Saturday, 30 March 2019
Friday, 29 March 2019
Corfu: Island of Salvation, The Serbs on Corfu, 1916-1918
From eKathimerini
"The exhibition “Far Away... The Island of Salvation... The Serbs on Corfu” (1916-1918),” on display at the Latin Chapel at the Old Fortress of Corfu through May 5, retraces the presence of Serbs on the island through documents from the period, a rich collection of photographs, correspondence, newspapers and publications".
See also my posting from February 2010:
Thursday, 28 March 2019
Corfu, Greece: Shameful Pictures from Dassia, kms. of garbage; Κέρκυρα: Εικόνες ντροπής στην τουριστική Δασιά.
From Corfu TV News - Κέρκυρα: Εικόνες ντροπής στην τουριστική Δασιά.
"Εικόνες ντροπής στην Δασιά, με τα απορρίμματα να μετράνε χιλιόμετρα και η αγανάκτηση των πολιτών να έχει ξεχειλίσει. Σύμφωνα με τους πολίτες, τα σκουπίδια είναι εκεί πάνω από δυο μήνες χωρίς έως τώρα η Υπηρεσία Καθαριοτητας να τα έχει μαζέψει".
Town Council: There is no Plan B for the waste, Enimerosi
Gail Aldwin, "adversaries/comrades"; Wordsmith _HQ
Last night at Books Beyond Words in Dorchester, the launch of Gail Aldwin's poetry pamphlet adversaries/comrades. I much enjoyed Gail's readings and Magdalena's music at this great bookshop!
About Wordsmith_HQ competitions (Terms and Conditions)
Gail has a novel, The String Games, coming out in May
From a Wordsmith_HQ Tweet:
One of Gail's poems about siblings.
Gail has a novel, The String Games, coming out in May
From a Wordsmith_HQ Tweet:
One of Gail's poems about siblings.
Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Royal Visit to King's School, Bruton, Somerset; 500 Years a School; Quincentenary
From Somerset Live
"Her Majesty will make visits to three venues:
• Manor Farm Stables Yard in Ditcheat – where she will meet trainer Paul Nicolls and students from the University of Bath who are working on research projects on equestrian sport spinal injuries and racehorse welfare.
• Kings Bruton School in Bruton – where Her Majesty will open a new music school.
• Hauser and Wirth Gallery in Durslade Farm, Bruton - where The Queen will meet schoolchildren and an artist-in-residence.
BBC Points West News - The Queen's Visit Preparations
Her Majesty The Queen Visits King's Bruton - 28th March 2019 | King's Bruton
KSB in my day:
Strange to think that I entered the Junior School in 1952, nearly a year before the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. We were soon encouraged to think of ourselves as the New Elizabethans!
"On 29th September 1519, King’s School Bruton was signed into life by the Bishop of London, Richard Fitzjames, the Attorney General, Sir John Fitzjames, the Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, John Edmunds and Abbott William Gilbert of Bruton Monastery. Nearly five hundred years later, the School is on the cusp of reaching an incredible milestone, its quincentenary" - King's Bruton.
From Henry VIII to Elizabeth II.
500th Anniversary Day of Celebration
Current tweets
The Queen arrives at Castle Cary Station
Video
Arrival in Bruton (video)
The Queen Visits King's School Bruton
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kingsbruton/sets/72157679601755628/
What a day! KSB Tweet
"A dark day for internet freedom”?
"Controversial copyright reform ignites debate on internet freedom", Euronews
The Times view on the EU’s copyright crackdown on Google and Facebook: Right Direction -"The vote to toughen the application of copyright law online is welcome"
The EU directive as it stands is not welcomed by the many creative writers, musicians, film-makers and journalists who seek the widest distribution of their work.
That is not just the view of 'young radicals' who want to preserve the freedom of the internet and of artistic expression.
It seems that academic researchers and librarians may welcome the directive.
European copyright directive ‘opens door to mass digitalisation’, THS
"Librarians welcome new European rules on copyright, which also secures right for researchers to mine text and data".
"It should make it easier for libraries to digitalise documents that are still in copyright but are not commercially available...Universities and libraries have managed to carve out exemptions to the directive’s most controversial proposals, which will require online platforms such as YouTube to pre-screen uploaded material – like music or films – to ensure that it is not copyrighted, and will oblige them to pay newspapers for repeating anything other than short snippets of their articles...The directive must still be approved by member states in April, although Mr Wyber expects it to be waved through. It also needs to be transposed into national law, meaning that the new rules set out by the directive will still not come into force for a “few years”, and could be open to interpretative tweaks by national governments, he explained. But he and Mr White said it was unclear whether the UK would implement the directive after Brexit".
