17/04/2011 by admin.

Life is a bit of a mystery. Our novel records how Samuel Coleridge’s ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ helped inspire the Blakesware Set and The Haymakers Survey. Curious then that an author named HAYES has brought Coleridge’s tale up to date as a cautionary environmental story.

It has been reimagined as a stunning graphic chic novel by Nick Hayes. The adapted tale refers to the North Pacific gyre - an enormous plastic and chemical sludge double the szie of Texas floating as if an island in the ocean, caused by humans excessive consumption.  Hayes was inspired to act after seeing an item online of an albatross whose stomach had exploded after eating plastic bottle tops which it mistook for shrimp. 

We wish the updated book every success.

Posted in Q42 Do you enjoy drawing?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »

15/03/2011 by admin.

The official 2012 Olympics clock in Trafalgar Square has stopped just one day after it was unveiled. The clock is designed to count down by days, hours, minutes and seconds. The digital clock stopped at 500 days and 07:06:56. Officials from Omega are investigating the techincal problems.

The clock has the controversial LDN 2012 logo at its head and we have our own version of the logo. It forms the shape of a large dog - Malachi, the Messenger. 

All most mysterious as early in our novel Ben Whittenbury asks what use is a watch for we need to stop the clocks on the consumption of the world’s finite resources. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_a-eXIoyYA

Posted in Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q56 Do you believe rules are there to be broken?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q51 Have you ever taken part in a protest?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q.6 Do you believe in fairy tales?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock? | No Comments »

18/10/2010 by admin.

The state lottery in Isreal has drawn exactly the same six numbers as the draw 3 weeks before - an event statisticians claim was a one in four trillion chance. The numbers that rolled out on a live TV broadcast were 36,33,32,26,14 and 13. The chance of 6 identical numbers being drawn in this way was judged as a 1 in 10,000 year event.

The six numbers were the same as those drawn on 21 September - which took place at the autumn equinox - a date so significant to The Haymakers Survey.

The questions for these numbers are

Q36. Should a good life cost the Earth?

Q33. Do you believe in life after death?

Q32. Are you afraid of the dark?

Q26. Do you take poetry seriously?

Q14. Do you believe your stars?

Q13. Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?

Maybe these questions will prove significant in the weeks to come. Let’s see!

We believe this remarkable coincidence is designed to draw people to the magic of The Haymakers Survey. This watch is overwhelmed with remarkable questions. Our readers will know all about the message left by The Emperor in our novel on the prospects of life on Earth in its current form - see page 159.

We like these surprises. We love pulling the rug from under your feet.

Posted in Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q62a Is life logical?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q33 Do you believe in life after death?, Q14 Do you believe your stars?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q32 Are you afraid of the dark?, Q13 Have you ever been mistaken for someone else? | No Comments »

12/07/2010 by admin.

Mother Nature has claimed the World Cup!

Well at least Paul the Octopus has been awarded a replica version of the football world cup after he successfully predicted the winners of eight matches - seven involving Germany and the final itself.   He does so by choosing between two clear plastic boxes each with the flag of competing nations. The odds of completing this remarkable feat were less than 0.5%!  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/10603065.stm 

The psychic cephalopod was born in Weymouth, Dorset England but now entertains the world from the Sea Life centre in Oberhausen, Germany.  Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage and home to the biggest shopping mall in Germany! The octupus’ name derives from the title of a poem by the German children’s writer Boy Lornsen Der Tintenfisch Paul Oktopus. 

We’re intriqued by Paul’s exploits as this extract from page 19 of our novel says:

‘Q7: Have you ever dreamed of being a champion? As a fan of football or soccer as its known in America, Ben did. He used the dream of lifting the world cup to admiring crowd. Hey, here’s the thing, if Ben - no if all of us - work together and turn around global warming  or at least its impact we’ll win that cup. Look around you - the World cup is everywhere and its ours for the taking!”

