by Staff Writer, June 10, 2009
It was the nightingale that inspired John Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale”, a poem said to be “the nearest to perfection”. Listening to the birds chattering on 23 April, it was not hard to see how the beautiful bird song stirred his imagination. The nightingale’s call seemed to come from a distant, tropical place, standing out from other British birds with its stunning chorus comprised of trills, whistles and gurgles. This is perhaps appropriate, as the nightingale is at the heart of the ancient myth of Philomela, the princess of Athens, whose sister Procne was turned into a bird.
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by Harry Coulthard,
On the 12th of July, acclaimed countertenor, Derek Lee Ragin will be performing as part of the Oundle International Music Festival 2009. Derek Ragin is one of the first countertenors to have gained a worldwide reputation. He uses a voice that is higher than that of a tenor, which is the highest male adult singing voice. The impressive sound is reached through the use of falsetto. The American Record Guide has written, ‘Derek Lee Ragin’s singing is exquisitely beautiful, almost otherworldly in its purity and strength.’
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by Wesley Tam,
East Northamptonshire is twinned with the Loreley district of Germany. This is a beautiful area on the Rhine and is steeped in legend. So why ‘twinned’ with Loreley you may ask?
The story is that sailors on the Rhine were distracted by a blonde, long haired maiden on the top of the rocks and then went aground. To commemorate this, every year the people of the Loreley elect a long haired blonde young lady to represent the legend as Miss Loreley. She now encourages tourists to the area, rather than the traditional role of seducing sailors to wreck their ships on the rocks of the Rhine.
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by Staff Writer,
Thirteen years ago a group of Northamptonshire Scouts spent three weeks in Uganda, searching for a venture that they could fund and sustain. They discovered Outspan School. Continued…