Forest-haunting Lombards
This is part of a paean to the magic of the forest and the hold it has on our imaginations. ...
Like the pigeons in St Mark’s
An unusual way to capture ever-present memories, likening them to pigeons underfoot in the Piazza San Marco, cooing and strutting...
With a laugh
Xiao is the character for laughter, smiles and jokes. Here it’s combined with the haha sound of laughter to mean...
Tangled tales
The rose garden of Moonacre has an arbour and heart-shaped rose-beds. And if that sounds a little over top, wait...
Well-disciplined eye
John Stilgoe describes Thoreau thus in his preface to the journals, highlighting Thoreau's well-disciplined eye and his awareness of the...
Rain-glazed grass
This makes me think of the freshness after a downpour, the drops glistening on the pointed leaves of the lawn....
Flute-like whistle
Williamson uses - and invents - a number of words to convey the sounds of otters. Whistling can be in...
Black-frogged livery
Of several unbelievable sojourns Leigh Fermor enjoyed in anciently aristocratic homes dotted across central Europe, this may top the lot. ...
Frayed by sin
A surprising one, this, as sin is often presented, nowadays, as socially acceptable, even desirable 'vice' - something naughty-but-nice, essentially...
Water-polished shells
Lopez uses this to describe the bright whiteness of snow geese in flight.
‘Once airborne, they are dazzling on the...
World-class Achilles
World-class Achilles – as a warrior yes, but as a man, there are other Homeric heroes more admirable, though most...
Mutton-headed galoots
Arthur Ransome's characters have some out of date but still appealing ways to describe their own, or others', stupidity. I...
© Beatrice Otto 2020 - design & content unless otherwise stated - all rights reserved