Is it also coincidence that Britain and the United States have experienced a heatwave throughout the period of the tournament? Paul also happens to share the same name as Sir Paul McCartney the lead singer of The Beatles. Now that the Octupus has retired some are calling for him to be released into the sea. We featured ‘The Octupus’ Garden’ in our posting of 18 May. Time for a reprise…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CvE7mIq8YQ&feature=related

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q16 Have you ever had a psychic experience?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

21/03/2010 by admin.

A volcano that has been dormant for almost 200 years has erupted in Iceland.

The eruption was in a mountain pass beside the Eyjafjallajokull glazier and 100 miles or so from Reykjavik - the world’s northern most capital of a sovereign state and only slightly south of the Arctic circle. Seismic activity in the run up to the eruption began around Christmas 2009.  Over the past 1,100 years Eyjafjallajokull has erupted just 3 times - in 920, 1612 and December 1821-Spring 1823.  Its the last dates that fascinate us as this covers almost the entire period of Charles Lamb’s journal.

Iceland is also a Nordic country.  In Norse mythology Yggdrasil is the world tree. As explained in our novel it is generally considered to mean ‘Odin’s Horse’. Yggdrasil is so central to Charles Lamb’s story and inspired the Blakesware Set to devise The Haymakers Survey. Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda.  It is preserved in the medieval manuscript Codex Regius. Well, surprise, surpise - the original manuscript for the Poetic Edda is displayed in the Culture House in Reyjavik.

Malachi refers to the Codex Regius on page 177 of our novel. He says’ They stretched out strings of Gold and fastened them under the hall of the moon’.  He said this to show that there is a secret hidden force with a conductor controlling everything … call it the Earth Spirit!

All very curious and fascinating, don’t you think. What does this relatively innocuous volcanic eruption really mean? Listen afresh to the words of this song. As Ice says, “It’s a hell of a concept!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp-is6S_b_g

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

16/03/2010 by admin.

‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ are the opening words from arguably one of the most popular poems in the world.  Commonly known as ‘Daffodils’ or ‘The Daffodils’ the poem is usually considered William Wordsworth’s most famous work.  William is one of the romantic writers to feature in our novel and such is our admiration for his work that we chose to adapt his poem as our entry for the Copehagen climate change conference video competition (see end).  Perhaps it was aired at some point during the proceedings but there is a subsequent curiosity of which we wish to tell.

The inconclusive outcomes from the conference were a disappointment to many whilst the subsequent coldest winter in 30 years coupled with the debate on the validity of climate change data has left the issue side-lined in many people’s mind.  But we wonder - here we are in mid-March and the question is ‘Where are all the daffodils?’ 

In recent years warmer winters have meant that the much loved flower has been in bloom in January or early February. Not this year and at the same time snowdrops can still be seen at an incredibly late date.

In response visitors to the Lake District in Cumbria, which inspired William’s poem, have been urged to report the appearance of daffodils on Twitter.  Cumbrian tourist expert Eric Robson said ‘its almost unheard of to have no daffodils in the Lake District by mid-March.  The project’s been called ‘Daff Watch’ and is perhaps an inspired attempt to encourage visitors to an area usually playing host to golden daffodils.

We think there’s a subtle message here - the daffodils are very late and the snowdrops linger well passed their usual end!  Given the significance of Mr Wordsworth in our story is this Mother Nature’s way of protesting to humanity in stark terms that the hour is late for action to preserve the natural world? Indeed the late presence of the Snowdrops appears to reaffirm this as in our novel they feature strongly as Yggdrasil’s friend - a sign that there is still hope to turn things around at this late hour. 

We do not mean to preach but there’s no need to apologise for being passionate about something. There are also many that expect us to fail but we believe it is our common duty to act today to save our tomorrow.  Industry continues to expand apace to feed a seemingly ceaseless hunger for economic growth as the human population soars ever upwards - this as the natural world is stripped away and many species are on the edge of extinction.  Time to revisit our video…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRF8EAgIgK8

Posted in Q66 Do you have a favourite flower?, Q72 Are you a good time keeper?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q51 Have you ever taken part in a protest?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously? | No Comments »

03/12/2009 by admin.

