Gay Marriage Revisited

Well it seems that it has been all over the news again as the bill entered parliament & was dicussed again. It also showed that there are some politicians trying to do the best they can to try & prevent equality by throwing up another notion that also questioned equality. Now I do believe that heterosexuals should be allowed to have civil partnerships & if it was a pro gay marriage politician putting forward the bill I would have supported it, but no, it was someone anti gay marriage who was trying to put it in to the bill to postpone the gay marriage bill going through to beyond the next election, which Annwn forbid could see Nigel Farage's lot get in with their lack of human rights stand. But it is good to see that it is generally getting a good reception by most & hopefully Britain will become the next country to join those with equal marriage rights so that we aren't dragging behind. It still won't stop the stupid comments that have been springing up. Gay marriage will not allow parents to marry their offspring just as heterosexual marriage doesn't allow it either. I haven't heard a valid arguement against it yet. There is a view held by some that it would devalue heterosexual marriage, I'm not sure how if two men say 'I do' how it would mean all of a sudden it would mean that an oath said between to people of opposite sex would be worth less than what it did before. I don't see what the insecurity is about, gay marriages are already happening in this country it is just that they will be become legally binding that is all. I have also heard whispers that another religious organisation is supporting the bill.

Jack in the Green: How old is he?

With May having gone through a full swing of seasons in one month I would like to look at one of the quintessential May characters in British folklore. It appears that Jack in the Green maybe one of the youngest. It seems that with the upsurge in popularity of the old figure of the Green Man & Robin Hood characters he has been lumped in with them. It isn't until the 18th Century that he is depicted & not until 19th Century when the term Jack in the Green was first named in writing. So here is my theory, the Jack in the Green came out of some over posturing of garland making which was popular in 16th-17th Centuries or as a piece of art imitating life with depictions in both written & drawn form could have been greatly exagerated & people took it at face value & it somehow ran away with itself & in this case quite literally so. I somehow get the feeling it may be a bit of both. So old maybe but not ancient. But why do we seem to put group all foresty type beings in one great lump, why can't Robin Hood, the woodwose, Green Man, Jack in the Green, the Holly King, the Green Knight etc be seen as a different being by some of the fluffy or New Age lot. Before you know it the Jolly Green Giant will be the next thing added into it & I'm not entirely sure what a sweetcorn logo would have to do with the other characters. I like my May customs & different folkloric characters, but that is because they are different. In Britain we don't have the gods of many other countries so please don't deminish our folk characters too.

Admitting stuff is hard

This is a post of 2 very different stories, but perhaps we can draw parallels.

Story one, a friend of mine came out to his mother recently, who is a bit older than me, it was raw for them & felt emmotionally drained. The more sad the my friend was upset rather than what she had been told, things may still feel raw, but as time progresses it will ease & they will wonder why they didn't do it earlier, but coming out is not easy even now, eventhough more people are excepting of homosexuality. Admitting it was probably the first step to feedom for the person & will help ease the future along.

The second story is about a family member who is disabled & their condition was degenerative, it affects their stability & abilty to walk amongst other things. It is always hard to see someone so active to suddenly become less able, but this was a case of the person wanting to take part in a family outing which we thought wouldn't have been the best for their abilities, but family is family & they came along, unfortunately the day was cut short due to the inability of walking long distances & especially on unneven ground. It unfortunately caused stressed, words were had in the nicest way possible, that next year it probably wouldn't be best for them to come because of the way they were not able to cope. But this has set a ball rolling to find something new to do including them in the family gathering that is akin to what we were doing, but with more accessibility, so they don't have to rely so much on the support of others & can still enjoy themselves & still be independent. It is a bitter pill to swallow that you can't quite do all the things that you used to, but it shouldn't stop you from doing other things or new things that are in you remit. My heart goes out to them & hope that they won't be discouraged from doing other things together with the family in the future as they are still very much loved.

So excepting things about yourself can actually move you further forward, don't dwell on things & see acceptance as a good thing & a chance to do new things & be proud of who you are.

A toast to Merry England

As per usual I made the trip to Clun for the Green Man festival on May Day for a bit of merry England style folk festivaling. The festival seems to have quite a wide appeal to varying different people from all walks of life, most of them looked like your average Joe Normal's but it it was peppered with the beardy weirdies you would also expect to see at such events. So what is the appeal? Is it just an excuse for a party? Or is it that people want to get a slice of the rural life that they don't have in urban/suburban life? Or is it that people want ot connect with the past? Which ever way it always feels like a bit of a pilgramage to me as my dad is a Salopian & the Beltane May Day connections are also prominant. The festival involves a fight between Green Man & the Ice Queen & the Green Man usualy wins (last year been canceled due to flooding & look what a horrible summer we had last year, I blame that for the weather we got, that & the gulf stream being in the Med rather than on Northern Europe). I'm hoping to explore a little more of Merry England hopefully this year or at least its modern enterpretations. But I'm not the only one, it appears many people are, so is it more a quest for cultural identity where some people feel we are losing it or just an affirmation we have one? Well in which ever case any a excuse for a party is a good one. So hats off to the people who make it happen.