Wednesday 27 January 2016

Here Be Dragons

I’m beginning to wonder if according to some ancient calendar the year 2016 is perhaps the Year of Dragons? Anyway I seem to have stirred a few of them during this month of January!

The first week after New Year, I (re)watched (on DVD) the three movies based on Tolkien’s The Hobbit.


I copied this image from Google search but it is the same cover as on my own paperback copy from the mid 1970s sitting in my bookcase.

I also (re)watched the last of the Harry Potter films, where there’s a dragon playing a part too.

A week ago I received this postcard from South Africa – with photos from Drakensberg = Dragon Mountains.

ZA 160113-160120 from ilzeb

Yesterday, on the charming blog The Postal Adventures of Morris Mouse there was an interesting new blog-postcard throwing light on the world-wide phenomenon of dragons and ... let’s say, creatures of related kind.

And today, further evidence of dragon activity reached me by mail, in the form of a Postcrossing card from Russia:

RU-4361881
“Winter dragon” by Anna Loch

"Here be dragons" means dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a supposed medieval practice of putting dragons, sea serpents and other mythological creatures in uncharted areas of maps. [Wikipedia]

7 comments:

  1. It's interesting, isn't it, how sometimes things seem to occur to us in clusters, like your dragons at the moment.
    I found the bit about the dragon in the last Harry Potter book rather upsetting at first, but wonderfully solved, and so well done in the film.

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  2. I agree. It's a bit like when you learn a new word. Suddenly it seems to appear in every text you read! ... Have to admit the dragon cluster may not be completely random, though, as of course I knew there were dragons in those films, and I also mention dragons on my postcrossing wishlist! :)

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  3. yours are the first dragons i have seen. i love the post card. i do agree with your reply about seeing something new and then see it everywhere.

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  4. I found the fact about 'Here be Dragons' most interesting because although it's a well-used saying I had no idea of it's origin. It's so obvious when you know though.

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    Replies
    1. Graham, I'm not sure but think it may actually have been via your brother I first took note of the expression... :)

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    2. What would really have worried me is if it had been me that had told you!

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    3. Funny, Graham! :) Mind you, I quite often now find old posts of my own in the Linkedwithin gadget on my blog that I've totally forgotten that I ever wrote. Believe it or not! ;)

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