There is something wonderfully appealing about fairystories. In the anodyne ones we have today the good usually triumph, the princes are often heroes, weddings are always between two people in love and some magical folk exist who are here especially to help humans get things right. It is a way of telling stories that film…
Month: January 2011
Gnostics
When I first read about the Gnostic beliefs I found them compelling and it did not surprise me that the early Christian church hunted the Gnostics down until they were all but wiped out. New born religions are often aggressive, it seems to be a concomitant of that enthusiasm which infuses the acolytes. The Gnostic…
There’s Always Something
I am formatting, upgrading and installing an OS on my friend’s computer which has lain idle for a few years and no matter how well I planned in advance, there is always something that stops the whole process being a smooth one. Whether it is compatibility issues or DLLs that don’t quite work with the…
Sitting In Trees
There is something serene, slightly dangerous and utterly compelling about sitting in the crown of large old or strong young tree. They have to be strong these days as I am slightly heavier than when I was a child, though compared to a mighty Yew or ancient Oak we are never anything but children. Some…
The Weakest Make Us Strong
I have always subscribed to the belief that had I been young in 1916 I would have been a Communist eager to free the serfs and build a just society in Russia and I would have been one of the first to be shot when Lenin destroyed the ideal by creating a dictatorship. I am…
Misplacement
Whilst we can easily justify our search for ways to tame nature because of nature’s inherent dangers, in recent history most of our efforts have centered on protecting ourselves from each other. at first glance it isn’t perhaps of great moment why we achieve the discoveries we achieve as long as we achieve them, but…
Tea Anyone?
In Charlie Chaplin’s autobiography he talks briefly about his poverty in England and his upbringing and he mentions his mother being taken away because she was sick. He doesn’t go into great detail about her mental collapse but when she is lucid she tells him she would have been alright if he had made her…
The Sweep Of History
I was talking to my friend Beverly in the USA today and for some reason began to explain British history from Alfred through to the Civil and the modern day from the point of view of British royalty. Taking in what makes kingship, what it is and the artificiality of the crown. Afterwards, and by…
Nature’s Intentions
My aunt Polly sent me The Philosopher and the Wolf by Mark Rowlands in which Mark tells the story of living with a wolf for eleven years. Apart from the fact that he discusses this as a profound experience, as all people who have loved anything that is non-human will concur, he writes about how…
Different Loves
The human mind has to come to terms with an entire world as it develops in childhood and adulthood. If you think about how different we are from day one to year thirteen it should not be a surprise that it takes a while for us to understand our own feelings once they kick in…