'World backs Lebanon offensive'

Lebanon - South Lebanon Trip: Hezbollah Liberated Territory
Originally uploaded by itfcfan.

'World backs Lebanon offensive'
from the BBC:

'Israel says diplomats' failure to call for a halt to its Lebanon offensive at the Middle East summit in Rome has given it the green light to continue.'

what can we do about this, as an individual, and as a poet I am not represented by the government of the country in which I live. I live here because i love my family and they are here, i love a great deal of what the UK is, but this government does not represent the few remaining individual voices remaining who are prepared to speak. as an individual, I do not support this or any war going on in the world, peace is made through peace, not war. and war has never led to peace. at best it leads to the burying of grudges which will eventually resurface, and that is what is happening over and over again now, these are old wars, and new spin will not change old grudges. if we want peace, we must be stronger than war, it is harder to just stop, and yet it is as easy as that.

my prayers to all on any side, not for your success at war, but for peace.

John Siddique

Like summer tempests came his tears

I'm sitting here listening to my lovely copy of 'piper at the gates of dawn' in glorious mono, that way it should be heard. thinking about the legacy of syd barrett. they don't build them like him anymore. Dear Syd thank you for the songs, Piper is still probably my favourite Floyd lp.

mono is becoming a big thing in our house, been listening to sgt pepper & revolver in mono too over the last few weeks, and i admit to really not liking the beatles in the past, but then i figured that we don't get to hear the actual records that made them so popular so i tracked down some original versions and they are so much better. remember they didn't do the stereo mixes, they left it to a couple of guys in the studio. they spent weeks on the mono versions themselves, and they are what most people bought back then, and just check them out, different records !!! Sgt Pepper is dreamier and rockier. Rovolver is so much tighter, and I swear 'tomorrow never knows' is a different version. i'll be tracking down more mono stuff from now on and forget the new fangled stereo, it's just a phase that I'm sure will pass

one love

John

Syd Barrett

Syd Barrett
Originally uploaded by In search of Syd.

he was caught in the crossfire and rode on the steel wheel.

goodbye you crazy diamond

Poppy seedhead

Poppy seedhead
Originally uploaded by janerc.

and soon the summer will be gone, bloody cold in HB today, got thefire on, and much typing and reading to do....tomorrow a workshop in ROCHDALE, those of you who know me know what that means to me.

amazing...... the returning sun, or the avenging warrior, their choice!

Inspiration & Email troubles

my ISP has lost 5 days of its members' email, so if you have mailed me in the last week, please try me again. It a very tiresome business which eats into my writing time. I guess we just expect out email to work as a fundamental part of paying someone to run a web service!

discovered a wonderful 2nd hand book shop in Clitheroe on saturday when we went in a inspired fashion to go and look at Pendle Hill and all things witchy. The bookshop is what a bookshop should be, calm, full of treasure, and there's a nice couch to read on, and a central table to sit and peruse. Charming owner too... go if yr ever in Clitheroe, i knwo it sounds strange. or if yr nearby and like bookshops. they are my church.

love

john