A Walk Down the Thames

Today, a pleasant walk in the sunshine along the north bank of the Thames. Not just for any old reason, however, but to see a ship that exemplifies all that is iniquitous about the slave trade.

On 6th September, the Zong, under the captaincy of Sir Luke Collingwood, left Africa to transport 400 slaves to Jamaica. But the ship was overcrowded and disease was rife and over the next three months, seven crew and around sixty slaves died. Collingwood's response to this crisis was to throw the remaining sick slaves overboard. Notsomuch to stop the spread of disease but because if the slaves died on board, the Zong's owners would lose their market value. If they were lost at sea, however, they could claim on the insurance. As a result of Collingwood's decision, 133 more slaves were killed. As if this was not bad enough, the owners of the Zong then claimed on their insurance policy: the slaves were regarded as cargo. Their claim failed, though not because on the grounds that murder had been committed. The judge hearing the suit against the insurers compared the slaves to horses and said that the company could not claim on its insurance policy because (contrary to the ship-owners' claim) the Zong had had enough water to last the slaves till landfall.

The original Zong has long since been destroyed, but a replica has been built. A couple of nights ago I saw a news report about its arrival on the Thames so thought that it would be interesting to go see it, especially since tours are being held. Unfortunately, when I arrived at Tower Hill where it is moored, there was no sign of any public access to the vessel at all. This is what you get for wandering along to see something without checking when exactly it will be open to visitors. Anyway, here is the ship.

Meandering along with the tide, I made my way towards Westminster. Foiled in my attempt to visit the Zong, I thought I might make up for it by visiting Westminster Abbey and the grave of William Wilberforce (which, BTW, is next to that of his good friend Pitt the Younger). Along the way, I passed another landmark: the Globe theatre.

The Globe is a few feet plus a few more away from the site of the original theatre which, in the unsurprising way of things is now underneath a tower block. I have visited it a few times - most recently last summer for performances of Anthony and Cleopatra and Titus Andronicus - and can highly recommend it for anyone who loves the theatre. Only, if you decide to take a seat, make sure you buy a cushion!

Further on from the Globe is a more modern attraction: the big wheel known as the London Eye.

I have never been up the Eye but am sure it would be good fun for anyone who doesn't suffer from vertigo or claustrophobia. The Eye is very close to Westminster, but before I turned away from the Thames, I passed a war memorial to the fallen of the Battle of Britain.

Just to the right of the monument is a list of all the men who died defending Britain in the air during those dark days. Requiescant in pace.

Moving on from this monument, which is actually one of a number of memorials situated along the Thames, I turned right into Parliament Square. On the green opposite Parliament is the little camp of a man who has been protesting against the involvement of Britain in the Iraq war for the last four or so years. The Government passed a law banning such protests but this fellow took his case to court. As his protest had started before the passing of this law, the judge said that he was not constrained by it and so he remains there today.

As I mentioned above, I thought to visit Westminster Abbey. I can't remember the last time I went there - possibly in childhood - and I am afraid to say that it will be a little while longer before I do so again. There was no queue to get in, so I sauntered up to the doors. When I saw the charge for entry - £10 - I did a quick about turn. £10! What a scandalous price to have to pay to enter a church! In the Abbey's defence, the church does need to be looked after and I wonder how much it would receive every year if visitors were only asked for a donation. Despite this, £10 still seems very steep. £5 would have been more acceptable.

Reeling from this blow (!), I dived into the Abbey bookshop and bought some shortbread and humbug sweets. The former because it is very nice and the latter because this is what my grandfather kept in his car when we visited him in Scotland when I were a youngster and I loved 'em.

With great restraint, I left the humbugs in my bag and proceeded towards Westminster Cathedral to pick up this week's copy of The Catholic Herald and Tablet. I don't know why I remain so dedicated to the latter as I haven't read the last three copies that I have bought. Still, there is an article about Fr Moloney, co-author of The Gospel According to Judas, which Paul Burgin (and Arathorn) have mentioned recently so that might justify the effort. Spotting heresy in the letters page is always a fun, if easy, past time as well. But I get ahead of myself, because before I got to the Cathedral, I stopped off at the Cardinal Pub...

... for some lunch and a pint. The Cardinal is just behind the Cathedral and a commendable public house. For some reason I remember it as being rather tatty, but if it was like that before (and my last visit must have been a good 2 or 3 years ago), it isn't now. Very well appointed, you might say, with nice couches and ornate decor. Having bought my pint (Smith's Sovereign Best Bitter) and got over the fact that it was actually cold, I took my seat. Another surprise: above me was a portrait of Cardinal Manning who, if I am not mistaken, was a member of the Temperance Movement. I regret to say that this knowledge did not make me push my drink away. If Vatican II did not say anything about beer, it should have done, and if it did, it would no doubt have said that after a long walk along the Thames beer is just what Jesus would have had. Or maybe wine, but that is another matter.

Anyway, after a pint of beer and lasagna, I strolled into St Paul's bookshop next to the cathedral and got the aforementioned papers. From there, it was to home. Considering I had not met my two objectives for the trip, it was a quite satisfactory afternoon.

The Inquisitive Cow on the General of the Armies, The Riot Act and the Dioscuri

dúnadan: Hallo and welcome to 50.45 degrees north and 02.26 degrees west! Gerrie, where are we?
inq. cow: Hello dúnadan, we are in Dorset! Hurrah!
dúnadan: As our readers will know, the measurement that I just gave were for the latitude and longitude of Dorset. I was thinking about them on the train down here, Gerrie, and I got to wondering who exactly invented these concepts?
inq. cow: Ooh, that is a good question. Thanks to my study of astronomy under the Tercel Triplets, I can tell you that it was the astronomer Hipparchus. He was born in modern day Turkey and lived between 190 and 120 BC. He was a very clever man, compiling the first star chart and inventing the astrolabe amongst other things.
dúnadan: Tom, Tim and Ted taught you?!
inq. cow: As you know, their favourite game is chasing shooting stars. This often takes them far from their nests here in the Wood so they have to be able to find their way home again.
dúnadan: Hmm. And there was me thinking that birds have their own in built ability to navigate!
inq. cow: Try telling Herbert Goose that!
dúnadan: Indeed. Well, let's begin tonight's interview. First off, you held the first of a series of classes this week featuring the honeybadger, Tecumseh Squirrel and Hannibal Rabbit as guest lecturers.
inq. cow: I decided that the three of them need something to keep them busy so that they aren't thinking about fighting wars all the time. With that in mind, I hired them to teach the Woodlanders about various military matters. This week, Tecumseh lectured on the famous American general, John Pershing.
dúnadan: I do not know him.
inq. cow: Ah, well he was the leader of the American Army during World War One. And a highly successful one, too; in fact, General Pershing was so successful that he was given the title General of the Armies in recognition of his success. Tecumseh said that the general was one of only two generals to be afforded this title. Dúnadan, I got so excited at this information that I just had to run down to the village telephone and ring the American Embassy in London to ask who the other was. And I would have but my nose is too big to press the numbers, so I got Publican Will to do it for me.
dúnadan: And who was it?!
inq. cow: Well! None other than George Washington himself.
dúnadan: Goodness. That is exalted company.
inq. cow: There is more. You may not know, dúnadan, but the next highest in the American Army is that of a five star general who is called the 'General of the Army'. Note the singular. When this rank was invented in 1944, it was asked if General Pershing should be considered a six star general. The question was never really answered, but the embassy kindly sent me a possible design for the six stars!
dúnadan: How exciting! Perhaps you might enlist one day, Gerrie!
inq. cow: I think the age of animals in the army has passed, now. However, I would be more than happy to donate milk to the Dorsetshire regiment. If there is one. There is a thought; I shall look into that.
dúnadan: Very good. Now, then, when he wasn't researching for his lecture which will be next week, the honeybadger was still making a nuisance of himself.
inq. cow: Indeed. He has decided to start his own union of aggressive animals! Thankfully, both Tecumseh and Hannibal turned him down flat and even threatened to declare war on him if his union got too big. Unfortunately, the shifty minks who live deep in the Wood have joined him. I worry about them. I must confess that I am glad the Triplets enjoy eating them.
dúnadan: If he becomes too big a bother, someone will have to read the honeybadger the riot act.
inq. cow: How interesting you should say that. Have you actually read the riot act?
dúnadan: Is it a real document?
inq. cow: Yes, it is! The Riot Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1715 and was a method of controlling unruly crowds. Once an authorised official had read the Act out, the crowd - twelve people or more being defined as one - had twenty minutes to disperse or risk being dispersed by force.
dúnadan: Dare I ask what would happen if they didn't?
inq. cow: Mooooh! They could be killed. If they were, their killer was legally protected from being prosecuted himself.
dúnadan: You said that the Riot Act had to be read out. Do you know what the text was?
inq. cow: I do! It was this: Our Sovereign Lord the King chargeth and commandeth all persons, being assembled, immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably to depart to their habitations, or to their lawful business, upon the pains contained in the act made in the first year of King George, for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies. God Save the King.

dúnadan: Stern stuff. Let's move on. One of your many inquisitive pleasures is compiling family trees. A little bird - well, Learning Owlet - told me that you have been studying the Dioscuri. The first question is, who are they?
inq. cow: That is easy to answer: they are Castor and Pollux.
dúnadan: Roman legends?
inq. cow: Greek. Kastor and Polydeuces.
dúnadan: So, who was their family?
inq. cow: Ah. Now that is where it gets a little confusing. Leda, the daughter of Thestius appears to be their mother, but their father may either be Zeus - dioscuri means 'the youths of Zeus' - or Leda's husband, Tyndareus. In different accounts of their origins, one, or the other, or both of the Dioscuri are mortal or immortal!
dúnadan: I understand that they have a famous sister...
inq cow: Yes! Did Bertie tell you that?
dúnadan: That's right. Regular readers will know that Bertie has been reading your copy of the Metamorphoses. Last week it led him to make his own set of wings in the style of Icarus, this week it led him to dip into The Iliad. He has now fallen in love with Helen!
inq. cow: Rather sweet, I think! Poor Bertie! But at least it means he will not be inspired by Odysseus' wanderings around the Mediterranean.
dúnadan: We should explain that Bertie did end up in the drink last week, diving into the Severn to have, well, a drink! Gerrie, before we finish, explain how the popularity of the Dioscuri stretches far and wide.
inq. cow: Of course. Well, they grew up in Sparta and were worshipped there. They sailed with Jason and the Argonauts - with Pollux killing a king in a boxing match! - and had a temple dedicated to them in Rome. Today, the Gemini star constellation represents them.
dúnadan: All-in-all, they are quite a pair.
inq. cow: From a most interesting time.
dúnadan: Well, Gerrie, we must call time there. It has been a most informative discussion. before we finish, tell me, what will the honeybadger be speaking on this coming week?
inq cow: Heh heh! I have made him talk about the use of animals in field hospitals during the Great War. As big a nuisance as he has been this week, I have kept him very busy researching this topic!
dúnadan: Well, good luck, and until next week, goodbye!
inq. cow: Moooh! Bybe-bye dúnadan!

index of interviews with the inquisitive cow
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The Angelic Author (I)

When Fr. Dwight began his Gargoyle Code I thought it would be a nice idea if someone wrote a similar letter but from the other side of the chasm. No one else seems to be doing so, so here is my effort. If anyone notices any glaring theological errors, please remember this is a fiction (of sorts!) but feel free to let me know in the combox!

***

Dearest Uncle,

From the beginning, I was made to guard the soul of one of the King's dear Men. From my beginning, I knew this to be the case and waited with much joy for the call to pray for and protect whichever soul I was assigned to. When it came, only He who is the All-In-All could have moved more quickly than I to my post! When you came, however, on the day of my calling, and asked me to keep you informed as to the progress of my work, I was, I confess, a little perturbed. I wondered if you thought me not up to my new duty and wanted to keep a close eye on me. But no sooner did these thoughts come than I dismissed them, for you are such a spirit as I aspire to be: so wise and so utterly loving! Thus, when you then came and bowed before me and begged that I write to you so that you could learn from me, I was not surprised. I may have acted it, but I wasn't. Not deep down. Not really. For you were only doing what the King's Son did and was there anyone ever so wise and loving as He?

My charge was conceived this evening at 11:23pm exactly. To see the burst of light that accompanied the fusion of soul and body was a joy and I shall never forget it. Indeed, it almost made me desire the ability to make love as the humans do. I suspect, however, that if they could traverse the distance between home and earth as we do; if they could see the King as we do, they would wish to be angels as we are. How blessed we are, and how blessed am I to be who I am by the will of the King. And not for anything nor all things would I change that. The depth of His world deepened in colour and form when my charge was conceived, just as all those millennia ago, the faces of our brethren faltered and faded when they elected to serve under the Tyrant rather than reign with the King. How proud I am, then, to be part of the continued crafting of the King's creation!

