John McLaughlin and Jean-Luc Ponty at Warsaw Stodoła 27th October 2019

Had a real feast of music last weekend: Tangerine Dream at Warsaw Progresja on Saturday night, followed by John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension and Jean-Luc Ponty at Warsaw Stodoła on Sunday night.

Thoroughly enjoyed the John McLaughlin set especially the slower numbers like 'Gaza City' and 'Being You Being Me', and the wonderfully sultry Mahavishnu Orchestra tune, 'Earth Ship'.

Saw Jean-Luc Ponty a few years ago at Warsaw Palladium, so I knew I was in for a good time at the Stodoła:

Not usually mad on lots of solos but with Jean-Luc Ponty and his wonderful band it's different, the various solos are enthralling. And 'In The Kingdom of Peace' is a fantastic tune.

Tangerine Dream at Warsaw Progresja 26th October 2019

Of course, Tangerine Dream are in post-Edgar Froese days now, but I still really enjoyed the audio-visual offering they served up on Saturday night.

'White Eagle' was always going to be my favourite tune of the night, but found the whole set, washed down with a few beers, hypnotic/mesmerising.

Knew of Tangerine Dream back in the 1970s/early 1980s as a schoolboy, but back then, they just flew over my head.

Had the good fortune to see Tangerine Dream with the late Edgar Froese a few years ago.

It's good to come to a band late rather than never, of course.

Donegal: Passing Craghy Lake (Loch Chrathai)

A couple of hours after setting off up into the hills from Crolly, Gweedore, I was passing the picturesque Loch Chrathai (Craghy Lake):

Some of the views were absolutely stunning:

Was intrigued by the small building below:

And every now and again, caught a small farm or hamlet in the distance:

Blue Rainy Bury

As usual, in mid-August, it was continually raining in my hometown, Bury. Thankfully, I only pass through for a few days each year.

The blue pool with floating balls above, at the new end of The Rock, caught my eye as it did its best to brighten up a dark, gloomy, rainy day.

Revisiting St. Stephen's Church, Hackington

When I lived in Canterbury between 1999 and 2003, one evening, I went for a leisurely stroll and came across St. Stephen's church in the wonderful, sedate area/village of Hackington in/near Canterbury (some internet sites refer to Hackington as a village one mile outside Canterbury).

Again, this year, I accidentally stumbled upon St. Stephen's when my travelling companion initiated an interesting wild goose chase. Had completely forgotten about the beautiful church tower at St. Stephen's:

Have just read that St. Stephen's dates back to the 12th century, and that at one time, contained a famous image of St. Stephen which pilgrims visited for its miraculous powers.

In the surrounding graveyard, the small wooden cross below stood out for me:

Heading towards Beeny Cliff

After a short walk around the coastline from Boscastle, Pentargon Bay, a large black cliff face, and the Beeny promontory came into view:

Was glad to see that the footpath seemed to be well-protected:

The black cliff face was really menacing, a big vertical drop into the water:

In Discovering Hardy's Wessex, Anne-Marie Edwards (1978/1982: 61) reveals that the black cliff face may be the model for the Henry Knight cliffhanger scene from 'A Pair of Blue Eyes', one of the first Thomas Hardy novels I read as a late teenager, about 35 years ago now.

Importantly, Anne-Marie Edwards (1978/1982: 61-62) also informs that the black cliff face forms "part of the Beeny promontory".

It's a pity that the picture of the waterfall below is a bit blurred:

Anyway, Anne-Marie Edwards (1978/1982: 64) reveals that the waterfall was "one of the first places Hardy revisited" after his first wife Emma's death, and that in the 'After a Journey' poem, Hardy "imagines" Emma "leading him back" to the waterfall at Pentargon Bay.
 

Was an honour to visit yet another piece of wonderful Thomas Hardy memorabilia. How lucky I've been over the past four summers to visit Hardy settings all over Dorset, and for a day, in this remote part of north Cornwall.

Small Lakes (Near Crolly, Gweedore)

After passing St. Patrick's tin church, I started getting higher into the hills near Crolly, Gweedore, encountering small lakes and deserted dwelling-places:

This was a tranquil place, for an afternoon hike, I felt solace in the isolation.

 

As I passed another deserted place, I asked myself if I could live up here:

My answer was "Probably not", but still I was enjoying my afternoon up here: