What are you giving up for Lent?

‘Giving up’ is all based on the story of Jesus fasting for 40 days in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry. Lent is 40 days of preparation for Easter, a time for soul-searching and repentance.

I was raised Catholic, so every year my mom would make me give up stuff for Lent. I always tried to give up homework or vegetables, but since she wouldn't let me get away with that I ended up going without sweets, chocolate or something like that.

Now that I’m older and wiser (???), I could see practicing Lent even if you're not Catholic, just as a way to appreciate things you take for granted...or perhaps as a way to find out there are some things in your life that you just didn't need as bad as you always thought you did.

So what would you give up for Lent?

(This is my hint...)

Happy Mardi Gras!

In England, (and the rest of the UK) the Tuesday before Lent is known as Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday). On that day it is traditional to eat pancakes, toss pancakes and take part in pancake races.

The origins of eating pancakes arose from Christians who observe Lent and wanted to use up all the rich foods in their cupboards before Lent. During Lent eggs, sugar and butter were not allowed so these ingredients were used to make pancakes.

A different way to spend the day is in Scarborough, Yorkshire, where everyone assembles on the promenade to skip. Long ropes are stretched across the road and there maybe be ten or more people skipping on one rope.

The origins of this customs are not known but skipping was once a magical game, associated with the sowing and spouting of seeds, which may have been played on barrows (burial mounds) during the Middle Ages.

What do you think, skipping or rather eating pancakes????

Carnevale

Carnevale (Carnival), has been celebrated for centuries throughout Italy. The word may well derive from carne vale - 'farewell to meat' - which would explain the function of the celebration: an opportunity to indulge and use up such treats before the start of Lent (like an extended Pancake Day).

In modern Italy Carnevale is generally a time for children, who are led, carried and wheeled around town dressed in costumes - from cute fluffy animal suits to musketeers and Harry Potters, leaving a trail of confetti, sweets and 'silly string' littering streets and piazzas. Sometimes the celebrations extend to organised events for the whole community, but on the whole it's not a very important time for adults.

In Venice, however, the tourist board and hoteliers hit upon a fantastic money-earner in the 1980s when they revived a picturesque version of Venice's past. In Venice it's the grown-ups who have most of the fun, with masked balls, costume parades and a slightly antiseptic nostalgia for more decadent times.

The Venice Carnival began in 1039, and after 1162 was officially used as a symbolic welcoming of entry for rulers of the city upon their return, for example after victory in the war against Ulrico, Patriarch of Aquileia. Later the carnival also was an occasion in medieval times for processions celebrating marriages. Although generally for the upper classes, the masquerade balls transfigured into a more public affair in the 16th century when people donned the colourful masks to free themselves from judging neighbours, all of whom knew each other in such a small city. Too much decadence throughout the middle ages meant that the wearing of the masks became strictly limited to the ‘Carnevale’, as at one stage masks were worn on a daily basis but later banned, and so traditionally the carnival represents the last acceptable opulence binge annually before Lent.

However much the modern Carnival may be contrived for tourists, it's undeniably atmospheric to walk down a lane in Venice and pass cloaked and masked figures. The tourist board and hotels urge their guests to participate by wearing at least a mask as they tour the town. It can be an exciting time for children: as long as the masks don't scare them, there are plenty of opportunities for fun. The city is very busy, particularly during the two Carnival weekends, and there is a genuinely festive atmosphere.

Costumes and masks largely provide the grandeur and mystique to the Carnival. Costumes in calle, campelli, lace, brocade, velvet and satins are elaborate, rich, detailed and evoke a magical feeling. These costumes combined with an appropriate mask allow the wearer to escape into a world where he can live his fantasy.

Costumes fall into two types the carnival costume and the historical costume, both allow one to indulge in an orgy of elaborate and rich dressing. Masks like the Bauta, were used by both men and women but not girls of marriageable age. The mask comes with a small cloak over the shoulders and a witch style hat and a large black cloak.

However much the modern Carnival may be contrived for tourists, it's undeniably atmospheric to walk down a lane in Venice and pass cloaked and masked figures. The tourist board and hotels urge their guests to participate by wearing at least a mask as they tour the town. It can be an exciting time for children: as long as the masks don't scare them, there are plenty of opportunities for fun. The city is very busy, particularly during the two Carnival weekends, and there is a genuinely festive atmosphere.

The hedonistic extravagance that has always been synonymous with the Venice Carnival still lives on today through the beauty of the mastered fashion and appreciation of arts in general.

Sorry if I sound like sponsored by the Venice Tourist Board (!!!), but the Carnevale di Venezia is such a unique event that you should experience it at least once in your life!

