Folklore

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back of my hand, bond, British, culture, English, faerie, fellow countrymen, folklore, ghost, ghoul, King Arthur, literature, national, robin hood, things that go bump in the night

I don’t waste much time on ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night.  I get frustrated with those at the Inkwell (Creative Writing Forum) who seem to only write fantasy.  It seems any piece I open currently has to contain a vampire or zombie.  I have opined this to be laziness on the part of the author(s); ducking the need to make anything real or believable.

I have no belief in anything religious or metaphysical.  My regular readers will know, there are several starkly atheistic posts within this blog.

Folklore is not a subject that has challenged my mind much.  It has occurred to me however, over the last week or so, that this is a blinkered approach.  Britain has a rich and varied folklore, inherited over thousands of years, that informs our national character and outlook.  I doubt King Arthur or Robin Hood ever took breath, but I know their tales like the back of my hand, and so, I’d wager, do my peers.  That’s a bond of sorts.

I rarely find cause for pride in “Britain’s” activities in the world, but I still have a kinship with my fellow countrymen.  I will not be chasing faeries down the garden any time soon, but I have to accept that faeries form part of our history, albeit imagined history.  And maybe, that is it imagined, doesn’t really matter anyway.  The important distiction is that sufficient of our forebears felt the need to pass this material on to the next generation and so it lives with us.

The Seagull Has Landed

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adage, culture, levity, life, musings, sayings, thoughts

My friend Kim came back from a training course in Germany, where the tutor tried to persuade her that culture comes from sayings, adages or saws. That set our morning coffee gathering to a lively debate.  It feels like a case of the tail wagging the dog or the cart before the horse to me.  Surely, it’s our culture that defines our sayings, not the other way around?

We’re not usually very serious for very long and this occasion was no exception.  Levity is the watchword, even if I’m the only one who knows what it means.  Claire proposed “lol”, though I don’t think that qualifies as a saying.  If at first you don’t succeed, maybe sky-diving isn’t for you.  If you can keep your head, whilst those around are losing theirs, maybe you’ve misunderstood the situation.  Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may diet.  Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he’ll want a quota.  Little Jack Horner pulled out a plum and said “where’s my thumb gone?”  Procrastination is the thief of time, but so are a lot of other long words.  Beauty is only skin deep but ugliness goes right to the bone.  It is better to keep your mouth shut, and have everyone think you’re dumb, than to open it, and prove it beyond all doubt.  “Hell hath no fury like a woman’s corn” (Taming Of The Shoe).

Culture?  Don’t talk to me about culture.  Ask the man with the petri dish.

Inter-cultural Group

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cultural group, culture, diversity, multi-national, musings, overseas visitors, thoughts, travel

One of the advantages of working for a multi-national organisation is that we acquire workforce from all over the world. We have a marvelous mix here, which rather suits my zenophile tendencies.
An Indian and a Brazilian in our midst, created the Inter-cultural Group here, a year or so ago. I am flattered that they invited me to join.  The group provides advice on cultural issues for travelling employees; support to overseas visitors; translations; and spreads cultural awareness and appreciation of diversity through the workplace.

We’ve organised a summer party for group members, at our hotel, this evening, which I am very much looking forward to.  I hope to be able to bring you some interesting tales and photos later.