Nudity in Pamplona.  Fancy dress at Stonehenge.  Naked ambition in Manchester.

A mixed bag from this morning’s British press, national and local ...

First up, probably literally, is the fiesty Sabina Arthurs of Brighouse, Yorkshire.  She is planning to run with the bull in Pamplona next month.  But ... she’s going to do it stark naked.  It’s her way of protesting, of course.  Naked protesters against animal cruelty did the same thing last year.  We are not told whether they left any little things behind afterwards.

Now alright, this display of bovine solidarity may bring the eponymous, testosterone-soaked Spanish male to the realisation that bullfighting is very cruel.  Very, very cruel.  But there again it may not.  Indeed, he may, on hearing Sabina’s uplifting news, ask himself not “Is she right about the bulls?” but “Is she a looker?”  My guess: he will and she is.  Or the local paper wouldn’t be interviewing her.  Alas, there is no picture on-line by which we may judge this important issue.

As for the testosterone-soaked bulls

... they seem pretty keen proponents of cruelty themselves.

Elsewhere in England (well, everywhere, really) it’s June 21st ... the summer solstice.  So it’s on with the old KKK gear (minus the bit over the head with the slitty eyes, of course), and off to the Henge.  At dawn on every June 21st a bunch of “Druids” (mostly bored state school teachers, local authority workers and bankrupt health food shop owners) offer due veneration to erm ... er ...  Well, five thousand years ago the Celts gathered at the Henge to ... er ...  OK, but afterwards there’s drums and singing and Celtic brotherhood for a couple of thousand assembled “revellers” (mostly unemployed Feng Shui gardeners, Tarot readers, bored state school teachers, local authority workers, bankrupt health food shop owners plus the occasional failed lap dancer to do a Sabina and spice things up a bit).

Alround, it’s a pity there aren’t any fighting bulls rampaging loose on Salisbury Plain.  However, the national dailies did gore proceedings horribly with the news this morning from Dr Umburto Albarella, an animal bone expert at the University of Sheffield’s archaeology department, that:-

Modern-day druids, hippies and revellers who turn up at Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice may not be marking an ancient festival as they believe.

The latest archaeological findings add weight to growing evidence that our ancestors visited Stonehenge to celebrate the winter solstice.

Analysis of pigs’s teeth found at Durrington Walls, a ceremonial site of wooden post circles near Stonehenge on the River Avon, has shown that most pigs were less than a year old when slaughtered.

... pigs in the Neolithic period were born in spring and were an early form of domestic pig that farrowed once a year. The existence of large numbers of bones from pigs slaughtered in December or January supports the view that our Neolithic ancestors took part in a winter solstice festival.

Ah well, it’s a sure bet that they didn’t do it in the nude.  Not on the Plain in December.  They never wore sheets, either.  Still, now our wise Wiccans and would-be Celts will have to find some other excuse for a fancy-dress party,

... and to smoke some good skank and generally be as alternative as possible.

On a more serious note, it is fashionable in these socially liberal times to put away judgementalism about such lost souls.  We are not our brother’s keeper unless, of course, our brother is not our brother at all but, in the progressive sense, is “exploited” and “oppressed” by us.  Suddenly, we are expected to develop a profound social conscience and blather on about “One Race - the Human Race”.

I work the other way round.  In our time the exploited class is the majority whose wants and views are ignored, whose protests are made illegitimate, even illegal.  By contrast, these slack-brained, sad creatures among the Stones exploit our goodwill and call it freedom, yeah.  They are free-riders of a kind.  They do not contribute (I don’t mean economically, though that is probably also true.  I mean in terms of utility to their people).  Even so, I am their keeper in so much as they are of my people and share our genetic interests, whether they understand that or not.  They wouldn’t, of course.  Social liberalism teaches only self-indulgence, and has no use for kinship.

Some of the human qualities formerly associated with kinship still arise in odd corners of British society.  But just not in the way you would expect.

The arrival of scores of young Latvian women to North Somerset has led to one village’s first East-meets-West marriage. Women from Riga have been coming to work in Backwell ever since Latvia joined the European Union in May last year.

Dennis Bidwell, owner of the New Inn pub, has employed many of the young women to pour pints.

And pub regular Dave Senior, an IT consultant, is to marry 21-year-old Olita Dubanevica.

Mr Bidwell said he employed the Latvians after local students took time off working in the pub to study for their exams.

The former computer company sales director used the internet to search for recruitment agencies.

He said: “The thing is, and I hope this doesn’t sound politically incorrect, but they are like British women used to be.

“They have a strong work ethic, are beautifully mannered, polite, dependable, immaculately behaved and absolutely no trouble to have around.

“There hasn’t been a moment’s problem with any of them.

“Young local people can’t be bothered these days. They’ve got other things to do and they can get money off their parents. It’s a different attitude.

Still, Latvian crumpet, however delightfully mannered and even ornamental, is not my kin.  Solutions to the ills of social liberalism do not lie with immigration full-stop.

Neither, most obviously, do they lie with Chief Constables.  These ultra-ambitious, New Labourish culture warriors are really NOT my kin.  In Salterian terms, they have become extended minority phenotypes.  Happily, they are not much good at it.

Police launched an investigation into an anti-racist letter posted to 11,000 staff from their own Chief Constable - because they suspected it was bogus.

The letter warns staff they face the sack for any racist, sexist or any other discriminatory behaviour.

It arrived at the homes of 8,000 police and another 3,000 support staff on Thursday and Friday.

It prompted fury among some rank-and-file members, backed by the Police Federation, who branded the letter heavy-handed and insisted it implied they were racist. Some wrongly believed they were being disciplined.

Now Mr Todd has apologised for the way the letter was sent to homes and the way it was worded - but says he stands by its message.

Anti-racism is racism if you are white, Mr Todd.  Which, of course, you no longer are.

So that’s it, folks.  Solidarity with everyone except ouselves and celebrations of everything except what is our own.  What a world.

Posted by Guessedworker on Tuesday, June 21, 2005 at 10:28 AM in Oh Tempora, Oh Mores
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