Bring Blithe Christmas Back Again!

In 1808 Sir Walter Scott pined for the days of “Merry England” in his Christmas poem “Marmion”. He mused wistfully for the time when,

“Old Christmas brought his sports again.”

“Merry England” is a romanticised depiction of early Elizabethan England, when the country experienced a tranquil state of stability and homogeneity. This weakened over successive regimes, and was even destroyed in the spare years of Cromwell. After the Restoration traditions were revived, including the ones that occurred over Christmas.

The Victorians were the most enthusiastic revivalists of Christmas traditions. They invented “Father Christmas” as a personification of Christmas values. He represents charity, generosity and is a benevolent presence for young children. Other traditions resumed and some still survive today, one is the reintroduction of “Mummers Plays”.

These take place on Boxing Day as part of a community festivity. Mummers are masked performers who re-enact famous battles from history but with theatrical licence.

These are still performed today in numerous villages across England, but the tone of the plays are much closer to Pantomime rather than serious drama. The irreverence contrasts sharply with the “mystery plays” which are traditionally performed over Easter. These are faithful renditions of the Death and Resurrection of Christ and have been performed across the country since the sixteenth century.

In spite of the frivolity some are inclined to take the Boxing Day events far too seriously. This became clear during a Mummers Play performance in Clun, on the Welsh borders. When the scene of St. George`s death was re-enacted a woman in the audience became so overwhelmed with emotion she threw herself upon St. George in an attempt to preserve his life.

We need to acknowledge the strength of affection that many of us share for our past and our rituals. Without our culture and traditions we will have no sense of identity or even meaning in our lives. These things are more important now than at any other time in our history.

Time for Grace and Dignity

(Picture is of St. Aidan)

The Remain contingent in this country are doubling down on their attacks upon the British people, especially Brexit voters. I was once a Remainer but became increasingly perturbed by the tactics employed by the European Union. Consequently I started to question the logic of this country remaining inside an organisation with little regard for the people.

I realised that I could no longer perceive any semblance of humanity, particularly surrounding the ethics of employment. Empathy for others seemed conspicuous by its absence. It simply did not occur to anyone responsible for employment rights that EU and British citizens alike were all individual human beings worthy of dignity and respect. Instead all were reduced to the status of replaceable cogs in a very well oiled machine.

Entire swathes of people have been disregarded and dehumanised in the pursuit of this European project. The tenor of the commentary has turned toxic and malicious and has centred on Brexit voters themselves. Anglophobia is now on overt display in every Left-wing publication and media source. George Orwell recognised this in 1941 when he spoke about the “emotional shallowness” of the Leftist intelligentsia. These are people who dwell only in a world of ideas instead of harsh reality.

The dignity and the grace of the British people and their history, particularly ancient history was movingly brought to life by Arthur Machen. Machen was a Welsh born author who died on this day in 1947. Machen had an innate sensitivity and understanding of the British identity. Perhaps it is more accurate to define his oeuvre as a body of work that reveals an acuity for the inner lives of the people of Albion. His work shows a profound insight into the people who lived under the shadow of Roman occupation and colonisation. Their haunted presence fills the pages, the reader witnesses and appreciates the proud culture of the Celtic Priests and Philosophers.

Machen felt a deep and enduring spiritual connection to this country. In spite of the heartless and malevolent voices on the Left this is a feeling of connection that is shared by many of us and we should never feel ashamed.

War Is Over

On the 1st of December 1971 John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band released “Happy Xmas (War Is Over). The song was a response to the Vietnam War, which had appalled a generation of Americans and in turn inspired a global movement for peace.

That year Lennon and Ono had relocated from London to New York. They left to seek greater artistic and creative opportunities as they felt stifled and confined in Britain. Most of their mutual friends and colleagues were based in New York and the move gave them the freedom to become individual artists. This was especially significant for Lennon as he could move away from the association with The Beatles and express his unique vision.

The songs that Lennon composed as a solo artist were entirely different from The Beatles, especially the songs that achieved commercial success. At the height of their popularity they were known and loved for the innocent songs about courtship like “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”. However in the latter years of the Lennon/McCartney partnership the songs took on profound themes about politics and morality.

Lennon and McCartney were suspicious of organised religion and the Church, and in 1966 Lennon boldly proclaimed that their music was “more popular than Jesus”. However both grew up as nominal Anglicans. When McCartney was a boy he sung in the choir at St. Barnabas Church in Mossley Hill and Lennon`s first meeting occurred at a summer fete hosted by St Peter`s Church in Woolton. However the lyrics that underpin the 1967 single “All You Need Is Love” prove that the Christian message imbued their sensibilities as songwriters even if they refused to admit that they were still Christians.

