ABC WEDNESDAY - Z IS FOR ZEN , SUCH A PERFECT DAY

• Zen is more of an attitude than a belief.
• Zen is the peace that comes from being one with an entity other than yourself.
• Zen means being aware of your oneness with the world and everything in it.
• Zen means living in the present and experience this reality fully.
• Zen means being free of the distractions and illusory conflicts of the material world.
• Zen means being in the flow of the universe.
• Zen means experiencing fully the present, and delighting in the basic miracle of life itself.

Now, the interpretation of Zen is subjective. As it's the last one this round, I thought a little lateral thinking was required. For me I just wanted to illustrate what it meant to me incorporating all of the above, from my spiritual, religious, human standpoint etc and a time when I felt all or most of the above and usually for me it's through music. So please accept this offering in the spirit of the post, and in no way is it meant to belittle or denigrate any one's beliefs.

The Lou Reed concert At the Douglas Marina, Isle of man, was one of my all time Zen moments. A Perfect Day. For me this the perfect example of a group of very diverse people, putting, politics, race, religion aside and being caught up in the moment of pure musical euphoria. You can call it escapism, and maybe it is but for me live music, especially by one of the all time greats is a slice of heaven, or being at one with the world, point of fact my own slice of Zen.

If you want to see the rest of the concert images, about 30 click these links BABOOSHKA'S PHOTOS

JK HARDS PHOTOGRAPHY

By the way if you enjoyed my odd shots chair in the nature reserve you have see Jackie's who has an even better chair in a weird place pic. You won't believe this one. click this link GLASCOW

Like to join ABC Wednesday? Please got to this link, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE
Mrs Nesbitt is the host for ABC Wednesday, where you can find details for joining, her own ABC shot to comment on and a list of fellow bloggers who are playing today, who would also appreciate your comments.

JK HARDS PHOTOGRAPHY

ABC WEDNESDAY - W IS FOR WORDS OF VIKING ORIGIN IN THE ISLE OF MAN

How to combine ABC "W" with the vikings theme? Had to be words that have been assimilated into the Manx language, place names and surnames. It appears the one thing that that the vikings didn't vanquish was the Manx language, but there are a few examples. Norse words seem to be a very murky area to research. So much contradiction of what is a pure Manx/ Celtic/ Norse word or phrase. I have however found more than I was lead to believe exsited in present day form, so here they are.

A SELECTION OF PLACE NAMES

Ramsey/Rhumsaa - as I have said before is wild garlic river
Laxey/Laxa - wild salmon river
Tynwald/Thingvollr - parliament field/assembly/ meeting place
Foxdale/Foss tal - waterfall glen
Cregneash/Krok-nes - crooked (coastline)
Sulby/Sula- by- farm by cleft fork in a river
Dalby/Dalr-by - dale town
Fleshwick - Flesjar -vik - green grassy, spot creek

A SELECTION OF NORSE MANX SURNAMES

Current Name	Mac + Old Norse Name
Carroon	Mac Thorfinn
Casement	Mac Asmundr
Christian	Mac Kristinn
Corkill	Mac Thorkill/Thorketill
Corlett	Mac Thorliotr
Cormode	Mac Thormódr
Cottier	Mac Ottarr
Cowley	Mac Olafr (Gaelic: Mac Amblaibh)
Crennell	Mac Raghnall
Kewley	Mac Joleifr (Gaelic: Eoile)

Only a handful of words as such are now incorporated into conversational Manx.

Manx language, viz, cleg, from kleggi; a horse-fly; blaber, from blaber, a bilberry; ling, from lyng, "heather;" gil, from gil, "a deep narrow glen;" ghaw, from gja, "a chasm," rift, and kirk, from kirk-ja (this being derived from Greek, kupixkos, "belonging to the Lord") a church.

I hope at some stage to delve deeper with the Norse side of the language and see what else can uncover. It is again very subjective as the Manx language is in the main of Irish/Celtic origin.

The photo is Sulby River which runs into the Harbour and along the nature reserve. Just to be confusing the river is Norse, the reserve name isn't!

Like to join ABC Wednesday? Please got to this link, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE
Mrs Nesbitt is the host for ABC Wednesday, where you can find details for joining, her own ABC shot to comment on and a list of fellow bloggers who are playing today, who would also appreciate your comments.

ABC WEDNESDAY - S IS FOR SUNRISE ,SUNSET AND SARKOZY

Well it was no stretch of the imagination to envisage this island dweller would have to show a sunset or a sunrise. One of each then. Wanted something else to go with them, not quite so obvious. That's why the cartoon is posted too.

Image one is the sunset shot. It' s taken from the spot that you can see in Tuesday's post, the real working side of Ramsey Harbour. This is the part of the docks where all the ships and boats were built such as the Euterpe, or as it's known to us Ramsey folk "The Star of India."

Image two is a caricature entitled "Entente Incredible". The two figures depicted as Laurel and Hardy are (on the right) the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and (on the left) the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy. That's the odd "S" for today. It's a cartoon by my partner. I dedicate it to Louis, the owner of the best bar in the world, (and the regulars)of the "Up & Down" in Montpellier, France. There is a beer mat behind the bar with a Sarkozy cartoon. My partner drew that too.

Image three is the sunrise shot. Taken from the walkway into town ,looking towards the working side of the harbour and through the bridge. I never tire of photographing the bridge as you've probably noticed!

