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"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything"  - Plato  That was my question to the man sat next to me. We had sat for a while enjoying each others company.  "Why does Music move us?" Strangely I did not expect an answer, despite this mans deep intellect. There would be no answer. I would later learn to expect no answers, no answers at all. On entering the Great Parlour of Wightwick Manor, would you too have have stopped suddenly in your tracks on hearing the sound of the grand piano playing ? Would you too have felt your whole body and limbs fall away, relax and feel yourself being cocooned within the safe warmth of the drifting  musical notes? Would you too have felt in your mind's eye, falling to your knees,  as if in prayer to kneel at the altar of the melodic soft cadence building to a crescendo to take you to a higher plane? Would you too have felt your inner soul vibrate, reson...

“The straight line, a respectable optical illusion which ruins many a man.”  ―  Victor Hugo ,  Les Misérables What if I had said yes - When instead I said no. What if I had said no and instead I said yes I reflect a lot on life nowadays. For the first time I am learning from the past. I see myself and question, not only my actions, but the sometimes forced, harmful, pre-meditative actions of others. Their true  colours. Their washed out colours. "Never be half a Man" I was told. Protect your mind, your identity, your soul. It's all you have. and Words.  Words that have killed me  and words that have awoken and broken the spirit. Words. Be proud of all you have done. "This life, which had been the tomb of his virtue and of his honour, is but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"  - William Shak...

" “God save us from people who mean well.”   ―  Vikram Seth ,  A Suitable Boy In the big infographic of  life, we are all mere dots. Dots that connect with other dots. Dots with status, dots with little status. Dots with passion, dots with no passion. Dots that connect with other dots. Dots with clever minds, dots with sterile minds. Dots that laugh, dots that cry. Dots that connect with other dots. Dots that are scarce, dots that are plentiful. Yet some dots are more equal than other dots. But equally there are some dots that should never, ever  connect with other dots. As there are dire consequences.  I stared out the train window on Thursday night. From this seat I would not see the Moon that had guided me and kept me company last week. As the train approached the final tunnel to Ipswich, many people had now stood up in preparation with their heavy suitcases from half term holidays. They formed a queue along the aisles ready to dise...

 "..lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall Lend me your eyes I can change what you see But your soul you must keep, totally free"                                               Awake my soul                                                    Mumford and Sons It rained pretty much all of today, Sunday. For a moment I was anxious as i walked to the supermarket.  I had no head covering.  But it was all OK. Not that it had stopped raining then, oh no, quite the opposite.   The heavens opened. But the rain felt so right. Falling on my head. A powerful tingle, a heavenly massage for a weary head. At that moment, I wished my walk had been longer. The blowy wind gusts and pouring rain, it all felt so right. Only...

“Your memory is a monster; you forget—it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you—and summons them to your recall with will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you!”  ―  John Irving ,  A Prayer for Owen Meany Spring has arrived. Usually a time of great joy, as we emerge out of a cold bleak winter. Look out across the shoreline across at a distant forest to a new beginning, a new chapter. But that didn't happen this year. I am reminded of the colour yellow, the sunflowers that Van Gogh painted for his friend Paul Gaugins visit.  Yellow - A colour of hope. But the visit went terribly wrong. Such an event would have a profound effect on Van Goghs life and work. Today we marvel and rejoice at  Van Gogh's great legacy. Van Gogh at the time at that precise moment never felt that way. A story of two opposite halves.  A world of total Joy. A world of total Sadness. Every so often in life we p...

"...and they raised a glass once more. So pleased with themselves and all their accomplishments. No one saw the frightened shadows searching for their tortured souls and stolen identities in all the misunderstood mayhem of the festivities" Aran my 7 year old nephew  (or is he 8?) was really taken aback by the reply I gave him to the question "What do I want for christmas?" "Nothing" I said to him "Nothing?" he exclaimed. You could read him like a book from that moment.  Aunty Rubi is definitely mad! For much of the year I have long pondered the word "want" I have witnessed these questions to me: What do you want out of life ? What do want of the future? What do you want from me? Is this what you want ? These are questions I have been asked throughout the course of my life and every time my answer will be "I want nothing" But surely you must want something? Everybody wants something. Even if you don't ...

There they go .... The Bohemians Here they come..... Machine Man A heated debate has started. It has been brewing  for some time now. I really hope there will be answers. But a natural inclination to play Devils Advocate means the debate will propagate for a while, I fear.  The question itself  somewhat philosophical, somewhat profound. Can the Soul and Ego co-exist in perfect Symmetry? ...Thursday,  I eagerly looked out of the train window, Desperately scanning and searching  the meadows beside the picturesque River Kennet. I was looking for the herd of cows I had seen this morning. There they are! In almost the same formation I saw earlier. Nine sitting cows clustered together looking in one direction only; up at the one standing cow, who looks on at them. With a supreme air of authority, standing cow looks down at them.  Is standing cow there by divine authority or by intelligent design? Is this the same standing cow from this morning ? via ...