The Writing Wolf

Betws-y-Coed ("Prayer house in the wood") in Conwy, North Wales, lies in  a valley near the point where the River Conwy is joined by the River Llugwy and the River Lledr.  It was founded around a monastery in the late sixth century and nearby is the famous Swallow Falls – Rhaedr Ewynnol, in Welsh menaing literally  Foaming Waterfall !  This waterfall on the Afon Llugwy has become a familiar natural celebrity over the past 100 years and has featured on film, postcard and canvas. Rising among the towering peaks of Carnedd Llewellyn the River Llugwy runs eastward towards Capel Curig and Betws-y-Coed, before reaching Swallow falls which is the highest continuous waterfall in Wales. The river hurls itself into a spectacular chasm at the Falls. Best viewed after heavy rain the river rushes down from the mountains through tree-hung, rocky chasms. Jagged rocks and crags divide the stream into a number of foaming cascades which tumble headlong over boulders between richly wooded banks...

Pegwell Bay, Kent - a Recollection of October 5th 1858 by William Dyce Painted after a trip Dyce made in the autumn of 1858 to Pegwell Bay near Ramsgate, on the east coast of Kent, this picture is supposed to show various members of his family gathering fossils.  He has carefully recorded the flint-encrusted strata and eroded faces of the chalk cliffs; in the sky is the barely visible trail of Donati’s comet! But the shell pickers have their eyes on the ground, not necessarily understanding or perceiving their transitory place in the universe!  The location is interesting because it is the supposed site of Christianity first coming to Britain and it is a famous location for fossil hunting.  In the book, The Bird of Night ,  the painting is a great source of interest for poor, mad Frances who thinks he understands the painter’s intent!  If you study the painting for a while it becomes haunting and, for me, so was this book! The Bird of Night is the story of the relationship between Egy...

I grew up in a large Victorian house on a hill that had coal fires and no central heating. Oh my word was it cold in the mornings in winter! But it was beautiful for two reasons – fern frost on the windows and icicles hanging from the roof outside my window. To adults fern frost was simply the result of ice crystals forming on a window pane. But for me as a child they formed when Jack Frost touched the window pane and the sprite jack Frost was very real. In Viking legend - he is known as Jokul Frosti, meaning "icicle frost" – in English folklore he is known as Jack. Sometimes he is also known as Old ManWinter! He is an elf-like figure who personifies winter and its chilling effects! For me Jack had touched the window and the scupture of his fingers were the icicles hanging from our roof!

Robert Graves (Th e White Goddess ) and the neo-pagans have a lot to answer for with their triple Goddess. We seem to have imbibed that whole "maiden-mother-crone" schema. It brings us all those stereotypes that I believe are best avoided – the girl who must be beautiful, the woman who must be a mother and, after a certain age, all that is left to us is our wisdom! These are gender roles that have existed for thousands of years! I tell you now, I don’t intend to be a crone – even one honoured for her wisdom! In reality, the most famous of the ancient Celtic triple Goddesses is Brigit, the daughter of the Dagda (Father God), often called "the poetess." The story goes that there were three of Brigits, all sisters--Brigit the Poetess, Brigit the Smith and Brigit the Doctor--patrons of their respective skills. But they are all the same age. Brigit’s multiplicity implies that she is a master of many arts – all valuable. Having said that, I am getting very tired of having...

  I’m not sure why I love this word!   It can have very negative connotations of something  restricted, forbidden or beyond censure.  But it gives me a warm sense of childhood awe and the amber light of candles and simple prayers. If you look Sacred up in a dictionary, there are usually five definitions. exclusively devoted to a deity or to some religious ceremony or use; holy; consecrated worthy of, or regarded with, reverence, awe, or respect protected by superstition or piety from irreligious actions connected with, or intended for, religious use: sacred music dedicated to; in honour of The word came into use in the 14th century but it has its roots much earlier and is probably from the Old Latin ‘saceres’ which can be connected with binding in the sense of enclosing or protecting! But for me the  feeling of the word is much closer to an  Encyclopaedia Britannica reference .  This is to the power, being, or realm understood by religious persons to be at the core of exi...

How many poets are there writing on commuter trains? Does every carriage contain someone scribbling in notebook, netbook or on an IPhone? Each one of us reflecting our own reality to a world too busy to look,  let alone read! Each  one of us sharing the core experience and sometimes, just sometimes, peering over another's shoulder and wondering? Each one of us adopts the rules specific to writing on trains like some strange masonic rite. Don't rubbish mine and I won't rubbish yours! And prays for a publisher!

The glorious peace Of the unknowing cloud Gold as a thousand stars Shimmering A waterfall of light Eternal and silent But echoing a heartbeat All about me Peace The quiet peace of nothingness The void That is all comfort Perfect peace