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NEW YEAR BELLS

Photo:Owlcation

Ring Out, Wild Bells

A poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, published in 1850, the year he was appointed Poet Laureate

‘For centuries, shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve campanologists have made their way towards many of England's parish churches where, on the stroke of midnight, they begin the ancient ritual of ringing out the old year and ringing in the new. The sentiments expressed in Tennyson's poem Ring Out, Wild Bells still resonate almost two hundred years after it was first published. The poem speaks of bringing relief from grief, about casting aside everything that was sad and bad about the year that has passed, and makes fervent wishes that the better aspects of human nature will emerge in the future. Isn't that what most people hope for when the New Year brings a symbolic opportunity for a new beginning?’

Photo:Via Owlcation

‘According to legend, the inspiration for the poem came when Tennyson, staying in the vicinity of Waltham Abbey, heard the Abbey Church bells clanging in the wind on a stormy night.

As a child in the large family of an impoverished country Church rector, Tennyson would have seen and perhaps experienced many of the features of society that he wrote about in Ring Out, Wild Bells.’*

Ring Out, Wild Bells

‘Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light:

The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind

For those that here we see no more;

Ring out the feud of rich and poor,

Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

And ancient forms of party strife;

Ring in the nobler modes of life,

With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,

The faithless coldness of the times;

Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes

But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,

The civic slander and the spite;

Ring in the love of truth and right,

Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

Ring out the thousand wars of old,

Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,

The larger heart, the kindlier hand;

Ring out the darkness of the land,

Ring in the Christ that is to be.’

*Continue and read more about ‘Ring Out, Wild Bells’

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Our New Year Message 

2020 has been a difficult year. It's time to reset. It’s time to Ring in Hope

Photo: Jan Von Holleben/Trunk Archive/Via The Guardian 

We all know well that 2020 has been a unique and challenging year for all of us all over the world.

The pandemic has become a pervasive and chilling backdrop to a changed world and a timely reminder of our own vulnerability on a planet teetering on the edge.

So how do we as individuals, communities and as a society reset? How can we begin to reimagine the better days yet to come? How do we acknowledge the threats and work together to build a world of connection, collaboration, unity and hope?

To our mind, perhaps the best we can do is,  to be more thankful, grateful, and hopeful more than ever before, where and when we will all continue our common good journey and share a common belief in the potential of each one of us to become self-directed, empowered, and active in defining this time in the world as an opportunity for positive change and healing and for the true formation of a culture of peace by giving thanks, spreading joy, sharing love, seeing miracles, discovering goodness, embracing kindness, practicing patience, teaching moderation, encouraging laughter, celebrating diversity, showing compassion, turning from hatred, practicing forgiveness, peacefully resolving conflicts, communicating non-violently, choosing happiness and enjoying life.

May you find joy in the simple pleasures of life and may the light of the holiday season fill your heart with

the hope for a better and healthier world

As a token of our love, we wish to share this video with you:

From left: Eliza Carthy, Nicola Benedetti, Chris Martin, Martin James Bartlett, Danielle de Niese, Jaz Dhami, Stevie Wonder, Florence Welch,

Kylie Minogue, Lauren Laverne, Brian Wilson, Jake Bugg, Katie Derham, Chrissie Hynde, Gareth Malone, Emeli Sande, Ethan mi oJohns,

Baaba Maal, One Direction, Elton John, Jools Holland, Jamie Cullum, Brian May. Photo: PA, via The Times

Watch the Video: God Only Knows - BBC Music - YouTube

Happy New Year,

Stay Safe,

Keep Well,

Love,

Kamran and Annie

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Related postings from our archive:

My Poem of the month (December): The Emerging of a New Consciousness and Hopefulness

My Poem of the month (November): Reimagined Garden 

My Poem of the month (October): MORḠ-E SAḤAR (Bird of Dawn) 

Poetry is the Education that Nourishes the Heart and Nurtures the Soul

Finding sanctuary in poetry during lockdown