Today, July 28th the moon is a thin waxing crescent, just 9 percent illuminated. Last Thursday, July 24th, the new Leo Moon rising threatened to awaken long-buried desires… apparently…
The Moon was shining sulkily, Because she thought the sun Had got no business to be there After the day was done — “It’s very rude of him,” she said, “To come and spoil the fun.”
Lewis Carroll: from Alice Through the Looking Glass
Remember Remember In this world Wherever you are Whatever you do By the sea Up a gum tree In Brighton Hove Or Spain Remember You cannot Think about water Unless… You think About the moon
Every molecule of water On this earth From a thimble-full To a great ocean Any body of water Any body Yours, mine, The bloke next door Any woman Man Or child Animal Plant Plankton Is affected By the gravity Of the moon…
We are all lunatics
Invisibly Surreptitiously Gently Lovingly Hormonally She affects us And changes us Yet we rarely think of her Unless we brutally explore her Or pay innocent homage To romance In June Under a full moon
Her breath-taking beauty Lights up the sea Whispering watery words Invitations to poets Proffering mysterious illumination To nocturnal beasties
She is the Queen of the Night And we bow to her With love and gratitude
You once described fox hunting as “the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable”. It’s a great observation, and on February 18th 2005, just a bit over 100 years after you wrote these words, we banned this monstrous, cruel sport in the UK.
Sadly, since then, we have also staged an unprecedented attack on wild-life in this country, creating a strange ecosystem where many animals, including foxes, have become scavengers, and song birds have all but disappeared from many urban gardens. But the fox has moved into the City – and it’s always a thrill to see something so beautiful appear unexpectedly at the bottom of a suburban garden.
And that will not be the only improvement you might note… 67 years after you died, homosexuality was decriminalised in England, and this has to be a very, very good thing.
So even though the land is polluted, the water contaminated, and the air quality is not great, we are striving to be better; the mysterious beauty of the fox is a mystical reminder of this.
What does the Duke of Sussex do? And the Duchess of Sussex too? Sing a song? Suck on a bong? What do they do? … for Sussex?
Here’s what the AI said when I asked…
Their contributions often involve raising awareness about social issues, supporting charitable organisations, and engaging with communities to address various challenges. Through advocacy and collaboration, they strive to create positive change and foster unity within Sussex and beyond.
WOW! CRAP!
It’s not just the leader of Reform that tells lies It’s not just the President of the United States that tells lies It’s not just Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson that tells lies It’s AI that tells lies Wondrous whoppers Do we need machines that lie to us? This is Microsoft’s very own AI It crept out of my own copy of “Word”
Thank you Bill Gates
The Duke and Duchess made one visit to Sussex, and now have ownership of a name that my neighbour’s cats unquestionably have more right to. Come on King Charles III. Please make my neighbour’s cats ‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ instead. At least they live here, and amuse people and belong here. The existing Duke and Duchess came once on October 3rd2018 and they have never been seen since. There is, however, a brilliant episode of South Park dedicated to them – The Worldwide Privacy Tour – and that makes them almost silly enough to qualify as Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
What do you think?
Here are some of Hannah Turner’s lovely ceramic cats. They don’t come from Sussex, but they will do very nicely.
It’s summer, time to laugh and dance and enjoy life. Here’s a prayer for the new Prayer Book. Hope you enjoy it.
May I have pals That can cultivate the art of the giggle Without being completely blotto May the dog sing me a Mozart aria And the cat laugh at my jokes
May the Lord of Laughter Award me the world’s best toffee apple And the teeth to go with it May the Lady of Laughter Transform my luke-warm wit Into something blooming legendary
May the sun tan my toes And the moon light my way to the playground May I be adored by angels Praised by the wise And given a free pass to Glyndebourne Not to mention the Amex
Please let the Tories go away May Reform re-form on Alpha Centauri May the Labour Party show compassion for once May Brexit become a figment of my imagination
Let the sun shine on me Without giving me skin cancer Let the moon inspire me To write better than wot Shakespeare did May I love and be loved By all those I love And a few more besides And may I enjoy being And non-being as well Now and forever Thank you
There’s a lot of fear about; fear about the madness of politicians; fear about the wellbeing of the environment; fear for the future. Some reckon that fear is the opposite of love, and I am inclined to agree.This prayer is dedicated to those that are feeling the fear of the moment, and I feel for them.
Everywhere we go There is a cause A cause to worry A cause for pain
But everywhere we go There’s a powerful challenge… It comes from a little voice That says Maybe there’s no cause to worry No reason for pain
The voice says Now’s the moment To reach out To the untouchable sky And ask for calm
Very quietly it says In this second Remember the song of the sea And ask for peace
Don’t be afraid The world may seem noisy Full of clattering antagonism But it’s kind
Remember… Kindness is everywhere It’s in you and around you Gently weaving compassion Into your soul Opening doors of understanding Universal love for the world
When you experience Love for the world You can’t feel fear There’s no place Or space For fear Just love
On Mayday- a day when so many traditions and beliefs are celebrated and honoured by so many good souls, the Interfaith Contact Group of Brighton and Hove will be holding a peace vigil at the wonderful Peace Statue – also known as the Peace Angel. The statue stands between Brighton and Hove, and serves as a focal point for many peace demonstrations in our Beautiful City. Please do join us at 6.30pm for the vigil and also a beautiful walking meditation carried out by Elizabeth Archer of the Pebbles Sangha.
This is an interfaith prayer dedicated to the victims of war and the 117 million people that are forcibly displaced worldwide.
There is a place in the heart That is open, warm and receptive It is a place of caring For friends, acquaintances and family.
There is a place in the soul That we can all share Happy that those we love are safe Happy in the understanding That peace is always The best home of all.
All of us — Muslims, Jews, Buddhists Pagans, Hindus, Sikhs, Baha’i Quakers, Catholics, Anglicans and atheists Jedis, agnostics and all of us Would give the planet such a gift If we could come together… As thinkers, healers and gardeners And plant the seed of an idea
That idea is that peace Is a home… and a garden A place of intense beauty Born from our diverse world Full of colour, texture and love, Peace is a haven of harmony Needed by us all.
So together, let us give life To this sacred moment right now In companionship and clarity Let us breathe in light and love And then pause… Then… let us breathe out…peace And with every breath Let us send the spirit of peace Far out…into the world
And let that exhaled breath… That breath of peace take flight… Let it be carried on the air Borne on breezes and clouds Touching the hearts and minds Of unyielding dictators Barbaric business magnates Murderous military leaders The human predators
Let our loving breath of peace Change the thinking of others So that they come to understand What you and I know so well… That peace is the garden And the home We all seek… Now and forever.
March 9th was Covid Reflection Day. This talk was given at an Iftar Dinner at the Brighton Centre last night.It was much shorter than I would have liked, but it certainly made us all think.
The pandemic revealed that Her Majesty’s Government at the time of Covid 19 failed to tackle so many issues… including the impact of isolation on mental health and the funding of the NHS. By contrast Brighton and Hove’s Council in 2020, under the leadership of Nancy Platts tackled the unknown dangers of the Pandemic with real purpose and commitment, and to this effect our city was truly blessed.
My name is Anthea Ballam and I am an Interfaith Minister and the Chair of the Interfaith Contact Group of Brighton and Hove. The Interfaith Contact Group (IFCG) brings people of faith and none together in friendship and harmony working closely with faith groups.
But before we go any further, I would just like to ask if we can set aside a brief moment of silence to honour the 550 people who died of Covid in Brighton and Hove, the 850 health and social care workers that died in the UK, the 115,000 health workers who died worldwide and the 7,010, 681 people who died worldwide. Just a moment of silence….
I would like to focus on the consequences of isolation, and what the people of faith in our city did to alleviate the problems faced by lonely neighbours, friends and even strangers. The mental health damage from the pandemic was terrible. To understand this let’s think about prison. The worst punishment levelled at anyone who transgresses in prison is solitary confinement, and this is given to a prisoner for a week or two at most. Good people of all ages that lived alone during the pandemic suffered solitary confinement for months and months. The mental health consequences were dreadful. This hardly bears thinking about… nor do the activities of our Government at the time. Isolation and long Covid were two of the worst legacies of Covid 19.
The faith groups, and I speak particularly of The Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities in our City, came forward in strength. So many good souls sought out neighbours, friends and total strangers who needed all sorts of things – food, medicines, medical prescriptions, shopping even companionship. Empty and difficult lives were improved beyond measure by contacts by phone, Zoom and Facetime. Kitchens in churches, mosques, synagogues and ethnic restaurants were used to prepare food parcels for people the length and breadth of our City, and for some people those that brought these food parcels to others were the only contact some people had for days. The old, infirm, poor and young all benefited from the generosity of those who offered their services for nothing.
For the first time in 800 years, places of worship were closed because of Covid. For some this was a terrible loss. It is a known fact that those that visit places of worship regularly are physically and mentally stronger than those that don’t. Closing Mosques, Churches, Synagogues and Temples was a devastating move that made the isolation of many people a dreadful prospect.
In support of those who couldn’t attend their places of worship The Interfaith Contact Group launched a weekly on-line publication called Words of Connection. These readings were themed, around seasons, ideas and the pandemic itself, and the prayers and poems were truly interfaith, so that people across the City, including ambulance drivers and health workers with or without faith, could find some kind of spiritual nourishment on a regular basis. After a while these readings became part of the lives of people across the UK, as well.
Many of us couldn’t attend funerals or services of worship for loved ones, and this was another cruelty; here again our City rose to the occasion. On the 17th of October 2021 we held a Day of Compassion. At the behest of the Mayor, Councillor Alan Robins, a memorial service for the 550 people that died of Covid in our City took place in the Brighton Dome. Others supported this initiative. The Jubilee Library provided space for a photographic exhibition of pictures taken during the pandemic. Heart-rending images of little children playing alone appeared alongside haunting views of empty streets. The Fabrica Art Gallery ran a creative workshop for children bereaved by the loss of a relative or friend during the pandemic. Several children who had lost grandparents and friends benefited greatly from this.
And if you are interested you can discover more about the heroism of the people of Brighton and Hove at that sad time; just check out the IFCG’s film Light in the Lockdown. A shortened film of the Day of Compassion Service is also available.
