Christmas 2010

I would like to wish everyone a happy and holy Christmas filled with joy and love. May your day and the days to follow be happy and fullfilled. I have not been very well and have not visited your lovely blogs but I will do so hopefully in a few days.

 

I wish for everyone a life of happy times and love.

Today's quote: Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas ~ Calvin Coolidge.

Ruby Tuesday ~ Morris Dancers

Dancing at the fair
We went to a local fair in October and there were Morris dancers performing. I really love watching them - listening to the bells on the men's legs and all the handkerchief waving and the music. It's a real fun day and it's sort of like stepping back in time to the olden days. Quite a number of teams have fancy hats with lots and lots of flowers on them. The hats with the flowers are worn by the men. I saw several Morris dancing teams at a folk festival a couple of years ago, took heaps of photos and found I'd accidently deleted them. I was so disappointed. The men's hats were lovely.

Above: Let me drop everything and dance on your problem!
This is the motto of the Brittania Morris Men.

The history of Morris Dancing
Morris dancing has been around for a long, long time - much longer than you or I. Our great grandparents weren't even a twinkle in their parents eye. Go back to Shakespearian times - Shakespeare mentions Morris dancing in "All's Well that Ends Well", and makes it clear that the Morris dance was commonly performed on May Day (May 1).

It is believed that dancing formed part of the celebration of Celtic festivals, but somewhere in the mist of time, the origins of Morris dancing have become lost and today survives as a form of folk dance performed in the open air in villages in rural England by groups of specially chosen and trained men and women. Rather than being a social dance, it's more ritualistic. The dancers take their dances seriously and feel the dances have a magic power which serves to bring luck and ward of evil.

Above: Traditional set
The dancers here performed in the Cotswold style. The chap at the front left of the set is the Caller - the person who calls out the figures of the dance.



I videoed part of the dancing. The first is a Handkerchief dance, followed by one of the stick dances - the dancers have long sticks about a metre in length and tap the ground and cross sticks. Different dance teams have different versions and no two are exactly the same. Today's quote is the motto of the Tarka Morris Men of Bideford, England

Click here to see more photos around the world from Ruby Tuesday

Today's quote: Nemo Enim Fere Saltat Sobrius, Nisi Forte Insanit. (Hardly anyone dances sober, unless he's completely mad. Cicero 106 - 43 BC)

Vicolino Caffe

 

May I take your order?
This great little cafe in Centre Place is a real nice, family run affair with a wonderfully friendly atmosphere where you feel comfortable just sitting over a cuppa, taking your time watching the world go by. Or in this case, watching the people go by.

For make no mistake, Centre Place is a funky, trendy narrow laneway made naturally dark by the tall, tall buildings on either side and a rich blend of Bohemia and decadence worthy of the most written about places in Europe.

They have these darling Bentwood chairs with tiny round tables and the menu is written in chalk on the blackboard on the right hand side. The place isn't very big but what it lacks in size is more than made up by the delicious home-cooked food. So if you're in Melbourne early, pop in and have a hot, hearty breakfast to get you going for the day.

Today's quote: Acting requires me to be very observant, which means being able to sit in cafes for hours and watch people ~ Keira Knightley.

Time On Flinders

 

Above: Flinders Street Station
This is the Elizabeth Street entrance to Flinders Street station. The entrance is opposite a T intersection and the clock is visible from a fair distance - as you can see, it is 20 past 2 in the afternoon.

Today's quote: Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it you can never get it back ~ Harvey MacKay.

The Bicycle

An old yellow bicycle propped up against a weeping willow - who put it there among the flowers? I see in my mind's eye a lady in a long, old-fashioned blue skirt, white blouse with small frills, a cameo at her neck, a straw boater with a red and blue ribbone and tan leather riding gloves to protect the delicate skin of her hands. With black leather boots she comes, places a small cane basket on the handle bars and with a ladylike movement, mounts her bicycle and rides off along the country road.


Today's quote: Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike ~ John F. Kennedy