Earth Pilgrim

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by Cotham Marble

The big joke of course for this particular programme is that Dartmoor is the location of the most enduring rape of the natural world by human kind in the British Isles . Heavily forested 6,000 years ago, by 1,000 BCE it was a denuded wreck;the slash and burn, soil erroding ploughing and overgrazing of our ancestor's management may look 'nice' under the blanket of peat and blueberry but that scenic glory is pure man made with just a thin 'natural' skin.

CM

So is every other landscape in the UK - but the result is one of the most varied set of habitats in such a small space anywhere in the world. Without the human influence all we would have is woodland - no heather moorland, no hay meadows, no broads. And at what time did people stop being a part of the natural system? Get rid of people and you end with something pretty boring.

[PMG]

Originally Posted by Cotham Marble

Oh well good job a lot of people feel the licence fee was well spent. As with every other 'outdoor' programme we now have to bear a dire (unless you share the director's taste), deeply annoying and intrusive sound track. And all that earth pilgrim stuff - a philosophy that condemns 55% of the world's human population which is inextricably 'urban' to a notion of religious failure.

The big joke of course for this particular programme is that Dartmoor is the location of the most enduring rape of the natural world by human kind in the British Isles . Heavily forested 6,000 years ago, by 1,000 BCE it was a denuded wreck;the slash and burn, soil erroding ploughing and overgrazing of our ancestor's management may look 'nice' under the blanket of peat and blueberry but that scenic glory is pure man made with just a thin 'natural' skin.

CM

Oh its no joke and I think you are being unduly pessimistic. Some 95% of Britain is man-made - that doesn't mean we should take a poor view of it - what it does mean is this is it - all we have - and we should not keep concreting over it - we should revere and look after what's left.

Yes my immediate reaction was 'nice for him to find himself living in such a lovely place' would he have been so serene and spiritual had he stayed in the ghettos of India? Then I chided myself for being small-minded. Because surely this is the crux of the matter - these beautiful semi-natural wild places are what uplifts us - allows us to breathe in peace and tranquility and hopefully carry that feeling back into our daily lives and make us better people, more tolerant, more spiritual, less greedy........... And make sure we love and want to keep what is left .......... not just let it slip thro our fingers ............

Pauline

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by PMG

......... these beautiful semi-natural wild places are what uplifts us - allows us to breathe in peace and tranquility and hopefully carry that feeling back into our daily lives and make us better people, more tolerant, more spiritual, less greedy........... And make sure we love and want to keep what is left .......... not just let it slip thro our fingers ............

Pauline

Beautifully put Pauline

[Dan Salter]

last track is definately buckleys cover of cohens hallelujah as i previously said so i guess it was the one before it you mean?

Oh and be warned...do not all go rushing out or onto amazon and buy the "Natural World" collection dvd as advertised after as it is old and has none of these new programs/new series on it (although its probably still worth having)
I have managed so far to record most of this new series though. give or take the first minutes of each while my stupid hd/dvd recorder slowly winds itself up (they are SOOOO slow to operate)

[stripee]

I enjoyed the programme, and it's nice to see that many other people did too. Dartmoor is beautiful whatever the reason for the current vegetation! I liked to hear the views of this man, shared by many in his part of the world.

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by Cotham Marble

The big joke of course for this particular programme is that Dartmoor is the location of the most enduring rape of the natural world by human kind in the British Isles . Heavily forested 6,000 years ago, by 1,000 BCE it was a denuded wreck;the slash and burn, soil erroding ploughing and overgrazing of our ancestor's management may look 'nice' under the blanket of peat and blueberry but that scenic glory is pure man made with just a thin 'natural' skin.

Well I can see where you're coming from CM but I'm not sure I would totally agree with that. Surely all the plants and animals that moved in and colonised Dartmoor after human beings cut down the trees had a lot to do with making the landscape what it is today?

This program certainly seems to be evoking some strong responses in both directions! I'm off to watch it now - wish me luck!

Dave P.

[pressld2]

Okay, I'm back and I'm in the "loved it" camp!

I didn't find the soundtrack at all intrusive and loved the way they blended in the natural sounds of birds singing, insects buzzing, woodpeckers tapping as a kind of percussion. And Budhism, although I struggle with bits of it, is the only religion that has ever even begun to make sense to me - probably because it's much more of a philosophy than a religion. We should all spend more time sitting under trees. The Budha got his inspiration while sitting under a tree and as Spike Milligan pointed out, it's an excellent cure for sea-sickness.

But above all, it was the pictures that made this programme for me. Absolutely stunning images from start to finish!

Dave P.

[juliejam]

Found this very enjoyable and relaxing..makes you want to get out into nature even more so..


Julie

[Billy Wobble Dagger]

Originally Posted by juliejam

..makes you want to get out into nature even more so..

Julie

Here here. Well when it stops raining anyway

BWD

[Ukwildlifeo]

So nice photography but I found the rambling quite dull after a while. I wish this was a seperate one off episode rather than waste an episode of natural world

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by Dan Salter

Oh and be warned...do not all go rushing out or onto amazon and buy the "Natural World" collection dvd as advertised after as it is old and has none of these new programs/new series on it (although its probably still worth having)

Does anyone have any idea as to when this current series might make it to D.V.D?

Regards, Chris

[curlew1]

Hi everyone, I've just joined and I'm really enjoying the site.
I was particularly interested in the discussion about the background music because I'm really hoping that someone can identify the piece that was playing when Satish was talking about being a Jain monk - within the first 10 minutes or so. It pops up all over the place as background music and I'd love to know what it is.
Can anyone help, please?

[Xanadu2]

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

I just watched this earlier tonight and found it totalling compelling viewing. To me it was one of those all too rare 'cyclops' experiences of utter brilliance that does wonders for the soul. The scenery and wildlife were great (and so well delivered via superb cinematography), the music seemed apt and the bloke himself, I just thought him completely uplifting and a true gent.


Would it be possible to get a D.V.D of this current Natural World series? I'd love this particular programme for keeps.

Regards, Chris

I loved every minute of it! His philosophy does not exactly match mine, but he expressed himself so beautifully I felt nothing but respect.

I love 'The Lark Ascending' - teamed with the photography of the lark, it reminded me of magical moments in the past. I think any programme featuring a person who feels a deep spiritual connection with a place is fascinating!

I caught the programme by accident on the Friday and was ready with the video recorder on Sunday. My only regret is that I didn't record it on the same video as the wonderful programme last summer about the Wye Valley.

[Xanadu2]

Originally Posted by PMG

Because surely this is the crux of the matter - these beautiful semi-natural wild places are what uplifts us - allows us to breathe in peace and tranquility and hopefully carry that feeling back into our daily lives and make us better people, more tolerant, more spiritual, less greedy........... And make sure we love and want to keep what is left .......... not just let it slip thro our fingers ............

Pauline

Yes, indeed! This is, as another poster said, beautifully expressed.

Because I am lucky enough to have come to live in hills that inspire the same tremendous deep feeling in me, I am always fascinated by another person's deep uplifting spiritual connection with semi-wild and beautiful places. Where would we be if we couldn't escape into the wilderness (or what passes for wilderness after we have shaped it) and find this uplifting peace? The landscape I love is farmed - that doesn't spoil it for me!

This is what I don't think I succeeded in saying in my previous post.

[galanthus]

Only watched it last night, recorded it after reading this thread last week. Absolutely lovely. Not solely a nature programme or a philosophy programme, however, the combination of excellent photography, beautiful scenery and fauna, intreresting music and above all a very beautiful person made me feel good about humans as a whole. A joy to watch