Hi Mike. No, I didn't know that. It must give you a whole universe of rich, under-reported memories. Such a wonderful, self-contained place. I've been a bit of nomad myself. Started out in a sort of march land on the south Wales border and travelled around ever since, listening to accents and places. Even the wrens have their local dialects :-)
Well, blow me over, fall me down! I have not been a traveller except the one journey to England some years ago and now I have been to Kirkby Stephen on a chilly Melbourne morning. Not only been there today but down the centuries. A time traveller. All in the space of a cuppa. You are a magician, David.
'All the great travelling players who performed in the marketplace had a backcloth of swift.' So evocative, I love this connection through time, place and nature.
Few Beuks from MY Cleadon ( Reference ) Library :-
First Beuk got Over TWO THOUSAND VIEWS on Slinked-In within One Week ( Most only ever reached One Thousand after Six Months.)
Possibly could be my Song I attached but you only see the Beuk Title & Author on screen
I had Over 178,000 Views on SLinked-In until Barred by “ The English Teacher - Sir “ & his Sidekick “ Shenanigans Trick “ after 87,000 Views Out of Petty Spite ( Chief Spokesman for The Empress at the time now CEO XTC-QC )
Second Time - No Reason after 91,000 Views . Third Time - Lasted Three Days
ALL Autobiographical & TRUE !!!
-
Other ( Fellow ) Poet's Thoughts :-
-
Celtic Magpie / Did I Espy
( Song on Everyday Gaelic Blog on Slinked-In - TWO Thousand Views in One Week )
Celtic Woman / Stand by Me on Land & Sea
Odin's Daughter / Norse God's Wrath
Lady of the Loch / To Err is Human - To Forgive is Divine
Celtic Beauty/Red Head in my Bed ?
( Think I may possibly get a " Jarra Kiss " if I ever published that one )
( She did tell me I should get myself a girlfriend as I " Had Good Patter " & I was " HOT !!! " )
-
Everyday Gaelic
Morag MacNeill
( TWO Thousand Views in One Week )
-
Sources for Irish History - A listing of books and articles on the history of Irish Families
James G Ryan
-
The Poulbeg Book of Irish Poetry for children
Collected by Shaun Traynor
-
The Penny Poets - XVI - Irish Melodies and Other Poems
by Thomas Moore ( B Dublin May 28th 1779 D. Feb 1852 )
For your own Interest & if you Love Music I suggest :-
Karine Polwart - Pockets of Wind Resistance - Substack ( Twelve Month Writing Residency in Edinburgh I believe - Scottish Folk Singer , Musician & Poet )
Julie Fowlis - Gaelic Singer you may already know ( Saw both at The Fire Station recently & tickets for Julie Fowlis in October )
Lisa O'Neill - Cavan Girl - Poet & One of my Favourites ( " Sang a Few Songs " with Pogues on recent tour - also got tickets for solo gig )
Radie Peat - Lankum & Others - Lisa's mate & another favourite of mine
-
F Mc of the Clan Mc of the Isle of Skye - Gaelic Speaking ( Claymore Owner ) Radiographer who was on my Quiz Team together - Worked with her husband for My Sins.
Few Beuks from MY Cleadon ( Reference ) Library :-
The Mid-Northumbrian Dialect
Thomas Moody
( Quite Pricey - Oxfam Glass Case - Left it for few weeks then asked to see it - 2007 Non for sale Online) Bought couple of weeks ago.
Joe the Grafter ( Never let Anyone View his Biographical Song ) lived Over the Hills but I believe was Northumbrian - " Shy Bairns Get Nowt " & Always on getting his Bacardi & Coke - 10.30 after Hard Day's Graft - " How Much For Cash ? "
Other ( Fellow ) Poet's Thoughts :-
Farmer Joe - Grafter/ Shy Bairns Get Nowt - How much for Cash ?
