Looking for Templars by Brno
Another term I had never entered into Google along with my location was ‘Templar’. Imagine my surprise and delight to find yet again that the Templars had been located very close to Brno! Apparently, the Templars entered Bohemia in 1231 during the reign of King Wenceslas 1 (Yes – the one who looked out on the feast of Stephen!) first establishing ‘Jerusalem’ in Prague. Later, by 1248, they had established themselves in Moravia at Čekovice near Brno and by 1250 at Jamolice also near to Brno. How did I never know this? At the earliest opportunity, I was off to visit one of the sites – I chose Jamolice as it happens and the ruins of the Templar Castle – Templstejn. Unfortunately, I didn’t have too much time and was
Read More »More Moravian Dragons…
I am posting these as much for me at this point – to have them stored some place for future reference….. Often, the article is translated by Google which is why it sounds a bit odd but Google still translates Czech better than I! The Nakla Dragon There are many legends linked to Nákl, one of which mentions a dragon. between Nákl and Mezice. In the hillside there was a “Deep Pit” caused by rumors of weather: In a hillside stretching from Nákl to Mezice, a deep pit opened once after a storm and rain. Strange remains of an unknown creature were found here. People thought it was a dragon’s skeleton. However, there was another landslide and thus the gorge was covered. It is said that there were more dragon skeletons in the pit. the second
Read More »Chasing Moravian Dragons
In following the activities of Sue Vincent and Stuart France across the landscapes of the UK – start with The Initiate which is a great read and will give you an idea of what they are up to – I was also pointed by Sue to the author Paul Broadhurst and just completed his book on the Green Man. Having read that book, I now also get a bit more of what Sue and Stu are onto in the UK and having just come back from a weekend of magic with them and others in Whitby, it got me to thinking…… what about here? Here being Brno in the Czech Republic. Well, the first thing that struck me is that Brno is symbolized in part by a dragon. The dragon
Read More »Reflections on Life
Over the last couple of years, I bashed out a good deal more poetry and verse and, as I am apt to do, I bundled it up in a new short volume of poems called Reflections On Life. I don’t really know why I bother a poetry barely sells but you never know who one of these slim volumes may find. I also used a small number of my own photographs for the cover and inside on the theme of reflections to round it out a bit. It is already available in Kindle format and will soon be also out in paperback form as well.
Read More »Let Go!
The last time I visited Whitby Abbey I was a boy. I recall little of it. Just that I was bored. Of course, I have been to Whitby many times since, often with my father who had business there. He would leave me for an hour or so to wander and once I recall taking my oil paints to paint the harbor. I was last there just a few years ago with my parents, ex-partner and daughter. I do like Whitby! I must say that the abbey ruins are fairly impressive but I felt no atmosphere or energies. It seemed a dead ruin to me. A stark reminder of other times. As we pondered aspects of the Abbey in the context of the spiritual prompts of the weekend, my sense
Read More »Like A Heartbeat
This weekend, I attended the Silent Eye Keys of Heaven weekend workshop in the Whitby area of Yorkshire. Of this much more later….. However, the penultimate stop of the weekend was the church in Lastingham and a visit to its beautiful crypt. The remains of St. Cedd are supposed to be buried just to the right of the alter under the small church and there are a number of old carved stones to view. On approaching the church, I could feel it. Energy! Once inside the church, I could feel it pulsating strongly and I remarked to one of my colleagues – it’s like a heartbeat! Down inside the crypt, the heartbeat was strong and regular. To sit there and silently experience the energy pulsating was I think
Read More »Where is my Party?
Having spent a week in the Uk and just sort of in general, I’d like to know why I should vote for anyone? I don’t hear any sensible reasons from anyone in politics anymore. Where is the party I can vote for? It doesn’t exist. I think what I would look for in a political party would be something along the following lines; Let people be what they want to be and express what they are without letting any group or individual force their views on others, Provide an adequate safety net for all in the areas of basic living – food, housing, health, education etc. Stay out of people’s lives as much as possible – small Government, Pay as much attention to financial crime and cheating by the wealthy
Read More »‘Socialism’ is to Blame for Populism?
The rise of populism has had me concerned for quite some time but recently, I developed a theory about why populism is working right now. My theory may upset some people as it probably isn’t at all PC but therein lies the problem. Working class people are interested in their issues – wages, union representation, security of employment, healthcare, pensions and so on…. and rightly so. Traditionally, they ave been represented by left of center parties like Labour and the Democrats and have voted for those parties in return. But, in recent years, something as happened to those left of center parties. Rather than being about bettering the quality of life of working class folk and helping the genuinely dispossessed, these parties have become more and more obsessed with ideology.
Read More »I Have Cried Enough Tears For You…
I have cried enough tears for you And yet still I wish you well And hope to see you escape your hell It must be hard to live consumed by self Always defensively aggressive Seeing enemies in your friends Holding people to a standard You didn’t set yourself I have cried enough tears for you And yet I still have hope That you might finally see You are your own worst enemy And you are sowing your own misery Rejecting those that love you And chasing those that never will As anger seethes within I have cried enough tears for you The loss of what may have been That aches so deep inside But I’m so tired of this ride I’m tired of what I see inside of you
Read More »Unfriendly Prague
I have lived in the Czech Republic for more than 13-years now and I have to say that it is an unfriendly country in the main. Czech’s are – generally speaking – morose, rude and jealous people. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here but occasionally, you have to get away to experience good customer service and people who are happy in life…. Case in point was last week when visiting Prague to see my brother and sister in law who were visiting this country for the first – and probably last – time. Before I met with them they had already been subjected to pure rudeness, lack of basic manners (hello, please, thank you etc.) and treated as unwanted tourists – ten a penny in Prague and a
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