And, my dear uncle, I wish all the humans could have seen the light as I did, for if such a gift was given to them, would any ever make love again without being open to the possibility of a child being conceived? This light was not made of ephemeral colour only, but of power and glory, for it flamed out from earth to our home, penetrating all our hearts and, yes, the depths of the Heart of the Triune King Himself: the source of all life. Sex: the most sacred gift that He gave to the humans. I marvel at how ill treated a gift it can be.

Of my charge, I can (of course) at this time have little to say, for his time is not yet come. When it does, believe that I will keep you informed of my progress as his guardian, and maybe when I do you will write back to me and give me such advice and counsel as it seems good to you to give so that we will both grow in wisdom and love. Until then, I dare to believe that the course of my charge's life is already laid out for the better for he has a very loving mother and father. The conception of their son is not the product of an unplanned encounter, but the crowning of five years of loving marriage. --- and ---* tell me that they have both been hard work at times, but their perseverance in faith in the King and each other has rooted them deeply in love of both. If this continues, my charge will be born nine months hence into a very loving home.

In the name of our Lord, uncle, I bless you and pray in turn for your blessing!

Your nephew,

---

* Apparently the guardian angels of the charge's parents

A Cause for Celebration

At lunchtime today I took a look at the website for the Society of the Unborn Child. Further to yesterday's post about the power of images and the different way in which the Abolition Committee promoted its cause, I was interested in seeing what SPUC had to offer in its merchandise shop. Abortion is murder, but ours is a pro life cause. The Abolition Committee commissioned Josiah Wedgwood 'to produce a design of a slave in chains with the words "Am I not a man and a brother?" (Source: BBC On Line). So, what is SPUC offering in comparison?

Well, the answer is christmas cards. Christmas cards, ribbons, key rings and badges - enamel, if you please. You will forgive me for being underwhelmed by this selection of goods. I suspect you may be too.

Of course, christmas cards and the like are very good, but they are good only (a) for christmas, and (b) for the converted. SPUC ought to be producing merchandise that is attractive to the non and semi converted too. While the pro life cause is a fundamentally Christian one, there is no reason why it cannot be claimed by other religions and even by those belonging to none.

Of course, it may be argued that SPUC should not go down the commercial road. To which I would say, why should the devil have all the best tunes? Why should the world have all the things that glitter and smile? The pro life cause is rooted in the Light which is the cause of all our joy. We should be only too pleased to play the world at its own game. And who knows, if we do, we may even be surprised by the results.

I shall return to this theme in the days to come.

The Power of Images

A further point of connection between the movement to abolish the slave trade and the Pro Life movement.

'...in the greatest PR coup of the movement, the [Abolition] committee's publication of the Brookes diagram, which showed 482 slaves lying shoulder to shoulder, made "an instantaneous impression of horror on all who saw it..."' Source: BBC On Line

In essence, this picture is the Abolition equivalent of a photograph of an aborted child.

The article from which the above quotation and picture comes from outlines how the Quakers and Anglicans promoted the Abolition cause - through articles, petitions, boycotts, even household goods and songs as well as pictures. Could it not be said that the Pro Life movement has a lot to learn here?

For Mars Hill

Paul Burgin blogged on Jeffrey Archer's new book The Gospel According to Judas saying,

I am a bit unsure about the theological accuracy here and concerned about the Vatican approval... I just don't understand what the Catholic Church (an organisation of which I have much love and respect) is playing at here., because the way things look on the surface it smacks of double standards, they might just as well stop their ban on contraception (and I was never a fan of that, the ban I mean ;) )

I haven't read much about Archer's book so I am not really in a position to criticise or commend it. In fact, beyond Arathorn's (aka Bachman's) post and the Curt Jester's (thanks to Mulier Fortis) I haven't really read anything about it at all, and to be honest, these three say as much as I would want to. Paul, in case you are busy, I shall give it to you in short: Archer's book doesn't have Vatican approval, it is theologically innaccurate, the Church has not displayed double standards and is still right about its ban on contraceptives. Sorted!

Amazing Grace

Last night, Gilraen and I went to the cinema to see Amazing Grace. Having spent the last week really looking forward to seeing this picture, there was a big danger that if it did not fulfil at least some of my expectations for it, I would end up regarding it as a big disappointment. I am really pleased to say, therefore, that I was not disappointed. Amazing Grace is a lavish production with some fine acting performances, most notably from Ioan Gruffud as William Wilberforce and Albert Finney as John Newton.

Despite Newton being in the film, however, Amazing Grace is not about how this most famous of hymns came to be written. Rather, it tells the story of how William Wilberforce led the crusade to abolish the slave trade. As mentioned above, his role is played by Ioan Gruffud, and excellently so, for not only can he act but he gives greater depth to his performance by paying attention to the smaller details of the character as well. For example, I have read that Wilberforce in later years let his head lean forward as if 'resting' upon his shoulders. Gruffud portrays this mannerism, not so much when Wilberforce is old but during his illnesses. Speaking of which, it is to his and the writers credit that they were not shirked. It would have been very easy to have had Gruffud strutting across the stage being very heroic. it would also have been very lazy.

Of the other cast members, I must highlight Ciarán Hinds. If you have read my posts on Rome (in which Hinds played Julius Caesar) then you will know already how much I like him. In Amazing Grace, he plays Lord Tarleton, member of parliament for Liverpool and the slave trade. He cuts an appropriately proud and superior figure, able to be convincing even as he makes the most outrageous statements. Also notable is the singer Youssou N'Dour as the freed slave Oloudaqh Equiano, Rufus Sewell as the slightly-delinquent-while-still-being-holy Thomas Clarkson and especially Benedict Cumberpatch as Pitt the Younger. I have left other names out - no actor in this film let his fellows down.

If anything does let the film down, it is the script. The story starts in 1807 with Wilberforce physically exhausted by his as yet unsuccessful attempt to have the slave trade abolished. He travels to Bath to stay with friends and take the waters. There he meets Miss Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai) with whom he quickly falls in love. He tells her the story of his struggle and this takes us back to 1792 when he joined the abolition movement. The film does not rejoin the Wilberforce of 1807 at its end but goes back and forward in time throughout the picture. I have no problem with films that do that. However, I must confess that once or twice I did get a little confused as to which period we were in.
Another problem was the fate of some of the characters: one moment alive, another dead. No author would have killed off Equiano or Pitt the Younger before the abolition of the slave trade. Yet, that is what happened to them (in 1797 and 19806 respectively). Of course, this is in truth unfair criticism because the film had to follow history and one has to respect the fact that the story of history is usually alot messier than that of fiction.

Commemorations of the abolition of the slave trade have been criticised for being ethnocentric, for example, focusing on the role of white people at the expense of black. The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, makes this point in his press release which I posted on here. Amazing Grace could be criticised along similar lines - why is Equiano the only significant black character in the film? One may as well ask why the Clapham Sect are the only significant religious characters, or why Wilberforce is the only significant parliamentary character and so on. The truth is that films of necessity must focus on particular people. They do not have the ability to be wide ranging. The more characters a film has the harder it is to do justice to their stories and to keep focused. Look at Love, Actually. An enjoyable film but one that could have been just as well - or better - served by focusing on one or two the relationships portrayed in it. Amazing Grace is about William Wilberforce's contribution to the abolition of the slave trade. Not Newton's, not Equiano's, not Clarkson's not any body else's. They appear in the context of their relationship to Wilberforce. To criticise Amazing Grace on these grounds is to show naivety about films and to do it an injustice.

To its credit, Amazing Grace is quite open about the Christianity of its heroes. Wilberforce prays to God in the garden, John Newton declares "I am a great sinner, but God is a great saviour.", the Quakers and Anglicans who helped Wilberforce are in no way not hidden away. This is good and worth comparing with an article at BBC On Line highlighted by Fr Tim Finigan which is only critical of the role that Christianity played.

Before concluding, I must commend the film on its pace. In every scene, something is happening. There is no idling, no glossy but content-empty moments designed just to make the film look good. Amazing Grace is an hour forty minutes long but you won't realise it. It has been very tightly written. I do hope, however, that the dvd release includes some deleted scenes for, as must inevitably be the case for such films, I was left wanting more.

In the meantime, I commend this film to you. It could have been a preachy, amateur waste of time but is actually the opposite. A thoughtful, engaging and loving portrait of a great man and his time. Go see it. You won't regret it.

Not in My Name

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, has issued a press release in which he makes a formal apology for the role that London played in the slave trade. He asks that all representatives of London society join him in this apology. And more: 'The British government must formally apologise for [the slave trade]. All attempts to evade this are weasel words. Delay demeans our country.'

The problem that Ken Livingstone has - and the reason why he does not speak in my name - is that he simply does not have the right to apologise on London's behalf because there is no belief in Britain that Britons today are responsible for the actions of Britains of yesterday. His apology, therefore, while being well meaning is, ironically, meaningless.

It is different for Christians. We believe that through our baptism we are inserted into the mystical body of Christ. Our brothers and sisters, therefore, are not only our fellow Christians who are alive today but those who have lived and who will live. In the context of the slave trade, it means that not only do we benefit from the blessings brought about by the good work of Wilberforce and all the other Christian abolitionists but we are damaged by the bad work of those Christians who were involved in the slave trade and did not repent of it.

Ken Livingstone cites two reasons why there has been no official apology for the slave trade. One is that it happened too long ago. This argument touches upon what I am saying but is different in that it suggests that we should simply let bygones be bygones. That is a very unsatisfactory argument, but Livingstone's apology is its equally mistaken opposite - that we take responsibility for something for which we were not responsible.The second argument is that to apologise would constitute an act of "National self hate". Well, I agree with Livingstone that that argument is nonsense.

So, Ken Livingstone has got it wrong with his apology. Has any politician got it right? Yes, Tony Blair. In 2006 article for the New Nation magazine, he expressed 'deep sorrow' for the slave trade. This statement hits the mark perfectly. I am not the brother of my fellow Britons (in the way that I am with my fellow Christians) but I do have a certain, looser, kinship with them - past and present - through our shared nationality. While this means that I cannot be held responsible for their actions (or vice versa, of course) our kinship entitles me to make a statement about what they did. The only proviso to this would be that when dealing with one's ancestors, one must be mindful that the values by which I judge them may be different to those which they were aware of and lived by. I don't think this is relevant in the case of the slave trade though. There was enough evidence of its iniquity for the slave trade to know that it was wrong.

As a coda to the above, Ken Livingstone compounds his error when he claims that it was not William Wilberforce who destroyed slavery but 'black resistance and economic development that destroyed slavery'. He is right to highlight these important factors, but I think he speaks out of turn, especially since this reference to Wilberforce - the man responsible for the bill that abolished the slave trade - is the only reference to him in his press release. Still, it is one more reference than the Quakers and other parties who helped Wilberforce get. Livingstone says that he does not wish to denigrate Wilberforce but that is exactly what he has done. It would have been wiser to say that it was a case of both / and rather than not x but y. In this error I suspect Livingstone's own politics coming to the fore.

HNP Exercise Club

This week I have been very much the inspired person. Not that I have necessarily been inspired but that I have been inspired by others. Firstly, the adverts at BBC On Line for the Abolition of the Slave Trade season inspired me to delve a little further into the matter which in turn lead me to find what I believe are points of connection between the slave trade and the modern day Culture of Death.

Secondly, I have also been inspired to get back to running by the example of a reader to this blog who has taken it up again with the purpose of running in a charity race in July. Thank you Lola!

Regular readers will know that I suspended my runs last october / November after getting a cough / chest infection. It only went for the last time after Christmas. I went on my first run since then a few weeks ago, but found dragging myself out of bed just too much. The heart was willing, however, but it just needed an extra boost, which has now been provided. Yesterday morning and today I picked up from where I left off before with a short run - a one minute brisk walk followed by a three minute jog. As I might have expected, while getting up was a pain, the run itself was no bother. And I felt good for it afterwards!

