Blog Archives

August 31st

8/31/2013

www.rediff

Evidence from two studies carried out in India and US shows that being poor can sap a person's mental resources.

The work carried out by an international US, British and Canadian team, demonstrates how poverty takes its toll on brain function, leaving less room for working on other tasks.

Previous data had shown a link between poverty and bad decision-making, but the root causes of this correlation were unclear.

Published in the journal Science, the study aimed to rule out other confounding factors like nutrition, health, physical exhaustion and family commitments, but measured blood pressure and heartbeat.

vimeo.com

Sugarcane farmers in India go through three crucial stages in this cycle

·         Before the harvest, when they have taken out loans to grow the crops and thus are extremely poor

·         After the harvest, but before being paid, when farmers are at the greatest extent of their poverty

·         After being paid.

They compared the same person when he has less money to when he has more money. IQ tests showed he was more intelligent when he had more money.

www.123rf.com

To make sure the findings were not in some way unique to Indian sugarcane farmers, a control study was completed in the US. Using two groups of people, one wealthy, one poor, they triggered thoughts about their personal financial situations using easy and difficult hypothetical questions, and then got them to sit non-verbal tests.

When conditions were easy, there was no difference in performance of the rich or poor. But in the harder conditions the performance of the poor dropped off.

The study concludes that those in poverty, by having more continual and extensive financial worries, expend more of their mental capacity on these concerns, so that less can be used for other tasks. The results indicate that the constant financial pressure can initiate a downward spiral for the less fortunate in society.

In a household close to me, two people handle the same set of financial difficulties in different ways. The big-spender male, responsible for balancing finances, worries incessantly and reports insomnia. The cautious-saver female disregards future consequences and sleeps well. Both are intelligent, but deal with stress a different way. This unofficial study aimed to rule out other confounding factors.

Nobody can prevent poverty happening to them in certain unavoidable circumstances. How do you think you would respond to a study?

August 30th

8/30/2013

en.wikipedia.org

Beneath the ice sheet that smothers most of Greenland, scientists have discovered one of the biggest canyons in the world. See more on this story at BBC News.
While researching climate change, the British Antarctic Survey mapped Greenland’s bedrock by radar and came upon the stunning canyon measuring 800km long and up to 800m deep. A great river carved out the land more than four million years ago, before the ice.

The discovery of such a remarkable massive geographical feature previously unseen left The British Antarctic Survey team stunned.

www.businessweek.com

The hidden valley, longer than the Grand Canyon in Arizona, snakes its way from the centre of Greenland up to the northern coastline. Before the ice sheet packed the canyon with ice, it would have contained a river gushing into the Arctic Ocean.

Apparently, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets hide a lot. The canyon would have been partly uncovered at the time of the last interglacial 100,000 years ago.

The canyon has never been seen by humans, who didn't exist four million years ago. If the Greenland ice sheet melts completely it will raise global sea level and swamp many major cities.

And now, dear friends, my favorite part—the history: Greenlandic Inuit people are considered to be descended from Dorset and Thule people, who settled Greenland in ancient times. As 84% of Greenland's land mass is covered by the Greenland ice sheet, Inuit people live in three regions: Polar, Eastern, and Western. In the 1850s, additional Canadian Inuit joined the Polar Inuit communities.

Humans are thought to have arrived in Greenland, possibly from Ellesmere Island, around 3000–2500 BCE. Other researchers believe the first humans in Greenland were the Saqqaq culture people that migrated to west Greenland from Siberia around 2500 BCE. Saqqaq people, who survived until 800 BCE, are unrelated to contemporary Greenlandic Inuit people.

www.virginmedia.com

Around 1000 BCE, people from the Dorset culture settled in Greenland. Dorset people flourished in Greenland from 600 BCE to 200 CE. Thule culture people entered Greenland about 900 CE. Thule people used kayaks, harpoons, and dogsleds. Erik the Red led Viking colonization of the island, beginning in 982 CE. Denmark claimed Greenland in 1605 and again in 1775.

People shifted around a lot in the days of old. But most amazing of all, why did they want to live in such a cold place? I dread the approach of winter.
I don't think modern woman, living in an overheated home, would survive those harsh conditions.

August 29th

8/29/2013

If you're anything like me, you could use a laugh. Here's a news item I stumbled on from the BBC News.

