Of Tree Worship and Sundry other Customs

This year's Christmas Tree

Nature has , it seems, always given rise to wonder among the humans that inhabit this planet. At the same time it would seem that humans have sought to explain nature in the best way they can, so that from early times the existence of a spirit within anything in nature was assumed. Streams and rivers and wondrous waterfalls were assumed to be governed by spirits, as were the rocks and soil and sand and seas. Every plant and every animal had its spirit. Often these spirits were deemed to be good or bad, benign or evil. Perhaps this was according to the habits and effects of  the phenomenon itself. A venomous creature would easily be seen as evil.  river in Flood could well be described as angry.

No doubt this tendency to imbue natural things with spirits increased as language increased. Gradually the concept of gods evolved. A god for this, gods for that, a god or two for the other. In fact often the other might just have come into worship. Any excuse for some people. Of course along with all this comes the idea of a priesthood, a ruling group who are the ones who inherit the ritual secrets and, this is important, have control and the opportunity to exploit others.

I love plants and  from among the plants I love the trees especially.(oh yes I love other groups too). I can understand the desire among men and women, to worship trees which count among their number the largest living things that have ever existed on this Earth of ours and which also feed us and house us.

I received a Christmas card this year with the handwritten legend, “With best wishes for this festive (Christian) season.” It was from friends with whom we (well, I)  have an ongoing debate about the verity or other wise of the existance of God and such things.  This set me thinking…Christmas was ordained for this time of year by a convert pagan Emporer of Rome to fit with pre existing celebrations and thus make Christianity’s acceptance more palatable to the people of the Roman Empire.

It would seem that whilst the citizens of Rome were celebrating their feast of Saturn there were other peoples that also celebrated at this time of year and had been doing so for many, many years. Increasingly people in Britain are taking up the celebration of the Solstice of Winter instead of Christmas.

Well,I am happy to go along with the imported, ancient worship of trees at this time of year and the longstanding pagan practice of using branches and greenery to decorate one’s home and if I had n open fire I would willingly burn a Yule log. And in the spring I would carry on the ancient tradition of dancing around a tree in the form of a gigantic maypole (none of those mincy little continental  maypoles for me). Whether I imbue this festival with the celebration of a putative all forgiving, all powerful, all loving god figure is neither here nor there for me.

Mid-winter celebrations pre-date Christianity by thousands of years in northern Europe and so I cannot accept it as a purely Christian festival.

And as for the trees? I’ll continue to view them with awe and wonder, while we have them, with no need to explain their existence as a gift from any god. Like me, they just are.

An ancient beech in Wiltshire

Rudolph’s New Bell.

Ashok, Conrad, Gaelikaa, Helen, Judy,  Maria, Ramana , Anu ,  &   Ginger Haag are the other current members of the Loose Bloggers Consortium. Some of them may not be able, with famiily commitments, to contriibute to the fun this week. However I will take this opportunity to wish them the Pleasures of the Season. And may I tender the same wishes to you, my readers, as well.

The broad theme for today’s post is seasonal…. Giving and this has proved something of a problem for me.
From an early age we were taught that it is “More blessed to give than to receive.” but, since the end of the 1960s it seems that Christmas has been presented to children as a time when they can expect to receive, receive and receive.

I fell to wondering what it is that one can give that is of most value. After all everything seems to have a value put upon it in this day and age. I was reminded of the story of the Widow’s Mite (Luke 21: 1-4). And did not Jesus tell the rich man to sell everything he had and give it all to the poor? I often wonder just how many so called Christians would ever do just that.  Some religions even set the amount that the followers are supposed to give. I thought about gifts that I have given and received.

I was stumped…..until this morning when I told a friend the  story of something that happened yesterday.

I always find Christmas hard for a variety of reasons and I regularly suffer from what I call Christmas Blues…there  must be a song there… however I do have one saving grace and that is an inveterate sense of humour. Well, that’s what I call it. This got the better of me  yesterday and I decided to pass a gift to a friend who runs the greatest little bookshop in the world. Bev is, herself, a joker as you may fiind out if you look at the shop’s website. She positively encourages humour. I decided to take her one of the bells pictured above but give  it to the staff to hang around her neck so that they “would hear her coming”.

