RG57
Hardback Copy!

Happy Holidays in quaint and historic England, Robin!

Well, it is good we are in agreement too. It makes it a lot easier to talk to friends when you agree on a topic.

Well I thank you my new friend. Honesty is key in any friendship or relationship. I also agree this world needs more friends. On the other hand, they need to be true friends. Those are a lot harder to come by.

I give credit were it is due, and you deserve it. How you doing?

Sounds fanatastic but is it cold there? It seems so far north, but maybe being surrounded by ocean it is not so cold.... I am not sure how these things work....although North Sea does sound frigid to me....and I hate the cold...

Yes, I am a big Lawrence fan although I don't always understand his ideas or agree with them...they can be way out sometimes. I however have great respect for this marvelous and brilliant writing and I just seem to take to his books. Presently I am finishing up one about Australia and I have enjoyed it emensely - it is one of his more obscure novels.

True, I bet a lot of boys dream of living on an Island, you are lucky! You know I have the book here and truly want to read "Kidnapped"...someday soon maybe. I love the illustrations to that done by Howard Pyle. I also saw an adaptation of the book and liked it very much, but of course books are always better. I think that Lawrence has mentioned Orkney in his work; I will have to research it.
That is interesting about WWII and the navel base, also about the German Fleet and Scapa Flow.

I am embarrassed to say I have not read much Dickens, but I will make up for that and say I have read tons of Shakepeare, and other poets. Oh thanks. I will fire away with questions now and then; I try to find out as much as I can, about England and Scotland and Ireland. Glad you see it as a challenge, and I am big researcher, too...yes...'that will do brain wonders!' Good phrase.

Just a suggestion, you might want to try participating in our monthly or bi-monthly discussion in the 'D.H.Lawrence Short Story' thread...currently, we are reading "The Princess" and are half way through discussing it. We will do a new one, beginning in the coming year - Lawrence wrote tons of short stories, so it will be a time, before we run out of material. I think you would find the one we already discussed - "The Man Who Loved Islands" interesting, living on an island yourself, and one can look up the Scotsman who he based the story on. I have that info in my offline files, it is fascinating; I can send it to you, if you decide to read the story. Let me know...I did a bit of research on it during our discussion. I like digging up these obscure but interesting facts.

So glad to be your friend, too...I always love hearing about England, UK, so I will definitely pick your brain on the subject. I have heard of Orkney; I thought they were off the coast of NE Scotland; we read this story of D.H.Lawrence's, "The Man Who Loved Islands", and if I am correct about this, it was based on a man, who had an small island up there. I recall doing some research on it, but now I forget the details. I do know it was the coast of Scotland. Living on an island sounds incredible. I love islands.

Yes, probably someone else mentioning Youtube; people get scrambled in my head sometimes....so many to keep straight. I have been linking some videos lately; such ones to the social group and the Lawrence thread. There were some, on a adaptation of a part of his life, and it was a good way to explain a certain concept to those discussing the story.

I live in New Jersey, right on the Delaware River, across from Philadelphia; as I said the name of the town is Gloucester City; it is a small town. How funny about your love of our history; my interests take me across the sea to your country instead. haha. I do know much about our history here though, so ask whatever you like. You will test my brain and my knowledge. Actually, my town is very historic, although much of the original history, actual buildings, are now gone. My town does date back to early Dutch settlers - 1600's. We also had an Indian tribe here named the Leni Lenape. The locals got together a number of years back and wrote a local history book. I contributed with an illustration for the Industrial period. It was quite an industrial hub at one time; also, had a many clothing factories. Betsy Ross, who sewed the first American flag, was married here; the original tavern burned down, but near it sprung up a newer place and they claim the foundation is very old....they also claim to see her ghost there. I have been in the tavern and it is funny to talk to the owner (a real flamboyant character) and hear of the weird sitings. I wish I had seen her ghost at least once.

Yes, so much alike and yet so very different - well our forefahters fought a war against each other, but we won't hold that one against each other, right?....haha
I recently heard that when the British dignitaries visit the White House we are not allowed to play the song "Yankee Doodle Dandy" because of the Revolutionary War - pretty strange, huh? That was like a zillion years ago... So you loved our American robin. How funny, since we think of that bird as the most common of all and we sort of take it for granted, except to see it in early spring indicates the first real sign of spring. I love our state bird - a small finch called the Goldfinch - if you put out certain seed they come to your yard. They are so cute and so vibrantly yellow with a touch of black markings. You would love them! I will have to find you a photo. I love bird watching, my mother does, too and we live by a lake, so we see lots of different kinds of birds, egrets and herrings, too.

Hope you don't mind; I just requested you as my friend. I have to learn more about England from you, those neat town names and I like your robin avay, as well. I just signed up on Youtube. It is so much fun. I heard you mention it. Do you have a channel page there?

At one time I had a cute little birdnest in my signature picture...it would go well with your little bird. Robins looks quite different there than here in the USA.

Yeah I gathered that and it's good, but I wish you could find a Prabhupada original. Prabhupada is great because he explains the terms and all the philosophy so clearly. It's not just a passive philosophy, it's an active philosophy of devotion.

"Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend" BG 18.65

"To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance" (Bhagavad-gita 10.11).

"To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me" (Bhagavad-gita 10.10).

"Abandon all varieties of mundane religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear." (Bhagavad-gita 18:66).

O son of Prtha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible. BG 9.13

Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion. BG 9.14

Of course.