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| The Raleigh Superbe in Babraham Park |
Today I took the
Raleigh Superbe out for a spin up to
Wandlebury, along the
Roman Road, down to
Babraham (where I stopped at the
George Inn for a pint of shandy) and then back through the park to
Stapleford,
Magog Down and then home.
I had two particular things on my mind as I set off. The first was my ongoing encounter with the thought of
Henry Bugbee and I knew I wanted to spend a little while on my back in the shade re-reading certain sections of the
Inward Morning. The second was to try out a new (for me) combination of "film" (Uchitel) and "lens" (Watts) on my
Hipstmatic setup. I'd just read an article in National Geographic by
John Stanmeyer called "
The Timeless Sands of Saudi Arabia" in which he had used this particular combination to great effect. Most of the photos below were taken using that combination but the colour ones were taken using the "C-Type Plate" film with the "John" lens.
When I stopped in the shade of the woods in Babraham Park for my sandwiches and flask of tea my copy of the
Inward Morning fell out of my saddlebag and opened at the following passage:
"Last night the humidity kept dropping, the air is cooling, and a full moon rose. At mid-morning the day is still clear and fresh as it might be in the High Sierras. The effect of this day, and of Beethoven's Opus 135, to which I have just listened, is to make me conscious that the readiness to receive is all. Without that what can be given?" (Henry Bugbee:
The Inward Morning, Saturday, July 25).
I had my mp3 player buried in the bottom of my bag and and on it I have the
Medici Quartet's recordings of
Beethoven's late quartets — although I almost never listen to music out on a walk/ride, following this chance reminder, it proved impossible not to listen to this short and quite beautiful quartet while I ate my lunch.
Bugee is surely right in saying that "the readiness to receive is all. Without that what can be given?" The whole day, and particularly this moment felt like a gift given — I was ready to receive and I gave thanks.
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| Along the Roman Road |
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| Along the Roman Road |
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| Along the Roman Road |
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| Along the Roman Road |
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| A pint of shandy and a bike at the George Inn, Babraham |
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| Bridge over the River Granta in Babraham |
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| Babraham Church |
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| Babraham Church |
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| Babraham Hall |
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| Babraham Hall |
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| Wayside flowers in Babraham Park |
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| The River Granta |
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| Barn on the bridle path to Stapleford |
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| On Magog Down |
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