"The private, luxury jet had just entered sky above the clouds
This sky was cobalt blue
Through the port window Louis caught sight of a rainbow
The rainbow was no ordinary rainbow It was dazzling and resplendent And its shape was like nothing ever seen on Earth Not an arc But a circle A spectacular 360°! A pure concentric arrangement of Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet
Sometimes you have to leave Earth to see certain things...
'Antoinette, darling Can you tell the pilot to change course and fly through the centre of that rainbow?'
'Yes, dearest'
The jet’s rudder and flaps come into operation And as the centre of gravity alters the Château Cheval Blanc almost escapes the flutes
As he throttles the pilot decides they may like some music to enhance the fly through
On the first strike of the composer’s staff Louis presses a button on the seat controls
The seats Antoinette and Louis are on smoothly slide back making room for them to dance
Louis rises from his seat
Antoinette rises from her seat
They both turn to each other
Louis removes his hat and bows graciously Plumes lightly brushing the floor
Antoinette curtsies tilting her head slightly forward
In time with the music they make proud struts Clockwise then anticlockwise
A French baroque dance ensues...
As the jet continues a ray of sunlight strikes the flutes bouncing light all around the inside of the aircraft
Halfway through the dance the composer’s staff strikes a louder dynamic And the pilot throttles to Mach 1!
The g-force causes their drinks to spill – a little
They both collapse into chairs Turn on the rearview cameras and watch the circular rainbow vanish into the distance Powered by Rolls-Royce
The pilot then gently takes them back down through the clouds and they see the curvature of Earth again
Louis turns to Antoinette And Antoinette turns to Louis
The pilot then announces their estimated time of arrival…
Even though they are below the summer clouds – the dense, thick clouds – bright sunlight is still bouncing around the inside of the aircraft..."
Audio
Summer Clouds
Louis and Antoinette
Read by Michael Bobb
Music:Marche Pour La Ceremomie Des Turcs by Jean-Baptiste Lully
"As the butler turned to go after leaving the pressed morning edition on the platter beside the bureau I asked him to prepare afternoon tea
'Certainly,' he replies 'But the clock hasn't struck 11, sir'
'It's Midsummer’s day and Madam and I,' I explain 'will be having afternoon tea at the coastal house'
-
After an hour everything is ready and we begin to make our way
As we leave the grounds I hear the characteristic buzz and snap of the motorised electric gate behind us
I look in the rear-view mirror and see the butler’s Bentley I also see the housekeeper on the doorstep waving us farewell with a handkerchief
As we turn onto the main side road I ask Madam who is checking her make-up on the back seat of our Bentley to check with the butler via the two-way communication system if he had remembered the vinyl records
He replies, 'Yes Madam'
Summer Wind
"...As the time reaches two and twenty past both Bentleys arrive at the coastal house
The standard is raised and the butler unpacks both cars ...including the music
'It's a beautiful day, darling let's have tea at the water’s edge' Madam says
'How romantic' I say
So, after removing our footwear we carry two chairs and a table down the beach
After setting up next to some rocks the butler serves us then retires to a distance
I raise my voice and say to the butler 'Can you bring the record player from the house and play some music?'
'Yes sir'
He fetches the player and puts a record on the turntable Quite calmly he presses... play
The music begins to play
The raised standard once still begins flapping softly on the mast
Madam stands up and starts tiptoeing backwards just as she learned in dance classes at finishing school
I stand up turn to her and start stepping backwards slowly in true dramatic style
Madam changes direction and starts tiptoeing towards me
As the music changes she breaks into a run
And with a leap she jumps into my arms
I catch her We embrace sweetly in circular movements Round and round and round
By now the music has become expressive Expressive, pulsating and undulating
Although it is Midsummer’s Day the clouds are gathering and the wind is picking up
There are now white pony surfs but soon they will be white horses
And what of the tide? Yes, it's advancing and quicker, too as if the moon’s orbit was being quickened by the accelerating music
Then there is a seventh wave in time with the orchestra’s down bow and the table and chairs topple over
But we keep with our ever expressive dance
As the milk and profiteroles fall to the ground there is a greater smash of waves onto the coastal rocks just as the music reaches a tutti
The water is now rushing our shins and the wind whistles wildly...
