They were both young, though he was a year older; beyond childhood but not yet adults, not in the way that their lives would soon force them to be… They
Category: #Silenti
An Arthur for Elizabeth?An Arthur for Elizabeth?
Philip Sidney was born, in 1554, into prosperity and with connections. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney and Lady Mary Dudley – making him a relative of
The Adventurer’s Hidden MagicThe Adventurer’s Hidden Magic
“Strike man, strike!” Those were the last words of Sir Walter Raleigh, spoken to an executioner who was taking his time, at the end of one of the most colourful
A game of three halves (3 of 3)A game of three halves (3 of 3)
Continued from Part Two So, this one day, considered in all its facets, resolves itself into a journey, a destination and an arrival – an arrival at a meeting
A game of three halves (2)A game of three halves (2)
It is, still, all of it, only one day… Though now the winds that buffeted the bed-and-breakfast farmhouse have abated. I look at my watch. We have two hours
A game of three halves (1)A game of three halves (1)
It is, after all, only one day… Have you ever re-assembled a day into a different sequence? Been so involved with its contents that the threads seem to weave themselves,
Women In The Mist (4)Women In The Mist (4)
(Continued from Part three on Sun in Gemini) The spiritual, stripped of the trappings of religion, is a search for the real. We may protest that we already live lives
Women In The Mist (2)Women In The Mist (2)
(Continued from Part One on Sun in Gemini) The rain has abated… for now. After the morning of the second day, we return to East Aquorthies to have more revealed
Magical Man at the Dawn of ScienceMagical Man at the Dawn of Science
The Elizabethan age considered itself scientific, indeed the word ‘science’ was used to mean ‘knowledge’. The so called Age of Reason was a much later term applied by historians of
Never look Back?Never look Back?
Never look back! It’s an adage that makes a lot of sense. It also characterises a certain stage of mystical development – a point at which the aspirant comes to
The Mind of The Virgin QueenThe Mind of The Virgin Queen
Is it possible to go back in time and see into the minds of monarchs who played a key role in a country’s development? Given it is so long ago,
Where are we going? (2) – The ViceWhere are we going? (2) – The Vice
It may be that the present compressed and negative feelings that we humans are experiencing is a birthing chamber rather than a vice. This outrageous idea ties in closely with
Where are we going?Where are we going?
Where are we going? When things are going well in ‘our’ world, there is an understandable tendency to assume that a generally benign evolution of civilisation is taking place, one
Bright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouse (3)Bright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouse (3)
Something had happened when we decided to approach the strange village by walking along the beach and coming to it via the old but grand harbour, with its mighty blocks
Bright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouse (2)Bright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouse (2)
‘Surreal’ is an often used word and does its best to convey a moment, usually quite fleeting, in which there is both a heightened sense of ‘being there’ and another
Bright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouseBright in the dark: endeavour and the lighthouse
The tiny airport was a refreshing change to the madness of modern flying, with its scarring signature of ‘security’. You could imagine a kindly local lady rushing out and saying,
An Eye full of Reflections (7 of 7)An Eye full of Reflections (7 of 7)
Amidst the seemingly pristine field of stones, the old oak tree usually went unnoticed… Like this group of happy but somewhat weary pilgrims, newly entered via the gate at the
An Eye full of Reflections (4)An Eye full of Reflections (4)
As the land-train pulls out of the main square in Portmeirion, we head up into the forest. There are three distinct internal regions within the Portmeirion site. The first
An Eye full of Reflections (2)An Eye full of Reflections (2)
There is so much going on that you can miss him on the downward leg of the guided introduction to Portmeirion. In a world of the strangely beautiful, one in
An Encounter with DeathAn Encounter with Death
It is 1616. King James VI of Scotland has been on the throne of England and Ireland for thirteen years, having inherited the kingdom as the closest surviving relative of
The ‘Village’ and its occupantsThe ‘Village’ and its occupants
It is hauntingly beautiful. It sits in its own part of a lovely estuary, just east of Porthmadog, in the south of Snowdonia, Wales. Its name is Portmeirion and it
My Secret SelfMy Secret Self
How long it took to make him My secret self and I To stabilise and raise him That he might touch his sky Then watching as he made the world
Unexpected Shaman (6) – The Ball in your Court Unexpected Shaman (6) – The Ball in your Court
Manuel is speaking, but he’s wrong… This thought hits home as my unseen flight ends with a trip over the ledge that marks the boundary of a small incline. Ahead
Unexpected Shaman (4) – In the Mouth of the JaguarUnexpected Shaman (4) – In the Mouth of the Jaguar
Really? A giant, black, Jaguar materialised from the south face of the Chichen Itza pyramid and thundered across the ground to devour you? On one level, it’s a preposterous thing
Unexpected Shaman (3) – The head in the jawsUnexpected Shaman (3) – The head in the jaws
I’ve decided there is something Shamanic about suffering. The past few years have been challenging for me in a very specific way: whenever I have approached an important event, particularly