Yesterday's Today Post

Hello, today's post that was supposed to be yesterday's post is what I have. I've finally been out and about in the countryside that surrounds my home, foraging, picking, eating the odd Blackberry or four and generally enjoying the sunny September showers. Not all is ready to pick and some is more than ready, which is why I ate more than I collected. One more week for the apples and the same for the hazel nuts, all else is good to go or still hiding. The year's weather has been odd and as a result the various things that are good to eat are coming up at staggered intervals and that, in my eye's at least, is a good thing, the harvest will last longer and thus so will the merriment that goes with it.

My Beloved Ridgeway

Apples On The Way

Blackberry's Well Protected

A Blackberry Or Four

An abundance of Hazelnuts 

Different Competition, Pheasants are partial to a Blackberry too.

 A true Crab Apple, rare enough amongst today's accidental hybrids.

A sweet and sour cross pollinated Apple on the way home, very tasty.

A welcome rest in the shade of Ash and Hawthorn

 A view from the shade

Another place on my way home

 I managed to find the ingredients to my favorite pudding, Apple and Blackberry crumble, with crushed Hazelnuts in the wonderful crumble of which I write (and dream), and on top of that, even though I have to wait for a little bit longer, I got to enjoy the country around my home, a fine result for any day.

Remember, unless you are 100% sure of what is edible, do not eat it.

There are many courses that teach the skills country folk have by birth, and believe me, we'd rather everyone knew and enjoyed the countryside, that way respect for it is born.

Peace In All

The Back to Front Post

Hello, earlier today I said that I was going fruit picking but  I ended up helping out with a gardening project my family are currently undertaking. I enjoyed myself never the less and it means I get to go foraging tomorrow instead. It's a lovely place to work, Blewbury Downs, and I've always loved to work outside, I've actually done more of that than anything else over the years, planting things and watching them grow, little pleases me more. So, instead of the post I had planned to put out there for you to read after my day of all things wild food, I shall post whatever I can conjure up from memory, imagination and all the other places we delve when we write. I sincerely hope  you enjoy it.
Here goes, I'll go with what I know best, poetry. When I write poetry, various things pass my mind as quick as only thought can. I'll give you the explanation as the voice of my inner monologue or at least how it would sound if it was as simple as just words passing through my mind. I begin "How do you feel man?" to which I nearly always reply "Screwed up man, not just a bit, but real weird, my thoughts are crushing me!" "yeah tell me about it bro, I'm you", something outside of the world I'm always alone in distracts me, an apple falling from the gnarled old tree in the beer garden of my local pub where I often write, a cyclist passing, lycra clad brazen colours flash in and out of my half vision, the other half still lingering in day dreams as I ease my posture under the broad leafed oak I sometimes sit under on the bridleway running through the corn fields south of my home.  I drift back to the dream, "Are you going to write anything...or just dream" "there's to much in here for me to start, thoughts hurt, how the hell am supposed to get this all down?" "pick one and start". I accept my own advice and begin, looking around simultaneously not seeing anything in front of me. If the first line's good the rest will mostly come to me without thought...

Purgatory Soundtrack

This is the line that frees the mind, pressure release valve, boiling thought's engine burning,

seized machine, rusted by contrived speeches, it was the man on the radio, catalyst of confusion,

on rolling hills I stand, all true and free and pure, digital sound wave's  liar,

tainting the air with greed, how do national ears believe in poison, check your pulse's good,

not dead in hell, just a world bending over to receive a false wisdom.

I have faith in the people, we've heard it before, slavering tongue's of cowardly upstarts, 

rotting under the burden of their own cheap souls, worth more downstairs with weight of evil's,

money of the grave, bodily ownership of six by three plots, when you can no longer use it,

bone bagged buried cot.

Death tax instigators can use them, souls doomed to ground, the hollow void in between,

where no laughter sounds, your own voice lying on the radio, purgatory soundtrack, 

truth would have freed you, form all that's now black.

©D.N.Read2013

I speak to myself again, "How do you feel now?" "the pressure's gone, I can't believe I heard that earlier" "Well, you never know, your poem may touch someone, maybe make a difference" "I really do hope so". I close my book, and carry on with my day or shut up my laptop in this case and do the same, hope in heart.