We part briefly And, just like ballerinas raise both arms to form an arch and pirouette
The music is now at its height
We both grasp each other's left forearm with our own left hand Right arms still arched in the air
We then look straight and deep into one another's eyes and begin an ever-increasing spin
As we spin faster and faster and look deeper and deeper into each other’s eyes we are unaware of the tornado we have created Or, rather, not us but the music
We are focused 100% on each other We are the centre of the whirlwind Everything else is a blur
A representation of love: Stendhal‘s book titled Love
?What do you think about Alberich.
The following scenes in Chapter 1
Alberich’s repentance from sin. [Could Wagner be a Christian!?]
Wagner’s libretto — Stabreim
Groves Music Dictionary
Stabreim is a form of poetic verse
Iambic: Stress every second syllable
Shakespeare
Hamlet — “To be, or not to be: that is the question:”
Macbeth — “Double, double toil and trouble
Iambic Pentameter — 5 stress’ with a sentence of 10 syllables
e.g. Sonnet 18
Shakespeare & Goethe known to Wagner
Henry Cuyler Bunner, American novelist and journalist, on Goethe:
Shake, Mulleary and Go-ethe, poem
My poetry books:
Soaring Higher
The Tara Brooch
Wagner’s Ring*
Blazon
*Wagner’s Ring started. Not completed at the time due to Shakespearean Tudor anachronisms. However, someone said I “can still do it.” Decided on couplet paraphrase, instead — AA, BB, CC etc. Next, Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate, publishes his couplet version of the Owl and the Nightingale. Took my copy to the stage production at the Southbank Centre.
Read my incomplete paraphrase of Wagner’s Ring, Chapter 1: Rhinegold, Ii
Open mic:
Nick
Angela
Closing small talk.
Played during the opening of my reading ⬇️. Ten-stringed lyre.
"From left to right by nature’s design Flows continuously the ready river Rhine Lighter turquoise evenly spread Becoming darker towards the bed Near the floor the water dissipates Leaving an increasingly breathable state This vaporous man-sized space Moves continuously and at a pace Across the floor of the riverbed Where no man can naturally tread Are rough rocks and undercurrent tides And vertical caverns unimaginably wild."
For data protection reasons, names of individuals and other details have been changed.
A true story.
“I am sitting at a table on a bright, sunny morning. At about 10:30 my mobile phone rings. When I pick up the phone and answer, that person on the other end says, ‘Hi, it’s Sally here! Do you remember that several years ago you applied to be on First Dates, the TV show? Well… it’s taken a long time but are you still interested in appearing?’ ‘Yes,’ I say. ‘Terrence at church posted on Facebook the application link. He said he knew the Producer of the programme and they were looking for Christians.’
“Sally then proceeded to ask me about my dating experience as a Christian, what type of person I would consider going on a date with and why, and what sought person I would not go on a date with. She also asked about my job and other interests. Then she said ‘I will send you a link to a Zoom call. It will be in two days. We will record the video for analysis and discussion with the producer. Oh, and don’t forget the dance music!’
“The Zoom call took the same format as the phone call. The only two differences was that I played Beethoven’s ‘Pathetique Sonata’ and danced to a praise and worship song by Graham Kendrick, called ‘The Feast is Ready to Begin!’
“Before the end of the call she confirmed that the programme will be filmed in Bristol over a weekend in May. And, yes, I already had an idea what I was going to ware to the restaurant.
“Several emails and phone calls from her colleagues followed.
“Then an email arrived with the travel arrangements to the studio where I would be interviewed by the Producer, MacNulty.
“For the event I needed a new bowtie and pocket square. And so, I picked one up the day before the shoot when I happened to be in Bromley. On the train back, Stephen from the production company phones with the final arrangements and checks before my visit to London. ‘Can you write a poem for your date and read it out to the camera tomorrow,’ he says cheerfully before we finish the timely call.
“I was brimming over with delight after that call; and even during our conversation.
“As it had been raining that day the streets were wet. I practically had not eaten all day but was full of energy and excitement about the next day. Realising this, I had to tell myself to not show my beaming radiance to anybody. After I verbalised this, I said, ‘I better get something to drink before going home.’
