“The English landscape at its finest … possesses a quality that the landscapes of other nations, however more superficially dramatic, inevitably fail to possess. It is, I believe, a quality that will mark out the English landscape to any objective observer as the most deeply satisfying in the world, and this quality is probably best summed up by the term ‘greatness.'”
– Kazuo Ishiguro, Day One, Evening, The Remains of the Day
Mother Hen
© motherhendiaries 2015, all rights reserved.
Categories: photography
Based on photography I have seen, I must agree Doreen! 😊
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Oh bollocks.
Sorry. I like the picture – all your pics are super – but the sentiment in the quote just irritates me. And the fact that it was made by a Japanese person irritates me even more.
That said, I DID love the movie!
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Week, he IS Japanese English, if that’s any consolation…
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Nope, no consolation at all. That whole concept of Avalon – the idea that anything English is by definition better – rumples my anti-colonialist soul! Plus it’s nonsense, as anyone who has seen an African sunset will tell you.
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BWAHAHA! ,I love that you always tell it like it is… And I do agree. This quote is clearly pompous… Which is why it got the story so very well. Rather than a social message, this merely described my thought of the moment, and is hardly to be considered my motto for life. 🙂 🙂 Great comments and argument as always… 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Back in the late 1970’s, I tramped the North Downs Way from Canterbury to London. A sort of pilgrimage in reverse…. and yes, it is lovely, exceptionally so.
As for the remains of the day, isn’t that the few minutes you get to crack a beer and watch television after working late into the evening?
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Yep. Exactly what we’re doing at the moment…
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From “Richard II” by William Shakespeare:
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
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Love it. Will had a way with words for sure. This pretty much sums up the island mentality of the English, rightly or wrongly… 🙂 🙂
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