As we walked along the railway platform to catch the train down to Chingford (the end of the down line) the bell jangled in my pocket.

“That must be Father Christmas,” said a Grandmother sitting with her two young grandchildren waiting for the train.

“No” I said, ” This is a new bell for Rudolph. If I can’t get it to him he won’t help Santa pull his sleigh tomorrow and there won’t be any presents. Rudolph does like to have a proper bell before he will even think about helping Santa.” and I jangled the bell.

There was wide eyed astonishment and Grandma interjected,” Oh, I do hope you get there in time.” (what a great grandma).

“Mmm! I have to get to the North Pole and so I’m getting on a train that is heading north. But what I’ll do when I get to Chingford I don’t know. I may have to walk.”

The elder of the two let his jaw drop., “I want a model Eurostar train and two Eurostar Tickets for Christmas,” he said.

“Well, I’ll let Santa know if I manage to get there in time. Have you two bought presents for Mummy and Daddy and Granny and Grand pa?”

Eager nods.

“Sh! Don’t say anything. She might hear.”

Fingers on lips and shakes of heads.

The train came and we got on. The two children dragged their Granny towards the front of the train.” We have to be up there near the driver” she explained.

We arrived at Chingford, alighted and walked to the Exit. There waiting for us were two young children and a Grandma.

“Just making sure you get this far” winked Grandma.

“Well, I thought that I’d go to the Post Office and ask if they can deliver the bell for me,” I kept my fingers crossed that they wouldn’t want to come with me.

Phew! They were going out of the other Exit.

We waved goodbye.

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I hope he gets his tickets to Bruge and that his sister gets what ever it was that she was trying to explain that she wanted in her toddler speak.

I told Bev about it this morning and she smiled, looked at me and said, ” Ah! Lovely. There’s a book in there!”

What has this to do with giving? I realised that one of the greatest gifts we can give is pleasure.

By the way…Is there a book in there?

Have a Good Yule.

New Guidance on Christmas Carols for the Public Sector

Little Jesus, sweetly sleep
Little Jesus, sweetly sleep, do not stir;
We will lend a coat of fur,
We will rock you, rock you, rock you,
We will rock you, rock you, rock you:

Fur is no longer appropriate wear for small infants, both due to risk of allergy to animal fur, and for ethical reasons. Therefore faux fur, a nice cellular blanket or perhaps micro-fleece material should be  considered a suitable alternative.
Please note, only persons who have been subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check and have enhanced clearance will be permitted to rock baby Jesus. Persons must carry their CRB disclosure with them at all times and be prepared to provide three forms of identification before rocking commences.

Jingle Bells

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O’er the fields we go
Laughing all the way

A risk assessment must be submitted before an open sleigh is considered safe for members of the public to travel on. The risk assessment must also consider whether it is appropriate to use only one horse for such  a venture, particularly if passengers are of larger proportions.
Please note, permission must be gained from landowners before entering their fields. To avoid offending those not participating in celebrations, we would request that laughter is moderate only and not loud enough to be considered a noise nuisance.

While Shepherds Watched

While shepherds watched
Their flocks by night
All seated on the ground
The angel of the Lord came down
And glory shone around

The Union of Shepherds has complained that it breaches health and safety regulations to insist that shepherds watch their flocks without appropriate seating arrangements being provided, therefore benches, stools and orthopaedic chairs are now available. Shepherds have also requested that due to the inclement weather conditions at this time of year that they should watch their flocks via CCTV cameras from centrally heated shepherd observation huts.
Please note, the angel of the lord is reminded that before shining his / her glory all around she / he must ascertain that all shepherds have been issued with glasses capable of filtering out the harmful effects of UVA, UVB and Glory.

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
has a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
you would even say it glows.

You are advised that under the Equal Opportunities for All policy, it is inappropriate for persons to make comment with regard to the ruddiness of any part of Mr. R. Reindeer. Further to this, exclusion of Mr R Reindeer from the Reindeer Games will be considered discriminatory and disciplinary action will be taken against those found guilty of this offence.
A full investigation will be implemented and sanctions – including suspension on full pay – will be considered whilst this investigation takes place.

