It was sad to hear about the death of Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president, who oversaw the peaceful Velvet Revolution, after opposing the socialist stranglehold on his beloved country for so many years, and of course writing many fine plays and poems. At least he got to see his friend the Dalai Lama just one week before his departure from this life, and movement into another cycle of existence - if we follow the beliefs of his stubbornly cheerful Tibetan pal. I particularly liked Havel's comment about truth and love overcoming lies and hate, which I'm sure most people would support unless you are someone like North Korean boss Kim Jong-il, who just had a heart attack on a train - proving that he is no longer ill, but very much dead.
Let us hope North Korea will move towards a much more open and happy society, because its people have suffered far too long under so-called communist rule, which is actually no more than a brutal dictatorship. It seems unlikely that his son "the great successor" will travel around his residence on a child's scooter, in the joyous manner of Vaclav Havel. But if the Berlin wall can come down, who knows what can happen with North and South Korea ? Eventually, even the vast brutal regime of China will collapse, which has virtually destroyed the Dalai Lama's country of birth, and carried out so many vicious attacks on its own people - all things must pass.
We are promised a 'mini-heat wave' in these few days before Christmas, with temperatures in northern England soaring to the dizzying heights of 11 degrees Celsius ! This is good news for the many people struggling with their heating bills, but not so dandy for the likes of our young lad who is very much dreaming of a white Christmas, and the chance of careering down the Yorkshire Wolds on a plastic or wooden sledge.
As I have absolutely no disposable income I've entirely avoided the obscene shopping scrum that happens at this "special" time, but I must confess to being a little sad at not being able to wander the ancient streets of York (our nearest city) and absorb some of the free festive atmosphere. A vast amount of purchases are now made on the Internet or at the out-of-town shops, yet many folk are still drawn to pretty towns like York and Lincoln, which are increasingly no more than historical theme parks. Still, I cannot turn my back on the lovely town of my birth; thank God I wasn't born in somewhere like Rotherham ! The Chuckle Brothers will never agree with me, particularly with their brand spanking new, New York, football stadium, which they claim is a real district of Rotherham - minus the Empire State Building.
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Shortest
We had quite a storm in our rural area of North Yorkshire, with several brief power cuts and lashings of heavy rain; fortunately, the electricity supply has been made much more robust in the last few years, which means the lights soon flicker back into life. We are still waiting for the white stuff that is blowing ever nearer, and huddling by the occasional fire of logs and coal.
It's not long to the big day, which for me is not the charlatan of Christmas, but the winter solstice very late on the 21st December - 11.39pm in the UK, with sunrise the next morning at 8.04. We can then look forward with hope from this darkest time of the year, through the painfully slow lengthening days, and onwards to the joyous bloom of spring and summer.
The tradition of Christianity, which appears to be little more than an absurd fairy tale, and the more recent descent into obscene materialism, has supplanted the true rhythms of Nature, and the more ancient traditions of 'advanced' nations like our beloved United Kingdom. I will do my best to observe what is happening in the natural world of this remote countryside location, rather than obsessing about one day of turkey and tinsel accompanied by a fairly meaningless speech from a polite old dear - Queen Elizabeth - not the more interesting first one.
I would be a fool to refuse the abundant offerings of food and alcohol; and my simple needs will be fulfilled by obtaining a cheap bottle of Kentucky bourbon from somewhere like Aldi. We are not visiting Lidl at the moment - our nearest shop, six miles away - because of an unfortunate recent incident regarding my partner and ten year-old son. The checkout chap refused to sell her a bottle of alcopop as he wrongly suspected it was a treat for our young lad. This is a nonsensical position for supermarkets to take, as families often shop together, preventing many inevitable child abductions that would occur if kids were left alone in the car park !
So, merry Christmas to Lidl, and all other organisations that would enforce rules contrary to common sense - may you forever be trapped in a snowstorm of your own misery. We'll go to Asda instead, which at least started out as a Yorkshire company.
