Mental Health Awareness Week

Mental Health Awareness Week 2017 is taking place this week, between Monday May 8 –  Sunday 14.  It tries  to  bring attention and awareness to how anxiety and Depression can impact our mental health.The event is coordinated by the Mental Health Foundation https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/ and this year’s theme is “Surviving or Thriving”. It’s no overstatement to say that Britain is living through a mental health crisis. From depression, to anxiety, to eating disorders, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem each year. Many of us increasingly experiencing daily life as a battle. Emotionally, our heads are only just above water.
I personally have a trusty black dog that  calls regularly that has  made me the open, understanding and compassionate person I am. I unfortunately  have no control , it just happens.It suddenly  creates sadness , fear, and all those turbulent feelings that drives one to self destruction , and nights with no sleep. I also  get so angst ridden that I cannot leave my house, let alone phone a GP to seek help, because I fear I will be judged and blamed somehow, embarrassed and ashamed for something I have no control over. A tendency to affix blame and leave me  feeling even more unworthy.
Mental illness scares us and shames us. Those who suffer are often, like me, ashamed to speak of it. Those who are lucky enough to be free of mental illness are terrified of it. When it comes to mental illness, we still don't quite get how it all works. Our treatments, while sometimes effective, often are not. And the symptoms, involving a fundamental breakdown of our perceived reality, are existentially terrifying. There is something almost random about physical illness, in how it comes upon us , a physical illness can strike anyone – and that is almost comforting. Were mental illness to fall into that same category, then it too could strike any of us, without warning. And that is terrifying.
But more than simple fear, mental illness brings out a judgmental streak that would be unthinkably grotesque when applied to physical illness. Imagine telling someone with a broken leg to "snap out of it." Imagine that a death by cancer was accompanied by the same smug headshaking that so often greets death by suicide. Mental illness is so qualitatively different that we feel it permissible to be judgmental. We might even go so far as to blame the sufferer. Because of the  stigma involved  it often leaves us much sicker.
It should be noted  that many  people believe that our Governments policies are actually fuelling the current  mental health crisis. Budget cuts to mental health services combined with no genuine support are driving  many people to the edge. As a result many young people and adults are left isolated facing long waiting lists for mental health therapies and diagnostic assessments. Prime Minister Maggie May herself said   "On my first day in Downing Street last July, I described shortfalls in mental health services as one of the burning injustices in our country.
Despite these gestures the Tories have not delivered on their promise to give mental health the same priority as physical health.They have not offered  no extra funding and have consistently raided mental health budgets over the last seven years. There are now over 6,000 fewer mental health nurses than in 2010. The number of psychiatrists employed by the NHS has fallen by  four percent since 2014 , with a 10 percent drop in those who specialise in children's mental health and a similar drop in those working with older adults. Seven years of Tory Government have left those with mental health problems without the support they need. The only thing that the Tories deliver are empty words and actions  that are shaping a society that does  not help to tackle the injustice of unequal treatment in mental health. Also because of how dire the times are getting: not only are benefit cuts driving people to think of killing themselves, but low wages and welfare sanctions are making people ill, shortening people's lives. For many insecurity  has become the way of  life. You simply can't trust May and co on mental health.
To add  to all of  this I  switched on the television the other night to find that  Theresa May was attempting to 'humanise' herself by appearing on the 'One Show' with her multi millionaire investment banker husband. So, just an average extremely rich couple who live in the very posh Berkshire village of Sonning, where the Georgian, Victorian and Tudor style houses go for anything from £800k to £1.6 million. Someone who definitely knows the effects of benefit cuts, loss of local public services and zero hours contracts on the working poor of Britain. Mrs very privileged.  I slept restlessly.Then I awoke to find she had revealed she wants to bring back fox hunting, overturning Labour’s 2004 ban. Their priorities could not be more clear: they’re a government for the few, not the many who want to keep blood sports in the history books. It seems that there are literally no depths of idiocy and cruelty that the Tories wont sink to in their efforts to restore this country to its backward depressing Victorian values. If this does not make you mad you have become conditioned and devoid of feeling, they simply have you under control.
Too often mental health is swept under the carpet and ignored ,either because of the stigma and taboo surrounding it , so we have to keep battling to destroy the negative attitudes and stereotypes that is directed towards people with mental health issues that disproportionately affect people living in poverty, those who are unemployed, people living in isolation and those who already face discrimination, so we also have to keep challenging policies that  exasperate these problems. In the meantime I will try to keep fighting and surviving, and hope that one day mental health  becomes  a genuine Government priority that would help reduce peoples pain and suffering. And who knows one day might come when I will become strong and stable.

