Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's first decree as president of Mexico brought in the creation of a truth commission for the Ayotzinapa missing students case.
Over four years since 43 student teachers were forcibly disappeared in Guerrero, and despite ongoing calls from international groups such as Amnesty International, little has been done to identify the people responsible for the crime. Many have criticised former Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto as sidelining the case and refusing to effectively investigate the crime.
Following a number of setbacks in the former government, it has taken the handing over of power for progress to finally be made.
Considered one of the country's more notorious unsolved crimes by Al Jazeera, the majority of Mexican citizens are aware of the disappearances and the apparent government failings into bringing justice to the families of the missing students.
It was in September 2014 that a student protest led to clashes with police in the town of Iguala. A bus of 43 students was then stopped by police and has not been heard from since, amidst allegations that the boys were handed over to organised crime groups. It has long been suspected that police were involved with the disappearance of the students and to this day it is unclear what happened to the group.
The orchestrators of the attack initially pointed to local police who have been connected to criminal organisations, however, eye-witness accounts also suggest other areas of Mexican security, police and military were involved. Since 2014, stories of the viciousness of the student attack have grown and a number of mass graves have been located, but the students remains have not been identified.
Branded a crime against humanity, the disappearance and apparent cover-ups from leading players called into question the former government's ability to control crime in a country rife with corruption. In March of this year, the UN accused Mexico of torture in the aftermath of the disappearances and inadequate answers on the events.
To further point out the failings of the former government, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International was quoted as stating there has been a political reasoning behind the case which suggests deliberate concealment of the truth.
"The Mexican government has gone out of its way to impede the creation of a special investigative commission to investigate the Ayotzinapa case, as ordered by a federal court, which ruled that this was the only way to salvage an investigation plagued with irregularities and evidence tampering," she said.
In a complete change of pace to the PRI, this Monday's statement by the new president announced the commission's creation and reiterated his campaign promises to end impunity and reduce the violence in his country.
"The whole government is going to help with this plan and I can assure you that there will be no impunity either in this sad and painful case or in any other," he is quoted as saying at the gathering.
According to plans for the new commision, it will consist of the parents of the missing students as well as legal representatives, ministers, criminal experts and investigative specialists.


Now, "for fans who prefer torrid temperatures" (Midwest Book Reviews), USA Today bestselling author Shayla Black takes great pleasure in exploring the heated games between the best of friends.
Here are three hot guys always ready and within reach, and she's never seemed interested. There must be a lucky mystery man somewhere who's been satisfying the girl of their secret dreams. The three pals plan to find out. And when they do, they'll see a side of Kelsey they've only dared to fantasize about.


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Author: Karen Hart
March, 2015 Issue
NorthBay biz celebrates its 40th anniversary with a look at how health care in the region has changed over the years.
Health care in the United States has changed dramatically. Fifty years ago, the hospital experience included lengthy stays; treatments for cancer, heart disease and stroke were limited; it was routine for patients and staff to light up cigarettes on hospital grounds; and, if you were a married woman with cancer, there was a good chance you wouldn't be informed of your diagnosis, though your husband likely would be. Prevention strategies weren't part of the vocabulary.
"We didn't understand what caused diseases such as cancer and heart disease," says Joel Sklar, M.D., chief medical officer at Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae. "Back then, we were passing out cigarettes to soldiers in foxholes. It took a generation to change that habit. Since then, we've learned that diet, exercise and stress management can prevent disease. Now we're aware how life expectancy is impacted by lifestyle."
There have also been major changes in dental care following the emergence of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), as well as the advent of dental implants and tooth-colored composites.
In recent decades, there have been stunning innovations in health care, and prevention strategies have become key to overall health. Here's how health care has changed in the North Bay over the years.
50+ years of service
Santa Rosa Memorial is celebrating 65 years of caring this year. On January 1, 1950, Sister Rita Rudolph officially opened its doors. The hospital was a 90-bed facility, staffed by 10 sisters, 93 employees and a medical staff of 70 physicians and surgeons. On that first day, 12 patients were admitted to the hospital and three babies were born.
The hospital was founded to fulfill a need for health care, post World War II. Community leaders invited the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange to come to Santa Rosa. A fund-raising campaign to build the hospital was launched in 1947, and the citizens of Sonoma County rallied together to make it happen. "From its inception, the establishment of the hospital—and all of our services that followed—arose out of a community need and vision," says Katy Hillenmeyer, communications and marketing director of St. Joseph Health in Sonoma County. At the time, The Press Democrat reported that "bars and liquor stores, beauty parlors, cafes, hotels, men, women, boys and girls—everybody was eager to contribute his bit" toward raising the needed funds.
Ultimately, donors raised more than $355,000, and the balance of the building's estimated cost ($1.8 million) was financed by the sisters. (A 90-bed hospital built today would roughly cost $270 million.) The hospital was named to honor local men and women who served and died during World War II.
Today, Memorial is St. Joseph Health's flagship Sonoma County hospital and the largest hospital in the North Bay, with 278 beds. In 2000, it became the region's designated Level II Trauma Center, equipped to care for the most critically injured and ill patients. Last, year, patient care was expanded in the emergency department to a 26-bed facility. Memorial's Heart and Vascular Institute is among the region's leading providers of care to patients suffering from the most deadly form of heart attack, known as a STEMI (an acronym for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction).
Marin General Hospital (MGH) has been providing care in Marin County since 1952. Its Marin Cancer Institute, launched in the early '80s, is recognized as one of the premier facilities for cancer care in California.
How has cancer care changed over the years? "While cancer is still frightening, people realize it's far more curable today than in the past and that every cancer patient has a reason for hope," says Francine Halberg, M.D. "I used to see women who thought that having breast cancer was automatically a death sentence. Now, if caught early, the cure rate is generally excellent and the risk of recurrence often is very low. This is a golden era for oncology research, with major breakthroughs that promise better, more tailored cures."
There's also a stronger emphasis today on prevention. "Any woman who gets a mammogram fills out a questionnaire that we use to calculate her risk," says Halberg. "Then we discuss preventive steps ranging from better nutrition to stress management, weight loss and exercise."
The hospital has also made great strides in cardiac services. In 1975, its heart unit consisted of only four beds, but its cardiac services grew steadily in the decades that followed. In 1977, David Sperling, M.D., a cardiologist at the hospital, introduced a formal rehabilitation program for patients, which led to the Total Atherosclerosis Management (TAM) Program by Mark Wexman, M.D., 10 years later. (The TAM Program consisted of an eight-week schedule for cardiac patients and involved 12 hours of direct physician coaching, individualized nutrition and exercise counseling, and more.)
During the '80s, the MGH cardiology unit evolved rapidly with the development of a catheterization lab, open-heart surgery capabilities and a heart unit that was expanded to 24 beds. Coronary intervention such as angioplasty and stenting (procedures used to open blocked arteries) were introduced in 1990. By 1993, new strategies for the treatment of heart attack patients resulted in two- to three-day hospital stays, compared to one- to two-week stays a few years earlier.
Today, prevention is a big part of cardiology, according to Sperling. "Marin County patients are health conscious and recognize the benefits of proper diet, exercise and weight control."
The hospital has been ranked by Healthgrades among the top 100 in the nation for its coronary care unit and catheterization lab two years in a row (2014 and 2015). "We've been able to achieve superb times in opening up blocked arteries associated with heart attacks," says Sperling. "Whereas the gold standard across the country is 90 minutes, our average heart attack patient has the artery opened in less than 45 minutes."
In 1972, farm worker Placido Garcia had a question for local Hispanic leaders at a meeting he attended in Napa County: Why didn't the county offer health care to low-income patients without insurance? His question led to the opening of a new community health center—Clinic Ole—several months later.
Clinic Ole's early days were humble. It operated out of a tiny room above La Luna Market in Rutherford, providing immunizations to children of mostly Hispanic farm workers. Staff members were volunteers from the local medical community.
Today, Clinic Ole continues to provide affordable care and is one of the largest employers in Napa County (with 176 staff members) and operates health centers at eight sites, serving 25,000 patients each year.
"We work with families and the community. We feel it's our job to keep our community healthy. Our philosophy has remained the same for 42 years," says Tanir Ami, chief executive officer.
There have been other notable changes over the years. First, there's been a shift in the demographics of the patients the clinics serve. In the early years, the vast majority of patients (90 percent) were Hispanic. Today, 60 percent of their patient population is Hispanic and 40 percent is Caucasian.
Second, its electronic medical records system (EMR) lets practitioners proactively engage with patients in the interest of preventive care. "We can see now that diabetes is a problem and bring our patients together for classes on how to manage it through exercise and nutrition," says Ami. "The ability to proactively engage in preventive health—that's an epic change. As a nation, we're just on the brink of it. In the next 40 years, we'll have the ability to maximize [this information] and get ahead of chronic conditions. We're in the infancy stage."
Last fall, Clinic Ole announced plans to build a new medical office building, which is expected to cost up to $24 million. The facility will more than double the space the health center currently occupies on Pear Tree Lane.
Marin Community Clinics (MCC) has been providing affordable health care to the uninsured and low-income residents of Marin County since 1972. In the early days, the clinic operated out of church basements and the staff included volunteer physicians and nurses.
Today, MCC serves about 35,000 patients per year. The clinic employs 300 staff members and operates four clinics, two teen clinics and three dental clinics throughout Marin County. "We have a wonderful staff that's mission-driven, and that mission is to take care of patients in a caring and competent way. That's what it's all about," says Linda Tavaszi, chief executive officer.
