The Swans have a first class record on fighting racism. They must be horrified by the outlook of someone like this who promotes football in the area. Its one matter to have a political philosophy but its another to use the tactics of intimidation and threat. You may have noticed that I too am a political activist. However when it comes to the methods you use . Consequently this has been sent to the Football Association of Wales to make clear to them the approachhes used by a football coach who has contact and influence over young peiople. The attitudes used and the threats handed out do set a good example of practice. i have been reliably informed that Face book have banned Reeco for threatening to `beat up a few lefties` What disturbs me is that the threat aimed at myself, the publication of my place of work and my imagee taken from my web site were done using the logo of his coaching school. I have raised this matter with Swansea City Council and they are looking into it. I am sure that the other football coaches that provide and training and leadership will be horrified by these methods.
Reeco Rees Football Coach to young people and the Intimidation and threats he promises
The wiff of Weimar and the sound of the jackboot. I note that this in intimidation. What bothers me more than the threats to myself is the use of the Reeco Rees Soccer School logo clearly displayed, What parent wouls want therir chidren coached in Soccer with a person who behaves like this/. I have contacted the police and will be making a complaint to Swansea City Coucil that funds soccer coaching in the area, I shall also be contacting the police and the organistaion that administers these soccer schools,,,,,,,,is this getting our country back?
I really must ask you what sort of people threaten a partially sighted sixty year old....? He and his mates have already intimidayed a young woman several weeks ago. They published online her place of wotk. Wow what patriots these are.....
Despite this this bit made me laugh. Reeco sees himself in Valhalla in about 50 years. I would like to remind him that Odin and the Valkyries only came for the arriors and they left the bullies to be eaten by the niddhog at the base of Yggsdrasil.... but then he would mot know what I am talikng about.....
Christianity was introduced to
Britain during the Roman occupation. When the Roman armies left in the
fifth century, Christianity took root and developed till the arrival of
the Normans at the end of the eleventh century.
Celtic Cross at Nevern
However, there never was a ‘Celtic Church’ as such; these Christians
regarded themselves as members of the universal Church which included
East and West till the great division of 1054. That is why the Celtic
Christians were free to travel on the Continent and beyond, and share
fully in the activities of local schools and monasteries.
Nevertheless, as in other parts of Christendom, a distinctive
spirituality emerged in each of the Celtic lands. Local theologies
developed and particular aspects of the Christian faith were emphasized.
This was the result of Christianity’s interaction with the cultural,
social and political environment of the local situation.
In his article on ‘Celtic Spirituality’ Thomas O’Loughlin (2005) notes that
while the medieval West certainly had an image of its religious unity
(expressed in maps, law and language) it had no experience of the
actual uniformity in such matters as liturgy or the desire for
uniformity in doctrinal expressions that characterise recent centuries.
For example, only with print did liturgical uniformity over a wide area
become possible, while only with the Reformation did the desire for such
uniformity become a force in ecclesiastical politics. The earlier the
period one looks at in the West the more one finds that local
connections produce distinctive patterns in spirituality relating to
local patterns of settlement, legal background and language use (p.183).
The use of Irish or Welsh alongside the use of Latin was a clear
indication of both the local and universal features of Celtic
Christianity.
An extensive selection of medieval texts from Irish and Welsh sources
can be found translated into English in Davies, O. (1999). There is an
anthology of medieval and modern materials from Brittany, Ireland,
Scotland and Wales in
Davies, O. and Bowie, F. (1995).
What are the main characteristics of Celtic Christianity in Wales from the fifth to the twelfth centuries?
After studying the early Welsh texts, Oliver Davies (1996) concludes
that the distinctively Welsh tradition can be summed up in three terms:
‘It is Trinitarian, Incarnational and cosmic’.
He notes that ‘it is a form of Christianity which affords a special value to the creativity of the poet’ (p. 144).
i. Trinitarian
The earliest example of this poetic tradition, written in Welsh,
contains a reference to the Holy Trinity. This poem was found in the
margin of the ninth century Latin Juvencus manuscript kept in the
University Library at Cambridge. Of the nine verses, six are explicitly
Trinitarian though in different ways. This emphasis on the Holy Trinity
is continued in several of the poems included in the Black Book of
Carmarthen possibly dating from the ninth and tenth centuries.
The Celtic awareness of God as the communion of the Three in One resulted in an emphasis on community.
Belief affects behaviour. The Celtic awareness of God as the
communion of the Three in One resulted in an emphasis on community. This
was expressed in the monastic movement which pre-dated Patrick in
Ireland and also took root in Wales from an early period.
On the basis of the Lives of the Welsh saints Oliver Davies (1996) suggests that there were broadly three types of monasteries in Wales.
There were major monastic centres such as Llancarfan, Tywyn,
Llanbadarn Fawr, Clynnog Fawr and St Illtud’s community at Llantwit
Major. In addition to these large and bustling monasteries which
followed a less rigorous pattern of life, there were communities where
manual labour was the norm for all and which were regarded as being more
ascetical in their character. It is recorded that Samson and David both
retreated from Llantwit Major to Caldey Island, and that Dyfrig made
his Lenten retreat on Bardsey, where he also returned to die. David’s
own original community, to judge from Rhigyfarch’s Life of David, may
well also have been of this kind. A further type of monastic life-style
is visible however in Samson’s rejection of Caldey and his retreat to a
cave where, together with a small number of other hermits, he pursued a
more uncompromising vocation’ (pp. 10f).
Artist’s impression of Llanbadarn Fawr in the sixth century
As well as praising the Holy Trinity with their lips these Celtic
Christians expressed the Trinitarian way of existence in their life
together.
The Trinitarian communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit was
reflected in the communion of saints with which it was linked through
the Spirit which had overshadowed the Virgin Mary.
ii. Incarnational
The Juvencus verses end with these words:
it is not too great toil to praise the Son of Mary
In keeping with its source, the early Celtic Christian tradition celebrated the Incarnation.
On the face of the world
There was not born
His equal …
Gentle and strong
Son of the Godhead
Son of humanity.
In his gentle birth and passionate suffering the incarnate Christ identified with a group of people living under threat. We fought and were always in retreat
(R.S.Thomas, ‘Welsh History’).
Christ’s capacity to suffer in love encouraged perseverance, hope and a sense of purpose.
Christ’s cross is bright
A shining breastplate
Against all harm
Against all our enemies may it be strong:
The place of our protection.
This Welsh prayer for protection reminds one of Patrick’s Breastplate.
Recognition of the incarnate God leads to an emphasis on physicality.
The material matters. The physical body is involved in the development
of a mature spirituality. The Loves of Taliesin has been
described as ‘one of the greatest works of medieval Welsh religious
literature.’ The poet celebrates the beauty of a wedding feast as well
as the beauty of the shining moon, the grain on the stalk, the seagulls
playing, the fish in the lake, the horse in its halter. Yet the heart of
this poem is the need for penance. Disciplining the body is not seen in
a negative light, but opens up the possibility of giving glory to God.