(Photos kindly provided by my "reporter-in-location", the lovely Giusy)

The Vikings are in town...

"The year is 1069. The kingdom of England is in the grip of new Norman masters. Their castles rise up all over the countryside, dominating the landscape. The Viking menace from the north is just a distant memory. Or is it...? The disempowered Anglo-Saxon earls of the north have few friends to help them against their hated Norman overlords. But help is at hand from an unexpected quarter. King Sweyn of Denmark has followed in the footsteps of his Viking ancestors, landing in the Humber estuary and promising aid for Edgar Atheling, the teenage heir to the stolen crown of England. Sweyn, Edgar and their allies advance on York, determined to destroy the Norman castle and to wrest control of the city from William the Conqueror. The reconquest of York will open the way for the northern earls to battle their way south and perhaps to oust William entirely. But will Sweyn be true to his word? After all, what is the promise of a Viking worth..?"

From today until the 22nd February, it is possible to witness a truly international celebration of York's heritage, as Vikings from all over the world descend on the city for the JORVIK Viking Festival. Visitors will be able to witness the Vikings fight in ferocious and bloody battles, trade and commemorate their shared heritage. With over one hundred specially organised arts, music, drama and action events taking place over five spectacular days. The city is also treated to a range of public events including lectures, arts & crafts, encampments, river events, saga-telling, and full-scale battle re-enactments. It is an event for everubody. children and adults, history lovers and arts&craft fans. The only problem is that there are far too many people around for a relatively small place like York and if the weather is as gloomy and damp as it was today it can become a bit crowded. But it's worth watching even just an hour of the show around!

Dreaming on a rose

(Photo from The Daily Mail)

This is probably old news for most of you but I couldn’t resist to post the beautiful photo of the little sweet Dreamy. My daughter has been sleeping with this under her pillow for a couple of days now!

Dreamy was a snoozing baby dormouse nestled in the heart of a rose to hibernate for seven months.

But his blissful slumber was rudely interrupted by a dog. Fortunately he was rescued by the owner and taken to the Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre in Somerset.

And staff there have made sure they fatten Dreamy up on hazelnuts and seeds before giving him a comfy coconut shell to doze off the rest of winter.

The most precious thing of the week!

Who's afraid of Friday the 13th?

Paraskavedekatriaphobia. Just trying to pronounce the word is scary. It refers to the fear of Friday the 13th, and it's been said that as many as 21 million Americans may suffer from it, not to mention all the other ones in the rest of the world!

There are many origins for the date being seen as the unluckiest of the year. One is that Christ was the 13th guest at the last supper and was crucified on a Friday. Tradition also has it that Friday the 13th was the day Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit and the day Noah's flood began. For centuries, no ship would sail on Friday the 13th.

The Knights Templar rose to prominence in Europe between 1096 and 1307. Their downfall came on Friday 13th October 1307. This date saw the catastrophic destruction of the Knights Templar by King Philip of France and his puppet Pope Clement V.

I’ve read that there are no houses in Paris with the number 13 and many New York hotels do not number the 13th floor or have rooms numbered 13.

In Brazil instead, Friday the 13th is a magic day because each time it becomes the festival of Macumba, a mixture of ancestral religion and rituals. I’d rather party with the Brazilians rather than spend my day at home in superstitious fear tomorrow!

And then my personal Friday 13th unlucky day was already yesterday, Wednesday 11th! My dad had an emergency operation (fortunately today he’s already recovering!), my son broke his nose playing football, my daughter got her forehead badly bruised by a “flying” ball in the playground and my husband’s car slid on black ice on his way to work and the radiator and the front of the car were smashed. Luckily he was unhurt. So, what else could go wrong? Actually, plenty more...

However I think that tomorrow is the perfect time - the first Friday the 13th of the year - to face all those fears. Stare superstition in the face. Break a mirror. Walk under a ladder. Be bold! After all we are in the year 2009!

R.I.P.

Eluana Englaro

Lecco, 25th November 1970 – Udine, 9th February 2009

"Ognuno sta solo sul cuor della terra trafitto da un raggio di sole: ed è subito sera"

(Everyone stands alone on the heart of the earth / Transfixed by a sun-ray: / And it is suddenly night)

Salvatore Quasimodo

For Eluana

I’ve never met Eluana and unfortunately I never will. But for the last 17 years I’ve been following her story, suffering and worrying for her and for her family together with most of my Italian country people.

Eluana is an Italian woman who entered persistent vegetative state in January 1992 (when she was just 22 years old) suffering irreversible brain damage after a car accident. For years, her father has fought to have her feeding tube removed, saying it would be a dignified end to his daughter's life. He says that before the crash, his daughter visited a friend who was in a coma and told him she didn't want the same thing to happen to her should she ever be in the same state.
Butt the authorities have delayed his request. The case has sparked controversy because of the current debate on euthanasia which is illegal in Italy, a Catholic country still very influenced by the Vatican.