The Inquisitive Cow on A.I., I.D. and Q.E.D.

dúnadan: Hallo from Little Bredy in Dorset! Today we are west of Dorchester. Why? Because when we continued our walk at the end of last week's interview we just kept on walking! Hallo Gerrie, it has been a very enjoyable week, hasn't it.
inq. cow: Yes, it has. Although we haven't travelled quite as far as we might have done.
dúnadan: Mainly because I have stopped for lots of rests under the Marchday sun and you have stopped to study all the flowers on the verge of the road! Thursday was a most interesting day - we saw a certain pig flying overhead!
inq. cow: Indeed. I could not believe it at first but we were met by Tom of the Tercel Triplets and he confirmed it: Bertie Pig found my copy of Ovid's Metamorphoses and read the story of Daedalus and Icarus. I need hardly explain what happened next.
dúnadan: Given Bertie's penchant for outrageous escape attempts from his pen I am not sure that he should be encouraged to read any books!
inq. cow: But what are we to do, dúnadan, when it was Farmer Bill who helped Bertie make his wings!
dúnadan: Do we know what happened to Bertie after he passed overhead?
inq. cow: Tom says he last saw him heading towards the Severn River! Let's hope the sun is strong enough to melt the wax holding the wings together before he ends up in the water!
dúnadan: Or before he passes over Farmer Gill's farm, on the border with Devon. Farmer Gill is Farmer Bill's cousin and is as interested in scientific experiments as he is in farming. In fact, his last idea was to develop a laser gun to zap any birds that try to feed on his land!
inq. cow: Farmer Gill is quite mad but very interesting. Jenny Wren told me that he is trying to develop a scarecrow with A.I.
dúnadan: What is A.I.?
inq. cow: Artificial Intelligence. The term was invented by an American scientist named John McCarthy in 1955 to refer to the science and making of intelligent machines.
dúnadan: Like you see in science fiction films!
inq. cow: Yes and no, you see, A.I. can be split into two sub catagories: strong A.I. - which refers to machines which really can think for themselves, such as one might see in films - and Weak A.I. which refers to simpler machines which are built to solve particular problems. Farmer Gill's Robot Scarecrow would be an example of Weak A.I. as it would be programmed to detect and scare birds. You could not have a conversation about the weather with it!
dúnadan: I see. Do you think he is close to achieving his ambition?
inq. cow: Farmer Gill is very reclusive and tells no one about his research; however, I wonder if reports of strange men seen tramping through the woods in these parts are not connected to his research somehow.
dúnadan: Hmm. Do you think that we will ever see robots that can think like men?
inq. cow: Strictly speaking Weak A.I. machines already do, but if you mean will we ever see a Strong A.I., that is another matter. Hmmm... what is the source of the human conciousness? Is it biological or spiritual? If it is the latter... mooooh!
dúnadan: Reader, I think Gerrie needs to think more about this!
inq. cow: Do excuse my cowy moment but the question made me think of lots of other ones. It is exciting to be inquisitive!

Will Bertie find any nymphs in the Severn?

dúnadan: Earlier this week, you spent a good deal of time counting the stars. Did you get far in this?
inq. cow: I am afraid not. I got distracted by a rather handsome bull in the next door field. Mmm.
dúnadan: Gerrie!
inq. cow: What?! I saw you glance at the pretty barmaid back in Bradford Peverell!
dúnadan: Hmph! Let's not dwell on that matter! As I recall, you started telling me about the argument of Intelligent Design but it was late and I fell asleep.
inq. cow: Ah, yes. I.D. This is the belief that some features of the created order are so complex they could not have come into being by natural selection, rather, that they were intelligently designed.
dúnadan: Oh. I thought it was the belief that God made the universe.
inq. cow: A popular misunderstanding. Someone who holds the Intelligent Design position need not even hold that God - the Judeo-Christian one, or any other for that matter - is the designer, just that someone or thing designed any given part of it. Although the argument for Intelligent Design is mainly held by Evangelical Christians, I have heard the idea posited that aliens are responsible!
dúnadan: Al-righhht! Is Intelligent Design science?
inq. cow: Ah, a good question! Moooh. Its advocates would say 'yes' but only because they believe that science should be redfined to include non-naturalist theories.
dúnadan: Non-naturalistic...?
inq. cow: Science is usually understood as being the study of phenomena to acquire new knowledge without using super-natural explanations, in other words, by using empirical methods to explain why something is the way it is.
dúnadan: I see. So, Intelligent Design would not qualify because God is supernaural.
inq. cow: That's right!
dúnadan: Blimey. I understood a little piece of science. Now I feel very brainy.

God working from beyond creation rather than within it

inq. cow: Science is most interesting. If you take the time to study it it can be Q. E. D.
dúnadan: Quite Easily Done!
inq. cow: That is correct.
dúnadan: I bet you know the original meaning of that abbrieviation.
inq. cow: You are wrong! It is quod erat demonstrandum in Latin, meaning 'which was to be demonstrated', from the Greek ὅπερ ἔδει δεῖξαι which was used by both Euclid and Archimedes and lots of other mathematicians at the end of their work.
dúnadan: Ha-ha! You weren't paying attention, Gerrie, I said I bet you knew the original meaning.
inq. cow: Hmm!
dúnadan: Well, the sun is rising and it is turning into another beautiful day. Shall we stay in Little Bredy? There is a nice fourteenth century church nearby which I can't understand because I thought Little Bredy was built at the end of the eighteenth century.
inq. cow: There is also a nice waterfall where I can have a nice shower!
dúnadan: So, let's bring the interview to an end. Next week, we shall be back at the Farm, until then, goodbye readers!
inq. cow: Cheerio!

index of interviews with the inquisitive cow
Gerrie's Facebook Pro File (registration required)
Photos of Little Bredy

Where Gerrie had her shower!

In the parish last night

(L - R) Fr. Nicholas, me, Fr. Tim & Mac

So, it was off to the parish church last night to hear Fr Tim Finigan speak on the subject of Richard Dawkins. He packed a lot into the hour and I have to admit that I did lose the thread of his talk once or twice; however, I think I can summarise it thus: Richard Dawkins is a first class scientist and a very effective communicator of scientific theories and facts. Unfortunately, he does not apply the same rigour to his 'debunking' of religion, leading him to condemn it on flimsy and unconvincing grounds. This is seen clearly in his latest book The God Delusion, for example, when he attacks a proof of God that is not even believed in by Christians.

After the talk, Fr. Tim took a number of questions from the audience, which numbered around fifty (this is the third meeting of the Fr Lockhart Circle. Each talk has seen a rise in numbers attending). Then, when all was done, we bloggers posed for photos, as above. Mac has her eyes on heaven but it appears that I am not standing on any legs!

From the church hall, we took a stroll up the road to a very nice restaurant where a meal and conversation followed. A good evening. So, thank you to Mac and Fr. Tim for your visit. I hope we get to meet again sometime!

Abortion Is Murder

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Revoke the 1967 Abortion Act."

Support the culture of life. If you live in Britain, join the anti-establishment rebellion and sign this petition at the 10 Downing Street website.

ADDENDUM: This petition is also worthy of your attention:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to exempt the Roman Catholic Church and all Faith adoption agencies from the requirements of the Government's proposed new Gay Rights laws.

It runs counter to every British principle of the rights of committed people of Faith to practice that faith, to force them to operate in a way which denies them their beliefs and conscience. It is not acceptable to those of Catholic persuasion - or indeed many others within the Christian or other Faith communities to require them to place adopted youngsters with homosexual couples. It is an intolerable intrusion by the State into personal commitment and religious belief.

Sign it here

Answering Our Critics

I have been very remiss in not mentioning this already, but I shall do so now. Text courtesy of the Roman Miscellanist:

Answering our Secular Critics (especially Richard Dawkins)
A Talk by Fr Tim Finigan (of Hermeneutic of Continuity)
Friday 23 March 2007, 7pm

Our Lady & St Joseph, Kingsland
100a Balls Pond Rd, N1 4AG
Nearest tube: Highbury & Islington
(you can also come by bus: The Nos. 30, 38, 56, 277)

This is being organised by the William Lockhart Circle, named after our first parish priest at Kingsland, who was the first of Newman's disciples to become a Catholic (and a Rosminian priest).
All readers are welcome to come along, as are fellow bloggers (in fact, so far there will be four London-based Catholic bloggers present). The talk will be preceded by Holy Mass (6pm) and Via Crucis (6.30pm).

Dawkins. Boo, hiss.

Becoming Jane

Tonight, SisterHevs and I went to the local cinema to see Becoming Jane. I first saw this film at a test screening last year when we had to fill in questionnaires at the end to say what we thought about various aspects of the picture. Of the test screening, there was only one scene that I thought strongly should be excised - a coda where we see an older Austen meet her first love, Tom Lefroy, years after the end of their relationship. I regarded it as an unnecessary add -on after the story had effectively ended. So, I sat down to see if the director had followed my advice or foolishly let the scene stand. As it happened, he took the later option and, having seen the film again, I must say that I still think it should have gone.

Becoming Jane tells the story of how Jane Austen sets out on the literary journey that would see her become a famous author. She is played by a young American actress, Anne Hathaway (a great name for a literary film!) with an impeccable English accent. The choice of Hathaway to play Jane and James McAvoy her beloved is interesting. Jane Austen, according to the pictorial representations of her was not a particularly good looking woman. The term 'plain Jane' could have been invented for her. Yet Hathaway's full lips and high cheekbones call immediate attention to her beauty. The reverse is true ofMcAvoy. One would have expected Lefroy to have been played by a tall, dark and handsome Firth-as-Darcyesque actor. Instead, we get the shorter rather puffy faced McAvoy. It is a testament to the quality of both his and Hathaway's acting skill, however, that they inhabit their characters very well and give very convincing performances. This also goes for the other players, particularly Maggie Smith as the proud Lady Gresham, James Cromwell and Julie Walters as Mr and Mrs Austen and the other actors, including in his last film role, Ian Richardson.

The film is both like and unlike other adaptations of that I have seen of Austen's novels. The periwigs, corsets and frock coats are present and correct (very pleasingly as I love those costumes) but the film goes beyond what one would expect to see in an Austen adaptation. For example, we see a rather brutal boxing match which does not shy away from showing the match head on. We also see the Austens at work in their garden. Now, if I remember rightly, the Kiera Knightly-Matthew McFadyen Pride & Prejudice also had a garden screen, but the type of film used to shoot Becoming Jane allows the gardening and boxing scenes to be shoot in a very gritty manner. This grittiness pervades the whole film and gives it a great deal of realism.

Shakespeare in Love intertwined the story of William Shakespeare's affair with the Countess de Lesseps with the writing of Romeo and Juliet. For extra effect, it also used the story to inspire the writing of Twelfth Night. Becoming Jane has Jane Austen start writing Pride and Prejudice but, although it is plainly the film's conceit that Jane's relationship with Lefroy be the inspiration for the book, the relationship between the two is not nearly as close as in Shakespeare in Love. The scenes where we see Jane writing P&P are few and far between. However, Pride and Prejudice does seem to be referenced in Becoming Jane through Jane's social circle. Lefroy & Mr Wisley = Mr Darcy, Mr & Mrs Austen = Mr & Mrs Bennet, Cassandra Austen = Jane Bennet, Lady Gresham = Lady de Bourg, John Warren = Mr Collins, Henry Austen = Mr Wickham and of course Jane Austen as Elizabeth Bennet. The characters in Becoming Jane are by no means the equivalent of those in Pride and Prejudice, though, more types. For what the film seems to imply is that Jane built upon the characters of those whom she knew. Hence, she takes the twinkle in the eye of her handsome brother Henry and turns him into the rakish Wickham.

Becoming Jane is a charming film. I don't think it will become a classic period piece but remains a good (and gentle) exposition of the importance of money and marriage in Jane's day. Well worth your time and effort.

On Slavery and the Pro Life Cause

On Monday I suggested that the West's promotion of life down through the years made victory by today's Pro Life cause inevitable. My post was occasioned by a series of programmes on the BBC marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Slave Trade in Britain. Perhaps, I said, we might one day have a series of programmes marking the abolition of the culture of death.

Since then, I have been reading some of the arguments for abortion and slavery at BBC On Line. As with slavery up until 200 years ago so with abortion now the theme of power is strong in attempts to justify both. For example, here is a summary of the pro-abortion arguments:

* women have a moral right to decide what to do with their bodies
* the right to abortion is vital for gender equality
* the right to abortion is vital for individual women to achieve their full potential
* banning abortion puts women at risk by forcing them to use illegal abortionists
* the right to abortion should be part of a portfolio of pregnancy rights that enables women to make a truly free choice whether to end a pregnancy

These may be very good arguments for abortion, although in fact they are not, but they are also arguments that maintain their validity by turning the reader away from the unborn child or, one might say, by throwing a cloak over him or her. It is all about the woman. The power of decision is hers and hers alone. By implication, the unborn child does not matter. This harsh conclusion was also part of the pro-slavery argument. Amongst the arguments in favour of slavery given at BBC On Line are these:

* Slaves are inferior beings so therefore we are entitled to treat them as we wish
* Slavery is good for slaves because they - being inferior - are not able to order their own lives
* Abolishing slavery would threaten the structure of society by undermining the economy which is based on their work

Slavery existed because we turned our backs on slaves. By doing so we refused to see them as fully human beings. Again, we threw a cloak over their humanity. For slave owners, it was all about us; the power to do with slaves as we wished was ours and ours alone. Slaves didn't matter.