“So, I popped into the local Polish food delicatessen and happened to turn towards the shelves of bottled water. As I looked up at them, I heard the radio presenter mention water at the exact same time. Shouldn’t patriotic Polish shops play Polish radio stations for their Polish patriots?
“As I walked down the road to my home, I saw a rainbow in the sky that ended right there, at my home! It was then that I decided to write, and title, the poem for the next day: Rainbow Date. And that is exactly what I did with my Parker fountain pen.”
That reminds me: Must buy blue ink next time.
“Before retiring that evening, I said: ‘Tomorrow, I will be dating every single Christian woman on Planet Earth!’ Good English only permits me to use one exclamation mark here – but I could not stop laughing… and for a considerable length of time. I was like a drunk man, full and high.
“The next day, the day of the shoot, I decided not to don the brand-new wine-coloured bowtie and square, etc. I will leave that for the restaurant. Anyway, Stephen did say wear something bright. He must have seen the Zoom call video, my original application video from a few years earlier. Or maybe not? Who knows? Wearing my red and gold jacket and white silk scarf, I left for the train station with my half-eaten breakfast in my bag. I was late. Didn’t even have time to pass by a shop I visited the day before and repay them the few pennies I owed.
“Got to the station ticket machine to enter the code for the prepaid ticket they supplied, but before I had time the train arrived and so I used my credit card, instead.
“I was late!
“After I got onto the train and sat down, and reached Forest Hill, I realised that I have never had to catch a train to work in London in my entire life – man and boy – and made my way to the studio after leaving the train and station.
“When I arrived at the studio, I was escorted to the waiting area and dressing room. A member of the production crew made good conversation.
“Once in the studio, the Producer proceeded with questions. The most difficult part of the whole day was trying to, not only condense answers when asked to do so, but also retaining and replicating the same natural energy and enthusiasm when repeating answers with an abridged lexicon… How hypocrites do it I just don’t know.
“The last part of filming was for me to walk from off stage and into the middle of the set with my long-stemmed red rose, white gloves in one hand. and with the other, blow a kiss straight into the camera… peruse painted love heart hanging large as a canvas backdrop. Or was it cotton…?
“After the two hours in the studio, we all relaxed. And I did not even have the opportunity to dance to my prepared praise and worship song, or show the book of classical piano music that I composed.
The Ocean Kiss
…To continue on from the Greeting Kiss and the Parting Kiss, here is what I intended to post as part of the set of three!
To accompany the above Cupid fly-past, imagine music from, say, a Jane Austen adaptation. The audiobook version of this poem is quite agreeable, and includes a soundtrack arrangement from the Hollywood production of Pride and Prejudice starring Matthew McFadyen and Keira Knightley. All my poetic writings are finalised with a Parker fountain pen!The next poem is simply titled ‘Love’. On the surface it appears innocuous. Maybe in the manner of Stendhal’s celebrated book with the same title? My essay, however, is a skydive — treating this atomic, incendiary device fantastically. When recording the audio my voice sounded, at times, like a madman. Love had its birth long before primordial waters existed above the stars. And so, you will be forgiven if you feel drunk after this poem. If you do, then you have the genes of a superhero.
King Solomon wrote the Song of Songs in the Bible, Old Testament, dedicating it to his favourite wife: The Shulamite. For this special day, I have selected a particular search engine result about her: “she is a dark, sensual woman”. This understanding, I put to you, was probably arrived at by way of interpreting Solomon’s life. Song of Songs mentions kissing, garden and fragrance. My thunder is singing and a never-ending dance. The players in this, my composition, are: soprano, tenor, violin and piano.Several years ago on a wet St Valentine’s Day I was listening to BBC Radio 3, a Thursday. They played a delightful version of ‘Scarborough Fair’. Thirty-six hours later I completed recomposing the music for solo piano. My reading includes a three note accompaniment in one hand and suspended notes in the melody. ‘Scarborough Fair’ is a traditional English folk song from the Middle Ages. The ballad is all about asking a former lover to perform impossible tasks in order to win back his love. For this video, my formal dinner shirt represents a cambric shirt.
P.S. I know a man called Eros who thinks about blowing kisses… all day long!P.P.S. If you know of anyone who will be alone this Valentine’s Day, please share thoughtfully.
Splashes of Ink 