Author: maristravels

There are still some countries I haven't seen and some things I haven't done and won't do now (like trekking in Nepal) but I've covered a fair bit of the globe as a traveller. I've been a professional travel writer, blogger, and photographer for some years now, love cinema, theatre, books and art. I try to cover these subjects in blogs when they crop up in my travels. I live in the UK and these days I travel mainly in Europe and Asia.

BLOCKS – Not liking them

by maristravels, posted in Uncategorized

It’s not that I don’t like the blocks themselves, it’s that the script offering them runs across what I’m trying to write, causing frustration and annoyance. For a while back I was coping but now WP seems to have put a gremlin in the works. Instead of the block for Image showing up, I get a list of blocks I don’t need or use (for business, mostly) so I have to find ways to get the image block up which means time spent searching. If I only use paragraph and image can’t the Blocks intuitively sense this? Why offer me blocks I’ve never used?

Today I was uploading a Sculpture Saturday post and the tools down the right-hand side disappeared, leaving me with a page which held my text and image but nothing else. I couldn’t find categories, tags, slugs, anything like that so I had to add these via the list of Posts. Then I wanted to defer this posting until Saturday, but that button wasn’t there either. I thought if I hit Publish it might give me the chance to put a date in but no, I hit publish and guess what, it’s published it!

Sculpture Saturday

by maristravels, posted in Isle of Wight, Sculpture Saturday, Uncategorized

Sculpture Saturday is hosted by Mind Over Memory

As my sculpture of Dionysus uploaded a couple of few weeks ago only showed part of the work I thought I’d add a few more pictures to show the whole carving.  It shows some members if the family of Bacchus.

Father: Zeus (supposedly the face of Robert Stigwood who commissioned the piece).

The God Zeus - Father of Dionysus

Wife Aphrodite

Dionysis & wife

Some of the symbols of Dionysus are also found in the sculpture.  

  • The Grapes and Goblet:   The symbol of the Grapes and Goblet relate to his role as the god of wine. He taught mortals how to plant and tend the grapevine, press the juice and make it into wine.

  • The ram signifies more the decadent side of Dionysus and is more often associated with the Roman version of the myth in which Dionysus is called Bacchus.

  • Ivy:  Ivy or holly vines were a symbol of immortality and decadent indulgence, Dionysus was often depicted wearing this type of wreath which was associated with merry making and celebrations

The finished tree
The Finished Work, located at Barton Manor, Isle of Wight

Link to Mind Over Memory to add Post.

Silent Sunday

by maristravels, posted in UK, Uncategorized
Mid-June 2020. Deserted Resort due to CoronaVirus.

A sunny, hot, Sunday afternoon and the beach should be full of families with children playing on the sands, buckets and spades, and the sounds of bat hitting ball. Beach cafes closed, ice-cream parlours boarded up, and the pier locked up. How are the families coping who have no access to outdoor facilities, no gardens, no nearby parks? We who have must be grateful – we are the lucky ones.

Link to Words Visual and Lucid Gypsy

Sculpture Saturday

by maristravels, posted in Isle of Wight, Sculpture Saturday, Uncategorized

This weekly challenge is hosted by Mind Over Memory

When the great storm of 1987 raged across the country, one of the old trees in the grounds of Barton Manor on the Isle of Wight, blew down. The then owner, film producer and impresario, Robert Stigwood, best known for theatrical productions like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, and film productions like Grease and Saturday Night Fever, asked the local marine carver and expert in wood, Norman Gaches to make something from the remains of the tree. As Barton Manor was then producing wine, it was decided to go with the theme of Dionysus the Greek God of wine (or Bacchus if you are looking at the Roman version) and his family, and here is part of the result, a golden Dionysus (Bacchus) rising from the tree.

Dionysus, Greek God of Wine

And here is a picture of the talented Norman Gaches working on the tree at the time.

Norman Gaches, Isle of Wight marine carver

Bacchus was the Roman name for the Greek god Dionysus, the god of agriculture and wine and the son of Jupiter (Zeus in Greek mythology). He wandered the earth, showing people how to grow vines and process the grapes for wine, until he took his place as a God on Olympus. Somewhere along the way the name – and the God – Bacchus became associated with intoxication and around 200 BC a wild and mystic festival, The Bacchanalia, notorious for its sexual character, was introduced in Rome. Stick to the Greek version, the story of Dionysus, and you have a less decadent young god, more interested in the production of wine than in wild women and song.

Link to Mind Over Memory to add Post.

Six Word Saturday

by maristravels, posted in Six Word Saturday

My patio pot fails in comparison.

How I wish I could grow my favourite herb in such quantities. This is truly Mediterranean, typical of a market-stall where the buyers could fill a plastic bag full of the glorious smelling origano for a Euro or two.

Linked to http://restlessjo.me/2020/05/30/six-word-saturday-357/