Lennon`s crusade for peace culminated with this “Christmas record”. This is in fact a song with an overtly Christian message and entirely separate from the commercial secular music which still dominates the Charts. Lennon`s pleas to think of “the rich and the poor” and “the weak and the strong” is something that we should still think about each year.

Loneliness Is An Unconditional Ally.

2020 is an age of outrageous misinformation and propaganda, and to add insult to injury the prevalence of the Coronavirus has hampered the flow of truth and facts. In the past if a crisis of this magnitude occurred then the extraneous journalists would be divested of their positions and only experts would be drafted in to provide the necessary information to the public. However a small yet vocal minority opinion has grasped this tragedy to disseminate their poisonous rhetoric, even stooping to acts such as sabotage to impose their view upon others.

(Picture is of BLM extremists in Bristol, who damaged a statue of Edward Colston before throwing it into the canal. These activists took it upon themselves to destroy a statue that most Bristolians were actually quite fond of, but in an extraordinary act of self righteousness they believed that they should get rid of it themselves due to Colston`s link with slavery. Infantile actions like this were not condemned by the liberal minority in the country but celebrated, thereby demonstrating their own ignorance, philistinism and illiteracy as they failed to distinguish between artistic interpretations of the past and idolatry- believing that the statue was an example of the latter when it was actually the former).

Sabotage, slander, libel and the deliberate perversion of history were all utilised by a left wing cult. However the suppression of free artistic expression, sometimes violently was the most alarming aspect to this movement. Art is merely a reflection of history and society, as soon as any political dimension infiltrates its creation then the art will simply die. This is especially true with literature, which represents all facets of the human experience including those aspects which we would categorise as immoral.

Fifty years ago this month Yukio Mishima died. Mishima was a Japanese writer with a distinct and uncompromising view of his nation, its history and culture. He was fiercely patriotic and the disturbing circumstances that surrounded his death have been chronicled, examined and analysed. This notoriety overshadows his literary brilliance. He chronicled the lives of those on the margins of society, the miscreants, the deviants and the people that we instinctively avoid. These are characters who are more interesting to read about as they are belligerently individual.

In 1968 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize, but the nihilistic style that imbued his fiction seemed to be the factor that prevented him from receiving the award. Contemporary literary critics are almost overwhelmingly left-wing and it is dispiriting to realise this fact. The utopian vision of society idealised by those on the left is severely inhibiting creativity and thought. These are fixed ideas held by people too obstinate to consider alternatives and as a consequence entire sections of the literary community have been effectively silenced. In conclusion we need to read more fiction which is transgressive to allow the art form to innovate and to progress.

Devilish Rites.

(Picture is from the Marsden Fire Festival, Yorkshire UK- which commemorates Imbolc, or St. Brigid`s Day-an ancient Celtic ritual to mark the end of winter).

Guy Fawkes Night is a perennial fixture of British culture. However much that has been written and spoken about it is surrounded by falsehood. Firstly the people of Jacobean England were entirely different to the urbane sophisticates who live amongst us today. It is therefore completely inappropriate to judge them and their actions by our modern standards. Secondly Guy Fawkes` Gunpowder Plot was so much more than a religious conflict, and it is time to challenge the conventional belief and the lazy arguments proffered from certain political commentators. Often it is presented as a simplistic battle for Catholic emancipation under a tyrannical Protestant King, but history as we know is much more complicated.

When Queen Mary 1 ascended the throne in 1553 she re-established Roman Catholicism as the official religion of England. Consequently, her hard line policy of religious fundamentalism lead to widespread Protestant persecution. Some managed to escape the country but for those who remained and refused to denounce their faith the ultimate punishment awaited them. Nearly 300 Protestants were burnt at the stake under her reign, which was nicknamed the age of “Bloody Mary”. Even after Mary Tudor`s death many communities of Protestants could never forgive or forget the level of murderous bigotry propagated in the name of the Catholic religion.

Her successor, her half-sister Elizabeth 1 reconstituted Protestantism as the official religion and surrounded herself with renowned counsels, including the mystic Dr. John Dee.

Dee was responsible for choosing the date of her coronation. However many Catholics opposed her reign and attempted to depose her in favour of her Catholic cousin Mary Queen of Scots. However these rebellions were swiftly ended. Elizabeth`s successor King James faced similar rebellions including the infamous Gunpowder Plot.

In William Harrison Ainsworth`s 1840 novel “Guy Fawkes” this controversial figure is depicted as a pious, superstitious person convinced that he is on a divine mission to restore the true religion. In one especially baroque interlude Fawkes appears to witness John Dee exhuming the body of a Catholic martyr and proclaiming that Fawkes is practicing “devilish rites”.