If you need to talk to someone, the NHS mental health helpline page includes organisations you can call for help, such as Anxiety UK and Bipolar UK. or call The Samaritans on 116 123.

For a lover ( Poem for Jane Elizabeth Husband, 9/5/60 - 8/1/17 )

When there’s someone, one someone, who makes your days brighter, makes your joys greater, makes your heart lighter…Someone, one someone, you want to share with, do everything with, go everywhere. Someone, one someone you want to live for…You have something called love.”

- Kahlil Gibran

Today would have been my beloved's birthday, she would have turned 57 years young, nevertheless her spirit and magic I still feel on every sunrise,  in the early morn, after the moon has set , arriving every dawn, neither west, east, south or north, her petals following no borders,her footsteps still following rhythmic beats of the world, dancing freely, I still see her holding out her hands, in these days of confusion her words still clear, I tell myself she is free, where skies gleam and trees sway ,a drifting peaceful beauty.I offer to sweet Jane this poem.

For a Lover

Born in May like an exquisite flower
The joy she bought never surrendered,
Now in vast eternity, I am still caught
In my garden this light still shines,
Not forgotten, well attended
A passion that still has time to call,
Whispering through the trees
Releasing the memory of breath,
This great mystery who delivered kindness
In this world her love I  crave,
Because there was wisdom in her eyes
And so much laughter too,
She was faithful  true, lended strength
To let sadness flee and escape,
Though she  has gone far away
And her words are silent now,
I often wake from dreaming of  this angel form
Even while unceasing winds have blown,
With the knowledge that she bought me peace
And the greatest of all lifes' gifts- companionship,
Strong memories will always survive
The bonds of love cannot be measured,
Reaching out from  beyond final resting place
Ever so distant, yet so near and dear in heart,
I will wait  until its time to meet  again once more
For us to hold, share and love together,
On each birthday I will continue to celebrate
My special friend and lover who in poetry forever lives,
Whose passion and fire will never  fade
Still guiding and so close to me,
No matter how far  and out of reach
In galaxies of time, presence still, reverberates.
                                             
                                    

Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues

Some musical  respite. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan , originally released on the album  Bringing it all Back Home in March 1965.  Bob was a little ahead of the 'music video' trend when, on  this day May 8, 1965, he got the idea to make a short film of the song.He was filming what would become the documentary "Don't Look Back" when the idea hit him.
The short film that follows  features him standing in an alley next to London's Savoy Hotel , just accompanied by his friends Allen Ginsberg and Bob Neuwirth, flipping giant cue cards with the lyrics of the song on them.

The video, which many feel was one of the first "music videos," would become an iconic rock moment. The song sounded like nothing nobody had  heard before and  it utterly transformed Bob Dylan's career and the history of popular music along with it.
In 1963 Dylan had become one of  the leading figures in the folk revival, writing socially conscious anthems like "Blowin' in the Wind." As of his fourth album, Another Side of Bob Dylan, released in August 1964, he was becoming less interested in political material and more interested in songs with poetic, allusive imagery, but he was still playing them on an acoustic guitar or piano and his ever-present harmonica. In January 1965, however, Dylan went into the studio with a five-piece electric band -- two guitars, piano, bass, and drums . The first product of this effort was "Subterranean Homesick Blues," In four lengthy verses, with no real chorus (though the line "Look out, kid" appeared in the second part of every verse) and no mention of the title, Dylan delved into a free association of rhymes and catch phrases. This was Dylan’s first successful attempt to integrate the emotions of the Beat Generation which he had understood from Alan Ginsberg and others combining the thoughts of the moment with three minutes of everything that was happening in the world of the mid 1960s.
Like the Beat Generation poetry before it took a scatological approach to lyrics and rhyme, rejecting all that had gone before, linking the future to the past and back again, finding new models, new expressions, new ideas, even if no one knew what they meant.
The song contained depictions of a variety of characters including Johnny, "the man in the trench coat," "the man in the coon-skin cap in the big pen," Maggie, "girl by the whirlpool," and others, and, in the second parts of each verse, various pieces of cautionary advice for the kid, including everything from "Don't try No Doz" to "try to avoid the scandals." It wasn't a protest song in the way that some of Dylan's earlier songs had been, but the lyrics clearly expressed social discontent, with lines like "Twenty years of schoolin'/And they put you on the day shift." Dylan spat out the words in a staccato rhythm while the band rollicked along in a ramshackle manner.
The whole thing was oddly exhilarating, but "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was easily the strangest single Columbia Records had ever released. It was also a hit, at least a modest one, peaking just inside the Top 40, Dylan's first single to reach the charts. Rolling Stone magazine has it in the top 500 greatest songs of all time. A personal favourite of mine.
Here's Bob in London, 52 years ago today.

