Regency Romance Novels

Archives for August 2010

Figaro…Figaro…Fi…gaa…rooow…

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One of my heros, Beaumarchais
One of my heroes, Beaumarchais

I must have been about ten and my sister eight when one of us somehow heard the word Figaro sung three times…the third Figaro drawn out. I remember us singing at the top of our voices, “Figaro…Figaro… Figaaaroooo”. It must have been irritating to anyone within hearing because to fully enjoy the three notes you have to sing them over and over.

I’ve no idea how the word or tune came to be a part of my life, but Figaro stuck. When the movie Amadeus came out in mid 80’s and one of his operas briefly mentioned in the movie was The Marriage of Figaro. Being in my teens, it dawned on me that this must be where the word came from. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to the entire opera. I thought I had and then I found out that my copy was missing parts and I can’t actually remember if anyone in the Opera actually sings, “Figaro Figaro Figaaaroooo”, but it was no longer a meaningless word. It was name. It was a person. [Read more…] about Figaro…Figaro…Fi…gaa…rooow…

Sunrise…sunset…

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This evening I went for a walk hoping to find something to photograph, but as the light was fading I didn’t really have much hope. I stopped at the bridge where a little stream runs under the road and nearly didn’t see the family of swans; two parents and three or four half grown signets. Lovely! I tried to take some photos, but there were too many branches in the way. Wanting to walk a little farther, I turned off the road to walk up past the fields where its peaceful and safer (I was nearly hit by a car crossing the road because I didn’t look right until I stepped into the road – escape from death number…can’t count that high!). It didn’t actually occur to me to look at the setting sun until I’d taken some pictures of a dead looking field and noticed steaks of light on the clouds. It was then I turned around and saw the sun setting behind me. I walked up farther to where I could get a clear view and took some lovely photos of the sun setting over Stamford. I nearly missed seeing the sun itself…I roll my eyes at myself…but then I saw it peeping out from under the low cloud and I hurried back to take some more photos and admire the view. Here are some of my favorite shots… [Read more…] about Sunrise…sunset…

A lovely rainy day…

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Late this afternoon I went down to the kitchen to make some yogurt soda bread and poached eggs when Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A seemed to haunt me with forgotten rainy day as I stopped to stare out the windows at the wet sky. I suddenly had an urgent compulsion to walk in the rain with my camera. It was very irritating that the bread had only just gone in the oven (I bake small lumps in a muffin tin dusted with flour so it only takes twenty minutes and it tastes really good!). It was about an hour before I’d finished eating and managed to get out the door, but it felt exhilarating to put up my umbrella and walk in the rain. I think I over did it after being poorly this last week, but I really enjoyed it until near the end when the wind picked up while I was trying to take a few photos of the medieval priory and the rain blew in under my umbrella. [Read more…] about A lovely rainy day…

Behind curtain number…

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I’m one of those people who if walking or riding in a car after dark, will compulsively stare into strangers windows. If the curtains aren’t drawn and there’s light shining out of it, I will peer in as I pass. I never stop, that would be creepy, but I turn my head and wonder who lives there and how they can stand the colour on their walls, mentally rearrange their furniture or marvel at the loveliness of the decor. Randomly trawling through the blog-o-sphere, as I was just doing, has the same feeling of peering into people’s windows except instead of getting a glimpse of someone’s life you see them metaphorically dancing naked to their latest favorite song. You can’t be sure if they’re exercising or knowingly flaunting themselves in the hope some nut case stares into the window and sees them. I wonder how many people stare into my blog-window and think, “I’m glad I don’t live next door to her.”?
[Read more…] about Behind curtain number…

Is your face a prison of love…?

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I’ve been in a strange morose state the past few weeks (months?). The thought of blogging or writing to kith and kin seems to switch on the fog machine in my brain. It’s belching out fluffy gray clouds as I write. The spell of morose mental weather could be caused by the actual weather which has been mainly overcast for weeks. I’m one of those people affected by positive ions in the air (due to certain types of weather)…really…and no, I don’t hear alien voices…none with strange accents anyways (writers always hear their characters talking). So I’ve been a morbid wench (What is this ache, twinge, throbbing pain? I’m going to die…my Goblin will be lonely…until he finds a new wife…etc), but at the same time I’ve been slowly writing or rewriting. My brain clears when I work on my stories, but not when I try to write a birthday letter. I find this really irritating as the longer I don’t write the letter, the longer I’ll feel guilty, the more I feel guilty the more I procrastinate. Screams rend the still night air… [Read more…] about Is your face a prison of love…?