Remember me
I had to learn how best to read Darian Shotton’s Photos & Meditations to Soothe & Inspire, a special publication incorporating sound and vision.
I’ve always avoided QR codes, but once I got the hang of it, I was treated to something beautiful. On the right-hand page are Darian’s photographs of flowers, frogs, moths and a bright green caterpillar.
“What the caterpillar thinks is the end of the world, the butterfly knows is only the beginning.”
On the left-hand side is information on where the photos were taken — some local, others in the French Alps, Ecuador, Wales and southern Spain.
Angela Graham responds to articles and television reports from theatres of war, offering her own poetic vision of atrocities
— Anne HailesSharing each page is a QR code and, when you open it, the author gives a short spoken meditation on a theme related to one of the 26 accompanying images. For instance, opposite the scarlet Oriental poppy, which suggests being grounded and determined, she asks you to visualise strolling through a mountainous area in the Alps, the wind swaying the tall grass and cowbells gently chiming. The camellia offers a warm message of love, nurturing and care.
Darian Shotton's book with a piece about a caterpillar When she was teaching NHS relaxation classes, the idea for the book came to her: “Many patients at that time told me how much they enjoyed my sessions and the soothing qualities of my voice, and asked if I could make a recording which they could use at home to help them relax and aid a good night’s sleep.”
During a stressful period in her own life, she realised the benefits of spending time in her garden and observing nature through a camera lens.
“The process of capturing a colourful and appealing image brought me tremendous joy, comfort and calmness which lasted for many hours and changed my entire psychological outlook.”
She should know. A retired physiotherapist and acupuncturist specialising in stress management and health promotion, she gained an MSc from the University of Ulster in 2005, with a thesis on ear acupuncture for cocaine addiction.
Darian Shotton's book and a page dedicated to the Oriental Poppy She has lived in eight different countries, including Japan and Borneo, and travelled extensively as a research volunteer with the conservation charity Earthwatch.
As a humanist, Darian believes there is a connection in life not yet fully understood, one that binds us all together, expressed through love, compassion and generosity of spirit towards fellow humans, plants and creatures.
This colourful and fascinating work is a clear reflection of her outlook. We could all take a leaf out of her thoughtful book.
Details: darianbooks@icloud.com
Another fascinating book came my way last week: Exposure: War, Media, Democracy, poems based on images of war and politics, but without the images.
Angela Graham is the author of Exposure: War, Media, Democracy Although from Northern Ireland, poet Angela Graham is based in Wales, where she was a tutor in Documentary Practice at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism. The Institute of Welsh Affairs awarded her an honorary life fellowship for her leadership in policy work towards citizen-centred media and democracy in Wales. In 2021, she was the poetry winner of the Linen Hall Library Ulster-Scots Writing Competition.
In this latest collection, she responds to articles and television reports from theatres of war, offering her own poetic vision of atrocities.
I Imagine I am Noor’s Mother
Keep her above ground/for two more days./Allah will understand.
Six years of marriage/before He gave her to me./I was so happy.
In two more days/she would have been so happy/-a milestone in her little life,/
to get that piece of paper./In two more days/I’ll cut a small slit in her shroud/
and slip it in —her school certificate./Allah will understand.
(Written after viewing footage from Gaza City on Channel 4 News, September 2025.)
Angela Graham's book of poems Part of another poem, Imagining, In The UK — 7 October 2023, includes the lines:
I stand in the shoes of a man/immobile at a ruined hospital in Gaza,/my arms the aching cradle for my shattered son./I am the soldier, carapace in body armour, helmet, visor,/telling the British journalist that, No,/until today I’d never seen/the lopped head of a child.
In her poem They Came For The Journalists, the opening lines serve as a stark warning:
They came for the journalists, Now we don’t know what’s going on.
Available on Amazon
And that’s not all. After last week’s article about the Apex Jazz Band, I was able to find the late Brian Dempster’s book Tracking Jazz: The Ulster Way. Remarkable.
In the foreword, trombone legend Chris Barber credits his wife, singer Ottilie Patterson from Newtownards, with introducing the world to jazz musicians in Northern Ireland.
The sizeable book is packed with memories, facts, fun and photographs.
Details: mmhireland.com