How has health care changed for the clinic in the past 40+ years? "What's key is the phenomenal growth and development made possible by the changes and improvements in delivery of care by everyone," says Tavaszi. "The focus on prevention in the last 40 years is a big change. We have approximately 16,000 children and, therefore, we're heavily invested in wellness and prevention." To live longer and live better, the clinics promote a healthy diet, regular exercise and early screenings, says Tavaszi.
Recently, MCC and LIFT-Levantate partnered to curb childhood obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. This collaborative effort provides organic, local food through the food bank every week and provides screenings for diabetes and blood pressure.
Steven Wilburn, DMD, of Santa Rosa, who's been practicing dentistry for 32 years, notes three major changes in dentistry during his career.
First, AIDS forced dental care providers to wear protective equipment such as gloves, masks and eye protection. "All employees must wear protective equipment. It's much more stringent today, and it started with the AIDS epidemic," says Wilburn.
Second, dentistry has evolved away from amalgams (an alloy of mercury with various metals used for dental fillings) to tooth-colored composites for back-teeth fillings. This change is driven more by public perception of the hazards of mercury than by scientific evidence, says Wilburn, but the cosmetic advantage of tooth-colored composites also makes them popular. "Amalgam is much more rarely used these days," he adds.
And finally, dental implants have begun replacing bridges and dentures. Dental implants are costly and the majority of insurance companies don't cover them, but Wilburn expects they'll become much more common in the years ahead.
Some things haven't changed. Regular checkups, brushing your teeth twice per day and flossing once per day is still the best way to prevent dental problems. "Ninety percent of dental disease [such as tooth decay and gum disease] is preventable," he says. Taking preventive measures has been the mantra from dental care providers during Wilburn's career. "Unfortunately, human nature is the main obstacle to good oral hygiene," according to Wilburn. As for the future of dental care, he says, "Everything is always evolving; dentists have to maintain education to keep up with changes in the field."
Ted DeGolia, DDS, has been practicing dentistry in Santa Rosa since 1983. Perhaps the greatest changes during his career, he says, is that people are taking a greater interest in the way their smiles look and prevention is emphasized more today.
As people are developing better oral hygiene routines, there's been a great reduction in cavities in both adults and children, he says. There's been a reduced intake of foods that cause cavities such as soft drinks (which contain a damaging combination of phosphoric acid and sugar), more frequent checkups and improved home hygiene. "Better education, nutrition, home hygiene and increased frequency of dental visits have greatly reduced the number of extractions and extent of periodontal surgery," says DeGolia.
In addition, tooth whitening is now easier, there have been improvements in restorative materials such as metal-free fillings and crowns. Implant dentistry has greatly reduced the number of dentures and bridges. There's also been an increased involvement by dental providers in health issues not directly related to teeth. Some examples include discussing prevention strategies and diagnosing oral cancer, and helping patients with sleep problems such as snoring. The face of dental care is also changing as dental providers are specializing in various areas such as pedodontists (children), periodontists (gums) and more.
What can we expect in the decades to come? "Dental disease is microbrial [bug] based, so with an increased understanding of the microbes involved and the way to control them, we should see a continued reduction in dental problems," says DeGolia. "Implant dentistry will continue to improve. I expect—and would love to see—the further development of regeneration procedures. There's the possibility that, in the next half century, we'll see the regrowth of gums, bone and tooth structure. We may even see the entire regrowth of a new tooth."
Elizabeth Culhane, M.D., is a pediatrician with Annadel Medical Group in Santa Rosa. About 20 years ago, pediatricians routinely made hospital visits, the Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine was still new, and parents were concerned whether the MMR vaccine (for measles, mumps and rubella) caused autism due to a since-debunked medical study that made headlines. What's more, childhood obesity was not a major concern among doctors.
Since then, two notable changes in pediatric care have taken place. First, care has become more focused in the office as well as the hospital settings. "Generally, I don't go to the hospital very often [for inpatient care] or ER emergencies," says Culhane. Instead, care is becoming more specialized as physicians focus on either inpatient or outpatient care. It allows for better patient care in those settings and a better lifestyle for physicians, she adds. For example, at SRMH, Culhane's colleagues who practice as pediatric hospitalists treat patients who require hospitalization and are onsite to support their young patients 24/7.
Second, today's pediatricians spend much of their time today providing "anticipatory guidance" by advising parents and children on ways to prevent accidents and injuries by using car seats and bike helmets, baby-proofing their homes and locking up firearms.
As for prevention of disease, whether or not to vaccinate is a major concern among parents today. "We're pro-vaccine," says Culhane. The MMR vaccine, which was linked to autism in a medical report, is safe; the study was found to be fraudulent in 2010. Nevertheless, Culhane still fields questions about the MMR vaccine, and the chicken pox vaccine is now required for kindergarten entrance in California.
Childhood obesity, though always on the radar for pediatricians, has jumped to the foreground in recent years. Today, preventing childhood obesity is among the most widespread concerns of health experts, including pediatricians and St. Joseph Health Promotores de Salud, who work at the grassroots to combat obesity among school age children. "We follow a child's height and weight at every visit. If the BMI is approaching or higher than the 85th percentile, that's our red flag to start intervening before it becomes more of a problem. We encourage parents to provide healthy [food] choices, and recommend one hour of activity at least five or six times per week," she says.
What can we expect in the years ahead? A more integrated delivery system, says Culhane, which would involve an array of services all interconnected with electronic medical records (EMR), which includes accessing records to all services, such as inpatient and outpatient care, X-ray services, lab services, specialty care and more, which lets providers communicate with each other to provide more efficient care.
According to Victoria Morgese, M.D., a pediatrician in Napa, the relationship between pediatricians and parents has changed significantly—and for the better—in the last two decades. "Today, the parent and pediatrician are partners. We as pediatricians don't dictate care. Rather, we provide evaluation and information so we can make informed decisions together," she says.
As for prevention and wellness, pediatrics has always been focused on keeping children healthy and well, she says. "Today, there are renewed efforts to educate the public, especially in the North Bay, on the importance of vaccines and disease prevention. This is because many parents are choosing to forgo vaccination of their children. We've seen a resurgence in measles and whooping cough in recent years, and it's concerning to see diseases that were virtually nonexistent in the United States 10 years ago."
In the future, Morgese expects to see more use of EMR, patient portals and new ways to connect and exchange information. She also anticipates a continued emphasis on childhood obesity. "I hope to see even more partnerships between health providers, public health, schools and parents, working together to combat this very serious health crisis."
Out of 17 high-income countries studied by the National Institutes of Health in 2013, the United States had the highest or near-highest prevalence of heart and lung disease, infant mortality, adolescent pregnancies, injuries and more, according to an online search. Together, such issues place the United States at the bottom of the list for life expectancy.
Why is this happening? "The biggest reason is societal," says Joel Sklar, M.D., chief medical officer at Marin General Hospital. "We have the best technology and the best care."
However, no amount of medical care can eradicate the significant problems Americans face as a result of drug additions, guns, homelessness and nutritional problems, which can cause Americans to be overfed but malnourished, he says.
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You are here: Home / Raptors Columns / Will Raptors GM Masai Ujiri Pull Off Another Miracle This Summer?
Will Raptors GM Masai Ujiri Pull Off Another Miracle This Summer?
It was almost funny when Raptors president and general manager Masai Ujiri asked the media for ideas to improve his roster this summer, this guy hasn't needed anyone's help at team building since he fleeced the New York Knicks in the Carmelo Anthony trade as the GM in Denver just over five years ago. What everyone in Toronto wants to know now is what rabbits (impact players) can Ujiri pull out of his hat for a team that made it to the Eastern Conference Finals but is so far over the anticipated 2016 NBA Salary Cap (counting cap holds) that landing a notable free agent from another team to take his squad to the next level seems remote.
Not sure there is a big splash to be made… They are going to struggle to keep this team together, let alone add to it.
The Raptors want to hold onto both of their own impact free agents, Bismack Biyombo and DeMar DeRozan, but while DeRozan has a manageable cap hold of just $15 million and will be easy to fit in even with a max dollar contract, the Raptors don't hold Biyombo's Bird Rights so they'll have to clear cap space to keep him.
Kerr is right, the Raptors can't keep everyone on the 2015-16 roster. If Ujiri keeps Biyombo, and there's every indication that it's a priority, then he'll have to trade/dump a player like Terrence Ross or Patrick Patterson to create the salary cap space to re-sign him. Even if Biyombo gives him the promised hometown discount, someone in the current rotation won't be back next season.
The thing is, no one foresaw the previous moves Ujiri has been able to pull off during his tenure as a GM ahead of time and it's almost a sure thing he's got something up his sleeve for this summer.
Ujiri seems cautious, deliberate and thoughtful when it comes to the art of making a deal. The Knicks know this all to well. However, he has taken big risks when it comes to pushing his team over the top. In his last big move for the Nuggets he brought in Andre Iguodala for two players and two draft picks and Denver set an NBA franchise record with 57 wins that season.
His first big move in Toronto three years ago was to fleece the Knicks again by getting three draft picks including New York's 2016 first round pick (9th overall) for the oft-injured Andrea Bargnani. It seems like Knicks owner James Dolan doesn't even want his executives to answer Ujiri's phone calls anymore.
Ujiri turned the Raptors fortunes from soft, weak lottery team fodder to Atlantic Division Champs in his first big trade before the calendar turned on his initial season with Toronto. Rudy Gay, along with Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray were foisted onto the Sacramento Kings for Chuck Hayes, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Greivis Vasquez. The Kings looked better but still weren't competitive. The Raptors became a team that could win and salvaged a fading season to win a franchise record 48 games.
The next summer Ujiri struck again, taking advantage of a Hawks franchise that's allergic to Luxury Tax by sending them the easily waived contract of John Salmons and getting soon-to-be 2014-15 NBA Sixth Man Lou Williams. It became a stop-gap-move for the Raptors as Williams wasn't the best fit with a defensive-minded head coach, but Toronto set a new franchise record with 49 wins because of Williams' offense. It could be argued in hindsight that Williams pushed head coach Dwane Casey out of his comfort zone and helped him grow as a coach, but is Ujiri really that good?
Think back to the days of Tim Leiweke's arrival in Toronto, the announcement of the NBA All-Star Game for this city and what seemed like a three-year plan to peak on the court when the bright lights of the NBA would be focused on the Raptors. Two years later in the summer of 2015, Ujiri camped out on Bismack Biyombo and DeMarre Carroll's doorsteps on the eve of free agency, swooped in on the Spurs Canadian free agent Cory Joseph, picked up veteran Luis Scola and the Raptors franchise changed again.
Ujiri used his close bond with Biyombo to convince the defensive-mined backup center from the Congo to take a contract for about half of what similar players were getting that summer and it worked out in spades for both of them. Biyombo proved he is one of the top young defensive centers in the NBA during the regular season and the playoffs and especially when he got his chances to start. He played so well that Ujiri is going to get a headache trying to re-sign him this summer even with both parties working hard to get a deal done.
Carroll played in last year's Eastern Conference Finals and Ujiri was looking for an experienced player he knew could fill a role on the Raptors. In hindsight the signing shouldn't have come as such a surprise. Ujiri had signed Carroll as a free agent in 2011 when he was the GM in Denver.
Carroll was injured for much of the regular season and struggled with injuries during the playoffs, so his impact on the season wasn't as big as anticipated. However, the rational was sound and the impact on the team's culture was there. Ujiri signed Carroll because he fit with how Casey wants to play – maybe the full benefit will show up on the court when Carroll returns healthy next season.
The Spurs couldn't sign free agent LaMarcus Aldridge without giving up their rights to Joseph and Ujiri pounced on the opportunity. Joseph is a young up-and-coming point guard who plays defense and let the Raptors All-Star Kyle Lowry play off the ball on offense and on the weaker of the opposition's guards on defense. A great addition who is expected to continue to get better for several more seasons.
The 36-year-old veteran power forward Luis Scola was better than anticipated. He hit 55 more three-pointers during the season than he had connected on during the rest of his NBA career combined providing a badly needed stretch four to start games in limited minutes. Scola couldn't always give the Raptors what they needed on the court, but he was a positive influence on a relatively young team that was trying to establish a winning culture.
This summer is bound to be different as Ujiri doesn't really have any wiggle room with his team's cap situation.
There's so little wiggle room that pursuing free agents other than DeRozan and Biyombo looks like a pipe dream. However, Ujiri has shown an ability to make the most out of every situation.
There will be deals made in Toronto this summer. Draft picks and/or young prospects that can be moved. Rotation players that could be traded to help take this team to the next level. It's even possible Ujiri brings back someone like James Johnson or Jason Thompson as a key reserve to stabilize the rotation if and when someone gets hurt (again) and it should not come as a surprise if Euroleague MVP and restricted free agent Nando De Colo somehow finds his way back to Toronto.
The only thing that can be taken from Ujiri's history is he's an opportunist who is ready to take advantage of things that in hindsight might/should have been foreseeable. So, what's out there that Ujiri can pounce on this off season that will look like another miracle move?
This entry was posted in Raptors Columns and tagged Masai Ujiri on June 3, 2016 by Stephen Brotherston.
I thing that Masai Ujiri should not make changes to the present team. Seeing what they have accomplished for this season, it was amazing. I don't think that any thought that the Raptors could have reached where they are righ now. They have made us Canadian Fans so proud of the team. i know for sure that the Raptors Team will win the Championship next time. They just have to keep the tempo going as a team. They have all achieved so much as a team. Hope that my sister and I can go to some of the games next season. My sister Lena is a died hard raptors fan. You cannot speak to her when the game is on. Sometimes I swear she is the home coach. She will alwys be yelling lets go raptors defend you can do it.


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Tag: Souls
The Spirit of the Depths and the Service of the Soul
June 15, 2020 June 16, 2020 10 Comments
'My soul, where are you? Do you hear me? I speak, I call you – are you there? I have returned. I am here again.'
In his Red Book Carl Jung speaks of refinding his soul and rebuilding his relationship with her after a period of soul loss. He was called to do this by 'the spirit of the depths' who is opposed to 'the spirit of this time':
'The spirit of this time would like to hear of use and value… that other spirit forces me nevertheless to speak beyond justification, use, and meaning… He took away my belief in science… my understanding and all my knowledge and placed them at the service of the inexplicable and the paradoxical. He robbed me of speaking and writing for everything that was not in his service.'
Jung records how the spirit of the depths opened his eyes to vision – to his soul, the things of the soul, and the soul world. This spirit forced Jung to stop treating his soul as a 'scientific object' and told him to 'call upon her as a living and self-existing being. I had to become aware that I had lost my soul.'
Once he reached that awareness Jung called out to his soul and encountered her as a person and as a living landscape. She appeared to him in a number of guises (all female) – as Salome, as the spirit of a dead girl (who forced him to eat her liver!), as a serpent, and as a 'small white bird'. She showed him a variety of visions, some of which predicted the First World War, some beautiful, most Hellish. She appeared to him as a desert, and, it may be argued, as the many places in Hell he explored.
Jung learnt that he is merely the 'symbol and expression' of his soul. She taught him that everything he does and says 'comes from and belongs to me'. Ultimately he entered 'the service of the soul'.
Jung's words are of interest not only because they contain a great deal of mystical depth and wisdom but because they remind me of my own calling to serve Gwyn ap Nudd, a god of Annwn ('the Deep' – the soul world in the Brythonic tradition) and to restore my relationship with my own soul.
Like Jung I was called away from service to 'the spirit of the times' by 'the spirit of the depths'.
From doing something 'of use and value' to the 'inexplicable' and 'paradoxical' – to 'the service of the soul'. This happened when I decided to write my PhD thesis on 'Imagination' in William Blake's prophetic books rather than trending topics and in my choice to write books based on personal visions that challenge the grounds of already obscure Brythonic/Welsh myths rather than a 'how to'.
It's only since I've accepted I'm never going to be able to make a living from such work and stopped using social media to publicise it I've managed to make space to journey and write more deeply.
Over the past month I've begun a quest, like Jung's, for 'a myth to live by', that has been calling me even further away from the myths that others recognise from the medieval Welsh texts. To visions of my gods that are more direct, unfiltered by Christianised narratives, but less recognisable and hence relatable (unless, as I hope, I ultimately succeed on touching, through the personal, on the universal…).
In this space, as a way of repairing my own soul loss, I have been reconsidering my relationship with my soul. This began the day I met Gwyn leading the fairy funeral procession on Fairy Lane in my home town of Penwortham. Unlike in the original legend in which the fairies were tiny black-clad men clad with red caps they were taller than me and dressed in Victorian funeral garments. Gwyn, who I didn't recognise, was wearing a black hat and leaning on a walking cane, his only recognisable feature being his long, silky white hair. As in the original the 'fairies' carried a coffin. And, like the hapless protagonist, I looked into the coffin and saw my own corpse. Only she looked 'other'. Gwyn told me "a part of your soul is trapped in Annwn" before revealing his identity.
When I started journeying to Annwn with Gwyn I was reunited with this lost part of my soul. She appears as a warrior-huntress (who I am and/or watch) aboard my white winged mare with hounds. She's everything I'm not – practical, courageous, able to fight, hunt her own food, survive in the forest.
At first I wondered whether this is simply facile wish fulfilment. Shouldn't I, a suburban muppet, be more like my usual bumbling, clumsy, scatter-brained self? To this Gwyn replied with a resounding "No!" and told me this is the exact form my soul needs to take to get work done in his world.
I wasn't completely certain she was my soul at first and I'm still not sure she's the whole of my soul. Yet I haven't found any other parts yet. I've has inklings in intuitions and dreams of past lives as a soldier and a nun but they feel like past selves my soul has inhabited rather than soul parts.
There is also the dark magician who sometimes shows up in my dreams and who I've chased through a number of books and who I've always kind of wanted to be if only I was good at magic. I spent a while wondering if he is my animus* but have reached the conclusion he has his own enigmatic existence, that dark magicians don't give away their secrets, and accepted him as a guide of sorts.
In contrast to Jung I've found that my soul rarely speaks to me. For the past eight years since I've journeyed with/as her she hasn't said a word and it's only since reading Jung I've tried to speak to her. This resulted in her telling me to 'be silent' and 'to come' (to see what she had to show me). This demonstrates it's not that she can't speak but she's not very talkative. I'm guessing this may be because I'm so full of words and chatter and her silence compensates like with our other qualities.
I think it's possible that my white winged mare and perhaps my hounds are also parts of my soul. I believe my mare has been with me since birth and am tentatively referring to her as 'my soul animal' or 'my spirit animal' (as opposed to 'a spirit animal') to avoid terms from other cultures such as 'power animal' or 'totem animal'. This manifested early on in me galloping round and round the playground on my own pretending to be a horse when the other children were playing games. Eventually I started horse riding and spending all my time at a local riding school working for rides, training as a riding instructor, and later returning to a career in horses after finishing my PhD.
And with horses there were always yard dogs – labradors, terriers, the crazy cocker spaniel I shared a mobile home with. Unlike with horses I've never had my own dog (my parents are cat people) so I've never got to know dogs that intimately. Whilst I generally feel at one with my horse I often feel like I'm full of yappy excitable hounds jumping up and down inside me that refuse to calm down. Like the dogs that come and shake all over me or out me when I'm meditating I find them annoying. Whilst I've only got one horse** my first hound guide was an old shaggy wolf hound and he was replaced by two young Hounds of Annwn when I decided to make my lifelong dedication to Gwyn.
So my current view contrasts with Jung's in that my soul appears as many parts at once. Also my soul is both male and female – my huntress is female, my mare is female, and both my hounds are male.
My main challenge in this deepening 'service of the soul' is learning to trust my soul. Putting aside my feelings of bitterness and resentment that my soul will never earn me any money and my fears that by following my soul away from known Brythonic mythology I may lose my already small audience.
But what are these fears compared to losing one's soul?
*Mainly because Jung states that that men have a female anima and women have a male animus – a gendered binary logic that doesn't ring true to me.
**Ok there's 'the dark horse' but I think he's a water-horse, a land spirit, rather than a part of my soul.
Ywen
dark guardian
guardian of Annwn
guardian of souls
guardian of mystery
guardian of us all
Swyn
October 5, 2018 October 5, 2018 1 Comment
'Swyn – charm or incantation; magic'
Kristoffer Hughes
This woodland will not be felled by the axe of man or god. I drift with the souls through the mist of blood. It is damp on my cheeks and eyelashes. This is not the time for weeping, but undoing what Gwydion has done. When the featherless wings brush my face I push them away lightly and set to work.
It must begin and end with a snake biting her tail.
It takes me weeks (in this place the weeks are counted by the dripping of the blood) to ease the snakeskin down from the trees, to sew up the tears, to stick the scales back on with super glue, then stretch it out in a circle around the woodland. Lastly I retrieve the skull, prop open the jaws with a strong branch, slip the end of the tail between them, give my instructions to those who will bring the end.
The toadstone with its antidote must form the centre.
With ropes I drag it out of the bloody pool of bones and feel like Sisyphus as I push it into the central grove. A lapwing calls "pee-wit, pee-wit" circling overhead, a red-eared hound sits at my side, and a doe watches fractiously from between the trees as I sponge off the blood and polish it with a yellow duster, beginning to hum a tune as the bufonite sparkles green as emerald beneath my touch.
In the jaws of the hundred-headed beast the gateways must be opened.
I leave the woodland and climb the hill to where the heads of the beast are piled up like a totem. Stepping inside each set of cavernous jaws I light a candle to illuminate each cave and redraw the gateways around each throat with a glow-in-the-dark marker pen and somewhere hear a belly rumble.
The eagle-feathered staff of the swynydd to reverse the swyn.
Slithering on damp bone I climb my way up slowly, a candle, a gateway, in every skull, to the very top. I wrest Gwydion's staff from between two skulls and shake his presence from it. Gently I untie the eagle feathers and watch them drift slowly to the ground like Lleu sung from the oak in Nant Lleu.
With a smile I tie on the feathers of the owl and speak a prayer to Blodeuwedd and all her kind. I call to my Lord of Annwn, Brân with his alder shield, Pryderi the swineherd dead before his time.
Beneath the stars of promise, seated on the top skull of the beast, one leg crossed over the other, I sing:
Blood drenched trees
beyond Caer Nefenhyr
souls amongst the trees
will you ever be free?
As I sing I see the trees awakening as if from a long sleep, staring about in horror, shaking off the blood. Birch is abashed by his blood-stained armour whereas Ash is proud of his splashes and scars. Golden Rod, afraid her beauty will be forever be marred, lays down her rods of golden flowers like swords.
From their bloody death-spots the souls unattach themselves, ease themselves out of the mist, the rain.
enchanted into warriors
woodland of lost souls
A bending of the boughs, a turning and circling in confusion, the deep rumbling voice of Oak as he argues with Holly again, the silvery tongue of Birch calming them, the dream-wisdom of Willow, the fire of Rowan, prickly Blackthorn playing devil's advocate, the squeak of clover demanding a say.
Souls fly like moths to the flame to the jaws of the beast. The green light of the toadstone begins to glow.
will you return to Annwn
with souls of mist and feather?
Will you accept freedom?
The green light soothes them and, as a woodland, as a whole, united by blood and mycelium they agree.
The souls step into the caverns, to the gateways, and the beast shudders to life. The snakeskin begins to twitch. I sense the end approaching like the snap of countless jaws as the snake bites her tail.
*This piece follows on Caer Nefenhyr and is based upon a spirit journey into the otherworldly landscape where 'the Battle of the Trees' took place.
A Speckled Crested Snake
September 11, 2018 September 11, 2018 1 Comment
'Neidyr vreith gribawc:
cant eneit trwy bechawt
a boenir yn y cnawt.'
'A speckled crested snake:
a hundred souls, on account of (their) sin,
are tortured in its flesh.'
The Battle of the Trees
rises, falls, slips, like heartache
through ashes in the wake
of worlds that rise and fall.
Handless, legless, she crawls
writhed by agonised calls
of a hundred doomed souls
that hang like birdsong – whole
legions swallowed in halls
where the live can't follow
where they're pierced by sorrows –
sins lined in endless rows.
They drown in her venom
which sears, abrades, strips them
of skin, flesh, bone, wisdom
of pain making them one
with her: scaled, speckled. None
escapes as she writhes on.
She seeks a hundred more.
Feeds, grows, fattens, on war.
No-one can stop her maw
devouring what we've left.
No spear can bring her death.
No word can end her breath.
We'll be inside her soon.
'A speckled crested snake / rises, falls, slips like heartache / through ashes in the wake / of worlds that rise and fall.'
Twrand o'r Gyre
'A hen got hold of me –
a red-clawed one, a crested enemy;
I spent nine nights
residing in her womb'
The Hostile Confederacy
Bird-Head
"The witch Ceridwen made me like this."
He reminds me of one of Baskin's cave birds:
the bare white skull with its long maxilla,
the sclerotic ring,
the way he stares just 'so' like a raptor,
cervical vertebrae twisting down
to feathered shoulders.
Immediately I have questions
I know I shouldn't ask –
like where he got his cloak,
whether it's part of him,
what's beneath.
I keep my beak well shut,
follow with respect up the mountain
to the tap-tap-tap of his stick
as he points out bones picked clean by birds,
the skeleton still sitting waiting for death.
When I grow weary I think of how the dying
made it higher with their last breath
and stumble on to the summit.
Will I fall apart in a heap of bones
or crumble into a pile of dust?
Only his sunken eyes know.
I totter like an old woman.
Before I've had the chance to look down
at what I've left behind I'm swept
into a gyre,
circling and circling
with the last things of Thisworld –
a wardrobe emptying of clothes,
a cupboard spilling chutnies,
jams, ketchups, vinegar.
Things I'll dimly miss.
A new set of wings
is beating in my chest
carrying me higher higher.
The sun is my new head
illuminating the plains
of a new horizon.
Its brightness is beyond pain,
understanding, words such as 'firmament',
'cloud','cirrocumulus', 'Heaven.'
the winged souls are busy,
half human, half bird,
hollowing out their bones
with the chink, chink, chink
of tiny chisels, breaking
and re-fixing humerus,
ulna, radius, fusing carples
and phalanges into wings.
Separating toes into claws.
Stretching lungs into air sacs
and filling lightened bodies full
of soulful air and otherlight.
Far Above
they are greeted by elders
who teach them to build nests
with sticks and clothes pegs,
moss, spit, newspaper cuttings
of past lives they wished they had,
toys, shoes, watch hands, fluff
from the bellies of teddy bears.
Like little old women or foetuses
they climb back into the eggs,
back into a chick-like slumber,
back into the womb of an old hen,
back into the cauldron of Ceridwen,
back into before they were born.
Finally Twrand tells his story:
"For nine nights and nine days
I resided in her womb asleep like
a feather in the skies drifting from
planet to planet learning stories
of other worlds beyond her dreams
and all her deepest imaginings.
I saw the trajectory of Thisworld.
I plucked the feather of my Awen
from the side of a red-clawed hen.
When I was born she killed me:
wrung my neck, bent me out of shape.
I raised my skeleton from the sand,
fixed my wings and learnt to ride
the winds of the gyre unreturning."
Gwyn ap Nudd and the Spirits of Annwn: Remembering the Underworld Gods
July 31, 2014 August 15, 2014 19 Comments
I recently came across an article through the Caer Feddwyd Forum (1) called 'The Underworld Gods' by medieval scholar, Will Parker. It brought to my awareness the existence of an inscription in Chamalieres in central France, which took the form of a prayer or invocation addressed to an entity or group of entities known in Ancient Gaul as the andedion, 'the Under-world God(s)' or 'Infernal One(s)' (2).
Parker links the andedion to the Irish andee 'non-gods' and suggests a similar group of deities would have been worshipped in Iron Age Britain. Through etymological links between the 'elements Clt. dio(n) (Ir. dé) 'god(s)' and 'the suffix ande-/an-' he connects them to Annwn 'not world', Britain's indigenous otherworld or underworld. Parker goes on to identify the andedion and andee with the spirits of Annwn and their ruler, Gwyn ap Nudd.
This is of interest to me because Gwyn is my patron god. Parker's insights make it possible to trace a trajectory from Iron Age beliefs concerning underworld gods, through Gwyn's appearances in medieval literature and later folklore to those who worship him today.
Gwyn ap Nudd 'White Son of Mist' is a Brythonic deity. His veneration dates back, at least, to the Iron Age, where he appears as Vindonnus 'White or Clear Light,' in a trio of Gallo-Brythonic inscriptions in Essarois. Here he is equated with Apollo, another hunter deity (3). It is likely he was worshipped across Britain as Vindos 'White' (4). It has also been conjectured that Gwyn and his hunting dog, Dormarth 'Death's Door' occupied the astrological positions of Orion and Sirius to the ancient Britons.
Parker suggests Late Bronze Age 'ritual shafts' and 'offering pits' containing depositions including human and animal bones, grain, pottery and metalwork express a 'quid-pro-quo' relationship between the ancient Britons and the underworld gods. If he is correct, it is possible that Vindos / Gwyn, Dormarth and other kindred spirits were involved in these rites.
Gwyn's first literary appearances are in medieval Welsh texts; 'How Culhwch Won Olwen' (11th C) in The Mabinogion and 'The Dialogue of Gwyddno Garanhir and Gwyn ap Nudd' (13th C) in The Four Ancient Books of Wales. These texts have roots in an older, oral tradition and contain fragments of tales from across Britain that predate Christianity. A significant number of these, including two featuring Gwyn, are from 'The Old North' (5). This is important to me because I connect with Gwyn in Lancashire.
Parker argues that superstitions about the underworld gods carry over into The Mabinogion. This is evidenced in the disappearance of livestock, children and crops. Pwyll's encounter with Arawn, a King of Annwn, is the catalyst for the unfolding drama of the first four Mabinogi. Parker says these stories show the spirits of Annwn could not 'be simply dismissed or ignored. Instead, a complex narrative had to be constructed in which, through a series of symbolic ritual manoeuvres, their power was drawn out, confronted and finally neutralised.' The attempts of medieval scholars to disempower these deities can be seen at work in the development of Gwyn's mythology.
In 'The Dialogue of Gwyddno Garanhir and Gwyn ap Nudd,' (6) Gwyn is presented as a divine warrior returning from battle to the Tawe near the vale of Neath. Gwyddno, ruler of Cantre'r Gwaelod, speaks of and addresses him with reverence and respect. 'Bull of conflict was he, active in dispersing an arrayed army, / The ruler of hosts, indisposed to anger, / Blameless and pure was his conduct in protecting life.' Other epithets Gwyddno uses include 'hope of armies' and 'hero of hosts.' 'Host' may refer to the spirits of Annwn.
Gwyn introduces himself as 'Gwyn, the son of Nud, / The lover of Creurdilad, the daughter of Lud.' He names his horse as 'the torment of battle' and refers to Dormarth as 'truly the best of dogs,' 'handsome,' 'round bodied' and 'ruddy nosed.' References to his possession of a 'polished ring' and 'golden saddle' are also suggestive of his status.
The title 'Bull of Conflict' refers to Gwyn's role as a psychopomp. At the end of the poem he describes his travels across Britain gathering the souls of fallen soldiers. He appears to be berating this task. 'I have been where the soldiers of Prydain were slain, / From the East to the North; / I am alive, they in their graves! / I have been where the soldiers of Prydain were slain / From the East to the South / I am alive, they in death!'
This poem contains important clues about Gwyn's identity as a divine warrior and huntsman, whose role was to gather the souls of the dead and take them to Annwn.
In 'How Culhwch Won Olwen' in The Mabinogion, Gwyn is depicted as a huntsman and advisor to King Arthur. His place in Arthur's court list and apparent subjection to both Arthur and God may be read as attempts by medieval scholars' to explain and downgrade his position.
That 'Twrch Trwyth will not be hunted until Gwyn son of Nudd is found' (7) hints at his role as leader of the hunt, and knowledge of otherworldly beings. The Twrch was a king reputedly turned into a swine by God. When Gwyn does not reveal his location it is possible he is defending his own.
The advice of Gwyn and Gwythyr ap Greidol 'Victor Son of Scorcher' is also needed by Arthur to find Pennant Gofid in the 'uplands of hell,' which Evans and Bromwich say is 'clearly situated in North Britain' (8). When they reach this location, Gwyn and Gwythyr advise Arthur in his defeat of the 'The Hag of Pennant Gofid,' another otherworldly entity. The parcity of their advice, which leads to several failed attempts by Arthur's men before the Christian King is forced to step in to slay her, may also suggest that Gwyn and Gwythyr are acting as tricksters.
A pair of lines fundamental to understanding Gwyn's mythos, and which continue to intrigue and perplex me, are the following; 'God has put the spirit of the demons of Annwfn in him, lest the world be destroyed. He will not be spared from there' (9).
Taken literally, this seems to mean that at some point during the period of Christianisation God put the spirit of the demons of Annwn 'in' Gwyn's person to prevent the world's destruction. Or it may mean that he granted Gwyn rulership of them for this purpose. However, it is probable that the agency of God was brought in as a cover to excuse the prevalent belief in the existence of these spirits and their ruler.
Even if we assume God's agency is a cover for existing beliefs, the notion that Gwyn somehow contains 'the spirit of the demons of Annwn' is a fascinating one. In a conversation via e-mail, Heron (10) told me the word 'spirit,' in Welsh, is 'aryal,' which can mean 'ferocity,' 'essence' or 'nature'. He referred me to Evans and Bromwich, who say 'Gwyn's partaking of the 'nature of the devils of Annwfn' indicates a recognition on the part of the redactor of the tale that Gwyn ap Nudd belonged to a sinister and forbidden mythology' (11). Within this mythology he may already be seen to embody the nature of these entities, or to hold power over them.
That the destruction of the world is at stake suggests Gwyn's role was extremely significant. If it is assumed this notion has older roots, some of the offerings of the ancient Britons may be explained as attempts to placate these spirits and their ruler due to their destructive capacity. It is also possible Gwyn was invoked as the only being who could hold them in check.
Fears and superstitions surrounding Gwyn and the spirits of Annwn may lie behind the story of his abduction of Creiddylad. After Creiddylad, who is both Gwyn's lover and sister, elopes with Gwythyr, Gwyn seizes her back. It might be assumed he takes her to Annwn, and that this suggests an underlying fear of being abducted by Gwyn and his forces.
Gwythyr amasses his armies and attacks Gwyn. Gwyn triumphs and captures a number of Gwythyr's allies, who are mainly rulers of the Old North. During their captivity Gwyn slaughters Nwython, cuts out his heart and feeds it to his son, Cyledr, who goes mad. This could be read as a clear example of Gwyn's ferocity and hints at existing superstitions about what goes on in Annwn.
Evans and Bromwich say the concentration of the names of people Gwyn kidnaps suggest 'that north Britain was the ultimate place of origin for the Creiddylad episode, and that this incident was one of the surviving fragments of tradition emanating from there' (12). It is therefore likely it originates in earlier beliefs held about Gwyn and his host by the Northern Britons.
Arthur eventually comes North to Gwythyr's aid and frees his noblemen. Afterward he makes peace between Gwyn and Gwythyr by placing a dihenydd 'fate' on them. This dictates that they must fight for Creiddylad's hand every Calan Mai 'May Day'. An added condition, which seems particularly unfair, is that Creiddylad must remain in her father's house, and no matter who wins neither can take her until Judgement Day. It is likely Arthur's agency was brought in to explain an earlier myth, which was already prevalent in the Old North.
Whilst, on one level, this myth may be about fears of abduction to the underworld, it is more frequently interpreted as a seasonal drama comparable with Hades' capture of Persephone. In this reading, Creiddylad is a maiden goddess who embodies the powers of spring and fertility. Creiddylad's abduction by Gwyn may explain the failure of these powers at Calan Gaeaf, the first day of winter. Gwythyr and Arthur's rescue of her at Calan Mai, the first day of summer, may explain their resurgence.
Winter Hill
Gwyn is also seen as the Winter King. It is possible his white, shining qualities relate to snow and cold, associations which could date back to the Ice Age. Elen Sentier links Gwyn with the reindeer goddess Elen of the Ways (13) and the Boreal forest. He may also be connected with the North wind. The 14th C Welsh poet Dafydd ap Gwilim refers to 'Tylwyth Gwyn, talaith y gwynt' 'the family of Gwyn, the province of the wind' (14). The pervasiveness of a myth featuring Gwyn in Northern Britain could have a basis in its harsh winters.
In a later text, The Life of St Collen (14th C), Gwyn is referred to as 'the King of Annwn and the Fairies' and is supposedly banished by the saint from Glastonbury Tor (15). The transition from belief in Gwyn as a King of Annwn to King of the 'Tylwyth Teg' or 'Fair Folk' is a significant one. The original natures of Gwyn and the spirits of Annwn are covered over by their reduction to diminutive form. However, hints at their mythos can still be found in the majority of folktales.
Gwyn retains his status as leader of the Wild Hunt in the folklore of Wales and Somerset. There he is seen to appear on horse back with a pack of white, red-eared hounds, riding out on Nos Calan Gaeaf and through the winter months, chasing down the souls of the dead. To hear his hounds is an omen of death. The other riders are seen often seen as captive souls and may represent the spirits of Annwn.
In the North West of England, however, the hunt is assigned either to the Norse god Odin, or to Christian angels. In Cumbria it is Michael, and in Lancashire and Yorkshire Gabriel is said to lead a pack of black, red-eyed dogs, the Gabriel Ratchetts.
Coincidentally, Preston born writer Francis Thompson is famous for a poem called 'The Hound of Heaven.' Anybody who has felt like Gwyn's hounds are on their tail might find these lines hauntingly familiar; 'I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; / I fled Him, down the arches of the years; / I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways / Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears / I hid from him, and under running laughter.' (16)
More recently, Gwyn's significance as an ancient god has been attested by contemporary scholars such as Geoffrey Ashe, in King Arthur's Avalon (2007) and Nicholas R. Mann in The Isle of Avalon (1996) and Glastonbury Tor (2012). He is also the subject of a full length book called Gwyn: Ancient God of Glastonbury and Key to the Glastonbury Zodiac (2007) by Yuri Leitch.
This increase in interest suggests we are approaching a time when Gwyn and the spirits of Annwn are taken seriously as Brythonic deities again. However, the main focus of these books is Gwyn's role at Glastonbury, with only a small mention of his place in Wales and other areas of Britain. Disappointingly there is no mention of Gwyn's activities in the North. In this respect I have only my own experiences and conjectures to go on.
Fairy Lane
I first met Gwyn on Fairy Lane in my hometown of Penwortham, where he challenged me to journey with him to Annwn. Since then I have worked with him as a guide to the otherside of my local landscape and its hidden myths. His interest in my locality surprised me at first. However, it seems less surprising when looked at in the context of his role as an ancient underworld god of Britain, particularly in relation to the history and folklore surrounding this site.
Penwortham has been inhabited since 4000BC. The Riversway Dockfinds, a collection of animal bones, 30 human skulls, two dug out canoes and the remains of a timber structure suggest the existence of a lake village on Penwortham Marsh. Nearby is Castle Hill, a point of military and religious importance. There is a church dedicated to St Mary on the summit of Castle Hill, which means it was likely to have been a pre-Christian sacred site.
That the church is dedicated to St Mary and she was also the patron saint of a healing well at the foot of Castle Hill suggest the presence of an earlier female deity with healing powers, who has been Christianised as Mary. Three human skulls found in the wall of the church (17), which may have served an apotraic function suggest superstitious beliefs in chthonic spirits were also once popular but not openly acknowledged.
The survival of the legend of Penwortham Fairy Funeral attests to these superstitions. In the earliest version in Bowker's Goblin Tales of Lancashire (1878), it is set on Church Avenue on Castle Hill. Two men walking home to Longton encounter a procession of fairies carrying a coffin. Robin, one of the men, looks into the coffin and sees his own miniature corpse. Frightened by the sight, they follow the fairies into St Mary's graveyard. Robin attempts to prevent the burial by reaching out to grab the leader of the fairies. The procession vanishes and Robin, driven mad, topples to his death from a haystack a couple of months later (18). In later versions, this story takes place on Fairy Lane, which runs through Penwortham Wood at the foot of Castle Hill.
This legend may be interpreted to hint at older beliefs in underworld gods. Church ways are often identified with spirit paths. It is possible that prior to Christianity people believed chthonic spirits to have been actively involved in bearing the deceased to the underworld. The ringing of bells to drive them away and superstitions surrounding lych gates are testaments to fear of such entities. The movement of the legend to Fairy Lane may be seen as an attempt to sever their connection with the church. It is also possible it represents a shift in the energy of the area.
Gwyn ap Nudd and the spirits of Annwn (more frequently referred to as fairies today) are frightening beings. However, they play an essential role in maintaining the relationships between the worlds, the seasons, and the living and the dead. Like death itself and the cold dark of winter they will never go away. Their roles and identities, covered over or ignored for many centuries, can be recovered and understood.
Like Pwyll's meeting with Arawn, my relationship with Gwyn has changed my life. He guides me to visions in Annwn and the physical world I would not be able to access without him. He teaches me to walk the spirit paths and inspires me to learn the song lines of this land's ancestral heritage.
As late summer arrives, harvesters take to the fields and leaves begin to fall I sense the spirits of Annwn stirring, the first hint of the breath of winter on the wind. Monday is the date of the commemoration of the beginning of the First World War. When I help lay candles in front of Preston cenotaph for each of the 1956 soldiers who lost their lives I will remember that care of the souls of the battle dead was once believed to be Gwyn's role.
(1) http://www.caerfeddwyd.co.uk/
(2) http://www.mabinogi.net/sections/Appendix/The_Underworld_Gods.pdf
(3) James MacKilliop, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, (1998), p375
(4) Robin Herne, Old Gods, New Druids, (2009), p48
(5) A collection of Kingdoms in the North of England and Southern Scotland from 500AD and 800AD.
(6) Transl. William F. Skene, 'The Dialogue of Gwyddno Garanhir and Gwyn ap Nudd,' The Four Ancient Books of Wales, (2007), p210-211
(7) Transl. Sioned Davies, 'How Culhwch Won Olwen,' The Mabinogion, (2007), p199
(8) Ed. Rachel Bromwich and Simon Evans, Culhwch and Olwen, (1992), p169
(10) https://www.blogger.com/profile/02055792516386371373
(11) Ed. Rachel Bromwich and Simon Evans, Culhwch and Olwen, (1992), p133
(12) Ibid. p150
(13) Elen Sentier, Elen of the Ways, (2013), p26-28
(14) Dafydd ap Gwilim, Poems, (1982), p132 – 133
(15) http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/collen.html
(16) Francis Thompson, The Hound of Heaven and Other Poems, (2000), p11
(17) Rev C. Nelson, St Mary's Church, Penwortham, Lancashire, Archaeological Watching Brief and Explanation, (2011), p48
(18) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39712/39712-h/39712-h.htm#THE_FAIRY_FUNERAL
Many thanks to Heron and Lee at Caer Feddwyd for bringing Will Parker's article to my attention.
Choosing a Path
June 18, 2014 July 4, 2014 11 Comments
The metaphor of choosing a path appears frequently within Paganism but can be applied to the journey of life, which in many religious traditions is seen as the journey of the soul.
I've walked many paths; riding instructor and groom, philosophy student, fantasy writer. Over the past three years I have been writing and performing poetry and exploring Druidry. The binding core is that in each I've been seeking magic and I've pursued all these paths with religious commitment.
Looking back, it appears I have walked one path with many names. This week I have come to question the suitability of the name 'Druid.'
I have never felt any commonality with, or desire to join any of the systematic orders of Druidry where one can complete courses and achieve grades in exchange for coins. It's my firm belief that the living landscape, the gods and ancestors are the greatest teachers. Their guidance, trust and respect are not bought but earned, and thus utterly priceless.
However, one place I have felt at home is The Druid Network. Hearing a talk by its chair, Phil Ryder formed a huge turning point in my life that led me to recognise and honour the divine in my local landscape. The Druid Network is the only organisation I know of that promotes Druidry as a religion. There are no set courses or hierarchies. Each member is encouraged to find and explore their relationship with whatever they hold sacred in their own way, and the social forum provides a safe area for discussing issues and experiences. However, there are guiding principles (1).
I'm in agreement with most of these principles, except that the native religion of the British Isles must nominally be called Druidry. I imagine Heathens, Witches, Shamans and many other Pagan groups would make similar claims.
This winter's solstice I was gifted a name for my path- Awenydd. For Kristoffer Hughes becoming Awenydd forms the core of Druidry. For Elen Sentier it is a form of native British Shamanism. My path currently seems to sit somewhere in an unknown hinterland between two names I am equally uncomfortable with, 'Druid' and 'Shaman.'
For me 'Awenydd' works a similar magic to that which others describe in relation to 'Druid' and 'Shaman'. It opens the doors of perception and initiates connection with the Awen, divine inspiration. It is as Awenydd I truly serve my land, gods and communities.
I can see a future for myself as Awenydd; continuing to learn the stories and songs of my local landscape and its spirits; journeying more deeply the immensities of the otherworlds with Gwyn and learning his mysteries; bringing my insights back to my communities and thus learning to weave a magic between the worlds.
Contrastingly, I perceive 'Druid' as closing doors, leading to pointless arguments, in-fighting, and attempting to define myself against systems and practices with which I share little commonality.
If the journey of life is the journey of the soul, I want to choose a path that fills my soul with awe and wonder. I want to live a life true to my heart, in devotion to the land and gods who call to me. I want to sing their songs. I want to share their inspiration. I want to die knowing I have done everything I can to respond to their call.
I don't want to remain a prisoner in the maze of arguments and contradictions which, for me, constitutes contemporary Druidry, and which will only lead me into greater negativity.
It is on this basis I give up the name of Druid and choose Awenydd.
And the consequences?
The biggest consequence is that the path of Awenydd is not classed as a religion. If I am no longer a Druid I no longer belong to a religion.
To anyone on the outside this might look like a massive change. However on the inside this does not change my relationship with my land and deities, nor with family and friends.
It has, and I think will continue to have some impact on my Pagan, Druid and other religious communities. I've already talked my decision through with some of the members of TDN who, for the most part, are happy for me to remain a part of the organisation on the basis of shared principles, and I'm hoping to discuss it with my grove at the solstice.
My local Pagan Society is inclusive of open-minded people of any faith or none, so no problems there. As for Preston Faith Forum and the further questions, if I'm not a Druid, then am I Pagan? And can I be an Interfaith Representative if I don't belong to a faith? That's another kettle of fish entirely and not one I'm ready to address right now!
I choose a path that fills my soul with awe and wonder, in devotion to the magic this land, its deities and spirits, my patron Gwyn ap Nudd and the ancestors. This path is Awenydd. Let their songs be sung!
(1) http://druidnetwork.org/files/about/constitutionrevnov2009.pdf
March 8, 2014 September 22, 2014 2 Comments
'I have been where the soldiers of Prydain were slain…
I am alive, they in their graves!'
– Words spoken by Gwyn ap Nudd in The Black Book of Carmarthen XXXIII
Spring is here, daffodils
amongst the headstones,
flowers on the cenotaph
grieving summers of war-
shells shattering spirit paths,
ditches filled with corpses,
a perverse test of love
for brave young fools
and you being liminal,
battle rage and compassion
on the blood soaked fields
where banshees wail
gathering the fallen
from amongst explosions,
returning to Prydain
wracked and torn.
Spring is here, yet in
Annwn's long autumn you know
the weight of the battle dead,
the sorrow behind the veil.
Wild Hunt Villanelle
October 31, 2013 May 7, 2014 Leave a comment
When the wild hunt rides on a thundering night
Hurtling from the deeps and bowers of unseen Annwn
They raze all life with their sundering might,
Sweeping heavens black warriors of starry white
Unite with rebel cries to form a spectral fugue.
Cities tremble as the harrowing horns descry
Ghost white horses, hounds of death and long lost truth.
They raze all life with their sundering might
As they gather up the souls of the dead in flight
Striking with a fear none but their kindred can endure.
Bringing down the skies and singing back the light
Around our fires only hope can see us through.
Then vanish to Annwn from tumultuous heights
Ending the old year and heralding in the new.
They raze all life with their sundering might.
Oak Man
September 27, 2013 February 26, 2014 4 Comments
I am the voice inside an acorn.
I wear a cup shaped hat.
I tip it when I please.
I chatter in the hands of squirrels.
I buzz in wasps.
I whisper with the bolete.
I sleep. I spring.
I am sprightly. I am green.
I endure the push of each lobed leaf.
I carouse in the flush.
I take time to reach maturity.
I am the tree that holds the world.
I am the guardian and the gateway.
I come well equipped with elves.
I run in ants down many passageways.
I hollow out.
I don a skirt of armillaria.
I am mulch for the weevil and moth.
I am rot and I am canker.
I sink in the bog.
I am a sunk and empty vessel.
I am a coffin for your soul.
I am a boat to the eternal.
*Poem inspired by the gift of this acorn pendant from Lynda Ryder to the members of the Oak and Feather grove.


Doctor and engineer aspirants in Bihar will no more have to give written test or interview as Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi Saturday said that the appointment of doctors and engineers in the state will be done on "marks basis" alone. Around 7,000 posts of engineers are lying vacant in different departments of road construction, rural works, water resources, minor irrigation in the state, Modi said.
"The appointment of doctors and engineers will be done on 'marks basis' through Bihar Technical Service Commission in the state. No written test or interview will be conducted for carrying out appointment of doctors and engineers in the state," the DCM said.
Modi was addressing "Engineers Day" function on 157th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna M Vishveshwaraiya organised by the Bihar Engineering Service Association (BESA) in Patna.
Those appointed on contracts do not have to get their renewal done every year, till the regular appointments are completed, the deputy CM said.
Out of the 7,000 posts of engineers, around 2000 posts have been filled through contractual appointments as regular recruitments are taking time, he said.
Contractual employees will also get facilities on par with regular employees like - earned leave, casual leave and maternity leave and other facilities. They will get the benefit of work experience and age relaxation in regular appointment, Modi said.
Also, students passing from engineering and medical colleges of Bihar will get 50 per cent reservation in the appointments. The recruitment process is getting delayed by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) due to heavy requisition to it, the Dy CM said.
The state government has set up the Bihar Technical Service Commission to expedite the appointment process like it did in case of appointment of university teachers and police by setting up separate commissions, he added.


text:
First Peoples, Palestine and the Crushing of Free Speech
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Steven Salaita had been hired to teach at the University of Illinois when he tweeted his objections to Israel's bombing of Gaza. Under pressure from donors, the university withdrew the job offer. Steven Salaita was in Vancouver to speak about his experience with the University of Illinois, framing it within a larger context of free speech and Indigenous rights.
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text:
Randolph es una ciudad ubicada en el condado de Cedar en el estado estadounidense de Nebraska. En el Censo de 2010 tenía una población de 944 habitantes y una densidad poblacional de 386,92 personas por km².

Geografía
Randolph se encuentra ubicada en las coordenadas . Según la Oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos, Randolph tiene una superficie total de 2.44 km², de la cual 2.44 km² corresponden a tierra firme y (0%) 0 km² es agua.

Demografía
Según el censo de 2010, había 944 personas residiendo en Randolph. La densidad de población era de 386,92 hab./km². De los 944 habitantes, Randolph estaba compuesto por el 97.35% blancos, el 0% eran afroamericanos, el 0.32% eran amerindios, el 0.21% eran asiáticos, el 0% eran isleños del Pacífico, el 1.69% eran de otras razas y el 0.42% pertenecían a dos o más razas. Del total de la población el 2.22% eran hispanos o latinos de cualquier raza.

Referencias

Enlaces externos

Ciudades de Nebraska
Localidades del condado de Cedar (Nebraska)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
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text:
Reading diary 2018, #1
January 17, 2018 by iansales	1 Comment
I seem to be keeping up with my New Year Resolution to read more books. Monday to Thursday, when I get home from work, I spend an hour reading before making dinner or putting on a DVD. And I managed to polish off five books over the first weekend of the year – true, three were bandes dessinées and one was novella, but still…
The Book of Strange New Things, Michel Faber (2014, UK). I'd expected to dislike this – so why I took with me to read over Christmas, I've no idea. I read Faber's Under the Skin many years ago, and hated it (but I thought Jonathan Glazer's film adaptation was excellent). So I had expected something similar, even if the blurb sounded more like the BBC TV series Outcasts than anything else (although I may have been getting confused because there's apparently a TV series in development based on The Book of Strange New Things; and, to be fair, I thought Outcasts a great deal better on rewatch). Anyway, expectations relatively low. So I was surprised to find that not only did I enjoy The Book of Strange New Things, but I also thought it pretty good. Peter Leigh has been selected by corporation USIC to serve as pastor at their exoplanet settlement. His wife, unfortunately, has to remain behind in the UK. On arrival at the exoplanet, called Oasis, he finds a small colony of apathetic engineers, all of whom live mostly on foodstuffs provided by a nearby town of the planet's low-tech and enigmatic natives. It's the natives, in fact, who have demanded a vicar's presence, as some of them have taken up Christianity and the company doesn't want to jeopardise the supply of foodstuffs. Leigh decides to build a church, with the help of his "Jesus Lovers", the Oasisan Christians. Meanwhile, Leigh writes emails to his wife back in the UK. As he tend his flock on Oasis, and gradually understands what drives them, so she describes a UK falling apart bit by bit, testing both her faith and her love for her husband. Leigh is a bit pathetic as a protagonist, and the people with which he works are no better; but the aliens are really done quite well, and aspect of their nature which has driven some of them to human religion is tragic and provides a neat twist. The Book of Strange New Things was shortlisted for the Clarke Award in 2015, but lost out to Station Eleven (see here). I thought the Faber an odd choice at the time, but it deserved its place.
The Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry (2016, UK). I bought this after seeing many positive comments about it and, happily, it met my expectations. Cora Seaborne's husband has just died and she, an amateur palaeontologist, decides to investigate stories she's heard of the Essex Serpent. While in Chelmsford, she bumps into friends who tell her of their friend, William Ransome, a pastor, and his family in a coastal Essex village near where the Serpent has been spotted. So Cora and her autistic son go to visit them, and they all get on famously. Meanwhile, Luke Garrett, an ambitious surgeon, has his eye on Cora – he treated her late husband, and now that she's widowed he is keen to deepen his friendship. And his friend, George Spencer, a rich dilettante playing half-heartedly at doctor, has fallen in love with Cora's maid, Martha, a socialist activist. It sounds like it should be a mess, a story pulling in so many different directions – Cora and her desire to solve the mystery of the Essex Serpent, not to mention her own ambivalence toward her gender and role in society; Garrett's ambitions; Martha's activism in the London slums; Ransome's rational approach to his Christianity; Spencer's failed romance with Martha… There's a Gothic feel to the story, a likeness that's heightened by its use in places of letter exchanges, but the prose is anything but Gothic. It's, well, breezy – hugely readable, often funny, and with some very nice descriptive passages. The cast are drawn well, as are their relationships. And there's plenty going on – politics, religion, science, not to mention a commentary on Victorian society. I thought The Essex Serpent very good indeed, an early possible contender for my best of the year. Recommended.
The Yellow Wallpaper & Other Writings, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1989, USA). I knew Gilman's name chiefly from Herland, an early novel about a feminist utopia, which I own in the Women's Press SF edition but have yet to read. 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is perhaps her best known piece of short fiction. The narrator and her husband move into an old house, and the narrator becomes obsessed by the wallpaper in an attic room. She is convinced there is someone hidden inside the wallpaper who is desperate to escape and… well, it's very atmospheric. The other stories, such as 'If I Were a Man' or 'Turned', are of their time, except for their overt feminist sensibilities. I've read early genre fiction by women writers, like Francis Stevens, Agatha Christie, Leslie F Stone, and, of course, CL Moore… but none them seemed to my mind to have as strong a female point of view as the stories in Gilman's collection. The book also included an except from Herland, and a couple of excerpts from some of Gilman's non-ficiton writing. I found the book in a charity shop a while ago, and bought it because I knew the name. But now I'm really glad I own a copy of it.
New Adventures in Sci-Fi, Sean Williams (1999, Australia). I've been a fan of Williams's fiction since reading the space opera Evergence trilogy he wrote with Shane Dix back in 2003. And I've bought and read the sf novels written by the pair, and by Williams alone, ever since. And quite a few of Williams's collections too. This was quite a hard one to find, I seem to remember. It's relatively early stuff, but polished nonetheless, and even includes a favourite of mine, 'A Map of the Mines of Barnath' from 1995; although this time around it didn't read quite as smoothly as I'd remembered. It's still a bloody good sf story, though. The stories are mostly heartland sf, with a few dark fantasy. Of the sf, 'The Soap Bubble', in which a survey starship's regular reports home are presented as episodes of a melodrama, at least until they meet an alien race, was quite cleverly done, and had a neat twist. 'Reluctant Misty & the House on Burden Street', a variation on the haunted house, was probably the best of the dark fantasy stories. The premises of some of the others felt a little secondhand and threadbare, although the stories were well told. I'm not sure what Williams is doing now – he started writing YA for a few years, and then went to Antarctica on some sort of writers' programme. I really liked his space opera and hard sf novels, and it's a shame he doesn't seem to be writing them anymore.
