Words at the Weekend 30 November

The idea of the challenge is to use any one or more of the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem.

For the weekend I am going to give four prompts that can be used individually or together depending on how the creative juices flow. There will be a single word with its definition, a word bank, three phrases and a photograph – all are random so may not connect in anyway but as is the way of randomness they may connect in the creative thought – you never can tell!

This week’s prompts are:

Photograph:

Man Cooking (Photographer Unknown)

Word:

DoyenPronunciation: (doi-EN, DOI-uhn)
Meaning: noun: The senior member of a group, profession, etc.

Phrases:

• Tapping in;

• doing for others;

• unlimited vision

Word bank:

credence; facade; never; application; thing.

.

If you create something please link back to here

Classical Memories 30 November: Franz Xaver Gerl

The Austrian composer Franz Xaver Gerl was born on this day in 1764. The clip is Gerl’s Aria pro Omni Solemnitate à Basso.

Classical Memories 29 November: Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi

On this day in 1643 the Italian composer Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi died. The clip is  Monteverdi’s Zefiro Torna.

Muse to the Music 28 November

The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem

The prompt for this challenge is a piece of music, the idea being to share where the music takes you.

This week’s piece is:

Sabre Dance by Vanessa Mae

If you use this prompt please link back

Classical Memories 28 November: Jean-Baptiste Lully

The French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully was born today in 1632. The clip is Lully’s Psyché

Whimsical Wednesday 27 November

The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem

As a poet I read a lot of poetry and some more on top. I also find one line taken out of context can lead to a whole new dimension of creativity. The idea of this challenge therefore is to create what comes to mind from lines of poetry.

This week’s lines of poetry are:

• And on the margins of the sea - Song of Quietness by Robinson Jeffers

• In the shadows of an autumn evening - Aimless Love by Billy Collins

• I shun the thought that lurks in all delight – Renouncement by Alice Meynell

If you use this prompt please link back

Classical Memories 27 November: Guillaume Dufay

On this day in 1474 the Netherlandish composer Guillaume Dufay died. The video is Dufay’s Missa Se la Face ay Pale performed by Cantica Symphonia under the direction of Giuseppe Maletto

The Missing Breakfast

‘Come outside and play’
Mummy said, ‘Let breakfast cool’
And out we all went.

In the trees we walked
Chasing birds and butterflies
In the morning sun.

And when we returned
The chairs had been moved about
And mine was all broke.

I cried at Mummy
‘My chair is all broken up’
And then saw my bowl

Someone had eaten
All my porridge; ‘It’s all gone’
I wailed louder still.

All my breakfast gone
Even my little spoon, licked clean
And I was hungry.

And in the bedroom
The thief was fast asleep
In my own wee bed.


Her with long blond hair
Sleeping under my duvet
I growled and she ran.

She ran away, she did
As Mummy cuddled me close
And made me breakfast.




© JG Farmer 2013
via The Poetic Round Forum

Haiku

the repeat episodes 

we wrapped up in pain

old reels in a can

© JG Farmer 2013

Tuesday’s Thinking 26 November

The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem

Today’s prompt is:

Write, using the prompt word: jury-rigged

If you post a write from the prompt, please post a link in comments or pingback

Classical Memories 26 November: Emmanuel Bondeville

The French composer Emmanuel Bondeville died on this day in 1987. The clip is Bondeville’s Symphonie Chorégraphique performed by Orchestre National de l'ORTF.

Haiku

a matching pair

of shared memories and dreams

now he walks alone

© JG Farmer 2013

Oh Earth, Wait for Me by Pablo Neruda

Poem: Oh Earth, Wait for Me

Poet: Pablo Neruda

Date of Birth and Death: 12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973

Nationality: Chilean

Brief Biography: A diplomat for most of his life Pablo Neruda was a Nobel Prize–winning Chilean poet who was once called "the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language’.

Return me, oh sun,
to my wild destiny,
rain of the ancient wood,
bring me back the aroma and the swords
that fall from the sky,
the solitary peace of pasture and rock,
the damp at the river-margins,
the smell of the larch-tree,
the wind alive like a heart
beating in the crowded restlessness
of towering araucaria.