When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.

The English is clear enough to lorry drivers. Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated". So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near Welsh a supermarket. Pedestrians soon began pointing at the sign. There is a call for proper translations, which the Welsh think should be phrased in their language, rather than translated from English.

Other confusing signs:

"We took it down as soon as we were made aware of it and a correct sign will be re-instated as soon as possible."

The blunder is not the only time Welsh has been translated incorrectly or put in the wrong place:

• Cyclists between Cardiff and Penarth in 2006 were left confused by a bilingual road sign telling them they had problems with an "inflamed bladder".

• In the same year, a sign for pedestrians in Cardiff reading 'Look Right' in English read 'Look Left' in Welsh.

• In 2006, a shared-faith school in Wrexham removed a sign which translated the Welsh for staff as "wooden stave".

That feels better now that I've laughed. I can face the day. 'Yesterday, all my problems seem so far away'. Wonderful song by The Beetles. Yesterday, I enjoyed the youth and beauty to carry me through all life's difficulties, never thinking circumstances would change when I grew old.

And this song says it all. 'Old Man' by Neil Young.

After a chuckle, I can set aside the worries about living on a state pension, struggling to meet the bills. Disregard the fact that our old car needs more work to keep it running, my husband left a three-page letter of distress about how he used the rent to pay the road-tax, and I didn't sell a single novel this month. All my work with a daily blog and the endless editing on my novels should not be thought of as useless because writing is a wonderful way to keep the brain functioning apart from an evening cup of cocoa. We're old. We shouldn't expect to live the same way we did when we were working. Think of people in poor countries, fleeing their home to save their lives, never knowing when they'll get their next meal.

We all struggle with different circumstances, and even the rich grow old. However, laughter can lift us out of despair, if only for a moment.

August 28th

8/28/2013

I live left at the top

Today, I cast aside an interesting latest finding about broccoli being an excellent food to ease arthritis to tell you a little about the history of the tiny town I live in. A single strip of cottages nestle beside several newer buildings along the road below the old town. At the moment during the summer holiday period, the narrow road is blissfully free of congested traffic.

Holly Bush on Left behind coach

Holly Bush viewed from downhill

Elstree lies on the Roman road of Watling Street which linked London to St. Albans, and was a resting-place for pilgrims visiting the shrine there. Despite pressure from modern traffic, many old cottages - often weather-boarded or tile-hung - remain standing. The Holly Bush public house dates from the 15th century while the Elstree Forge, although now concentrating on decorative ironwork, provides a vivid link with the past. St. Nicholas' Church, rebuilt in 1853, retains its medieval font. The overall impression of Elstree is a linear village comprising a mixture of architectural styles which blend together surprisingly well to create a cross-section of history.

Although most of the town has been built within living memory, the history of Elstree and Borehamwood can be traced back to Roman times. Elstree, situated on the Roman road of Watling Street, was a centre for pottery and tile manufacture in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.

ELSTREE, much the older part of the parish, came into the possession of St Albans Abbey in 1188, when it was knows as Tidulfes Treow and Borehamwood as Bosci di Borham. Both names have undergone various changes and spellings over the centuries.

St Nicholas Church, Elstree was dedicated to the Saint in 1424, (though it was rebuilt in 1852-3).

Other prominent buildings in the High Street include:

Schopwick Place c.1720, a restored residence.

The Artichoke public house, now a synagogue, also from the eighteenth century.

The Plough public house from around 1830, now the East Restaurant.

Back then four stage coaches called at Elstree each day, as a ‘watering hole’ between London and St Albans. The population of the Parish was 341 at that time.

Murders:

The Elstree Murder of Eliza Ebborn on 17 August 1882 by George Stratton, as illustrated in The Illustrated Police News Saturday, 11 November 1882

In 1779, Martha Ray (c. 1742–1779), singer and mistress of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, was buried in the parish church (illustrated, right) after she had been shot dead by the Rev. James Hackman, Rector of Wiveton in Norfolk.[52]

In 1823 Elstree became notorious for the Elstree murder of William Weare, killed in Radlett and the body disposed of in a pond in Elstree by John Thurtell. The incident was recalled by Charles Dickens in his Weekly Journal. An inquest of the deceased was held on 31 October by county coroner Benjamin Rooke at the local Artichoke public house.