Peace In All

Before I Go Fruit Picking

Hello, I shall be posting later today as I am off out fruit picking, wild fruit picking to be more accurate. The time of year is here again to clean out jars for preserves, make space in dark cupboards for apples to dry, to gather nuts and if I'm lucky enough, I may stumble across some of the varying and wonderful mushrooms that grow wild near my home. There is something about every stage of every season that I look forward to, and this one, as with all the others is unique. So, later on when I have gathered the wild bounty the country has to offer today, taken a picture or four and have been suitably inspired I shall post again,  hopefully with a story for your hearts, a picture for your eyes and poem for your soul, then you too fill be well fed. I hope you've enjoyed the starter.

My competition!

Peace In All

A Quick Post

 Painter's Dying Sunrise

Was this rising sun so seen as pure,

distant flame's dawn enchantment,

time untold the solar lure,

unchanged through our advancement.

True smile direct from soul,

 thought ensnaring fire,

chorus of the dawn's bell tole,

rising of the pyre.

Canvas love's failing grasp,

colours mixing lifetime spent.

frozen moment's brush stroke dawn,

next second's glance perfection rent.

Still statues standing sunrise,

time trapped painter's watchful eye,

   become silhouette sculptures,

only wasted moments wait to die.

©D.N.Read2013

Peace In All

The Journey Included

Hello, I ended yesterday's post with a photograph of a seagull from the town I had again visited over this weekend past. Here are some more choice pictures from my latest trip, the journey included.

The ever welcoming road

Some go by sea.

The harbor, as beautiful by day...

...and dusk...

...as it is by night.

The way home.

An Oxfordshire sunset, not far from my beloved Ridgeway.

Peace In All

Another Atlantic Adventure

Hello, I have been to my favorite parts of north Devon again this weekend past. As usual the weather was good in a changeable sort of way, and equally to be relied upon, the friendly, welcoming and hospitable attitudes of the coastal people, but then this is an Island. I have always found it rather amusing and at the same time very strange that even a lot of the natives of Britain forget that we are on an island and not a very big one at that. I once heard people chatting in a cafe down the cobbled street from the cinema nearest my home after having watched a very famous film, a film about the crew of a fishing vessel that encountered a storm of enormous proportions, I forget the name of the film, I remember it was good and the fact I can't remember the name does not reflect upon it's worth as a piece of cinematic art. Anyway, the fishermen were islanders, and the cinema goers I write of now seemed to dwell on this fact, they indeed appeared to be enthralled by this,  "Oh how wonderful island life must be!" they said, and "What a wonderful life...to live on an island...and in a fishing village too!" they crooned, and so on and so forth. This as some of you may be able to imagine struck me as rather odd, I wrote a poem about it that I shall dig out and post in a day or two, I had to do something, writing as is the normal run of things with me seemed to be the best thing to do at the time. Sitting there dumbfounded like one of the gaping fish I had just seen as giants on the cinema's screen was not an option. I thought about this for the appropriate amount of time and not a second longer, and came to the conclusion that on this particular subject, as regards the state of today's wide spread confusion about anything not written in foot high flashing letters, may be because we are an island nation, more than that, an island nation surrounded by literally hundreds of smaller islands...still? We, are an island nation, and now that I've been more critical of things than is usual for me I'll make my point. It is a very old point and a very valid point, and though I make it to all, I must particularly impress this point upon islanders so that you, and me, can speak to others of it. The world is an island, we all live closer to each other than it seems at times, and it would most definitely be better if we all made a concerted effort to get along with each other. Planet Earth? Earth Island.  

Like this Seagull in the fishing town I just visited, we must all take a step in the right direction.

He was heading toward a chip by the way, he keeps no chips on his shoulders, he swallows them, and then they are gone. We'd look pretty stupid if we couldn't take a leaf from the book of a Seagull.