(As for those) in the basement
(Marijuana's) the medicine
(And those) on the pavement
(Burning down the false) government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It's something you did
(Jah) knows when
But you're doing' it again
You better duck down the alley way
Looking' for a new friend
The man in the coon-skin cap
In the big pen
Wants eleven dollar bills
You only got ten

Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talking' that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D.A.
Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't try "No Doze"
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch (those) plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows

(You) get sick, (then) get well
Hang around an ink well
(Things fell), hard to tell
If anything is going' to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write Braille
Get jailed, jump bail
(Don't stop, you don't) fail
Look out kid
You're going to get hit
By users, cheaters
Six-time losers
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Looking' for a new fool
Don't follow leaders
Watch the parking' meters

Ah get born, keep warm
(Girls come) learn to dance
Get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her (to please me)
Don't steal, don't (shop) lift
Twenty years of schooling'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
(You come out from the dark zone)
Light yourself a (fire torch)
Wear (your) sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't want to be a bum
(Get yourself a gun)
The pump don't work
'Cause the vandals took the handles

The History of Religion, From Magic Rocks to the Modern Day

Cartoonist Paul Kinsella takes us through the history of religion, one picture at a time:

Evolution is not a religion.

Evolution is a constantly observed, reviewed , and never disproved fact.

If this conflicts with your religious beliefs then I suggest you observe and review whatever it is you believe.

Evolution is backed by tangible evidence.

Your beliefs are not.

Does it really matter?

We are all designed to go.

Some of us  unfortunately never reach the " Growing up" stage.

Magic does indeed rock.

Better make the most of it.

By the way my imaginary friend is better than yours.

Footnote :-

The Irish blasphemy investigation into Stephen Fry continues a very dangerous trend of European countries using blasphemy laws to silence criticism of religion.
We cannot afford to let religious conservatives turn back the clock on decades of social progress.
Blasphemy laws make us all less free, and they suppress our ability to criticise unfair practices and to work for a fairer, more secular society where everyone is treated equally.

The questions you should be asking canvassers…

 

Local elections are over, revealing  clear  and damaging lines of division, but at least Prince Phillip has gone, and who knows if there really was a God up there by June we might see the end of May, either way as the general election  campaigning gets under way, the next four weeks we’ll be bombarded with slogans, leaflets and canvassers at every turn. But when someone turns up on your doorstep, what are you going to ask them? You might not actually feel inclined to open the door, let alone be that welcoming.

We could ignore, as those who seek to represent us come with  their deaf years, their strong handshakes and smiles, choreographed for years, enough to test anyone's patience. But if we choose to engage, we need to know our stuff – and make sure who ever is running our country they are committed to protecting our rights.Do not let them insult your intelligence  with vague and non committal type answers.Don't let  them fob you off. The way currently things seem to be going, I'm giving up hope, but it's out there, just needs to be awakened and spread.
Here are six things to ask every canvasser (as they seek to become your paid representative)  who comes to your door:

1. Will you protect the Human Rights Act?

The Human Rights Act is our law. It’s helped our troops, victims of crime, disabled people and minority groups including BAME and LGBT communities.