It's not long to the big day, which for me is not the charlatan of Christmas, but the winter solstice very late on the 21st December - 11.39pm in the UK, with sunrise the next morning at 8.04. We can then look forward with hope from this darkest time of the year, through the painfully slow lengthening days, and onwards to the joyous bloom of spring and summer.
The tradition of Christianity, which appears to be little more than an absurd fairy tale, and the more recent descent into obscene materialism, has supplanted the true rhythms of Nature, and the more ancient traditions of 'advanced' nations like our beloved United Kingdom. I will do my best to observe what is happening in the natural world of this remote countryside location, rather than obsessing about one day of turkey and tinsel accompanied by a fairly meaningless speech from a polite old dear - Queen Elizabeth - not the more interesting first one.
I would be a fool to refuse the abundant offerings of food and alcohol; and my simple needs will be fulfilled by obtaining a cheap bottle of Kentucky bourbon from somewhere like Aldi. We are not visiting Lidl at the moment - our nearest shop, six miles away - because of an unfortunate recent incident regarding my partner and ten year-old son. The checkout chap refused to sell her a bottle of alcopop as he wrongly suspected it was a treat for our young lad. This is a nonsensical position for supermarkets to take, as families often shop together, preventing many inevitable child abductions that would occur if kids were left alone in the car park !
So, merry Christmas to Lidl, and all other organisations that would enforce rules contrary to common sense - may you forever be trapped in a snowstorm of your own misery. We'll go to Asda instead, which at least started out as a Yorkshire company.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Film Night
We don't usually get much excitement in our tiny village in the middle of nowhere, but a leaflet has just come through the door advertising the first ever community cinema night to be held once a month at the pub - FREE ENTRY ! That at least will appeal to the spirit of any true Yorkshireman.
This month's offering is Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I haven't seen it, but see from Amazon UK that it's number 8 in their horror chart ! As if these dark days and nights weren't already scary enough. The movie is a tale of: 'two U.S. marshals who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.'
It has a 15 certificate, so most village brats will have to stay home on their own, listening to the persistent howls of our many owls and the lonely barking of the demented fox. People will doubtless be encouraged by free entry - it costs an arm and a leg to get into the Vue cinema complex twenty miles away; though we do have an excellent independent picture house in the nearest market town - only six miles distant. The landlord will of course be hoping customers will drink plenty of beer, wines and spirits; and there is still perhaps some pleasure in gathering with other human strangers to watch a film, which could otherwise be quite easily obtained on DVD for home viewing.
Since our lovely village shop and post office closed, the pub is the hub of the community, apart from the small school and tiny church. It would be great if our public house considered having a shop as well, which quite a few places already have, along with mini-libraries etc. etc. Things can get pretty lonely in the many rural communities across North Yorkshire, so more and more of these events and services must be a good thing.
It is the very darkest time of year, though only a couple of weeks to the shortest day, when we begin the painfully long drag back to the light of spring and summer. Maybe, it would have been more magical to have the flicker of an old-fashioned projector to show our films, but at least some of the community will be gathering together to be terrified and amused - and that's just the effect of dealing with the peculiar neighbours.
This month's offering is Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I haven't seen it, but see from Amazon UK that it's number 8 in their horror chart ! As if these dark days and nights weren't already scary enough. The movie is a tale of: 'two U.S. marshals who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.'
It has a 15 certificate, so most village brats will have to stay home on their own, listening to the persistent howls of our many owls and the lonely barking of the demented fox. People will doubtless be encouraged by free entry - it costs an arm and a leg to get into the Vue cinema complex twenty miles away; though we do have an excellent independent picture house in the nearest market town - only six miles distant. The landlord will of course be hoping customers will drink plenty of beer, wines and spirits; and there is still perhaps some pleasure in gathering with other human strangers to watch a film, which could otherwise be quite easily obtained on DVD for home viewing.