The beauty of the virtue in doing penance for excess,
Beautiful too that God shall save me.
iii.Cosmic
As well as the Trinitarian and Incarnational aspects of Celtic
Christianity, Oliver Davies (1996) pinpoints its stress on the cosmic.
The Juvencus verses open with this affirmation:
Almighty Creator, it is you who made the land and the sea ….
In the twelfth century we find a cosmic poem of praise which combines
motifs from the world of nature, human society and the church.
Hail to you, glorious Lord!
May church and chancel praise you …
May plain and hillside praise you …
May darkness and light praise you …
May the birds and the bees praise you …
May male and female praise you,
May the seven days and the stars praise you …
May the sand and the earth praise you,
May all the good things created praise you,
And I too shall praise you, Lord of glory,
Hail to you, glorious Lord!
There
was a vivid sense of the presence of the Creator in his creation among
the Celtic Christians. The glory of God shone through all his works. The
transcendent Lord was the immanent Being at the heart of all things.
The sacredness of particular places became transparent in their
association with holy people who later were known as saints. Since his
death, Patrick had been addressed as a saint. The seventh century
inscription on the famous stone in Llanddewibrefi Church mentioned ‘holy
David’. Places and wells linked with these saints became places of
pilgrimage. People yearned to be caught up in this cosmic holiness. As
they shared in God’s holiness they began to reflect it; being limited
lights they started to reveal the Light.
Does Celtic Christianity still exist?
James P Mackey insists that Celtic Christianity still exists and
A.M.Allchin (2005) notes where it can be found. He mentions four poets
who emerged in the middle of the twentieth century: Saunders Lewis,
Gwenallt Jones, Waldo Williams and Euros Bowen.
All of them, in very different literary idioms, found themselves
called to make their own this fifteen-hundred-year tradition of sacred
poetry … Thus these four “doctors of the Church” … are part of an
unfolding story which still goes on …’ (p.642).
Fortunately, many poems written by these four authors have been translated into English and published, for example:
Davies, C., Davies, S. (1993), Euros Bowen: Priest-Poet, Cardiff, Church in Wales.
Allchin, D. Morgan, D.D. Thomas, P. (2000), Sensuous Glory: The poetic vision of D.Gwenallt Jones, Norwich, Canterbury Press.
Clancy, J.P. (1993), Selected Poems: Saunders Lewis, Cardiff, University of Wales Press.
Conran, T. (1997), The Peacemakers: Selected Poems Waldo Williams, Llandysul, Gomer Press.
The other source of modern Welsh spirituality pinpointed by A. M.
Allchin is the extensive body of hymns in Welsh. Their imagery is a
reminder of the Eastern icons – they could be described as verbal icons.
To mark the third Christian millennium a panel representing most of the
church traditions in Wales compiled a selection of more than 900 Welsh
hymns. Caneuon Ffydd, Pwyllgor Llyfr Emynau Cydenwadol,
Llandysul, Gwasg Gomer, 2001, has sold more copies than any publication
in the Welsh language. That must provide a glimmer of hope in the face
of much anxiety within the churches at present.
Today we are at the point of waiting as we look for new expressions
of the Christian life within the chaos of our time. Out of the
bewilderment of the post-Roman era there emerged the age of the saints,
the fountain-head of Celtic Christianity. God’s way of renewal is by
death and resurrection.
We live in unpredictable times and many
people are confused and looking for answers. Sadly, this makes people,
especially the young, more vulnerable to recruitment by the far right
who exploit these fears to promote their racist agenda by giving them
ready-made answers and a sense of purpose and belonging. As parents,
teachers or community leaders, it is our duty to steer young people away
from extremist narratives.
Sometimes it’s natural for an adolescent to go
through an uncharacteristically rebellious and aggressive phase, but
there are certain noticeable behavioural changes that are more common to
far-right radicalisation and extremism.
If someone is radicalised by the far right, they might:
be hostile towards people from a certain country, religious group, sexual orientation or cultural background, especially Muslims
recite simplistic and prejudiced arguments about immigration and minorities, seeing them as a threat to ‘our way of life’ or blaming them for global or local issues
feel persecuted, referring to a ‘liberal, elite establishment agenda’ or ‘Jewish conspiracy’
see white Britons as under threat of racial and cultural extinction and say that they have to ‘take action’
share extremist or divisive views, especially on immigration and Islam, on their social media
significantly change their appearance and clothing
adopt the use of certain symbols associated with
far-right or neo-Nazi organisations, distribute extremist literature,
such as leaflets promoting far-right rallies
become increasingly secretive about their online activities.
When someone you know exhibits some or all of the behaviours above,
you should look into it further. The first step is understanding why
they’ve changed. Usually young people fall prey to radicalisation
because they feel:
isolated and lonely
angry at the world
confused about the reasons for their misfortunes or situation
purposeless, without direction or hope
unprotected, lacking adult guidance.
If you’re concerned about your child, student, sibling or friend
becoming vulnerable to far-right radicalisation and recruitment, you
should:
talk to them in a direct but sensitive, non-judgemental manner
raise the issue with their close family
talk to one of their friends to establish if something’s wrong in their social life
challenge their opinions by offering an alternative argument.
Small Steps is here to give you all the support you need to help
guide someone away from this divisive and potentially dangerous
lifestyle. If you need advice or help, either give us a call or email
us. You can also sign up to one of our far-right awareness training
courses . We will be running such courses soon at Asclepius......
Spotting Far Right Codes
White supremacists and the far right
often use codes to mark their territory and communicate with one
another. They may look harmless but they have hidden meanings that carry
extremely violent messages.
The numbers below are codes often used by
far-right extremists. If you see them tattooed on someone, carved on a
school desk or graffitied in your area, contact Small Steps at info@smallsteps.ltd or call our hotline 07539 220 683 for more information and advice.
1414,
or Fourteen Words, is a Nazi symbol referring to the white supremacist
slogan, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for
white children”.
1818
is code for Adolf Hitler. The number comes from the position of the
letters in the alphabet (1=A and 8=H). It’s commonly associated with the
British white supremacist group Combat 18 or C18.
2828
is a white supremacist code for Blood & Honour, a UK-based neo-Nazi
music promotion network with branches across the world.
8888 is a neo-Nazi code standing for Heil Hitler, the Nazi salute. The number 8 represents the letter H.
318318 is code for British white supremacist group Combat 18 – 3 representing C, and 18 Adolf Hitler.
This incredible photo marks the end of Matador Torero Álvaro Múnera’s
career. He collapsed in remorse mid-fight when he realized he was
having to prompt this otherwise gentle
beast to fight. He went on to become an avid opponent of bullfights.