You can also ask party leaders to protect the Act by signing Mark Neary’s petition on Change.org.

2. Will you make sure we stay signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights?

The Convention is a beacon of hope across Europe and beyond.

It outlaws torture and slavery, upholds free speech and religion, protects life and liberty and promotes other basic rights. The Human Rights Act makes the Convention UK law – letting us defend those rights in our own courts.

3. What will you do to combat division and discrimination?

Successive governments have demonised migrants, enforcing policies which spread hate and build borders in our classrooms, hospitals and even our homes.A growing wave of hatred is directed against immigrants, fed by reporting in newspapers like the Daily Mail. Demonising immigrants has a real impact on people’s lives and feeds a small-minded politics which sees people from elsewhere as a threat.

With hate crime on the rise, now is the time to build bridges, not sow division.

4. Will you fight to protect our human rights as we leave the EU?

The next government must promise to safeguard our workers’ rights and equality protections – and not to use EU nationals as bargaining chips.

5. Will you commit to a targeted state surveillance system which protects our rights?

The Investigatory Powers Act is now law, letting the Government record and monitor everything we do online.

We need a surveillance system that targets suspects instead of swamping spies with too much data, putting our personal information at huge risk and disregarding our rights.

6.How can we trust you to ensure the NHS is legally protected in any trade deals we do with Trump’s USA?
We’ve been told that Brexit gives us the opportunity to negotiate dozens of new trade deals – including with Donald Trump’s US. But this could threaten our NHS, and access to healthcare around the world because trade deals often favour privatisation over public solutions to healthcare.

https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/

Artists organize to support striking Palestinian prisoners / Salt Water Challenge

The more than 1,500 hunger strikers include circus trainer and performer Mohamed Abusakha, who,  has been held without charge or trial for the past 16 months.https://artistsforpalestine.org.uk/2016/12/13/mohammad-abu-sakha-in-prison-for-making-children-happy/
Speaking from the West Bank, British writer and comedian Mark Thomas calls on artists to support the Palestinian prisoners: “I want my fellow artists and comedians, and all artists of every country, to show solidarity. If you’re politically engaged, you have to be aware of what is happening here and you have to support.”  (Full report Wafa Palestinian News Agency).
The New York based artist/activist initiative Decolonize This Place, that organizes around indigenous struggle, Black liberation, Free Palestine, workers and de-gentrification, launched a #Dignitystrike initiative. The Dignity Strike solidarity project, “Visibility Sustains the Struggle,” brings together artists, writers and other cultural workers to raise the profil of the strikrs, and expose the truth about the denial of their basic rights. See the report in art magazine Hyperallergic.
UK Artists: organise in support of Palestinian Hunger Strikers and let Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network know! For basic information about Palestinian political prisoners, read this briefing by War on Want.
The occupied territories of the West Bank, and Gaza especially, are often referred to as open-air prisons, but Israel’s own detention facilities are the most extreme examples of colonial subjugation. Information about the colonial and apartheid conditions in these prisons (where Palestinians are treated entirely differently from Israeli prisoners) is not widely accessible. And for good reason, because they involve violations of the basic rights of incarcerated persons, as they are recognized worldwide. Among the thirteen demands of the strikers are calls for improvements in conditions and an end to solitary confinement, heavy restrictions on family visits and administrative detention – prolonged imprisonment without charge.
 The Palestinian prisoners stand in the lineage of hunger strikers throughout history; Cesar Chavez, Alice Paul, Bhagat Singh, Bobby Sands ( who died on 5/5/81 http://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/35-years-since-death-of-bobby-sands.html,) the Tiananmen students, and countless other, less famous, movement figures. Their strike for dignity and freedom calls on all of us--including cultural workers--to amplify their struggle in confronting the tyranny of jailers. Today, we begin the work of supporting them through art and action in all their forms.
Since 1967,  more than  800,000 Palestinians  has been detained  under Israeli military orders. This number  constitutes approximately 20 percent of the total Palestinian  population in the Occupied Palestinian  Territories. Virtually  every Palestinian family has been subjected to having on or more members incarcenated, subjecting the Palestinian people to the highest rates of incarcernation in the world.
Human  rights organisations such as Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/04/israel-must-end-unlawful-and-cruel-policies-towards-palestinian-prisoners/ have called  on Israel  to end 'unlawful and cruel' policies towards Palestinian prisoners. This includes the use  of torture during interrogation, solitary confinement, numerous cases of acute health issues, alongside the routine denial of visits.
On May 6th as the strikers enter the 20th day of the strike a day of solidarity with the prisoners,is taking place across the UK. Join us outside the Israeli Embassy in London as we stand up for the rights of the Prisoners in an act of solidarity.


