When blackbirds learn to sing

Send us Fan MailAfter a blustery week of wild, mad, March weather, why not join us tonight as we enjoy a sunny moment beside the canal and contemplate on the powerful word-play of some very old Celtic bards. Journal entry: 17th March, Friday“The sun is warm To the west the clouds are Prussian blue Like mountains of the imagination. A woodpecker laughs From somewhere across the fields Which fill with lambs And the sound of young Calling to old. A branch hangs whose scars are unhidden.”Episode Information:In this episode I read extracts from the following poems:Amergin Glúingel: ‘The song of Armergin’Taliesin: ‘An Unwelcome crowd.’In also briefly refer to the following:Miles Hadfield’s (1950) An English Almanac published by JM Dent and Sons. Alexandra Harris’ (2015) Weatherland published by Thames and Hudson.  Hana Videen’s (2022)  The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English published by Princeton University Press.  With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.Mary Keane. Arabella Holzapfel. Rory and MJ. Narrowboat Precious Jet. Linda Reynolds Burkins. Richard Noble. Carol Ferguson. Tracie Thomas Mike and Tricia Stowe Madeleine SmithGeneral DetailsIn the intro and the outro, Saint-Saen's The Swan is performed by Karr and Bernstein (1961) and available on CC at archive.org. Two-stroke narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence. Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.All other audio recorded on site. For more information about Nighttime on Still WatersYou can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com. It will also allow you to become more a part of the podcast and you can leave comments, offer suggestions, and reviews. You can even, if you want, leave me a voice mail by clicking on the microphone icon. Support the showBecome a 'Lock-Wheeler'Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.ContactFacebook at https://www.facebook.com/noswpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nighttimeonstillwaters/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/noswpod.bsky.social Mastodon: https://mastodon.world/@nosw  I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon. For more information about Nighttime on Still WatersYou can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.