Friday 17 October 2014

tableau vivant

Nebamun hunting in the marshes
fragment from the tomb-chapel of Nebamun
Thebes, Egypt
Late 18th Dynasty, around 1350 BC
© Trustees of the British Museum

They are standing at the end of the lane as we drive past, six men and five dogs in a small pool of light. The men wear every shade of green and brown, merging with the shadows cast by the trees and the high bank beside them. They carry guns broken over their arms, the dull lustre of the long barrels reflecting some of that early morning light. The labradors and spaniels sit quietly at their feet, black, white, brown. When we have passed they will cross the road into the wood on the other side and continue shooting but for this moment they are frozen into a tableau vivant, a scene that captures the essence of the remote part of Devon that we are now a part of.

7 comments:

  1. Is this your permanent home?

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  2. You make my mornings shine. If you give me your Whatsapp I can ask for soothing words when I am stressed or down.

    That happens a lot, I should warn you.

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  3. Completely different to your early morning sightings on the way to work. The picture you paint with your words is better than any photograph.

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  4. Lucky Alice!

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  5. Very countryside indeed! I loved your conversation with your young neighbour in the last post too, sounds like you have the start of a good relationship there! xx

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  6. If Devon is like North Wales and you're out at first light you might see similar men, perhaps with ferrets in boxes, and certainly with whippets or lurchers at their feet.

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  7. Oh I was never brave enough to comment but thank you so much for your wonderful blog. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all your posts and will miss them very much. Wishing you well for the future xx

    P.s The apple cake sounds wonderful :-)

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Thank you! I love reading your comments and even though I don't always have time to reply I am really grateful to every one who joins in the conversation.