Even grievously wounded by picadors, he did not attack this man.
Torrero Munera is quoted as saying of this moment: “And suddenly, I
looked at the bull. He had this innocence that all animals have in their
eyes, and he looked at me with this pleading. It was like a cry for
justice, deep down inside of me. I describe it as being like a prayer -
because if one confesses, it is hoped, that one is forgiven. I felt like
the worst shit on earth.”
Recall petition in Brecon and Radnor. Come to Wales between May 9th and
June 20th and help us get rid of a thoroughly unpleasant and right wing
Tory. A recall petition is starting next Friday and will last till June
20th. All we need is 5303 signatures and there will be a by election.
Brecon and Radnor is the largest constituency in England and Wales and
covers about one third of the area of Wales it's controlled by a
thoroughly heartless and unimaginative Tory Independent coalition
that rules Powys. The constituency stretches from the Socialist
Republic of Ystradgynlais northwards to the Labour controlled Town
Council of Brecon and on northwards to Montgomeryshire and Westwards to
the Welsh border . There are six active Labour branches throughout the
constituency and a first class local Labour Tomos Davies candidate
who is a Brecon Town Councillor and a Welsh speaker. The Magnificent
Seven Labour Councillors of Powys offer the only real and significant
opposition and coordinated alternative. Help build a wave to swap away
another right wing Tory.. Wales is a beautiful place and .you will be
welcome...see you on the doorsteps.. check up on Chris Davies voting
record it's hard and unpleasantly tight wing.
Constituency: Brecon and Radnorshire
The designated petition signing places are located at:
Council Chamber, Broad Street, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5BX
Clarence Hall House, Beaufort Street, Crickhowell, NP8 1BN
These locations will be open for signing:
Monday, 9am to 5pm (except spring bank holiday Monday)
Tuesday, 8am to 5pm
Wednesday, 9am to 8pm
Thursday, 9am to 5pm
Friday, 9am to 5pm
A
person is eligible to sign the petition if they are a registered
parliamentary elector for the constituency and aged 18 or over (or the
date of their 18th birthday is before the end of the signing period).
All
registered parliamentary electors will be written to individually
advising them of the signing procedure and which signing place they have
been allocated to. Parliamentary electors who are currently registered
to vote by post will receive their signing sheet by post.
A Gramscian reflection on the X6..It's a Gramscian moment as
Extinction Rebellion take Ecosocialism into the main steam of politics
the Brexit Party and it's manifestoless launch takes reaction to
confront it. These are the culture wars to come. As Nigel Farage faces a
young earnest Swedish woman the fault lines are revealed. In Swansea on
Saturday the shibboleth of a far right discourse of Brexit betrayal
faces a powerful wave of a multi cultural and multi faithed Swansea. This
is part generational, part milleau oriented. It is multilayed and
nultivarious. This ckah has a monotheistic edge and a polytheistic
plurality. It is no accident that a picture appears of a smiling George
Galloway and a grinning Nigel Farage . This is truly Gramschian as the
old monotheists are now on the same side and their masculinities
complement one another in a very disturbing and chilling way. Across
society as a whole the Corbyn Labour Party squares up to the Brexit
Party of Farage. This struggle is far removed from the blandness of a
centrist people's vote agenda and its conflict with the Little Britain
of the bluekippers. These are the moments the culture wars are settled.
It's now about the sort of cults we have. Galloway and Farage are both
social conservstives with differing economic agendas yet it is the
social conservatism that unites them. The battle lines are drawn and
there is no middle ground any more. As the Conserivative party
distigrates a new conservatism takes form and it's only viable opponents
are Corbyn and Macdonnell..it's time to decide..
As Arlene Foster is shamed by a Catholic Priest at a young womans
funeral and the wolves gather around the forces "hero" Johnny Mercer
we hear of a Trump state visit and a journey down the Mall.. Ann
Widdercombe returns a six stone man judged fit to work by the DWP finds
their last payment to him will meet the cost of his burial. and these
are the days the days of Gramsci and Bordieau. Even Baudrillard's hyper
reality could not describe the clash between the perfectly post modern
fascists and the Ecosocialists..this is wei chi and the time of chance
change...I am Lear, Kent and the Fool..
I shake off these
thoughts and I head on to the Powys Labour group AGM at the Welfare Hall
in Ystradgynlais. The Brecon and Radnor by election beckons..soon the
polling stations will open for a recall petition and Brecon and Radnor
will once more have a by election as significant as the one of 1985..
Thursday May
23 sees not only the European Elections it also sees a by election in
the Neath Port Talbot council seat of Resolven. In 2017 Labour held the
seat by some 80 votes The by election reveals many tensions, ambitions,
political hopes and egos. Plaid fresh from it's victory in Ely will be
seeking to promote it's credentials . Adam Price the Mab Darogan in
waiting will be clearly hoping for a victory. Whilst Labour will
be looking to hold the seat with an increased majority. It is also
likely that other parties such as the Liberal Democrats will wish to
enter the fray.
The most
interesting aspect of the by election will be if the Independent
candidate who stood last time will stand again. On past form the
Independent candidate in 2017, one Darren Niccolls will bottle it at the
last moment. Darren is a comet that rapidly burns out and fades very
quickly away. Darren"s political staying power is rather soft and small
and quickly fades. Darren runs a blog called the Layman once described
by Phil Knight
as the "Lieman" . Darren is a former staff member of a UKIP Assembly
Member and attended far right rallies promoting the likes of Tommy
Robinson and other crypto post modern fascists. Darren some time ago
published a picture of Tony Blair with a noose around his neck.
According to Darren Blair's crime was about his pro European views
rather than his warmongering.
I suspect that Darren"s get out
clause will come from the Plaid link. His partner was the Plaid
candidate for Tonna in 2017. He is effectively a right wing, pro market,
Brexiteer of the 'libertarian" tendency. I therefore suspect that the
"right" sort of Plaid candidate will liberate Darren from the call of
destiny. However if I am wrong I will remind you of his posting. Darren I
am afraid has little substance and a poor understanding of concepts and
background to political thought and philosophy. He once more has
endorsed a simplistic agenda embracing the manifestoless Brexit Party.
Let us watch the drama unfolds in Resolven...who knows? I suppose Darren
could always stand for the Brexit Party there..I will keep you
informed..
“Sometimes it's more important to be human, than to have good taste”. Bertolt Brecht
The scene opens in a pub somewhere in Swansea. Reeco, David and Darren
are discussing political strategy. They are concerned that the ordinary
voter is being led astray. They have just heard the latest policy idea
from UKIP`s central committee in Torfaen
A UKIP spokesman has
declared that the observation was true until proved otherwise. They said
that until immigrants were directly observed they could not comment and
that there was a dire need for further studies on the phenomenon.
