What Is Going On??
Not a lot, as it turns out. A whole 2 street parties in the entire town - and this a Tory stronghold since the year dot!
I can't find mention online or in the local rag of parades or other unwarranted, unsolicited public madness. A couple of schools are holding fetes for fund raising purposes, and a couple of pubs are doing special menus so people can have a bit of a party.
Beyond that, it seems that sanity reigns.
I'm thinking an afternoon in the park, entirely cut off from the media, would be nice. Laze around on a blanket in the shade of a lovely tree, watching people and dogs, kids running around like loons, families picnicking, ducks on the pond, and the small creatures in the grass.
Apparently, some poor souls have actually camped out for a couple of days by Westminster Abbey in order to get a glimpse of what Buck House is calling "a private wedding" (which is costing the nation millions in subsidised housing, dining, clothing, and security); even weirder still, some Americans have got up at 4am to watch the show and have tea parties.
Baffling.
Meanwhile, it's 350 years since the Quakers presented their testimony of Peace to the King in order to prove that just chucking them in jail and killing them a) wasn't nice, b) wasn't going to stop them dissenting from religious and royal power, and c) was unwarranted as they weren't a violent threat (no matter how subversive their views and peaceful behaviour).
Lots of local Meetings are discussing what the Peace testimony means today, and how best to foster understanding of those whose positions we find difficult, threatening, bizarre, threatening, even unacceptable while holding on to the core of Quaker religious and social experience. Remaining centred while growing in understanding the whats, hows, and whys of others' beliefs, and remaining non-judgmental while recognising the impacts and consequences of those beliefs is what we nowadays call "a big ask". It's also vital to preventing and changing entrenched emnities.
Now that's what I call something to celebrate.
I'm going to try to keep sitting with it.
So, in the spirit of the testimonies of Peace, Truth, Simplicity, Equality, Earth-Care, and Community..
If you're celebrating the Middleton-Windsor wedding, what is it about it that you feel is important? I am baffled, and I am annoyed at the system, and that doesn't mean I'm not genuinely curious about what makes other people tick. I promise to listen and try to understand without judging or trying to persuade you to change your mind. I'll just appreciate your willingness to share.
I can't find mention online or in the local rag of parades or other unwarranted, unsolicited public madness. A couple of schools are holding fetes for fund raising purposes, and a couple of pubs are doing special menus so people can have a bit of a party.
Beyond that, it seems that sanity reigns.
I'm thinking an afternoon in the park, entirely cut off from the media, would be nice. Laze around on a blanket in the shade of a lovely tree, watching people and dogs, kids running around like loons, families picnicking, ducks on the pond, and the small creatures in the grass.
Apparently, some poor souls have actually camped out for a couple of days by Westminster Abbey in order to get a glimpse of what Buck House is calling "a private wedding" (which is costing the nation millions in subsidised housing, dining, clothing, and security); even weirder still, some Americans have got up at 4am to watch the show and have tea parties.
Baffling.
Meanwhile, it's 350 years since the Quakers presented their testimony of Peace to the King in order to prove that just chucking them in jail and killing them a) wasn't nice, b) wasn't going to stop them dissenting from religious and royal power, and c) was unwarranted as they weren't a violent threat (no matter how subversive their views and peaceful behaviour).
Lots of local Meetings are discussing what the Peace testimony means today, and how best to foster understanding of those whose positions we find difficult, threatening, bizarre, threatening, even unacceptable while holding on to the core of Quaker religious and social experience. Remaining centred while growing in understanding the whats, hows, and whys of others' beliefs, and remaining non-judgmental while recognising the impacts and consequences of those beliefs is what we nowadays call "a big ask". It's also vital to preventing and changing entrenched emnities.
Now that's what I call something to celebrate.
I'm going to try to keep sitting with it.
So, in the spirit of the testimonies of Peace, Truth, Simplicity, Equality, Earth-Care, and Community..
If you're celebrating the Middleton-Windsor wedding, what is it about it that you feel is important? I am baffled, and I am annoyed at the system, and that doesn't mean I'm not genuinely curious about what makes other people tick. I promise to listen and try to understand without judging or trying to persuade you to change your mind. I'll just appreciate your willingness to share.