-
A Northumberland and Durham Word Book - An introduction to the living dialect and a glossary of words - The Living Dialect
Cecil Gleedon
( Two Copies - One Saturday gone )
-
Dialectology
JK Chambers & Peter Trugill
-
A Dictionary of North East Dialect 2nd ed
Bill Griffiths
( Worth a Search on Bill Griffiths - Interesting Life )
-
Fishing Folk : Life and dialect on the North Sea Coast
Bill Griffiths, Compiled by
( Two Copies - All Published by Northumbria University , Newcastle )
-
Pitmatic : The Talk of the North East Coalfield
Bill Griffiths, Compiled by
( Two Copies )
-
Stotty 'n' Spice Cake
Bill Griffiths 2nd ed
-
The right word at the right time A guide to English Language & how to use it
Ed John Ellison Khan MD D Phil Readers Digest 1st ed 1985
-
The Origins of Words & Phrases
Readers Digest
-
Dictionary of Word Origins
Linda and Roger Flavell
-
Todd's Geordie Words and Phraes
George Todd
-
Veils and Words - The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers
Farzanek Milani PhD ( 1992 First Edition ? ) Assistant Professor of Persian at the University of Virginia. Herself a Poet & PhD in comparative literature from the University of California , Los Angeles
( Came up in My Search - Thought might appeal - MY Cleadon ( Reference ) Library )
-
Lyrics from Old Song Books
Gumonstoune Duncan
( 1927 )
-
The Story of English - How an obscure dialect became the World's most spoken language
Thanks Ivar. That’s a mighty handy set of sources. Chambers and Trudgill by my left hand, by coincidence, as I wrestle down the last couple of chapters of my PhD thesis on Irish Gaelic dialectology :-)
You’re kind of an archaeologist of the tiny details of life. I love the the way you present the North of England to our eager ears, David. I echo others’ recognition of the magic that informs your portraiture. Have a wonderful small journey seeing what finds you. I shall be awaiting! Keep well!
Hi Linda. Thanks for taking the time and for your kindness. I did smile to think that my weird way of looking at things might have refracted your vision too, for a moment.
Such a lovely piece, a feast for the imagination and a pace the ears can sink into. The accent is a welcome memory of my dad’s near-enough home near Durham. Thank you.
Hi Kimberly. Oh yes, I’ll have been taking coals to Newcastle for you :-) That’s the great thing, writing here - always people ahead of you on one path or another.
I wish you wonderful adventures David, filled with astonishment and learning...
"Besides, it is fearsome early in the morning. The heavy July air still carries the sticky dew which it failed to sell to the restless night fields, bereft of their flower-rich hay." I loved this, I loved it all, I always do, but this, after my day of battling unusually damp meadow grass, a dew that won't lift due such humid days, calmed blue air and aching bones alike. Now, I will sleep with the sweet song of swift and the learned discourse of Jackdaw - thank you ❇︎
Ah, Susie, you are a rock :-) I’m not going anywhere much geographically speaking but I’ll see what the cracks and crevices here have to offer and report back.
What a lovely and very evocative piece of the Old North to leave us with for your summer break. Oh, you've captured the essence of Kirkby in that Cumbrian jackdaw chatter! I love the way too that you've given the birds an immortal role - actors who've known these historic nooks and crannies forever. Hope you'll spend the next two months storing up magic for us!!
Looking forward to your return. Happy listening and seeing into the depths of the Earth’s soul.
an airbrushed whisper of wilderness. Love.
Hi Mike. No, I didn't know that. It must give you a whole universe of rich, under-reported memories. Such a wonderful, self-contained place. I've been a bit of nomad myself. Started out in a sort of march land on the south Wales border and travelled around ever since, listening to accents and places. Even the wrens have their local dialects :-)
Well, blow me over, fall me down! I have not been a traveller except the one journey to England some years ago and now I have been to Kirkby Stephen on a chilly Melbourne morning. Not only been there today but down the centuries. A time traveller. All in the space of a cuppa. You are a magician, David.
Thanks Barbara, that made me laugh out loud :-) Glad you could make the trip.
'All the great travelling players who performed in the marketplace had a backcloth of swift.' So evocative, I love this connection through time, place and nature.
Thanks Clare, that is kind. Yes, it felt a bit over-ambitious :-) But sometimes it’s fun to take a leap!
I think you nailed it.
I will miss your words and be eagerly waiting for their return in September.
That’s kind of you, Karen. I’ll see what I can dig up :-)
David Knowles
Few Beuks from MY Cleadon ( Reference ) Library :-
First Beuk got Over TWO THOUSAND VIEWS on Slinked-In within One Week ( Most only ever reached One Thousand after Six Months.)