On 17 August 1882, Eliza Ebborn of Watford was murdered by 24-year-old shoemaker George Stratton, who was subsequently sentenced to death. She was buried at Elstree Parish Church.

Village secrets revealed in rector's book. A copy of the transcription was loaned to the Borehamwood & Elstree Times.

In 1914 the rector at Elstree's St Nicholas Church transcribed a 300-year-old book, which now provides a fascinating insight into the village's history.

A R T Eales, the rector at St Nicholas from 1898 until 1945, was a keen historian. In his 1922 book, Lecture on the History of Elstree, he said: "Round this church, most of the parish history now centers. It is in church books and parish records that most local history is preserved."

The original book he transcribed was a register of baptisms, marriages and funerals, from 1655 to 1757, which had been started in 1655 by the rector, William Fly. Mr Eales added a preface, containing some interesting facts about Elstree's development over the centuries.

He wrote that the first-ever mention of Elstree's existence came in 785, when King Offa of Mercia granted land known as Tidulfes treop (Idulfe's, or Eadwulf's, tree) to Westminster Abbey.

In 1188 Pope Clement III wrote to the abbot at St Albans, granting him: "The Chapel of Tidulves-tre [the church where St Nicholas now stands] and all its belongings.

"And, for the feeding of the Cellarer's herds, all the land in Tiduves-tre, which is surrounded by a ditch, and the common pasture land of Boreham." Through the centuries, the village's name evolved. Henry III called it Idulvestre in 1253, and Edward VI referred to it as Elstrey. Until the beginning of the 19th century, the village was known as Idelstree.

Mr Eales wrote that many Roman remains had been found around Elstree and Boreham Wood. He echoed a rumor that the foundations of St Nicholas Church were made of Roman tiles from Sullionacoea, a buried city in Brockley Hill.

He added that more than 100 pottery supports for heating apparatus had been found in Boreham Wood, and that a fine sepulchral urn had been found.

In 1820, when the church was repaired, workmen found the embalmed body of a 34-year-old woman, perfectly preserved, under one of the pews, near the chancel.

She was Martha Ray, the daughter of an Elstree labourer, who died in 1779. She was shot by an obsessed admirer, the Rev James Hackman, as she left the Covent Garden Theatre with her true love, the Earl of Sandwich. Her remains were placed in a vault in the chancel until 1924, and in 1928 the Earl of Sandwich erected a tombstone for her, in memory of the love his ancestor had for her.

While the town buildings remain, so will the memories of ancient times. People's nature doesn't change. Violence, murder, love and passion--Roman, English or any other civilization leave stories that ripple through time.

August 27th

8/27/2013

www.icre.org

Liberia's education minister says she finds it hard to believe that not a single candidate passed this year's university admission exam. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate, recently acknowledged that the education system remained in a mess, and needed improvement.

Nearly 25,000 school-leavers failed the test for admission to the University of Liberia, one of two state-run universities. The students lacked enthusiasm and did not have a basic grasp of English, a university official told the BBC. They didn't know anything about the mechanics of the English language. Reports stated that many schools lack basic education material and teachers are poorly qualified.

However, this is the first time that every single student who wrote the exam for a fee of $25 (£16) has failed. The Liberian university stood by its decision. They maintain that the war ended 10 years ago and they must move forward.

globalization.wikispaces.com

Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa bordered by Sierra Leone to its west, Guinea to its north and Côte d'Ivoire to its east. It covers an area of 111,369 km and is home to about 3.7 million people. Although founded by freed American and Caribbean slaves, Liberia is mostly inhabited by indigenous Africans, with the slaves' descendants comprising 5% of the population.

Liberia is Africa's oldest republic, but it became better known in the 1990s for its long-running, ruinous civil war and its role in a rebellion in neighboring Sierra Leone. Around 250,000 people were killed and many thousands more fled the fighting. The conflict left the country in economic ruin and overrun with weapons. The capital remains without mains electricity and running water. Corruption is rife and unemployment and illiteracy are endemic. 15,000 UN soldiers in remain Liberia, making it one of the organization's most expensive peacekeeping operations.

It's perfectly understandable for potential students to lack hope for the future and the drive to succeed. What we really need to consider is how long it takes a country to recover from a ruinous war. I pity other nations involved in conflict at the moment. The Syrians fleeing their country are descended from one of the most ancient civilizations. What will they lose?