Earth, give me back your pure gifts,
the towers of silence which rose
from the solemnity of their roots,
I want to go back to being what I have not been,
and learn to go back from such deeps
that amongst all natural things
I could live or not live; it does not matter
to be one stone more, the dark stone,
the pure stone which the river bears away.

Pablo Neruda
Tr: Alaistair Reid



Pablo is one of my personal favourite poets and this piece sings to me as more and more I find myself drawn to living at peace with the natural world and also in peace with my own being as is right for me and not what others think it should be.

Chocolate Marquise

The tartness of the crème fraiche contrasts with the rich chocolate sweetness of this classic French dessert. Served with chocolate dipped fruit it gives a delightful closure to any meal.

7oz/200g dark chocolate

3½oz/100g butter

3 egg yolks

2¾z/75g caster sugar

1 tbsp chocolate liqueur

½ pint/300ml double cream

To Serve:

Crème fraiche

Chocolate-dipped fruits

Cocoa powder, to dust

Break the chocolate into pieces. Place the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and stir until melted and well combined. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl with the sugar and whisk until pale and fluffy. Using an electric whisk running on a low speed, slowly whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture. Stir in the chocolate liqueur.

Whip the cream until it is just holding its shape. Fold into the chocolate mixture. Spoon into 6 small ramekins, or individual metal moulds. Leave to chill for at least 2 hours.

To serve, turn out the desserts on to individual serving dishes. Serve with the dipped fruit and crème fraiche all dusted with cocoa powder.

Next Time: Rich Chocolate Ice Cream

Monday’s Masterpiece 25 November

The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem

Today’s challenge is to take inspiration from a work of art and write from it.

The masterpiece choice for today is

Cerise by Douglas Newton

View more of  Douglas’work at:

https://www.artfinder.com/artist/douglas-newton/

Please leave a link in comments or pingback if you join in the challenge

Classical Memories 25 November: Johann Friedrich Reichardt and Johann Georg Pisendel.

On this day in 1752 the German composer Johann Friedrich Reichardt was born. The first clip is Reichardt’s Erlkönig

The German composer Johann Georg Pisendel died today in 1755. The second video is Pisendel’s Sonata in C minor.

Classical Memories 24 November: Scott Joplin

On this day in 1868 the American composer Scott Joplin was born. The clip is Joplin’s The Entertainer

Words at the Weekend 23 November

The idea of the challenge is to use any one or more of the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem.

For the weekend I am going to give four prompts that can be used individually or together depending on how the creative juices flow. There will be a single word with its definition, a word bank, three phrases and a photograph – all are random so may not connect in anyway but as is the way of randomness they may connect in the creative thought – you never can tell!

This week’s prompts are:

Photograph:

Shipwreked by Karsun Designs Photography

Word:

Decimate

Pronunciation: (DES-i-mayt)
Meaning: verb tr.: To destroy a large part of something.

Phrases:

• power to create;

• the valley of despair;

• the silent awakening

Word bank:

pregnancy; rights; creditor; evenings; liner.

.

If you create something please link back to here

Classical Memories 23 November: Thomas Attwood

Today in 1765 the English composer Thomas Attwood was born. The clip is Attwood’s Trio in C major.

Haiku

sunrise to sunset 

another day passing by

and time heals all

© JG Farmer 2013

Three on Friday 22 November

The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem

The challenge today offers three quotations to inspire the creative muse, using one, two or all three as a prompt.

The quotations for this week are:

• The only pressure I'm under is the pressure I've put on myself - Mark Messier

• Fear of sexuality is the new, disease-sponsored register of the universe of fear in which everyone now lives - Susan Sontag

• Lord, what fools these mortals be - William Shakespeare

If you take up today’s challenge please leave a link in the comments

Classical Memories 22 November: Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Today in 1710 the German composer Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was born. The featured piece is WF Bach’s Concerto in F minor for Harpsichord, strings and B.C.

Muse to the Music 21 November

The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem

The prompt for this challenge is a piece of music, the idea being to share where the music takes you.

This week’s piece is:

Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia by Aram Khachaturian

If you use this prompt please link back

Haiku

written in the stars

clusters of fateful words

what’s your sign?

