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.