The pernicious idea that neither slaves nor unborn children matter can be extended further to include experimentation on human embryos. On the face of it, it seems an incredible thing to say this. After all, embryos are not recognisably human. But the Catechism of the Catholic Church states quite catagorically that,

it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.
(CCC 2274)

Why? Surely one may ask why not. It is a shallow thing - and unjust - to base an argument on appearances alone. The embryo may not look human but so that is irrelevent: it is still a human embryo. The baby boy who will be born in nine months is there in the essentials of his biological and spiritual being. Yet, those who would permit scientific study on embryos (with their destruction following afterwards) have fooled themselves into thinking this is not so because they have turned their back to it. They have given power to themselves to decide what it is and whether it matters or not.

The arguments for euthanasia are arguments by seduction. Who can fail to be moved by the wretched condition of those who have fought legal battles for the right to die? Does their condition not demand that they have the right to terminate their lives if they wish? BBC On Line records these two following justifications for slavery:

* Living in slavery is better than starving to death
* Free men should be able to become slaves if they want to

As can be seen, they are not dissimilar to those for euthanasia. Killing yourself is better than living in pain. Free men should be allowed to kill themselves if they want to. Nowadays, we would recognise these arguments for slavery as being both condascending and proud. So they are in respect of euthanasia. The better course is always to be found in trying to overcome difficulty. In no other aspect of life would we advocate giving in and it is no different here. Who is to blame for these arguments? I think that the answer is found by asking cui bono - who benefits? Not the terminally ill person. He doesn't benefit. He dies. It is society which benefits. Society is to blame. By advocating euthanasia society is corrupting the minds of those who need help not dismissal. It is taking advantage of them in the most criminal fashion, for under the law of euthanasia, it is the man who kills himself who bears final responsibility for his actions, not society. Believers in euthanasia would make Pilates of us all.

The above topics are hard matters to write about. One day, it could be my wife facing the decision to bear her child or risk death in childbirth. One day, it could be me in the wheelchair wracked with pain desiring it just to go - forever. One day, I could suffer an illness that may have been cured by stem cell research. Therefore, one cannot treat these matters with anything but solemnity and trembling. But if life is worth anything it is worth everything: all the pain as well as goodness that it brings you. The Anglo-Saxon poet had it right when he said that our hearts must be the stronger as our strength grows less. The cloak was pulled from over the slave and people turned to face him because their hearts grew strong. Ironically, their strength grew more when they did so. It turned out to be that it was when they had power over him that they were weak. Today, we too are weak in the face of the embryo, unborn child and terminally ill. We as a society need to pull the cloak away from them and learn to face them. Once we do so, we will grow stronger together. And then we will wonder how we ever tolerated the way we thought before. It will happen as it did to Newton, Wilberforce et al and as it has always happened these last two thousand years.

Does the West exist?

'Dúnadan' is a word created by J. R. R. Tolkien as part of his Middle-earth mythology. According to the legends, it is of Númenórian origin and means 'man of the West'. Much to my disgrace, I don't know whether the word is of Sindarin origin, Quenyan or what*. Anyway, I chose the name for this blog as I liked both it and what it meant. It seems, however, that I might be betraying how out of date I am with the New World Order, for according to one American official, the 'West is [now] an outdated concept'. This is because the political uncertainty throughout the world makes allies of old enemies and, presumably, enemies of old allies. From BBC On Line:

Seen through American eyes, it seemed the era of fixed alliances was over. From now on the United States would pick and mix. Sometimes partners would be Europeans, sometimes Japanese, Indian or even Chinese.

The name of the game would be selective and loose commitments: "Like an open marriage," said one former US official

I sympathise with this British academic who dismissed this idea:

"In my experience an open marriage tends to work only for one side," ventured... a British academic, "and I suspect it is the Americans who will benefit."

I mentioned a while ago on that the scene in Love, Actually when the Prime Minister (played by Hugh Grant) stands up to the American President (Billy Bob Thornton) was one of my favourites because one often has the feeling that in real life the prime minister is the lap dog of the US president. If the American official proves to be the mouthpiece of his president in this regard I hope and expect future prime ministers to remember this.

The full article is here.

*Looking at the Encyclopedia of Arda it may be that dúnadan is an adûnaic word. Hmm!

Rats!

Petrarch's Muse is a big rat fan. She keeps a lovely family of (5 or 6 unrelated, I think) female white rats and is even studying ratology in her spare time. Actually, it is not ratology exactly but a more wide ranging course that covers rats, guinea pigs and the like but I have to confess I can't remember what the course is called. Partly because I can't remember the names of the family, but also out of convenience - when asking P. M. how they are - I just call them the ratgazze. Those of you who know Italian will see the pun. It is not a wholly accurate one, though, because P. M. recently adopted a male white rat. What he must have thought when he entered his harem! Anyway, there is a downside to owning white rats and that is their fragility. They live two or so years but are very vulnerable to tumours. Yesterday, Morag Ratgazza had to be taken to the vet for an operation on a tumour. P. M. was not confident about her chances of survival as she is two years old - an old lady in rat terms. However, the Old Lady has confounded and delighted her owners by coming through the operation. Well done the ratgazza! P. M. reported today that she was understandably frail but I hope that she recovers her strength over the next few days as P.M.'s smile when she gave me the news today was a nice one and it would be good to see more of it!

In the meantime, meet some of the ratties close up:

The SOR - Another blogger's view

Kerron Cross, doyen of the pleasingly puerile blogpost, had a moment of seriousness today in which he described how 'demoralised' he was by 'the standpoint of the "Christian lobby" over the Sexual Orientation Regulations',

...I really have little interest about who is getting up to what with whom (and how) behind closed doors so long as everyone involved is a consenting adult.

This may seem radical, but I believe in tolerance, equality and understanding.

With the greatest respect to Kerron, although his attitude may well be a tolerant one it betrays a lack of understanding over what Christianity is about. Actually, I might more accurately say that he betrays a myopic view of God that is typical of liberal Christianity (Kerron describes himself as a liberal Christian). Liberal Christians believe that God has a place in our lives but that there are borders to where He goes. The door to the bedroom provides one such example. This belief has no justification either in the Bible nor in the life of the Church. Look for examples of God refusing to get involved in the life of the Israelites and you will not find it. Look for examples of Jesus refusing to speak to any paticular aspect of a person's life and you will not find it. Look for examples of an Apostle, Saint, Bishop or Pope refusing to preach the word on any given mater and you will not find it. This makes Christianity very inconvenient to unbelievers but, as Kerron says at the end of his post (see below), there you go. There has Christianity gone for 2000 years and there it will go for 2000 more.

Kerron asks a good question.

Why these campaigners don't get equally outraged about poverty, homelessness and our brothers and sisters in other countries dying by the second simply mystifies me. Surely that is just as important as this issue, if not abundantly moreso.

I am not in a position to say whether any particular campaigner against the Sexual Orientation Regulations only gets outraged by this matter and not the others which Kerron mentioned but, people being people, the accusation that he makes is probably true to one extent or another. In the comments section of Kerron's post, however, I makes the point that I think the campaigners probably do get outraged by poverty, homelessness and the pointless deaths of other people but that it goes less reported by the mainstream media. As a result, because the press seems to prefer to report what the Church says about sexual matters, people get the erroneous view that the Church is actually obsessed by them. Finally, he says,

It is worth remembering that the more vociferous voices in any organisation, faith or group are very rarely the voice of the tolerant majority. I would like to think myself as one of the tolerant majority of Christians in this country, and I would like to say that the vast majority of what I have heard in recent weeks does not reflect my own personal view on this issue.

Thankfully, there is an element of truth to this argument. If Kerron Cross is the voice of tolerance on this matter, however, than I am pleased to be a voice of intolerance because tolerance here does not imply anything good but a spiritually dangerous misguidedness.

I know that saying this will probably make me more enemies than friends, but there you go, that's what I passionately believe.

Kerron, if you read this, as I have never met you I cannot call you a friend in any meaningful sense. I can, however, confirm that I certainly do not regard you as an enemy and despite our disagreement, I am pleased to be your brother in the Lord. I hope that anyone who reads your post would recognise that it is perfectly possible to disagree with someone on any given matter without hating them.

The Pro Life Cause: Inevitable Victory?

From BBC On Line:

Abolition season

The BBC commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act with a season of programmes on TV and radio.

* Slave trade interactive map
* Who were the abolitionists?
* Who were the slave traders?
* Programmes in the season
* History of slavery in your area

I know it is foolhardy to generalise history, but I don't think that I would be out of order in saying that one of the great themes of the history of the West has been the promotion of life whether in the spiritual, medical, political or social sphere. Of course, the promoters of this narrative have not been without their enemies: 200 years ago, the enemies of life were the slave owners and those who were in their pockets (including not just businessmen but, as BBC On Line relates, churchmen). But despite all the odds, they were beaten. Today it is abortion agencies, doctors who help patients kill themselves, stem cell researchers and - since the 30s - even churchmen. But given the success of the abolitionists, upon seeing the abolition advert, I got to wondering if in years down the line, there will be a season of pro life programmes on the BBC.

Pro Life Season

The BBC commemorates the banning of abortion, euthanasia and eugenics with a season of programmes on TV and radio

* Pro Life interactive map. The Catholic Church was at the front of the 'culture of life' look round the world at the ways in which it helped saved unborn children from death

* Who were the abolitionists? Learn about the many popes who spoke in favour of life as well as Thomas Cardinal Winning who founded an organisation to help pregnant women

* Who were the Pro Choice supporters? They made an issue of morality a matter of choice. Find out about them here.

* Programmes in the season. Including: Marie Stopes: Eugenicist, The Pro Life Movement: The First 1973 Years to Roe Vs Wade and Beyond

* History of the Pro Life Movement in Your Area: Was a candle lit vigil held outside an abortion clinic in your area?

Sounds unlikely? A world without slavery probably seemed equally so - before the likes of Wilberforce changed history.

The House of Lords

When it comes to the reform of the House of Lords there is only one man who speaks any sense on the matter and that is The Jacobite Intelligencer. He writes,

This new ‘upper house,’ whatever it may turn out to be, is a pretended Parliament that stinks of the Convention of 1689 – fake and unconstitutional. No loyal Englishman should even consider voting for those members who tout themselves for such an affront to our ancient constitution.

The attitude of the Commons to the Lords really amazes me as in voting for the Lords to be a completely elected body, it has made a decision that can only be detrimental to its status as the first chamber. I fancy that if I put this point to an M.P. he would resolutely deny that this was so, but if he did, I would have to say well in that case why go to all this effort to reform the second chamber? If it is to remain subservient to the Commons it might as well be appointed. Then at least if the politicians were sensible we could have a representative sample of the great and good of this country acting as scrutineers of the Common's actions. Perhaps it is because M.Ps are not the most sensible people that this reform is, therefore, taking place. A great shame. Still, it should be amusing watching the political parties trying to persuade us to vote for members of an inferior chamber. And even more amusing not to vote and watch them trying to explain the failure of their great democratic experiment.

As I Walked Out One Springtime Morning

Gloucester Rugby 34 Harlequins 25

At the start of this week I received an e-mail circular from the organiser of the Harlequins Supporters' coach to Gloucester in which he reminded everyone in large writing that the leaving time this morning was 9:15. I hope my late arrival for the coach for the Northampton game wasn't the sole reason for this development but just in case, I e-mailed him back to say that if I was later than 9am I would buy a round for everyone on the coach when we stopped for lunch. Given that about thirty people were on said coach, this could have been a very expensive act of bravado. So, cue several days of military planning to ensure that I was at the Stoop before nine.

As it turned out, I arrived at the ground well before time - at 8:15 in fact. So, finding a little grassy area next to the road side car park I sat down and, as one does, opened today's travelling book - Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh.

Nine o'clock came and so did the coach. A pleasant journey through middle England followed, leading into the beautiful county of Gloucestershire. We stopped at a country pub called The Golden Heart in Nettleton Bottom where we ate a fine meal and drank a pint or two of not-so-bad beer. I like to try local ales when travelling (or beers with local labels) and so, despite it being St. Patrick's Day today (not that That Drink has anything in common with St. Patrick other than nationality - and he was British), drank one of indeterminate name but which is brewed by the Stroud Brewery Co. Typical English beer: room temperature but easy on the throat.