Possibly could be my Song I attached but you only see the Beuk Title & Author on screen
I had Over 178,000 Views on SLinked-In until Barred by “ The English Teacher - Sir “ & his Sidekick “ Shenanigans Trick “ after 87,000 Views Out of Petty Spite ( Chief Spokesman for The Empress at the time now CEO XTC-QC )
Second Time - No Reason after 91,000 Views . Third Time - Lasted Three Days
ALL Autobiographical & TRUE !!!
-
Other ( Fellow ) Poet's Thoughts :-
-
Celtic Magpie / Did I Espy
( Song on Everyday Gaelic Blog on Slinked-In - TWO Thousand Views in One Week )
Celtic Woman / Stand by Me on Land & Sea
Odin's Daughter / Norse God's Wrath
Lady of the Loch / To Err is Human - To Forgive is Divine
Celtic Beauty/Red Head in my Bed ?
( Think I may possibly get a " Jarra Kiss " if I ever published that one )
( She did tell me I should get myself a girlfriend as I " Had Good Patter " & I was " HOT !!! " )
-
Everyday Gaelic
Morag MacNeill
( TWO Thousand Views in One Week )
-
Sources for Irish History - A listing of books and articles on the history of Irish Families
James G Ryan
-
The Poulbeg Book of Irish Poetry for children
Collected by Shaun Traynor
-
The Penny Poets - XVI - Irish Melodies and Other Poems
by Thomas Moore ( B Dublin May 28th 1779 D. Feb 1852 )
-
An Irish Exile's Verse
Charles O'Connor ( Signed )
-
A Book of Irish Verse
Yeats
-
Another Very Interesting one featured on :-
Cleadon Library - Beuk O'The Daze - Friday 4th July 2025
For your own Interest & if you Love Music I suggest :-
Karine Polwart - Pockets of Wind Resistance - Substack ( Twelve Month Writing Residency in Edinburgh I believe - Scottish Folk Singer , Musician & Poet )
Julie Fowlis - Gaelic Singer you may already know ( Saw both at The Fire Station recently & tickets for Julie Fowlis in October )
Lisa O'Neill - Cavan Girl - Poet & One of my Favourites ( " Sang a Few Songs " with Pogues on recent tour - also got tickets for solo gig )
Radie Peat - Lankum & Others - Lisa's mate & another favourite of mine
-
F Mc of the Clan Mc of the Isle of Skye - Gaelic Speaking ( Claymore Owner ) Radiographer who was on my Quiz Team together - Worked with her husband for My Sins.
-
Ivar Gabot
-
Bard of Cleadon
-
Barred of SLInked-In
-
-
Other ( Fellow ) Poet's Thoughts :-
-
Le Poete / Irish T'inker
-
Rodin's Thinker
Irish T'inker
Represent Intellect
Le Poete - Respect !
-
Lyrics by © HughofDurham@Gmail.com
© BardofCleadon@Gmail.com
-
Ivar Gabot
Chartered Management Accountant
Lowest Paid Qualified Accountant for The Empress for over Twenty Years
( & THE BEST )
Philosopher Pauper and a Poet
Chilled Skilled Wordsmith
One Hundred and Sixty-Two Songs since Lockdown
One Hundred and Eighty-Eight in Total
Cleadon Library - Not a Business but a Mission to Educate the World One Book at a Time
David Knowles / Linda Clark
Few Beuks from MY Cleadon ( Reference ) Library :-
The Mid-Northumbrian Dialect
Thomas Moody
( Quite Pricey - Oxfam Glass Case - Left it for few weeks then asked to see it - 2007 Non for sale Online) Bought couple of weeks ago.
Joe the Grafter ( Never let Anyone View his Biographical Song ) lived Over the Hills but I believe was Northumbrian - " Shy Bairns Get Nowt " & Always on getting his Bacardi & Coke - 10.30 after Hard Day's Graft - " How Much For Cash ? "
Other ( Fellow ) Poet's Thoughts :-
Farmer Joe - Grafter/ Shy Bairns Get Nowt - How much for Cash ?
