Poem by William Blake 1757-1827 "Tiger"

In case any members of "Generation X" have stumbled over my offering of Dec 28th, I should clarify that the references to "burning bright" and "in the forests of the night" are allusions to this poem by William Blake.

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?


So there, then !

Tiger Jam

Jemi and I visited Ranthambore, in Rajastan. India in mid-December. I last visited there nearly twenty years ago. It goes without saying that, in a fast-changing country like India, things had changed a lot. There are now many hotels built to cater for "Tiger Tourism", and 90% of the visitors are domestic tourists. So money is being made from wildlife and Indians are taking time to appreciate their natural heritage, which has got to be positive news.

However, you'll find you are sharing the reserve with a lot more people than used to be the case. They now divide Ranthambore into five circuits (Max. 8 vehicles each). When a Tiger is spotted just outside the reserve at dusk as people are leaving, as happened when we were there, everyone positions themselves along the road, hoping to be in the best viewing spot when the Tiger crosses the road.



The convoy home after the Tiger finally appeared....

And what was all the fuss about ?

Tiger, Tiger burning bright...

We were just two more touroids at Ranthambore, Rajastan, India, earlier this month..... Thanks to the experience of our guide, though, we just managed a glimpse of this one "in the forests of the night". The camera was set at ISO 1600 and shutter speed about one sixth of a second. With film I'd have got nothing at all.

Indian Plastic Bucket

The spring sales are coming up, and if you're looking for plastic buckets, it's like - SO-O-O-O important to get only the very best...

Merry Christmas & a Grandala New Year!