Nettleton is a little distance from Gloucester, so after lunch it was all aboard the good ship Quinssa and back onto the road, past the grazing sheep and lazing cattle towards Gloucester itself. My last trip to this city was exactly ten years ago. After completing my Finals I went on a two week tour of the West Country, starting in Gloucester and finishing at Lands End. My chief memory of Gloucester is of the rain and awful 60s buildings. We saw no great architectural marvels on our way through the city this time round (although see below), but it was good to see some plain old homes nonetheless.

Gloucester play at Kingsholm, a small ground with such limited space that the club shop fronts the back of the main (east) stand. Kingsholm's most notable feature is the north stand terrace which is known as the Shed. Presumably a real shed stands behind it or used to where the stand now is. On the way into the ground, I noticed a sign in the pub over the road (The White Hart) that read 'Save Our Shed!'. Judging by an advert I saw in the match day programme, it looks like the terracing is going to be replaced by a larger stand. I have to confess, the Shed looks like something out of a 30s Pathé movie and not something that should be encouraged in modern rugby, but clearly it has its fans.

Anyway, let's move on to the game. It was very unsatisfactory. Harlequins played like a (poor) National Division One side, committing lots of errors. Gloucester, by contrast, played with great skill. Every time they came forward one thought 'Oh no, here comes another try'. At half time the score was 24 - 8 to the home team. We were lucky it was not more.

I imagine that Dean Richards read the riot act to the players at half time. Or perhaps he looked south in search of divine guidance.

I said a moment ago that I saw no buildings with any architectural merit today, but that was a lie, for there was Gloucester Cathedral, a beautiful, mediaeval gothic construct.

The second half of the game was a great improvement for the Quins. This doesn't say too much but it was gratifying to see an early try and the team continue to press for points, even into injury time. Gloucester remained dangerous throughout. They will certainly finish in the top four and I am going to stick my neck out and say that this year's grand final will be between them and Leicester Tigers.

One thing I must remark on is the remarkable Gloucestershire accent. At none of the other away games that I have been to this year has the local accent stood out in any way in the chanting of the home fans. But here, when the Gloucester fans shouted the name of their team, you could hear it: "Glarr-sterr! Glarr-sterr!".

So, no joy for Harlequins today. Yet the game was not a hopeless cause because Quins came away with an improbable bonus point for scoring four tries. I think Gloucester will be disappointed at that - they played well enough to make sure that Harlequins came away with nothing today. This leaves us with 41 points. After Worcester's narrow win over Newcastle on Friday (23 - 21), Northampton Saints are now in last place on 28 points. With four games left they can score a maximum of 48 points. Therefore, two wins from Harlequins' last three games are required to be mathematically certain of staying up this year, although, given Northampton's poor run, the matter should be settled by the games they lose rather than the ones Harlequins win over the next week or two.

The Inquisitive Cow on Thatched Roofs, Bluebells and the Indo-European people

inq. cow: Is the tape recorder on?
dúnadan: Yes, it is. Go ahead.
inq. cow: >ahem<
dúnadan: (whispering) Say who we are!
inq. cow: Ah, yes! I am quite unused to this dúnadan! Right, well, my name is Gerrie and this is the dúnadan. Every weekend, he comes to Dorset to interview me about what has been making me inquisitive this week. Hallo dúnadan!
dúnadan: Hallo, Gerrie, and thank you for that introduction! Tonight, we are on the road. The road leading west out of Little Wimple. Behind us is the village, ahead a thin, winding road with high hedgerows on either side. We shall have to listen out for cars, Gerrie.
inq. cow: Not many come this way, you know; it is more likely that horse riders will pass by! dúnadan: Maybe we will see Horace! But before we go any further, we have just come to the home of Mr. Sproggins, the church warden. He has a lovely thatched roof.
inq. cow: Yes, it is new. Like many roofs here in the West Country, Mr. Sproggins' thatch is made of combed wheat reed.
dúnadan: Is wheat reed used exclusively in the west country? What do they use elsewhere?
inq. cow: In East Anglia they use Longstraw. Mr. Sproggins had his roof rethatched this week. My herd and I happened to be passing by so I stopped to talk to him. I was most impressed by his knowledge.
dúnadan: I wonder how the roof deals with rain. Does it absorb the water?
inq. cow: No, not at all! In fact, the raindrops trickle downwards from stem to stem until it drops to the ground!
dúnadan: Well, let's move on. Mr. Sproggins is a delightful chap. He has worshipped at St. Gilbert's for fifty years. But he is rather short sighted and temperamental in his old age. How he has managed to keep his shotgun licence, I don't know, but I would hate for us to be taken as trespassers and shot at like Publican Will was the other week.
inq. cow: Look up ahead, dúnadan, I can see a kestrel hovering over the road.

dúnadan: Looking for tonight's dinner! Ah, look down there, a bluebell. It has come out two weeks earlier than normal! Shall I pick it for you?
inq. cow: Certainly not, no! If you did, you would be breaking the law.
dúnadan: Crikey. I would?
inq. cow: Yes. Because so many people picked wild flowers in times past, the Government made it illegal to do so in 1998. A most sensible measure, I think. Let's just enjoy the bluebell in its native habitat. Did you know they have an association with fairies?
dúnadan: I didn't. How was that?
inq. cow: Well, faries were summoned by the chime of bluebells. But if a human should hear the chime then it would mean that his death was near!
dúnadan: My goodness!
inq. cow: The good news is that in all my research into the origins of myths and legends, I have not heard that cows were affected by hearing their chimes. As for bluebells, they are hardy little flowers. They have been sighted in all kinds of land and as high as 685 metres up Craig-yr-Ysfa in Snowdonia, North Wales.
dúnadan: Do you happen to know the Latin name for bluebells?
inq. cow: Of course! It is Hyacinthoides non-scripta.
dúnadan: Very good! Do cows have Latin names?
inq. cow: Yes, it is Bos taurus. This name was given to us by Linnaeus. He identified three kinds of cows. The European cow - Bos taurus; Bos Indicus which live mainly in tropical climes - and Bos primigenius, which is now sadly extinct. Or so everyone except my sister Etienne thinks. On the night of her birth Farmer Bill told her the story of how the Bos primigenius disappeared but one night she woke us all up having claimed to have seen one. We didn't believe her so the next night left the herd to go in search of them. She was last seen just west of the Urals. And that was two years ago.
dúnadan: What a sad story! You may never see her again!
inq. cow: Don't say that! I hope that one day I will turn a corner in the road, and there she will be!

Etienne Cow's true love

dúnadan: That would be nice. Very nice, indeed. Well, I wonder if we should not turn back now, Gerrie. It is getting very dark and although this is a bright torch I do not feel wholly safe.
inq. cow: Let's go back to the village then. You know, dúnadan, at the start of this interview, I told our readers that you come to Dorset to interview me about what has been making me inquisitive this week, but as it turns out, we have talked only about things that I have been inquisitive about in general!
dúnadan: Hmm! Alright, then, before we finish, tell me what has made you inquisitive this week, Gerrie.
inq. cow: Thank you for asking! Well, I have been much interested in Indo-Europeans this week.
dúnadan: The Indo-European people? Who are they?
inq. cow: Well, you for a start! An Indo-European is anyone who speaks one of the Indo-European languages, for example, English. Latin, Greek and German are also of Indo-European origin.
dúnadan: Do only European languages qualify for I-E status?
inq. cow: No, as the Indo- prefix suggests. What happened was that in the Late Bronze Age an ancient race invaded the Indus Valley in near Asia. The invaders spoke a language called Aryan. It evolved into Sanskrit, so creating a link between the languages of Europe and the Indian Sub Continent! For example, the Sanskrit word devas is deus in Latin.
dúnadan: Ah, 'God'.
inq. cow: Yes. pitr in Sanskrit is pater in Latin, while matri is mater...
dúnadan: Father and mother. How extraordinary! Well, Gerrie, I think you could go on a bit more about this tonight. In fact, let's keep walking for a few minutes more. As for the interview though, we shall bring that to an end. I have a couple of clotted cream pies and I do not think our readers will want to hear us scoffing them!
inq. cow: No, probably not! Well, readers, thank you for joining us. I hope you can do so again next week!
dúnadan: Moo!
inq. cow: Goodness, dúnadan, you said that with a thick Somerset accent! Let me teach you how to pronounce the word properly... >Gerrie Cow speaks, her voice fading into the distance.<

Index of interviews with the inquisitive cow
Gerrie Cow's Facebook Pro File (Registration Required)

Information of Indo-European languages from The Lords of Avaris by David Rohl

300

Speaking of the Persian Empire, next Friday (23rd March) sees the release of 300 which tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480BC when 300 Spartan soldiers withstood a Persian assault of 100,000 - 500,000 men for three days before falling. Greece lost on that day, but the Spartans resistance gave Athens time to mobilise itself for the naval war that it would eventually win.

Despite the film being a typical Hollywood reconstruction of a historical event, seemingly souped up (as if it needed to be) by the presence of fantastical characters, Iran has been getting hot under the collar over the film's representation of the Persians as this report at BBC On Line reveals. One does have to wonder about why the Iranian Government and bloggers are taking the film so seriously. They complain that 300 is not historically accurate. When are Hollywood pictures ever that? In fact, Warner Brothers has stated that the film is a work of fiction based on actual events. It is making no pretence that this is pure history. The cultural advisor to President Ahmadinejad is quoted as saying that the film plunders "Iran's historic past and [is] insulting this civilization" and that the film wages "psychological warfare" against Tehran and its people. Well, first of all, Persia may well be part of Iran's historic past but that is where the similarity between the two ends. Iran of today has nothing in common with ancient Persia. Different Government. Different Religion. The idea that Hollywood is in any meaningful sense waging some kind of warfar on Iran is laughable. Hollywood is about money, not ideology. For sure the latter is there, but I have seen enough different kinds of films to make me think that if you are able to sell a story to a producer it will get made, whatever it is about.

Anyway, I was not intending to see 300 on the grounds that it has bastardised a historical epic by featuring fantasy characters but this criticism makes me think perhaps I will go and watch it just to spite the silly Iranian Government and bloggers. To watch it for that reason would, of course, be equally silly, but at least I would get a decent piece of entertainment for being so.

The Ides of March

Yesterday was the Ides of March and the 2051st anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar. What would have happened if he had not been murdered by Marcus Brutus et al? Well, the Roman Empire would certainly have still come into being. Augustus was the first emperor but Caesar was Dictator-for-life and had no intention of giving power back to the corrupt Senate. It may have looked rather different, though, for at the time of his assassination, Caesar was about to leave Rome for Persia to make war on the Persian Empire. Had he won (by no means a certainty - Caesar's fellow triumvir, Crassus, was slain several years earlier by the Persians during a similar campaign), the Empire would have stretched much further east than it eventually did. Just before his death, Augustus Caesar said to his that 'I found Rome of clay; I leave it to you of marble'. After winning the civil war in 45BC, Caesar also initiated a series of building works and social works, but I wonder if he would have proved as effective as Augustus in managing the Senate and society. Julius Caesar's problem was that he centralised a great deal of power to himself. Fine when all is well, but should he fall ill... not so good.

Anyway, a great figure of history and - as I may have mentioned previously - by way of a little trivia, a holder of the title Pontifex Maximus, a title still held by the pope today, making it the oldest continuing office in European history.

The Good Shepherd

Last night, L., D. and I visited Finchley Park to see The Good Shepherd. This film stars Matt Damon and is about the foundation of the C.I.A. There used to be a Australian soap opera on ITV* called Home and Away which featured a character called Alf. Whatever happened to him, he always bore the same emotion. Matt Damon's character, Edward Wilson, was pretty much the same. Come rain or shine, he had the same stony faced appearance. I had heard before hand that Good Shepherd was a dull film. Not at all. There are no big explosions, car chases or shoot outs, but this film was not short of tension. Any film when a father is forced to choose between his son or his country will never be without it. If you get the chance to see The Good Shepherd, look out for Michael Gambon as the British secret agent, Angelina Jolie as Wilson's wife and Robert Di Niro as the head of the C.I.A. Di Niro also directed the film. All these actors put in star turns.

Good Shepherd is loosely based on the career of James Jesus Angleton, a person I first read about in the '80s in Peter Wight's controversial book Spycatcher. According to his wikidpedia pro file, Angleton was probably as mad as a hatter but a supremely good spymaster.

One of the trailers before the film was for a picture called Amazing Grace which is about William Wilberforce's struggle to ban slavery. I am extremely partial to periwigs and cloaks so this looked like a very interesting film. For the politically correct, I look forward to seeing a film about the abolition of slavery.

* Britain's main commercial channel

Why work when you can rest?

for the Mulier Fortis.