http://decolonizethisplace.org/dignitystrike

Salt Water Challenge

Palestinians take on' Salt Water Challenge' to draw attention to plight of more than 1,500 prisoners on hunger strike.

A social media campaign highlighting the plight of more than 1,500 hunger striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has gone viral, with people from across the world posting videos of themselves on social media drinking salt water in solidarity.
Similar to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral in 2014, the Salt Water Challenge sees supporters of the hunger striking prisoners drink a mixture of salt and water. The participants then challenge others to do the same.
Since April 17, Palestinian Prisoners' Day, many prisoners in Israeli jails have been on an indefinite hunger strike protesting prolonged imprisonment without charge, medical negligence, administrative detention and limited family visits among other charges.
The prisoners have refused to eat food until their demands are met and they are only consuming salt water as a means to steady their health.
The salt water campaign was launched with a video by Aarab Marwan Barghouti, the son of imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who is currently serving five life sentences over his role in the second Intifada against the Israeli occupation.

Barghouti has spent nearly two decades of his life in Israeli jails, and spent almost three years in solitary confinement. According to a 2013 interview, his tiny windowless cell denied him aeration or direct sunlight and was infested with cockroaches and rats.
"My father, along with 1,700 other political prisoners started the Hunger Strike for Freedom and Dignity in demand for human rights and humane living conditions in the prisons," Aarab Marwan Barghouti said in the video.
The clip then ends with Barghouti nominating 'Arab Idol' winner Mohammed Assaf and others to take part in the challenge.
Hundreds of Palestine supporters all over the world, including journalists, activists and students, even celebrities among others, have joined the trend and taken the challenge in order to bring attention to the striking prisoners. Many Palestinian, Arab and international celebrities and public figures have shown solidarity with the prisoners by taking the challenge.
British theatre director Joe Douglas and pro-Palestine English comedian and political satirist Mark Thomas accepted to be a part of the challenge during their visit to the city of Ramallah. Thomas argued that world activists, comedians and artists should join the fight against Israel’s illegal policies against Palestinian prisoners. He said it is important for the whole world to know about Palestinians, because Israel, an apartheid state as he described it, is yet to treat people like human beings.

UK Comic and cultural boycott supporter Mark Thomas takes Salt Water challenge for Palestinian Political prisoners.

Spearheaded by Marwan Barghouti, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Fatah Central Committee, as well as Karim Younis and Maher Younis, the oldest and longest serving detainees held since 1983, and Diaa al-Agha, held since before the signing of the 1993 Oslo accords, the strike has been joined by prisoners from all Palestinian political factions and, according to sources, will continue to attract more prisoners who are expected to join the strike.
The prisoners are demanding to be moved to prisons in the occupied territories as per the Fourth Geneva Convention, which would make it easier for their families to visit them, as well as lifting restrictions on family visits and better treatment at military checkpoints.
Other demands include: An improvement of access to medical care; increasing visit duration from 45 to 90 minutes; families of women prisoners meet without glass barriers to allow mothers to hold their children; an improvement in detention conditions including easing restrictions on the entry of books, clothing, food and other gifts from family members; restoring some educational facilities; and installing phones to enable prisoners to communicate with their families.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, since the start of Israel's occupation 50 years ago, more than 750,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned by Israeli forces.
About 6,500 Palestinians are currently in Israeli jails, 300 are children.
Palestinian leaders have denounced Israel's refusal to negotiate with the hunger strikers, warning of a "new Intifada" if any of them die.
Demonstrations have been held in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to support the prisoners, with Israeli forces firing tear-gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition at protesters.