Little Donkey

Little donkey, little donkey on the dusty road
Got to keep on plodding onwards with your precious load

The RSPCA have issued strict guidelines with regard to how heavy a load that a donkey of small stature is permitted to carry, also included in the guidelines is guidance regarding how often to feed the donkey and how many rest breaks are required over a four hour plodding period.
Please note that due to the increased risk of pollution from the dusty road, Mary and Joseph are required to wear face masks to prevent inhalation of any airborne particles. The donkey has expressed his discomfort at being labelled ‘little’ and would prefer just to be simply referred to as Mr. Donkey. To comment upon his height or lack thereof may be considered an infringement of his equine rights.

We Three Kings

We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star

Whilst the gift of gold is still considered acceptable – as it may be redeemed at a later date through such organisations as ‘cash for gold’ etc, gifts of frankincense and myrrh are not appropriate due to the potential risk of oils and fragrances causing allergic reactions. A suggested gift alternative would be to make a donation to a worthy cause in the recipient’s name or perhaps give a gift voucher. We would not advise that the traversing kings rely on navigation by stars in order to reach their destinations and suggest the use of RAC routefinder or satellite navigation, which will provide the quickest route and advice regarding fuel consumption.
Please note as per the guidelines from the RSPCA for Mr Donkey, the camels carrying the three kings of Orient will require regular food and rest breaks. Facemasks for the three kings are also advisable due to the likelihood of dust from the camels’ hooves.

Away in a Manger

Away in a Manger
No Crib for a bed

For the use only of  Social Services!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!

Enjoy the season of goodwill )

Times Remembered……

Well, here we are again, time for the weekly post in the LBC series.

Please vist the others in our little family and enjoy their ideas about Times Remembered.

Ashok , Conrad, Gaelikaa, Maria, Marianna, Ramana, Grannymar , Judy & Helen. We also welcome two new members namely Anu and Ginger

I remember times at boarding school when I would make trip to the Library to read. What I read I will reveal later.

You might ask, “What other purpose would be served by visiting the School Library?”

Well, the opportunity to get away from ones house mates perhaps or maybe the opportunity to meet one’s (current) soul mate.

What ever the reason, I used to got to the library from my earliest days at Wymonham College but in the Fifth ans Sixth Forms one reason was to read the greatest of British Institutions, The Times.

Not, you will note, The Times of London but simply The Times which, in those days, was still a full sized newspaper instead of the emasculated “compact” production it is today.

The Times was founded byJohn Walter in 1785 as The Daily Universal Register . On 1st January 1788 with Universal being universally omitted by the public,Walter decided to change the title, after 940 editions, to The Times . John Walter, the first editor of the paper resigned in 1803 and handed ownership and editorship to the second  John Walter . The first John Walter spent sixteen months inNewgate for libel printed in The Times. Pioneering efforts to obtain European news, especially from France, helped build the paper’s reputation among policy makers and financiers.

This influence lasted fro many years but one hopes that it is not so in these days under the ownership of Murdoch.

The Times was the first newspaper to send special correspondents abroad, and it was the first to send war correspondents  to cover particular conflicts. Perhaps W.H. Russell the paper’s correspondent with the army in the Crimean War , is the most famous of these. His dispatches back to England were  immensely influential.

Throughout the 19th and for most of the 20th century The Times remained an organ of influence and information. That influence has long since declined.

The old mast head of The Times: those who know about chess may recognise the name of Philidor

What made The Times distinctive for many, many years were the advertisements carried on the front page. No Headlines whenI used to read it. That is just a memory, truly Times Remembered.

As for me and The Times, a picture of me appeared inside in the mid 60’s. I was attending a National Union of Students Conference and sitting in a debate when i noticed a photographer. I pointedhim out to the reat of my delegation and we immediately became alert and obviously paying attention  (probably to Jack Straw droning on). When we returned to Colleg there were copies all over the place on posters proudly stating that the St Luke’s College delegation were the only ones awake and folllowing the debate! I fully admit that I cannot remember which conference that was, perhaps it was the one addressed by Ted Heath. We met him in the bar and he bought a couple of rounds of  drinks…more that that misery Harold Wilson did after he addressed conference.