Peace In All

Hello, good afternoon, good evening and good morning depending where in the world you are, and wherever you are in the world at the moment I would imagine that there is trouble of some description brewing, that as we all know is just the way of things, but we also know that there is little we can do about it. A blog won't stop a war or end world hunger, although if we all tried helping at the same time on the same day it might help, but alas I digress. Not much can be done...but here you are seen to be from the countries you're from with no judgement, I have ill feeling toward those who are malicious for the sake of being malicious only, the rest of you, be you Christian or Muslim, Hindu or Sikh, Buddhist  or Shinto, black, white, yellow, red, blue skinned fan of rugby or football, cricket or baseball, tennis or badminton, I think you get the point, it matters not! Here is a place where I write for you to read and hopefully enjoy, to pass your eye's over my latest paintings or photographs and  generally not have to be bombarded with various speculations of doom. I am having a break from writing poetry anthologies at the moment, so what I write will be almost entirely here for you ladies, gentlemen, anything in between, or who ever you deem yourselves to be. Please feel free to comment on anything you'd like to, however I will just say this, which anyone who has a taste for contradictory  irony should enjoy, 'The only thing I do not tolerate is...intolerance'. I happen to think that's quite an amusing quandary of life that  beautifully illustrates the general state of affairs. The only thing that should not be allowed (bar the obvious) is intolerance. Acceptance of each other is of paramount importance and I happen to think that a vast proportion of the world is already there. I was having a chat in my local pub not more than a couple of days ago and the subject of racism came up, and to my ever lasting delight, nearly everyone sighed, from the polish chap I'm only just getting to know to the Irishman at the other end of the table with various shades of skin in between, sighed and and said their own variations of "what racism". Now don't get me wrong, I'm not as naive as that which I just wrote makes me sound, I know it still happens, there will always be idiots after all, but the point is, in many places it's so far from peoples minds that when someone says anything about racism their comments are met with contempt, if there was a word less harsh I'd use it, but contempt is the word. The racism tune has been over played in many places, change the record, a large percentage of us are colour blind, creed blind and religion blind, but what we are not blind to is people stirring up ill will where there is none. The places where it no longer exists will grow larger, the example of these places  will spread. It is a passing darkness and no more, the light is returning to drive away the shadows of that particular problem. Pull together for the good things, laugh at the bad old days, and keep moving forward, pushing the light as you go.    Peace In All

Hello, I have said this many times before and I'll make this the last time I do, you all know the score by now. Sorry for not posting for a while I've been creating, both painting and writing, and of course I've been filling the inspirational well, the place where I delve down deep for the roots of feeling that I try to convey in my art, whether it be the painting's I paint or the writing's I write. Here are some photos of the places I've been and the things I've seen, with a couple of the things I was inspired to create along the way.

This is a wonderful sight in this day and age 'Business as usual at this, one of north Devon's political hubs'

The first pristine day on the beach, I've seen the place where sea meets land in many of it's moods, and no time is ever the same as the last.

'Dogs Must Be Kept On Leads' fortunately at this particular beach as long as you clean up after your buddy's anyone can run free on the sand. I love the look on her face when I take off her lead, as I've said in a couple of my poems, humanity would do well to take a leaf from the 'Book of Dogs' and enjoy the simple things, like the freedom of the beach.

'Inspiration for the greatest of deeds can come from the simplest of acts'

©D.N.Read 2013

Damien Hirst's 'Verity'

This photo taken at night does nightly virtue, uniquely in my experience, this particular sculpture is good in any light, I've seen her on stormy days, in the searing heat of midsummer, and on many other occasions as well. I'm not usually a fan of Damien Hirst's work, but in my humble opinion this piece will stand as one of the greats.

I really needn't say much but this; look out for painting's of night time sea's, and writings of the ebb and flow.

Lights on the waters of any harbor have always enchanted me, this night was certainly one of those times that fill the well of inspiration.

The harbor town chapel and light house, guiding fishermen in many ways for many years of seasons.

Art for the folk of this day, the sea has claimed back the driftwood, rolled away the stones, filled in the holes and washed away the circles in the sand...but we had it for that moment, as did all the folk who passed that day.

The sleepy hidden valley's of the moorlands have always held magic.

This day, just to breathe was to fall under the spell.

 Woodland, the cradle of my soul.

On the road again, I always have the 'Canned Heat' song of the same name in my head when I get back to traveling. 

A homeward stretch.

