Drammen Museum

Some photos from Drammen museum.

Sky Watch Friday # 12

Sunset - Drammen

Sunset - Drammen

For more Sky Watch photos, visit Wigger’s World.

Pursued by words

My words are not my own. The come to me from some other place, having drifted through time and space. Filtering like autumn leaves and rays of dappled summer light, they settle, cloaking my shoulders and tickling my mind. In every hue from bright to misty they create a kaleidoscope of intensity. Tell us, they whisper, set us free. They clamour through me, determined to escape, seeking the tips of my fingers, the edges of my lips, intent on creating a whole - to form a new story.

I’m editing at the moment, tossing and turning between two completely different manuscripts to suit the vagaries of my topsy-turvy moods. One is a fantasy for 9 – 12s - a jolly romp written a long while ago into which I’m trying to weave a slighter richer, more deepening thread. The other is a supernatural work - magical realism, perhaps - for older teens, dealing with the reality and mystery of Death.

You can tell my moods are disparate and divergent, can’t you.

I put it down to the insanity that insists on persisting around me. But I’m still not ready to write about that, I’m still trying to find some semblance of sense – though I suspect that may be an unequal task.

Back to the editing – though I’d rather be writing something new given the way these words pursue me.

Tyra Banks, Queen of Daytime

Tyra Banks is increasingly becoming the one to watch on daytime TV. Really its the hair we love - CLICK HER PICTURE TO TRY IT YOURSELF!

Time for Whimsy

When the going gets tough, the tough remember to play (and sometimes they go shopping too). Sometimes you just have to find the balance, sometimes you just have to have some fun.

I will write some more about the things that have been going on, the humanitarian and health crises that are brewing but for now, let's just play. It's what I did, in the digital darkroom and by sticking my nose into some comic verse.

As Ogden Nash says...

On Breaking the Ice
Candy
Is dandy
But liquor
Is quicker

The Purple Cow
I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.
Gelert Burgess


Sequel to the Purple Cow
Ah, Yes! I wrote the "Purple Cow" -
I'm Sorry, now I wrote it!
But I can Tell you Anyhow,
I'll Kill you if you Quote it.
Gelert Burgess

A Case

As I was going up the stair

I met I man who wasn't there.

He wasn't there again today -

I wish to God he'd go away!

Anon

Opportunity

When Mrs Gorm (Aunt Eloise)

Was stung to death by savage bees,

Her husband (Prebendary Gorm)

Put on his veil, and took the swarm.

He's publishing a book next May

On "How to Make Bee-keeping Pay".

Harry Graham

Ultimate Reality

There was an old man in a trunk,

Who inquired of his wife, "Am I drunk?"

She replied with regret,

"I'm afraid so, my pet."

And he answered, "It's just as I thunk."

Ogden Nash

Until next time, go gently, be kind to one another - and remember to have fun.

Ashlee Simpson Pregnant

Mom to be Ashlee Simpson has a lot of big events to come, she better pick her haircolor fast...CLICK ASHLEE'S PICTURES TO TRY THE LOOKS YOURSELF

Calling the Angels

Spare a prayer...

It is, quite frankly, too hard for me to write today what I was planning on writing about. I have had a weekend bombarded with the reality of violent xenophobia and there is just so much I can take. Our media are full of it, and, given that I've provided Angela and her husband with refuge, my life is now full of it too. The ignorant barbarism of it all is almost beyond me and I find it tearing at my energy.

If you are interested, and want to know me, let me know in the comments and I'll post about it later in the week. For now though, I'd rather share with you some fun, lighthearted images snapped a week ago in Franschhoek - a village about an hour from Cape Town, famed for its wonderful restaurants, fine vineyards, quirky shops and wonderful scenery.

Across the tracks and golden vineyards...

These whimsical beauties come from Pret a Pot... - a wonderful spot tucked away at a railway siding.

Russet bird - not rusted bird

Within your heart...

Mermaids ponder and plan...

Garden warrior...

We need the angels right now...

Drakenstein Autumn

Odd Shots Monday # 9

Flag pole taken with a Sigma 10mm - 20mm super wide angel lens.

The Odd Shots concept came from Katney. Say "G'day" to her.

Akershus Fortress - Akershus Festning - Oslo

Akershus Fortress or Akershus Castle (Akershus Festning, Akershus slott) is the old castle built to protect Oslo, the capital of Norway.

The first work on the castle started around the late 1290s, by King Håkon V, replacing Tønsberg as one of the two most important Norwegian castles of the period (the other being Båhus). It was constructed in response to the Norwegian nobleman, Earl Alv Erlingsson of Sarpsborg’s earlier attack on Oslo.
The fortress has successfully survived many sieges, primarily by Swedish forces. In the early 17th c., the fortress was modernized and remodeled under the reign of the active King Christian IV, and got the appearance of a renaissance castle.
The fortress was first used in battle in 1308, when it was besieged by the Swedish duke Erik of Södermanland, who later in the same year won the Swedish throne. The immediate proximity of the sea was a key feature, for naval power was a vital military force as the majority of Norwegian commerce in that period was by sea. The fortress was strategically important for the capital, and therefore, Norway as well. Whoever ruled Akershus fortress ruled Norway.
The fortress has never been successfully captured by a foreign enemy. It surrendered without combat to Nazi Germany in 1940 when the Norwegian government evacuated the capital in the face of the unprovoked German assault on Denmark and Norway (see Operation Weserübung). During WWII, several people were executed here by the German occupiers. After the war, eight Norwegian traitors who had been tried for war crimes and sentenced to death were also executed at the fortress. Among those executed was Vidkun Quisling.
Akershus fortress is still a military area, but is open to the public daily until 9pm. In addition to the castle, the Norwegian Armed Forces museum and the Norwegian Resistance museum can be visited there. The Norwegian Ministry of Defence and Defence Staff Norway (armed forces headquarters) have a joint modern headquarter in the eastern part of Akershus Fortress.

Image of the sarcophagi of King Haakon VII, Queen Maud, King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha.
Several Norwegian royals have been buried in the Royal Mausoleum in the castle. They include, King Sigurd I, King Haakon V, Queen Eufemia, King Haakon VII, Queen Maud, King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha.

Viev from the fortress