Today I rarely buy a copy of The Times…it’s not even good or big enough to wrap the fish and chips and certainly isn’t even large enought to cover a table in the painting class at school.

Trials of management

FROM: Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: 4th DECEMBER RE: Christmas Party

I’m happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23rd, starting at noon in the private function room at the Grill House. There will be a cash bar and plenty of drinks! We’ll have a small band playing traditional carols… please feel free to sing along.

And don’t be surprised if the Managing Director shows up dressed as Santa Claus!

A Christmas tree will be lit at 1.00 p.m. Exchange of gifts among employees can be done at that time; however, no gift should be over £10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for everyone’s pockets.

This gathering is only for employees! The Managing Director will make a special announcement at the Party.

Merry Christmas to you and your Family

Patricia

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FROM: Patricia Harris, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: 5th December RE: Holiday Party

In no way was yesterday’s memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees.

We recognize that Chanukah is an important holiday, which often coincides with Christmas, though unfortunately not this year. However, from now on we’re calling it our ‘Holiday Party.’

The same policy applies to any other employees who are not Christians.

There will be no Christmas tree or Christmas carols sung.

We will have other types of music for your enjoyment.

Happy now?

Happy Holidays to you and your family,

Patricia

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FROM; Patricia Harris, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE : 6th December

RE: Holiday Party

Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table…you didn’t sign your name.

I’m happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads, “AA Only,” you wouldn’t be anonymous anymore!!!! How am I supposed to handle this? Somebody?

Forget about the gift exchange, no gift exchange allowed now since the Union Officials feel that £10.00 is too much money and Management believe £10.00 is a little cheap.

NO GIFT EXCHANGE WILL BE ALLOWED.

Patricia

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FROM: Patricia Harris, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: 7th December RE: Holiday Party

What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20th begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party!

Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon at this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees’ beliefs, perhaps the Grill House can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party – or else package everything up for you to take home in a little foil doggy bag. Will that work?

Meanwhile, I’ve arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest from the dessert buffet and pregnant women will get the table closest to the toilets,

Gays are allowed to sit with each other, Lesbians do not have to sit with gay men, each will have their own table.

Yes, there will be flower arrangements for the gay men’s table, too.

To the person asking permission to cross dress – no cross dressing allowed. And No, no blow-up sheep.

We will have booster seats for short people.

Low fat food will be available for those on a diet. We cannot control the salt used in the food. We suggest those people with high blood pressure taste the food first.

There will be fresh fruits as dessert for diabetics, the restaurant cannot supply “No Sugar” desserts.

Sorry! Did I miss anything?!?!?!?!?!

Patricia

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FROM: Patricia Harris, Human Resources Director

TO: All F***** G Employees DATE: 8 December

RE: The F*****g Holiday Party.

Vegetarian pricks I’ve had it with you people!!!

We’re going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the “grill of death”, as you so quaintly put it.

You’ll get your f****** salad bar, including organic tomatoes, but you know tomatoes have feelings, too.

They scream when you slice them.

I’ve heard them scream.

I’m hearing them scream right NOW!!

Hope you all have a rotten holiday * drink, drive, and die!

The Bitch from HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM: John Bishop – Acting Human Resources Director

DATE: 12th December

RE: Patricia Harris and Holiday Party

I’m sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patricia a speedy recovery, and I’ll continue to forward your cards to her.

In the meantime, Management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and instead, give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd December off with full pay.

Qualitative Analysis

This is the next in the series of posts the subjects of which are handed out in turn by Members of the LBC. ( Not the  London Borough Council but the Loose Blogging Consortium) If you survive this posy then you are invited to vist the posts of the other mebers of the Consortium:

Ashok , Conrad, Gaelikaa, Maria, Marianna, Ramana, Grannymar , Judy & Helen.

Why Qualitative Analysis?  Good question… the overall topic, suggested by Grannymar, is Flames or Flamers. Whilst pondering his topic i suddenly remembered my A-Level Chemistry lessons and practical examinations.