alistair hulet and jimmy gregory - the internationale

Following my previous  post another one : This one makes me think of the connections between the two ways of thinking that I am drawn to, the balance between being part of a greater whole, solidarity, oneness, and then the importance of diversity and individual freedom.
As its International Worker's Day here's  Alistair Hulet and Jimmy Gregory doing Alistair's  version of the 19th century left wing anthem  that came out of the Paris Commune : The Internationale." (French: "L'Internationale"). It has been one of the most recognizable and popular songs of the socialist movement since the late 19th century, when the Second International (now the Socialist International) adopted it as its official anthem. The title arises from the "First International", an alliance of socialist parties formed by Marx and Engels which held a congress in 1864. The author of the anthem's lyrics, Eugène Pottier, attended this congress.
The original French refrain of the song is C'est la lutte finale / Groupons-nous et demain / L'Internationale / Sera le genre humain. (English: "This is the final struggle / Let us group together and tomorrow / The Internationale / Will be the human race.") "The Internationale" has been translated into many languages. It is often sung with the left hand raised in a clenched fist salute and is sometimes followed (in English-speaking places) with a chant of "The workers united will never be defeated." "The Internationale" has been celebrated by socialists, communists, anarchists, democratic socialists, and some social democrats.
The original French words were written in June 1871 by Eugène Pottier (1816--1887, previously a member of the Paris Commune) and were originally intended to be sung to the tune of "La Marseillaise". Pierre De Geyter (1848--1932) set the poem to music in 1888. His melody was first publicly performed in July 1888 and became widely used soon after.
Today many will be singing  it on May Day,  honoured by labourers and the working class, promoted by the international labour movement, socialists, anarchists and communists alike . The celebration of Mayday as a working class holiday evolved from the struggle for the eight-hour day in the USA in the1880’s. In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions passed a resolution stating that eight hours would constitute a legal day's work from and after May 1, 1886. The resolution called for a general strike to achieve the goal. With workers being forced to work ten, twelve, and fourteen hours a day, rank-and-file support for the eight-hour movement grew rapidly, despite the indifference and hostility of many union leaders. Revolutionaries believed in the struggle for an eight-hour day. A protest and rally was called in Chicago on the first of May 1886 after trade unionists had been hanged and imprisoned. Over one million American workers demonstrated for an eight hour day; despite being fired on by Chicago police, they succeeded in their demands
By 1890, the initial protest in Chicago had spread into an international protest for worker’s rights.
 Leaders of the Second International requested an international day of protest to be in held in May 1890. The UK demonstration took place and in Hyde Park, London alone – attracted 300,000 protesters. It was originally intended to be a one-off protest but it created a boom of trade unionism. It has since  helped advocate renewal, revival and of course that  powerful  trait known as solidarity, a time to organise around issues that are of vital importance today. This celebration is as relevant today as it was in 1890, a time to remember our triumphs and past struggles. Today more than ever we have to stand up to workers rights.  You only have to look at the Tories' approach to workers’ rights to see how our hard-won gains are at risk as they seek to remove  regulations that protect us.

A Poem for Beltane

I have written previously about International Workers Day's origins, it's emergence from working class struggle,https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/the-origins-of-may-day-international.html  but today I look at it's pagan root's.
Beltane is a Fire Festival. The word 'Beltane' originates from the Celtic God 'Bel', meaning 'the bright one' and the Gaelic word 'teine' meaning fire. Together they make 'Bright Fire', or 'Goodly Fire' and traditionally bonfires were lit to honor the Sun and encourage the support of Bel and the Sun's light to nurture the emerging future harvest and protect the community. It is the transition from spring to summer. Beltane is a celebration of the potency of the earth and the forces of nature. This is the beginning of the most active part of the year and the beginning of summer. All of life is rising, birdsong fills the air and growth is everywhere.
Beltane is the last of three fertility festivals. The other two being Imbolc and Ostara. Beltane is the second main Celtic festival of the year (Its counter part being Samhain). They divide the year into it’s two primary seasons, Winter (Dark) and Summer (light). As Samhain honors death, Beltane honors life. In Pagan times, Beltane Fires were lit to encourage the sun’s warmth.,On Beltane Eve all fires were extinguished and then lit again on Beltane day. The fire celebrated the return of life and the fruitfulness of the Earth. It was believed that these fires could heal, protect and purify anyone who jumped over their flames. The ancient Celts marked the coming summer with feasts and rituals that honored fertility and the beginning of open pasturing, such as driving cattle between two bonfires,a custom that was believed to magically shield the animals from disease before they were led into summer pastures.

