Just listening to the budget on Radio 4
King Cyrus
On October 29th (7th Alban) King Cyrus apparently conquered Babylon.
Cyrus is a celebrated character and adversary in Greek and Hebrew literature but his unofficial feast, today, is also a thing of fear for the Iranian authorities who have done all they can to discourage thousands from visiting his desert tomb in Pasargadae. The tough clerical authoritarians like Nuri Hameedani have branded the festival as “counterrevolutionary” which may well be partly true… Last year there was a slogan which read “Clerical rule is the same as tyranny” which is rather direct.
In the days of the internet, it is difficult to control =how people want to express themselves without isolating the country from the modern age entirely. Certainly, there was little evidence of the “feast” before the present century. Last year, the regime resorted to threatening text messages to anyone they thought might be considering a trip in advance of the celebration. The site is apparently closed off this year. I do not have up to date information but would welcome comments from those who know!! Please add below!!
GREEK GODS
I put up a small talk about the origin of the Greek gods with some illustrations that copy statues and various paintings. Art work below!
Apologies for beginning with an image of Cronos but it makes some sense.
The teaching of mythology brings children and adults into contact with other world cultures, but it is also a chance to introduce some of the great works of art and literature. Norse mythology, for instance gives us a huge insight into the development of English in much the same way that greek mythology once found a natural home in Greek and latin classes at school.
Here is a link to the youtube talk I have just posted. Do check it out, subscribe and add comments if you wish!
What Disney added to the whole thing is significant. Just as he introduced children to classical music and dinosaurs (religious groups stopped him linking evolution to the development of man so there is no ape-man animation in the Rite of Spring, just dying dinosaurs), so too he introduced us to classical mythology. It is all oddly coloured and the Disney publicity machine went wild about a particular loganberry colour- but there is so much in the Beethoven segment that is worthy, albeit a conflation of Bacchus/Dionysos and Silenus.
Always important to remember that Dionysos was a dangerous god. I will do something later on the Bacchae by Euripides!
One of the delights of mythology is in identifying why stories arose. For instance, the golden fleece is located in Colchis, now in Georgia. Recent excavations in Vani revealed panning in the river and a gold rush that must lie behind the legend. Jason was a prospector – it’s a pre-history version of “Paint your wagon”, one of the great American musicals utterly destroyed by a film that was cast with non-singing leads. More on that another time!
The Baby Zeus was hidden from Cronos by being suspended between earth and heaven in a hanging basket, and when he cried, an army of Cretans danced furiously to drown out the sound. The is is the origin of much Cretan dancing! Zorba would be proud!
Brain Belt Plans
Plans to build a new road between Oxford and Cambridge as well as a raft of new housing are added to the plans already under way to reopen the Oxford Cambridge link which was the reason Bletchley was chosen for the codebreaking centre during the war and which Dr Beeching axed between 1963 and 1965.
Dominic Grieve comments on Hain and Green
I am not sure Lord Hain was “arrogant”, but he certainly demonstrates that the law of Parliamentary privilege as it now stands allows parliamentarians to subvert the independence of the Judiciary which must be against the spirit of our democracy even if it is legal. When we judge other countries across Europe and into Eastern Europe particularly, we set great store on the independence of the legal process. This sends a message that, with all the best intentions, we do not really share the same standards that we expect of others.
It would be a different matter, I think, (and this must be the purpose of the original law of Parliamentary privilege) if Lord Hain felt compelled to name Sir Philip Green in a debate, let’s say, on the effectiveness and justice of Non Disclosure Agreements, but that debate was taken up outside the House by Vince Cable.
If someone like the loathsome Tommy Robinson/ aka Stephen Yaxon Lennon can be held in contempt of court for rather less sensational revelations, it seems madness that Lord Hains’ pronouncement is acceptable. The problem is not only Parliamentary privilege but the self-righteousness implicit in claiming that there is a public interest in “knowing”. Lord Hain’s actions, therefore, would seem to pretty well exonerate Robinson who is contesting the original sentence, and whose own case was adjourned only a few days’ ago because it was considered too complex. Gaoling Robinson back in May, the Judge had said, “People have to understand that if they breach court orders, there will be very real consequences”. Clearly not, if they are standing in the House of Lords.
Pictures inspired by MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Here are some sketches from watching the trailer of Mary Poppins returns along with two youtube links-
Julie Walters plays Ellen
Mary Poppins provides some specific parenting advice- that a smooth house is based on order, that mavericks need a system which can be broken with some care- Mary Poppins is essentially two people- the disciplinarian and the mischievous fairy- when there is a clash she simply refuses to explain or denies that anything odd has ever happened. “Or I’ll call a policeman”. It is harder to pull off as an average mortal, but all children need both the boundaries and the experience of breaking those boundaries. I think it also helps if children have a wider circle of trustworthy adults they can consult, especially when things go wrong. The family sadly does not have all the answers all the time.
There is a similar wealth of good advice in Mrs Doubtfire.
I love the “Step in Time” tribute in the trailers and also the 2d animation sequence.
here is a picture of Mary Poppins’ arrival:
As the Philip Green story unfolds on the News
Peter Hain was able to “out” Sir Philip Green because of a 1689 bill that established “Parliamentary Privilege” granting freedom of speech and a right that whoever speaks in the house “may not be impeached or questioned” by a Court. This, then, overturns the various injunctions that Sir Philip had laboured to put in place.
We may , of course, feel that Sir Philip should not have been allowed to “buy” even a temporary injunction. This is a form of privacy afforded the wealthy alone. And certainly the BBC should reflect on their own treatment of celebrities like Cliff Richard… but the law should be blind and should be allowed to get on with its business.
The evident joy in the newsroom should, however, be tempered by a reflection that, frankly, the British media has aided and abetted the sort of bullying behaviour that is alleged and that has been going on all over the place for years.
Sir PHILIP GREEN REVEALED
Inside the tower of London CHANNEL 5
I did some work on this programme and other episodes in the series for Nick Gillam- Smith, and watched it this morning in its broadcast form. Well worth seeing- I did some sketches towards the end of the programme which are here – mostly connected with the princes in the tower.
Quick cartoon
animate-tim.com 