See Green See Red

A really quite amazing story from political blogger Guido Fawkes:

Guido has met Sian Berry, the Green party's candidate for London mayor, she is charming and pleasant. She just happens to believe that there are too many humans on the planet. We were both on a radio show last year and Guido accused her of believing in an anti-human ideology. When we came down to it, she admitted that yes, she did think the planet had too many humans on it. That to me is the essential problem with Greens, they want things that no sensible person would not want, such as clean air and water, a safe and sustainable environment - but the priority is "Earth First", humans second.' [emphasis mine].

If this report is correct, then it points to not only a culture of death but a culture of hatred of Mankind in the Green Party. Who would trust such a people? No one should.

BTW: While Guido Fawkes is a blog well worth visiting please note that the language used (esp. in the comments section!) is usually of a very choice variety.

Adun d-bashmayo nithqadash shmokh

Or Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name in Aramaic - from a nice blog post at the Daily Telegraph on line. Their reporter visited Westminster Cathedral to witness Vespers by members of the Syrian Orthodox Church. It was heavy on incense and vestments. Traddie heaven.

Foucault kicks to touch

Today Our Man in the Army and I returned to the Old White Bear pub in Hampstead to watch England play France in the Six Nations. It was not a classic game but who cares as England ran out 26 - 18 winners. I should add that Our Man has now left the army (he was doing a part time course) to take up a full time job so is now Our Man Formally in the Army untill I can think up a new name for him. Anyway, the afternoon was much enlivened by Our Man's comparison of the French coach, Bernard Laporte with French postmodernist philosopher Michel Foucault.

Bernard Laporte

Michel Foucault

It is hard not to agree with such a comparison. In consequence, Our Man and I got to wondering what kind of rugby coach Foucault would make.

Foucault: Today I will teach you about the inherent instability of meaning in post structural thought, if indeed such a title is not in itself meaningless. This we will discuss.
Player: Can't we just practise the line outs, boss?

Pests!

Harlequins 16 Wasps 23

Until yesterday, Wasps had not won away from home since their opening game of the season, way back last September when they beat Saracens. That, and the fact that due to internationals and injuries, they were really playing a second string XV gave me hope that Harlequins would win this game. Of course, Harlequins were not without i & is of their own, but more of the first XV were there and they have been playing well of late. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

According to reports of the game over at Come All Within, this was very much 'a game of two halves'. Harlequins won the first hands down going into the half time break 13 - 3 up. But Wasps came out fighting in the second half. Literally. It appears the players fought dirty, even throwing punches in order to intimidate the Quins. As I was not at the game, I had better not dwell on that suffice to say that if it is true it is sad news. There is not one team in the Premiership that is so bad that it needs to resort to such underhand tactics. Whether because of their tactics or otherwise, Wasps won the second half 3 - 20 and so the game.

Relegation

With four games left Harlequins are fifteen points ahead of last placed team Worcester Warriors. Relegation, therefore, is still an unlikely possibility. Especially given who we have to play:
Gloucester (A) A defeat. If we get a bonus losing point I will be happy. Gloc. are a good side and we will have to play our best game to stand a chance against them.
London Irish (H) A win. Irish a good side but there is no reason why, with a good home performance in front of a good home crowd, we can't take the win.
Saracens (A) A defeat. Saracens have played really well this season so I think a win at their ground will be beyond Quins. Against that, they are not in the top class of premiership teams so can slip up...
Sale (H) A win. Sale are the current premiership champions. As of yesterday they lie in ninth place ten points ahead of Worcester. They are in greater danger of relegation than Harlequins! Amazing. This is not because of Sale suddenly turning bad but a very bad injury record. On these grounds I suggest that we will get the win. And wouldn't it be very ironic if, having been relegated by defeat against Sale two years ago, Quins put them down this year.

A Visit to Oxford

Today, L. and I visited Oxford to see the sights of the city of dreaming spires. Stepping off the coach, we took a walk down Broad Street where I, in my eagerness to take out my camera from my bag and photograph of the Bridge of Sighs...

... I elbowed a dear old lady tour guide on the arm. Beating a hasty retreat underneath the bridge, we strolled down the High Street and past Magdalen College. Here is my photograph of the tower, taken from Mags Bridge...

In case you don't know, Magdalen is pronounced Maudlin. I don't know why - they have funny habits at Oxford. Actually, I believe Magdalene College in Cambridge, notwithstanding the final 'e' is also pronounced in the same way so that goes for Cambridge as well. Anyway, Magdalen is of special interest to me as it was C. S. Lewis's college. He was an undergrad' at University Coll. which is further up the High Road but a tutor at Magdalen for most of his career. Coincidentally, when he left to take up a professorship at Cambridge, he went to Magdalene College. Mary Mags clearly had her eye on him.

By now, I was feeling a little peckish, so we turned back and made our way up the High Street before ending up in The Mitre pub...

... where we enjoyed a couple of pints of Guinness beer and an absolutely splendid meal. We both had a medium done sirloin steak. Mmmmm! It was wonderful. Top job, Mitre.

The Mitre is a low roofed and cozy pub in which we could have spent the whole afternoon. Following our meal, however, we headed towards the church of St. Mary the Virgin on the High Street. This church is steeped in history. It was here that John Keble preached his sermon on 'National Apostasy' that led to the founding of the Oxford Movement that sought to recover the catholicity of the Church of England. John Henry Newman was the parish priest there for a time before his conversion to the Catholic faith. C. S. Lewis also preached there during World War II. When we arrived, we found a young choir practising. After going up the tower to see the city from above, I asked one of the two conductors if they had been singing a Mass setting (I had recognised some Latin words but not the context). It turned out that they were singing a Requiem Mass setting - composed by the fellow to whom I was speaking - for a concert that was to be given this evening, so I hope that went well. Looking at the St. Mary's website, I note that the choir was the Choir of Worcester College and that the music was going to be more varied, including 'works by Finzi, Tippett and Parry'.

Leaving the choir to their work, we bought tickets to go up the tower. Due to restricted numbers we had to wait a little while, but it was all worth it for the view...

Great stuff. Before moving on, here is one more photograph from atop St. Mary's. It is for Fr. Dwight Longenecker. I hope he likes it!
After leaving St. Mary's church, we headed back towards Magdalen College and to the Oxford Botanical Garden. I particularly wanted to visit the Botanical Garden to see if I could find the pinus nigra tree under which Tolkien posed for one of the last photographs taken of him before his death in September. 1973. Here it is...

... thanks to the very helpful ladies manning the ticket counter/shop, we quickly found the tree . As a memento of our visit, I asked L. to take a photograph of me there. L. and I have been to various places in Britain and abroad and I don't think I have ever taken a photograph of myself so this picture is unique!

It is already my favourite photograph of myself. The Botanical Garden is quite small so we did not spend much time there - all the more so, of course, since spring has not quite yet come (although we did see a young tree budding) so nature is still very subdued. However, we did stay long enough to see a father gently chastise his daughter for trying to stone the goldfish at the edge of the gravel path!

From the Botanical Garden we took ourselves to the Ashmolean Museum. Time was against us now and we were there for bearely ten minutes before the bell rang and we had to leave. So, passing the (Protestant) Martyr's Memorial we visited the big Borders bookshop. From there, we visited the Eagle and Child pub for a final pint before heading back to the coach station.

The Eagle and Child is required visiting for all Tolkienistas like me as it is where J.R.R.T, C. S. Lewis and their friends met to read out and discuss their stories. The back room where the chaps met has photographs on the wall recalling this famous literary group. I didn't remember to look out for it this time, but in times past it also had a plaque commemorating the Inklings, as the friends called themselves, and a facsimile of a letter written (I think) by Christopher Tolkien to someone thanking them for gifts sent to the group during WWII. I shall have to check my sources there as I am not sure that is accuate. Anyway, the back room is no longer the back room as the Eagle and Child (or Bird and Baby as it was known to Tolkien et al) has expanded backwards and it was to there that L. and I went for our final pint.

And so, from the pub we made our way back up the road to the coach station. The end of our fleeting visit. It was a shame that the Ashmolean closed when it did, but it was a big thrill to find Tolkien's pinus nigra. It was the crowning of a very satisfying day.

Virtues and Vices - Fr. Marcus Holden

Last night I was at church to hear a talk given by one Fr. Marcus Holden of Holy Ghost, Balham. It was on Virtues and Vices. I arrived a few minutes ahead of time and found Fr Marcus waiting to be let into the church hall - Fr. Nicholas, the Roman Miscellanist who runs the group was still in the church itself leading the Friday night Stations of the Cross. We had a nice chat during which I expressed my earnest hope that the talk would mainly be about the vices. They are more exciting after all. Unfortunately or otherwise, the virtues took the centre stage.

First of all, Fr. Marcus spoke about the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude. These virtues are so named because they are the virtues on which all the others hinge (cardinal coming from the Latin for hinge). He then spoke about the seven deadly sins: gluttony, avarice, envy, anger, lust, sloth and pride. To illustrate his talk, Fr. Marcus used the magical and hi-tech overhead projector to show this painting by Hieronymus Bosch:

By-the-bye, this painting also shows the Four Last Things in the circles surrounding the deadly sins, something which was not touched upon last night as being beyond the scope of the talk.

As for the talk, Fr. Marcus had a good voice which I think would be ideal for storytelling. He is also a theological boffin as he is the author of the highly rated Evangelium programme. Fr. Nicholas is off to Spain this week (on a working trip - huh!) but when he gets back I intend to quiz him (a) about how much cognac he drank and (b) about his pronounciation of 'evangelium'. I thought it was pronounced 'ee-van-ge-lee-um' but he pronounced it 'ee-van-jay-lee-um'. A deep mystery, indeed.

The Inquisitive Cow on Hypocoristicons, Ramesses the Great and Proverbs

dúnadan: Hallo from Dorset! I am the dúnadan and with me is Gerrie the inquisitive cow. Hello Gerrie.

