All the Best of the Season to You!

[Paddy Tobin]

Paddy ,

Irish Whisky ?

Hans,

I am an indiscriminate collector of enemies - whiskey, brandy and wine are my top three personal enemies.

Paddy

[Paddy Tobin]

Guím beannachtaí na Nollag ar mo chairde go léir anseo sa SRGC agus Athbhliain faoi Shéan agus faoi Mhaise freisin. Mo Bhuíochas faoi leith dos na daoine sin a raibh chomh deas sin is gur sheol siad plandaí chugham i rith na bliana, go háirithe lucht na bplúiríní sneachta.

Anois, tá sé in am óil. Slán go fóill.

 I think he's sending Christmas greetings to his friends inthe SRGC and a happy new year also to Mhaise (Maggi??) And special thanks to those who sent plants and made snow (?)
 And now he's back to the drink but still standing..... ?

My post was in the spirit of the pluralism of the forum - a collection of people from diverse cultures and languages who all come together and share a common interest.

So, in translation: "Christmas blessings on all my friends in the SRGC and also a prosperous and healthy New Year. A special thanks to those people who were so kind to send plants during the past year, especially snowdrop friends.

And, now, it's time for a drink. All the best for the moment."

Anois, tá sé in am óil arís. Slán tamaill! - Now, it's time for another drink. Bye for now!

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Thanks, Paddy! Those BBC Alba programmes do have some uses .... even for the Irish Gaelic one can learn something from the subtitles!

[Paddy Tobin]

Maggi, there is quite an amount in common between Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic; enough that I could follow a conversation and make myself understood. It is somewhat like the various dialects of Irish here in Ireland; they are different but similar at the same time.

Here is an apposite poem for this season where alcohol may be taken a little more liberally than other times of the year. It is a poem I have always liked and include a translation which will give the gist of the poet's thoughts.

An Bonnán Buí

le Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna

A bhonnán bhuí, is é mo léan do luí,
Is do chnámha sínte tar éis do ghrinn,
Is chan easba bidh ach díobháil dí
a d'fhág i do luí thú ar chúl do chinn.
Is measa liom féin ná scrios na Traoi
Tú bheith i do luí ar leaca lom',
Is nach ndearna tú díth ná dolaidh sa tír,
Is nárbh fhearra leat fíon ná uisce poll.


A bhonnáin álainn, is é mo mhíle crá thú,
Do chúl ar lár amuigh romham sa tslí,
Is gurbh iomaí lá a chluininn do ghrág
Ar an láib is tú ag ól na dí.
Is é an ní a deir cách le do dheartháir Cáthal,
Go bhfaighidh sé bás mar siúd, más fíor,
Ach ní hamhlaidh atá, siúd an préachán breá
Chuaigh in éag ar ball le díth na dí.

A bhonnáin óig, is é mo mhíle brón
Thú bheith sínte fuar i measc na dtom,
Is na luchaí móra ag triall chun do thórraimh,
Ag déanamh spóirt agus pléisiúir ann;
Is dá gcuirfeá scéala in am faoi mo dhéinse
Go raibh tú i ngéibhinn, nó i mbroid fá dheoch,
Do bhrisfinn béim duit ar an loch úd Bhéasaigh
A fhliuchfadh do bhéal is do chorp isteach.


Ní hiad bhur n-éanlaith atá mé ag éagnach,
An lon, an smaolach, nó an chorr ghlas,
Ach mo bhonnán buí, bhí lán de chroí,
Is gur chosúil liom féin é ina ghné is ina dhath.
Bhíodh sé go síoraí ag ól na dí,
Is deir na daoine go mbímse mar sin seal;
Níl aon deor dá bhfaighinn nach ligfinn síos,
Ar eagla go bhfaighinnse bás den tart.

  Is é a d'iarr mo stór orm ligint den ól,
Nó nach mbeinnse beo ach seal beag gearr;
Ach dúirt mé léithi go dtug sí an bhréag,
Is gurbh fhaide mo shaolsa an deoch úd a fháil.
Nach bhfaiceann sibh éan an phíobáin réidh
A chuaigh in éag den tart ar ball;
Is a chomharsain chléibh, fliuchaíg bhur mbéal
Óir chan fhaigheann sibh braon i ndiaidh bhur mbáis.



