"the best possible time of being alive...

...when almost everything you thought you knew is wrong"

What’s Arcadia all about? The more I ask, the more concepts emerge. Tonight, I asked it again when I went to the production of Arcadia, put on by Oxford students at the local picturehouse. The story starts off in a 19th Century English country-house, and translates between the past and the modern day, until they overlap, demonstrated in the play by the two existing simultaneously. If the past did not exist, there would be no present. If the present did not exist, there would be no-one to uncover and recognise the past, and it would therefore cease to be. The two cannot be without each other. The play explores the unity of time, and opened my mind to unfixed possibilities in the nature of our world.

There was one particular line which struck me, as the character Valentine put it:

“maths...had been the same maths for a couple of thousand years. Classical…Then maths left the real world behind, just like modern art, really. Nature was classical, maths was suddenly Picassos. But now nature is having the last laugh. The freaky stuff is turning out to be the mathematics of the natural world”

In relation to art, this exploration of abstraction in creativity can be more useful to us than to follow what we know. Perhaps because our minds have been taught to work in a very particular linear fashion. In the play, it is suggested that in overthrowing our system of thinking, we can be led to think alternatively, in progressive and innovative ways:

“to be at the beginning again, knowing almost nothing… It's the best possible time of being alive, when almost everything you thought you knew is wrong”

The lesson learned? We won’t make advancements if we stick to the rules.

Tom Stoppard's original script shone through; I would highly recommend going to see this. In all the confusion, there were some mind-broadening concepts to take home.

"one almost expects the people to sing instead of speak"

Having visited Oxford only a few times previously, and only for that - a visit - I can begin to describe here my first impressions of a city that is to be my new home.

"the place is so beautiful. One almost expects the people to sing instead of speak"

And you almost do. The architecture is telling that Oxford has had a happy life. If you listen hard, you can still hear horses trotting along the passageways, and distant bells sounding.

Who was it that said a great city is one that you can imagine falling in love in? There is definitely a love story here.

It's so easy to get lost in a daydream...

And it is not uncommon to step into the path of students in graduation robes, as there are ceremonies all year round. All in all, I think this city is a fantastic place to go for a stroll...and see where you end up.

scenes of bulgaria

Dobre den!

It is now September, for a lot of us that means new beginnings... and a lot of rain. But the sunny times haven't faded away just yet; I have a slice of summer prepared here for you today.

These are some snaps from my recent visit to Bulgaria, a land of blue mountains, untainted countryside and what the locals refer to as 'dupka de dupka', which roughly translates as, 'loads of potholes'.

Enjoy...

Nobody goes to Bulgaria for Sofia, but it was worth trekking around to see the sights after arriving at the airport. Above is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and surrounding it, the yellow brick paving leading to Parliament Square, where a lot of the recent political action has been taking place.

There's an abundance of caves to explore across the country; this one is found on the journey eastward from Sofia. I felt a bit like Indiana Jones walking around it; there are several totally dark exits leading to who knows where... you can just imagine some kind of monstrous creature flying out or crawling over you if you dare to enter. Also, mind the bat droppings.

Driving across the country... this is what you want to see. I love the drama that this photograph evokes, and how depth is created by the crops in the foreground and the distant hills and river catching the light. Beautiful. 

Speaking of beautiful... the Krushuna Waterfalls were a refreshing experience, based within a little adventure trail leading straight up to the spring. It's the kind of place where you really are one-on-one with nature. Man, water and rock.

Finally, I leave you to take a seat overlooking the town of Lovech. 

More photos to come in the next post... Ciao-ciao!

join me and let's go

those who embark on a quest 

are searching for something more than what they know 

they step into the unknown 

and take the path to adventure 

come join me and let's go

"there are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired"

I have to say that The Great Gatsby has been one of the most enchanting books I've read in quite some time. It amused me in the way that the beauty of past eras does, and it drew me into a world that I kind of fell in love with. Written in the twenties, during a time of booming economic growth and mass production, the story is narrated by Mr Gatsby's neighbour who is absorbed by Gatsby's lifestyle, just as we become absorbed in it too. What is most successful about the way The Great Gatsby is narrated is how it creates the atmosphere that represents this lifestyle of carefree leisure and decadence. Through elegantly composed descriptions, we are invited to the party, to breathe in the smoke, dance to the music and watch the beautiful people, until it's time to go home. 

"And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy."

The book is a short escapism into a slice of world recovered from the damages of war, one that we unfortunately don't live in today.

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

This last line addresses the conflicting argument within the story, of whether it is possible to repeat the past. Of course, it is not. Time moves on in spirals, not circles. Yet the proposition that it does repeat is telling of the human condition, that in times of insecurity, we live in a world that we feel peace in, even if it is only in our memories.

Overall, The Great Gatsby, to me, is like a daisy chain of summer gatherings, and moments made infinite in text. A dreamy summer read...