inq. cow: Hallo the dúnadan!
dúnadan: Hmm. Not funny! But, it gives me a lead in to a question. Gerrie is a shortened form of Geraldine. Is it a diminutive of your full name? When I arrived at the farm tonight, I thought it was, but the Learned Owl told me that diminutives do something that your name does not do, namely, indicate the smallness of the person - you - who was named.
inq. cow: What an interesting conversation you and Mr Owl were having! As for your question, this was something that Mummy Cow taught me less than twenty four hours after I was born. You see, as the Learned Owl said, 'Gerrie' is not a diminutive but rather a hypocoristicon.
dúnadan: Another long word!
inq. cow: This one is also Greek. A hypocoristicon - or hypocoristic as it is more commonly called - is the shortened version of a name. It can also be a word that is reduced to one syllable and has '-y' or '-ie' at the end. Like Gerrie!
dúnadan: I see. May I ask why you say hypocoristicon instead of the more common hypocoristic?
inq. cow: Hummm! That comes from my study of ancient Egyptian history. The scholars use '-con' there quite readily.
dúnadan: I see. Can you give me an example of an ancient Egyptian hypocoristicon?
inq. cow: Of course! Ramesses the Great, the 19th Dynasty pharaoh who is popularly believed to be the pharaoh who oppressed the Israelites before their departure for the Holy Land, was well known in the middle east by his nickname, or hypocoristicon, of 'SS'.
dúnadan: That is quite some shortening of his name!
inq. cow: Well, I don't know how the ancient Egyptians pronounced his name because I have been reading about Ramesses in connection with a redating of his place in the Bible. As I said, Ramesses is popularly believed to be the pharaoh who oppressed the Israelites. It appears that they - the Israelites - usually pronounced the Egyptian S as 'Sh'. That would make Ramesses' name 'ShSh'. According to some records, this would actually have been pronounced 'Shysha'. The Israelites may have added a 'K' to the end of this name to make 'Shyshak' because if they did, Ramesses' hypocoristicon would then have gained the meaning 'the one who crushes underfoot'.
dúnadan: Most appropriate! But hold on, I know my Bible, Gerrie, and I know that there is a pharaoh mentioned called Shishak. Is he the same one?
inq. cow: Some scholars believe so.
dúnadan: But he was alive much later than Moses. In fact, he was alive during the time of Solomon!
inq. cow: The scholars who I have been reading think that Ramesses has been misidentified with the pharaoh of the oppression. Those who do subscribe to what is called The New Chronology. It is a most fascinating subject.
dúnadan: New chronologists are those scholars who think that the time line of ancient Egypt should be redated?
inq. cow: That is exactly right, dúnadan.
dúnadan: Getting things right - highly recommended! Now, last week, to no one's surprise, I beat you again at Cow Sticks and I asked you to find me proverbs from ten different countries. I should have asked you a question, but never mind. Have you any?
inq. cow: Ah, Herbert Goose came to my rescue here. He told me lots and lots!
dúnadan: So, if I name a country...
inq. cow: I will tell you a proverb from there!
dúnadan: Alright. Let's start with... Austria.
inq. cow: "The hunt is like a dance for men, for the women the dance is the hunt." How true. It is the difference between the rougher and fairer sexes!
dúnadan: Heh. Next, let's go back to... Egypt.
inq. cow: "The barking of a dog does not disturb the man on a camel." I have never met a camel but I have seen pictures and they seem very tall. I suppose he does not even hear the dog.
dúnadan: Given their short tempers, the camel would probably stamp on the mutt! Alright, how about Italy?
inq. cow: Easy. Herbert has been to Italy many times - usually when he intends to go to America. "Between saying and doing, many a pair of shoes is worn out." I am sure that they were very stylish shoes too!
dúnadan: Yes, and just like the Italians to be so casual! Let's go to the Lebanon.
inq. cow: I am not sure you say 'the' Lebanon, but never mind. The proverb is, "No matter how fast the poplar grows, it will never reach heaven." If this is a reference to nature I must confess that I find it to be rather sad. It reminds me of the Great Question: Do animals have souls? What happens to us when we die?
dúnadan: It must be hard. We humans know we have souls - or most of us do - but we still wonder what happens to us after death as well. Give me a happy proverb from Malta.
inq. cow: Herbert, being a fan of Mills and Boon novels, loves this quotation: "Where the heart loves, there the legs walk."
dúnadan: What man would not walk a thousand miles for his beloved!
inq. cow: Or cow for her bull!
dúnadan: Next: Holland.
inq. cow: Or even the Netherlands. "A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains." I have earnt great praise from my fellow animals for my knowledge, but I would still agree with this proverb. I wish the Honeybadger would too. He tried to knock down a tree this week for getting in his way!
dúnadan: He is a yob! It is dark and I am getting a little tired now. Give me two proverbs from Poland.
inq. cow: Well now, "The greatest love is a mother's, then a dog's, then a sweetheart's." A little suspect, I think! The second one is most wise, "God grant me a good sword and no use for it."
dúnadan: Yes, the best soldiers must be those who fight hardest to stop battle from occurring. They know most the value of life.
inq. cow: Indeed.
dúnadan: Dogs are very loyal, though.
inq. cow: There isn't anything a sweetheart would not do for her beloved, though. If he would walk a thousand miles, she would go two thousand!
dúnadan: Gerrie, you say that with some passion.
inq. cow: Do I?... Shall we move on!
dúnadan: Let's go east - to Tibet.
inq. cow: "Goodness speaks in a whisper, evil shouts." One could also say that wise men speak in whispers, fools shout. Although I have heard it said, 'pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world...'
dúnadan: Yes, so have I. I wonder where... in regards the proverb, it speaks true to me - because the evil and foolish aren't interested in listening, they simply want to deafen us. I think we have had nine proverbs. Do cows have proverbs, Gerrie?
inq. cow: Well, although we are famed for mooing alot, 'moo' can mean many things. Mooooo--ahhhhhhhh!!! with precisely that emphasis means 'That was a wholesome piece of grass'. As you can see, we have a little catching up to do in the quality of our proverbs!
dúnadan: Never mind! Well, I can see Farmer Bill knocking on the window. My hot chocolate is ready so it is time to round things up. Gerrie, I came to Dorset tonight with a question from Arathorn, also known as, my Dad. He writes:

You are an exceptionally knowledgeable and gifted cow, not least for the fact that you can talk. Do you then think that there is a touch of cowism in the english language that fails to take into account what a role model you are to other bovines? This is shown in the use of 'cow' as a derogatory description of a female. Equally the word 'cow' used as a verb means to subdue, so suggesting you are easily compliant and of weak character. Finally to cower sees you curl up and be submissive. All in all then you are put in a very weak pathetic light. Is this acceptable to you?

inq. cow: Humm! Mooh! I like those compliments! Your daddy is an awfully nice person, isn't he! Arathorn, I have worked hard to talk as well as I do. I have a slight Dorset accent but it is hard to render on the page unless you are Farmer Bill whose accent is so thick as to be unignorable. As to the issue of cowisms, they are - of course - only used by the ignorant and stupid. It is not acceptable to be regarded as weak and submissive. My goodness, if someone who liked calling anyone a cow came to this farm I would show him how submissive I was - especially if I had a calf nearby!
dúnadan: Now, now, Gerrie, violence is not the answer!
inq. cow: Humph!
dúnadan: I like to think that these interviews show people how clever a cow can be. Perhaps other cows will be inspired to become inquisitive as well.
inq. cow: Ah, well, that is a good thought. Yes, a very good thought!
dúnadan: Well, Arathorn, I hope that answers your question. Gerrie, I am going inside for my hot chocolate. Thank you as ever for your time and I shall talk to you again next weekend.
inq. cow: "When the dúnadan comes, Gerrie will always be waiting."!

index of interviews with the inquisitive cow
Gerrie Cow's Facebook Pro File (Registration Required)

The New Chronology
Proverbs from around the world

Kind Gifts

It is good to have benefactors. This week, one of the London newspapers has been giving away free 'classic film' posters. Today, it was the turn of The Return of the King. Knowing my love for all things Tolkien, one of my workmates kindly donated his copy of the film poster. When I got home, I found another copy of the poster waiting for me here! Thank you to both!

the other dúnadan

Stone Hearted Through and Through

Fr Dwight Longenecker kindly recommended The Inquisitive Cow and so I shall return the favour. I am delighted to recommend his own work of fiction... at least, I hope it is. The Gargoyle Code picks up from where the (superb) Screwtape Letters left off. The link will take you to the first instalment, to date six five more have followed. I wonder when an angelic correspondence will be intercepted...?

a nasty piece of work

The Chair on International Women's Day

This meeting is called to order

Chair: "March 8th is International Women's Day. This meeting, therefore, will focus on the contribution of women to political life here in Britain and across the world! No, please do not sigh, Vice-Chair, you are far too cynical. The first woman I would like to mention has been physically dead for two thousand years but has never been forgotten by politicians everywhere who pray to her in their need. I am, of course, referring to the Blessed Virgin Mary."

Vice-Chair: Chair, may I congratulate you on your choice. Very clever. Although, may I pick you up on your theology---
Chair: My what?
Vice-Chair: Er... never mind. Secretary, please record that it is the belief of the Catholic Church that the B.V.M was assumed body and soul into heaven.
Chair: Oh yes! I knew that! Well, let's move on, shall we? Labour Party leadership candidate, Harriot Harmon can hardly compare to the Blessed Virgin. Being a member of the Labour party these days in hardly a blessing and Harriot, may I say, is not a virgin! Ha ha! Mr Ponsonby Trumpeton-Blythe, stop scowling at me - you told me that joke last night!

Ponsonby Trumpteton-Blythe: It jolly well was not a joke! You asked if she had children and I said--- oh, never mind!
Chair: Hmph. Where was I? Ah, yes, Mrs Harmon is a woman of the future. If Labour wishes to win a fourth term, it must connect with voters. Many of them are women and no doubt many of them will trust a fellow, er, woman! Well, let's move on again...

Chair: Oh, goodness! Who put this lovely photograph on the overhead projector?! Well, it is well timed because the election for the Presidency of France is less than two months away! Now, I am very afraid to say that the Beautiful Ségolène Royal (BSR) rather blotted her copybook recently by outlining her policies as the Socialist candidate. What was she thinking of? She has a winning smile, lustrous brown hair, perfect teeth...
Vice-Chair: Do you have a point, Chair?
Chair: A point?
Vice-Chair: Yes. A point. You know, a reason for saying what you do?
Chair: Well, do I need one?
Vice-Chair: Oh dear... I think you need to lie down, sir; this meeting is adjourned.

Connor O'Neill & Justin Quayle

saints and sinners

A few days ago, Fr. Dwight Longenecker reviewed Hardball and commended it 'as a film that incarnates the eternal Christian truth.'. My interest was piqued. Not, I am afraid to say, but the film's spiritual value but the fact that it was a feel-good film. I have a soft spot for them. So, on Saturday morning, before heading to St. Pancras and Leicester I took the underground to the West End of London and bought the DVD.

Fr. Dwight makes the case for the film being a Catholic film, both visibly and invisibly. By 'visibly' I mean those scenes which have an obvious Catholic setting, for example, when Connor prays in the church and puts on the miraculous medal. By 'invisibly' I mean the scenes which are Catholic by implication, for example, those where, as D. L. says, 'we see Connor working out his salvation in fear and trembling.'.

For my part, I would like to add that I was sorry that no reference was made at the end of the film to the spiritual journey that Connor O'Neill had undergone. There is an excellent opportunity for him to do so during a funeral scene but it isn't taken. It isn't only the spiritual aspect of Hardball that is neglected at the end - so is the addiction storyline. At the beginning of the film, Connor O'Neil is neck deep in gambling debts. The film shows how he escapes them and redeems himself through (or thanks to) the children's baseball team. The latter is clearly explicated, but the former storyline is dealt with off screen. At one point, Connor makes a big bet with another gambler. He plays big and he wins big. But we don't see Connor pay off his debts. I would have thought that this most important storyline should have been resolved in full view of the audience.

Over the last week I have also been watching one of my most favourite films, The Constant Gardener. This film, based on John Le Carré's novel of the same name, follows diplomat Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) as he tries to find out why his activist wife Tessa was killed in a remote part of Kenya. Justin Quayle is a very different man to Connor O'Neill. His life is perfectly ordered. He has no need of redemption. Actually, The Constant Gardener could be described as the story of a saint, the story of a life fulfilled rather than redeemed.

The Constant Gardener gives a powerful witness to how a saint lives: determined, doggedly so; always loving; always seeking the truth - even unto death. Hardball is not far behind in this respect but I have to admit that I prefer Gardener because of its sad ending. Not that I like sad endings - I don't and I find them very difficult to watch. But the world is a dirty, messy place and the good guys don't always win. At least, not in this life. They will in the end and a film which represents this is to be highly commended. The Constant Gardener does this by the fact that although Justin is killed by Tessa's murderers before he can expose the plot between them and the British Government to use Africans as guinea pigs for their new drugs, the truth still comes out in a powerful eulogy given at his memorial service. In Christian terms this is like a Saint's death leading to the conversion of others.

I picked up Hardball for just a few pounds and The Constant Gardener can probably be bought similarly cheaply now. If you have some money spare and are wondering what to buy you could do much, much worse than either of these pictures.

No Mauling in Leicester

Leicester Tigers 27 Harlequins 22

Leicester Tigers are rugby union royalty and they were elevated to that position by Harlequins' Director of Rugby - Dean Richards. Under his guidance, the club won back-to-back European Championships in 2001 and 2002 and were English champions four times. Since Richards' dismissal in 2004, however, the Tigers have often played well but won nothing. Nowhere have they played better, however, than at home, where, up until last week's surprise defeat to Northampton Saints, Leicester were unbeaten for three years. Yesterday's game, then, was going to be a special one: Richard's first return since his sacking and possibly Leicester's second home defeat on the trot.

Well, as the scoreline above shows, that second defeat never quite happened. Harlequins finished five points behind the Tigers but if the truth be told, they were beaten by the better team on the day.

That was not the case after 40 minutes, though. At half time, the score was 6 - 3 to the home side, but Leicester had a nightmare half. Their line outs were atrocious, with players suffering butter fingers and the hooker and catchers miscommunicating with each other so that throws sailed over the latter's outstretched arms and into those of Harlequin players. This lack of form was apparent also in the passing which was also less than perfect. So, how did they go into the break three points to the good? Well, they have fly half Andy Goode to thank for that. His sure foot made very sure that all three penalties went over the bar. Goode was helped by the fact that although Harlequins enjoyed the better posession in the first half they had, as the association football commentators like to say 'no end product'. In other words, Quins proved adept at getting the ball up to the Leicester try line (or there and there abouts) but not over. This was mainly due to the other aspect of the Tiger's play that went well - their defence.

the game was televised by Sky TV - to the left of the
cameraman is one of the two commentators

At half time, Pat Howard, the Leicester D-o-R, must have read his team the riot act because they came out fighting. That their England players, including Martin Corry, also ran out for the second half, only helped them. Harlequins were under pressure and defended well, but a Leicester Tigers team that smells blood will make the kill and so it was that they soon scored their first try. At that point, a lesser team would have crumbled under Tigers' pressure, so it is a testament to Harlequins that they immediately clawed their way back into the game with a try of their own. But Leicester would not be denied: another try followed. Again Harlequins fought back with penalties, but when Mike Brown was sin binned for knocking the ball out of a Tiger's hands during a ruck, the Quins ability to win the game was effectively over. It would, however, have been otherwise - Adrian Jarvis missed two or three penalties during the game. If he had scored them, we would have won. As ever, though, it would be unfair to blame him alone. As mentioned above, Harlequins' lacked incision when against the Tiger's try line and that did them great damage.