August 26th

8/26/2013

en.wikipedia.org

More than half of all teenagers may be sleep deprived. According to experts, teenagers need nine hours' sleep to function properly. A combination of natural hormone changes and greater use of screen-based technology means many are not getting enough sleep.

Research has shown that teenagers naturally veer towards later bedtimes and are later to rise in the morning, possibly because of the hormonal changes that occur during puberty. However, electronic equipment accentuated this natural night-owl behavior.

This behavior drives parents mad. Here's a snippet (where Liliha takes a stray girl home for the night) from the novel I'm writing at the moment:

Liliha cut fruit to begin the day, glancing toward the kitchen door from time to time while waiting for Ellen to emerge from upstairs. She bit into a section of orange, savoring the sweet, acid flavor.

What job could she suggest for Ellen? Despite a suspicion of what Ellen was trying to escape from, stupid ideas came up one after the other. A dresser for catwalk models--Ellen lacked experience, a magician's assistant--lacked training, a food server in a prison--too attractive. Ellen would be likely to draw the men's eyes and their mind toward--. Don't even think that way.

Liliha flexed her shoulders. Use logic. What would her visionary persona suggest while occupying another body?

The difference lay in the fact that Liliha couldn't read Ellen's mind and find out what she really cared about. The girl had already resisted probing.

The cuckoo clock sang the same note nine times. Liliha didn't need to be at the tearooms until eleven. After a last wipe over the work surface, she headed through the hallway to the base of the stairs. The toilet flushed. Good, the bear would emerge from hibernation.

After waiting long enough to allow her guest to cover her supposedly naked body, Liliha shouted from the bottom of the stairs. "Tea or coffee?"

Silence. Then a hesitant, "Coffee please."

"Come and join me."

In the kitchen again, Liliha glanced up at a presence in the doorway. "Come and sit down." She deposited a steaming mug on the table and gestured to Ellen, who wore the same crumpled tracksuit. "You'll feel better after you drink that."

"Thanks." Face blotchy and hair tangled, Ellen kept her gaze averted.

"How did you sleep?"

"Good. Really. I haven't slept in such a comfortable bed for ages." Ellen glanced up, and then away.

Liliha spoke in a soft voice. "Where did you spend the night before?"

"Close to the station. It's handy because of the toilet. There's a wash basin there and everything." Ellen gulped her coffee and wrapped her hands around the mug. "'Course, you have to get in and out quickly, before the guard catches you."

"Thanks for the advice. It might come in handy."

tribune.com.pk

Emerging data suggests the use of computer screens and gaming devices may have a big effect in increasing levels of alertness. This will make it difficult to get to sleep after playing stopped. Pilot studies in three Scottish schools suggested 52% of teenagers were sleep deprived, and about 20% reported falling asleep in class at least once in the last two weeks.

Sleep deprivation is a significant hidden factor in lowering the achievement of school pupils, according to researchers carrying out international education tests. It is a particular problem in more affluent countries, with sleep experts linking it to the use of mobile phones and computers in bedrooms late at night.

The international comparison, carried out by Boston College, found the United States to have the highest number of sleep-deprived students, with 73% of 9 and 10-year-olds and 80% of 13 and 14-year-olds identified by their teachers as being adversely affected. Other countries with the most sleep-deprived youngsters were New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Australia, England, Ireland and France.

This is another way modern technology affects our society.

I've never had trouble sleeping, and neither did my children. Back in the day, babies who slept through the night were referred to 'good sleepers', which apparently covered ever facet of their life. Sound thinking—it does.

August 25th

8/25/2013

Society is losing the plot as it becomes more secular and less trusting, the UK's outgoing Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks has said.

1913 commons.wikimedia.org

My husband and I recently got to know an orthodox Jewish family. The children are well-behaved, quiet and respectful. When asked a question, they replied in a composed, thoughtful way. Without a shadow of doubt, the children will do well in their adult life, especially with the support of their community.

"If people work for the maximum possible benefit for themselves then we will not have trust in industry, in economics, in financial institutions, we will not see marriages last."

He also said institutions, including marriage, broke down when a person begins to lose faith and society becomes very, very secularized. He doesn't blame any government, but says it's the fault of what we call culture, which is society talking to itself. In the interview he argued that the breakdown of marriage had exacerbated child poverty in the UK. Children become the real victims.

