I have been following the campaign to vote for our 'national bird' here in the UK and the shortlist of the final ten has just been announced. Please take a look here at the contenders. Running parallel to the General Election we'll be given the results on the morning after May 7th. I can summon more enthusiasm for an avian election than a political one at the present time! My favourite bird changes with the season but I love them all so I don't want to influence your vote in any way ...........
Naturally, once I'd put my cross on the virtual page I had to get the White Album off the shelves and play the above a few times with the result that I then had that 'ear worm' for the rest of the day. I could not stop singing it!
There's a wonderful poem by John Clare about the blackbird that contains the lines :
'The blackbird is a bonny bird, I love his mourning suit, And song in the Spring meadows heard, As mellow as the flute' . For his song alone he gets my vote.
So excited about the eclipse tomorrow morning and we're told it will be clear and bright here and we should get a high chance of it. I hope so. I was watching Stargazing Live last night on the BBC and then had to go out and look for Jupiter and its moons. The sky was alive with stars. So beautiful. Only Europe as such will see the eclipse tomorrow but miss it and it won't be coming around again until something like 2034. For those that don't get the opportunity to experience it I might post another Beatles song. Perhaps the lovely George (always my favourite) singing 'Here Comes the Sun'?
6 comments:
I Think I would agree with your choice from the selection on offer. We've been under cloud for days here so no stars last night and I don't hold much hope of witnessing the eclipse either!
I think I'd go for the blackbird too for their character - I love their beady eyes and funny antics and watching both Mr and Mrs having a bath in the chilly water these mornings is a hoot!
I certainly have more enthusiasm for the bird election. Although I really can't choose.
I couldn't quite decide either, but certainly blackbird is high on my list. You got me listening to Kate Bush's album Aerial which features her singing with a blackbird. I used to play that track to my class. Unfortunately Rolf Harris, voice pops up which rather shatters the magic.
It has always been a blackbird for me, Carrie Ackroyd has done a print depicting that line of Clare's poem, it's lovely. I see that his cottage in Helpston, Northants has been preserved by www.clarecottage.org and is now open to the public.
The blackbird is mine and my mums choice also.
I hope your experience of the eclipse was better than ours!
Lucy x
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