What of Dean Richards? Despite the acrimonious nature of his departure from Welford Road, he remains a hero to the Leicester Tiger's fans. I saw one fan in an old fashioned blue and green & white hooped Leicester shirt with a large 'G' on the back - a reminder of the days when rugby players wore letters on the back of their shirts rather than numbers - and was told that that was 'Deano's' shirt. And when the man himself appeared at the touch line, in front of his dug out, there were sporadic chants from the Leicester fans of Dean-o! Dean-o!

Yesterday, I travelled to Welford Road in the company of a workmate who is a devout Leicester fan. I had a great day and owe him good language for his kindness to a Harlequin fan in defeat and for sorting out the trains! Welford Road is an old fashioned stadium where fans can still stand up and one can sit on benches but there can be no doubting the even handedness of the fans: I was particularly impressed by the silence maintained by the crowd when Jarvis lined up his kicks. A splendid tradition being faithfully upheld. I must also commend the nice beer that D. bought me before the game: Everard's Tiger beer (of course).

Harlequins prepare to take a line out

Yesterday's result was, of course, a bad one for Harlequins. However, we would never have put the game down as a likely win and I think can be encouraged (a) by the positive performance of the team. The best team won but the losers were not humbled (b) the bonus losing point that we won for finishing within seven points of the Tigers.

Next week, Harlequins play Wasps at the Stoop. On paper, it ought to be an away win but Wasps have travelled badly this year so the Quins must fancy their chances. My next game, however, will be away to Gloucester the week after. A welcome trip to the beautiful west country. Let's hope that the result is similarly good!

The Inquisitive Cow on Sothic Dating, Quarternary Structures and Quincunx Patterns

dúnadan: Hallo from a bridge somewhere in central Dorset. Today, the inquisitive cow and I are playing Cow Sticks. Regular readers will know that we last played this game last summer. I have to say, Gerrie, from an aesthetic point of view, it was more fun then. The countryside looked as rich in colour then as it does dull now.

inq. cow: But that is not the end of the story, dúnadan; just think of what is happening underneath the soil and inside the buds!
dúnadan: Yes, that is a good way of looking at it. Nature is not dead - only renewing herself. Now, for those who don't know, the rule of Cow Sticks is just the same as Pooh Sticks except that the winner gets to ask the loser a question which they have to go away and research before coming back with the answer. Unsurprisingly, you have lost every game that we have played so far, Gerrie.
inq. cow: But not deliberately!
dúnadan: Maybe, but I do wonder at your policy of picking larger and heavier sticks.
inq. cow: They will come good one day!
dúnadan: I wonder. So, let's throw our sticks over!... There they go. And now, we walk to the other side of the bridge and... and... where are they?
inq. cow: There!
dúnadan: Oh, look, I have won again! What a surprise!
inq. cow: What question are you going to ask me?
dúnadan: Are you sure you don't want to ask me one?
inq. cow: No, no. I lost, therefore, it is only fair that you ask me.
dúnadan: Truly, you are the inquisitive cow! Well then, what shall I ask? I know, I want to know about proverbs. Get me proverbs from ten different countries.
inq. cow: I shall do so without delay. After our interview, of course.
dúnadan: Of course. Speaking of which, let's start. First of all, the Oscars. How did it go? You had a C.B. radio through which you were listening to a commentary provided by Farmer Bill.
inq. cow: This is correct. We learnt a very important lesson on Sunday night: If Farmer Bill asks for payment in cider, just give him money. This should be a proverb. Unfortunately, he drank his crate far too quickly and fell asleep just after the opening credits of the programme finished.
dúnadan: Oh dear.
inq. cow: All was not lost, however, Professor Mrs Learned Owl flew into the living room to take over. But she can be very exacting and was rather critical throughout the night. Particularly of the gowns and tuxedos being worn by the guests.
dúnadan: Who would have thought an owl would care so much about such a thing.
inq. cow: She surprised us all. Most regrettably, it led to an argument between us.
dúnadan: Oh?
inq. cow: Well, it started with a perfectly reasonable conversation on Sothic Dating... You are looking blank, dúnadan.
dúnadan: As usual when you use funny words!
inq. cow: Sothis was the Greek name for Sirius - in Latin Canis Major.
dúnadan: Ah, the Dog Star.
inq. cow: That's right. Now, in ancient Egypt, the year was divided into three: Akhet, Peret and Shemu. Akhet was regarded as the start of the year because it was at the beginning of Akhet that the inundation of the Nile - and fertilisation of the land - took place. Just so you know, dúnadan, Peret was the growing season and Shemu the drought season. Back to Akhet. The ancient Egyptians knew it had started when Sirius had its first, or heliacal, rising after being hidden since the drought season. The only problem was that it appears that although the ancient Egyptians had 365 days in the year, they did not have a leap year to take account of the earth's 365.25 day orbit of the Sun.
dúnadan: But that would mean that the calendar would soon be out of synch with the seasons.
inq. cow: Yes! And it would take 1461 years for it to resolve itself.
dúnadan: Goodness.
inq. cow: But that is by-the-bye. Professor Mrs Learned Owl told me that the Sothic Year is exactly 365.25636 days long. I told her that that would only be the case if Sirius was on the path of the Sun - the Ecliptic. Moooo! It isn't! As a result, the Sothic Year is 365. 25 days exactly long. She refused to accept this and said I was just a cow so what did I know? So I said she was an owl who ate rodents and how did she like that? Oh dear. We were very angry!
dúnadan: Well, I hope you can make up with her.
inq. cow: I do like her very much and I thought she liked me...
dúnadan: Well... let's move on for now. I found out this week that the reference to Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride being a quaternary derivative - as we discussed last week - refers not to its age, but it structure.
inq. cow: Ah, yes! I learnt this too!
dúnadan: What did you find out?

the quarternary structure of a protein

inq. cow: Well, it seems that G.H.C. may be a protein because they have these structures. You see, proteins are not necessarily single things. Quite the opposite. They can be 'assemblies' that are part of a chain which form a subunit. The shape of these subunits is called their tertiary structure. But there is more to them than that! Namely, their quarternary structure. The Q.S. is the structure of the subunit assemblies.
dúnadan: Can you give an example of proteins with a quaternary structure?
inq. cow: I know of just one at the moment - Professor Mrs Learned Owl told me before we started talking about Sothic Dating and had our argument. It is heamoglobin.
dúnadan: That sounds like a creature in a fantasy novel!
inq. cow: Whereas it is actually the protein - or metalloprotein to give it its proper name - that carries oxygen in the red blood cells of the body!
dúnadan: I see. Now... hold on, what is this coming towards us? Five shield bearing red squirrels?
inq. cow: It is the little red baron on manoeuvres! He is following the standard pattern of the Roman legion, you know; it is called the quincunx.

quincunx coin from the age of the Roman Republic

dúnadan: The formation follows the pattern of the five spot side of a dice so I suppose that is where the quin- comes from. But the 'cunx'?
inq. cow: Well, quincunx comes from the Roman coin of that name which was minted during the Second Punic War in the Third Century B.C. The coin was valued at five twelfths the value of the 'as' coin. Hence, quinque meaning five and cunx from uncia, which means one twelfth. Quincunx has other applications too - the five spot side of a die, as you mention, the standard pattern of an orchard, astrological and in cartography.
dúnadan: Fascinating stuff. Here is Tecumseh. Hail and well met Tecumseh Squirrel!
tecumseh squirrel: Ave and Good Day, Mr Dúnadan! My soldiers and I have travelled over grass and puddle to bring a message from Professor Mrs Learned Owl to Miss Gerrie Cow.
dúnadan: Not an angry one I hope.
tecumseh squirrel: It would be fun if it was. I would take up arms for you, Gerrie! Alas, she says 'Gerrie, I need someone intelligent to talk to. Mr Learned Owl is clever but also pompous. I will say sorry to you if you say sorry to me. We were both very silly. If things go well, I will even admit that you were right about the sothic dating business!' What shall I tell her, Miss Cow?
inq. cow: Moooooooooo!!!
dúnadan: Gerrie! Gerrie! Oh, there is your answer, Tecumseh - Gerrie is charging over the field to visit Professor Mrs Learned Owl. How nice it is when friends make up! Still, it leaves me with no one to finish the interview with. Are you an inquisitive squirrel?
tecumseh squirrel: No, but I can show you how Alexander the Great won the Battle of the Granicus River!
dúnadan: That sounds like a deal. Let's go!

>sound of tecumseh ordering his squirrels about in readiness for the battle<

Index of interviews withthe inquisitive cow here
Gerrie Cow's Facebook Pro-File (Registration Required)

Banned In China

The Mulier Fortis links to a very interesting website - the Great Firewall of China on which you can check whether a nominated website is banned in China or not. I am pleased to report that Cally's Kitchen passes the censor's test, so that it is possible for me to say how sad it is that a country with such a rich history continues to suffer under the iron fist of the Communist regime that can't fall quickly enough and know that someone in China will be able to read this. Take that, Peking, and keep up the economic reforms - they'll save democracy campaigners time and lives by destroying your hateful regime from within.

Unfortunately, I did find one website that - unsurprisingly - is banned in China. It is the Cardinal Kung Foundation. The C.K.F. supports the underground Catholic Church in China, so you can see why it would be blocked. Please say a prayer for the underground Church and for the Cardinal Kung Foundation. It does a good work in a dark place.

Comrades in the Commons

This evening I travelled into town to visit the Palace of Westminster. Whatever the quality of our elected representatives, Parliament is a beautiful place. Neo-Gothic architecture means brooding walls and sweeping staircases. The walls are decorated with lavish portraits of cardinals, princes and kings while statues and busts of famous politicans greet you at every turn. As do police officers. In order to gain access to Parliament, I had to pass through a metal detector and have a search done. Inside, police officers match the number of staff.

Anyway, the reason for my visit to Parliament was to attend a meeting sponsored by the United Campaign which is essentially a trade union body that has been set up to try and pursuade the Government to relax Britain's trade union laws. My interest in trade union affairs does not go far beyond my union, the TSSA, or, Tessa, but when I found out at our last meeting that this event was taking place at Parliament I thought it would be nice to pay Westminster a visit.

The meeting took place in Committee Room 12 under the watchful eye of Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftsbury. As can be seen above, the room is rather strangely constructed with a high table and three rows of pews facing each other. I sat opposite the high table in what may pass for the public gallery - two rows of seating.

The meeting was chaired by a Trade Union solicitor called John Hendy. He bore a curious resemblence to the cheesy BBC auctioneer whose name escapes me - he is the one with the orange skin and bouffon hair. Mr Hendy was pale, but the face was otherwise uncomfortably close to said cheesy auctioneer.

John Hendy was the chairman but the man at the centre of things was Labour party M.P. John McDonnell (above). Tomorrow (Friday) morning he will attempt to introduce a bill into the Commons that seeks to liberalise Britain's union laws. Despite the fact that, as various speakers said, the bill is very modest, the Government does not support his bill and so his chances of getting it passes are nil. This is ironic but also telling. The Labour Party does not like the unions these days and so, despite the historic links between the two, is in no hurry to help it out. John McDonnell is a candidate for the leadership of the Labour Party, which will soon become vacant when Tony Blair steps down. If he was elected, I have no doubt that he would renew union ties. It seems quite certain, however, that he won't win. In fact, it would appear from what others said that he may not even get the 44 Labour M.P.s that he needs to nominate him for the election.

Apart from McDonnell, a Scottish Blair babe called Kate Clarke spoke. Actually, being a left winger, she probably isn't a B.B. Various Union leaders also stood up, including Bob Crow, the General Secretary of the R.M.T. (railway workers' union). References to comrades abounded. The best speaker though was veteran Labour M.P., Tony Benn. Looking in fine fettle, he mentioned how it was (an incredible) 101 years since his father was first elected to Parliament. Benn is - as the Bible would say - 'full of years' but looked no less strong for it. Here he is in action:

Before the meeting started, various leaflets were handed around - help the United Campaign, Support the Unions etc. I was also handed a leaflet asking for my support for abortion rights. Hmm!

All-in-all, good fun. The meeting did have its evangelical side. One lady next to me was never slow to murmur her approval at something being said - a common feature during sermons by evangelical ministers. There was also a certain amount of sadness to the evening. The Labour Party and unions should not be so far apart - but they have to be because the unions are just not popular with the public. Still, there was no doubting the passion in the speakers or many of those present in the justness of their cause. I came away from the meeting happy at having made the effort to attend it and rather hoping to go to another one one of these days.