THE YELLOW BITTERN

By Thomas S. McDonagh (1878-1916)

(Translated from An Bonnán Buí in the Irish
of Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna)
             
            The yellow bittern that never broke out
            In a drinking bout, might as well have drunk;
            His bones are thrown on a naked stone
            Where he lived alone like a hermit monk.
            O yellow bittern! I pity your lot,
            Though they say that a sot like myself is curst --
            I was sober a while, but I'll drink and be wise
            For I fear I should die in the end of thirst.
           

            It's not for the common birds that I'd mourn,
            The black-bird, the corn-crake, or the crane,
            But for the bittern that's shy and apart
            And drinks in the marsh from the lone bog-drain.
            Oh! if I had known you were near your death,
            While my breath held out I'd have run to you,
            Till a splash from the Lake of the Son of the Bird
            Your soul would have stirred and waked anew.

            My darling told me to drink no more
            Or my life would be o'er in a little short while;
            But I told her 'tis drink gives me health and strength
            And will lengthen my road by many a mile.
            You see how the bird of the long smooth neck
            Could get his death from the thirst at last --
            Come, son of my soul, and drain your cup,
            You'll get no sup when your life is past.
           

            In a wintering island by Constantine's halls
            A bittern calls from a wineless place,
            And tells me that hither he cannot come
            Till the summer is here and the sunny days.
            When he crosses the stream there and wings o'er the sea
            Then a fear comes to me he may fail in his flight --
            Well, the milk and the ale are drunk every drop,
            And a dram won't stop our thirst this night.

[Casalima]

I was thinking of sending a message in Portuguese ... unlike Gaelic, Portuguese may look quite innocuous and understandable in the written form, but the spoken form is quite another story ... 

Anyway, I raise my feindlich glass of liquid raisins (Moscatel Reserva) to you all!

Chloë
(working over the weekend )

[Maggi Young]

I was thinking of sending a message in Portuguese ... unlike Gaelic, Portuguese may look quite innocuous and understandable in the written form, but the spoken form is quite another story ...  

Anyway, I raise my feindlich glass of liquid raisins (Moscatel Reserva) to you all!

Chloë
(working over the weekend )

 Easy for you to say, Chloë....... in fact I find the written version very confusing also!

As for the Irish or Scottish Gaelic; what really frustrates me is my inability to "hear" what I am reading.... true of the likes of Portuguese as well, but I feel more guilty about the ignorance of Gaelic, it being closer to home  

working over the weekend

yes, me too.

[cohan]

lovely poem, paddy,
a good reminder that sadness, solitude, loss (and the efforts to avoid and forget them!) are every bit as much a part of midwinter as celebration!
thanks for the translation, as i'd get not a word out of gaelic!

portuguese in writing i'd get more of, and some spoken were it brasilian pronunciation

[TheOnionMan]

Crocus etruscus 'Rosalind' snow buds, 3/29/2008... Happy Holidays all!

[Renate Brinkers]

Paddy,

céad mile fáilte!

[Ragged Robin]

Mark, what an amazing shot of the Crocus etruscus 'Rosalind' snow buds - full of promise in spite of the cold 

[ichristie]

Hi to all and a very Merry Christmas to you all, look forward to another growing season where we can share our pictures on this the best plant web site in the world, my gardening friend and I cleared some snow today we had another 3 inches or so, he almost lost his way,  cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[mark smyth]

Did anyone see the biggest snowman in the world on TV?
http://static.mmoabc.com/my/M/i/c/hael/2008/3/4//1204678475620.jpg
"The massive creature, slightly smaller than the Statue of Liberty, is 37 metres tall, 9 metres taller than the previous record-holder"

[Paul T]

Good grief!! 

[ichristie]

Thanks for the link Mark, I will not try and make a bigger snowman and the 3 which we now have will last till June I think it is Baltic minus 8 earlier now minus 4c  cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[David Nicholson]

Well it's 2010 in New Zealand and Australia now so a Happy New Year to all friends in the upsidedown world.