Ainsworth is excellent at portraying a feverish populace consumed with self-righteousness. It is this kind of self-righteousness that lead to the inhuman plot to murder for a cause. We must always remember that this kind of blind piety should never foil our way of life.

Heart Of Oak

215 years ago Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson and his fleet of brave men defeated the combined might of French and Spanish Naval forces at the Battle of Trafalgar. In the triumphant victory Nelson lost his life. Nelson was a humble parson`s son who harboured a great ambition to join the Royal Navy and to defend his country.

His ambition was shared by many of his compatriots, then and since. As we are an island nation we depend upon a strong Navy.

However Britain has always clashed with rival nations. Spain, France, Portugal and the Netherlands were formidable foes in the 18th and 19th centuries and Germany became a major threat in the twentieth century. The German Navy was defeated in the First World War after the Battle of Jutland in 1916, and again in the Second World War after the Battleship Bismarck was sunk in 1941.

The Royal Navy`s official motto and marching song is “Heart Of Oak”. Originally this was a reference to the resilience of the wood that was utilised in the construction of its ships. However over the years it has had a symbolic meaning. It symbolises the courage of all of the people who have served in the Royal Navy and this still resonates with us every year. There may be fewer hostilities that threaten us but this is in part due to the vital role that the Navy still plays in maintaining peace.

A Country Of Extremes.

(Portrait of Frederick Douglass).

In 1869 the American writer and social reformer Frederick Douglass went on a nation-wide speaking tour. In one notable address he described his country as “a country of all extremes”. At that time the country had only just passed a law prohibiting slavery and the prospect of reconciliation and redemption looked distant. However Douglass possessed a rare gift. He had a unique insight as a former slave but in spite of his experience he could perceive the inherent humanity of all Americans.

His tremendous ability to forgive and even converse with the people who once owned and brutalised him and his community was extraordinary. His magnanimity was profound and sincere. He was convinced that people of all races could change the nation for the greater good, even proclaiming that “we are the most fortunate of nations and beginning our ascent”.

(Picture is of William Howard Taft, former US President and Chief Justice).

William Faulkner was another writer who had his own unique gifts and perceptions of this nation of all extremes. He was born in Oxford, Mississippi in 1897 to an established Southern family. His great-grandfather was a veteran of the Civil War and his exploits became a part of family legend but he was also acutely aware of the darker side to his family`s history.

(William Faulkner)

Faulkner was troubled by this aspect of his heritage all of his life. As a young boy he became quiet and withdrawn and a habitual truant. As a much older man he became increasingly dependent upon alcohol and this contributed to his premature death. It was this acute sensitivity which allowed him to write so perceptively about the dehumanising and raw experience of enslaved African Americans. His unflinching style of writing was composed in a demotic language unburdened by linguistic convention.

His work attracted numerous plaudits and in 1949 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. At the award ceremony he was nervous and intimidated. Not one attendant in the audience could actually hear the words of his speech as he was so shy and anxious. The significance of his words were only realised after the speech was reproduced in the newspapers that following day. The speech is now part of literary history and it is widely quoted. It is even paraphrased by people who are otherwise oblivious of the history. The most striking and memorable part is his insistence that “the poet`s voice need not be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail”.

In our contemporary world the extremes and disparities of America have come under scrutiny yet again. It is difficult to predict the consequences of an ugly and divisive election campaign, it seems that this is all part of the vagaries of Presidential politics. However we must never forget the power of words to change and to move all people.

Tropes and Fears.

Last month Stephenie Meyer (above) released her latest novel “Midnight Sun” and the backlash that she received was immediate and rather predictable. It is ostensibly the prequel to “Twilight” told from the perspective of Edward Cullen, the Vampire character. Critics instantly leapt on to the apparent inadequacies of the narration, failing to recognise the central point that Cullen isn`t human, he is a Vampire and wouldn`t reason or perceive things normally. This is part of a recognisable literary tradition where novelists use an “unreliable narrator”. Writers like Emily Bronte, Mark Twain and J.D. Salinger have utilised this as a literary device to recount tales which are often troubling, contentious and/or emotive.

The most predictable criticism has emerged from the unlikely alliance of radical feminists and traditionalists. The former camp focus upon the supposedly “abusive” relationship between Edward and Bella, the teenage girl who is drawn to him. Again these feminists ignore the context of the story, and their outrage simply represents a collective failure of their imaginations. Art has always reflected troubling concepts and is therefore entirely separate from any political or moral convention. The latter camp are male critics and writers who often misunderstand the complexities of female romantic desires and the female experience generally. Their perspective of women`s sexuality is crude and reductive.

These traditionalists categorise women into three stereotypes, which have always been maiden, wife/mother or prostitute. These writers and critics cannot understand Bella or her motivations as she does not fit any of these categories, she is much more complicated. Ian McEwan fell into the same trap when he wrote “On Chesil Beach”, the story of Florence, a “maiden” on her honeymoon.

