Breakfast Birds

In the time it takes to eat a bowl of porridge at the kitchen window this morning, I’ve seen a wren constantly on the hop amongst the solanum; a couple of blue tits pecking on the fence; a small flock of long-tailed tits swinging through the branches of the trees; a blackbird sounding the alarm; the fleeting shadow of a bird upside down on the eaves of the shed, gone too quick to tell, about the size of a robin but upside down? No sign of the ubiquitous magpies or pigeons. Maybe that’s why there was so much activity, and the bright sun melting the frost. So much energy. Continue reading “Breakfast Birds”

Frames of reference

Blow Rahsaan!

Now that’s what I call a pair of lungs! Rahsaan Roland Kirk at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1972. I saw him later at Ronnie Scott’s and he blew me away. He was magnificent, spirited and generous. He could take a sweet ballad and stretch it fearlessly, rolling it out until he’s blowing constantly, exhaling and inhaling both at the same time. Circular breathing and circular singing. He was a musical whirlwind. Continue reading “Blow Rahsaan!”

Frames of reference

My Life As A Tree

Last summer on holiday in Catalonia, we visited Girona where we chanced upon this striking installation by Àlex Nogué. It occupied one room of a small municipal exhibition space, Bolit-La Rambla. It consisted of 28 sheets of paper with ink and pencil drawings on the back wall, 56 trays filled with water on the floor, 2 digital second counters on the ceiling, one counting forwards and one counting backwards. It was possible to step through the hole in the wall and walk around the installation, but really best viewed from this position where it appears framed. It seemed to be an archetype, a symbol of time & place, heaven & earth, shadow & light, growth & decay. It was so simple and elegant and memorable, and more perfect for being found by accident. Continue reading “My Life As A Tree”

Frames of reference

Le Quattro Volte

I’ve just seen the most beautiful film. It’s undeniably slow but that’s not to say it isn’t action packed. There’s a lot to look at. There is no spoken dialogue as such, just a sequence of gorgeous images that make up a visual poem. It’s premise is the Pythagorean idea that there is a four-fold transmigration of souls, from human to animal to vegetable to mineral. The film follows the passage from man to goat to tree to charcoal, the soul moving through four successive lives, to be discovered four times. It is set in the present day in a medieval village in Calabria. The goats are the stars, but there is one amazing prize-winning performance from a dog. This is my favourite film and I can’t wait to watch it again.

See Philip French’s review in The Guardian, but better still see the film.

Frames of reference