UKIP’s Tommy Robinson explained, “These people clearly need further
observation. EU bureaucrats in Brussels have somehow introduced
ambiguous and confusing red tape that threatens our widely held lazy
stereotypes.”
Reeco comments “Some bloke down the pub who knows –
for definite – told me that Muslims in particular have been stealing
his job, and if that’s not bad enough, they’re also too lazy to work
because they’re all on the dole.”
Young Dave said “So it’s
tricky.” “They need to be studied extensively, secure and in isolation
for a prolonged period of time for objective results. Many people are
surprised how closely these scientific conditions resemble a prison cell
in Strangeways.”
Momentum tried to verify these allegations with
several migrant workers, though all claimed to be unable to follow
Dave's ` line of thinking. One worker who wished to remain anonymous stated, “He is stupid prick, yes?”Darren said that he fully supported UKIP’s latest thought experiment.
He knows a bloke who told him the following. His friend said
“I
employ a couple of Europeans, yes. And sure, they certainly put a shift
in when they’re at work. But they could equally be at home at the same
time being lazy and claiming benefits, couldn’t they?”
“I don’t see what the issue is?”
Then Reeco experiences a epiphany. ”I have the perfect proof of a
Schrodingers immigrant, there is this old woman, she is 92, they say she
lives in the Melin. Her names Mrs Saxe-Coberg-Gotha. Her family are
migrants from Hanover and she is married to a Greek Bloke. They have
numerous houses paid for by the Benefits Agency and they took our
Monarchs job. They have a large family. She got five great grand
children and another on the way . That will show those lefty bastards in
Monentum how clever we are .”
Dave says “That's brilliant Reeco".
A man enters from the left. He is in his early sixties and is wearing a
hat. He enters the pub and tells this story to the audience.
“There was a banker, a migrant and an ordinary voter sitting at a table.
On the table was a plate with twenty biscuits on it. The banker takes
nineteen of them and shouted over at the ordinary voter. "hey that
migrant is after your biscuit`“
Bertolt Brecht, born in Augsberg Germany 1898, was a highly
influential playwright, director and innovative performance theorist,
making a major contribution to dramaturgy and theatrical production that
continues to be portrayed within theatres and on stage to this date.
His ideas and theories regarding political theatre reject the
naturalistic ‘system’ put forward many years before by Konstantin
Stanislavski and attempted to persuade an audience to want to make a
difference in society. In his early twenties, Brecht began to have an
aversion to the capitalist society he was brought up in and sought after
a more equal approach to the world and people around him. This was when
he began his exploration into Marxism: a political philosophy, often
referred to as a form of socialism, which emphasises the importance of
the class struggle in society and maintains the belief that everyone is
equal. This is a viewpoint that Brecht remained loyal to throughout the
rest of his life and career with a certain level of Marxist influence
being noticeably present in each of his plays and productions.
Marxists
believe in a socialist society that does not distinguish between
classes of people. Marxists tend to be working class people or the
proletariat and these fellow Marxists, i.e. the proletariat, were the
people Brecht intended his plays for. He wanted to use his talent within
the theatre to connect with the working class people in order to change
the capitalist oppression under which he lived. His plays rejected the
naturalistic stage style and portrayed the world at the time in a way
that would enable each spectator to adopt a critical awareness of the
action they saw on stage. Brecht laid down a system of performance and
production techniques in order to create an atmosphere within the
theatre that would prevent the audience from ‘hanging their brains up
with their hats in the cloakroom’ (Anon; www.delamere-arts.com.) The use
of these techniques within theatre production is now formally known as
Epic Theatre.
Brecht intended his theatre to be both didactical
(though not dull or boring) and dialectical, and believed that in order
to make an audience pay attention to what they are seeing and hearing
from the stage they must be distanced from the action (i.e. the audience
see the stage as a stage and the actors as actors.) Epic theatre aims
to create this production of thought in the spectators, creating a
distance between them and the action through the use of a technique
known as verfremdungseffekt or V-effekt. Roughly translated as the
‘making strange’ effect, the V-effekt is a technique which solely
intends to make the audience aware they are in a theatre at all times,
enabling them to adopt an attitude of inquiry and criticism in their
approach to the action. The audience must at no time during an epic play
be seen to be ‘in a trance’ or take what they see on stage for granted.
Richard Schechner (2006) claims that the best way to think of the
V-effekt is ‘as a way to drive a wedge between the actor, the character,
the staging (including blocking, design, music and any other production
element) so that each is able to bounce off, and comment upon, the
others’. In this an actor may pay a complete disregard for the fourth
wall (a naturalistic staging and acting technique) directly addressing
the audience in speeches, there may also be the use of a narrator (such
as the Street Singer in The Threepenny Opera), songs and explanatory
placards to interrupt the action and thus distance the audience from
what they are watching.
"If I were a tree among trees, a cat among animals, this life would have
a meaning or rather this problem would not arise, for I should belong
to this world. I should be this world to which I am opposed by my whole
consciousness and my whole insistence upon familiarity. This ridiculous
reason is what sets me in opposition to all creation. I cannot cross it
out with a stroke of the pen." Albert Camus
"But you want to go the way of your misery, which is the way to
yourself? Then show me your right and your strength for that! Are you a
new strength and a new right? A first movement? A self-propelling wheel?
Can you compel the very stars to revolve around you?" --from "Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for Everyone and Nobody"
Friedrich Nietzsche’s most accessible and influential philosophical
work, misquoted, misrepresented, brilliantly original and enormously
influential, Thus Spoke Zarathustra is translated from the German by
R.J. Hollingdale in Penguin Classics. Nietzsche was one of the most
revolutionary and subversive thinkers in Western philosophy, and Thus
Spoke Zarathustra remains his most famous and influential work. It
describes how the ancient Persian prophet Zarathustra descends from his
solitude in the mountains to tell the world that God is dead and that
the Superman, the human embodiment of divinity, is his successor.
Nietzsche’s utterance ‘God is dead’, his insistence that the meaning of
life is to be found in purely human terms, and his doctrine of the
Superman and the will to power were all later seized upon and
unrecognisably twisted by, among others, Nazi intellectuals. With
blazing intensity and poetic brilliance, Nietzsche argues that the
meaning of existence is not to be found in religious pieties or meek
submission to authority, but in an all-powerful life force: passionate,
chaotic and free. Frederich Nietzsche (1844-1900) became the chair of
classical philology at Basel University at the age of 24 until his bad
health forced him to retire in 1879. He divorced himself from society
until his final collapse in 1899 when he became insane. A powerfully
original thinker, Nietzsche’s influence on subsequent writers, such as
George Bernard Shaw, D.H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann and Jean-Paul Sartre,
was considerable. If you enjoyed Thus Spoke Zarathustra you might like
Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, also available in Penguin Classics.