Well not long now 'til the TT and to the arrival of a very important visitor to the Island, your ABC host Mrs Nesbitt. That makes you a visiting celebrity by the way, Mrs N.

Like to join ABC Wednesday? Please got to this link, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE
Mrs Nesbitt is the host for ABC Wednesday, where you can find details for joining, her own ABC shot to comment on and a list of fellow bloggers who are playing today, who would also appreciate your comments.

ABC WEDNESDAY - R IS FOR RAMSEY RUGBY

R then is for Ramsey Rugby. Well you knew I had to have Ramsey, but thought I'd add the twist and go for the double whammy R with the Rugby. Ramsey are the team pushing forward in the blue shirts. Fortunately I captured them in full flight en route to scoring much needed points. Unfortunately they were yet again the losing team. The camera never lies, so they say. It seems in the world of sport it can create the illusion, albeit for a fleeting moment, of a triumph, rather than disaster. Nevermind lads, always next season.

Good news for me, the cable has arrived and my laptop and I can renew our relationship. Wasn't quite the same using other peoples, although I am eternally grateful.

If you'd like to join ABC Wednesday please got to this link MRS NESBITT'S PLACE
Mrs Nesbitt is the host for ABC Wednesday, where you can find details for joining, her own odd shot to comment on and a list of fellow bloggers who are playing today, who you can also comment on.

LAXEY BLUES FESTIVAL RELOADED

Another from the Laxey Blues Festival. As you can see the lighting in these venues is always quite poor. The photographer(yes me) is usually a little merry aswell on the local ale by this time, so getting serious with the camera is the furthest notion from my mind. It's a fine line on these type of occasions, especially live music events which I adore, whether to be professional and dispassionate and seek out the ideal images or just kick back and be a fully fledged audience participant. Falling somewhere between the two camps I try and establish a happy medium. Usually though, the fan takes over. Who wouldn't want to enjoy a musical feast such as the Blues festival.

The band, as mentioned in a previous post are "Walter Ego." A local band that has many a line up change, but still maintain a quality sound.

I frequently mention the TT and have been asked via comments what this is. Basically, as I've said before, it's the oldest motorbike road races in the world. TT stands for "Tourist Trophey" and is not one but a series of week-long races for various class(size) of motorbikes and sidecars. A month to go now before the island is swamped with TT enthusiasts, including Mrs Nesbitt of
ABC Wednesday who can be found at MRS NESBITT'S PLACE

ABC WEDNESDAY - P IS FOR PAINTED LADY

I was going to have a different "P" image, then I spotted the first butterfly of the year, a Painted Lady. Unfortunately I didn't have the macro lens with me, so it was another lie on the ground point and shoot jobs.

Now I'm no butterfly expert, so youprhaps you are able to help me out here.? For that reason you won't be getting all the latin names. Take up far too much blog space. I do know the Painted Lady is pretty widespread and found on every continent bar Antartica. I know they vary slightly from continent to continent and there are even sub species. I have read that the American Painted Lady is often refered to as a "Cosmopolitan." Is that true or is it another one of those urban myths that gets lost in translation? Like I said, not an expert in this area, so you tell me on this one.

I was also hoping to show you George the pelican that often escapes from the wildlife park and flies here to Ramsey, but he hasn't shown up for a while.

If you'd like to join ABC Wednesday please got to this link MRS NESBITT'S PLACE
Mrs Nesbitt is the host for ABC Wednesday, where you can find details for joining, her own odd shot to comment on and a list of fellow bloggers who are playing today,who you can also comment on.

Have fun.

ABC WEDNESDAY- O IS FOR OYSTERCATCHERS

Oystercatchers are a common site at this time of year on the island. Getting close to photograph them isn't easy though. They tend to be on the move all the time on the ground, mainly along the beach, or the harbour in large groups. Occasionally, the odd one may break from the group and be so engrossed in the the pursuit of food you can snap them. I thought I would take my chance with the fliers above. Even got a patchy blue sky. That's the clearest it's been this year. I took this yesterday. Today the weather is atrocious, as in "great weather for ducks."

If you'd like to join ABC Wednesday please got to this link MRS NESBITT'S PLACE
Mrs Nesbitt is the host for ABC Wednesday, where you can find details for joining, her own odd shot to comment on and a list of fellow bloggers who are playing today,who you can also comment on.

Have fun.

RAMSEY, PARLIAMENT STREET

The photo above represents the not so picturesque side of Ramsey. It's a majestic buliding that has been sadly empty for some years now. The lower half (not photographed) used to be one of our local shops, but it's the top half I wanted to highlight.

This is the kind of building on the high street that is crying out to be renovated and turned into suitable living accommodation. It would be cheaper than a new building, and a once repainted much easier on the eye. Left empty and neglected for years now, it's rapidly falling into further decline, soon to be beyond repair. So any business out there looking for a retail outlet in Ramsey, with rental accommodation, here it is. Prime location, loads of floor space, easy access need I say more.?As you can see ,this is particular pet hate of mine, but in this I know I am not a lone voice.

On a lighter note, the infestation of traffic cones seems to be dwindling, which must mean we are expecting tourists. So to all those mad bikers out there who are coming here, a warm welcome awaits. Visitors also include the host of yesterdays ABC WEDNESDAY MRS NESBITT and friends of SKYWATCH FRIDAY host Tom and Jane at WIGGERS WORLD