When testing unknown substances in inorganic chemistry one test for the presence of various metals is The Flame Test.

The test relies on the fact that different metal ions will emmit light of different colours when excited by heat. This is a result of electrons within the ions jumpimg from one level to another level and losing energy in the process. This lost energy is emmitted as photons ( little “packets” of light)  at different frequencies. The different frequencies give us the different colours. ( this is obviously a simplified description of what happens)

I remember how much I enjoyed the practical side of chemistry… I was good at it and apparently gained highest marks in the whole school in my practical examinations. It  was a different story with my theory exams, there just was not enough time to work things out from first principles so I failed the whole exam. I just could not learn everything by rote which is what was required in those days.

You might wonder what other practical use this property of metals could possibly be:

Fireworks!

each colour is made by a different metal compound

Photo’s by Mark Bennett of Wye

Colby

This is Colby Shergold, Staffordshire Bull Terrier of some renown.

I’d like to introduce a friend of mine:

Lady Magpie has a boyfriend who owns a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, That’s him up there ( the Stafford I mean not the Boyfriend).

Well, every so often, usually a Wednesday afternoon, Lady Magpie and the boyfriend go out together and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is left with me. I suppose they see it as a sort of compensation.

Like all Staffords, Colby is a friendly chap. He is capable of smiling like a complete idiot and is equally capable of looking so down cast that everyone’s heart goes out to him. Before he came to live with the boyfriend Colby was in need of a lot of TLC. He had been badly abused and even today is still a bit nervous. However, he knows he is loved and is very loving in return.

Recently Staffords have had a bad press due to fact that there are people who use them for dog fighting and badger baiting. They are crossed with different breeds to increas their size and then can be trained to be agressive, not just towards other dogs but towards people too. The so  called Irish Stafford is a result of this breeding.

Staffords are all dog. Solidly built and muscled like no other dog. Their musculature is such that at the first sign of aggression from another dog  the muscles on their bodies tense to become almost impenetrable. This is a result of their development in the Black Country as family utility dogs. They were ratters and guard dogs and fighters and bull baiters.

The soppy, silly and friendly side of their nature comes from the years of development as a breed within the homes of their owners. This trait is what makes them desirable as pets for families. They love peole and adore children. On top of this they are very easily trained.  My father bred a few back in the 1950s and would only ever use a dog that had been bred in Staffordshire and the Black Country and when Jill, who had sat by my pram when I was a baby and not let anyone near, unless told to, died in 1956 he  gave up some of his holiday to go up to the Midlands to purchase her replacement, Chutney, who was my dog. That is funny as, like most dogs, Staffords only recognise one leader of the pack to whom they give ultimate loyalty and in our house that was my mother. Still, it was me that had to go to dog training classes with her.

To this day I cannot abide seeing an ill disciplined dog. Perhaps that is unfair as it is  rarely, if ever, the dog’s fault. The owners need to be trained. Bring back the dog license I say. And charge at least £100 per annum per dog.

Back to Colby. It’s always a pleasure to act as his host. he bounds into the house and stops dead if he catches sight of either of the cats. He’s scared of them!! Just as scared as they are of him. After sorting out the confrontation, usually by removing the cat(s) up stairs, not a comfortable experience. Have you ever tried picking up a cat that has everything extended that it is possible to extend? After all Hellos and I love yous  have been said by everyone, including Colby, then he goes in search of his toy.

Colby's toy...that's right a cricket ball...sitting in its usual place.

What is amazing is that this toy, much loved as you can see, is always kept in the same place at the top of the stairs and Colby can never find it first time around. There follows the ritual game of “Give it to me! I want it!”

” Grr! Noo !” the latter from Colby and always accompanied by that wonderful Stafford Smile and tail wagging. Later, after Lady Magpie and the Boyfriend have gone out the two of us sneak out for a walk. Yesterday I took him down the line on the train, where he made new human friends, to Chingford and introduced him to friends there. Even B… who obviously finds dogs difficult took to him and told him he could come back but please to leave The Dirty Dog at home next time. I think that was a reference to me….

