‘WATCH THE WALL MY DARLING, WHILE THE GENTLEMEN GO BY’ These days we are used to hearing about the darker side of nursery rhymes. We know that ‘Ring a Ring o’Roses’ is all about the plague, and that ‘Little Miss Muffet’ probably refers to a certain Dr Muffet who crushed up spiders and used them as medicine for his patients (including his daughter). But it’s sometimes a bit unnerving to read a poem that probably seemed quite charming in its original context, but then takes on a darker meaning in the 21st Century. ‘Smugglers’ Song’ by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1930) is a rhythmic and mysterious poem, where a child is told by a parent to face the wall and to ask no questions if she hears horses' hooves at midnight: Five and twenty ponies, Trotting through the dark — Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk; Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie — Watch the wall, my darling,  While the Gentlemen go by Kipling’s smugglers are ‘gentlemen’, romantic figures bringing brandy

MENSTRUATION. THE MYTHS, THE MADNESS AND THE QUEST FOR DIGNITY THE WISE WORDS OF PLINY THE ELDER! Well, if you haven’t heard what Pliny had to say about menstruation, be ready to be astonished at the remarkable insights of this Roman sage (23-79 AD) who confidently declared that: Contact with [menstrual blood] turns new wine sour, crops touched by it become barren, grafts die, seed in gardens are dried up, the fruit of trees fall off, the edge of steel and the gleam of ivory are dulled, hives of bees die, even bronze and iron are at once seized by rust, and a horrible smell fills the air; to taste it drives dogs mad and infects their bites with incurable poison So, there we have it. The power of the period. And you won’t be surprised to know that dear old Pliny was only one of many many men who have felt entitled to give their crackpot views about a normal bodily function. Medieval writing shows them to be terrified of menstrual blood, seeing it as a deadly poison, linking it to lepros

Image is a link to: https://plinth.uk.com/collections/keepers-exhibition   Art, Barbie and the Women’s World Cup It’s July. The school holidays have started. Politicians are disappearing into rabbit holes to lick their wounds and invent ever more grotesque policies. The NHS staggers on, war rages in Ukraine and holiday makers are getting upset that 48 degree temperatures are turning beaches into no-go areas.  But, in the good old Roman tradition of bread and circuses, it’s the time of year when media attention often turns to blockbuster films and major sporting events, so let’s focus our attention there and try to make some sense of what’s going on.  ‘Keepers’ It’s worth taking a look at a rather interesting online art exhibition that has recently opened. Entitled ‘Keepers’ , it reminds us that men have long been the key gatekeepers and rule-makers for sport.  The exhibition is on until 31 August and includes a wonderful take on the table football game that still dominates so many pubs

  SANCTUARY, REFUGE, COMPASSION Supporting refugee women Refugee Week  - 19 to 25 June 2023 Refugee Week takes place every year in June. Everyone is invited to take part in this world-wide festival of art and culture celebrating the remarkable contributions of refugees. If you take a look at the wonderful website www.refugeeweek.org.uk you will find information, ideas and suggestions about how you might get involved, ranging from simply reading a poem to joining a major campaign. The theme for this year is Compassion, and how we might extend our own circles of compassion, referencing Einstein, who spoke of ….widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. And they have this specially designed poster available for anyone to download. A terrible irony It’s horrible to see, in the midst of the positive waves of support for refugees and all the preparations for the festival, that appalling tragedies continue. As Refugee Week appro

  Taking a Stand on Hats! Where did you get that hat? On May 6th an elderly chap who had just inherited a new job also received a new hat to go with the post. It   was carefully placed on his head by the Archbishop of Canterbury who is no stranger himself to a bit of jaunty headgear. At this point the   historians among you will surely recall the immortal words of King Frederick the Great, who grumbled that: ‘A crown is just a hat the lets the rain in’. A rather more precise definition of a ‘proper’ hat is available for any women planning to enter the Royal Enclosure at Ascot. Ladies must wear a hat or headpiece with a solid base of 4 inches in diameter in the Royal Enclosure. Fascinators are not permitted. Novelty hats (i.e. ones which are excessively oversized, or are promoting or marketing any product or brand) are not permitted. In fact it is really quite remarkable to think about how much time has been squandered on making up rules about what constitutes acceptable headg

SOUND THE TRUMPET ! (But not for John Knox) The Monstrous Regiment In 1558 John Knox (1514-1572)  wrote a pamphlet denouncing gynarchy. ‘The First Blast of the Trumpet’, was a tirade against what he called ‘The Monstrous Regiment of Women’ . A firebrand Protestant leader of the Scottish Reformation, he managed to offend a number of powerful women by writing such things as: To promote a woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion, or empire above any realm, nation, or city, is repugnant to nature; contumely to God, a thing most contrary to his revealed will and approved ordinance; and finally, it is the subversion of good order, of all equity and justice. Several royal women took exception to his ranting. They included: Mary 1 of England, also known as Bloody Mary and well known for her vicious methods of persecuting Protestants Mary of Guise, Regent of Scotland and mother of Mary Queen of Scots, who ridiculed him. Mary Queen of Scots herself, who, although she ‘feared’ Knox’s prayers, re

  Persist and Prevail! How many people realised, noticed or even cared that March 8th was International Women’s Day, or that the whole of the month of March is designated as Women’s History Month? The Radio Times The covers of the Radio Times during the first two or three weeks of March 2023 didn’t offer many clues. In fact, any passing alien looking at some of the front covers, would be hard put to know that women even existed. It wasn’t much better once you looked at the programme menus inside the RT, which, remember, does seek to inform much of the population about the multitudes of viewing and listening opportunities available every week. If you searched the pages covering March 8th (International Women’s Day), you might have noticed the occasional nod to it – Film4 screened ‘Little Women’ and Radio 3 valiantly celebrated forgotten women composers. BBC Sounds and Lucy Worsley did their very best too,  But there was not much else going on unless you believe that a repeat of  The Six