This was one weekend of many filling the well and living life, as the old saying goes 'Work to live' find a balance between paying the bills and enjoying life with every breath and freedom is yours. You don't have to live in a hippie commune to live the dream.

Peace In All 

My latest painting, 'Fresh Ghost's Fair Well To Mortal Face', I hope you like it.

Tree Colours

Tree Colours

I have a fascination with trees as you may have guessed by now, here are some of my latest treapreation paintings. Peace.

Enjoy colours!

Temples Of The Painted Mind: Transitional Reality DefinedHello, as most of you...

Temples Of The Painted Mind: Transitional Reality Defined
Hello, as most of you...: Transitional Reality Defined Hello, as most of you know I write poetry, I also paint and when the very special fancy takes me, I create...

Transitional Reality Defined

Hello, as most of you know I write poetry, I also paint and when the very special fancy takes me, I create sculptures. Writing however has always been my passion. I have been called an artist, a painter and a poet...I am actually a gardener, a woodsman and a student of the world around me who just happens to express all of these things through poetry, painting and on the odd occasion, sculpture. The truth is, if I really thought about this particular subject I could honestly say that I am at least a couple of dozen things, all of which, much the same as yourselves, go to make up me.

 Once, not so long ago, a good friend of mine was talking about all of these things; what makes a person who they are, what people describe themselves as, and the fact that a lot of people when asked, "so what do you do fella/miss", they almost always reply with their job title and description, their profession. Now, if your job is your life, I'm not knocking it, or if you love your job so much it becomes an automatic answer, great, maybe it's a pleasant mixture of both, and in that case, all the better, but...what makes you, you? What happened to make you, what's broken you, was or is your breaking your making, what defines your reality, what is your own personal meaning of life?

Yes I know I said "define your reality" and yes I know it's a cliche, but think about it, everyone has their own take on the world and what happens therein, their own specific perspective that moulds their ideals, and this is what defines their own personal reality, it's not just a mildly clever cliche.

When I began writing poetry in earnest with a mind to share my words with others, I never for one minute thought I would ever go as far as publishing books filled with my poems, poems that reflect my personal reality. I have written poems, the inspiration for which are taken from my darkest hours when despair, if you can imagine this, was my only company, the flip side of which reflects the exact opposite, where the first conscious breath of the day seems like utter and complete joy bathed in the light of the rapture of existence. There are many of my views and opinions and words inspired by the views and opinions of others, about everything from religious strife or harmony, to the political storm that seems to be raging world over at the moment and how these things and all in between effect the day to day lives of us all. There are poems of love, both tragically lost and the tempest such loss caused around me and the unexpected and magically found love, with all the wonder it brought to my life. There too are many poems of my travels and the varying experience of emotion along the way both good and bad, with acts of savage wickedness and the awe inspiring random kindness and love that holds firm the fire of human dignity and fellowship and...the world of spirituality (for lack of a better word understood by many) that transcends race, religion, creed and colour.  There are poems of the many natural wonders I have been so incredibly lucky to have seen, even the small things that add up to the beauty of the day, like music, both man made and what I like to call 'nature's orchestra', visual art too in it's many exiting forms and the plethora of sights, sounds, smells, thoughts and feelings that inspires such things.

There have been many great people who have inspired me, I have the honour to know many of them and the luck to call most of these my friends. There too have been members of my family, both past and present who have have inspired me. I wrote these books and will continue to write them throughout the transitional period of this life, I hope they in their turn will inspire and help people.
This then, is that which defines, 'my reality'...how about you?

http://amazon.com/author/d.n.read 

These are some of my latest paintings,

some have sold, some have not...never the less, enjoy!

