Poetry

Ancient Rome

I went to see the world

It took me back in time

A glimpse of somewhere else

At the edge of my mind

I opened up the door

My world disappeared

As the cold smooth stones

That lay upon the floor

Saturated my senses

Pulsating in the air

Images of the past

Floated through the corridors

Alive, young and free
Laughing eternally

Searching for youth

Amongst the mineral springs

Of these ancient Roman baths

By: Barbara Matters

12 November, 2011

Ramblings

Ancient Rome, how beautiful is this. I love it when the week just goes the way you want and everything turns into wonderful. I have spent the most inspiring week roaming the hallways of old buildings to peer into the past and let my imagination take me to a world that differs from my own. 

Imagination is a gift of sight taking us outside our own existence so that we may experience if only for a moment in time the lives of those who came before us. That is the gift that museums offer you. And if you take your time and peer into the displays you will glimpse something so special it touches your soul.

Ancient Rome is the most amazing city and the people were strong, powerful and full of life. My journey back in time occurred at the Ashmolean museum in Oxford. I walked into the building because I had a couple of hours to kill before I had to catch a train and it was the most interesting thing I have ever experienced. The walls and cabinets were full of artefacts of ancient Rome. Sculptures of Olympus towered in one room and busts of ancient Romans, men and women littered the hallways throughout the building. The cabinets were full of pottery and the utensils that made up the daily lives of another world. The displays sparked my imagination. And beautiful it was.

To add to this I then spent this afternoon at University College London roaming a couple of museums. One caught my interest straight away because it housed egyptian artefacts. It was the most surreal afternoon and the artefacts were magical. The etchings on the stone were hieroglyphs and some were coloured. Other tablets were unfinished which made for interesting viewing because you could see how they were made. And let me tell you the egyptians drew the outline of the hieroglyphs before they carved. Yes folks they used the basic art method of sketching before painting or in this case carving. It was extremely interesting and I will have to return because the battery on my camera had died and I couldn't take photos. 

On that note it is now late and I need to retire because tomorrow I am off being a tourist. My friend and I are taking a day tour to Stonehenge, the Georgian Baths and Windsor Castle. Fun is afoot.

Life is good!

Rugby League

Check this out. Yes folks I, the person who is totally not into watching sport and very rarely takes any notice of who is playing what was dragged off to my first NRL International match and you guessed it my introduction to rugby league was at Wembley Stadium in England. Incredible it was Australia versus England. Me at a rugby game, who would have guessed. Good news is it is always a pleasure to experience new things. Helps you grow as a person. And I have to say it was fun. In fact I had the best afternoon. My friends who are mad keen rugby fans (damn Queenslanders and one Koori woman) where excited and in fine form on the day. Marilyn was so excited to be watching an International game at Wembley Stadium that she was infectious. Interesting how that happens. I got caught up in the excitement that my friends were expressing and loudly I might add, that I just couldn't help myself. I too got excited. Rugby is an interesting game and the electricity in the stadium was amazing. It was good to watch and an experience that I am glad to have had. I can honestly say I actually like rugby.

The day turned cold as the night set in which seems to be a consistent pattern here in London. The mist set over the open air stadium. This did not detract from the experience of the game and  the liveliness of the crowd. We managed to score row 3 therefore had ground level views. Amazing. The entire afternoon was incredible.

Sharon attracted all the males who were Australia fans, probably because she was waving an Aussie flag regularly throughout the game and you guessed it Australia was in front the entire game. England was quiet in the last half and the fans had to be roused by the commentator to make some noise. It was a sad day for England because basically they got flogged. Great day for Australia and the little group of Aussies around the stadium roared like lions and sang out of tune as they do, on the final siren and as usual nobody knew the correct words to Advance Australia Fair. Way too funny. Not a good song I think for our National Anthem and maybe we should have a referendum so that we can change it to something more appropriate, catchier and a song that every sports fan can remember after downing a couple of ales at the game. Interestingly everyone knew the words to God Save The Queen. Now that says a lot because it infers that we are still living under the Crown and we know the words to God Save The Queen, England's National Anthem. Think about that!

Definitely an experience. A memory made of fun, laughter and excitement that I will cherish and I thank my friends for introducing me to Rugby League, and the best part of the day, Australia won.

'God Save the Queen'.

Life is good!

Special

I realise that ice skating is probably common in the UK, however to a warm West Australian it is totally new to me. Yesterday I visited the Natural History Museum. It was amazing and I found the evolution of man interesting. However, the thing that caught my eye was the ice skating rink outside the museum. I could not believe what I was seeing. Ice skating outdoors. That definitely doesn't happen where I come from and there are only a couple of indoor skating rinks in Perth. Its a rare thing to see people ice skating let alone out doors and having the time of their lives. I did think about having a go but to be honest, it looked a bit dodgy and I reckon I would have ended up on my butt within 5 seconds of being on the rink. Therefore I watched from the fence as people skated. It looked like fun. 

Now it looks cold and to be honest the temperature has dropped somewhat and I am starting to feel a little chilly. Interestingly I am still outside enjoying the brisk breeze that blows over my face and makes my cheeks feel like they are experiencing a bit of ice but I have to say my grin is as wide as my face allows and I love the feel of the cold. Its been a long time since I have felt cold. To add to the experience of the drop in natures thermostat, we took a trip to the country  and spent the afternoon by an open fire with good food, good company and lots of wine. It was wonderfully civilised and totally different to the back yard bar-b-que however, wonderfully English and yes folks it was bloody cold....lol

We walked around the garden of this fabulous yard that the house was situated on, however the temperature dropped again and I had to retreat in doors due to my bones really feeling a bit chilly....lol

I love the weather here and it is so good to feel cold. I hope it snows before I go home. That would be just the best way to end a wonderful experience in a foreign country where I am the foreigner and loving every minute of it.

Heres to England, it's people and fabulously cold weather. Love it.

Life is good!

The Tourist

Well its official I have become a tourist. Never thought that I would do that but I am loving every minute of it. London is amazing. As you all know my passion is art and yesterday in between actually doing some work I ventured into the National Gallery in London. It is a beautiful building sitting at the head of Trafalgar Square and looks down between the gates to Buckingham Palace. It is a truly magical space. My excitement about having a quick look around the gallery grew because I knew that there was a 17th & 18th Century Exhibition and my favourite painter of all time William Turner's work was hanging in the gallery. Oh my god I got to view the original works of Turner. And they did not disappoint. They are as majestic and as incredibly beautiful as they are in all of the books that I have seen of his work. There were only five works in the gallery each an inspiration of its own making. My favourite one hanging in the gallery, is 'Ulyses' because the light source in the painting is unbelievable. The works were all oils and painted with such finesse that I want to go back and sit in front of them for hours. I have part of my day free today so I will do that this afternoon.

Turner is the artist who created the expression of light and introduced such beautiful colour into his scenery. I have spent many many hours trying to grasp the light of Turners works. I continue to experiment and one day I will paint like Turner with an expression of light that will bring my works to life. Turner's paintings bounce off the canvas and into your imagination so that you experience the story that unfolds within the canvas and takes you to a place that is magical. I am so inspired and I cannot wait to begin painting. In the mean time I shall sit in front of Turner, whenever I get the opportunity whilst I am in London and let myself experience the life of a world that is past. 


Magic does exist and if you let yourself be free of the shackles of your existence, you can if only for a moment, experience the magic that is around you.


Life is good!