© JG Farmer 2013

Classical Memories 21 November: Henry Purcell

On this day in 1695 the English composer Henry Purcell died. The clip is Purcell’s Fairy Queen performed by Vienna Radio Orchestra under the baton of Brian Priestman.

Classical Memories 20 November: Friedrich Heinrich Himmel, Daniel Gregory Mason and Margaret Sutherland

Today in 1765 the German composer Friedrich Heinrich Himmel was born. The first clip is Himmel’s ‘Heil'ge Nacht auf Engelsschwingen’ sung by Roger Whitaker.

On this day in 1873 the American composer Daniel Gregory Mason was born. The second video is Mason’s Suite ‘After English Folk Songs’ performed by NBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Bruno Walter.

On this day in 1897 the Australian composer Margaret Sutherland was born. The final clip s Sutherland’s ‘Concertino for String orchestra’.

Whimsical Wednesday 20 November

The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem

As a poet I read a lot of poetry and some more on top. I also find one line taken out of context can lead to a whole new dimension of creativity. The idea of this challenge therefore is to create what comes to mind from lines of poetry.

This week’s lines of poetry are:

• There was a racket of dreaming and, though both were tired - The End by Victoria Redel

• When I think of the kiss - The Last Great Country Song by Paul Muldoon

• Not your head, just your eyes - Follow My Fingers with Your Eyes by Adam Possner

If you use this prompt please link back

Classical Memories 19 November: Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi and Franz Peter Schubert

On this day in 1804 the Italian composer Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi died. The first clip is Guglielmi’s Caravaggio performed by Orchestra da Camera under the baton of Paolo Biancalana.

On this day in 1828 the Austrian composer Franz Peter Schubert died. The second video is Schubert’s ‘Das Wirtshaus’ from ‘Winterreise’ sung by Henk Neven accompanied by Hans Eijsackers.

Tuesday’s Thinking 19 Nov

The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem

Today’s prompt:

Your topic is: good things come in threes

If you post a write from the prompt, please post a link in comments or pingback

Haiku

demons of fate wait

beneath the azure ripples

then gone for lunch

© JG Farmer 2013

Monday’s Masterpiece 18 November

The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem

Today’s challenge is to take inspiration from a work of art and write from it.

The masterpiece choice for today is

The Lemon Tree by Jane Sherwood

View more of Jane’s work at:

https://www.artfinder.com/artist/jane-sherwood/

Please leave a link in comments or pingback if you join in the challenge

Classical Memories 18 November: Jean-Baptiste Loeillet and Alberich Zwyssig

On this day in 1680 the Flemish composer Jean-Baptiste Loeillet was born. The first clip is Loeillet’s Trio sonata for violin, violoncello and pianoforte in B minor performed by the Eroica Trio.

On this day in 1854 the Swiss composer Alberich Zwyssig died. The second clip is Zwyssig’s Missa diligam te Domine performed by Konzert des Gymnasiums Neufeld.

Classical Memories 17 November: Alberich Zwyssig

On this day in 1808 the Swiss monk and composer Alberich Zwyssig was born. Zwyssig is most famous for composing  Schweizerpsalm, the Swiss national anthem.

Haiku

rushing water

caressing weeping willow

and silence remains

© JG Farmer 2013

Classical Memories 16 November

Today in 1715 the Maltese compose Girolamo Abos was born. The clip is Abos’ Stabat Mater performed by Ensemble Stradivaria under the baton of Daniel Cuiller.

Words at the Weekend 16/17 November

The idea of the challenge is to use any one or more of the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem.

For the weekend I am going to give four prompts that can be used individually or together depending on how the creative juices flow. There will be a single word with its definition, a word bank, three phrases and a photograph – all are random so may not connect in anyway but as is the way of randomness they may connect in the creative thought – you never can tell!

This week’s prompts are:

Photograph:

Rail Bridge Reflection by David Dalziel

Word:

Bursiform
Pronunciation: (BUHR-suh-form)
Meaning: adjective: Shaped like a pouch or a sac.

Phrases:

• law of love;

• fairy lullabies;

• happiness the hard way

Word bank:

scissors; RSVP; might; ball; campaign.