‘Enigmatic, vatic, emphatic, passionate, often breathtakingly
insightful, his works together make a unique statement in the literature
of European ideas’ A. C. Grayling
As Aaron Banks is revealed as rbe purveyor of fake news, false films
and pretend attacks we see him as empowerer of the far right and seeker
after their ideas as a central plank of 'Vote Leave' we enter Baudrillards hyper reality. The greatest irony of all may be that
Farage while being the midwife of UKIP may in the end he it's
executioner. And in the end he will consign it to the dustbin of the
far right street gangs ...
I read a couple of weeks ago the words of a local
Lexiteer arguing the contorted case that somehow the Leave case is a
step to supporting free movement. FFS as the SWP takes contortions of
logic resembling the Jesuits I stare in disbelief. While prepared to
take on the far right in demonstration there is no similar approach to
oppose the Brexit causes of its rise...oh well send in the clowns.. how
many angels or paper sellers can dance on a pinhead?
These are odd times as hyper reality speeds up and all that once was melts into air..
As Long hot says only rebellion will save us now. All of us must stop
eating meat, stop flying and support the end of capitalism....there can
be no excuse anymore for dancing on the head of a needle..it's you late
and there are many false Messiahs and causes...night comes on..
Of
dying Gods and Gods reborn ....It's Easter Week and after 2000 years
of the Judeo Christian world view so few understand the original let
motive of god's slain and gods reborn. Osiris in Egyptian myth bears so
much resemblance to the Christian myth , in Norse mythology Odin hangs
on the tree and conquers death and learns the wisdom of the runes.
Buddha sits below the bodhi tree and learns enlightenment. The tree the
cross, the sacrifice to learn and transform the world. But to transform
into what...I am tired of the Sky Father's the celestial dictators who
insist that there is only their truth. Without the insistence of only
one truth we would avoid the wars of ideology, the wars of forced
conversion of the heathen, the infidel and the heretic. If there is ever
a need it is for a saviour to free us from Saviours. Theresa May
lectures us on Christian values and yet she takes to Saudi Arms dealers
and supplies arms around the world.
Give me Marcus Aurelius
anytime with his insistence to ask not what someone says they are
looking instead at what they do. Do we survive death? I don't know but I
turn back to Homer when he says that the gods envy us because we are
beautiful as we will never be again as we are at this moment. They envy
us because each of us are unique, our experience varied our soulless
original. Do the gods die with us killed by gas in Syria,? shot to
pieces by the arms trade that our leaders pedal? Do we die condemned by
the universal soldier who just obeys their orders who has been taught to
confirm. Do we die by hunger and neglect or do we end the rule of the
dark gods we create be they human or divine...Perhaps the death of the
gods is long overdue and we must see the divine within all of us, the
sacredness of ourselves and put original sin back with St Augustine and
the celestial dictators of the monotheistic faiths. Perhaps the gods
once dead should stay that way..I am with Homer and the Pagans ......
The female spirituality, Isis, Freya ignored. The definition of an
Apostle in Christianity is someone who has seen the risen Christ. Yet it
was Mary and Martha who saw him first and yet they are not Apostles.
You only rise again if a masculine language tell you so, Christ rises to
become the medieval celestial dictator, Osiris is given a new golden
phallus,,yep its men who tell the stories of these celestial dictators
and of the only truth there is. What a surprise. Give me the divine
feminine any time...
"It is only the gods who taste of death.
Apollo has passed away, but Hyacinth, whom men say he slew, lives on.
Nero and Narcissus are always with us."
-- Oscar Wilde
When I was five my father began to read mythology to me . I found a
great tension between the religion I was taught at school and the tales
of the Greeks, Romans and ancient Egyptians. I remembered asking at
school why the Christian stories we heard at school were true and the
mythologies of the ancient world were false. No teacher ever adequately
convinced me . The best they did was to tell me I was foolish or indeed
odd.
If they want me to believe in their god, they'll have to sing me better songs.....
I could only believe in a god who dances.
Companions the creator seeks, not corpses, not herds and believers.
Fellow creators the creator seeks--those who write new values on new
tablets. Companions the creator seeks, and fellow harvesters; for everything about him is ripe for the harvest.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche,
"Thus Spoke Zarathustra",
No polytheist ever imagined that all humankind would come to live in
the same way; for polytheists took for granted that humans would worship
other deities. Only with Christianity did the belief take root that one
way of life could/should be lived by all.. If only one belief is true,
then every other is wrong.
For polytheists, religion is a matter
of practice,not belief, and there are many kinds of practice. For
Christians , religion is a matter of true belief, and therefore every
way of life which does not accept it must consequently be an error..
While many polytheists may vigorously defend their deities, they never
perceive themselves as missionaries. It is certain that without
monotheism humans would still be violent unstable beings ; yet history
would have spared us from the wars of religion. If the world had been
spared monotheism we would not have developed communism or indeed global
democratic capitalism. It is possible to dream of a world free from
militant faiths religious or political.
Yet it is also true that
unbelief is a move in a game set by .believers. To deny the existence of
a God is to accept the categories of monotheism. As these categories
fall into disuse, unbelief becomes uninteresting, and soon is
meaningless. Many humanists say they want a secular world, but a world
defined by the absence of the Christian God is still a Christian world.
Secularism like chastity, a condition defined by what it denies.. If
atheism has a future, it can only be in a Christian revival ; and it is
true that both Christianity and atheism are declining together.
Atheism is a late bloom of a Christian passion for the truth. No Pagan
is ready to sacrifice the pleasure of life for the sake of mere truth..
It is an artful illusion, not unadorned reality that they prize. Among
the Greeks, the goal of philosopwas happiness or salvation, not
truth.The worship of Truth is effectively a Christian cult.
The
old Pagans were right to shudder at the uncouth earnestness of the early
Christians. None of the Mystery religions of the late Roman Empire
would have claimed what the Christians claimed- that all other faiths
were in error. For that reason non , none of their followers could ever
become an atheist.. When Christianity alone claimed they possessed the
truth they condemned the rich and lush profusion of the pagan world with
damning finality
In a world of many gods, unbelief can never be
total It can only be a rejection of one practice and gods and acceptance
of others or else as Epicurus and his followers claimedthe conviction
that gods do not matter since they have long ceased to bother about
human affairs.
Christianity struck at the root of pagan tolerance
of constructed interpretation. In claiming that there is only one truth
faith, it gives truth a supreme value that it had not had before. It
also made unbelief in the divine possible for the first time. The long
delayed consequence of Christian faith was an idolatry of truth that
found its most complete expression in atheism. If we live in a world
without gods , we have Christianity to thank for it. Iamblichus of
Chalcis commented
"You Christians have driven the Gods from the world and made it a lonely place".
Algernon Charles Swinburne writing in the late 19th century felt the same . In his poem Hymn to Proserpin he bold states
"You have conquered O Pale Galilean, the world has grown grey from thy breath".......
