Soul Music: The Essence of What Makes a Song Uplifting
A definition or a description of 'soul' is impossible, but the attempts of our poets and composers, seem more successful than those of our scientists and philosophers. Virginia Woolf wrote in her story 'A Summing Up' that '[Sasha] was conscious of a movement within her of some creature beating ... about her and trying to escape which she called the soul.' Perhaps we can do no better than that.
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Epoch Times
2 days ago
- Epoch Times
Soul Music: The Essence of What Makes a Song Uplifting
The things that are dearest and most real to us are beyond words. Who can define or describe life, love, or beauty, but who can deny their existence? Most enigmatic of all is the soul. A definition or a description of 'soul' is impossible, but the attempts of our poets and composers, seem more successful than those of our scientists and philosophers. Virginia Woolf wrote in her story 'A Summing Up' that '[Sasha] was conscious of a movement within her of some creature beating ... about her and trying to escape which she called the soul.' Perhaps we can do no better than that.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Yahoo
I tried the Iranian canteen in central London - this is what turned up for £11.50
There's no shortage of cafes in every district of London. On the northern edge of central London, Fitzrovia - tucked between Camden and the West End - was once the Bohemian playground of writers such as Virginia Woolf, George Bernard Shaw and Arthur Rimbaud. Whether any literary giants still mingle today in Fitzrovia's plethora of indie bars, cafes and restaurants is impossible to say. But the good news is; those places are still there for the rest of us to eat and drink at. The corner of Warren Street, facing the station of the same name, is bossed over by a 24-hour McDonald's which seems busy at all times. But walk further along Warren Street and you'll see a flurry of small, independent diners and eateries. There's Bento-Ya Japanese restaurant, Bang-Bang Vietnamese canteen, Miel bakery and the ever-popular Qima café. Opposite Qima, a new cafe opened on April 14 this year and offers all the trappings of a traditional greasy spoon... with an Iranian twist. Joon cafe on Warren Street is a cosy, wood-beamed venue that offers delicious protein-filled main meals with a wide selection of salads and side dishes. You can book online or save 50% on selected dates by booking via The Fork. READ MORE: First look inside Wetherspoons £3 million new pub in West London READ MORE: Lana Del Rey fans' 'patience wearing thin' as they wait at Wembley Stadium Joon's breakfast menu includes the likes of granola serviced with Greek yoghurt, fruits, conserve and nuts (£7.50); porridge with a choice of dates and banana (£7.50), seasonal fruits and nuts (£8.50) and peanut butter and conserve (£8); shakshuka (£13.50) made up of eggs cooked in a rich tomato base filled with roasted veg and sprinkled with feta, on a sourdough base; and its own big brekkie (£15) which comprises Merguez sausage, eggs, avocado, feta, homemade beans, sourdough toast and tahini date and conserve sauce. It's late in the morning when I arrive at Joon's and I'm preparing to order a shakshuka breakfast, but the lunchtime menu has just appeared and the canteen's four main course options catch my eye. All four look utterly delicious on their trays, filled with huge chunks of meat, fish and tofu and brightly-coloured vegetables and sauces, so choosing just one is a hard task. There is golden chicken (£11.50), spiced beef stew (£12.50), tofu coconut curry (£10.90) and salmon teriyaki (£12.90). Diners can choose a side, either race and grain, roasted potatoes, or a mix of both, along with two options from a wide selection of multicoloured salads, including gnocchi. While the beaming saffron yellow of the tofu coconut curry almost tempts me, I opt for golden chicken, served in a beautifully caramelised spice sauce, with rice and grain, roast potatoes and salad and gnocchi. It's a enormously filling meal and for the grand price of £11.50, it's amazing bang for your buck. I choose a latte (£3.80) to drink alongside my meal and opt for an extra shot (50p), which turns out to be entirely unnecessary, as this is a really, deep rich coffee - the kind you'll expect in continental Europe than a British café. The staff are delightfully pleasant and conversational. A waitress gives me a uniquely shaped jug of water as I'm waiting for my meal and I'm feeling thoroughly spoilt and looked after sat at my little table. The interiors are warm and ambient, made up of off-white walls, with a wood-beamed ceiling and wooden floorboards, lent a touch of Arabica with a Persian rug stapled to the walls. It's minimal without being bland, a look that Gail's aspires and fails to get right. I pay my bill of £15.80, feeling very full and quite pleased at the price of such a big meal - and that's without The Fork's 50% discount. That's about concludes my review of Joon but it won't be my last venture into the cade. I've still got the other three mains to try... Joon is located at Warren Street, Fitzrovia. The cafe serves walk-in diners but to book online, visit its website or The Fork. Stay up to date about London's hottest events, latest restaurant openings, and best deals with our Going Out Out newsletter. Sign up HERE!
Wall Street Journal
03-07-2025
- Wall Street Journal
Fiction: ‘Endling' by Maria Reva
In May 1940, as Germany invaded Belgium and the Netherlands, Virginia Woolf was in her country house in southern England working on a biography of the art critic Roger Fry and the novel 'Between the Acts,' a shimmering fantasia about a small-town theater performance. Air skirmishes over Britain were already commonplace and a full-fledged German attack was imminent; Woolf's husband, Leonard, had planned out their suicide in case the country was conquered. Yet Virginia remained wholly consumed by her writing. 'No, I can't get the odd incongruity of feeling intensely and at the same time knowing that there's no importance in that feeling,' she observed in her diary. 'Or is there, as I sometimes think, more importance than ever?' What should writers do when catastrophic world events intrude on the composition of their work? The question lies at the heart of Maria Reva's 'Endling,' a novel of Ukraine before and during the 2022 Russian invasion. Here the outbreak of war does not simply alter the story; it cracks open the structure of the book. 'Endling' begins as a blackly comic satire of Ukrainian romance tourism, an apparently thriving national industry targeted to Western men seeking beautiful, impoverished brides. Yeva is an underfunded scientist who earns research money by moonlighting at a dating agency for these foreign bachelors. At a banquet-hall mingle she meets Nastia and Sol, a sister duo—Nastia is the 'bride,' Sol is her translator and chaperone—left penniless after the disappearance of their mother, an activist who became notorious for appearing topless at political events. But apocalyptic loomings are putting a damper on any love connections. Yeva is a specialist in endangered snails, which she collects in a mobile lab in her van. After a series of accidents leaves her with a lot of dead rare gastropods, she is so depressed that she is willing to go along with a high-profile stunt proposed by the sisters: They want to use Yeva's van to kidnap a group of bachelors, a revenge scheme inspired by their mother that will expose the dirty secrets of the marriage industry.