This is a day when the light half of the year is waxing and everything is growing and blooming. It is the last of the Spring Fertility festivals and a time to prepare for the warmer months ahead. The May Queen as well as the Roman Goddess Flora were ways to represent the Divine Feminine aspect of this day. Flora was regarded as one of most ancient goddesses of Roman religion. A goddess of  flowers, vegetation and fertility. The Divine Masculine emerges as The May King or “Jack in the Green.”
This tradition was celebrated throughout Europe  but the church and state did not take kindly to these celebrations, especially during times of popular rebellion. Mayday and the Maypole were outlawed in the 1600's. Yet the tradition still carried on in many rural areas and the trade societies still celebrated Mayday until the 18th Century. The Maypole the popular and familiar image of May Day and Beltane was a phallic pole, often made from birch, was inserted into the Earth representing the potency of the God. The ring of flowers at the top of the Maypole represents the fertile Goddess. Its many coloured ribbons and the ensuing weaving dance symbolise the spiral of Life and the union of the Goddess and God, the union between Earth and Sky, a marriage between the masculine and feminine aspects of life..This union has merrily been re-enacted by humans throughout the centuries. For this is the night of the Greenwood Marriage. It is about sexuality and sensuality, passion, vitality and joy. And about conception. A brilliant moment in the Wheel of the Year to bring ideas, hopes and dreams into action.,the rituals surrounding Beltane like dancing around May poles, courting rituals, honoring the blossoming of flowers and greening of trees, symbolize the energy of new growth and fertility evident in the natural world during this season. Beltane is also a time of  transition and purification, a time to reflect on where we are in the cycle of life, a liberating occasion  to rekindle what is inside as we celebrate the season's splendour. Happy May Day and Beltane to all. .

A Poem for Beltane

Caught between the twilight of spring and summer

Among apple blossom and bluebell's corridor,

We give a nod of respect to the old ways

Hail Beltane, time now to leap the fire,

Jumping flames,time to throw away inhibition

Passion  released as we dance round and round,

Feasting on colour ,in celebration of all shades of life

Emerging triumphant out of the depths of death and dreaming,

The goddess awakening, abundant, joyful, and benevolent

There is beauty in the world, so much power lies in the land,

Bringing joy to cancel out sorrow, to lift us with change

Sacred elements of air, fire, water, earth and spirit,

Let Beltane's warmth in and feel magic unfold

Forget the cares, that worries often bring,

May your songs soar into the night

Your dancing be full of life and strength,

Earth mother opening up to the fertility god

Queen of may and jack o'green laying on the grass,
Sap rising with the embrace of longing
With love in hearts, people bonding,
Petals unfurling releasing the scent of unity
Seeds are sown, rich and poor join in  revelry

All night fires will spiral, hilltops glimmer
Far above the stars shine and shimmer,
Towards the brightening horizon of dreams
Let the blessings of the season be to you and yours..

' There are many complex reasons why people go to foodbanks ' - Theresa May

The BBC gets a lot of criticism, most of it deserved, but Andrew Marr did a brilliant job here this morning on his show  quizzing Theresa May about food banks, where she does not seem able to answer the question.

Andrew Marr: We have nurses going to foodbanks , that must be wrong?

Theresa May :  'There are many complex reasons why people go to foodbanks.'

Yes. Survival is complex and people simply do not have enough money for food.
No wonder she does not want to debate, she simply cannot defend her record or answer a single question properly. Her arrogance  is breathtaking, at least she did not have the tenacity to call them strong and stable fooldbanks. I find it incredible that anyone votes Tory; just what does it take for people to see the damage they are doing to this country!
When will the people of this country realise  the only people the Tories want to serve  are the richest among us .There another  simple reason people use foodbanks  - Capitalism. Another world is possible. We are now in a position were social workers make telephone calls to food banks to see if they have enough food left to give to their clients. The people they are helping are quite often the families who have had their benefits stopped for 12 weeks by the DWP. Vulnerable people who are already desperate. In a civilised society no one should need foodbanks. It's obscene..
Remember people's lives depend on nurses, midwives and junior doctors. Utterly disgusting to freeze their pay. Meanwhile, billionaire oligarchs run the MSM, and David Cameron has just bought a garden shed for £25,000. As a human being I could never vote Tory.