Since our lovely village shop and post office closed, the pub is the hub of the community, apart from the small school and tiny church. It would be great if our public house considered having a shop as well, which quite a few places already have, along with mini-libraries etc. etc. Things can get pretty lonely in the many rural communities across North Yorkshire, so more and more of these events and services must be a good thing.
It is the very darkest time of year, though only a couple of weeks to the shortest day, when we begin the painfully long drag back to the light of spring and summer. Maybe, it would have been more magical to have the flicker of an old-fashioned projector to show our films, but at least some of the community will be gathering together to be terrified and amused - and that's just the effect of dealing with the peculiar neighbours.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
No Snow
Icelandic Whooper swans long ago booked their winter package holiday to the relatively mild delights of Wheldrake Ings, near York in northern England (a few miles from here), and will not wish to see a repeat of the extreme weather that started in late 2010 - they might as well not have bothered to migrate south a year ago in their majestic V formation. At the end of last November we were already plunged into a harsh and snowy winter, so it's good news that the mostly mild autumn has continued with precious little rain, and only strong winds to worry about. Some parts of the UK are even experiencing drought conditions - it would be strange to see hosepipe bans in January !
We live in a rural location with no public transport to speak of, and the nearest shop, since our village post office closed a few years back, is six miles away. One of the main problems of persistent cold weather is the cost - most people in the countryside are still reliant on oil heating delivered by large tankers, which is becoming ever more expensive. Folk are also forced to use private cars to get about, and as everybody knows we are still a long way from finding a cheap and environmentally friendly alternative to petrol or diesel.
It's a shame that most of the sustainable energy schemes are profit-driven, because our community and many others could easily benefit from cheap or free wind and water power, but many of the plans put forward are rejected by locals as a blot on the landscape, which might elicit a very different response if we saw a lasting substantial reduction in power bills from genuinely co-operative proposals.
Unless our Lotto numbers come up this week we will not be able to afford to order any heating oil, which also provides hot water, as there is a minimum 500 litre delivery payable in advance. We'll have to struggle through the Christmas and New Year period, before begging some cash from relatives to half-fill the tank with this precious resource. We are still allowed to burn coal and logs in our remote location, but this is no more economical, and certainly no better for the environment.
A real fire is a real joy though, particularly if you have a glass of whisky in one hand and a good book in the other. Then it's possible to forget about cold fingers and toes, and ignore the deteriorating weather beyond your condensated windows and mouldy walls - the radiators might not be radiating, but the heart can still find warmth. And when it finally does snow, at least the kids will love their sledging and snowballing.
We live in a rural location with no public transport to speak of, and the nearest shop, since our village post office closed a few years back, is six miles away. One of the main problems of persistent cold weather is the cost - most people in the countryside are still reliant on oil heating delivered by large tankers, which is becoming ever more expensive. Folk are also forced to use private cars to get about, and as everybody knows we are still a long way from finding a cheap and environmentally friendly alternative to petrol or diesel.
It's a shame that most of the sustainable energy schemes are profit-driven, because our community and many others could easily benefit from cheap or free wind and water power, but many of the plans put forward are rejected by locals as a blot on the landscape, which might elicit a very different response if we saw a lasting substantial reduction in power bills from genuinely co-operative proposals.
Unless our Lotto numbers come up this week we will not be able to afford to order any heating oil, which also provides hot water, as there is a minimum 500 litre delivery payable in advance. We'll have to struggle through the Christmas and New Year period, before begging some cash from relatives to half-fill the tank with this precious resource. We are still allowed to burn coal and logs in our remote location, but this is no more economical, and certainly no better for the environment.
A real fire is a real joy though, particularly if you have a glass of whisky in one hand and a good book in the other. Then it's possible to forget about cold fingers and toes, and ignore the deteriorating weather beyond your condensated windows and mouldy walls - the radiators might not be radiating, but the heart can still find warmth. And when it finally does snow, at least the kids will love their sledging and snowballing.
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