However McEwan appeared to be so fixated upon Florence`s “maiden” status that he seemingly forgot to write about the rest of her character.

In traditional novels only men can have interesting inner lives but women are solely defined by their sexuality. The character or notion of the Vampire is an example of a “trope”, which is defined as “a significant or recurrent literary theme or motif”. These themes and motifs are often used as metaphors for the human experience. Anne Rice used the Vampire as an allusion to the fear and panic that surrounded the AIDS crisis. Her novels then influenced Meyer who was a teenager in the 1980s and grew up in the strict atmosphere of the Mormon religion.

Meyer`s depiction of Edward is another representation of the fear that suffused sexuality in the wake of AIDS, and the connotations of danger that also surround sex. Meyer`s depiction of Bella is a masterful evocation. She is an adolescent who yearns for meaning but she is fearful of the world. Consequently the arrival of Edward and his Vampire family prove to be both alluring and captivating. Edward`s nemesis is Jacob, a werewolf from an ancient Native American family.

His family are from an entirely separate tradition. In native lore werewolves are symbols of courage and loyalty. In contrast Vampires are representatives of a much darker force of nature, but the promise of immortality is the key to their appeal. Bella must choose one path to her own destiny.

The path that we all choose to travel on is often fraught with danger of some kind, that is the nature of human existence. We are often faced with the choice between loyalty to our old way of living, and the promise of a more fulfilling life by breaking with our past. This is essentially the moral fable that lies behind “Midnight Sun”.

The Unsung Literary Talent of Jackie Collins.

Five years ago this month the bestselling author Jackie Collins died. In the minds of literary purists she was sniffily dismissed as a purveyor of filth and soft pornography. However she was so much more than her outrageous reputation suggests, she had a rare gift of capturing character. Some of the greatest writers struggle to create three dimensional characters and to produce a corresponding narrative that is convincing to the reader, Collins was the expert.

However entering Collins` milieu is like stepping into a bacchanalian play where conventional morals have been cast aside. The dominant motivation is simply ego, and she exposes how fragile this is especially within the male roles. The female characters have their frailties as well, but they also possess a sense of cunning. The scenes within her books are filled with disturbing levels of tragedy that would rival the likes of Anton Chekhov, spirits and hearts are broken in the wake of sheer naked ambition.

The apotheosis of Collins` career was the creation of the “Santangelo” saga of novels which featured Lucky Santangelo as the protagonist. These focus on the exploits of the daughter of a notorious criminal family. She is both clever and conniving and always gets what she wants, especially from men. Collins inspiration for all of her characters came from the most disreputable corners of show business and celebrity. Her gift was to burst the pomposity and self-importance that imbue the various creatures that inhabit such worlds. This is often evident in the supposedly raunchy interludes where seduction or attempted seduction takes place.

Collins was a gifted writer but also an amazing businesswoman who made a tremendous fortune. Everyone remembers the glamour that surrounded her, from her enormous Hollywood mansion and cars, to her penchant for leopard skin rugs and couture. Her life was fabulous and enviable, and she seemed almost eternally beautiful with her lustrous hair and slim figure. She became the inspiration for a new generation of female writers who were not afraid of exploring taboo subjects.

Crossing the Ford of Jabbok:

The Original “Culture War”.

“Culture War” has now become a hackneyed phrase which is almost devoid of its actual meaning. It is used in a flippant and trivial way without any real or thoughtful consideration of its origins, which date back to religious persecution in nineteenth century Germany.

(Picture is of Cologne Cathedral).

In Biblical times Jacob wrestled with the Angel and this became a pattern of struggle throughout history. There has always been a very real conflict between defending personal conviction or belief against the oppression and dominance of majority opinion.

In 1873 the German Government perceived a growing threat from the Catholic Church and they grew sufficiently alarmed by their influence to introduce legislation. These became known as the “Falk Laws”. These laws limited Catholic participation in areas like education. However many priests faced persecution for simply providing religious education in private homes and anyone who assisted them faced fines, arrests and imprisonment. In 1874 the Bishop of Trier Matthias Eberhard died after serving nine months in prison. Other clergy lost their livelihoods entirely.

In the face of oppression and persecution many German Catholics sought asylum. In 1875 an emigrant ship bound for New York left from the port of Bremen. The voyage was intended to include Southampton but disaster unfolded when the ship struck a sandbank on the Thames Estuary. All of the 57 passengers who died were German Catholics and this included 5 nuns.

It is time that we acknowledged the courage of the real fighters in the culture war and put aside the petty squabbling that is erroneously attributed to a supposed culture war which hasn`t actually lead to persecution and death.