In Argentina politicians have pushed, punched and thrown chairs at each other in a heated session to choose the president of a northern province’s lower house.  The scuffle broke out when legislators tried to stop opposition lawmakers from entering the parliamentary session. The scenes, which led to 10 politicians being injured, were caught on camera.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8392249.stm

We see this a significant in the run up to Copenhagen - for differing opinions are likely to emerge. So much is at stake so who knows what spoilling tactics might take place to try to persuade the populise of the right and just action based on the evidence.  Perhaps this helps explain why Charles Lamb’s journal records the Justice Chair - with its runic carving - upon which Samuel Coleridge recites his famous poetry watched secretly by the excluded Lucy Ebbs - Mother Nature personified.  Do you believe in Justice?

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q11 Do you believe in justice? | No Comments »

20/11/2009 by admin.

The Environmental Agency has reported record rainfall for England for a 24hr period with 12.3 inches of rain falling in the Lake District,  Cumbria.  The torrential rain has brought unprecedented flooding to the North-West and Scotland, including at Workington, Keswick and Cockermouth. Sadly, a police officer has lost his life, many are sheltering in temporary accommodation and hundreds of homes are without power. The downpour has been described as a ‘Once in a Thousand Year’ incident of Biblical proportions.  

We’re intrigued that the deluge should occur at a place so beloved to William Wordsworth especially as we’ve put together a short video entry for a COP15 competition adapting his poem, ‘I wandered lonely..’.  William features in our story and in Charles Lamb’s journal. One of his closest friends was Samuel Tayler Coleridge whose Rime of the Ancient Mariner includes the lines ‘Water water everywhere, nor any drop to drink’. The poem is discussed in Charles Lamb’s journal and the ‘water water’, line is rehearsed by Malachi - our messenger.   in the run up to COP15 world leaders take heed.

Here’s the link to our video. If you like it please vote for us! The video is called ‘Don’t Throw Away This Chance’.

http://www.youtube.com/cop15

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q60 Have you ever experienced deja vu?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q30 Did you ever watch the rain on your window?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously? | No Comments »

09/02/2009 by admin.

Saying ‘I Luv U’ by text is contributing to the demise of the art of romance. As Valentine’s Day approaches, a National Trust survey of some 2,500 adults showed two-thirds admitted to saying, “I Luv U” in a text, whilst a similar number had never spent time writing a romantic love letter of composing a poem for their beloved. 

The National Trust blame a combination of technology and the modern pace of life for killing off romance.  A Trust spokesperson said, “Considering our rich history of romantic letter writing, poems and sonnets - from Shakespeare to Burns - it all suggests we are forgetting to make time for romance in modern Britain.  Yet now we have forgotten the value of putting our innermost feelings down on writing! Pity as the survey showed that 3 out of 4 women would prefer a love letter of dedicated poem than a simple text saying, “I Luv U”.

All very revealing given the role played by Sarah’s mobile in our story and the way in which Charles Lamb’s journal records several examples of love penned by his hand and others in poetry and letters.    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4aTLurY3gw&feature=related

Posted in Q50 Do you miss someone you love?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? | No Comments »

25/01/2009 by admin.

Today marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national bard.  Events are taking place across the globe, celebrations including dancing, laughter and song.  He is regarded as the pioneer of the romantic movement, influencing William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge. 

Aside from this connection, we find yet another remarkale anniversary coincidence and we’re especially interested in one of his most famous works, “My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose” due to the role of the everlasting rose in our tale and Charles Lamb’s journal. 

 Let’s recite the wonderful words,

“My love is like a red red rose That’s newly sprung in June; My love is like the melodie That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in love am I; And I will love thee still, my dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun: And I will love thee still, my dear, While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only love And fare thee weel, a while! And I will come again, my love, Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.”

So, there we have it - another curious connection, describing a love that’s fresh and long-lasting.  Let’s celebrate!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9lAi9A9s5lg&feature=related

Posted in Q66 Do you have a favourite flower?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q50 Do you miss someone you love?, Q26 Do you take poetry seriously?, Q18 Do you let your heart rule your head?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »