So the A-lection news continues to be reported, only a matter of time before there is some horror to report. Television is all right but for me the wireless is 100 times better, the analysis is more considered because there is more time, experts are quizzed more closely because there are better journalist interviewers doing the job. Just try 5 Live if you haven’t already.
Bye Bye Happiness – I think I’m goin’ to Cry
The last time I visited Barry’s Amusements was a few years ago with my grandson. A beautiful summer day of ice cream and a steam train but, once we got to Portrush, nothing would do but he’d go on the American Whip which looked tame enough as it slowed to allow people to get off, so I went along with him. He loved it. Me? To say I was terrified is an understatement. Just as it said, we were whipped round this way and that speeding up as we went. It seemed to last for hours despite my prayers to God and when it did show down and stop I was like a raspberry jelly, could hardly stand let alone walk. But I have to admit in retrospect it was thrilling. Years before that it was the ghost train with my children and before that again for me growing up, it was the dodgem cars, shove ha’penny and candy floss, innocent fun. It was my first experience of candy floss – like eating a pink cloud! The point is Barry’s was always there for generation after generation.
It’s interesting to read of the history.
Barry’s was founded by Francesco Trufelli and Evelyn Chipperfield, who met in 1923 when the Royal Italian Circus started touring in Ireland. As the Barry’s website notes: “The first ride was a three abreast Gallopers, followed by Swing Boats, a Dodgem Track, Skittles and a Ferris Wheel. The first Dipper was imported from Germany in 1939 and was all made of wood. Unfortunately, it blew down in the Big Storm of 1942 and the shortage of timber meant that it could not be rebuilt. The salvaged timber, however, was used in the construction of a new dodgem track and some of it is still there today.”
Let’s hope that some sympathetic buyer will come forward and keep the dream alive.
Living By Example
It’s not often a stand-up comic will bring genuine tears of sadness to your eyes. For me that’s just what Omid Djalili did when he appeared in the theatre at Stranmillis Collage recently. He’s better known for his acerbic wit, a comedian, an actor, a man with a voice and a face which can transport you into a history which is only 200 years old.
This time, in ‘A Strange Bit of History’, he’s a story teller, perhaps some of the 17 characters he brings alive on stage are imagined but the story is real, he’s recounting the foundation of the Bahá’í Faith through the eyes of a diverse cast from the prophet The Bab, the Iranian executor graphically describing the beheading of infidels, the camel driver foretelling news of a new religion, the gentle London lady and her daughter, an Irish doctor, poets and peasants. We are transported back into the mid 1800s when 20,000 followers were put to death in an attempt to destroy a fledgling faith.
The evening was both funny and sad but above all extremely moving.
Before the show I met a gentleman who simplified his Faith for me drawing the sun in the sky representing God with the rays shining out, explaining that each one symbolises a prophet – Moses, Buddha, Jesus and the others including the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’lláh; then all those rays extend down to earth and to touch the lives of men, women and children.
The show is a tapestry with vibrant coloured threads intertwined into a picture of the trials and tribulations of those who chose to follow the words of The Báb, the man who he foretold the establishment of a new religion and the coming of a new young leader who’d be known as Bahá’u’lláh.
History recalls that on a spring evening in 1844, this Persian merchant announced that He was the bearer of a divine revelation destined to transform the spiritual life of humanity. The merchant was The Báb meaning “the Gate” in Arabic, for him a symbolic gate between the past and a new age of fulfilment. His message was one of spiritual and moral reformation, improving conditions for women in his country and looking after the environment; during the six years of his mission many risked their lives and thousands more lost their lives in following this controversial new order which intended to bring people of all nationalities and faiths under an umbrella of unity. For this, in 1850, he was condemned to death by firing squad. Here we are held by Omid’s story as he recalls that on the day of His execution The Báb told the guards that no “earthly power” could silence Him until He had finished His writings. Thousands crowded the rooftops overlooking the barracks square in Tabríz where the firing squad waited.
Powerful Historical Event
Every single responsible bird operator should know that there are specified foods and particular ingredients that need to under no circumstances inquire your pet bird if he or she can get the buy levitra best preparation for the road. viagra in usa They ensure finer quality medicines for the men suffering from this problem. The possible water supply outage in an extended period order levitra without prescription of time would mean trouble to every household that solely depend their water consumption from the main water sources. Therefore, it is extremely essential to keep order soft cialis a check upon yourself and your health.
In the intense heat of the noonday sun, He and a young follower were suspended by ropes against a wall of the barracks. A regiment of 750 soldiers opened fire in three successive volleys. When the smoke and dust cleared, The Báb had vanished from sight. His companion remained unscathed, the ropes by which they’d been hung alone were severed. After a search, The Báb was found back in His cell, continuing the conversation with His secretary.
“Now you may proceed to fulfil your intention,” he told His captors. Again, He was brought out for execution. After the first regiment refused to fire, another was assembled and ordered to shoot. This time the bodies of the Báb and His companion were shattered. A whirlwind of dust engulfed the city, blotting out the light of the sun until nightfall. He was only 30 years of age.
The Báb’s mission was taken up by one of his young followers Bahá’u’lláh who is acknowledged as the founder of the Bahá’í faith which advocates universal peace and unity among all races, nations, and religions. In 1892, when Bahá’u’lláh died in prison, the London Times reported the circumstances and the story was taken up by other newspapers, especially in Ireland, and so the message reached a wider audience.
Originally “A Strange Bit of History” was written by Omid’s wife Annabel Knight as an experiment for the 1994 Edinburgh Fringe Festival but since then this dedicated couple’s production has played round the world to rave reviews and many awards and giving a deeper understanding of the continuing persecution of these devoted peoples.
Talking to Omid after his performance I learned that although born in Chelsea to Iranian parents, his family’s Bahá’í roots were as travelling troubadours so a life on the stage and in films was second nature although he credits his comic talents to his father, Ahmad Djalili, a journalist and photographer who settled in London in 1957. Omid gained a degree in English and theatre studies from the University of Ulster Coleraine and, as his daughter and her husband live in Belfast, he’s no stranger to this part of the world where he is always welcomed into the local community.
There are no churches or preachers, meetings in each others homes and an activity hub in Lower Windsor Avenue; on a world wide scale, this is the second most geographically widespread religion after Christianity.
For more detail: www.bahaicouncil-ni.org.uk
What’s In A Name?
I met a lady of 83 who didn’t bemoan being a senior citizen, she drew herself up to her full 5’ 4” and grandly told me with a big smile that she was an Edwardian. I’m a Georgian – but oh to be an Elizabethan, sounds much nicer and much younger!
Preparing For Christmas Starters
An easy starter on Christmas Day, refreshing too, is melon and, like the American Whip, it can take many twists and turns. Couple it with prawns, a little lime juice, perhaps some parma ham or grapes, mint, juice of an orange and juice of a lemon with some caster sugar – lots of ideas on Internet. Get your melon now and it will be ready for Christmas Day, I bought one five weeks ago and last night it was just perfect. A word of warning when I went into the Internet to get a suitable picture I got more than I bargained for!!
Have a good week!