Post 21/2024 Stratford, Ontario. We stepped into a "A World Elsewhere" at the Stratford Festival of Canada this week past. Out of 12 productions we chose three: two musicals, Something Rotten! and La Cage aux Folles, and the play Hedda Gabler by Ibsen. Excellent entertainment all. Hedda Gabler was especially thought-provoking. This is part of …
Author: John Bender
Hi, my name is John Bender, retired and loving it. I'm writing to help interested people cross bridges to and from the past. Stories from the past can shed light on life in the present and illuminate the future. We've got a lot of living to do. Let's do it!
Quieting time of day
Post 20/2024 Goshen, Indiana. A stillness flowed through the National Express coach two weeks ago as we plied on toward London (an eventual 12-hour journey occasioned by traffic delays). The lowering sun highlighted everything as though in slow motion. It's as though the hub bub of the day had given way to the softening hours …
Journey home
Post 19/2024 Goshen Indiana USA. Travel can be worrisome, wearying, but worth it all. For the latter sentiment I quote Shakespeare in Antony and Cleopatra: "O sir! you had then left unseen a wonderful piece of work which not to have been blessed withal would have discredited your travel." In other words, don't sell the …
No mow May
Post 18/2024 Carbis Bay Cornwall UK. Greening. Blossoming. Sprouting. The natural world is bursting its bounds in spring. The scent of new-mown grass meets us on our walks. Some advocates, though, suggest that in May one should pause mowing. Give bees and butterflies and others a change to flourish. Give place to pollinators and nesting …
Geologists be praised
Post 17/2024 Carbis Bay Cornwall UK. By definition geology is one of the Earth sciences that looks "at how the earth is formed, its structure and composition, and the types of processes acting on it." Geology can also be applied to any planet or extraterrestrial body. Take your pick of various Earth sciences: historical geology, …
A more kindly week
Post 16/2024 Carbis Bay Cornwall UK. Our home from home stay in the most south westerly corner of England in County Cornwall nears its end, with a bit more than two weeks to go. The week past has been, (take your pick, they all apply), glorious, brilliant, thought-provoking, satisfying, restorative, like Cornish springs of memory. …
Eclipsed by sun
Post 15/2024 Cornwall UK. The week's sea of cloud and showers was eclipsed by a whole day of blue sky and sunshine on Friday. Even the day after, with clouds and sun, there's a low chance of rain. Can this be a turning point? Sun cream eclipsing umbrellas? No need to take a rain check …
What, awash in weather again?
Post 14/2024 Cornwall UK. BBC Breakfast weather presenter on Friday noted "There's a storm coming." Kathleen, the 11th named storm of the year. Friday: Flashes of rain, some sunshine and showers, cloudy, windy. Saturday: strengthening winds 60-70 MPH, same for gusts on Sunday. The good news: temperatures of 17-19 Celsius, 62-66 Fahrenheit. Unsettled, spells it …
Journeys to Easter
Post 13/2024 Cornwall UK. Christian churches this week observed Holy Week and on Sunday celebrate Jesus' resurrection. On Maundy Thursday we attended an ecumenical worship service at Fore Street Methodist Church in St Ives, the service presented by students and staff from Cliff College in Derbyshire. The students that day had just completed a 48-mile …
Mystery behind The Green Door
Post 12/2024 Carbis Bay St Ives Cornwall England. With wet, windy weather walloping wellbeing, wistful wayfarers warily wait warmth-waxing wattage waylaying witless waning wintry woes with welcoming whoopee. And in the bargain learning more about The Green Door in St Ives. Wistful. Wary. Whoopee. Expectantly we anticipate brighter days; yet challenges remain, such as two …
It's About Now 