"A situation where children grow up in stable association with the parents who bought them into being is probably the biggest influence on the eventual shape of a society."

Quote from: For Your Marriage — An initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Marriage, the union of one man and one woman, is a personal, but not private, relationship with great public significance. Marriage is good for the couple; it is also provides the optimal conditions for bearing and raising children. Marriage makes an essential contribution to the common good. Some specific benefits are identified below.

Marriage and Health

• On average, husbands and wives are healthier, happier and enjoy longer lives than those who are not married.

1916 commons.wikimedia.org

• Men appear to reap the most physical health benefits from marriage and suffer the greatest health consequences if they divorce.

• Married mothers have lower rates of depression than single or cohabiting mothers, probably because they are more likely to receive practical and emotional support from their child’s father and his family.

Marriage and Children

Children raised by their own married mother and father are:

• Less likely to be poor or to experience persistent economic insecurity

• More likely to stay in school, have fewer behavioral and attendance problems, and earn four-year college degrees

• Less vulnerable to serious emotional illness, depression and suicide

• More likely to have positive attitudes towards marriage and greater success in forming lasting marriages

I'm on the right

I agree with the precepts from these religions. In the seventies, my own children were happy, stable and well-behaved, whereas many of their friends were not. Their father and I worked together to present consistent guide-lines in a loving, caring home.

Nowadays, the only children I come in contact with are those accompanying their parent to the supermarket. Those children, mostly babies, are well-behaved on the whole. Their mothers are from a higher income bracket.

However, driving along the high street in Borehamwood, sometimes I notice children being dragged along the pavement beside strollers by uncaring and often smoking mothers. The children are screaming and the mothers are yelling between puffs.

Many people nowadays strive to get ahead, and accumulate as much wealth as possible. They live for the moment without considering the consequences for the whole of their community.

Where is society headed? If children are raised without rules, how can they hope to work with others in society when they mature?

August 24th

8/24/2013

It seems hunter-gatherers were more interested in flavor than we gave the credit for. Traces of a flavoring spice have been discovered inside cooking pots. Researchers found evidence for garlic mustard in the residues left on ancient pottery shards from 6,000 years ago discovered in what is now Denmark and Germany. The spice was found alongside fat residues from meat and fish.

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), also known as Jack-by-the-hedge, flowers in spring by a roadside. Writing in the journal Plos One, the scientists make the case that garlic mustard contains little nutritional value and therefore must have been used to flavor the foods.

But, while prehistoric cuisine was flavorsome, it was far from varied. The researchers found no evidence for other spices, with the phytoliths being quite consistent across the sites they investigated.

Although this is the first evidence of spice use in Europe, flavoring food may have been a common practice in the Middle East much earlier. Coriander has been found in a cave in Israel dated to around 23,000 years ago.

Modern television cooking programs are all about flavor, sometimes disregarding health by using copious amounts of fat in the form of butter. Seasoning with salt and pepper is essential, and the use of herbs and spices is encouraged.
I love to watch chefs creating wonderful meals, but scoff at some of the tiny dobs of food scattered around a plate to resemble a painting.

My husband cooks wonderful food, using many recipes absorbed while watching of such programs. He grew up during WW2 and learned to make meals at an early age while both parents were away—his mother working on the busses and his father fighting overseas. However, he bears in mind that I don't like over-salted food or eating too much fat or protein. Some of the vegetable side-dishes he creates are inspired—like vegetable kebabs in a spicy marinade.

On thinking back, I don't remember my first husband cooking a meal. During the 60's, Australian men didn't cook. And of course, they carried on not cooking until something changed and they found themselves without a woman to do it for them.

www.freepik.com

Yesterday, I mentioned how my first husband resembled Roger Moore. (Scroll down to see the star's face and refresh your memory.) We met on the beach and fell in love at the tender age of 18yrs. His physique was incredible—wide shoulders narrowing down to slim hips, muscled arms and legs with v-shaped calf muscles formed during sailing exploits. His skin glowed with a sheen resembling rich bronze satin. His voice developed into a smooth, rich timbre and his communication skills could charm a rodent out of the mouth of a snake.

When we parted after 27yrs, I vowed never again to trust a smooth-talking man.

And that's why cooking skills won my heart.