Hello

Hello, because I am quite regularly away from this and doing all the other things I get up to which, even if you've read all of my blogs you're still only getting the small picture of how much I'm doing elsewhere and I'm not boasting or making weird excuses, that's just the way it happens to be. Anyway, this particular post is to say hello to all the people from all the countries that have so far looked at my blog, this list is not in any order and thus reflects nothing about favor or who has visited more, it's just the way I happen to have written the names of your respective countries down in my note book. I make a list so that I do not forget to say hello and thank you all, after all, courtesy costs nothing as the old saying goes, an old saying by the way because in my eye's it has always been relevant and true. So without further ado I would like to say hello and thank you to;

Ukraine

Netherlands

Great Britain
Nepal
Serbia
Malta

Macedonia
Trinidad and Tobago
South Korea
Morocco
Vietnam
Poland
Austria
Romania

Canada
Indonesia

Russia
Papua New Guinea

Greece
Japan
Kazakhstan

France

USA

Finland
Ireland
Taiwan

Ghana

China

Australia

Israel

Germany

Brazil

I happen to think there may be others that I have missed. If this is so please feel free to let me know, and if I have missed you, I will say hello and thank you now, and a special thank you for looking again (if you do) even if I did miss you out.
Some of you I have already said hello and thank you to which is probably why I have you on the list in my head instead of the one on paper and thus why you're not mentioned above, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and Italy to name but a few. You are not forgotten.

Peace In All

ETIHWBLACK

I'll tell you all about this when I've been to sleep for a few hours. Peace in all...

I have painted another one, as I said, the inspiration has been coming in floods. This one is a bit odd in the fact that when I put it up for sale on ebay I was asked to choose what style my painting falls under? Well...realism was one that's close for this painting, but then so was surrealism. I shall tell you for why. I was walking in Scotland through a valley that's just like this in shape and to a certain extent colour. I have been almost haunted by dreams of this perfect valley for a good while, the vision of this valley that I painted, almost the same, so I suppose being as my dreams have become intwined with my reality in the case of this painting, and the fact that it did all seem to be, very surreal, means that it falls under both and so thus is it listed...never the less I hope you and whoever buys it enjoys the image, the painting, the really surreal I have called 'Where You Look From'.

Well I put those paintings of mine up for sale, and I've painted another, the inspiration has been coming in floods, which is nice. The writing too, I have been working (if you can call it that) on the the second in a trilogy of poetry books called 'A Quill Unchained' the first of which is entitled 'Whispering Ink Song', available on amazon in kindle and paperback formats........blah, blah, baaaaahh, I am starting to sound like one of the sheep...never good. Anyway, Yesterday I finished another painting which I have called 'Sun Peek Silhouette', I painted it from a memory of mine, when once, a few years back now I suppose, I was wandering in the mountains looking for inspiration, learning and great many other things besides, as one does. I remember it with clarity, one enormous peak and many others behind it in the distance, the sun was going down, the insects were biting and I'd not yet found a place to camp for the night, but it all meant very little, as the sun sank lower the silhouette of the mountains became almost two dimensional, very bizarre and very beautiful. Here it is, how I remember it, but when I think of what it would look like now on canvas. Kind of...you know what I mean.

Oh and when I said that I don't call it work when I write, I simply meant that more often than not people associate work with hard ship, stress, the good old comment "I hate my job", and the general consensus  that work is a drag or at least can be, and I don't because I love what I do.

I hate working inside, truth be told, I'm a gardener that writes poetry and stories from time to time, and I also paint quite a lot too. 

Self expression can set you free you know!

Hello, as usual sorry for not posting anything for a while. I have been painting, I occasionally have to put down my pen, push my computer to one side and pick up my brush...so I did, here is what I have painted.

The Painting is signed at the top and bottom for this reason;

this way up the painting is entitled 'City's Watching'.

This way up it is called 'Trees Of Man'.

This painting again works both ways and is signed as such,

but is simply called 'Where They Met'

They are both currently for sale on ebay and I believe there is just less than one day left on them both...enjoy them if they're your bag!

Temples Of The Painted Mind: In Peace We Cry The world we live in, confuse ...

Temples Of The Painted Mind: In Peace We Cry

The world we live in, 
confuse ...: In Peace We Cry The world we live in,  confuse even best, wisdom worth little, with new daily tests, learn as you move, all change so...

In Peace We Cry

The world we live in, 
confuse even best,
wisdom worth little,
with new daily tests,
learn as you move,
all change so fast now,
don't get stuck in a groove,
one way slaughtered cow.

Be not the sheep,
following blind,
seek everyday truth,
it's out there to find,
you're mind's are your own,
they scare you into control,
weak feel your bone's,
but strong are your souls.