It seems that academic researchers and librarians may welcome the directive.
European copyright directive ‘opens door to mass digitalisation’, THS
"Librarians welcome new European rules on copyright, which also secures right for researchers to mine text and data".
"It should make it easier for libraries to digitalise documents that are still in copyright but are not commercially available...Universities and libraries have managed to carve out exemptions to the directive’s most controversial proposals, which will require online platforms such as YouTube to pre-screen uploaded material – like music or films – to ensure that it is not copyrighted, and will oblige them to pay newspapers for repeating anything other than short snippets of their articles...The directive must still be approved by member states in April, although Mr Wyber expects it to be waved through. It also needs to be transposed into national law, meaning that the new rules set out by the directive will still not come into force for a “few years”, and could be open to interpretative tweaks by national governments, he explained. But he and Mr White said it was unclear whether the UK would implement the directive after Brexit".
Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Amália Rodrigues, Fado Português; Fado final
On my iPod, whilst walking, thinking about Europe and its fate...and about countries and cultures I have still to discover.
Brexit...pra que?
Amália Rodrigues, Fado Português
O Fado nasceu um dia, quando o vento mal bulia e o céu o mar prolongava, na amurada dum veleiro, no peito dum marinheiro que, estando triste, cantava, que, estando triste, cantava.
Ai, que lindeza tamanha, meu chão , meu monte, meu vale, de folhas, flores, frutas de oiro, vê se vês terras de Espanha, areias de Portugal, olhar ceguinho de choro.
Na boca dum marinheiro do frágil barco veleiro, morrendo a canção magoada, diz o pungir dos desejos do lábio a queimar de beijos que beija o ar, e mais nada, que beija o ar, e mais nada.
Mãe, adeus. Adeus, Maria. Guarda bem no teu sentido que aqui te faço uma jura: que ou te levo à sacristia, ou foi Deus que foi servido dar-me no mar sepultura.
Ora eis que embora outro dia, quando o vento nem bulia e o céu o mar prolongava, à proa de outro veleiro velava outro marinheiro que, estando triste, cantava, que, estando triste, cantava.
letra de José Régio música de Alain Oulman
Avé Maria sagrada
Cheia de graça divina
Oração tão pequenina
De uma beleza elevada
Fado final
Avé Maria sagrada
Cheia de graça divina
Oração tão pequenina
De uma beleza elevada
Fado final
Levadas pelo vendaval
Surgirá um novo outono
Meu vago e manso final
Surgirá um novo outono
Meu vago e manso final
Vou dar à terra primeiro
As brancas mãos cor de cera
E ao vento caminheiro
Dar os meus cabelos d'hera
E os meus segredos d'amor
Vou dá-los à primavera
Tristes são meus olhos tristes
Vou levá-los ao mercado
Das fantasias desfeitas
Onde m'os tinham criado
Monday, 25 March 2019
The British Council: Tailored Review, 2019
Tailored Review of The British Council (pdf, 92 pages)
"This report makes recommendations on the British Council's capacity to fulfil its mission more effectively and efficiently. The 2019 Tailored Review of the British Council involved consultation with a broad range of stakeholders across the UK and beyond, as part of the government’s public bodies reform programme. Tailored reviews require all eligible bodies to undergo a review of their functions, form, performance and governance at least once during each Parliament. This review makes 29 recommendations in these areas.
Founded in 1934, the British Council is a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. The organisation creates friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries, changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust".
Dorset: Drugs smuggled into Guys Marsh prison inside dead rats
From BBC News
"Drugs, tobacco and mobile phones were smuggled into a prison stuffed inside dead rats. The items were sewn inside the bodies of three rats found by officers in early March in the grounds of HMP Guys Marsh near Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was the first recorded instance of rats being used in that way, the Prison Service said".
From The Guardian, Gangs using dead rats to smuggle drugs into Dorset prison
From Independent
From Dorset Echo
Australia: Water Wars (BBC iPlayer)
Our World: Australia's Water Wars
Available for about 20 days on BBC iPlayer
"With a general election just weeks away, revelations of government bungling, corporate greed and corruption have thrust water to the forefront of Australia's political debate".