In D H Lawremce`s story “The man who died” Jesus comes back from the
dead only to give up the idea of saving mankind. He views the world with
wonder and asks himself; “ From what ? and to what , could this
infinite world be saved ? Humanity considers itself as perfectible
beings superior to all other non human animals upon the planet and yet
at the same time we never cease to escape from what we consider
ourselves to be. Our religions are attempts to be rid of a freedom that
we never perhaps have had.. In the last two hundred years the
utopias/dystopias of right and left have served the same function. Today
when politics is bland and unconvincing even as entertainment, science
has taken on the role of humanity's deliverer..
I believe that we
need a teaching that stresses that there is nothing from which to seek
deliverance, a teaching whose aim is to free humanity from the yoke of
salvation.
Nikos Kazanantzakis states my belief clearly “Whoever
says salvation exists is a slave , because he keeps weighing each of his
words and deeds at every moment. Will I be saved or damned? He
tremblingly asks.......salvation means deliverance from all
saviours...now you understand who is the perfect saviour. ..it is the
saviour who shall deliver mankind from salvation.”or indeed Nietzsche
once more claiming,
"Man is a rope, tied between beast and mg-back, a dangerous
What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end: what can be
loved in man is that he is an overture and a going under.”
Many
people today think that they belong to a species that can be master of
its destiny. This is faith and not science. We do not speak of a time
when whales or gorillas will be master of their destinies. Why then
should we humans?
Science today has an authority that common
experience cannot rival, jet let us remember that Darwin tells us that
species are assemblies of genes, interacting at random with each other
and their shifting environments. Species cannot control their fates.
Species do not exist. This applies to us as humans. Yet it is forgotten
whenever people talk of the progress of mankind. . We have now put our
faith in that which originated in Christian belief and in the last
hundred years it has been been taken over by scientific rationalism.
I believe that at heart humans and other animals are kin. By contrast,
arising from Christianity humans are set beyond all other living beings,
and have triggered a bitter argument that rages to this day. In
Victorian times this was a conflict between Christians ans unbelievers.
Today it is fought between secular humanists and those who believe that
humans can no more be masters of their destiny than any other animal.
This is the hope of rational science today for although human knowledge
will very likely continue to grow and with it human power, the human
animal will stay the same; a highly inventive species that is also one
of the most predatory and destructive.
Darwin showed us that
humans are like other animals, humanists claim they are not. Humanism
insists that by using our knowledge we can control our environment and
flourish as never before. In affirming this they renew one of
Christianities most dubious promises -that salvation is open to all. The
humanist belief in progress is only a secular version of the Christian
faith.
Perhaps is is therefore impossible to describe an adequate
definition of real progress. To anyone reared on humanist hopes this ls
intolerable. As a result, Darwin'steachings have been stood on their
head. Christianity`s cardinal error-that humans are different from
animals- has been given by science a new lease of life.
Many
Green thinkers like myself realise that humans can never really be
masters of the earth. Our spirituality must recognise that we are mere
stewards of the biosphere and therefore must except a neo -pagan or
pantheist belief For much of our history and all of prehistory humans
did not see themselves as being any different from the other animals
among which they lived. Hunter gatherers saw their prey as equals, if
not superior and animals were worshipped as divinities in many
traditional culture.
The humanist sense of a gulf between
ourselves and other animals is an aberration. It is the animist feeling
of belonging with the rest of nature that is normal. Feeble as it may be
today the feeling of sharing a common destiny with other living things
that is embedded in the human psyche.
Those who struggle to
conserve what is left of the environment are moved by the love of living
things, a "biophilia" a frail bond of feeling that ties humankind with
the earth and that should form the basis of our spirituality./political
activity.
"We love life, not because we are used to living but because we are used to lovin
Friedrich Nietzsche
Words are so limited. However elaborate our vocabulary, the metaphors
and images we use. Our joys , our sorrows can never be described fully.
The descriptions, the fears that are indistinct and formless
nevertheless are ghosts of great power .
Lecan commented on the
limitations of language and of our inability to communicate fully
clearly and with precision. Speaking to people at the Glanrhyd bus
stop about war in Yemen I find that the two people I speak to are aware
that this is all smoke and mirrors.
They know what it is really about and each mentions oil and of the
illusions of international politics. They mention oil and the nature of a
world globalised economy. No one is fooled..
You have fooled no one Theresa ordinary people see through you and
what lies behind your robotic voice...you have fooled no one and the
clamour rises within and without the political system. There is a mighty
judgement coming ...and as I glance into an unknown future both
personally and for society as a whole.. somewhere deep within a core of
hope begins to pulsate ,...ita been 5i years since 1968...but is the
revolution personal, political or both,?..There are no clear
answers...this is an existential problem or perhaps meaning ,,,and as we
go on Extinction Rebellion takes action and Corbyn nears power...
Millionaire newcomer to the Commons Margaret Hodge has had a tricky time with some of her fellow Labour MPs.
A former leader of Islington council and now a devoted Blairite member
for Barking, Hodge agreed to debate Clause 4 with hard left MP Jeremy
Corbyn in front of an earnest crowd at the Red Rose Centre in Islington.
Corbyn argued to retain the public ownership clause while Hodge said
electoral victory must come first. Corbyn won the crowd over completely –
at which point Hodge turned from cool pragmatist into fuming maniac.
She rose to reply and completely blew her gasket: she called the
astonished crowd stupid and accused them of loving being in opposition
and of having their heads in the sand. Of the hundred or so present,
only two voted in favour of Hodge, one of the
. This is
Zoltar..he is looking very well. I remember meeting him as a 10 year old
in the very late 60s. He called out to me then as he makes me remember
now. I think of Wilfred Earnest Hazlewood my grandfather who stood with
me those fifty years ago. I was an imaginative 10 year old then as
opposed to an imaginative 61 year old now.
I reflect on those 50 years and ask idle questions to my self. Who will stand before Zoltar
in 50 years time? As the UK slips once more into a Xenophobic and
Nationalistic mileau I wonder what my grandfather thought in 1969.
Zoltar is a post modern late 60s creation yet the age we live in with
its simplistic populism is more plastic and crass. I glance around the
cafe I sit in on the end of Llandudno Pier and ask the question what
will the next 50 years bring? Zoltar is silent on that question. This is
the Age of Batten and Tommy Robinson perhaps Zoltar will be repatriated
to a plastic pastiched internment camp. Perhaps Zoltar asks the
question will socialism triumph? Who was Margaret Hodge? And what
happened to 10 year old Martyn and 61 year old Martyn? Zoltar is quiet
on that one .
