|
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF WHITBOURN
|
|
What's New OR: 'Yo, ladies ... What's happenin ? Whatever Next ? [ Downs Lord Triptych / The Two Confessions / Amy-Faith & the Stronghold] |
Dispatch dated 5th November 2003 - Guy Fawkes Night ! ****** An
interesting thought for St Guy's Day: After his capture Guy Fawkes was taken before Scottish King James ( James I of England and VI of Scotland ) himself. Until then he had not spoken save to give a false name, John Johnson, hopeful that delay would enable his fellow conspirators to get away. His monarch demanded of him: "Why would you have fired the powder ?" Fawkes answered: "I wished to blow you and all you Scottish beggars back to your mountains !" James'
reply is not recorded. ****** A
sweeter ( in the long term ) alternative future for Mr Fawkes than annual burning
in effigy by his countrymen was imagined as the introduction to my: 'To BUILD
JERUSALEM' ( Gollancz 1995. Page
11. ) ******
'We gather today to honour one of
the great men of English history; a true son of the Church, a patriot, a soldier
and a martyr. Recognition of his
rare qualities was put beyond doubt when, a hundred years ago to this day,
Mother Church sanctioned his canonisation.
Distinguished by a life of selfless sacrifice to his country, Church and
the cause of justice, he now sits in a deserved place of special exaltation in
Heaven. We who venerate his life and example, have come together on
this, his feast day, to add our more humble, purely English, but no less
fervent, honours to one of our Land's finest sons.
When, in a few moments, I unveil this statue, we will add a small but
sincere contribution to the chorus of acclamation and approval which our
brother, his earthly tribulations over, now enjoys in Paradise. The English people, who by their generous donations to a
subscription fund enabled this statue to be raised, will be joining their
prayers to both those of Christ's Church-in-Pilgrimage on Earth, and those of
the Church-Triumphant beyond. Our
veneration will surely not go unrewarded, both in this life and the one to come.
We know surprisingly little of the man: the times in which he lived were
not conducive to fulsome declarations. His
baptism, at least, is a matter of record, we read of it in the records of St
Michael le Belfry, York, for the sixteenth of April, the Year of Our Lord, 1570.
Likewise, we can hardly fail to be unaware of his untimely, grisly, end,
here in London, in the Churchyard of St Paul's Cathedral, on the thirty-first of
January, 1606. But what of the
years between, we ask ? We know
that his father was a lawyer and that he attended St Peter's school in York.
It is said that he grew tall and stately, over six feet in height, and
had long light-brown hair and a reddish beard.
His commanding officers praise him for his courage, loyalty and
integrity. And that my friends, is
more or less all. We have no clear
glimpse of his life and works until that fateful night, three centuries ago,
when he smuggled 'two hogshead and 32 small barrels of powder', as Black Robert
Cecil records, into the old Parliament building.
Aided by spells of silence cast by accompanying wizards, the perilous
task was accomplished. We are all
familiar with the heart-stopping incident of their discovery by a yeoman of the
Guard, and his nick-of-time felling by a conjuration of 'anathema'.
I doubt that at any time in the thousand years since its discovery and
codification, has magic been put to better use in these Isles.
Fortunately, after many such adventures, all went well.
Modern engineers have reconstructed events for us.
The usurping Scottish King, his arrogant Scottish courtiers, the
lickspittle Lords and 'protestant' parliament; they were struck at first by an
enormous blast. Then they fell into
the blazing cellar beneath, hotly followed, in every sense of the word, by the
burning wreckage of the House of Lords. Those
few who survived this treatment had to contend with the famous black cloud,
which all London saw, rich in choking smoke and gas.
Together it was sufficient to send every single one to give account of
themselves to their Maker. Indeed, those same engineers calculate that the Saint
gathered twenty-five fold more explosive than was needed for the job.
That may be so, but we today applaud his pains-taking caution.
True. he was betrayed and taken. True,
he was subject to undeserved torture and a traitor's painful death.
However, that is a mere sad postscript to a great mission fulfilled.
He had done his duty and now has his reward in heaven.
Meanwhile, those of us still concerned with earning our place in
Paradise, may look at this man - together with his fellow conspirators - and
say, never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed, by so many, to so
few .....'
Extract from the address given by His Majesty's Chief Minister, Lord
Winston Spencer Churchill, upon the unveiling of the statue to Saint Guy Fawkes,
Parliament Square, London, on the Fifth of November 1940. ****** Plus ! Another serving of quotations delivered to 'Quote Qorner' Someone told me that the last lot were somewhat downcasting and best not read whilst alone in the house and/or melancholy. Sorry about that ! Try this gallimaufry as an antidote and pick-me-up. You'll find it a lot more cheery ! *
[ * Warning ! You are being lied to. ]
Back to
|