There it lay waiting,
deep down inside,
buried anticipating,
when you no longer hide,
please don't swallow words,
the money men send,
they'd love you in herds,
your will must not bend.

Follow the law,
remember law follows you,
our voice will grow stronger,
when we're not just a few,
one voice can echo,
the million's shout,
don't be scared to speak up,
let the old freedom out.

They say we have freedom,
of speech, feet and will,
but you'll get locked up,
for not swallowing that pill,
beware their forked tongue's,
those sick by their power,
if they were speaking the truth,
then why would they cower.

Peace be the way,
peace be the shout,
peace be the end,
to those who cast doubt,
peace be the truth,
peace conquer fear,
with these peaceful words echo,
hate must end here.

©D.N. Read 2013

Hello sorry about that folks I've been away in Stratford upon Avon for a while, when I came back I went through a couple of manuscripts for my two latest books Tales From Hound's eye and 'Whispering Ink Song', the latter of which is part of a series of poetry books I'm writing called A Quill Unchained. Anyway I back at the helm for a while, so there will be many more posts in the very near future. Thanks everyone for your patients, if you would like to check out my two new books they are available on kindle via amazon with my other titles, my latest two will also be available in paper back soon as well. http://amazon.com/author/d.n.read  

Hello, I have a story to tell you from my childhood. When I was at primary school in the countryside at about the age of seven we had a sports day, we had sports day every summer but this particular one has stayed with me. The 60 meter dash was always one of my favorites and today was no exception, I stood on the starting line and saw that I really had only two people to think about beating as the rest were slow, small and in one particular case, 'The fat kid' (we can all be cruel when we are young, so think me a swine if you're perfect), the race began and I noticed the fat kid had tripped over on the line and I was doing well, and within what seemed like no time at all I had won the race and everyone else was enjoying the fact that they'd not suffered the same fate as the fat kid, it was at this point that I noticed the head master who had gone over to him. They were both sat smiling and looking toward the trees. A few minutes later when the head master came to the finish line with the kid that fell and told us about the Woodpecker and the fledgelings they had just seen in the trees and the baby birds trying to fly. The fat kid flew that day...the rest of us fell. Had we not been rushing to get to the finish line we would have seen that beautiful sight, we missed it while standing at the finish line laughing. The fat kid was the one who really stood at the finish line...the rest of us fell. Take from this what you will, I don't have any regrets, all things teach, but were I put back there now, I would have stopped and gone back to sit with the fat kid that tripped at the start and flew, while the rest of had to wait years for our wings.

Hello Taiwan and Brazil, I hope you like the blog.http://amazon.com/author/d.n.read

Hello India, I see you have come to view my blog, I hope you enjoy it.http://amazon.com/author/d.n.read

Hello, I've been in Devon with two of my favorite people for the last few days, enjoying all. The food we ate fresh from the sea, the music we heard plucked straight from the string, the sights, the smells, the sound...the feeling. Have you ever noticed that when people talk of the good times they always relate physical aspects of enjoyment? I have. The way a place feels has a lot to do with all of the things mentioned above but by no means everything. If you had all the best food and drink, the greatest company you could wish for (that I did have, minus a few) and all of the best, best 'things', but you found yourself in a place that never the less made you feel uncomfortable, what would you think? Would you blame yourself? Think yourself paranoid? Ungrateful perhaps? Boring even?
 Wait...think...there are senses we cannot explain that are never the less there and they are as real as the wind on your face and you can't see that either! Think first, try not to jump to conclusions about your own mental state that you have been told is the cause for such feelings, those you told you this are human after all, and as such are fallible in what they say. You're not having a moment all the time when such feelings occur, feeling from without can profoundly effect susceptible people deeply within. A person who is qualified to tell you all about your feelings and your personal state of mind can only apply the knowledge they have gained through education if they have the life experience to understand the perspective of the individual as opposed to a generalized view of what they may deem a problem.
Moral of the story "you're probably not mad, you may have just wandered through an ill wind"
 Worry begets worry.   Do not worry so much, life will be kinder to you.

