Christmas message from Richard

Message from Richard Armitage, 24th December 2011

Dear All,

So my feet are finally on UK soil, back in Blighty, nose to tail traffic and the usual Heathrow drizzle. But it's good to be home for Christmas. I think the jet lag might give me a sneaky glimpse of Santa this year as I am wide awake at 2am!

It's been one of the most memorable years I have ever experienced, the big birthday (which I tried to ignore, by sleeping through it!) and the privilege to be in NZ working on The Hobbit has make this year unforgettable. The places we have been to and the things we have seen, have surpassed all my expectations. I was very choked up as the plane left Wellington on Weds, it really has become home and to all my new friends there and my old friends here I would like to raise a glass for the festive season.

Thank you for the continuing support which you all lend as part of our community of 'friends', it really has an impact on me personally, I feel very much supported and I hope that waiting for the film isn't too frustrating. I haven't quite had the time to attend to all the signed photos that people were requesting as Christmas gifts for family and friends and I apologise for dissappointing them, I will get on the case as soon as I can.

I think next year will be like that last turn of the corner when you think you have reached the summit, only to find you are miles from the top and the climb is even steeper, but we are gearing up for an exciting ride. I even might step off the treadmill and put my dumb bells down briefly to scoff some turkey on 25th!!

Thank you all for the continued generosity on the Just Giving pages which in total comes to more than £14,000.

I would like to say Happy Christmas to everyone who drops in to catch up on the news and further across our online 'party' of friends, have a great holiday, and a cracking New Year. Just think this time next year, we'll all be crossed eyed from all the 3D movies we will have watched, and by 2013, technology will have advanced so much, we won't even have to go the the cinema, it will be transmitted directly into our imagination by a WIFI/Bluetooth microchip which we will have all had installed into our Hypothalamusesl! (Hypothalami?)

Enjoy the typos!

Peace and goodwill (and I really mean that, be willingly good, extra good, extra peaceful and extra forgiving)

RA

Source: http://richardarmitageonline.com/

THE HOBBIT trailer

Swords and tattoos in Celtic Mythology

As a Celtic symbol, the sword is reputed to be associated with Nuada, the first king of the TUATHA DÉ DANANN. In fact, Nuada’s great sword is considered one of the four treasures (sword, stone, spear, cauldron). The sword is called the Sword of Light or the Sword of Truth. Nuada's weapon was otherworldly, forged in the city of Findias in the land of Tir Na Nog. Nuada's sword was irresistible. When pulled from its scabbard, no enemy could flee from it, and its blow was always fatal. A sword is the ultimate symbol of a warrior, the Celtic warrior's sword would be an utmost status symbol.

In the ancient Celtic tradition we find Lugh and his invincible sword. Lugh is a Celtic god known as “The Shining One” who was widely worshipped by all the Celtic tribes. Archaelogists count more monuments dedicated to Lugh than to any other Celtic god. Roman Emperor Julius Caesar compared Lugh to the Roman god Mercury. In Irish myth, he´s called Lugh Lámfhota, a strong and handsome warrior, god of light, and member of the TUATHA DÉ DANANN. Lugh was a skilled craftsman and a magician who was credited with making many magical weapons, including a sword that could cut through any object. He also owned the Gáe Assail (Sword of Lugh, a lightning spear that always returned to the hand that had thrown it.

Source: Celtic Mythology A to Z (By Gienna Matson, Jeremy Roberts-2nd Edition)

Most of Celtic tattoo designs are taken from the Irish Illuminated Manuscripts ‘The Book of Kells’, on display in the library of Trinity College in Dublin. There are certain theories that the Celtic warrior would have free flowing tattoos embellished on his body along sexual/prime energy points of his body....these points are called “meridians” The idea is that these imprints along power meridians would enhance the warriors' performance in battle.

