Wuthering Heights…. Shivering Andrew.... Ancient Balls….
by Bernie Bell - 10:10 on 25 February 2023
Wuthering Heights….
We watched a television programme which showed an original video of Kate Bush singing ’Wuthering Heights’ – the one with the floaty red dress. It also showed a clip of a gathering of Kate Bush fans who put on red dresses and long dark wigs - including beardy-blokes in red dresses and long dark wigs – meet in a park and sing and dance to ‘Wuthering Heights’…..
I think this is a sweet, wonderful thing to do. People can be so horrible – and they can also be bloody lovely. I’m going to watch this film any time I feel glum, then I’ll be…. “Runnin’ up that hill – with no problems”…..
I’m now imagining this happening at the Stones of Stenness – folk in long red dresses, dancing and singing… “Let me grab your soul away”. Picture it….
This got me thinking that I haven’t read ‘Wuthering Heights’ for a very long time. I remember when we ‘did’ it in school, and we had an Irish nun taking us for English Lit. who read out sections from the book in a truly execrable Yorkshire accent. This was Bradford – she was facing a room of people with Yorkshire accents – she shouldn’t have done it. She didn’t put me off though – I read it myself in my own time - and went to Haworth.
One thing that caught my imagination there was…there’s an alley-way with houses along one side and the other side of the alleyway is formed by the high wall of the old churchyard. I thought - just the other side of that wall, are the dead folk. Near enough to appear …. ‘So cold at your window.’
I went to the bookshelf, found our copy of ‘Wuthering Heights’, and that will be my next read after ‘Cannery Row.’
I like to read different genres of writing from different times, following on from each other if possible. Can’t get more different than John Steinbeck and Emily Brontë - except they’re both humans, observing humans.
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Shivering Andrew....
The latest on Andrew Appleby’s sea-swim challenge….
https://www.johnraesociety.com/presidents-sea-swim-blog/
Which reminds me of when we met a Selkie woman at Aikerness…..
http://www.spanglefish.com/berniesblog/blog.asp?blogid=16070
Hardy folk!
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Ancient Balls….
I have a mild obsession with ancient carved stone balls….
https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/08/23/orkney-stone-balls/
But ancient clay balls are also of interest ….
https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/focus-on-finds-clay-balls/
Some years ago Mike and I went on an Orkney Heritage Society trip to Eynhallow ….. https://theorkneynews.scot/2017/05/11/bernie-bell-orkney-walks-with-stories-eynhallow-to-canada/ where, on the beach, I found a small plastic fishing float.
On the ferry coming back I said to an archaeologist…. “Look what I found” and held out the object in the palm of my hand - her eyes lit up - I handed it to her, she found that it was plastic – and laughed.
It’s now on our bookshelf, in good company, in front of the ‘Orkney’ section….
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Here’s one I made earlier…. https://theorkneynews.scot/2020/06/10/grayson-perrys-art-club-home/
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