Figures show link between suicide and welfare re-assessments

The government has flagged dozens of deaths of people subjected to welfare reassessment as “possible suicides,” it  has admitted following a written parliamentary question from the Hull North Labour MP Diana Johnson two days ago that  revealed that the DWP carried out 15 internal reviews into suicides or alleged suicides of so-called DWP "clients" in 2012/13.

Fourteen reviews were carried out in each of the following two years, with 11 reviews in 2015/16.
This then fell to six last year.
These  figures will certainly reignite the debate on how DWP treats vulnerable benefit claimants.
"Families who've been left in the dark need to know everything the DWP knows about these cases," Ms Johnson said.
"Most importantly, we need a welfare system that supports, rather than victimises, the poorest and most vulnerable in our society."

Work and Pensions Minister Damian Hinds confirmed the government has carried out internal reviews relating to 60 deaths over the last five years. In his answer he said the internal reviews were carried out in relation to suicides or alleged suicides.He had previously told Labour MP Luciana Berger: "Suicide is a tragic and complex issue which we take extremely seriously.
"If information is received that a DWP client has attempted or completed suicide and it is alleged that DWP activity may have contributed to this, we carry out an internal review to establish whether anything should have been done differently.".
The Hull North MP said she was “appalled” that the figures had been unpublished until now.
“Ministers have repeatedly claimed there to be no link between suicide and welfare reassessment whenever figures have come to light,” she said.
“If there was no link, there wouldn’t have been 60 reviews of suicides in the past five years.
“Families who’ve been left in the dark need to know everything the DWP knows about these cases.”
Rethink Mental Illness charity head Samantha Nicklin said: “People with mental illness consistently find the welfare benefits system — the interview, the sanctions, the number of assessments — stressful and harmful to their health.
“Currently the system is fundamentally unsuited to supporting people living with mental illness.
“We hope that the next government will use this opportunity to conduct an overhaul of the system to ensure that people are not needlessly penalised and everyone can get the support they need.”
Last year campaigners led by the Disability News Service successfully appealed to a tribunal that these internal reviews should be made public.
Recommendations from these reviews showed that DWP staff repeatedly failed to follow strict guidelines on how to support benefit claimants who had expressed thoughts of self-harm or threatened to take their own lives, which were introduced in 2009.
Anita Bellows, from Disabled People Against Cuts, which was among the groups that launched the appeal, said it was not surprising there were further cases that DWP had needed to review.
She added: "DWP now admits that the peer review process lacked 'robust governance' and has decided to improve its processes.
"It is too late for these claimants who took their own lives and it might be still inadequate if DWP is not prepared to look beyond procedure compliance."
All this comes as new figures show private companies that run the assessments on behalf of the DWP are set to rake in more than £700m from their five-year contracts .Also in January, a National Audit Office report revealed that the Tories are spending more taxpayers’ money on assessing whether Britons are fit to work than they are saving in reductions to the state’s benefits bill. The study found that while assessments conducted for the government by private firms have skyrocketed in cost, providers are struggling to meet required performance standards.

Assessment for benefits has been for a long time  controversial  for the DWP, particularly the effects they can have on those with mental health issues. It also established, through dozens of in-depth interviews of people who had been through the tests, that "in the worst cases, the WCA experience led to thoughts of suicide" The work related assessments mean people get ill and fall into sanctions and rent arrears. It has led to some committing suicide –this is irrefutably the case.

Alice Kirby, a disability rights activist, says she was asked in her assessment for disability benefits why she had not killed herself.
She told the Press Association: "It's important we hold the department to account on this, especially when people's deaths are caused by, or linked to, benefit cuts and sanctions.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the number of reviews carried out does not represent the number of cases that should have been looked into."

If you are having suicidal thoughts, you can call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit their website www.samaritans.org.