tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post9134082815123607747..comments2024-03-29T01:41:15.713+00:00Comments on Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park birds: Ralph Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-81976032565590865282017-07-16T01:04:41.219+01:002017-07-16T01:04:41.219+01:00Thank you. I had to steal Agustina's picture, ...Thank you. I had to steal Agustina's picture, because images of a woman firing a cannon are few and far between.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-57428822143761898712017-07-15T22:32:55.128+01:002017-07-15T22:32:55.128+01:00This is one of the few times in which I cannot agr...This is one of the few times in which I cannot agree with you. You are a delightful writer in all venues, and from what I have read of Tilda you have an excellent ear for rhythm and sound (as far a as foreigner can tell). Besides a killer instinct for parody!<br /><br />Loved to see Spanish heroine Agustina de Aragón on p. 112.Tinúvielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04794275230697959519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-85650729394467711482017-07-15T19:50:04.739+01:002017-07-15T19:50:04.739+01:00Yes, the lines are from a silly mock-Elizabethan p...Yes, the lines are from a silly mock-Elizabethan play I wrote. It's <a href="http://www.hancock.dircon.co.uk/Tilda.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. And yes, the words 'versifier' and 'versification' have the same belittling sense in English as they do in Spanish. But I wouldn't set myself above that level.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-78479191787331089912017-07-15T14:57:45.911+01:002017-07-15T14:57:45.911+01:00Is that paraphrasis your own composition? Every re...Is that paraphrasis your own composition? Every reader should be aware of your talents for poetic composition (I was going to say 'versification', but I'm not sure if it carries the same negative nuance as in Spanish versificador vs. poeta), of which we have sadly only occasional proof.<br /><br />Funnily enough, Tolkien modelled the physical appearance of his orcs on the Huns. He even said as much in his letters.<br /><br />Vandals actually gave their name to Andalucía!Tinúvielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04794275230697959519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-25415219325981492682017-07-15T00:04:56.292+01:002017-07-15T00:04:56.292+01:00On closer study, the Vandals turn out not to be to...On closer study, the Vandals turn out not to be too bad, and the Visigoths are quite sweet. But if there are Huns about, you should ensure that there is at least one mountain range, preferably two, between you and them. To paraphrase Ammianus,<br /><br />Aye, they are more like beasts than human folk,<br />Squat and thickset, their cheeks all scarred with gashes;<br />They do eat naught but th’ roots o’ some wild plants<br />And meat from any creature they can kill,<br />Which they set underneath their horses’ saddles<br />Till it be warm; they know not th’ art of cooking.<br />Their garments are made out o’ th’ skins of fieldmice,<br />And houses have they none, not e’en a shelter,<br />But travel constantly, sleeping i’ their carts <br />Amid the northern winter’s killing frosts.<br />They are the filthiest of any folk<br />That I have seen, surpassing e’en the Goths,<br />And the most violent, for one golden piece<br />Or a hot word will start a fight t’ th’ death.<br />Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-41739604553701732332017-07-14T21:31:45.109+01:002017-07-14T21:31:45.109+01:00I don't think I have ever seen an urban (that ...I don't think I have ever seen an urban (that is, not park-dwelling) Jay before. It must have been startling. It behaves rather like a magpie in this case, doesn't it? Perching on balconies and looking down for easy food. Azure-winged magpies do the same in the buildings in front of my window.<br /><br />I have watched the Grebes video a couple of times and still can't tell if the chick ate the fish or not. The mother looked very fidgety.<br /><br />Great to see the Black Swan back to its usual vandal self!<br />Tinúvielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04794275230697959519noreply@blogger.com