A long series of legal battles finally ended in November 2008, when Italy's highest court, the Court of Cassation, confirmed a lower court decision allowing Eluana’s father to suspend his daughter's treatment. This court's decision sparked a new fight to find a hospital or clinic that would take out Eluana's feeding tube. Several clinics initially came forward to say they could do it, but the Italian health minister then issued a decree to remind them of their duty of care. Under pressure to adhere to this decree, the clinics backed off. Finally, a private clinic in Udine, in the North-East of Italy, agreed to assist in Eluana's case. She was transferred last Monday night whilst a handful of protesters tried to block the ambulance carrying her from leaving the clinic, one of them holding a banner reading, "Only thieves and assassins act at night."

Last Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI told pilgrims that "euthanasia is a false solution to suffering." Tuesday morning, a top Vatican official was quoted in the Italian media saying, "Stop the killer hands."

As a last act of this very distressing saga, yesterday the Italian Government approved a decree that would have forced the hospital to continue the treatment of Eluana, but the President of the Republic refused to sign the decree.

The Udine clinic says the removal of Eluana's tube will begin in about three days, and the process of allowing her to die will take about 20 days.

I let you draw your own conclusions. I respect life but I also respect the right to decide on our own life, on our own future. Eluana cannot choose herself, that’s right. But what do you think she would choose if she could?

It's panto time!

Oh no, it isn't. Oh yes, it is!!!!

Last week my family and I went to the panto. I know, I know, it is probably a bit late for a panto now, but I can assure you that on a freezing cold end of January night, at one of the most depressing times of the year, there is nothing better to lift your spirits than the traditional York Theatre Royal panto which will leave you happily glowing with warmth and smiles.

Before moving to York I didn’t have the slightest idea of what a pantomime was. When mu husband explained it to me I couldn’t get excited about it. Cross-dressing, slapsticks, audience participation? How is this supposed to work on adults and children altogether? But the first time I entered the lovely York Theatre Royal and watched the traditional Berwick Kaler’s pantomime I was hooked for life.

Over the last 30 years York Theatre Royal's annual pantomime has reached cult status. Critics and the audience agree that it's one of the best in the country. It doesn't rely on star names to pull in an audience, instead it relies on a group of regular actors; 'the lad' Martin Barrass, 'the villain' David Leonard, 'principal boy' Vincent Gray, who has replaced Suzy Cooper, now an act of her own, and, in particular on one man, Berwick Kaler, the Dame.

This year the story was based on Dick Turpin, the legendary Highwayman. Dick Turpin, who rides his beloved horse Black Bess from London to York to escape the law and the evil machinations of Count Vermin De Vile (David Leonard). Clearly the script does not follow the story or the legend but tells the tale of two villains looking for pole position - Dick Turpin, nephew of Betty (played by Kaler) against Count Vermin De Vile. This panto is extra special as it marks Berwick Kaler's 30th year as the show's dame; and the ever-thwarted baddie, David Leonard's 21st.

You simply can not stop yourself from having a smile on your face from the moment the curtain goes up until well after you get home following the show. There is little by the way of plot, but this only adds to the fun which you might think is all chaotic and made up on the spot, but is in fact very well rehearsed and outstandingly professional.

The traditional Kaler’s ingredients: the water scene, the song sheet, the UV lit scene in the dark, the wagon wheels, Berwick's fabulous dame, David Leonard's pelvic thrusts and Martin Barrass' skipping are all there. However we also manage to catch up with some dancing leprechauns, a strong-smelling policeman, an Abba medley, an hilarious Amy Winehouse sketch and a “York’s got talent” contest along the way which apparently has something to do with Dick Turpin…
…And of course the legendary and heavily sought after Waggon Wheels thrown into the crowd before the end of the show. My daughter even managed to catch one of those and triumphantly showed off it at school the next day.

If you haven't been to a York Theatre Royal panto before then you don't know what you're missing, come along next year (usually from the middle of December until the end of January) to the show and you will soon feel part of Berwick's "babbies and bairns" family.

[Panto photos courtesy of The Press]

And the winner is...

Lily the Hamster has finally pulled a name out of her bowl (she does not wear hats as she does not go out much!) ...

and the winner is...

the lovely

I will send you the Moleskine as soon as I manage to ge to the post office through the snow storm!!! Hope it will be useful to you, Jeannette!!! Thanks to everybody who have shown an interest. Hope you are all keeping nice and warm.