Celtic Cross Tattoo - The Celtic Cross, sometimes also known as the Wheel Cross or the Ring Cross, began to appear in Europe during the Middle Ages, beginning as early as the 5th century. Although today in tattoo designs it is typically an ornate symbol of Christianity, it likely derived from much earlier pagan symbols. In fact, these simple pagan images were probably associated with fertility -- the cross, or more literally a simple "plus sign", standing for the male generative power and the circle for the female. Also linked with fertility in agriculture, these two symbols sometimes stood for the sun. Early on however, as Christianity began to spread throughout Europe, the plus sign was elongated into a cross and the symbol was adopted and placed in churches and graveyards. In Scandinavian countries, it was erected in locations where accidents or acts of violence had occurred and it was also used in front of farmhouses. Today its more common use is in the form of gravestones in, for example, Ireland, where the Celtic association is strongest. Most often in tattoo designs, the Celtic Cross is treated with the most famous of the art motifs associated with that region, intricate knotwork. Knotwork is a constant theme in Celtic art, especially in Irish manuscript illumination. The fantastic illuminated books that have survived for us today began to be produced in the Celtic west sometime after about 500 AD. Religion managed to survive the Middle Ages in monasteries, where artist monks labored to produce the lavishly illustrated Christian manuscripts known today as the Book of Kells, the Lindisfarne Gospels, or the Book of Durrow, as a few examples. In fact, much of Celtic tattoo art is modeled on ornamentation from these manuscripts and the Celtic Cross is no exception. The knotwork is a symbol of constant motion -- the developing, coiling, and intertwining of human and cosmos, in a never ending cycle. It is thus particularly apt in the Celtic Cross tattoo, a permanent symbol of the intertwining of heaven and earth.

Source: http://www.tattoosymbol.com

Angels

“Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots, of angels”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Angel (By William Blake)

I Dreamt a Dream! what can it mean?
And that I was a maiden Queen:
Guarded by an Angel mild;
Witless woe, was neer beguil'd!

And I wept both night and day
And he wip'd my tears away
And I wept both day and night
And hid from him my hearts delight

So he took his wings and fled:
Then the morn blush'd rosy red:
I dried my tears & armd my fears,
With ten thousand shields and spears.

Soon my Angel came again;
I was arm'd, he came in vain:
For the time of youth was fled
And grey hairs were on my head

The Legend of Cambaral

It´s a Spanish legend about a pirate who fell deeply in love with a noble maiden. A forbidden love story with a sad ending and a last passionate kiss. You can read it here:
http://turismoluarcavaldes.com/index.php/en/history/the-legend-of-cambaral


I saw three ships a-sailing in from across the sea
Strangers ne'er were welcome but for curiosity
But come they did and when they did ready they did stand
And things would never be the same in our Village on the Sand...

When the ships pulled in to dock the villagers did hide
When trouble came it usually was brought upon the tide
When the pirates disembarked they were making plans
And from then on things were not the same in our Village on the Sand...

The smugglers came into our town and many sought to run
I stood my ground bravely and came face to face with one
Time and travel on the seas weathered face and hand
He was different than the others in my Village on the Sand...

He told me of the years he'd spent on the stormy seas
Then he spoke a poet's words of philosophy
And when he had to leave again he asked me for my hand
And I knew I'd never see again my Village on the Sand...

Tsunami relief funds used to kill whales?!

"The Japanese whaling fleet is barrelling south to hunt thousands of majestic whales, escorted by a 30 million dollar security force paid for out of the tsunami disaster relief fund!"
http://www.avaaz.org/en/japan_disaster_funds_whaling_d/?tta

I´m in the Christmas mood...

And I wonder what would Fankles actually want to get for Christmas...

I still don´t know what to ask for Christmas besides Health and Happiness and keep enjoying life as much as I can, even in hard times.

Hi everyone

Tonight I have a bit of insomnia so I´m testing my brand-new blog right now. I think it´s time to post the first manip...

Hiya there!

I´ve been thinking about what to say in my first post… Gosh… This is so difficult, I´m new to this blogging thing. I know I´m not the only one who is starting as a blogger but this is a bit scary… As you can see, the blog title is “Richardsbabe´s doodles” and it makes sense as I´ll post my manips and artwork as well as many things I´m interested in. Thanks so much and hope to see you around!