Julie Newman, visual artist

  • Distant Voyages: Charles Dickens Visits America for the first time.

    On 4 January 1842, Charles Dickens left Liverpool with his wife and her companion on the RMS Britannia. The Britannia was the flagship of the embryonic Cunard Line. She was build in Greenock, Scotland in 1840 and was the first of four paddle steamers of this class. The Arcadia, the Caledonia and Columbia soon followed.…

    wheelhousemusings

  • Through the Glass Darkly

    The train pushes through the tunnel,And triumphant hits the daylight fast.Trees on the bank, weeds green and dank.Darken the the shadows, darken the track. Since leaving the station and gathering speed,No time for regrets, nor fond goodbyes,A tear unseen, a hand half raised,Says farewell to the sea, says farewell to the sun. The sound of…

    wheelhousemusings

  • Seaside Noise referencing Fair Weather by Dorothy Parker

    Calm seas, summer breeze. Sounds of the seaside fill the air. The ice cream van shouts out Greensleeves And the rush of seagulls threatening the cherishes cones Bring squawks of outrage as parents cover their bare Shoulders against the attack and heave Children into safety ignoring their groans. Like Dorothy Parker, now I prefer Atlantic…

    wheelhousemusings

  • Childhood Sounds

    The landscape of my childhood has no sound. It runs like a silent film, a set of pictures going round With no piano playing at the side, No voices raised, no dogs that bark. No purring engines as buses stop and start. No birds sing or children call slipping down the slide Or running with…

    wheelhousemusings

  • I Welcome the dark

    I welcome the darkIt carries no fear for me.My spirits rise as the world sleeps onBlissful, at peace until the dawn.No threat for me in the closing the shuttersPushing out the day and sending awayThe warmth of the light. I love the night, when all is stillAnd sounds echo with a strangenessBecoming unfamiliar in a…

    wheelhousemusings

  • Celestial Homesickness

    My eyes closed, my mind driftedAs I listened to the song of the shipping forecast…Familiar names of unknown places…Carrying me away to dreams within dreams… I swam with the stars and danced on the moon,My feet not heavy, my spirit light enoughTo carry me up and overThe brightness of countless constellations…Diving in and out of…

    wheelhousemusings

  • Memories

    He looked at her,And said, I’m sorry I can’t rememberWhen we last met…Was it June or in September? I think we were outsideWith grass all around, long and greenPerhaps in a park?Or somewhere closer to home? My memory is fadingAnd it’s been a long timeSince we sat and talked about the placesWe wanted to see…A…

    wheelhousemusings

  • The Greenway

    The Greenway lies on top of the sewer.Laid down in belief that the grass brings newerPaths to trample, routes from here to there.Avoiding the streets and breathing fresh air,From Newham to Bow. Who thought we ever could find bright plants,Trees and woods, giving homes to bees and ants,And the sewers of London could give such…

    wheelhousemusings

  • Song of the Electron

    Positive energy flies in the airTo meet the negative forceThat defies gravity.Floating above the surfaceWithout wings to flap or engineTo create energy, the sourceWill remain endlesslySuspended without sound or strings. Opposites attract, and in thatThe spell is broken. Positive to positiveCannot be sustained. Negative to negativeRepels the same, and so the gravityOf the situation is…

    wheelhousemusings

  • Landing the first transatlantic telegraph cable

    Source…https://www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/31367042642 On July 27th 1866, the first working public transatlantic telegraph cable was landed in Hearts Content, Newfoundland from Valentia Island off of the west coast of Ireland. Previous cables had failed and required upgrading and Morse code instruments needed to be developed to meet the new technical specifications. The ship used for the laying…

    wheelhousemusings