Happy midsummer everyone! – well, everyone in the northern hemisphere anyway. :) Yes, once again the longest day of the year has rolled around. That’s not to say that today is longer than 24 hours, but today is the day when daylight lasts much longer than darkness, and is traditionally a time for celebrating life, the universe and everything.. (Stole that last bit from Douglas Adams – hope he don’t mind.)
Strange, it’s midsummer but we haven’t had any hot days ( over 24degC) – indeed it’s mostly been raining here in Cambridge on & off for a good while now. Bloody English summer.
But to commemorate midsummer I was trying to find a lovely poem (ingeniously incorporating Kulcha Tursdy with midsummer), but I stumbled across Steve Kilbey’s blog and decided to poach something he’d done to commemorate today. This is just an excerpt – read the whole lovely thing on his blog.
I love Kilbey’s writing. It’s so full of imagery and such brilliant expressions. And if you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing Kilbey’s band, The Church, do so immediately and feed your soul. I’ve had the immense pleasure of seeing The Church live many times and been blown away each time. I’ve even seen wonderful solo acoustic shows by both Messrs Kilbey and Willson-Piper at the Borderline in London. Fantastic music, and certainly perfect for such a summer evening, watching a glorious sunset with a large drink… :) (OK, so possibly too many adjectives in that last paragraph – but there can’t be enough when talking about this music.)
So without any further guilding the lily, and no more ado – gentlepersons I give you a certain Mr Kilbey’s thoughts on midsummer…. Enjoy. :)
being happy being sad
oh im so happy imagining my fiendsss
in the northern hemisphere
celebrating summer as they should
swimming in gods cold ocean
swimming in that aitch too owe
sweet sweet summer
oh northern summer
oh the englishman in me is called home
a b and b in ramsgate?
up in findhorn in scotland
where the earth spirits have been contacted
and lo
theyre growing some tropical fruit
the great god pan is alive!
and the naiads and dryads dance at midsummer
in glades and dells
dwarves and elves and faery folk
enchanted summer
leafy oaks and brooks and country lanes
the being sits in the void of southern winter
here in my kitchen with a p-coat on
my fingers n feet n nose freeze
oh i wanna gambol in those english woods
i wanna eat tartex and kneckebrod in a skane skog
dive into that black scandic lake
deep and fucking ancient!
in hungary the rolling hills and plains
life goes on as always in tiny hamlets n villages
in the twilight evenings couples stroll through the countryside
lovely germany and its warm generous summer
shady forests and soft beds….
(See The Time Being for more)
Adrift 