My Dire
Wolves and Little Birds contact me. Apparently back home the Far Right
Feeders of the White Homeless are stirring as they seek redress via
crowd funders for 'immigrant loving lefties'. Well Zoltar what would you
say to Brexit Isle stuck here in isolation.? I guess you would echo
Rosa Luxembourg and say it's either Socialism or Barbarism. These coming
European Elections makes that clear. I am fed up with the stench of
Weimar and the street gangs bullying those who stand up to them. I am
going to review my friends list over the next week. Someone has been
sending information to these bullies and I now know who it is.
For my Grandfather and Father I can do no other. In each generation the
flame of tolerance and diversity must be maintained and the struggle
must continue. As I reflect on my thoughts I see a physically disabled
young man be helped out of the amusement arcade by his carer. A
potential fate awaits us all brought by men of ontological insecurity
and identical looks The potential road to the death camps always stand
open this time by men with the perfect Arryan teeth and blonde hair
who possess a strange likeness to Tommy Robinson. Renewed I leave the
cafe to continue the struggle and as i pass Zoltar winks at me. No
pasaran....the Sun bursts through the clouds and my darker thoughts are
dissolved.. it's time to return to the Socialist People's Republic of
Ystradgynlais tomorrow.
This is
taken from dylans great album "Blood on The Tracks" it was how I
discovered Dylan. i traced him back from this point and since then I
have moved forwaed with him. This story fascinates me..it says much
about human nature. !975 is a long time ago but this music has followed
me for over 4o years and will continue to do so till the ending of my
life.
"Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts", is a song by Bob Dylan released on the 1975 albumBlood on the Tracks, known for its complex plot and long running time. It is one of five songs on Blood on the Tracks
that Dylan initially recorded in New York City in September 1974 and
then re-recorded in Minneapolis in December that year; the later
recording became the album track.
There have been two screenplays written based on the song: one by
John Kaye and commissioned by Dylan, and another written by James Byron.[1] Neither screenplay ever became a film.
According to his official website, Dylan has played the song live only once on May 25, 1976, in Salt Lake City.[2]
Hearing the lyrics read to her by Dylan just after they had been written is thought to be the inspiration for the 1975 Joan Baez song "Diamonds & Rust", which is based on her and Dylan's own relationship ten years earlier.
Main characters
The song has a long list of characters. The inspiration behind several characters in the plot has been long disputed among fans.
The main character in the song is "The Jack of Hearts", who has
recently come into town as a leader of a gang of bank robbers. ("The
boys finally made it through the wall and cleaned out the bank safe...
but they couldn't go no further without the Jack of Hearts.")
Major women in the song are Lily and Rosemary. Both are referred to
in royal terms ("like a queen without a crown" and "Lily was a
princess") though not royalty. Rosemary is Big Jim's long suffering
wife, who ultimately is executed for his murder (though the song is very
much nebulous about whether or not she was innocent and was framed by
the Jack of Hearts). Lily is a dancer who is Big Jim's mistress (wearing
a ring symbolizing this) and also a former lover of the Jack of Hearts.
Big Jim is the wealthiest person in town: "he owned the town's only
diamond mine". He is married to Rosemary and having a longstanding
affair with Lily. He is killed at the climax of the song, though Dylan
leaves it ambiguous who does the deed. The lyrics describe Big Jim as a
greedy man who destroys all that he touches, which contrasts with his
well groomed appearance.
The Hanging Judge; a patron of the bar where the plot plays out. The
character is referred to as a drunk and is intoxicated for the bulk of
the song. However, he is sober the next day when he oversees Rosemary
being executed for Big Jim's death.
Clues and interpretations
There
is an extra verse on the Bob Dylan website and in the published sheet
music that is not in the album version (right after the "backstage
manager" verse):
Lily's arms were locked around the man that she dearly loved to touch,
She forgot all about the man she couldn't stand who hounded her so much.
"I've missed you so," she said to him, and he felt she was sincere,
But just beyond the door he felt jealousy and fear.
Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts.
This verse can be found on the Blood On The Tapes and Blood on the Tracks (New York Sessions)
bootleg version. This version is slower and more somber, even mournful,
reflecting the approach of the other New York sessions. The version on Blood on the Tracks
was recorded later, in Minneapolis, and reflects Dylan's attempts,
following his brother's advice, to make the album less difficult and
intense. The same contrast can be seen with the New York (Bootleg
Series) and Minneapolis (album) versions of "Tangled Up in Blue" and
"Idiot Wind". The verse also appears in the Joan Baez recording of the
song.
The song also contains a number of references to playing cards – the Jack of Hearts himself, the fact that Big Jim owns the town's "only diamond mine", the description of Rosemary looking "like a queen" and Big Jim like a "king", and in the third verse, Lily is playing a game of poker with the other girls in the cabaret.
Plot
The song
takes place in a cabaret that is being renovated in an unnamed town
where most of the residents "with any sense" have already left. The
town's bank is being targeted by a gang of thieves led by an enigmatic
figure called "The Jack of Hearts", and are using the renovations at the
cabaret as a cover for their robbery – they are able to drill into the
bank without causing suspicion. The Jack of Hearts appears inside the
cabaret right before the show, with the intention of meeting up with
Lily, a beautiful a dancer in the cabaret (Lily and the Jack of Hearts
have a history together which is never explained). Big Jim and his wife
Rosemary are in attendance of the show, though they arrive separately
and it is apparent that Big Jim intends to use the night to pursue his
affair with Lily. After her performance, Lily meets the Jack of Hearts
in her dressing room with romantic intentions, but Big Jim makes his way
to the dressing room as well, followed by Rosemary who has been driven
to despair by her years of mistreatment at the hands of Big Jim. Big Jim
is going to shoot the Jack of Hearts but is killed by a penknife in the
back wielded by Rosemary (her "one good deed before she dies"). "The
next day," Rosemary is executed, a hanging overseen by "the hanging
judge", another figure in town who is in attendance at the cabaret the
night before.
The fate of the Jack of Hearts is left ambiguous, but it is implied
that he reunites with his gang, who have fled to the nearby riverbanks
waiting for their leader with the safe from the bank (having drilled
through the wall to retrieve it). The next morning, after Rosemary's
execution, Lily thinks about her father, whom she rarely sees, along
with Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.
Or could the Jack of Hearts and Big Jim be different aspects of Bob
Dylan, while Lily is Joan and Rosemary is Sarah. The robbery is CBS and
the Jim part of Dylan, losing to the Jack of Hearts who escapes with the
diamonds.
Interpretation
There
are a vast variety of interpretations of the story line, and at this
time it is unknown which is the most accurate since Dylan has yet to
comment on the plot.
According to Tim Riley of National Public Radio,
"'Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts' is an intricately evasive
allegory about 'romantic facades' that hide 'criminal motives', and the
way one character's business triggers a series of recriminations from
people he doesn't even know."
Covers
Joan Baez included a performance of "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" on her 1976 live album From Every Stage. This includes the extra verse from Dylan's first recording.