-
A Northumberland and Durham Word Book - An introduction to the living dialect and a glossary of words - The Living Dialect
Cecil Gleedon
( Two Copies - One Saturday gone )
-
Dialectology
JK Chambers & Peter Trugill
-
A Dictionary of North East Dialect 2nd ed
Bill Griffiths
( Worth a Search on Bill Griffiths - Interesting Life )
-
Fishing Folk : Life and dialect on the North Sea Coast
Bill Griffiths, Compiled by
( Two Copies - All Published by Northumbria University , Newcastle )
-
Pitmatic : The Talk of the North East Coalfield
Bill Griffiths, Compiled by
( Two Copies )
-
Stotty 'n' Spice Cake
Bill Griffiths 2nd ed
-
The right word at the right time A guide to English Language & how to use it
Ed John Ellison Khan MD D Phil Readers Digest 1st ed 1985
-
The Origins of Words & Phrases
Readers Digest
-
Dictionary of Word Origins
Linda and Roger Flavell
-
Todd's Geordie Words and Phraes
George Todd
-
Veils and Words - The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers
Farzanek Milani PhD ( 1992 First Edition ? ) Assistant Professor of Persian at the University of Virginia. Herself a Poet & PhD in comparative literature from the University of California , Los Angeles
( Came up in My Search - Thought might appeal - MY Cleadon ( Reference ) Library )
-
Lyrics from Old Song Books
Gumonstoune Duncan
( 1927 )
-
The Story of English - How an obscure dialect became the World's most spoken language
Joseph Piercy
-
Ivar Gabot
Bard of Cleadon
Barred of SLInked-In
-
Other ( Fellow ) Poet's Thoughts :-
-
Le Poete / Irish T'inker
-
Rodin's Thinker
Irish T'inker
Represent Intellect
Le Poete - Respect !
-
Lyrics by © HughofDurham@Gmail.com
© BardofCleadon@Gmail.com
-
Ivar Gabot
Chartered Management Accountant
Lowest Paid Qualified Accountant for The Empress for over Twenty Years
( & THE BEST )
Philosopher Pauper and a Poet
Chilled Skilled Wordsmith
One Hundred and Sixty-Two Songs since Lockdown
One Hundred and Eighty-Eight in Total
Cleadon Library - Not a Business but a Mission to Educate the World One Book at a Time
Thanks Ivar. That’s a mighty handy set of sources. Chambers and Trudgill by my left hand, by coincidence, as I wrestle down the last couple of chapters of my PhD thesis on Irish Gaelic dialectology :-)
Another beautiful and evocative piece... I love your writing, David! Thank you!
Thanks, DANA. That’s kind of you.
You’re kind of an archaeologist of the tiny details of life. I love the the way you present the North of England to our eager ears, David. I echo others’ recognition of the magic that informs your portraiture. Have a wonderful small journey seeing what finds you. I shall be awaiting! Keep well!
Thanks. Have a good summer :-)
Thank you so much for the joy, insights and shifts in perception your words offer
Hi Linda. Thanks for taking the time and for your kindness. I did smile to think that my weird way of looking at things might have refracted your vision too, for a moment.
Such a lovely piece, a feast for the imagination and a pace the ears can sink into. The accent is a welcome memory of my dad’s near-enough home near Durham. Thank you.
Thanks, Erin, that is kind. Isn’t it marvelous how evocative a tiny change in pronunciation can be :-)
That first paragraph 🥹
Enjoy your hiatus ✨🕊️
Thanks. I’ll see what finds me and hopefully have some tales to tell.
Wonderful, and painfully true. I close my eyes gladly and often, only to discover worlds so much more alive and immediate.
Hi Kimberly. Oh yes, I’ll have been taking coals to Newcastle for you :-) That’s the great thing, writing here - always people ahead of you on one path or another.
I wish you wonderful adventures David, filled with astonishment and learning...
"Besides, it is fearsome early in the morning. The heavy July air still carries the sticky dew which it failed to sell to the restless night fields, bereft of their flower-rich hay." I loved this, I loved it all, I always do, but this, after my day of battling unusually damp meadow grass, a dew that won't lift due such humid days, calmed blue air and aching bones alike. Now, I will sleep with the sweet song of swift and the learned discourse of Jackdaw - thank you ❇︎
Ah, Susie, you are a rock :-) I’m not going anywhere much geographically speaking but I’ll see what the cracks and crevices here have to offer and report back.
What a lovely and very evocative piece of the Old North to leave us with for your summer break. Oh, you've captured the essence of Kirkby in that Cumbrian jackdaw chatter! I love the way too that you've given the birds an immortal role - actors who've known these historic nooks and crannies forever. Hope you'll spend the next two months storing up magic for us!!
Thanks Vanessa. You’ve lived these places well, for sure. I’ll go and see what finds me and report back :-)