.

If you create something please link back to here

Near the Wall of a House by Yehuda Amichai

Yehuda Amichai (1924-2000)

Yehuda reminds the reader there is more to living than being in love, while love is indeed beautiful as a species we miss so much of life’s real beauty chasing just that one aspect of living.

Near the wall of a house painted
to look like stone,
I saw visions of God.

A sleepless night that gives others a headache
gave me flowers
opening beautifully inside my brain.

And he who was lost like a dog
will be found like a human being
and brought back home again.

Love is not the last room: there are others
after it, the whole length of the corridor
that has no end.

Yehuda Amichai 
Tr: Chana Block

Chocolate Hazelnut Pots

Creamy pots of rich baked chocolate custard with a cheeky flavour of hazelnuts – a chocoholics delight.

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

½oz/15g caster sugar

1 tsp cornflour

1 pint/600ml milk

3oz/75g dark chocolate

4 tbsp chocolate and hazelnut spread

To Decorate:

Curls of chocolate

Beat together the eggs, egg yolks, caster sugar and cornflour until well combined. Heat the milk until almost boiling.

Gradually pour the milk on to the egg mixture, whisking as you do so. Melt the chocolate and spread in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, then whisk the melted chocolate mixture into the eggs.

Pour into 6 small ovenproof dishes and cover with foil. Place the covered dishes in a roasting tin. 

Fill the tin with boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the dishes.

Bake in a preheated oven, 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3, for 35-40 minutes until the custard is just set. 

Remove the dishes from the tin and cool, and then chill until required. Serve decorated with curls of chocolate.

Next Time: Chocolate Marquise

Haiku

potential

hidden in depths of slumber

as the sun goes down

© JG Farmer 2013

Classical Memories 15 November: Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck

Today in 1787 the German composer Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck died. The video is von Gluck’s Danse des spectres et des furies from his ballet Don Juan performed by Il Giardino Armonico under the baton of Giovanni Antonini

Three on Friday 15 November

The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem

The challenge today offers three quotations to inspire the creative muse, using one, two or all three as a prompt.

The quotations for this week are:

My God, these folks don't know how to love -- that's why they love so easily – D.H. Lawrence

A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return – Salman Rushdie

It is the superfluous things for which men sweat – Seneca

If you take up today’s challenge please leave a link in the comments

Haiku

gathering dust
silent figures stand and stare
at brick-a-brack


© JG Farmer 2013

Beyond

The wheel turns
around
and as I lay dying
I will not be crying
in the quest for eternal light
at the journey’s end
where my fingers reach out
to where she is waiting
always she is waiting
to take me home to rest
so love can begin again

© JG Farmer 2013

At Sunrise

Photography by Al Forbes

The sun stretches across the silken drape
In dawns of awareness there’s no escape
A breath of life in the darkness of sleep
With the sensual arousal of a dream
As confused euphoric tears gently weep
For the love that has come to find its voice
In the disarray of a world of change
As the past confounds in misinformed choice
With futures where all things seem new and strange
In new beginnings thoughts and dreams exchange
The ways that delve beyond deeper than deep
As the art of love takes a different shape
Acceptance replaces the panicking scream
And the soul of love once more can rejoice





© JG Farmer 2013

Prompt: : http://kattermonran.com/2013/10/19/weekly-photo-challenge-what-are-hue-looking-for/

If It Be Your Will by Leonard Cohen (1934-)

I love how Cohen’s words make this devotional poem reach out beyond any particular religion, although it was inspired by the Kol Nidre.

If it be your will
that I speak no more,
and my voice be still
as it was before;
I will speak no more,
I shall abide until
I am spoken for,
If it be your will.

If it be your will
that a voice be true,
from this broken hill
I will sing for you.
From this broken hill
all your praises they shall ring
if it be your will
to let me sing.

If it be your will
if there is a choice,
let the rivers fill,
let the hills rejoice.
Let your mercy spill
on all those burning hearts in hell,
if it be your will
to make us well.

And draw us near
and bind us tight,
all your children here,
in their rags of light;
in our rags of light,
all dressed to kill;
and end this night
if it be your will.

Leonard Cohen