25th December

All right, let's get this over with. Christians will tell you that Jesus is the reason for the season (i.e. the celebration of the birth of Christ on this day 2012 years ago). Actually, of course, they are almost certainly wrong. Until the 5th century, some people celebrated the man's birthday in January, others in May, others with the Feast of the Epiphany. In 440 a synod of the Church pinched the old Roman midwinter festival (already an excuse for a holiday) and claimed it was 25 December. There is no historical justification for this and so those who bemoan the fact that the whole nativity thing is disappearing from Christmas and we all just use it as an excuse to eat and drink too much and watch excruciatingly awful TV, is not surprising, really.

In other news ...
The Florentine monk Giralomo Savonarola got a bit shirty today in 1497. While everybody else was watching the Queen's Speech or yet another chance to see all 438 ghastly episodes of Downton on the tele, he accused the Pope of corruption and Leonardo da Vinci of sodomy.

Come off the fence, now, Savvy and tell it like it is.

Despite this somewhat unseasonal post, I would nevertheless like to wish my follower the very warmest compliments of the season. Nolan, Metternich and Mrs Carpenter-Maxwell all join me in hoping you are having a splendid Christmas, with as many presents as you wanted and more turkey than you could possibly eat in a long day's march. Taking a leaf out of my old mate M J Trow's family book, we have bought Nolan his first guitar, which is sounding not too bad at all from the sitting room. By all accounts if he takes to it it will lead to a life of penury for us as more and more sophisticated instruments become necessary, but if music helps him grow up into half the man Tali Trow has, then it will be money well spent.

God Bless Us, Every One!

2nd May

The Pink Floyd single Another Brick in the Wall was banned today in 1980 by the South African government. And quite right too. Rumour has it that the white supremacists in charge were convinced that the lyrics would inflame black schoolchildren. actually, of course, they were complaining about the appalling lack of grammar in said lyrics. they ought to have read -

'We would rather not have any education.
We would rather not have any thought control.
Excuse me, sir, would you mind not attempting to punish those children.'

There, that's much better.

In other news ...
Lady Nancy Astor was born and died on 2nd May, albeit several years apart. She is reputed to have asked her son, 'Jakie, is it my birthday or am I dying?'
Jakie answered, 'A bit of both, Mum.'

Isn't that cool?

I wonder if Shakespeare came out with the same idea in 1616?

'Faith, sirrah, is this the day I sprang full-formed into this breathing world or will I see the Scythesman spread his black cloak o'er everything?'
To which his daughter Judith may well have replied, 'I dunno.'

I break the habit of this Blog so far to wish a person of my acquaintance a very happy birthday. He is a Renaissance man of the most amazing kind, musician, writer, poet, actor, amazing son and incredible father and all round good egg. In case he hasn't guessed it from that introduction - Taliesin; you know who you are! Many happy returns.