Coming to the end of the book on Brian Bates' book The Real Middle Earth. Enjoyed his discussion about the importance of weaving:

"In England, the Anglo-Saxon word 'geweaf' meant 'wove' and its cognate word 'gewif' referred to fortune'. Weaving and destiny, in the imagery of our ancestors, was one and the same thing... Each life was a kind of knot in the threads, in which forces of energy were interlocked amid the shimmering, vibrating pattern of the entire web. The idea is based on the processes of spinning and weaving which were central to life in ancient Europe."


Made me think about how people still talk about weaving spells, and perhaps reassess Yeats' He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven.

Also discovered the work of a poet new to me... Tua Forsström. The blurb on the back of her book I studied once at a wonderful faculty describes her as a visionary Finland-Swedish poet. At first glance it seems to contain some wonderful work.

Feeling extremely tired. Had to go to up to London for work today which was rather poor, and was unable to keep my eyes open on the train home. Although it did give me the opportunity to have another fascinating conversation with Sarah and learn more about her research for her degree on how people connect across the Internet.

Blessedly tomorrow is a Bank Holiday and although I have been waking up every day with monotonous regularity at 6am I am hopeful of a bit of a rest, and maybe a cheeky walk.

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