Arthur's Stone, Cefn Bryn:
The digital home of author & photographer Chris Elphick | All content, unless otherwise stated, is copyrighted © Chris Elphick
Monday 30 September 2019
Sunday 29 September 2019
Saturday 28 September 2019
Gower ~ Fading Light #4
The bare bones of the Helvetia shipwreck, which ran aground on the sands of Rhossili Bay in November 1887 (part of my Fading Light photography project):
Gower ~ Fading Light #3
A teepee standing proud on the northern shores of Llanmadoc on the Gower Peninsula. Part of my Fading Light series of photographs:
Gower ~ Fading Light #2
Another image from my forthcoming photography book - Gower ~ Fading Light, featuring Rhossili Bay and Worm's Head
Gower - Fading Light #1
I love this set of two photographs, taken atop of Rhossili Cliffs, looking towards Worm's Head. This atmospheric diptych will appear in a forthcoming photography book, entitled Gower ~ Fading Light:
Sunday 22 September 2019
Saturday 21 September 2019
Running Like Clockwork
Spent the morning in the writing shed trying to fix the clock there. Managed to get the mechanism to work again :) and to put the thing back together. The chimes were a quarter of an hour out but thanks to Youtube, I've sussed out how to fix that too :) Just a matter of letting time pass now and rejigging the pendulum so the thing runs precisely like clockwork (lol).
Also did a bit of a clean in the shed then, and gave the door a fresh lick of paint, under the dutiful eye of my youngest cat.
Also did a bit of a clean in the shed then, and gave the door a fresh lick of paint, under the dutiful eye of my youngest cat.
Friday 20 September 2019
Wednesday 18 September 2019
Pinnochio
This book has been with me since the day I was born and has followed me from house to house ever since:
This particular edition of The Adventures of Pinocchio was published in 1961 and originally belonged to my uncle, who lived in the same family home as myself at the time. And despite being in a pretty grim state after all these years, the book remains one of my most treasured possessions. That said...
The original version of The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi is far removed from the tale told in Walt Disney's re-imagining of the story. It is a far darker beast and this edition of the book really used to give me the creeps. For starters, it is illustrated with some pretty macabre-looking drawings. Take the cover of the book for instance. Just who, or what, is that sinister silhouette watching proceedings from beneath the archway?
If anything, the black and white illustrations withing the covers of the book appeared even more eerie:
Whilst the artwork in this particular edition of Pinocchio is creepy, the actual text itself is hardly designed to give children happy dreams. Remember good old Jiminy Crickket from the Walt Disney version of Pinocchio? Well, in the original text, it doesn't take very long for Pinocchio to take offence at the creature, and to actually kill the cricket!
Of course, this being a supposedly children's book, children, or strange spirits disguising themselves as human children, must be punished for naughty behaviour. And Collodi makes certain that Pinocchio gets his fair share of suffering for his continued antagonistic behaviour. For example, check out this instance of sadistic retribution meted out to him:
burning feet text
In his story of Pinocchio, Collodi wanted to show that children should be good at all times and to always do what their parents expected of them. If they were naughty, they should expect severe punishment and misfortune in return. Collodi therefor inflicted this rather grim retribution on his character:
This particular edition of The Adventures of Pinocchio was published in 1961 and originally belonged to my uncle, who lived in the same family home as myself at the time. And despite being in a pretty grim state after all these years, the book remains one of my most treasured possessions. That said...
The original version of The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi is far removed from the tale told in Walt Disney's re-imagining of the story. It is a far darker beast and this edition of the book really used to give me the creeps. For starters, it is illustrated with some pretty macabre-looking drawings. Take the cover of the book for instance. Just who, or what, is that sinister silhouette watching proceedings from beneath the archway?
A creepy something or other watches the macabre wood-spirit take the form of a free-walking marionette. |
Whilst the artwork in this particular edition of Pinocchio is creepy, the actual text itself is hardly designed to give children happy dreams. Remember good old Jiminy Crickket from the Walt Disney version of Pinocchio? Well, in the original text, it doesn't take very long for Pinocchio to take offence at the creature, and to actually kill the cricket!
Pinochio kills the cricket! |
burning feet text
In his story of Pinocchio, Collodi wanted to show that children should be good at all times and to always do what their parents expected of them. If they were naughty, they should expect severe punishment and misfortune in return. Collodi therefor inflicted this rather grim retribution on his character:
This was how Collodi originally ended his children's tale, which Pinocchio swinging dead from a noose in a severe gale!
Pinocchio was originally published in serial form in an Italian children's magazine in 1881. Its editor, not to mention its readers, were none too pleased with this dark denouement to the tale and demanded a happier fate for the puppet who wanted to be a real boy. And so, a few months after Pinocchio's melodramatic death, Collodi brought the marionette back to life to give the wood spirit the 'happily ever after' ending his audience clamoured for. In my edition of the tale, however, the illustrator concluded his series of eerie drawings with this one, which really creeped me out as a child:
Tuesday 17 September 2019
The Shed is Coming Along Nicely
I am slowly getting there with my writing shed. The inside door and window frames need a bit of a paint, the shelves need a clean and a de-clutter and the windows require a good wash, but I am pleased with the progress I am making with it, especially given the fact that I couldn't move in there for clutter just a few months ago. :)
Saturday 14 September 2019
Friday 13 September 2019
Berserk! Draft 2 Complete :)
Despite the pretty grim cold that descended upon me this morning, which had me suffering and sneezing all day, I took the opportunity afforded to me this afternoon to grab a couple of hours out in the sunshine, where I managed to complete the second draft of Berserk!
Thursday 12 September 2019
Monday 9 September 2019
Sunday 8 September 2019
Berserk! Draft 2. Chapter 8.
Troubled by some irksome dream, I rose early this morning and nipped out into my writing shed with a steaming cup of coffee. Stepping inside the shed, I was confronted by these beautiful shadows above the chill-out settee I have in there.
Shadows on the wall above my chill-out settee |
Working on draft 2 of Chapter 9 of Berserk! |
Saturday 7 September 2019
Berserk! Draft 2. Chapter 8. Complete :)
I spent this morning out in my writing shed, listening to a little Japan and enjoying the faint warmth of the autumn sun on my face as I completed the second draft of Chapter 8 of Berserk. I am still ahead in my writing schedule, 12 days ahead to be precise, and am confident I can get this beast of a novella completed by the end of the year. But the clock is definitely ticking...
Thursday 5 September 2019
The Verry Volk
Just received my copy of The Verry Volk. I am happy to report it is now available to purchase from Amazon
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