A new discovery which I love..... :)

Lorelei

By Heinrich Heine
Translated by A.Z. Foreman

I know not if there is a reason
Why I am so sad at heart.
A legend of bygone ages
Haunts me and will not depart.

The air is cool under nightfall.
The calm Rhine courses its way.
The peak of the mountain is sparkling
With evening's final ray.

The fairest of maidens is sitting
Unwittingly wondrous up there,
Her golden jewels are shining,
She's combing her golden hair.

The comb she holds is golden,
She sings a song as well Whose melody binds an enthralling
And overpowering spell.

In his little boat, the boatman
Is seized with a savage woe,
He'd rather look up at the mountain
Than down at the rocks below.

I think that the waves will devour
The boatman and boat as one;
And this by her song's sheer power
Fair Lorelei has done.

The Original:

Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten,
Daß ich so traurig bin;
Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten,
Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.

Die Luft ist kühl, und es dunkelt,
Und ruhig fließt der Rhein;
Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt
In Abendsonnenschein.

Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet
Dort oben wunderbar,
Ihr goldenes Geschmeide blitzet,
Sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar.

Sie kämmt es mit goldenem Kamme
Und singt ein Lied dabei;
Das hat eine wundersame,
Gewaltige Melodei.

Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe
Ergreift es mit wildem Weh;
Er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe,
Er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh'.

Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen
Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn;
Und das hat mit ihrem Singen
Die Lorelei getan.

Source: Poems in Translation
Painting by Theodor Kaufman

"This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green."

I was so pleased when I woke up on Thursday morning to discover that the sun was out! I don't mean just glinting behind the clouds for a while before dullness prevailed again, but actually taking charge of the sky and giving us a lovely, warm, exceedingly pleasant day! It was wonderful!

Of course, for some of us, being trapped inside a stuffy building - I had a lecture in a room with windows which seemingly do not open - for a while had to be endured, but I found it was more than worth it when I stepped out into the sun again.

I love days when it's very sunny and warm, but there is still a slight breeze in the air. It doesn't get oppressively hot - why would it? We are in Scotland after all! - but it's still gorgeous. Even if it were dull the next morning and not as warm the next day, just that glimmer of hope that spring, and then summer, are on their way is enough for me to persevere through whichever random weather fronts decide to spring - see what I did there? - up between now and June, when we will hopefully be fully enamoured of summer.

Rain, hail, sleet, snow, gales? Anything can happen. As I said before, it is Scotland. ;)

P.S. It's sunny again today. Consistency at last.....? :)

*Quotation from D.H. Lawrence's "The Enkindled Spring"
*Image credit: "Spring Sun" by NiAnluain

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

I often wish it were possible to see the stars from the city.  Yes, I know we can see some of them, mainly Venus and a few others dotted around the black canvas above us, but I'd love to see all of them in their full glory.  What with all the light pollution as well as general pollution emitting from industrial locations, it's nigh on possible to achieve this aim when in towns and cities.

It must be wonderful to live in the wilds of the countryside and have the opportunity to view the stars in all their splendour whenever one is blessed with a clear night's sky and dry weather.  The next time I'm in the country, for whatever reason, I'm going to camp out under the stars.  I won't even care if I'm freezing cold - that's what blankets are for, right? - as long as I can feast on all the wonder that the galaxy has to offer my hungry eyes.

And on that nerdy note, I bid you good night.