Sunday 28 February 2010

Carousel

carousel horses

A merry sound:
Toot-Toot-Tootsie
and the Dambusters

Saturday 27 February 2010

Waiting for the bus

Waiting for the Bus

Waiting for the bus

three teenagers incoming

thunderclouds overhead


Friday 26 February 2010

Wednesday 24 February 2010

Tuesday 23 February 2010

Frost and Mist (I)

Cemetery

Silent field

white with hoar frost

trees fade into mist


Monday 22 February 2010

Unexpected snow

Cemetery snow

The crunch of feet
on clean, fresh snow
sunshine and bird song

Sunday 21 February 2010

Dogfield Sky

14-02-10 dogfield

Altocumulus

like white sand on a blue beach

raked by bird song


Thursday 18 February 2010

Wednesday 17 February 2010

Tuesday 16 February 2010

Monday 15 February 2010

Sunday 14 February 2010

Lupercalia


Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility. Lupercalia subsumed Februa, a possibly earlier-origin spring cleansing ritual held on the same date, which gives the month of February its name.

The Lupercalia festival was partly in honor of Lupa, the she-wolf who suckled the infant orphans, Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, explaining the name of the festival, Lupercalia, or "Wolf Festival." The festival was celebrated near the cave of Lupercal on the Palatine (where Rome was founded ), to expiate and purify new life in the Spring. The Lupercal cave, which had fallen into a state of decay, was rebuilt by Augustus; the celebration of the festival had been maintained, as we know from the famous occurrence of it in 44 BC. A highly decorated cavern 50 feet below Augustus' palace in the correct approximate location was discovered by archeologists in October 2007, which may prove to be the Lupercal cave when analyzed.

The religious ceremonies were directed by the Luperci, the "brothers of the wolf (lupus)", a corporation of priests of Faunus, dressed only in a goatskin, whose institution is attributed either to the Arcadian Evander, or to Romulus and Remus. The Luperci were divided into two collegia, called Quinctiliani (or Quinctiales) and Fabiani, from the gens Quinctilia (or Quinctia) and gens Fabia; at the head of each of these colleges was a magister. In 44 BC. a third college, the Julii, was instituted in honor of Julius Caesar, the first magister of which was Mark Antony. In imperial times the members were usually of equestrian standing.

The festival began with the sacrifice by the Luperci (or the flamen dialis) of two male goats and a dog. Next two young patrician Luperci were led to the altar, to be anointed on their foreheads with the sacrificial blood, which was wiped off the bloody knife with wool soaked in milk, after which they were expected to smile and laugh.

The sacrificial feast followed, after which the Luperci cut thongs from the skins of the victims, which were called Februa, dressed themselves in the skins of the sacrificed goats, in imitation of Lupercus, and ran round the walls of the old Palatine city, the line of which was marked with stones, with the thongs in their hands in two bands, striking the people who crowded near. Girls and young women would line up on their route to receive lashes from these whips. This was supposed to ensure fertility, prevent sterility in women and ease the pains of childbirth. This tradition itself may survive (Christianised, and shifted to Spring) in certain ritual Easter Monday whippings.

Today, Lupercalia has been replaced by Saint Valentine's Day (commonly shortened to Valentine's Day), an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions.The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

Illustration: 'Heart' a watercolour by Rachel Green, 2010

Saturday 13 February 2010

Friday 12 February 2010

Bench and Shadows

28-01-10 Bench and Shadows

I've posted this bench before, but after all the grey weather it was a delight to see it in sunshine.

Wednesday 10 February 2010

Monday 8 February 2010

A dusting of snow

03-02-10 Boythorpe Woods

A dusting of snow

an enduring memory

of Narnia


Sunday 7 February 2010

Sliding Swans

01-02-10 Walton Dam

Frozen lake
swans waddle over --
ask for food

01-02-10 Swan

Saturday 6 February 2010

Boythorpe Woods

01-02-10 Boythorpe Wood

Feet crunch

frozen earth and leaves

sunlit woods


Friday 5 February 2010

Thursday 4 February 2010

Wednesday 3 February 2010

Tuesday 2 February 2010

One for Sorrow

29-01-10 Magpie

A flash of black and white

Monday 1 February 2010

Chaffinches

28-01-10 cemetery

Song of the chaffinch

interspersed with the beep beep

of reversing lorries