Hello, I have not posted anything for a while as I have been seriously busy, writing, painting hanging out in Oxford and generally living life unplugged from my computer. This is something I believe to be very important, sure when you're getting publicity for a book, typing up what you've been scribbling all day in a cafe or whatever else you happen to be doing with your PC, you must still take time to live outside of all this, even if that just means detaching  your mind from the digital world. I was sat in a pub in Jericho, which is part of Oxford for those who don't know, watching the world go by, students from the university were laughing and chatting as they walked along the well trodden academic paving, cyclists cycled enjoying the welcome return of the sun, buskers sent notes drifting all ways on the breeze to become part of wind's whispering sound itself, the smell of late spring flowers mixed with street vendors various and colourful foods wafting through the bar room window and the background clink of glasses toasting each other all became an unbelievably tempting cocktail of life...I drank deeply...so deeply of this intoxicating menagerie. The inspiration it filled me with has not yet left. So, if I disappear from time to time then chances are I'm off somewhere, could be anywhere, unplugged, unchained, filling the well of inspiration with the rain waters of life, from the universal tempest of creation.      

I have become somewhat disillusioned with this whole blogging business of late, I have been frustrated, petty and generally quite angry. I apologize, but only for the short tempered nature of my reaction to certain aspects of my blog. The principle remains the same. Anyhow, if life has taught me anything then it is this; 'never give up what can be made right over time with patients'. So I shall continue, even if you never comment a lot you may just like to come and read or look at the photo's and paintings, for those of you who come to see how annoyed I'm going to get, you may as well learn to look at good things or leave. It will not be happening again. I'm off to the river near my home today, the sun has finally come out and the rain and snow has mercifully

stopped so I shall find a quiet spot to sit and take everything in, I may then write, I may sketch or I may just look and listen and let the words or pictures come to me later. I hope you all enjoy your day too. Peace.  

I see from my instruments that someone in Belize is having a look at my blog, hope you're all well over there, feel free to comment, I hope you like what you see.

The secret places in the world are always the cherry ones, this is a secret surfing spot that only breaks when conditions are 100% perfect and the funny thing is it's right under the noses of many, many people. It's a bit like the second page of my blog, If you were not looking for it you'd never find it. So here it is...it's over there on the right where it says 'The Poet Tree' and it features the painting that's on the cover of both the kindle and paperback copies of the poetry book of the same name.
http://amazon.co.uk/author/d.n.read

Temples Of The Painted Mind: Well...never mind. I suppose people have their rea...

Temples Of The Painted Mind: Well...never mind. I suppose people have their rea...: Well...never mind. I suppose people have their reasons for saying nothing...it confuses the hell out of me though. I shall concentrate effor...

Well...never mind. I suppose people have their reasons for saying nothing...it confuses the hell out of me though. I shall concentrate efforts like those I attempted before in a different place. This blog shall be what it began as, a place for art and poetry. The failure of the '500th comment campaign' has taught me this; Anything like that I ever do again I will do in a different way, I don't know what yet,but failure only makes me push harder elsewhere. I have come back from the road due to the usual weather being miserable situation in Britain, normally it wouldn't bother me but I was determined to write while wandering and my paper got soaked so I have come home to salvage what I can, reflect on the last few days and hopefully glean some inspiration from this whole sorry state of affairs. You see, When something bad happens I get mad at first, then I become pensive and finally, I use whatever has happened, good or bad, to create a new painting or two a new poet or three or I just learn, accept and move on. Whatever comes from it all I shall post it on here and not get any feed back at all from any of you...fine with me, amusing for you, and it stops me from loosing the knack of typing. Of course if anyone changes their mind and decides they want to say something I will reply graciously...as ever it's up to you. One last thing, I would like to thank again 'the flower' you know who you are, you made a difference, thanks.