A couple of times I noticed good looking young women approaching with broad smiles. Mmm!  They ignored me and made a fuss of Colby. I hesitated to translate what he was saying as “Love me, love the man I’ve got in tow.”

A good friend is Colby…

Oh by the way, I trust the boyfriend with Lady Magpie.. they only go off to a class together. No, not Dog Training.

And and and and and and?

In writing out her sentence, Mary left too much space between and and and and and and and.

Does that make sense to you?

Songs and Rhymes from Childhood

Well here we go with my choice of subject for the Loose Bloggers Consortium…… Ashok , Conrad, Gaelikaa, Maria, Marianna, Ramana, Grannymar , Judy & Helen.

Please visit each and everyone of them to see what ideas they have come up with.

As far as I know, every culture, every civilisation, every nation and every tribe has songs and rhymes that are taught to its children. These rhymes served different purposes. Lullabies are  well known, some rhymes were for exercise with actions that would help the child grow strong and well co-ordinated, others were made up so that the parents could make political comments with out fear of being found out! And of course some were just fun.

Add to all these rhymes those made up or adapted by children themselves and we have an intriguing social study.

So, what is the earliest rhyme you can remember? No doubt my mother taught me the usual run of nursery rhymes: “Hickory Dickory Dock”, “Jack and Jill”, “Hey Diddle Diddle”, “Humpty Dumpty”, “Mary, Mary Quite Contrary” and so forth but I have no memory of being taught them.

One memory I do have is of “See Saw Marjorie Daw”:

The memory consists in this: During my childhood we moved around the country from place to place, my mother made homes in over 30 houses during the 26 years she was married to my father up until his death in August 1970.

One of the earliest of these that I can remember was at Little Farm, Llanhennock, Newport, Monmouthshire . We lived in a house on the farm and the garden looked out over the countryside. Every drop of water we used had to be pumped up to the house by hand from down in a valley.This was in 1950. I know the year because it was just after my sister’s first birthday and we were never allowed to forget how my mother had crushed  ordinary granulated sugar up to make icing for the cake. Sugar was still rationed after the Second World War.

One day we went for a walk, my mother and I, and ended up near the pump. The pump was a two handed thing that pivoted in the middle, like a see-saw. So, we pumped. Well’,I suspect that my mother pumped and I rode up and down at the other end whilst she sang:

See saw Marjorie Daw.

Johnny shall have a new master.

He shall have but a penny a day

because he can’t work any faster.

Why do I remember so vividly? Simple, I thought that the poenm referred to me and I wasn’t working fast enough.

Oh! Bow! Wow!

(the above must be read with a voice like Leslie Phillips)

From time to time we were given a treat. Somehow though,  I always got into trouble.

The particular treat I’m thnking of was the opportunity to listen to music on my father’s wind up portable Gramophone (it is still in the loft here at The Magpie’s Nest). I used to sit and try to read the labels as thwy wizzed around at 78 rpm and this would upset the Disc Jockey who had a temper like nothing on this earth.

It was worth it though as I got to hear my next childhood song…or song from my childhood: Cliff ” Ukelele Ike” Edwards (Jiminy Cricket?) singing “My dog Loves Your Dog” with the unforgettable rhyme of “terrier” and “marry her”….. I always understood that this was priceless. On the other side of the disc was “Six Women” (done two good men wrong)…which seems about parr for the course!

Little wonder that I have such an odd sense of humour.

I have tried to find a link to the song and have come up with this one and this one too.

(For the second link you may have to play around to find and  load the file..It works on Real Player)

Foot note..I have cut this post short…I’ve been having fun finding old recordings of Jazz on the Internet thanks to the last link I gave you! Wonderful. I’m really glad I came up with this idea for a subject. Apart from The Ritual Fire Dance and  Ravel’s Bolero, all the other records we listened to were jazz from before WWII. And they make a huge fuss about listening to Music of Black Origin these days as if it is something new.

The best….

As I opined elsewhere, it has been said that, “The old ones are the best ones.”

Compare this with the thought that,” The best ones get better as they get older.”

Discuss: