About 12:30 two of our visitors were served their lunch, as they had to leave early. Phil and Alan had plans to climb Witches' Hill during the afternoon. They made it up, around, and back down, and then Alan met Dan to play some squash. He's an active guy!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Picnic lunch
About 12:30 two of our visitors were served their lunch, as they had to leave early. Phil and Alan had plans to climb Witches' Hill during the afternoon. They made it up, around, and back down, and then Alan met Dan to play some squash. He's an active guy!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Picnic, pt. 2
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Staff Picnic
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Last Word
Finally, more than two weeks later, the last of the Writers’ Festival posts! As I said in the beginning, the entire event was fantastic. I hope you’ve gotten a little taste of what those of us fortunate enough to attend were able to hear. I’ve provided quite a few links to information about the presenters and some of their organizations for your exploration.
The last session was actually titled “The Last Word.” As had the morning session, it focused on conservation, sanctuary, protecting nature, especially the Himalayan Mountains near where we live here.
Prerna Binda, who spoke on tigers to the children on the first day, talked about the power of words, and what “wildlife” actually means. Her book The King And I: Travels in Tigerland celebrates the tiger, worries for their future, mourns their passing and hopes that they continue to rule the wild, forever. She mentioned so many writers who have written books and articles about conservation and wildlife and ended with these words: “Write and Spread the Message.”
Monday, October 25, 2010
Bazaar Visit
No matter how often I go into the bazaar, I always see something new and different that I never noticed before. I’m not sure if I’m not observant enough or if it’s just that most places are so small that it’s easy to miss them. Sunday afternoon I kept my eyes open and my camera at the ready.
I've seen this framing shop on Mullingar Hill frequently, but yesterday it was decorated nicely -- maybe in preparation for Diwali next week.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Worldwide Woodstock Day
Friday, October 22, 2010
Writers' Festival, continued
On Thursday evening following the musical presentation, the authors (and Development Office staff) were invited to Steve Alter’s home at Oakville for dinner. Rather than a typical menu, there were cooks producing common Indian snacks, all set up outside on the veranda. Besides those shown below, there were chicken wings and a few other things.
Aloo Tikkis are a savory potato patty, fried on a large griddle. A serving includes a variety of toppings, usually including yogurt, tamarind sauce, and coriander sauce. Years ago, this was Dan's favorite snack (if I dare say that, samosas rank pretty high, too). There was a vendor right outside the Rialto movie theater where he usually got them.
Friday Morning -- Mountain Messages
Toby Sinclair is an Englishman who has lived in India since 1977. The title of his talk was “Goddess in Despair,” referring to the Ganga (Indian word for Ganges). He was the producer of the film “Ganges” that was shown near the beginning of the Festival. He talked more about the river and some of the ravages it has suffered. In the 1960s the US planted a plutonium-powered nuclear spying device in the Nanda Devi sanctuary. It hasn’t been seen or tracked since 1968. Did it disappear into one of the Ganga tributaries? The Tehri Dam, in planning since 1972, opened in 2006, creating some areas of a nearly dry river below. The river’s greatest gift is its silt, which fertilizes one of the largest fertile areas in the world.
Bernadette McDonald, the biographer who spoke about three of her subjects earlier, talked about “Freedom Climbers.” It is about the golden age of Polish climbers, 1975-95. She told us about one particular climb two men did up a face in a heavy storm, when they ran out of food and fuel. The mysterious “third man” was with them as a sometimes malevolent, but mainly benevolent, force. A few quotes: “We were ready to die, but not ready to give up.” “You can’t attain enlightenment on a full stomach.” When they finally rappelled down, the third man was there helping them.
David Wagner, whose drawings from nature were on exhibit, talked about “Mosses and the Meaning of Life.” His love of mountains and nature gives meaning to his life. He has devoted his studies to the often-overlooked mosses and liverworts. David talked about his experiences with nature growing up here in the hills. He collected butterflies and ferns – even found new varieties of ferns that hadn’t been cataloged before. He had beautiful pictures of natural phenomena that showed things I had never seen before. He read a poem written in 1961 by Vera Frances, a long-time WS teacher, “I Have Loved Beauty.”