INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
The media has been on about International Women’s Day for the last week asking who is your hero? Featuring women who have shaped the world. Outstanding females in television and science etc etc etc
My thoughts go out to the women who are struggling to make ends meet here in Northern Ireland, women who are trying to bring up their children whilst being abused, trying to cope with problems of alcoholism, daughters looking after parents who are disabled or suffering dementia. And their stories are international – think of women in Africa, in refugee camps, in flooded parts of England and Wales.
Then there’s the disappointment so many face having given up their own ambitions in the service of others. I greet them today, the many I know and have interviewed, mothers who have lost children to suicide and their grieving husbands and families. These are the women who deserve recognition but that’s not possible in the grand scale of things. However, you probably know someone who fits this description – give her a thought today and maybe next week give her a ring or drop a letter to say Hi, thinking about you.
It’s not surprising that people are panicking about the Coronavirus. It’s a frightening situation not only from the illness point of view but also from the future of our country and the world in general. The repercussions will be enormous. Small and large businesses in a strangle hold, the sports events being abandoned or postponed mean huge loss of revenue, the holiday business both at home and abroad and the demise of FlyBe and possibly other airlines to follow.
One of the saddest things is how it’s effecting children who are terrified of a situation they don’t understand all thanks to adult conversation especially in the media. Of course news has to be reported but where adults can process, question and make radical judgments a child can be left in confusion and fear. Important that we talk to them, reassure them keep them from undue worry.
For the rest of us, air kissing, hand washing, gloves and a sensible approach to everyday life while hoping and praying this virus will be overcome. Worrying about Brexit seems preferable.
Turning A Blind Eye to the King of the Forest
Folk singer Colum Sands has a way with words and they are most important when it comes to fighting bureaucracy and the ‘ wilful blindness’ that seems to surround an area in Rostrevor, a woodland of outstanding natural beauty with protected status. The centre piece in this woodland is ‘The Invisible Tree’, a 200 year old oak which, through no fault of its own, has been threatened by a project approved by Newry Mourne and Down District Council to build a nursing home, 41 apartments, landscaping and car parking. It appears that the official documents presented to those in authority in order to make their decision are inaccurate, the oak trees are not shown nor are the recent number of houses, at odds with reality says Colum and his fellow members of RARE – Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment. Despite three recommendations for refusal by the council’s professional planners, over 5000 letters of objection from the public and not a single letter of support, a six member planning committee voted to approve the development. A subsequent judicial review of the Council’s decision, making progress was unsuccessful so the risk remains.
“A tree can’t speak back to those who threaten it so we are being its voice. Raising awareness has been paramount and engaging the public has been a priority. But the trees are there and the special invisible tree can be touched and admired and congratulated on being proclaimed the NI Tree of the Year by the Woodland Trust.” A magic tree, host to mistletoe and the miracle of acorns sitting in their little cups.
Rostrevor Oakwood.
Colum points out these noble trees provide a rich habitat for wild life of all sorts including the red squirrel which is so welcome in this grey world.
“Sadly, the existence of our special tree was erased in a survey and report supporting the construction of apartment blocks within a few metres of its roots and branches. This forest is our pension fund, our legacy to those coming after.”
There is a fascinating history of the oak tree going right back to the Magna Carta and the Book of Kells.
The oak apple, or oak gall, that grows on the tree is the result of the gall wasp laying eggs in the young buds. Then, according to my nature study book, the adult female wasp lays a single egg in developing leaf buds. The larvae then feed on the gall tissue resulting from their secretions, which modify the oak bud into the gall, a structure that protects the developing larvae until they undergo change into adults. And there’s more.
“Ink can be made from these galls and this we did by boiling them with old iron nails, adding honey to help it flow and we then used the result to write the placards when we took our message to the council! We presented the CEO with a bottle of ink and hundreds of signatures of visitors all signed in ink made from the invisible tree, a powerful message from the tree and the public.”
Colum has also used oak gall ink to write ten new songs for his forthcoming album “Song Bridge” due for release soon. The sleeve notes begin with these lines,
When a home is not a home and a tree is not a tree,
Then it’s time to ask the question, is it them or is it me?
The answer grows before us, it’s there to touch and see
The truth is not invisible, the truth is in the tree.
Festival Fun
We are a great place for festivals and fun and it’s all going on this month when, from the 6th to 11th, the Young At Arts Children’s Festival will burst upon Belfast. Here’s an idea of what’s been happening and is due still to happen.
At the MAC Theatre you can boogie with your baby at the ‘Baby Rave’, dance, music, sensory toys, decorations, fun for children under four and their parents. ‘Dragtime Stories’ is hosted by Cherrie Ontop suitable for all ages. Like this colourful drag queen these afternoons will be full of laughter and glitter, the organisers promise stories that celebrate individually, imagination, inclusivity and the importance of being yourself. The Abbey Theatre’s ‘Priming the Canon’ is a series of plays for young people bringing classic Irish characters to the audience. A work-in-progress performance of the latest in the series is based on JB Keanes’s ‘SIVE’.
The age old question, what colour is the wind, is an interesting one and there will be answers and children’s thoughts on the subject at ‘Colour of Sound’ a free event at the MAC.
Important Journey
One of the most important shows I think is ‘Inside The Speaker’ where the audience, 10 years and over, are invited to step into the world of partially sighted-dancer and choreographer Helen, where she introduces a very different dance experience. Through light, sound and movement, Helen takes the audience on a journey of how we experience the world around us celebrating the idea of difference and how that difference can actually make our world a more interesting place.
More dance with ‘Tetris’, excellent for the kids who can’t sit still, for the ones who like to climb walls and those who can imagine further than they can see. This extremely physical dance quartet explore how we connect with one another and how we belong to a community. It investigates building private languages to communicate and then gently invite others to enter into that world. We could all use a dose of this.
Congratulations to Young at Art, a leading children’s arts not-for-profit company based in Belfast and reaching out to children all over Northern Ireland. They coordinate festivals and events always with young people at the heart of art and, as in this case, the variety is wide and interesting and of great benefit to young people up to 18.
Still four days to enjoy – for details go to https://www.youngatart.co.uk/festival