Right well I'm going away for a few days, I'll see if anyone has bothered with all this when I get back. You can use this blog to chat amongst yourselves while I'm away, heaven forbid, ha, have fun! I'm not sure how to spell the sound it makes when one blows a raspberry, so I'll tell you thats what I'm doing in a very derogatory way. Seriously 3 people out of all of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well that's a damn shame, One person and one person only managed to make a suggestion as regards the '500th comment campaign'. The comment said "shave your head for UNICEF" it was that easy, and only one person managed to make a suggestion...for charity...trust only...your choice where the money went...none for me...I was trusting that people would...and I would have done my part. One person...sickening. Second and forth posts on my blog. One person...no wonder nobody give's a damn, no wonder the world is in such a state...nobody has the time to care. I feel like cussing and saying just about every expletive ever invented, and a few new ones...no...that would make me just like the rest. I will try elsewhere. This blog will be shutting down in 24 hours, sorry to those of you that enjoyed the blog, understand, I have to make a difference somewhere and it's not happening here. It's been...interesting.

Info about 'The 500th comment' campaign can be found in the blogs on the date Monday,8th,April,2013   at    02:57. Join in, at the least it will be a laugh if you guys make me shave my head for charity or something. Where the money goes your conscience chooses, yes I advertise my book here but I use it for my latest ideas too and that's not what this is about. I ask nothing but this, when the best suggestion of what I should do for charity is found and 500 comments have been posted on my blog I will do a sponsored something, NO MONEY TO ME, you name a charity when you post a comment with a suggestion and the majority voted charity is where you guys send your donation off of your own back, I'm just the guy that's willing to do it and trust that you will. Peace.

Hello folks, I have been seriously busy lately so I have had no time to put anything new on my blog, sorry about that. You, yes you reading this now, are still a fairly exclusive club, there is only just over 500 of you and given that there are over 7 billion people in the world today I think me and you are quite lucky. That's a huge amount of people, so if the 500 of you would like to say something before things get busy  now is the time, when the number of people looking at this blog and commenting reaches 500 I will do something awesome to show my appreciation, not sure what yet, I've got really long hair, and I mean long, I may shave it off for charity or something like that...or...you 500 could make suggestions  and the best and most doable suggestion I shall carry out if I can. Think hard, Think fast, the list is growing. Peace.     

Hello Russia, I hope thing are well over there!

Hello U.S.A.

Having said that some just popped in for a look at my blog from the U.S.A.  Hello...... 

Risking Hello

Hello........such a simple word and yet it is also a word that is unfortunately falling into disuse. Of course when you go and meet your mates or people you just know then you are bound to say hello, but saying hello to people as you pass them in the street, or even saying good afternoon seems no longer to happen. I nodded and smiled to someone yesterday and said hello as I was walking to the river near my home and the person I greeted in passing immediately broke eye contact and walked even faster than before. I know what your thinking, "If you were wearing a scowl like the expression on your profile picture then I'm not surprised", well I can honestly say that I am usually smiling and I was definitely not wearing a scowl that day. Are people scared of each other to  such an extent that hello is alien to them? Is it worth spending your life afraid if that's the case? Is it not about time that we start risking hello?   I hope so!    

Hello, I have heard many artists or people trying to be who are completely capable and certainly talented enough dipping out on putting their work out there in the wider world for people to see or hear. Many things stop people from going ahead and trying, fear of others not liking what they do, fear that they are not good enough and so on and so forth. I was one of these people so listen to this. What one person loves ten may hate but the opposite is true, one person may think what you do is somewhat lacking in whatever it is they want to call "it", but guess what people, that is just their opinion, and besides if you make a difference in one persons life then in my book that's a success. A good friend of mine has spoken to me on many occasions about this subject, he is a fine musician and  poet, we've both traveled very different paths in life and have come to roughly the same conclusion, very different worlds, but it all equates to the same thing, have a go.
Personally, and I must stress that this is my opinion, if you have a gift it's kind of selfish not to share it, especially if you can make a difference for the better. That's what finally made me take the plunge, and seriously, it's well worth it. Peace.   

Hello everyone that has taken a look at my blog so far, I am currently working on a new book that I also do a lot of the art work for, along with one or two others who are listed alongside the author name when you look for my books on amazon. If you saw the post about the fact that I do not like wasting paint then will understand that the fact I am working on a new book including art means that there will be one or two more paintings and a few poems coming very soon, keep coming to check there will always be something new. Peace. http://amazon.com/author/d.n.read

Hello Russia, I hope you like what you see, there will be more of the same; pictures, paintings, poems, and questions very soon.

I see that Australia is having a look at my blog, hello Australia, I hope you like what you see.