August 23rd

8/23/2013

Here's another wonderful building seeped in history situated close to where I live in Elstree. For several months, I worked as a temporary assistant in the catering section of Aldenham public school and got to know the layout of the main building. The masters would sit on a raised dais at the far end of the magnificent wood paneled dining hall to survey the well-behaved boys during their meal.

www.localauthoritypublishing.co.uk

www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk

Aldenham House, just south of Aldenham village and west of Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, has a long history dating back to the 16th Century. This red brick house, originally called Wigbournes, was built around 1672 for H.Coghill the Younger and extended in 1785 for R.Hucks the Younger.

It was remodelled in 1870-3 by A.Blomfield for Henry Hucks Gibbs, Lord Aldenham. He was a former governor of the Bank of England and one of the four richest men in England, with a fortune made from imported guano. He inherited Aldenham House in the year 1843. He found the house in a "neglected and somewhat dilapidated state". The Drawing Room had been used as a farm storeroom and Jacobean paneling in the entrance hall had been painted over.

www.aldenham.com

In 1883 a clock tower and court room were added, death duties meant that the family could not afford upkeep and it was auctioned off. The house became a country club, catering for from Elstree film studios. In the Second World War the BBC used it as an overseas broadcasting station. It then remained empty until bought by the school, now called Aldenham in 1959, proclaimed to be one of the most beautiful traditional boarding and day schools in England.

www.cinemaretro.com

The frontage and grounds of Aldenham House were used to film a number episodes of several iconic 1960s T.V. series. I worked in the catering section of the Elstree Film Studios long after The Avengers and The Saint were produced. Once voted the world's most handsome man, Roger Moore still pulls at my heart strings. My husband at that time looked just like Roger Moore--even to the cleft chin and hair.

But that's another story best left untold. Does anything in your past bring back bitter-sweet memories?

August 22nd

8/22/2013

I watched a television program last night featuring top of the pop songs from the late 1960's and 70's. The songs were wonderful, inspiring, and lyrical. In every one of the hits, the words were clear. Most of them told a story which held the listener captivated. Perhaps the difference in music nowadays differs too much from the quality I grew up with. One of the last songs played was the haunting song, A Whiter Shade of Pale.

The debut single by the English rock band Procol Harum, A Whiter Shade of Pale was released 12 May 1967. The record reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it also reached No. 5 on the US charts. One of the anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of fewer than 30 singles to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

itunes.apple.com

With its haunting Bach-derived instrumental melody, soulful vocals, and unusual lyrics, A Whiter Shade of Pale reached No. 1 in several countries when released in 1967. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. It was the most played song in the last 75 years in public places in the UK. The United Kingdom performing rights group PPL recognized it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.

In 1977, the song was named joint winner (along with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody) of the Best British Pop Single 1952–1977 at the Brit Awards. In 1998 the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. More than 1000 recorded cover versions by other artists are known. The song has been included in many music compilations over the decades and has also been used in numerous film soundtracks, including The Big Chill, Purple Haze, Breaking the Waves, The Boat That Rocked and notably in Martin Scorsese's segment of New York Stories. Cover versions of the song have also been featured in many films, for example by King Curtis in Withnail and I and by Annie Lennox in The Net.

Procol Harum's lyricist Keith Reid wrote the words to this song. He said:

"It's sort of a film, really, trying to conjure up mood and tell a story. It's about a relationship. There's characters and there's a location, and there's a journey. You get the sound of the room and the feel of the room and the smell of the room. But certainly there's a journey going on, it's not a collection of lines just stuck together. It's got a thread running through it." Reid got the idea for the title when it came to him at a party, which gave him a starting point for the song. "I feel with songs that you're given a piece of the puzzle, the inspiration or whatever. In this case, I had that title, 'Whiter Shade of Pale,' and I thought, There's a song here. And it's making up the puzzle that fits the piece you've got. You fill out the picture, you find the rest of the picture that that piece fits into."

This describes the foundation of a work of art—a painting, novel or song.

Most of the songs from that era are still played today as background for commercials or used in movies. Quality endures through the ages.

<<Previous

Author

Francene Stanley, author of many published novels. If you like my writing, why not consider purchasing one of my books? You'll see them on the sidebar below.
Born in Australia, I moved to Britain half way through my long life.

Author

Archives

Categories