Happy Easter!

Wishing you a VERY HAPPY EASTER!

A Different Kind of Hero

One of the most beautiful stories of WWII, and one that shows heroism in a different light, is that of Miriam Milbourne, about whom I know little except for her heroism, which wasn’t of the kind that requires an impulsive moment of great courage, but rather a far-seeing vision, and the fruits of her efforts can be enjoyed today.

During the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands, food was in desperately short supply due to the British blockade, and the islanders were compelled to hand over any livestock to the occupying forces.

By the time of the occupation, Miss Millbourne (she is always described as Miss Miriam Milbourne, which I presume is meant as a mark of respect from that era) had been carefully ensuring the survival of the almost-extinct breed of beautiful Golden Guernsey goats by careful breeding programmes for about fifteen years. She was not going to willingly submit her beautiful animals to feed the Nazi invaders and so she somehow managed to conceal them in caves throughout the entire length of the occupation, knowing that if she had been caught, she would have been sentenced to death.

Happily, she and the goats survived. It was 1967 before the herd was successfully
introduced to England, and to my utter delight, there are beautiful Golden Guernsey goats in the farm of Temple Newsam. These gorgeous creatures are so noble in appearance, and so friendly and self-contained that it is impossible to imagine that they could have been wiped out were it not for the courage and love of this little-known heroine.

Animals have suffered a great deal in human conflicts. Over 8 million horses were killed in the First World War (8 million!! and what did they know of human wars?); during Idi Amin’s reign of terror in Uganda, elephants were horrifically slaughtered; the habitats of numerous animals have been destroyed on battlefields; sniffer dogs have been killed while searching for explosives....Thank heavens for someone like ‘Miss’ Miriam Milbourne whose courage enables me and so many thousands of other people to enjoy the beauty of the lovely Golden Guernseys today.

"For Those in Peril on the Sea"

On the anniversary of the sinking of Titanic, the courage of those who daily risk their lives to save others ‘in peril on the seas’ comes to mind. The work of the Royal National Lifeboat Association is truly awe-inspiring since most of the brave people who man the lifeboats are volunteers who turn out in all conditions at the drop of a hat when someone is in distress. It’s a definite reminder that, in spite of what the newspapers and TV broadcasters would have us believe, the world is filled with noble people who are willing to risk even their own lives for others.

One of the least likely English heroines, Grace Darling (whose name always appeared in my childhood history books about great heroes and heroines of the past), embodies that wonderful spirit of humanity that still thrives today. Grace was the daughter of the lighthouse keeper in Northumberland who, one stormy night in September 1838, spotted a wreck from the window of the lighthouse on the Farne Islands. Since the sea was too rough for the lifeboat to be launched, she and her father set out in a rowing boat to rescue the survivors. Her story was brought to the attention of Queen Victoria who was so impressed by her courage that she gave her £50, which must have been a large sum of money in the days when a servant earned less than £20 a year!

I believe that the spirit of Grace Darling and all the other true heroes and heroines of history is still strong today in the Mountain Rescue teams, the Lifeboat teams and all the people who, almost without thinking, automatically perform acts of great courage when they see someone else in need. It’s a natural human response to immediately go to the help of others in need and we are surrounded by heroes and heroines.


Unfortunately we are too often presented with only the dark side of our society: images of war, cruelty, animal abuse, child abuse murder and selfishness. I firmly believe that if the news concentrated more on the noble, the beautiful and the courageous, we would not only see ourselves in a different light, but we would all become better for it.

Lennox

Following on from the previous post, I would like to draw attention, too, to the plight of certain breeds of dogs, who are being needlessly killed in the name of ‘public safety’. This, taken directly from another website, is the story of an innocent animal named Lennox:

“Lennox is a loveable 5 year old family member. He's an American Bull dog Labrador cross that we have owned since he was a little pup. As responsible dog owners that also foster for numerous Northern Ireland dog shelters we had Lennox as a young pup Micro chipped, Neutered, DNA Registered, Pet Safe Registered, Insured and Licensed every year with the Council without fail.

"On Wednesday the 19th May 2010 he was taken from our family home by Belfast City Council as they believe he falls under the dangerous dogs act for Northern Ireland. The Council, without seeking any proper professional guidance declared Lennox to be a breed of "Pit Bull Type" and so they wish to kill him simply because he has the appearance of said breed. The Belfast City Council took Lennox from his loving family home using a wrongly addressed warrant and using copyright ADBA (American Dog Breeders Association) breed standards guide which the Council were never authorised to use, in doing so the Council broke international copyright laws and for doing so have recently been issued with a 'Cease & Desist' order from ADBA Inc.

Lennox has never attacked anyone or anything yet the Council have removed him from his home where he lives with my Husband, myself, our 11 year old disabled Daughter, his kennel mate Juicy a 2 year old female boxer and various foster dogs. Belfast City Council are pressuring our family to sign him over to them to be destroyed however we feel the need to fight his case, he cannot speak but we will be his voice! If this was a human we would declare this racism. We ask every kind hearted compassionate person for your support, don't let them murder him. This may be our dog today but it could be your best friend tomorrow!”

http://www.largebreeddogrescue.com/save-lennox.php
http://www.savelennox.co.uk/

'Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages"

Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour...
...Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages...

I find this opening to the Prologue of Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’ so wonderful because – in spite of its ‘olde English’ that is like a foreign language today – it speaks to something quite timeless: the desire to go on pilgrimages. Even more interesting to me is the fact that he mentions April drawing that longing from people and, though this was written over five hundred years ago yet every spring, just like those 14th century pilgrims, I, think so many people still feel that ‘pull’ in Spring to make things clean and new on every level. ‘Spring cleaning’ seems to be an innate thing – like nest building – and whatever brings us closer to our natural way of being, in tune with Nature, seems to me such a beautiful thing.

All over the world there are pilgrimage sites and holy places of many faiths and it seems that no matter what one’s Creed or beliefs, the same sense of wonder and transcendence pervades them all. Whether they be stone circles or the sites of apparitions or the homes of saintly people of the past, it often seems that places absorb the faith of, and all that is finest in those who go there. I have been in old chapels where the walls themselves seem to drip sanctity; and I have been in ancient woods or wandered in Pagan places where the trees and the earth itself seem to have absorbed that same sense that there is so much more to us than the daily ‘stuff’’ with which we fill our lives. (Incidentally, it is beautiful that the Christian monk, Thomas Merton, when visiting a Buddhist shrine was advised not to enter since – at that time – it was not in keeping with his religion. He entered and later wrote of it being one of the most wonderful experiences of his spiritual life).

Interesting, too, in ‘The Canterbury Tales’ is the odd collection of pilgrims! Saintly, lusty, uncouth, avaricious, interesting and bores; those who came to find Heaven and those who just came along for the ride: these people might just as well have stepped out of the 21st Century. Yet none of those people is simply uncouth, lusty, lazy or anything else – that is but one small facet of their behaviour and they had all chosen to go on this Pilgrimage in search of something more profound...perhaps to discover the wholeness of who they were.

The realisation that, no matter how sophisticated we think the world has become, there are some things that don’t change (our connection to the earth, our human characteristics, our natural cycles and the humorous loveliness of people) and there are eternal truths which do not change, is a very beautiful thought. There is always so much more to us all than meets the eye....

Perhaps this also explains to a small extent the appeal of beautiful palaces and stately homes and the Royalties of Europe. Among the Kings and Queens of the past, the same characters existed as exist today and as were described in ‘The Canterbury Tales’. Marie Antoinette was sometimes frivolous; Edward VII was sometimes a glutton; Wilhelm II was sometimes arrogant; Alexandra of Britain (Denmark) was obsessed with her children and always late; Queen Victoria was sometimes obstinate and domineering (other times, like a little child in search of someone to look after her) etc. etc. etc. None of these people was simply that one facet of their behaviour and, as Royalties, their characteristics appear to have been exaggerated until they are written off by many people as simply that one aspect. Their homes, though, their beautiful palaces, like those sacred places, seem to have absorbed something more – the grandeur and dignity of everyone.

It is very lovely that, no matter how sophisticated or dehumanising the world seems to be nowadays, there is always an innate connection with Nature and the natural inclination towards beauty, exactly as flowers and shrubs naturally turn towards the sun.