In 2002, Mary Lee's Corvette included "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" in their song-for-song live cover performance of "Blood on the Tracks"
American singer-songwriter Tom Russell recorded a cover of the song with Eliza Gilkyson and Joe Ely for his 2004 album, Indians Cowboys Horses and Dogs.
In popular culture
"Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" is heavily referenced in the song "The Getaway" by the American indie pop band TV Girl on their first studio album French Exit.
The Dylan recording was featured in Manchester by the Sea (2016) starring Casey Affleck.
Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts
Written by: Bob Dylan
The festival was over, the boys were all plannin’ for a fall
The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin’ in the wall
The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin’ wheel shut down
Anyone with any sense had already left town
He was standin’ in the doorway lookin’ like the Jack of Hearts
He moved across the mirrored room, “Set it up for everyone,” he said
Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin’ before he turned their heads
Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin
“Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?”
Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts
Backstage the girls were playin’ five-card stud by the stairs
Lily had two queens, she was hopin’ for a third to match her pair
Outside the streets were fillin’ up, the window was open wide
A gentle breeze was blowin’, you could feel it from inside
Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts
Big Jim was no one’s fool, he owned the town’s only diamond mine
He made his usual entrance lookin’ so dandy and so fine
With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place
He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste
But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts
Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town
She slipped in through the side door lookin’ like a queen without a crown
She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear
“Sorry, darlin’, that I’m late,” but he didn’t seem to hear
He was starin’ into space over at the Jack of Hearts
“I know I’ve seen that face before,” Big Jim was thinkin’ to himself
“Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody’s shelf”
But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the houselights did dim
And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him
Starin’ at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts
Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child
She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled
She’d come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs
With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere
But she’d never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts
The hangin’ judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined
The drillin’ in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind
It was known all around that Lily had Jim’s ring
And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king
No, nothin’ ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts
Rosemary started drinkin’ hard and seein’ her reflection in the knife
She was tired of the attention, tired of playin’ the role of Big Jim’s wife
She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide
Was lookin’ to do just one good deed before she died
She was gazin’ to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts
Lily washed her face, took her dress off and buried it away
“Has your luck run out?” she laughed at him, “Well, I guess you must
have known it would someday
Be careful not to touch the wall, there’s a brand-new coat of paint
I’m glad to see you’re still alive, you’re lookin’ like a saint”
Down the hallway footsteps were comin’ for the Jack of Hearts
The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair
“There’s something funny going on,” he said, “I can just feel it in the air”
He went to get the hangin’ judge, but the hangin’ judge was drunk
As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk
There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts
Lily’s arms were locked around the man that she dearly loved to touch
She forgot all about the man she couldn’t stand who hounded her so much
“I’ve missed you so,” she said to him, and he felt she was sincere
But just beyond the door he felt jealousy and fear
Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts
No one knew the circumstance but they say that it happened pretty quick
The door to the dressing room burst open and a cold revolver clicked
And Big Jim was standin’ there, ya couldn’t say surprised
Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes
She was with Big Jim but she was leanin’ to the Jack of Hearts
Two doors down the boys finally made it through the wall
And cleaned out the bank safe, it’s said that they got off with quite a haul
In the darkness by the riverbed they waited on the ground
For one more member who had business back in town
But they couldn’t go no further without the Jack of Hearts
The next day was hangin’ day, the sky was overcast and black
Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back
And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn’t even blink
The hangin’ judge was sober, he hadn’t had a drink
The only person on the scene missin’ was the Jack of Hearts
The cabaret was empty now, a sign said, “Closed for repair”
Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair
She was thinkin’ ’bout her father, who she very rarely saw
Thinkin’ ’bout Rosemary and thinkin’ about the law
But most of all she was thinkin’ ’bout the Jack of Hearts
As we appraocah the European elections of 2019. We find the culture wars intensify and the prejudice of the blue kippers spill across the land. As we face the propsect of a Samhain or halloween exit from Europe into the kipper dark of November we should reflect that it's been over 50 years since Enoch
Powell's rivers of blood speech. Powell laid the foundation for a hard right
white supremacist model of politics. Powell was a Classical scholar of some
note and yet his prejudice; his narrowness and his League of Empire Loyalist
approach was not reflected in the reality of Roman society. He might well froth
at the mouth and see the River Tiber turning blood red...yet he was wrong.
Modern scholarship reveals that Rome
was multicultural, multiracial and multipath There were black Centurions on
Hadrian's Wall and their Celtic legionary troops in Palestine. Mary Beards
research has shown the lack of Powell's knowledge. Powell knew of the Roman
elite yet he never pointed out that it was the plutocrats like Crassus and the
populists like Caesar who brought down the Republic. The elite families of Rome
fought it out and kept the masses quiet with bread and circuses. How apt for
Powell's use of the race card and the patronage of the corporations of that
time. There were black Emperors Brown Emperors and numerous races and
ethnicities appeared in the Senate and as administrators. Yes, there were
slaves but one wonders if parallels can be drawn with the low paid low
deskilled slavery of the call centre and the pound shops.
Powell was one of the
elite and he gloried in the British Empire but failed to see how close he resembled
the demagogues of the Athenian polis and of the Roman tribunes. For Powell
Classics was a study of the elite. He failed to explain that without the
concept of .an Empire wide citizenship St Paul would have been unable to carry
out his missionary journeys. For the blue kippers of today who do not
understand that the freedom granted to St Paul enabled them to create what they
would call in code " Christian Civilization " ironically it was
Theodosius a Christian Emperor of Byzantium who brought in religious
intolerance and limited the rights to travel for citizens.
The thoughts of Enoch Powell have
cursed our society. It has laid the foundations of the hard right. And for the
pound shop Powell's of today it has provided the oxygen of hate and fear.
Powell's history is partial. He served as s Unionist MP in Northern Ireland
after leaving his Wolverhampton seat. He served as a representative of a narrow
theocratic party. His scholarship of Ancient Rome was brilliant yet partial and
it offers nothing to the new popular people’s history of today. He could
manipulate but could never understand. His toxic legacy divides us rather than
links us. The blood in the River comes from the millions slain by the military
industrial complex of the European states, it comes from the victims of the far
right and of the alt right. Powell begat them all and cast division amongst us
all. He stirred up fear and it is our blood that he risked staining not only
the River Tiber red but staining our souls and our thoughts... It has been over
fifty years of separation, isolation and prejudice. Look into the mirror and
see the faces of Farage and Trump looking back.
Forty years ago he was speaking to a
Monday Club meeting in the centre of Swansea. I remember picketing that meeting
and I am so glad I did. Powell left us s toxic legacy. let’s remove the stain
and drain our blood from the numerous rivers he polluted. I was at an English
Prep school in the Midlands in 1968. The teachers at the school loved Powell
and the racism and prejudice there was that of Powell. I have loathed his ilk
ever since.
