'I see satan fall like lightning' by René Girard

Rene Girard (1923-2015)   A french writer and historian, literary critic, and social philosopher. The author of more than 30 books, he taught for many years at Stanford University, and was inducted into the Academie francaise in 2005.

Girard's pioneering work especially in mimetic theory has influenced many academic disciplines from anthropology and psychology to literary theory and theology.

The title "I Saw Satan Fall Like Lightning " was Jesus' reply to his 70 disciples on their return from preparing towns to receive him, reporting that "even the demons obey us when we use your name" (Luke 10:17-18) Girard persuades the reader that even as our world grows increasingly violent the power of the Christ is so great that the evils of scapegoating and sacrifice are gradually being defeated, and a new community, God's spirtual.
visible and invisible, nonviolent kingdom, is coming about even now.

I recently read "violence and the sacred" and I think this book is similar but has a more contemporary feel.

The first chapter concentrates on the Biblical knowledge then the mimetic cycle  The character of satan as the embodiment of evil what his purpose is, his character and how he tries to influence us.

Themes Explored

• Part Two - The enigma of Myth resolved.  

•  Mythology.     

 •   Sacrifice  

  • The Founding Murder.

Part three

• The victory of the cross. 

•The uniqueness of the Bible.  

• The scapegoat             

• The Modern concern for victims.  

• Conclusion.

"René Girard brings our attention to three facts without which we will never make sense of our lives, our world or our faith............" Gil Bailie author of violence unveiled.

English publication 2001.

Well worth a read if you are interested in Philosophy, History, Human behaviour or Theology.

Our kind neighbours had a bumper harvest of tomatoes on their allotment this year, (see above photo!) as they had too many, they gave us a large tray. We decided to make a spicy tomato  chutney. Chutney goes well with cheeses or cold meats, burgers, pies, chips, veggie burgers and so on. It is very easy to make a chutney!

Ingredients

• 1kg tomatoes, chopped

• 750g  Braeburn Apples, cored and chopped but keep skin on.

• 375g light muscovado sugar

• 250g onion, chopped

• 250g raisins/ or Sultanas

• 1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped

• 1 garlic

• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp all spice
• 1/2 tsp Ground cloves
• 350ml cider vinegar
•  1/2 tsp salt if liked

Put all the ingredients together into a very large pan. Bring to the boil stirring occasionally then simmer for about - 1hr 1/2 - 2 hours until it sets. 
When cooled spoon into clean glass jars,, place wax cover on top of filled jar and seal with lid. Label them with date.

Enjoy your chutney!

Rich nations are falling short in response to climate change in the world.
Governments from across the world have signed up to various accords, such as the Paris Climate Agreement and the Global Pact on Migration,  so there are clear indications that the problem of climate change and its inevitable influence on migration is being taken seriously.

The Global Pact on Migration often fails to understand the reasons that cause people to leave their countries, including natural disasters and damage caused by climate change and to prevent migration happening.
They should be doing more to help those vulnerable countries where climate change is having a huge affect and causing the citizens to flee and escape to other countries. This has an impact on Migration, which then causes problems for host countries to accomodate them.

So why don't they try by helping to stop climate change events happening in the first place? or at least  by providing the affected country with the help it needs, such as to improving help for infrastructure, building safer dwellings and provide the expertise, the science and technology they will need, such as early alarm warning systems to combat future events,  perhaps by using AI, to predict and prevent damage and death. By stopping  catastrophes from occurring again in the future.
Instead they just blame the poor migrants and don't recognise what they have been through. These are climate migrants that are desperately running from anatural disasters like floods, landslides, fires and  loss of land, livlihood and starvation in their own country through no fault of their own. Imagine if it was us ? Would we not hope to be made welcome in another country not treated as a criminal?

More and more people are recognising the damaging effects of climate change on the environment. We also have to realise  that these have an impact on migration, governments seem  to be making it harder not easier for those affected by climate chamge. 

By not recognising climate migrants as a distinct group and treating them as economic migrants, they are then more likely to face closed borders or deportation rather than the help and support that they really need.

If all the richer countries could try to get together and help the more vulnerable countries suffering from  climate change, to find solutions to the problems, to make it easier for them to be enabled to deal with natural disasters, then this will be a beneficial  way for us all to deal with environmental climate change together, both here and elsewhere.

There must also  be Respect shown  towards climate migrants who are just trying to escape the appalling climatic events in their own country. Spare a thought it could be you!

We are all going to be facing times of growing tribulation due to climate change now and in the future.