Valerian and Laureline 20: The Order of the Stones and 21: The Time Opener, Jean-Claude Mézières & Pierre Christin (2007/2010, France). These two volumes end the Valerian and Laureline story, begun back in 1967, although I'm sceptical the story-arc was fully plotted out at that time. Anyway, midway through the series, Galaxity, Valerian and Laureline's employer disappeared after someone meddled with history, and the Earth was destroyed. After acting as free agents for several volumes, Valerian and Laureline ended up aboard an expedition to explore the Great Void. Where the Wolochs, mysterious stone beings, have appeared and are using the Triumvirate, three heads of criminal gangs, to attack humanity. In The Order of the Stones, the Wolochs go on the offensive, and the galactic civilisation is hard pressed to fend off their attacks. But there is one hope: the Time Opener. Which contains the Earth. But it can only be opened if enough people pure of heart are gathered together. And it's the bringing together of these which forms the story of The Time Opener. Of course, they succeed. Interestingly, there were some bits and pieces from these two installments I sort of recognised from Luc Besson's movie adaptation, demonstrating, I suppose, that his film was based on the entire series. Not that it was a good film. Overall, Valerian and Laureline have had a good run, and if the plot got somewhat convoluted somewhere around the middle – the final volume includes a timeline which does little to make sense of it all – and the ending was a bit weak, there were some excellent episodes along the way. It was a product of its time, but it didn't hesitate to slip in contemporary digs at the real world in each of the volumes, which worked quite well because the two characters had travelled back in time and so the stories were partyl set on contemporary Earth. But there was plenty of space opera stuff too – so much so, the series is often mistaken taken to be an inspiration for Star Wars (there are similarities but they're apparently coincidental). Perhaps the art never approached the gorgeousness of Frank Hampson's Dan Dare, but the scripts were considerably better, albeit often somewhat compressed since each volume was no more than 48 pages. I first stumbled across these during the 1990s after Dargaud, their French publisher, made a half-hearted attempt to introduce them to the Anglophone market and published four random volumes in English. I started reading them in French, but happily Cinebook have been banging them out in English since 2010. They're also now available in omnibus editions. Worth getting.
Categories: book review, books, reading diary 2018 | Tags: charlotte perkins gilman, jean-claude mézières, michel faber, pierre christin, sarah perry, sean williams, valerian and laureline | Permalink.
One thought on "Reading diary 2018, #1"
George Berger
I will buy the Faber book. Two people recommended it to me but I did not want to read a novel about religion. At that time. You just got me to realise that although I have not "found" faith, times have changed.


text:
The Cantina in Mill Valley now open (again)
By Carey Sweet on October 8, 2010 at 1:25 PM
The old Cantina patio (pictured) will make a comeback, with a fire pit. Photo: John O'Hara/The Chronicle, 1998
Mill Valley's beloved Cantina is back. After debuting 27 years ago, then closing in 2007 when it was sold and turned into Maria Maria, the iconic Mexican eatery quietly reopened this week with some test meals primarily for friends and family.
The restaurant is serving dinner tonight, starting at 4pm, though management told Inside Scoop that they were keeping the reopening on the down low. "We wanted to make sure that our staff and systems are flawless before we publicized we are open," said one manager.
Maria Maria was the flashy, pricey-ish restaurant in Blithedale Plaza that boasted Carlos Santana as a partner. It closed in April.
Heading up the new – um, old – Cantina is chef José Luís Barba, from the original restaurant in 1983.
The menu and interior have been revamped to return to their more humble pre-Maria Maria roots, though with a nod to contemporary Cal-Mex dishes and "green" sensibilities. That means super nachos, sizzling fajitas and potent margaritas, served in a décor enhanced with recycled wood, and two new interior fireplaces plus a fire pit on the patio.
The Cantina: 651 E. Blithedale Avenue, Mill Valley; (415) 381-1070 or thecantina.com.
Carey Sweet


Built in 2006 next to our popular Rally Park, the Tom Johnson Campground in Marion, NC features charming mountain views, 66 luxury campsites with a multitude of amenities and countless opportunities for fun with family and friends.
Checking in after hours? Call ahead for Security Gate Code!
The campground is also located near the beautifully landscaped grounds and large indoor showroom of the original Tom Johnson Camping Center location, and our extensive selection of new and pre-owned RVs offers something for every budget.
Our new state-of-the-art service facility is also within walking distance. This facility has 33 service bays for maintenance, repairs, upgrades or customization, as well as a Customer Service Lodge with a café, large-screen TV, fireplace, complimentary Internet access and more.
Whether it's a quiet stroll by the river or a rousing game of volleyball, it's easy to find an activity for all ages at the Tom Johnson Campground, with a children's playground, nature trails and much more - all nestled in lush acreage on the Catawba River, with beautiful mountain views near the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway.


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James Seymour played more than 500 times for Kent between 1900 and 1926, and was part of their great pre-war side. These days, he is an almost forgotten figure in the game's history. But just as footballers owe a debt of gratitude to Jean-Marc Bosman, the Belgian international whose landmark case paved the way for free movement of out-of-contract players, many of England's cricketers - indeed footballers as well - should be equally grateful to Seymour. It is because of him that money raised from benefits is not taxed.
In this day and age, benefits are slickly run businesses, often employing professional fund-raisers. Until comparatively recently, however, they usually consisted of one match where the professional could keep the gate money and any collections. For the poorly paid county stalwart, a benefit could make the difference between a comfortable retirement and poverty.
In 1920 Kent awarded Seymour a benefit, and he chose the game against Hampshire at Canterbury at the end of July. The match was a success, with Kent winning by 165 runs. Seymour, however, was run out for 0 in their first innings, although he helped fill the collection boxes with a second-innings 74.
While some earned large sums - Cyril Washbrook in 1948 raised the then-considerable sum of $14,000 - others fared less well. In 1907 Albert Trott ruined his own benefit match by taking four wickets in four balls and then the hat-trick, finishing the game early at a time when people were prepared to roll up in their thousands, prompting him to ruefully comment that he had "bowled himself into the poorhouse". Seven years later, broke and broken, he shot himself. And in 1953, Somerset's Bertie Buse took 6 for 41 against Lancashire at Bath, but he ended up on the losing side and out of pocket as the game didn't even last into a second day on a minefield of a pitch.
Back to Seymour. His benefit was more successful than most, producing enough money for him to be able to buy a fruit farm in Marden in 1923. As was the norm in those days, the county kept the money until Seymour convinced them that he had a worthwhile project to invest it in. This was done to some extent to prevent some players drinking or gambling away what amounted to their pension.
But the benefit attracted the attention of the Inland Revenue, who since a change in the law in 1918 had been eyeing sportsmen's income from this source and were increasingly unhappy that it was not liable to tax. They decided to take Seymour to court. Seymour was by no means a sophisticated man, but he felt wronged. Rather than rolloing over, he fought the Revenue.
The case eventually reached the High Court where Justice Rowlett, the leading revenue judge of the time, ruled that what he described as a "very large sum" constituted a non-taxable personal gift. His decision was in turn overturned by a majority of the Court of Appeal, but was restored by a majority of the House of Lords.
Announcing their decision, Lord Phillimore said: "My Lords, I do not feel compelled by any of authorities to hold that an employer cannot make a solitary gift to his employee without rendering the gift liable to taxation. Nor do I think it matters that the gift is made during the period of service and not after its termination, or that it is made in respect of good, faithful and valuable service."
"It must, I think, be remembered that Reed v Seymour was a case turning very much on its particular facts, and it was, as I see it, a vital element in the case that the benefit match was held and the gate money was collected on the eve of the retirement of Seymour after a long and brilliant career as a county cricketer playing cricket for the county of Kent. It was a 'once and for all' payment after very long service and after a long career spent in entertaining the public. It was made at the proper time for making a testimonial, that is to say, on the eve of the retirement of the person to whom it was being given."
As a result, no cricketer has been taxed on income deriving from a benefit since. How long this situation carries on is uncertain, and the massive sums being raised by players who are much better paid than their predecessors anyway - a far cry from the relative paupers of old - will sooner or later attract the attention of the Inland Revenue.
As for Seymour, he never really enjoyed the rewards of his own benefit, dying in 1930 aged only 50. His legacy, however, lives on.


Kapacitor can be used to do the same work as Continuous Queries (CQ) in InfluxDB. Today we are going to explore reasons to use one over the other and the basics of using Kapacitor for CQ-type workloads.
Here is a CQ that computes the mean of the cpu.usage_idle every 5 minutes and stores it in the new measurement mean_cpu_idle.
Create a continuous query to downsample across retention policies.
Kapacitor is a powerful tool. If you need more flexibility than CQs offer, use it. For more information and help writing TICKscripts from InfluxQL queries take a look at these docs on the InfluxQL node in Kapacitor. Every function available in the InfluxDB query language is available in Kapacitor, so you can convert any query into a Kapacitor TICKscript.
For some types of queries, CQs (InfluxDB) and TICKscripts (Kapacitor) may return different results due to how each selects time boundaries. Kapacitor chooses the maximum timestamp (tMax) while InfluxDB chooses the minimum timestamp (tMin). The choice between using tMax or tMin is somewhat arbitrary for InfluxDB, however the same cannot be said for Kapacitor.
Kapacitor has the ability to do complex joining operations on overlapping time windows. For example, if you were to join the mean over the last month with the the mean over the last day, you would need their resulting values to occur at the same time, using the most recent time, tMax. However, Kapacitor would use tMin and the resulting values would not occur at the same time. One would be at the beginning of the last month, while the other would be at the beginning of the last day.
Note the difference between the returned timestamps.
This is a known issue discussed in Issue #1258 on Github.